nucmednet Chapter 207 Vanguard
Chapter 207 Vanguard
The day calculated by Chu Yunchuan was approaching, and Ningzhou finally received reinforcements.
The army that arrived in Wu County was not large in number. Rumor had it that this was the vanguard, with the main army to follow. The Sickness and Injury Shop had been quite unoccupied recently, and Bai Zhi wanted to join in the fun, but Doctor Jiang dragged her to her small pharmacy to prepare medicine.
Like Zhu's army, the imperial vanguard passed through Wu County and headed straight for the White Tiger Army's camp. This time, many civilians gathered to watch, including Qiaoqiao, Chuqi, and Cheng Mao. Qiaoqiao, however, kept pouting, "This general doesn't look heroic at all. He's not like General Zhu, whose long hair whips like a whip—how beautiful!"
Lin Chuqi disagreed: "It's enough to win the battle, why do you have to shake your hair?"
Qiaoqiao stamped her feet in anger: "Morale! This is called morale! You know shit!"
Cheng Mao was sweating profusely: "Don't make a fuss, don't make a fuss, everything is fine..."
The vanguard marched along the main road all the way to the White Tiger Army's headquarters. As they reached the gate, the soldiers saw a tall, handsome man waiting. The leading general immediately dismounted and knelt in respect, "General Ma De'an, along with all the soldiers, pays homage to His Majesty, King Jing!"
It was actually His Royal Highness Prince Jing who came to greet him personally! The soldiers were astonished and dropped their spears, knelt down and saluted, shouting "Long live the King!"
Chu Yunchuan hurried forward a few steps, bent down and helped Ma De'an to his feet. "General Ma, please stand up. Comrades, please stand up quickly. You have all been exhausted on the journey. Please go to the camp and rest first. When the army arrives, I will personally host a banquet to welcome you all."
The soldiers guarding the gate opened the gate and welcomed the vanguard into the camp. Chu Yunchuan and Ma De'an walked side by side in the front, deliberately keeping a distance from the soldiers behind them.
Ma De'an said with emotion, "Last time in the capital, I only had time to say goodbye to His Highness in a hurry. Now that I see that His Highness is in good health, I, Old Ma, am relieved."
Chu Yunchuan smiled and said, "Since we parted in the capital, General Ma has become even more heroic."
"Hahahaha, Your Highness, please stop making fun of me, Old Ma." Ma De'an laughed loudly, then covered his mouth with his hand to lower his voice, "Your Highness, just as you expected, His Majesty has allowed Lord Lu to accompany the army this time and appointed him the commander-in-chief. Even General Qi has to listen to him!"
Chu Yunchuan nodded in understanding and patted Ma De'an on the shoulder: "I know what's going on, General Ma. This journey is all thanks to you."
Ma De'an patted his chest and said, "Your Highness, what polite words are you using? Think about how rampant the Di Zi were back then. If Your Highness hadn't caught Xuanping Hou as a Di Zi spy and learned that they were planning a surprise attack on New Year's Eve, my group would have been the first to be slaughtered by the Di Zi. By now, the grass on my grave is as tall as my daughter. Your Highness led us brothers in bravely fighting the enemy. I, Old Ma, will never forget it."
Chu Yunchuan just smiled and said nothing.
That time, Chu Yunchuan truly intended to have Di Zi slaughter the northern borders of Great Yan, slaughtering the wicked men and women of the capital along with the innocent soldiers and civilians. He would then pin the charge of treason on Marquis Xuanping, repeating the events of the Thirteen Prefectures. This would help the Seventh Prince settle accounts with the Crown Prince's allies, expose Marquis Xuanping's faults to the people, and alleviate his own resentment.
As a result, on that snowy night, Bai Zhi persuaded him to come back with just a few words.
Later, thinking back, he wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife, and the Seventh Prince might have wanted to kill him with a borrowed knife. If he hadn't stopped at that time, he might not be alive now.
