freenovelworld Chapter 124 How about we have a contest?
Chapter 124 How about we have a contest?
"That's great! With these military supplies and provisions, the soldiers can fight with abandon. The ones who will suffer in the future are the Great Liang." Duke Xiao smiled broadly upon seeing the provisions.
Shen Li had been worried about the old man's health, but now it seems he's even better than when he was at home; he's incredibly energetic.
"Li'er, you have made a tremendous contribution this time. If we had underestimated the enemy and acted rashly, the consequences would have been unimaginable." Xiao Zhan felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it.
Who would have thought that a high-ranking official like the governor of a prefecture would be a planted agent of the Great Liang? If the plot to rebel had not been discovered in time, these 50,000 elite troops would probably have lost their lives here.
At that time, Cangzhou would block the imperial court's supply lines for grain and reinforcements, and the isolated troops at Yuebei Pass would find it difficult to hold out. By then, it would be too late for the imperial court to make any further deployments.
“It’s thanks to Wan’er’s timely information that things became much easier once we knew there was a spy.” Shen Li looked at Lin Wan’er, who was also dressed in armor.
"That was just my guess. I didn't expect them to have such a plan as a rebellion." Lin Wan'er was also a little scared. "Thanks to you."
"No need to stand on ceremony with me, right?" Shen Li smiled and asked, "When are you leaving?"
"Immediately," Lin Wan'er said. "The battle at the front is critical; I need to get back to put my mind at ease."
Shen Li understood.
Lin Wan'er then got up to bid farewell to the old Duke. Before leaving, she looked at Shen Li and asked, "Want to come along?"
"I've had enough of being cooped up in this mansion." Shen Li hadn't planned to stay any longer anyway, so she stood up and said to the old Duke, "Grandfather, I'd like to go to the front lines to see if I can help?"
"Don't go empty-handed. Your grandfather has ordered Yuan Lang to lead 20,000 men with you." Xiao Zhan immediately ordered the army to be disciplined.
He originally intended to send 30,000 men to the front lines, but in order to prevent any further changes in Cangzhou Prefecture, a large force was needed to guard it before the imperial court sent someone to take over Cangzhou, so he couldn't leave for the time being.
After bidding farewell to the old Duke, Shen Li walked out of the governor's office side by side with Lin Wan'er, attracting almost all the attention in front of the government office.
They seemed to suddenly understand.
It turns out that women don't have to be confined to their inner quarters; when they step out, they seem to radiate light.
"Let's go." Shen Li took a breath of the cold air outside and truly felt that the distant place she had once dreamed of was now right under her feet.
"Can you ride a horse?" Lin Wan'er pulled on the reins as if she had just remembered something, and asked with a smile, "Or should I ride with you in the carriage?"
"Want to have a competition?" Shen Li raised an eyebrow arrogantly.
The guards had already brought Zhuiye over.
"Oh?" Lin Wan'er's interest was piqued, and her eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"
They've been competing with each other since they were little, so she's not used to the sudden lack of competition.
Shen Li skillfully mounted her horse, her gaze towards Lin Wan'er filled with a triumphant yet playful provocation.
Lin Wan'er's already sharp gaze became even more unyielding as she leaped onto her horse and turned to look at her.
"drive!"
The streets, still quiet after the war, were deserted. Two people and two horses charged out, their cloaks billowing in the wind.
The people on horseback are unrestrained and vibrant, as if they know how hard-won their freedom is, and they are living life to the fullest.
As evening fell, they set up camp to rest and cook dinner. Lin Wan'er read the battle reports sent by messengers from the front lines in her tent, while Shen Li waited for the meal to be served.
"Okay." Lin Wan'er closed the battle report, her eyes full of joy. She turned her head and saw Shen Li sitting on the wool blanket, looking listless.
"Don't you care what's written on this?" Lin Wan'er thought to herself, "He wasn't like this during the horse race; he was full of energy then."
"I can tell from your face that the battle is going well," Shen Li replied calmly.
"With cotton-padded clothes and cannonballs, morale has soared. Last night, we forced the Liang army to retreat more than ten miles." Lin Wan'er said excitedly, "Our Great Zhao will surely win this battle."
"That's great!" Shen Li said with relief. "Finally, some good news."
"You deserve all the credit. If it weren't for your money that allowed me to buy food from the people, the soldiers would have needed much more than just cotton-padded clothes and cannonballs." Lin Wan'er said earnestly, "Thank you."
"It's good that it's useful."
"But I'm curious, how did you know that Cangzhou Prefecture intended to rebel?" Lin Wan'er asked, thinking of this.
Shen Li took a sip of tea to stave off her hunger before saying, "When I was searching the mountains, I encountered a group of Rongdi people. They seemed to be organized, and I suspect they robbed our supplies."
“The Rongdi are far away in the western border. Their appearance here is most likely because they are joining forces with the Great Liang. So they pretended to be special envoys of the Great Liang and tricked them.” Shen Li shrugged: “He told us everything, saying that he would take action in the city.”
Lin Wan'er chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to know these things too?"
