Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 72 With sword in hand, follow me
In the darkness, countless eyes, like those of starving wolves, stared intently at him.

Qin Kuo, holding the emperor's edict in his hand, knew that if he uttered another word to object, he would be hacked to death and chopped into mincemeat on the spot.

The sky is high and the emperor is far away.

And it was at this time that these people all went mad.

Song Shi'an, what the hell are you trying to do?!
The hand holding the imperial edict slumped heavily, and his head drooped as if his soul had been ripped away.

The next moment, the entire cavalry moved out. Qin Kuo was like a rock protruding from the river, the turbulent waters parted and then converged by him, flowing surging around him.

They bypassed him and all the cavalry and infantry headed toward the main road.

Song Shi'an slowly turned her head, and when she saw him, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Why would he have an imperial edict?

Even Wei Wusheng, the highest-ranking general, was unaware of it.

It was inevitable that these thousand imperial guards would be sent to their deaths in the north, so why did the emperor still need to plant a spy in the army?

Qin Kuo, who is he responsible for monitoring?
Me, who intended to make a name for myself in Northern Liang?
Who am I to deserve the emperor's attention?

So, the emperor was wary of Wei Wusheng.

As for?
Is it simply because he was born with his legs coming out first during a difficult birth?
This is ridiculous!

Song Shi'an had no idea what the emperor was thinking, but the imperial edict that Qin Kuo pulled out at this moment at least proved one thing—the emperor distrusted Wei Wusheng to an extreme degree.

How did you come to have the emperor's edict?

After Qin Kuo remained alone, Zhu Qing asked.

"I don't know." Qin Kuo, who was in a daze, shook his head. Although his mind was not on this and he was still in fear of what had just happened, he still answered instinctively, "It was given to me by the Embroidered Uniform Guard before the expedition. They didn't say anything."

"Didn't say a word?" Zhu Qing frowned, finding this too strange. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

"Why would I lie to you? I'll surely die anyway if I go to the north wind. Why should I become His Majesty's blade?"

Looking up, Qin Kuo directly asked a question.

That's true.

If the emperor assigned him any task, he would definitely have to promise him some benefits. But this trip to Shuofeng is just suicide; what benefits could he possibly gain?
“I guess His Majesty anticipated what would happen, or rather, to prevent it from happening, granted me this privilege.”

Thinking about this, Qin Kuo analyzed his own uniqueness: "Compared to you, I have more to worry about."

Commanding an army is certainly not something just anyone can do.

The Imperial Guard Captain was a fifth-rank official, and the Military Clerk was a fifth-rank official; these two were the highest-ranking officials.

Zhu Qing, on the other hand, was a commoner.

Although his family wasn't exactly a prominent clan, his father was a government official. Because of his official position, and with his own influence as a current official, they had built a family with some prestige in the local area.

The emperor knew he had a weakness and wouldn't dare to rebel.

"There's no other way," Zhu Qing said helplessly, looking at him. "Going back now will only lead to certain death."

"That Song Shi'an, really!" Qin Kuo said angrily, clenching his fist.

"Yes, Your Highness. Song Shi'an just said that this was all Your Highness's order," Zhu Qing reminded him.

If not for any other reason, it's also to fulfill Song Jing's request.

Now that this has happened, only the princes can resist it.

"So what do we do now?" Qin Kuo asked.

Zhu Qing smiled bitterly, walked to the side, and led over the two horses he had just left behind: "Old Qin, come along."

.........

Wuwei is on the verge of falling, and its commander, Han Yuan, is likely dead. Zhao Xiang has been defeated and demoted to a lower rank. The current governor and commander-in-chief are both facing demotion due to the loss of Tongmen Pass and are currently awaiting replacement by the court. Therefore, Luo Ting is arguably the most powerful person in Liangzhou at present.

He was the prefect and garrison commander of Cangwu, and also controlled a navy of dozens of large ships.

This was also a consideration when they took him out of power.

However, it seems there are some problems at present.

The navy outside Langya City only constitutes a portion of the Liangzhou navy. The rest are further upstream.

Currently, there are a total of 55 ships.

There were 32 large ships, 11 medium-sized ships, and 12 small ships.

Although it could be transported in two trips, Wei Wusheng did not have enough time to make two trips.

Because once daybreak, news of the mutiny will spread throughout Liangzhou. The reinforcements will quickly take control of Langya City. If they dare to bring the ships back for another round of evacuation then, they're truly insane.

