Prince Jing and Prince Yu led hundreds of thousands of rebels to fight and retreat, while Ling Rucheng led the imperial army to fight and pursue.
In mid-August, the rebels were severely attacked by a 150,000-strong coalition force from five provinces, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, Shandong, and Nanzhili, which had ambushed them in advance on their retreat, and most of their troops were lost. However, the two kings were not destined to die here. Guo Jixian took a risky move and led more than 60,000 elite troops to support the two kings in breaking out of the encirclement of the imperial army. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain of Henan, they shook off the imperial army several times and escaped.
As the defeat of the rebels was inevitable, the imperial court ordered the coalition forces of the five provinces to withdraw to their original positions, and Ling Rucheng led 140,000 troops from northern Zhili to continue pursuing the rebels.
This pursuit lasted from August to early October.
During this period, Guo Jixian repeatedly arranged several teams of hundreds of people to pretend to escort the two kings to escape first. Ling Rucheng knew it was a trap but had to send troops to intercept them in different directions to prevent the two kings from hiding in any team.
Guo Jixian's tactics could only slightly delay the speed of the imperial army's encirclement and suppression. By the beginning of October, only 40,000 of the 60,000 elite rebel troops were left, and they could be wiped out at any time.
Prince Jing, Prince Yu and Guo Jixian were unwilling to be executed and continued to resist stubbornly. Finally, the rebels rushed all the way into Wuduo Mountain in the northwest of Nanyang Prefecture.
Night falls again.
In the commander-in-chief's tent, after dinner, Ling Rucheng stood in front of the sand table, while generals including Zhao Zeqing, Huang Lang, and Chen Jingzong stood in a circle around the sand table.
Ling Rucheng pointed to a large area of mountains behind Wudou Mountain and said, "This is Funiushan Mountain, the terrain is steep. If the rebels escape in, it will take at least two or three months to end this war. So our army must send several vanguard troops to go around to Heilongtan between Wudou Mountain and Funiushan to gather and defend it strictly. Don't give the rebels any chance to survive."
All the generals were willing to go.
Wuduo Mountain should be the last battle to quell the rebellion. Ling Rucheng intends to let young generals like Chen Jingzong and Qi Jin make meritorious deeds. He also selected six commanders around 30 years old and asked them to lead 5,000 people each. At dawn tomorrow, they will go around to the gathering place along different mountain roads.
Because the mountain roads are rugged and there may even be dead ends where one needs to turn back and change routes, if 40,000 soldiers are dispersed at a certain distance, the marching speed will be faster and it will be easier to find the rebels' hiding places.
"If any of the troops encounter the main force of the rebels, do not confront them head-on. Smoke signals should be raised to warn them and they should first join forces with the troops nearby. I will also lead the army to encircle them immediately."
"yes!"
Chen Jingzong's eight commanders first left the tent and went to notify the guards they were in charge of.
After everything was ready, all that was left was to conserve his energy. When Chen Jingzong was walking back, he wanted to tell her, but he saw that the lights in the princess' tent had been turned off and it was pitch dark.
Chen Jingzong shook his head and returned to his tent.
Almost as soon as he came in and drank a gulp of water, Zhou Ji came over.
After entering the tent and seeing the Prince Consort, Zhou Ji took out another set of official uniforms for the Princess' personal guards from his bulging arms, and explained to the puzzled Prince Consort, "The Princess has something important to discuss with you tonight. To avoid misunderstandings, please pretend to be a subordinate and go."
Chen Jingzong understood, and without any expression, he took off his armor and robe and put on Zhou Ji's suit.
Zhou Ji asked Chen Jingzong to go first.
After Chen Jingzong was invited into the eldest princess's tent by Wu Run, Zhou Ji calculated the time and reappeared, standing outside the tent faithfully to keep watch for the eldest princess.
It was pitch black inside the tent, but once my eyes got used to the darkness, I could see some things clearly.
Chaoyun and Chaoyue's mattress beds were laid out in the outer tent. The two maids knew that the prince consort was coming, so they stood there and gently signaled him to go in directly.