Even if the Seventh Prince didn't kill him, how could a person who instigated unrest have the face to be a king?
"The army has a lot of baggage, and Lord Lu asked us to come here first to report to His Highness. However... this time Lord Lu brought an imperial edict, and His Highness said he wanted Lord Lu's help. I, Old Ma, have to say something, but Lord Lu is now a favorite of His Majesty, and he has been stern all the way here. Your Highness will have to think of a solution."
Chu Yunchuan raised his eyebrows and said, "You've been so cold all the way? I remember that Lord Lu has always been gentle and kind to others, making people feel like they are in a spring breeze."
Ma De'an said, "Who says it's not? I don't know what happened this time."
Chu Yunchuan pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'll take note. General Ma, I've arranged the tents for all of you comrades. Go and rest now."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The tents of the imperial army were not gathered in one place, but were scattered throughout the White Tiger Army's base. The vanguard was divided into several teams, each led by a White Tiger Army soldier, heading towards their own tent.
The tent of one of the teams was not far from Zhu's army, and the soldiers began to whisper to each other as they walked.
"Hey, look, is that a woman?"
"How is this possible... Wait, it's true! How can there be women in the army?!"
"Hahahaha, you two are ignorant. Ever since the last King Jing, the Thirteen States have had the custom of women serving in the military. I heard there was an exceptionally formidable female general named Zhu Daoxian. She was incredibly elusive on the battlefield, winning every battle she fought!"
"Wait a minute..." The sergeant who spoke first looked around, "It seems... it seems that all of them are women? Um... brother, are we in the wrong place?"
The White Tiger sergeant leading the way said, "We're right. This is the camp of the General Zhu you mentioned. Eighty percent of her troops are women. Your camp is just ahead... Oh, Captain Qiao, I heard you're getting a promotion. Congratulations. Is your injury feeling better?"
Qiao Wanwan was sitting at the door of her tent enjoying the breeze when she saw the reinforcements coming. She limped to her feet and greeted them, "It's Old Han, thank you so much! I was only slightly grazed by the barbarians, not really injured. Are these reinforcements from the imperial court? Great! Now our chances of victory are even better. Comrades, please look after me."
Old Han introduced them: "This is our Zhu army's marching captain, Qiao Wanwan."
Qiao Wanwan added with a smile, "In a few days, he won't be a captain, but a lieutenant."
A sergeant at the back looked Qiao Wanwan up and down and said with a playful smile, "Uh... Miss Qiao, right? Don't worry, the brothers will charge in the front, and you female soldiers can just hide in the back. Look, you're so beautiful, it would be a shame if you got hurt."
Qiao Wanwan said cheerfully, "Comrade, thank you for your kindness, but it's inevitable to get hurt on the battlefield. Why fight if you're afraid of getting hurt?"
"How can this be? You are both young. How can you get married if your face is injured?"
The soldiers behind joined in the commotion, while on Zhu Jun's side, those who were cleaning their guns, stretching their arms, and applying medicine to themselves all stopped and looked towards the vanguard, each with an expression uglier than the other.
Qiao Wanwan frowned and limped over to the rude soldier. With a stern look on her face, she said, "Comrade, what do you mean? We're all here serving our country. Why are you talking about getting married?"
Another vanguard soldier hurried out to smooth things over: "My dear sister, we have no ill intentions. Look, your female soldiers are so impressive. When you return home after the battle to propose marriage, your door will surely be trampled down by people."
A man behind the vanguard shouted impatiently, "What are you still wasting time on! What kind of battle can you win with such soft-heartedness? They just want us to act as human shields. Let's get to the camp quickly! Don't delay my rest!"
A sergeant from Zhu Jun's army couldn't help but retort, "Since that's what's been said, whoever doesn't act as a human shield and runs away first is a bastard!"
"Who are you calling a bastard?"
The scene suddenly became chaotic.