"My lord is back?"
Bai Su did not hide her joy at all.
But I still remember that there was a nominal princess next to me.
She said, "I will not disturb Your Highness's sleep. Please follow the doctor's advice and take care of your baby."
Wang Ji stopped her and said, "General Bai, wait a minute."
"Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?" Bai Su's heart had already flown out of the carriage, and even her voice sounded perfunctory.
Wang Ji heard the displeasure in her words, pursed her lips, and said timidly: "Mr. Shen's safe return is a great joy. I want to go with General Bai to congratulate..."
Bai Su rejected the proposal without thinking.
Wang Ji herself couldn't see it, but she saw it clearly. The former's face was extremely pale and she looked like she could faint at any time. She was also a pregnant woman who had been frightened all night, so she should take some rest if she could.
“This is inappropriate.”
Her Royal Highness Princess did not insist.
Bai Su was allowed to go, and she almost jumped off the carriage, trying to suppress her inner excitement. Because of what happened last night, her heart was hanging for most of the night, and she wanted to rush back desperately several times. But she couldn't do that, and Gu Wangchao wouldn't let her.
Now that she heard that her lord had returned safely, how could she be truly reassured unless she saw with her own eyes that he was safe and sound
Bai Su rode over on horseback.
Unfortunately, it is still a little slow.
Xian Yujian and others arrived before her.
The first to arrive was Gu Wangchao.
Although he was so decisive and seemed very relieved when he was ordered to retreat last night, he was actually very anxious and almost crouched at the end of the team. As soon as the lord and his men appeared, he would be the first to see them. Then -
He saw it. He saw it.
But he saw his lord and Jiang Sheng riding on the same horse.
Gu Chi: “…”
Shen Tang saw from a distance that Gu Wangchao was standing in the wind with his hands in his sleeves. One hand was holding the reins, and the other was waving at Gu Chi, laughing loudly. The motorcycle under his crotch seemed to sense her joy and quickened its pace.
The sound of hooves approached and stopped not far from Gu Chi.
“Ouch—”
Shen Tang tightened the reins and the motorcycle immediately "brakes".
"…Wangchao is so worried about me that he's waiting here so early in the morning?" Shen Tang jumped off the motorcycle, trotted forward, and asked with a smile, "Did the retreat go smoothly? No one should have seen us, right?"
Gu Chi's gaze fell on Jiang Sheng who was walking forward holding the reins of the motorcycle, and quickly shifted his gaze back.
He replied: "Everything is going well, my lord."
Shen Tang put one hand on his waist and raised his thumb with the other.
With a proud attitude of "Wang Po selling melons, boasting about herself", he said, "An expert can tell the quality of a product with just one move! That idiot Su Shiyilu was fooled around. At this moment, he must be moved by my heroic act of 'sacrificing myself to save others'."
Of course, Jiang Sheng’s secret “masterstroke” was also indispensable, which successfully frightened Su Shiyilu.
Otherwise, if Su Shiyilu stayed and "fought side by side", it would be difficult for Shen Tang and the others to escape. She couldn't fake her death in front of Su Shiyilu, the old fox, because she probably couldn't fool him. The current situation was perfect!
Although Gu Chi couldn't imagine that scene, from the chattering of his master, he could see that—
That scene should be very joyful.
He said, "That's great. My lord has been tired all night, so I'll have the cook make some hot porridge to warm your stomach."
Not long after he finished speaking, Xian Yujian and others also heard the news and rushed over. Seeing that the lord was in good spirits, they knew that he was fine. Bai Su couldn't restrain herself, her eyes quickly turned red, and she almost cried for joy. This made Shen Tang feel embarrassed.
Whether intentionally or not, Gu Chi did not seem to notice Jiang Sheng. Only Xian Yujian and a few others who did not know the situation went to ask about the military advisor. Jiang Sheng waved his hands repeatedly, smiling, and looked at Gu Chi with a subtle look.
His colleagues...
Each one is quite annoying.
Everyone was temporarily stationed here, and the cook had already started cooking. Not long after Shen Tang and the others sat down, they were served with cooked meat porridge and dry food. When he smelled the aroma of the food, Shen Tang realized that he was already starving.
One person finished two full buckets.
"Huh - I'm full." The feeling of fullness after a night of running around made her feel happy. Compared to her wolfing down the food, Jiang Sheng ate in a very elegant and graceful manner. She put down her bowl and chopsticks, and Jiang Sheng also put them down, taking out a handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of his mouth.