Chen Jingzong inexplicably had a strange feeling that he was having an affair, even though the girl in the room was the princess he had married in a formal ceremony.
Fortunately, Chen Jingzong was a contented person, and he thought it was better to steal something than nothing.
He lifted the curtain and walked in.
Huayang sat on the bed, watching the tall dark figure walk in. Even though she knew it was definitely him, she was still a little nervous and asked, "Have you had dinner?"
Chen Jingzong walked to her bedside, looked at her dark figure and asked, "What if I didn't eat it? Why don't you make me one?"
They had to be secretive when they met, so he didn't believe that she could still order the maids to cook for him.
Huayang pointed to the table next to him and said, "It's your birthday the day after tomorrow. Normally, I should prepare longevity noodles for you tomorrow, but I guess you are going into the mountains to search for the rebels tomorrow, and you may come out after the battle, so I prepared it for you first."
Chen Jingzong was silent for a while, and then he said frivolously: "I forgot everything, but you still miss me."
At another time, Huayang would definitely not admit that it was Wu Run or the maids who made the evasion on their own initiative.
But tonight, she was willing to make him happy.
"Eat it quickly, it might be a little sticky."
Chen Jingzong was not used to her doing this, so he walked to the table, opened the food box, and saw a small bowl inside.
He subconsciously said with disdain: "This is just a small amount, not enough to fill the gap between my teeth."
Huayang: "I know you've eaten, so I prepared a big bowl for you, in case you're too full to sleep."
Chen Jingzong did not comment. Since the bowl was small, he did not find a chair to sit on. He held the bowl in one hand and the chopsticks in the other, and in a blink of an eye, he had finished all the soup.
"There's everything over there on the washstand, just clean up and come up."
Huayang said while lying down.
Chen Jingzong's only response was his breathing which suddenly became heavier.
Huayang saw him take off his clothes in a few seconds, and watched him walk to the washstand, brush his teeth, wash his face, wash his hair, and wipe his body, all in one go.
He wiped his hair half-dry and tied it up on top of his head to prevent it from falling down and getting in the way.
As he walked towards the bed, Huayang could almost hear his own heartbeat.
She moved inside.
Even though she was of noble status, it was impossible for her to bring the big bed or the step-out bed in the mansion with the army. What she used now was a narrow wooden bed, which could be disassembled when moving camp and reassembled when setting up camp.
When Chen Jingzong lay down on it, the wooden bed, which looked not very solid, creaked.
Hua Yang's heart tightened: "How about you lie on the felt blanket below?"
Chen Jingzong pulled her into his arms and panted, "Don't worry, your bed is definitely stronger than mine. My bed creaks every day, but it's still solid after three months of sleeping. Yours will definitely not collapse. Besides, you can't ask me to do anything."
He was still talking, and Huayang had already leaned into his arms. His low voice came from the top of her head, with the intimacy that she had long been familiar with.
Huayang hugged him.
Her heart was filled with warmth, but Chen Jingzong suddenly turned over, grabbed her wrists and lifted them up.
Huayang didn't quite understand why he always liked to do this. If she would push him away with disgust when they just got married, she would never do that in this life.
"I miss you so much."
After kissing her, Chen Jingzong said in her ear.
Huayang felt hot all over, and he grabbed his hand and said, "Are you going into the mountains tomorrow? If so, go to bed early."
Chen Jingzong: "If you really wanted me to go to bed early, you shouldn't have asked me to come over."
Huayang: …
No matter what he did, Huayang tried to talk to him: "What are Ling Shuai's plans for tomorrow?"
Chen Jingzong mentioned it absentmindedly. Noticing that she was stiff for a moment, Chen Jingzong kissed her and said, "Don't worry, the rebels will definitely not be able to escape this time. We will go to Heilongtan to intercept them, and we will not be in danger."
Hua Yang held his hand and said with a trembling voice: "Do you know why I insisted on asking you to come here tonight?"
Chen Jingzong supported the bed with one hand, and kept the other hand still, looking at her eyes that were shining in the dark: "Why?"
