roccoschili Chapter 233 Reorganization
Chapter 233 Reorganization
Bai Zhi was completely stunned.
What fellow disciples? She and this person are fellow disciples? Impossible. Her martial arts were taught by Chu Yunchuan, and Chu Yunchuan's martial arts were taught by Changfeng. How could they be fellow disciples of a barbarian?
Wait, could this person be...?
The young man grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, whispering in her ear, "Miss Baizhi, I am His Highness's secret guard. I have an important mission to carry out this infiltration. Please tell me, Miss Baizhi, why you are here in place of Wei Lingyan."
It really is!
Before she could even look for him, he delivered himself to her door!
Bai Zhi asked, "You know me? You can recognize me just by your martial arts skills?"
“All of His Highness’s guards know Miss Baizhi. I also know that Miss Baizhi learned martial arts from His Highness. His Highness’s moves are unique, and I would not mistake her.”
Who is Wei Lingyan?
The young man paused for a moment: "You don't know Wei Lingyan? Then why are you here?"
Bai Zhi briefly recounted her tragic experience, then said, "I came here to find the potion to remove your mask. I'll leave once you remove it. Tell me what you have to say now, and I can take it back with me."
After a moment of silence, the young man said, "Wei Lingyan is the one who should have worn your mask."
Bai Zhi felt her mind go blank, staring at the young man in confusion: "I...I've never heard of me being involved in this mission."
"I've never heard of any plans to change personnel." The young man sounded somewhat agitated. "Things were already going poorly, what's with this now?"
Bai Zhi shook her head: "...Never mind what happened for now. Give me some of the medicine, and I'll take off my mask and go back to Ningzhou to ask Lord Kui directly."
To everyone's surprise, the young man said, "Lord Kui strictly ordered that the matter must be accomplished, so he did not provide the medicine to remove the mask."
Bai Zhi was genuinely startled. After a long pause, she asked, "Then what's the method for sending a message back?"
"No, there isn't one."
"...Then I came for nothing?"
“Hmm…” The young man pondered for a long time, then his eyes lit up and he said, “It’s not a wasted trip, Miss Baizhi. Of the three of us who are playing these roles, only you, Aliumo, are trusted by Wushameng and Gezhen the most. In this emergency, you can play Aliumo here.”
Bai Zhi: "..."
She? She's an undercover agent here?
The young man continued, "Don't worry, Miss Baizhi, we won't put you in any danger. As long as you're here, Wushameng won't pay too much attention to us. The other person and I are enough to find the antidote. Just remember, you must never reveal your martial arts skills."
Bai Zhi was torn between her inner thoughts and her own mind.
Finally, she sighed: "...Are you sure I'll be okay here?"
"Miss Baizhi, even if there are problems, this is the only way."
"……Row."
White Tiger Army's garrison.
The day after the imperial army entered the area, scouts reported to Qiao Juchong that the entire barbarian army had returned to camp, and a small detachment had left in the dead of night, showing signs of fatigue. The generals in the tent cheered and urged General Qiao to press on and wipe out the barbarians without leaving a single survivor.
Qiao Juchong, however, kept a straight face and refused outright: "We haven't developed an antidote for the strange poison yet, and with the army entering the camp and the rear unstable, we should take this opportunity to rest and recuperate."
As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Yunchuan. The Prince Jing showed no sign of urgency, and was busy pouring tea for himself, a dark cup of something that was unclear what it was.
General Xia cupped his fists and asked, "General Qiao is right. The barbarians' sudden retreat must be suspicious. They probably want to lure us into attacking so that we can be infected with some strange poison again."
General Hong said in a gruff voice, "What's the point of fighting if we're afraid of everything? Now that the imperial army has arrived, let's not worry about any poisons or poisons, just charge in!"
General Zheng scoffed, "It's because the military governor, Lord Lu, is weak. He fell ill as soon as he arrived at his post and didn't even show up at yesterday's welcome banquet."
The generals shared their opinions for a while, and finally dispersed with the conclusion that "the army should take a temporary rest."
Only Qiao Juchong and Chu Yunchuan remained inside.
Qiao Juchong asked directly, "Your Highness, you've locked up Lord Lu, haven't you?"
Chu Yunchuan, still holding the cup of radish tea, frankly admitted, "Yes, he refused to listen to my advice, so I placed him under house arrest in the tent."
"That was an imperial envoy, a military commander appointed by the emperor himself."
Qiao Juchong's tone was calm, without any questioning intent, but rather more like a reminder.
Chu Yunchuan put down his teacup and looked over with a smile: "General Qiao, it's not surprising that Lord Lu, a civil official, has been traveling such a long way and is suffering from the fatigue of the journey and the change in environment. In my opinion, he should be able to recover after resting for three or five days."
Qiao Juchong stared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
Meanwhile, Lord Lu, suffering from acclimatization issues, was anxiously waiting in his tent.
He was unaware that the fighting had ceased outside. He had come with a large army to provide assistance, but now, facing a formidable enemy, he was forced to remain inactive. However, he could not disobey the imperial decree. Chu Yunchuan had put him in a difficult position.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the tent. Lu Jiliang's heart skipped a beat, and he hurried to the tent entrance, peeking through the curtain a crack. His tent was too secluded; he could only barely see the crowd of people in the distance.
When the guards saw Lu Jiliang peek out, they held out a silver spear: "It's dangerous outside, please stay inside, Lord Lu."
Lu Jiliang stepped back an inch and asked, forcing a smile, "What happened outside?"
The guards didn't answer a word, only repeating that Lu Jiliang should go back.
Even if Lu Jiliang was unwilling, he could only return to his tent.
Half an hour later, Lu Jiliang called out from inside, "Go and invite Prince Jing over!"
That night, Chu Yunchuan and Lu Jiliang had a private conversation in their tent. The next day, the imperial army was divided into two hundred groups and incorporated into the White Tiger Army and the garrison of Qizhou, collectively known as the Yanxi Army. Lu Jiliang was appointed as the commander-in-chief, Qi Zhenyue as the general commander, and Qiao Juchong and Zhu Daoxian as the deputy commanders.
Now that there is a ceasefire, we have time to conduct drills.
Three days later, a scout brought a barbarian to the king's tent and reported to Chu Yunchuan: "Your Highness, this man says he is an envoy of Salam and has a letter to deliver to you personally."
Lu Jiliang, who was sitting next to him, immediately leaned forward and asked the barbarian, "Have you asked for peace?"
Ever since the army was reorganized, Lu Jiliang kept a close eye on Chu Yunchuan whenever he had free time, fearing that the tyrannical Prince Jing might actually do something to the army. Chu Yunchuan let him keep an eye on him; after all, they had already talked things out, so there was no need to hide it.
The barbarian envoy took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to a soldier beside him. Speaking fluent Yan dialect, he said, "Our leader cannot bear to see bloodshed, so he wants to negotiate peace with King Jing of Yan. The leader has written down some terms for the peace talks and hopes that King Jing of Yan will take a look."
Chu Yunchuan took the letter from the soldier and unfolded it to read it carefully. It contained a lengthy account of the events leading up to his disguise as Gu Yanqian at the Gu residence. He wasn't particularly surprised, as if he had expected it, and continued reading. Wu Shameng used this as leverage, proposing three conditions: that the Great Yan give up the three cities of Ningzhou, Enzhou, and Linzhou, agree to a permanent ceasefire, and allow perpetual trade.