The author said: I’ll leave a big foreshadowing here, have a good weekend everyone!
———————————————
After inspecting the camp like this, it was already time for dinner. The Youyan Dao army was different from the Central Plains troops. They carried a large number of cattle and sheep with them, mainly meat, and purchased rice, flour and vegetables nearby as supplements. The logistical pressure was much less than that of other armies. The two brothers Zheng Miao and Yizhi learned from the style of the King of Youyan who loved his soldiers like his own sons. They were unwilling to enjoy the food alone in their own tents, and ate with the soldiers under their command. After dinner, Yizhi inspected the camp again, and then went back to his tent to rest.
The diameter of Qiu Yizi's tent was only over ten feet, not much bigger than that of an ordinary soldier. Fortunately, he lived alone, so he could put an extra set of tables and chairs inside the tent outside the camp bed.
Yizhi was not sleepy at all. He ordered someone to light an oil lamp and leaned on the table to think deeply: I didn't expect that marching and fighting would be so particular. After I made a brilliant plan in the battle of Mantou Mountain five years ago, I was highly appreciated by King Youyan. In the past few years, whenever I went out to burn grass or eliminate bandits, I was always taken with him to learn military affairs. But now, if I lead the troops alone to fight against Cui Nan and Wei Hu, I am afraid I will become a prisoner tonight. However, King Youyan would not be distracted by such trivial matters during daily battles. He relied on these two famous generals to take care of it for him. It seems that if I am lucky enough to lead the troops in battle in the future, I must gather a few trusted advisers and generals, otherwise how can I support myself with all the things I have to do every day
So he used a bamboo stick to poke the wick and continued to think: But where are the talents in the world? Among the people he had seen in his life, apart from those who were already in the hands of the King of Youyan, only Cai Wenchou, the counselor in the tent of Dali Khan, and Yelu, the warrior who followed Yiran, could be called outstanding people. However, these two people also had masters, so how could they be easily won over? Thinking of this, he remembered why Yiran didn't come to see him off when he went to the battle? Was it inconvenient to let foreigners participate in military and national affairs? Or was Yiran dissatisfied with him because he knew about his secret meeting with the saint of the cult? But he remembered that Wen Lingjiao once said that she owed it to him to escape from Guangyang, but they never met again after parting at the private residence. I don't know how to fulfill this promise? I don't know if Ruishou has taken care of the affairs at home? Will Lulu feel uneasy after not seeing the master for a long time
As he thought about it, Yizhi gradually entered into a state of concentration, letting the wick gradually sink into the oil without stirring it. The bean-sized flame burned weakly, and in Qiu Yizhi's eyes it turned into a halo, gradually spreading. Suddenly, the wick perked up again, jumped hard, and brought up a wisp of green smoke. The flame suddenly grew one third higher, as if it didn't want its life to disappear in the darkness. Yizhi smiled, picked up the bamboo stick again, and wanted to fulfill the wick's wish like a savior.
At this time, a messenger came to report: "There is a dispute among the soldiers in the warm tent. Your Highness needs to go and make a decision."
Military discipline was the official duty ordered by the King of Youyan. Yizhi did not dare to delay for a moment, and quickly stood up, slung his sword, and followed the messenger out of the tent. The so-called warm tent was nothing more than the place where the camp prostitutes were. Camp prostitutes have existed since ancient times. This is because the soldiers were full of vigor and vitality. If they had no place to vent, their morale would often be low, and chaos would easily occur over time. Therefore, the army has always had them and used them as a common practice since ancient times. Later, the King of Youyan was kind and righteous. He thought that women prisoners, female captives, and helpless widows were all good families, and he could not bear to deprive them of their will. Therefore, he selected and hired prostitutes from Guangyang City to serve the army, and gave them more silver, and they lived in peace. According to the military discipline of Youyan, one out of fifty soldiers in the camp could enter the warm tent every day for entertainment. The meritorious soldiers after the war were not included in this list. Therefore, the soldiers in other armies who often fought bravely and fiercely because of jealousy had never been heard of in the Youyan army camp.