Hua Yang also looked at him and whispered, "In addition to celebrating your birthday, more importantly, your old lady came to me in a dream last night. In the dream, you were going to Black Dragon Pond as Ling Shuai arranged, but in a place called Baiheling, you encountered an ambush by the rebels..."
When she said this, there was a hint of choking in her voice.
Chen Jingzong seemed unaware: "Something happened to me?"
Huayang: "Well, I saw you lying in a pool of blood, and the people you brought with you also met with disaster."
There was something obviously wrong with her breathing. Chen Jingzong touched her face. It was wet, and the tears were flowing like rain, continuously.
Chen Jingzong picked her up, he sat down and she rested her head on his arm.
He used his sleeves to wipe her tears, and both sides of his sleeves were wet. She was still crying.
Chen Jingzong coaxed, "It's just a dream, it's not real."
Huayang didn't like his tone: "How can it not be true? Have you forgotten the flood in your hometown and the account book in your second aunt's hand? Do you dare to say that your old lady is not effective?"
Chen Jingzong: "Okay, okay, she is smart, she is smarter than gods."
Huayang: "So how are you going to deal with it tomorrow? In my dream, the reinforcements arrived too late and didn't make it in time."
Chen Jingzong thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know how many people are ambushed in Baiheling?"
Huayang: "I can't see clearly. The old lady said that they had 10,000 people, 3,000 of them were lying in ambush on the cliffs on both sides and shooting arrows, and 7,000 were intercepting and killing at both ends."
Chen Jingzong: "That's easy. I'll arrange 10,000 more people. We'll pretend to be trapped in the front, and those 10,000 people will be the ones to take advantage."
Huayang: "Where did you get those ten thousand people?"
Chen Jingzong: "We have four guards on the right flank. After we set out, I asked two of them to follow me. We are close friends, and with your relationship, they will definitely listen to me. If they don't listen, I can shamelessly follow one of the guards and avoid the Baiheling section. It will still be safe."
Huayang still felt unsettled.
Chen Jingzong: "Don't worry, I believe the old lady and will not take my life lightly."
Huayang wanted to say something else, but Chen Jingzong kissed him forcefully.
In the end, Huayang was exhausted to sleep by him, but even after falling asleep, she still leaned tightly in Chen Jingzong's arms. Whenever Chen Jingzong tried to move away, she immediately moved over.
Chen Jingzong smiled and touched her messy hair.
After two months of guessing, he had guessed all the good-looking and influential people in the military camp. Now that the war was about to end, Chen Jingzong almost thought that he was thinking too much and had wronged her.
She didn't expect that the person who made her follow the army for so long was actually him!
It’s a pity that there was no light, so I couldn’t see her tearful eyes.
After feeling regretful, Chen Jingzong looked at the dark ceiling of the tent.
White River Ridge
There were eight garrisons in total, and Daxing Zuowei took a road that was close to the outskirts of Wuduo Mountain. How come the rebels happened to ambush on the road that he had to take
The next day, it was still pitch dark outside and Chen Jingzong had to get up and sneak back to his tent.
But just as he tried to get his arm out of Huayang's arms, Huayang woke up.
Chen Jingzong explained: "I should go now."
Hua Yang quickly regained his composure and hugged his arms again: "Do you remember everything I told you last night?"
Chen Jingzong knew that she cared a lot, so he said seriously: "Remember, I will come back safe and sound, and I will never let you be a widow for me."
Although his tone was very serious, Huayang still felt that he was teasing her.
Huayang interrogated him again, making sure that he remembered the location of Baiheling, as well as the position and number of the ambush troops, before he slowly let go of his hand.
Chen Jingzong went to rinse his mouth, and when he came back, he lifted her into his arms and kissed her fiercely.
When Huayang could no longer stand, Chen Jingzong held her burning face and said, "If I come back with merit, will you make an exception for me?"
Huayang didn't say anything.
Chen Jingzong: "If you agree to my request, I will break my leg..."
Huayang covered his mouth with his hand.
She doesn't need him to break his legs, as long as he comes back safe and sound, she will give it to him as many times as she wants.
(End of this chapter)