Harem Daily Life

As Tao Yanyan's due date drew closer, He Linzhang was busy with the affairs of the previous dynasty while worrying about Tao Yanyan. Coupled with the cold weather, he eventually fell ill.

He Linzhang was very upset about catching a cold at this critical moment. In order to prevent the children and Tao Yanyan from getting sick, he locked himself in the Qinzheng Hall for five days without seeing them.

However, news from Changle Palace was delivered twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, reporting everything in detail, including what Queen Tao had eaten that day, whether she enjoyed the food, and whether she felt unwell.

Even if He Linzhang couldn't see anyone, the news would still spread smoothly.

In Changle Palace, Imperial Physician Liu checked Tao Yanyan's pulse, his brows solemn, "Your Majesty, the fetus has entered the pelvis and may be born at any time. Please don't go anywhere for the time being. Be sure to watch your step and don't slip."

Tao Yanyan naturally knew that her current range of activities was limited to indoors and she would not set foot in the snow.

Except for Jin'an who went to school, all the children ran to the yard to play happily. The two twins, a boy and a girl, wore the onesies designed by Tao Yanyan, with only their eyes exposed and the rest of their bodies wrapped tightly. They were like two chubby little penguins, falling and getting up in the snow, climbing up and falling down again. They were so adorable.

"I don't know what's going on at the border. It's snowing so heavily. The army must be having a hard time fighting this battle." Tao Yanyan whispered as he looked at the sky where snow was still falling.

Mingyue put a cloak on her, the edge of which was made of the finest red fox fur. It looked bright red, noble and warm.

"I heard from Chief Steward Li that another batch of grain was shipped out of the capital two days ago. I guess the war will continue."

The war on the border was in a stalemate due to the blizzard.

Fortunately, the food and fodder sent by the imperial court were sufficient, so the soldiers of the Great Zhou did not starve to death.

Gu Yi wrote a military report and a letter home, along with two fox skins, and asked the messenger to deliver them to the capital before the New Year. The messenger, watching the heavy snow falling like goose feathers outside, gritted his teeth and issued a military order: "General, rest assured, even if I have to crawl, I will deliver this letter before the New Year."

Winter clothes sent by the court are being distributed outside. These years are unlike previous years. In previous years, Your Majesty had just ascended the throne and the national treasury could not save any money due to civil unrest, so the number of winter clothes each year was pitifully small and only a small number of people could receive them.

In recent years, the national treasury has become increasingly abundant. Not only are military salaries no longer in arrears, but food and fodder are also supplied continuously. Even winter clothes can be delivered in time, saving soldiers from freezing to death or starving to death in the barracks.

Gu Yi had previously received an imperial order recommending that officers and soldiers cultivate the land. He assigned a group of older soldiers, those who were more vulnerable to battle, or those with disabilities, to work on the land, raising pigs, and chickens. After more than two months, things had improved somewhat. While growing grain was difficult and took time, planting vegetables and raising chickens and pigs was quite effective.

The food in the military camp improved, the soldiers' fighting morale increased greatly, and they were ready to fight against the State of Yan for a long time.

A soldier came in with a set of thick winter clothes and handed it to Gu Yi: "General Gu, this is your winter clothes. This winter clothes are particularly good. The fabric is much thicker than before. It is durable and not easy to wear out."

Gu Yi took the winter coat and rubbed it, and found that it was indeed made of thicker fabric. He was very satisfied and asked a few more questions about the distribution. After learning that the quantity was sufficient and everyone could get one, he felt at ease to put on the new clothes and changed out of the blood-stained cotton jacket that he had been wearing for more than a month.

"I'll wash it for you and put it next to the fire to dry in a few days." The soldier collected the clothes that Gu Yi had changed and carried them out.

At this time, General Duan came in, blew on his hands to warm them, and said in a loud voice: "Nephew Gu, come on, let's discuss the follow-up battle plan."

Not long after, several other deputy generals who had changed into new winter clothes came into Gu Yi's tent one after another and stood in front of the map to discuss.

"If you ask me, we should just launch a surprise attack, take advantage of the snow and storm the Yan army camp, capture their commander, and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"But the roads were slippery in the snow, and the soldiers couldn't handle it, and neither could the horses."

"They are running low on food and fodder. The mountains are blocked by heavy snow, and food can't be transported here. Perhaps they will starve to death without us even having to send troops."

"But dragging it on like this is not a solution. It's freezing cold, and our soldiers can't stand it. Besides, they have no food, but they have a mountain to rely on. They might be able to find prey in the mountains at any time, so they won't starve to death."

When mentioning mountains, Gu Yi's eyes darkened and he looked towards Yanyun Mountain.

After Ningyuan Hou left Beijing, he wrote to him regularly. The most recent letter mentioned Yanyun Mountain. In the letter, he told Gu Yi that it would be best to fight quickly and decisively, advance the army for dozens of miles, and occupy Yanyun Mountain.

Ningyuan Hou wouldn't mention a mountain for no reason, so what was the importance of Yanyun Mountain that made him mention it specifically?

Looking at the position of the Yan army, Gu Yi narrowed his eyes and said, "I have an idea. Why don't I take a group of people to go around the mountain and get behind the Yan army. We can encircle them from the front and back and kill them together with our combined strength."

General Duan frowned, observing for a moment before saying, "General Gu's idea is good. Block their retreat from behind and then attack them head-on. But the mountain path is slippery. Can we really make it up?"

Gu Yi's eyes were firm: "We have to give it a try to see if it works."

Li Ping, the deputy general, said: "General, I will lead the troops there. You are the commander-in-chief of the army and cannot take any risks."

Several lieutenants argued endlessly, but Gu Yi finally suppressed their quarrel and said, "I'm the youngest and have better physical strength, so I'll lead the troops. General Duan will take charge of all military affairs. Let's agree on a three-day deadline. When I give the signal, raise the smoke signals and send the troops out quickly."

General Duan had no choice but to pat Gu Yi's arm: "Be careful on your journey and bring enough dry food. The decisive battle will be in three days!"

Gu Yi did not delay. He selected five hundred elite soldiers that day, brought food and entered the mountains overnight.

Because of the snow, the night was completely white and not too dark. However, the mountain road was indeed more slippery than the flat ground, and these hundreds of people suffered a lot.

The snow soaked my clothes, and my hair was damp with moisture, sticking to my scalp. Sweat mixed with moisture flowed down my cheeks, making me look extremely miserable.

Hundreds of people walked silently through the mountains and forests, taking one step deep and one step shallow.

General Duan was also ready to go and ordered the cooks to slaughter pigs, sheep and stew chickens so that the army could have three days of good meals.

Only when you have a full meal can you have the strength to fight the enemy.

On the afternoon of the third day, the sentry on the beacon tower saw red smoke rising from the direction of the Yan army’s camp, then yellow smoke, and then green smoke, and finally sounded the war drum for the advance.

General Duan gave an order and left only 3,000 men to garrison the camp, and then led tens of thousands of troops straight to the Yan army camp.

Whether the war that has dragged on for nearly half a year can be ended in one fell swoop depends entirely on this battle.