There are many mountainous areas in the southwest. Beyond Pingyang, the road becomes more difficult and the weather becomes colder and colder day by day.
The team marched for more than ten days and camped at the foot of a group of mountains before dark.
As night falls, the continuous and quiet mountains are like dormant beasts, the howling cold wind is their roar, and the sudden drop in temperature is their sharp claws, which seem to tear people apart.
The guards lit a fire in the tent and huddled together to keep warm.
In the carriage in the center of the camp, Jiang Shu snuggled tightly into Yu Zheng's arms, with two soup ladies behind him, wrapped tightly in quilts and fell asleep.
In the second half of the night, Mrs. Tang was so cold that she lost all her warmth. Her side was freezing cold. Jiang Shu, who was half asleep and half awake from the cold, subconsciously crawled into Yu Zheng's arms.
Yu Zheng was alert, stretched out his hands to tuck the loose quilt, and hugged Jiang Shu into his arms. Finally, he put his two palms on Jiang Shu's back and waist to warm her as much as possible.
Yu Zheng's embrace was very warm, and Jiang Shu fell asleep again in a daze.
When the cold moon disappeared and the fish-belly white gradually appeared in the east, the military guards emerged from their tents and set off on the road despite the biting cold.
In order to get to Yicheng as soon as possible so that everyone would suffer less, Yu Zheng ordered the team to get up early and rush on the road at dusk.
We worked hard all the way and finally arrived in Yicheng on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month.
Zhou Boxu led his people outside the city to greet him. When they saw Yu Zheng, all the generals were overjoyed.
Yu Zheng brought not only food and grass, but also hope and the power to stabilize the morale of the army.
When the people learned of Yu Zheng's arrival, they took to the streets to greet him.
"His Royal Highness Jing is here, Yicheng is saved."
"I heard that Prince Jing's military strategy and wisdom will definitely defeat Nanyan and bring peace to Yicheng."
"Yes, with His Highness King Jing here, we don't have to be afraid..."
It is still unclear whether Yu Zheng can lead the soldiers to defeat Nanyan, but he came to Yicheng to take charge personally, which at least gave people hope.
Yicheng, which has been depressed for a long time and has not even become lively even before the New Year, becomes excited with Yu Zheng's arrival.
When Jiang Shu heard the cheers, he lifted the car curtain and looked outside.
Men, women, old and young crowded the streets, all with joyful smiles on their faces and eyes full of anticipation and hope.
These simple faces make people's eyes feel sore and their hearts stagnate.
Compared with the people in other cities, the people in Yicheng do not yearn for prosperity, they only want peace and tranquility.
But living in a border town, such a simple wish is a luxury.
Whenever there is a war, they are always the first to suffer.
The people here were born, grew up, and grew old during the war... and have longed for peace throughout their lives.
Especially those children, they are so ignorant that they don’t understand what war is at all. They just want to live a good year and grow up safely...
Jiang Shu couldn't bear to look anymore and lowered the car curtain.
After walking through the noisy street, Zhou Boxu led the carriage to the general's mansion, while the generals led the team to the military camp.
It was getting dark, and the military guards were exhausted. After handing over the food and grass, they ate a bowl of hot soup and rice, and finally fell asleep on the bed where they had been thinking about it day and night.
General's Mansion.
After dinner, Yu Zheng asked Jiang Shu to wash up and settle down first, while he went to the meeting hall to discuss matters with Zhou Boxu and the generals.
Knowing that the war situation was serious and not optimistic, Yu Zheng frowned deeply.
"How is the formation of the Iron Armored Army going?"
The general in charge of this matter said: "The blacksmiths in the city are working together and have produced 500 pieces of armor. The selected armored soldiers are also intensifying their training with mud bags."
Yu Zheng asked again: "Is there any progress in the detoxification method?"
Zhou Bo prefaced: "Mr. Du rushed all the way and only arrived in Yicheng yesterday evening. After a night's rest, he immediately studied the detoxification method with the military doctor. There is no news yet."
If it could be solved so quickly, the military doctors would not be left with a headache and helpless.
"What's going on in Nan Yan recently?" Yu Zheng asked, looking at the sand table.
Zhou Boxu pursed his lips and said, "Stay still, as if you are waiting for something."
