Chapter 64: Defense
Editor: Atlas Studios
This was the first time Little Bowen had seen his two cousins. Since Ma Xiulan was about the same age as him, as soon as they arrived, he followed behind Ma Xiulan.
Mu Yangling let the three children stay in the kitchen while she went into the house to find her old clothes and boots.
Mu Yangling grew up quickly and had to replace her clothes almost every year. Other than the most difficult years where she had to recycle her clothes, Mu Shi and Shu Wanniang were unwilling to let the two children suffer. Shu Wanniang made two sets of new cotton clothes for the kids every year and kept most of their old clothes.
Ma Xiuhong and Ma Xiulan were much smaller than Mu Yangling, so they could wear her clothes from a few years ago, as well as her old boots.
Mu Yangling found three to four sets of clothes for them and said, “Go take a shower and change into them first. I’ll make some hot food for you.”
Holding the clothes, Ma Xiuhong’s eyes reddened as she muttered, “Thank you, Cousin.”
Mu Yangling only smiled.
On the other side, Madam Ma-Liu had already changed her clothes and was sitting in the room talking to Shu Wanniang.
In just half a day, the three of them settled down in the Mu family. Since Shu Wanniang was about to give birth, with Madam Ma-Liu around, she and Mu Shi felt much more at ease.
The entire Mingshui County was caught in the midst of a snow disaster, and people kept freezing to death. Merely five days later, Mu Shi brought Mu Yangling to town to resume delivery of the goods. Along the way, they saw people holding funerals.
“Father, won’t it be even colder in winter? Won’t more people die then?”
Mu Shi remained silent. He didn’t have much time to worry about others. What he worried about was his wife and the baby in her stomach.
In such freezing weather, it was easy for newborns to die prematurely. In addition, considering Shu Wanniang’s health had always been poor, Mu Shi was extremely worried about giving birth in such cold weather.
Meanwhile, in the West Camp, Qi Xiuyuan and the others had another worry.
“It’s been snowing for two consecutive days. The snow outside is already as thick as a finger.” Qi Xiuyuan said worriedly, “The snow in the north is probably even heavier.”
Jiang Ze didn’t understand. “General, what does the disaster in the north have to do with us? Anyway, that area is occupied by the Hus.”
Qi Xiuyuan picked up the book on the desk and hit him on the head. “That’s still land that belongs to Great Zhou. Even if it’s occupied by the Hus now, the people there are still the Great Zhou’s citizens. I don’t want to hear these words again.”
Rong Xuan also said, “Besides, if the disaster in the north is serious, I’m afraid the situation on the prairie is even more serious. If they don’t have enough food, I’m afraid they’ll invade the south. Should that happen, Xingyuan Prefecture will bear the brunt.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Qi Xiuyuan said, “If the Hus go south, our West Camp will definitely be the vanguard. However, the defense line around Chef Mountain in the east is too long. I’m afraid we won’t be able to handle it.”
Looking at his capable subordinate, Qi Xiuyuan said, “Therefore, I want to redesign the patrol route. Even if we can’t immediately stop the Hus coming south, we have to send the news as soon as possible so that we can send reinforcement as quickly as possible.”
“But we need the approval of the emissary to reorganize it.” Rong Xuan did not think that this matter could be accomplished so easily, so he said, “General, if we’re changing our defense tactics to prevent the barbarians from attacking from Chef Mountain, it’s too late to apply now.”
“That’s why I’ve decided to act first and report later. A general in the field is not bound by the orders from his sovereign. Rong Xuan, draft a document immediately and report the change in defense in detail. I’ll set up the defense on my side.”
Jiang Ze immediately requested, “General, let me lead the team.”
However, Rong Xuan disagreed with Qi Xiuyuan overstepping his boundaries. “General, if the emissary uses this as a reason to punish you…”
Qi Xiuyuan snorted. “He wouldn’t dare.” Qi Xiuyuan said confidently, “Who else can he put in charge to guard the northwestern region now?”
Enlightened, Rong Xuan smiled, but he felt a little sad. While feeling that Qi Xiuyuan had a strong position, it saddened him to know that there were no other deployable talents in the court. Thinking of the current situation, Rong Xuan felt that his country was not far from destruction.
Emissary Lu of Lizhou Circuit was a civil official and the emperor’s trusted aide. As the emperor had always given in to external forces whenever possible, Qi Xiuyuan and his men did not have a good relationship with the emissary.
Jiang Ze said proudly, “General, let me bring my troops to patrol the area around Chef Mountain. If the Hus dare to come, I’ll make sure they won’t be able to return. I’ll also let the emissary see how we defeat the Hus.”
Rong Xuan glanced at him from the corner of his eye and smiled. “I’m afraid that the emissary doesn’t fear that you’ll lose to the Hus, but that you’ll win against them, right?”
When the simple-minded Jiang Ze heard this, he said with a glare, “Why? Shouldn’t he be happy to see us win the battle?”
Why?
Qi Xiuyuan and Rong Xuan smiled mockingly. This was because winning a battle meant expanding the war. If the Great Zhou lost, they only needed to pay some land, gold, silver, and silk. However, if the Hus lost, they would fly into a rage out of humiliation and launch a large-scale southern attack. The citizens of the Great Zhou would also want to take back their homeland, so the war between the two sides would expand.
The expansion of the war meant that the expenses of the Imperial Court would increase. Having lived extravagantly for more than 20 years, the Great Zhou could no longer afford the war.
Now, the imperial court could only give the soldiers food and rations, but not a single cent of the promised salary. Even Qi Xiuyuan had not received any salary for half a year.
Now, the soldiers of the various armies were thinking of ways to resolve the problem themselves. Qi Xiuyuan’s method was only to collect from the local people and borrow from the rich.
Why did the Yuan Family Army only recognize the Yuan Family but not the current emperor?
That was because the Yuan Family was the one supporting them. Thus, they were called the Yuan Family Army and only recognized the Yuan Family.
The more victories they won, the more military merits they would accumulate, and the more prestige they would have. Naturally, the emperor would be afraid, which was why the Yuan family’s army was so taboo. Four years ago, in the Battle of Reconquisition, the emperor had forcefully summoned them back, leading them to lose the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Therefore, Qi Xiuyuan had to act first and report later because he feared that if he submitted the report now, the emissary would probably ask him to defend the West Camp and not attack back to avoid harming the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
Qi Xiuyuan and Rong Xuan agreed to call everyone over the next day to make arrangements. Puzzled, Mo Xiong asked, “General, north of our Xingyuan Prefecture is the Jingzhao Prefecture. The Jingzhao Prefecture is much richer than ours. Even if the disaster there is more serious than ours, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Considering we’re much poorer than them, we should be the ones to rob them instead.”
“The Jingzhao Prefecture was only prosperous four years ago. As the Hus were not good at planting, after they occupied the farmland, they started planting grass and raising horses there. Over the past four years, the commoners have suffered indescribably. Now that the snow disaster has struck, they’re the ones having the most difficult time. Since the Hus can no longer extract any benefits from there, in order to deal with the snow disaster on the grassland, they must go south to plunder.” Qi Xiuyuan looked at everyone as he said, “Therefore, we have to start the defense as soon as possible. This was why I gathered everyone here today. Since more than half of our Great Zhou’s land has been lost, we can’t afford to lose any more land. Otherwise, we will become eternal sinners.”
As soon as Qi Xiuyuan said this, everyone immediately stood up and cupped their fists. “I’m willing to follow you to guard the country and protect our Great Zhou!”