It's impossible to abandon these four thousand soldiers for the sake of goods; that would be putting the cart before the horse. But since all the soldiers are on board, some choices must be made regarding the baggage.

Just as Wei Wusheng was pondering, the soldiers on the riverbank suddenly went on high alert.

The archers reacted instantly, drawing their bows and crossbows from their backs, arrows poised to be released. "Your Highness, an army is approaching from the east!"

Wei Wusheng immediately spurred his horse forward, following the direction the army was coming from, his vigilance heightened.

Only when a cavalryman on the other side, illuminated by torches held by his cavalrymen, vigorously waved the 'Wei' character flag did he finally relax and reveal a relaxed smile: "Lift off guard, they are friendly forces of my Great Yu."

If word gets out and someone brings in troops from elsewhere to try and suppress the rebellion, then we'll be in trouble.

Although the garrison that could come from the vicinity would only number a hundred or so at most.

But Wei Wusheng really didn't want to do things that involved killing each other.

"Your Highness, I have arrived."

Song Shi'an rode his horse and quickly arrived.

The heads of their horses intertwined, and their hooves pounded in place.

"Did they all come along?" Wei Wusheng asked, looking behind him.

“All the Imperial Guards have become Your Highness’s loyal warriors,” Song Shi’an said with a resolute look in his eyes.

"Good!" Wei Wusheng was thrilled to finally have his own core team. "Where are Lieutenant Zhu and Chief Clerk Qin?"

“Although they opposed the mutiny, they probably came along too,” Song Shi’an guessed.

What can we do if they don't come?

Going back like this will only hasten your death.

It's better to gamble on one possibility—that Shuofeng held out, and afterwards, the Sixth Prince took all the blame.

"Your Highness! A cavalry force has fled westward!"

Suddenly, a military officer from the Langya army came to report.

Wei Wusheng frowned and asked, "How many people?"

Xin Yue also looked over nervously, ready to give chase at any moment.

"There are about a dozen of them..." the military commander asked. "Should we give chase?"

"They must have taken advantage of the moment when we arrived, the transport was halted, and the entire army was on high alert, to escape," Song Shi'an said.

"It might be one of the officers who came to question me earlier," Wei Wusheng guessed.

“Then we’ll go report it.” After a moment’s thought, Song Shi’an said, “Forget it, it’ll just mean we’ll be exposed a few hours earlier.”

"Then don't care."

Wei Wusheng waved his hand, not taking it too seriously, and then asked, "There are fewer ships than expected, but more supplies than anticipated. We may have to make some choices."

Without hesitation, Song Shi'an said, "Weapons come first, especially arrows. Then, clothing."

"Are clothes more important than provisions?" Wei Wusheng asked.

"Our ultimate goal is to hold out until winter. Now that the army has been increased so much, and the north is cold, we can't let the soldiers freeze to death."

After hesitating for a moment, Song Shi'an said, "If we can't finish transporting all the grain, then let's just leave it at that. If we really don't have enough, we'll figure out a solution later."

"it is good."

With Song Shi'an considering his needs, Wei Wusheng was no longer angry and directly ordered: "Stop transporting grain and fodder onto the ships now. Prioritize arrows and weapons, then clothing... and gauze and herbs."

“Yes, yes, yes.” Song Shi’an nodded quickly, agreeing with Wei Wusheng’s addition.

Thus, after Song Shi'an's army arrived and joined the transport, all the herbal medicines and gauze, 80% of the military equipment, 70% of the clothing, and 50% of the grain were loaded onto all the ships at the crack of dawn.

After leaving twenty men to guard the remaining supplies until Luo Ting woke up and they could return to Langya City without any losses, all the soldiers boarded the ship.

"I'll stay behind to prevent any ships from turning back. You go to the lead ship."

Before boarding the ship, Wei Wusheng made this decision.

"it is good."

Song Shi'an agreed, and the two parted ways on horseback.

Xin Yue naturally followed Song Shi'an, but suddenly, her pupils dilated, she reined in the horse, and immediately turned the horse around.

Song Shi'an also noticed this scene.

At this moment, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Until Wei Wusheng seemed to suddenly remember something, he smiled and said, "By the way, the lead ship is of utmost importance, in case something goes wrong, Xinyue, you go and assist Shi'an."

"……Yes."

Xin Yue lowered her head to respond to the other party's command, but her hands were still trembling with nervousness.

(End of this chapter)