Half a year later, Jiang Wenyue's health had finally recovered a little, but her face became paler, her body became weaker, and she looked so frail that she was unable to even wear clothes, which made her look even more pitiful.
Unfortunately, the only man who could appreciate her delicate beauty was far away.
Cui Anhua, who was far away, looked extremely unhappy. He frowned and asked his subordinates, "Has the military supplies from Beijing not been delivered yet? It's almost December now. If they don't come, the soldiers won't be able to hold out for much longer."
The subordinate replied cautiously, "Not yet. I sent people to go more than 20 kilometers to meet the military supply delivery team, but we have been waiting for several days and have not seen any team."
"It's so hateful! What are those people in Beijing doing? Don't they know that we are dealing with those brutal bandits in Beirong? If the military supplies are delayed for one day, our soldiers will suffer one more day! Aren't there much food left?" Cui Anhua was so angry that he wanted to go back to Beijing to drag out those officials and staff who were just sitting in their positions and holding back on delivering military supplies, so that they could deal with the Beirong people themselves.
"There is still some food, but it can only last for five days at most. If the military supplies don't come, the soldiers will be so hungry that they can't even lift their spears... How about you send someone to urge them?" The subordinate beside him suggested, and then muttered in confusion, "This is really strange. In previous years, the capital has never delayed our military supplies. Why is it delayed for so long this year? Did something happen in the court, and someone did this on purpose?"
The subordinate spoke casually, but Cui Anhua felt as if he had received a Bodhi initiation when he heard it. He suddenly remembered that his former brother-in-law, Liu Shichu's elder brother Liu Jian, was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was in charge of the court's finances. Military supplies required money. In the past, his Western Expedition Army had never lacked money and food, and the military supplies sent by the court had never been delayed. He was much happier than other troops stationed on the border.
You know, many of the supplies received by other border troops were delayed, and there were even deductions and shortages. However, since there was no one in the court, they had no way to report it even if they wanted to, and could only swallow their anger. Under such circumstances, Cui Anhua, who never had to worry about military supplies, was envied by his colleagues.
But now, the envy of him and his partner in previous years was gone, because Liu Jian was no longer his brother-in-law, so it was naturally impossible for him to show favoritism for him.
In the past years when Liu Shichu was still the mistress of the Cui family, Liu Jian was very kind to Cui Anhua. Every time military supplies were dispatched, his Western Expedition Army was always ranked first, and there was never a shortage of supplies or any withholding, allowing him to deal with the Rong people without any worries. That was why he was able to live so comfortably in Liangzhou.
Now that he was no longer Liu Jian's brother-in-law, Liu Jian would naturally not give him any convenience anymore. So his Western Expedition Army had to wait in line like other frontier armies for arrangements by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. This arrangement began to delay time, and supplies were unknowingly reduced.
Without Liu Jian's cares and efforts, Cui Anhua could only endure it obediently. In fact, Liu Jian did not take advantage of his misfortune or deliberately play tricks in the military supplies sent to him, which already showed that Liu Jian was broad-minded and had high moral standards.
Cui Anhua obviously also remembered Liu Jian's role in this, but he and Liu Shichu had already divorced. It would be fine if Liu Jian didn't take revenge on him, but how could he possibly do something convenient for him
Cui Anhua didn't know what to feel at this moment. He was used to such convenience in the past and didn't think it was a big deal. He also thought that everything went smoothly in the army because of his ability. But now his privileged treatment was gone. Thousands of soldiers were starving, waiting for rations and cotton-padded jackets. He was so anxious that his hair turned white, but he could only worry.
"I'll send some more people to urge them to save some food and cook it first, because we don't know when the military supplies will arrive. If they don't arrive after five days, it will be bad if the soldiers run out of food." Cui Anhua grabbed his hair and said to his subordinates anxiously.
After his men left, Cui Anhua immediately sat down to write an urgent letter back to the capital. He had no idea when the military supplies would arrive, and he was unsure about it, so he lacked the confidence to do anything. But in his memory, the Rong people's bandit army would soon begin to invade the villages near the border, burning, killing, looting, and doing all kinds of evil, like locusts. Wherever they passed, not a single grain of food would be left.
In Cui Anhua's previous life, because military supplies arrived on time, the soldiers were well fed and warmly clothed, and full of energy. They were also very motivated when facing the Rong people, and it didn't take long to drive the Rong people away, so the civilians did not suffer much loss.
But this time, the food was almost gone, the cotton-padded jackets had not been delivered yet, and the soldiers were starving and cold. Could they still fight against the ferocious Rong people
Cui Anhua seemed to be able to foresee the tragic scene of his team being defeated.
Now his official position and even his life might be affected, and he began to feel some regret in his heart. He insisted on divorcing Liu Shichu and marrying Jiang Wenyue. Was he wrong? He could have chosen not to divorce Liu Shichu and take Jiang Wenyue as his ghost concubine.
Liu Shichu is a virtuous and generous mistress who is not harsh on concubines. Even if Jiang Wenyue becomes his concubine, Liu Shichu will be able to accept it, and he can be with his beloved woman. Isn't this the best of both worlds...
So why did he insist on marrying Jiang Wenyue as his wife
At this time, Cui Anhua began to doubt whether it was because he had just been reborn and his mind was not clear yet, so he impulsively abandoned Liu Shichu and married Jiang Wenyue.
He did feel a little regretful. Liu Shichu was qualified as a mistress. She could not only support a family for him, but also let her elder brother help her in officialdom. However, Jiang Wenyue had a bad relationship with her family and could not help him in his career at all. He was indeed inconsiderate, otherwise he would not have to face the problem of shortage of military supplies now.
Now he has completely forgotten the deep affection he had for Jiang Wenyue when he was reborn. At the beginning, he only thought about not letting the woman he loved suffer any injustice, so he must marry her as his legal wife and protect her under his wings from now on...
But when he encountered the slightest difficulty, he backed down and regretted it. It can be seen that his "love" for Jiang Wenyue was ultimately no match for his own interests.
Fortunately, the imperial court was not so unreliable. Just when Cui Anhua was so anxious that he pulled out most of his hair, the military supplies finally arrived, just before the Rong people and bandit troops invaded the border.
When Cui Anhua saw the team transporting supplies, he was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. The big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
In this tense and anxious situation, he completely forgot that Jiang Wenyue had passed her due date and must have given birth to his child. Therefore, he certainly forgot to write back to show his concern for her and ask her whether she gave birth to a son or a daughter.
Jiang Wenyue was already extremely weak from having given birth to three children, and she hadn't received any caring letters from her husband for a long time. She felt wronged and sad, and couldn't rest and recuperate.