Yizhi hurried a few steps and saw from afar dozens or even hundreds of soldiers gathered around a small round tent. Although they dared not make loud noises, they were talking to each other. Seeing this, Yizhi shouted, "Everything in the army has rules. You are making a mess. I don't know what's going on. What's going on? Is there any officer in charge who can come forward and report it?"
When the soldiers saw that it was the prince who had come, they immediately fell silent and bowed. However, a centurion stepped forward and bowed his head, saying, "I am Shi Wei, in charge of warming the tents. It is unheard of that a prostitute in the camp would refuse to receive guests. Please make the decision, Your Highness."
Yizhi hated bullying of women and children since he was a child. He waved his hand and said, "Women have their own reasons for not wanting to receive customers. How can you force them? And you caused trouble because of this. Don't you know the word respectability?"
Shi Wei bowed his head again and said, "Your Highness is kind and merciful. But the army has its own rules. If the soldiers who take turns today fail, they will have to wait another two months. I really can't explain it. Moreover, these two women wounded people with daggers. I think it is not a small matter. I am afraid that it has violated military discipline. So please make the decision, so as not to set a precedent and make it difficult for me."
Yizhi glanced at Shi Wei lying on the ground. He had an ordinary appearance, with a large mole on his right cheek and some strange hairs growing on it. His voice kept jumping when he spoke, which made him look a little funny. His eyes were bright and he said, "You are right. I was wrong. It's a pity for you to be a gigolo here, since you know things so well. You stand up and lead the way. I will ask you something clearly."
Shi Wei immediately stood up and said with a smile: "It's not that I want to do this pimping business. It's just that disputes have always been the easiest to occur in the warm tent. I have always been fair in my work. This position was appointed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself, and I was even awarded the title of a centurion. It's just... it's just that this reputation is really not good." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to lift the curtain and let Yizhi into the warm tent.
But when he entered the tent, he was shocked. The two women in the tent were none other than Wen Lingjiao, the saint of Tianzun Sect, and her tricky maid. Qiu Yizhi looked around the tent and found no one else. Only Shi Wei stood behind him with a strange smile on his face.
Qiu Yizhi hurriedly sent Shi Wei out of the tent, and then said, "It turns out that the story of escaping from Guangyang really happened to me." Yizhi smiled in disappointment and said, "I didn't expect that the young lady would lower her status like this and get involved in filth. Do you think a woman's reputation is nothing?"
Wen Lingjiao sat on the bed without answering, and ordered the maid, "He'er, Master Qiu is no longer a stranger, why don't you put away your sword, make some tea and set up a table?"
Qiu Yizi only then knew the maid's name. She squatted slightly, put a dagger in her sleeve, took two steps, moved a stool and placed it in front of her, and then took a bowl of tea from the teapot and handed it to her. She smiled mischievously and said, "This place is simple and there is no Longjing tea before the rain. Please forgive me, young master."
Qiu Yizi had no mood to drink tea. She did not take the tea bowl from He'er's hand. She stood there and asked relentlessly, "Although this camp prostitute's identity is fake, after all, there are many gossipers in the army. If the rumor gets out, how can you face the world?"
Wen Lingjiao smiled and said, "So you are so kind and gentle, I thank you. But the word integrity is just a view of corrupt scholars. There are so many people who talk about morality but are full of thieves and prostitutes. Moreover, our Holy Church has never valued this. Back then, the eldest disciple of our master married a prostitute and devoted herself to assisting her husband in preaching. She was the first Holy Woman of our Holy Church."
Qiu Yizhi was a very meticulous person. He knew from just a few words that the Tianzun Sect did not value the identity of its believers when it was preaching. I am afraid that it has spread widely among the lower nine classes, but the scholars and officials are not familiar with the affairs of the people and are not aware of it. If we let it go, it may cause a disaster in the long run. We must notify King Youyan in time and carefully identify them in Guangyang City to avoid further trouble.
Wen Lingjiao had not expected Qiu Yizhi to have such thoughts in an instant. Seeing that he remained silent, she continued, "Since I have committed myself to your camp, I hope you can help me and give me two inferior horses so that I can escape."
Yizhi thought for a long time, then sighed and said, "Well, since I have let the girl go once, I might as well give her face again. I hope that the girl can turn over a new leaf and turn to the good this time!"