"I witnessed the entire battle on the city wall during the last battle. I found that although the venomous snakes domesticated in Nanyan are not afraid of the cold and can go out as usual in winter, their flexibility is somewhat insufficient. Moreover, the venomous snakes only attacked for an hour before retreating to their cages."
Hearing this, Yu Zheng raised his eyes and looked at Zhou Boxu.
Zhou Boxu pondered: "I suspect that venomous snakes are not afraid of the cold at all, but are driven out by some means. The weather has become colder and colder recently, and the people of Nanyan may be waiting for the weather to warm up."
"Whether it is yes or not, you will know once you try it." Yu Zheng lowered his eyes and stared at Changling Mountain occupied by the Nanyan people, planning to launch an attack tomorrow.
After some careful discussion, it was already dark.
After the generals dispersed, Zhou Boxu and Yu Zheng returned to the backyard.
"Why is the princess here too?" Zhou Boxu was puzzled.
Yu Zheng said: "She is here to help take care of the rear affairs of the army."
Zhou Boxu was stunned for a moment, and then said: "That's not bad. With the princess taking care of the affairs, you and I don't have to worry at all, and we can rest assured to do other things."
"Yeah." Yu Zheng responded tiredly.
"You've been tired all the way. Let's take a rest early. I live across the street. If you need anything, come to me anytime." Zhou Boxu pointed to the small courtyard beside him.
Yu Zheng nodded, rubbed his forehead and turned into the yard where he and Jiang Shu lived.
Jiang Shu took a shower and dried her hair, and was sorting out her clothes and belongings with Leng Xing.
When he heard that Yu Zheng was back, Jiang Shu quickly ordered someone to prepare hot water for Yu Zheng to take a bath. Finally, he said to Leng Xing, "Go and have a rest. We will put away the rest tomorrow."
"Yes." Leng Xing bowed and left.
After the servants prepared hot water, Jiang Shu waited on Yu Zheng to take a bath and learned about the situation in the army.
Like Yu Zheng, Jiang Shu felt very heavy after learning that the war situation was serious.
After hearing that Yu Zheng said that he would raid Nanyan tomorrow, he became even more worried.
"The tigers and venomous snakes in Nanyan are so scary, you must be careful."
Yu Zheng patted her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'm only observing the command from behind."
He is the coach and will not go into battle easily.
Jiang Shu was relieved when he heard this: "I hope Mr. Du can find an antidote as soon as possible."
With a 'swish' sound, Yu Zheng stood up from the bathtub, took a cotton handkerchief to wipe away the water drops, put on his pajamas and went outside to smoke his hair.
Taking advantage of this time, Jiang Shu went to prepare the clothes the two of them would wear tomorrow.
Because he didn't know Jiang Shu would come in advance, Zhou Boxu didn't ask anyone to prepare maids, but only arranged a few attendants.
Jiang Shu put the clothes beside the bed, and Yu Zhengxunqian said: "Have a rest, and go to the military camp early tomorrow morning."
Jiang Shu responded, and the two went to bed to rest.
Although there is only a charcoal fire in the house, it is much warmer than sleeping in the wild.
That night, Jiang Shu slept deeply.
The weather was a little cloudy the next day, so Jiang Shu and Yu Zheng, accompanied by Zhou Boxu, went to the military camp.
The soldiers were practicing, and Zhou Boxu took them to the meeting room. The generals and rear affairs officers came to meet Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu.
After seeing the ceremony, Yu Zheng said in a deep voice: "From today on, the princess will be in full charge of the military and rear affairs, and there is no need to interfere with this king and Mr. Zhou."
The generals and rear affairs officers were shocked when they heard this.
Can Jiang Shu, a female prostitute, be in charge of the affairs of hundreds of thousands of soldiers?
Even experienced rear affairs officers need to ask for instructions from their superiors when encountering major or difficult problems, but Yu Zheng said that it would be inappropriate to leave full authority to Jiang Shu.
"My lord, think twice. The rear affairs in the army are urgent and complicated. The princess has no experience, so I'm afraid she won't be able to handle them." Someone ventured to say something.
Yu Zheng glanced at the man and said solemnly: "I and Master Zhou have no combat experience, so are they unable to lead you?"
"Your Majesty's words are serious, but the general has no such intention." Everyone hurriedly knelt down.