"Where is Her Highness the Princess?"
At this moment, Jiang Sheng just wanted to see the complete defense map of the Ten Wus so that he could determine who the next target would be.
Bai Su replied, "My lord, your highness has been traveling all night and has a miscarriage. She is now resting in the carriage."
Shen Tang: "Then wait for half a day. Our soldiers didn't get enough rest last night, so they should recuperate here first."
Jiang Sheng frowned but said nothing.
According to his meaning, even if he woke Wang Ji up himself, he would have to ask her to hand over the rest of the defense map. However, his master's temper was too rude and unkind to women, so he could wait for a while.
Wang Ji didn't make them wait that long.
After drinking the pregnancy-preserving medicine prepared by the doctor himself, she suddenly remembered something and forced herself to ask someone to find Bai Su.
"Does your Highness have any instructions?"
"General Bai, I have something here. Please give it to Mr. Shen in person." Wang Ji knew very well why Shen Tang sent someone to rescue her. If she didn't hand it over now that she was lucky enough to be alive, she might offend him. It would be better to hand it over before he remembered it, so as to win his favor. As for why she specifically asked Bai Su to hand it over
Naturally, it was this General Bai who saved her life.
It was her intention to give Bai Su the task of using her face to win favor, even though Bai Su might not need it.
Soon after, Bai Su heard the rustling sound of clothes rubbing against each other in the carriage.
After a long time, a pale hand stretched out from behind the curtain. She guessed something, her heart trembled, and she took the silk handkerchiefs with both hands, which still had body temperature and a little bit of powder. Each handkerchief was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the scenery behind it could be clearly seen through the handkerchiefs. It was so thin that it was almost transparent. If they were folded separately, they would be the size and thickness of a fingernail, and it was very easy to hide.
As expected—
Wang Ji explained, "For safety reasons, this item has been sewn to the hem of my nightgown and has never been made by anyone else. It should be intact now. If it is damaged, I can draw a new one for Mr. Shen when I have recovered enough. Please let me know."
"Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness."
Wang Ji smiled bitterly: "I am no longer a highness now. If General Bai doesn't mind, you can call me Shen Zhi."
"Etiquette cannot be abolished." Bai Su did not agree.
She handed over all the handkerchiefs.
After piecing them together, it turned out to be an extremely complete and detailed Ten Crows Defense Map. Gu Chi looked at the map and said, "If this is fake, how much effort must the person who forged it have put into it?"
Even your hair will become bald.
Shen Tang took out the tragic picture that General Chu had given him from his arms and compared it with the pieced-together picture. Not only did they match, but the picture given by Wang Ji was obviously more accurate. This was very interesting.
If Wang Ji really made a one-to-one replica, even the minor corrections on it were from the original, then the person who drew this defense map must have been in the Ten Crows for a long time and was a master of concealment. Otherwise, how could he have such a clear understanding of the intelligence
What made them even more curious was who was the owner of the painting? Given Wang Ji's previous identity and life trajectory, she had no access to such secrets. How did the painting end up in her hands? What was the purpose? Unfortunately, they had no idea, so they could only put it aside for now.
With the map, the combat deployment has a direction.
"We should be here..." Shen Tang stared at the map for a long time but still couldn't understand it, until Jiang Sheng pointed to a place and said, "The nearest tribe is here..."
Shen Tang: "It's a large tribe of more than 4,000 people."
Why pick such a big one right away
Because of the scattered living habits of the Shiwu people, each tribe is of different sizes. Tribes with more than a thousand people are considered small or medium-sized...
Jiang Sheng also has his own considerations.
"If we choose a small tribe of several hundred people, it is easy to alert the enemy." For safety reasons, small tribes like to stay close to each other and spread out more densely. This makes it easier to resist wild beasts, and if they are attacked, they can gather together for warmth and help each other.
If a small tribe is attacked suddenly, if any fish slip through the net, the nearby small tribes will also be attracted.
One's whereabouts will easily be exposed.
on the contrary-
Tribes with strong individual strength are more "independent".
Their tribe alone can occupy the rich natural resources nearby, graze and hunt, and eat alone. No small tribe nearby dares to compete with them for territory and water resources. Even if there is an invasion by foreign enemies, their own strength is enough to deal with it, which is an ideal choice.
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