Wen Lingjiao smiled and said, "Sir, you are indeed kind. I was not wrong after all. I am grateful for your kindness. We will meet again someday..." Then she stood up and walked to Yizhi, took out a bronze mirror from her sleeve, and said, "This mirror is my personal token. Now you are the butcher and I am the meat. If we are in a different place someday, I will use this bronze mirror to make other plans."
Yizhi took the bronze mirror with his body temperature and held it in his hand. He seemed to want to say something, but he was speechless. He walked out of the warm tent and said to Shi Wei who was waiting outside the tent: "Go and pick two horses for the two ladies in this tent, and let them go out of the camp!"
Shi Wei nodded and said yes, then asked, "How should we explain this to the soldiers? Your Highness, please explain it to us."
"This is easy. Just say that these two girls were daughters of officials who had committed crimes and were sold to brothels, and ended up like this. According to the military discipline of Prince Youyan, such decent women should not be used as camp prostitutes, so they were released from the barracks to fend for themselves." Before Shi Wei finished singing his promise, Yizhi whispered, "Choose a good horse and follow the two of them secretly to see where they settle down. I think you are smart, so you should do this matter by yourself. Once you find out what happened, report to me as soon as possible without any delay. Don't alert the enemy, I have a generous reward!" Shi Wei nodded repeatedly and hurried to make arrangements.
It turned out that Qiu Yizhi had thought of these two weak women. How could they travel far in the middle of the chaotic army in the middle of the night? The Tianzun Sect must be nearby. When the time comes, find out where they are and eliminate them in one fell swoop, which will be another great achievement. Yizhi walked back to his tent slowly with a lot of thoughts in his mind. After waiting for half an hour, he heard Shi Wei come to report that the two women were staying in a small village thirty miles south of the main camp.
Yizhi thought that the matter was settled, so he quickly called up his 300 personal soldiers, and without informing Zheng Miao and Generals Cui Nan and Wei Hu, he personally led the team and followed Shi Wei to gallop to the south of the camp. After galloping for half an hour, they saw a small village ahead, so they sent a few scouts to investigate. These scouts were so capable that they came back in a moment: the wells in this village were dry and the stoves were cold, and there was no one there.
Qiu Yi's plan failed, and he was at a loss, but then he saw countless torches lit up all around, and vaguely heard the sound of shouting and killing. Thinking that he had fallen into a trap, he gathered his troops, ordered the soldiers to draw their swords and string their arrows, extinguish the torches and candles, and slowly retreat towards the camp under the cover of night.
The enemy did not chase them, and Yizhi led his troops into the camp calmly, but he was full of grievances and no longer wanted to sleep. He thought that this commotion was too big and could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of King Youyan, so he had to report it as soon as possible. So he took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote down what happened today and the conversation with Wen Lingjiao in Guangyang City. He sent someone to deliver it to the King of Youyan's palace eight hundred miles away at night.
He could not sleep that night, and the next day he had to march to Bianzhou City as planned. Yizhi walked all day in a daze, and when the army had set up camp, Zheng Rong's reply arrived. Yizhi took it, unfolded the paper and read it, and saw that the King of Youyan scolded him at the beginning: he said that he was so bold and reckless in doing things, and he would definitely cause a terrible disaster in the future, or implicate his adoptive father, brothers, teachers, relatives and friends. If he did this again in the future, there would be no need to wait for the court to judge the crime. Zheng Rong would take out the imperial sword and kill this lawless thief with his own hands. As for this matter, if the court investigated it, the Prince of Youyan's Mansion would naturally cover it up, but it would not happen again. Yizhi felt relieved after reading it, and read it carefully. It was an earnest persuasion, asking him to consult Wei Hu and Cui Nan on everything, and to discuss with his brother Zheng Miao more, and never act on his own and cause disaster in the future.
At this point, Yizhi felt relieved. The fatigue of the past two days flooded into his brain. He quickly had dinner and fell into a deep sleep.
-------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------
PS. This chapter is to fulfill the foreshadowing. Wen Lingjiao is one of the heroines in this book. In recent chapters, I have spent a lot of time on her. Are some readers tired of reading her? It’s okay. Let her go home first. There will be more plots and descriptions about her in the future. (To be continued)