"Not very skilled either."
"Then how did you find out that the stolen military rations were in the government warehouse?" Lin Wan'er asked again.
“I didn’t investigate this myself; my husband told me.” Shen Li seemed more alert when she mentioned Gu Chang’an, and said, “I sent two hundred men into the city to distract Cangzhou Prefecture, which created many loopholes that we could exploit.”
When Lin Wan'er saw the happiness and warmth in Gu Chang'an's eyes when she mentioned him, she suddenly felt that the question was a bit unnecessary.
They were reborn as a couple.
It's not even close to happening yet for her.
Forget it, national affairs are more important, we can't rush it.
Shen Li was originally a very good person at reading people's expressions, but she was very relaxed when she was with Lin Wan'er, so she didn't pay much attention to her expression. Instead, she waited for the meal to arrive.
"Finally, dinner's served." Shen Li's eyes lit up as she watched the steaming hot food being brought in.
Lin Wan'er finally realized why Shen Li was frowning; it turned out she had been waiting for dinner.
She was both amused and exasperated. Shen Li had changed so much since her previous life, it was as if a fairy who had been floating in the sky had suddenly become grounded.
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The army marched for three days and arrived at Yuebei Pass. As Shen Li rode on horseback, looking at the continuous mountains, she felt her vision broaden. The travelogue she wrote was a bit conservative.
The Liang army did not attack the city that day because they had brought more supplies. So the soldiers lined up to receive their new cotton-padded clothes, and everyone's face was beaming with joy.
Lin Xiao even ordered that they eat well tonight to make up for the missed holidays.
Shen Li then remembered that she had celebrated the New Year during her time in Cangzhou Prefecture. Now it was the New Year, and this was the first time she had spent it away from home. She had escaped many unnecessary social engagements, but she was also a little homesick.
"How is it?" Lin Wan'er led Shen Li along Yuezhou Pass and said, "This is the greatest pass in the world. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as we occupy this place, our Great Zhao will always have a barrier."
“But if we lose this place, Da Zhao will become the granary of Daliang, and their cavalry can plunder it however they want,” she explained.
Shen Li nodded. It was just like that in her previous life. Even though the Great Zhao was so wealthy after losing Yuebei Pass and the Five Prefectures, it still dared not go to war with the Great Liang and paid tribute every year.
“Now, that situation will never happen again.” Lin Wan’er said, her hands resting on the city wall. “This time, the Great Liang has mobilized the entire nation’s troops to attack, which can be described as a desperate gamble. It looks impressive, but in reality, if things don’t go smoothly, they will get bogged down in a quagmire. They can’t afford to wait even two or three months.”
Looking at the confidence and determination emanating from Lin Wan'er, Shen Li felt genuine admiration: "You really did it."
"We did it together." Lin Wan'er turned her head and smiled at her. "So, how long can you stay here?"
“If the war is not stable, His Majesty will need my grandfather to oversee things. If the war is stable, he will be summoned back to court soon, and I will go with him.”
Shen Li analyzed for a moment and said, "It seems that I won't stay long."
"That's fine, Kyoto suits you better."
"And what about you?" Shen Li asked, "What are your plans for the future?"
"I have accumulated some military merits this time, and I can be considered to have made a name for myself in one battle." Lin Wan'er touched the sword at her waist and said, "I want to submit a memorial to the emperor to ask for an official position so that I can stay here in the future."
“It’s not difficult for you to get an official position for your merits, but it’s difficult to stay here.” Shen Li pondered for a moment and said, “Even though the army is nominally under the command of the Ministry of War, General Lin is still a regional commander. If you bring your relatives here, His Majesty probably won’t be able to sleep well at night.”
Lin Wan'er sighed as she spoke: "The Empress favors me to be the Crown Princess. I'm just worried that when I get back, an imperial decree will be issued to bestow marriage upon me, and I'll be back to the old ways."
“General Lin is still guarding the border, so His Majesty will not marry you to the Crown Prince. He is also worried that the Crown Prince will become too powerful.” Shen Li leaned on the city wall and looked down, saying, “But even without this bestowed marriage, there will inevitably be other things. We should make plans as soon as possible.”
"You have so many ideas, why don't you give me one?" Lin Wan'er asked.
“No matter how many ideas you have, it has to be mutual.” Shen Li said with a wry smile, “If someone uses their military merits to ask His Majesty to grant them a marriage, His Majesty will agree.”
The Xiao family and the Lin family were well-matched, both being military generals guarding their respective regions with overlapping responsibilities. There was no possibility of collusion or transfer of benefits, so their union would only benefit the court, not harm it.
"The question is whether he's willing?" Lin Wan'er realized the crux of the matter.
Shen Li nodded.
"Wasn't I being obvious enough? He didn't respond." Lin Wan'er had a headache just thinking about it; dealing with feelings was much harder than fighting a war.
Upon hearing this question, Shen Li lost her previous composed demeanor and became somewhat apprehensive. She didn't know much about matters of the heart and really didn't dare to teach her.
After a moment of thought, the two inadvertently met eyes, both wearing wry smiles.