Harem Daily Life

In the State of Yan, seeing that the city of Wuya was about to fall, the King of Northern Yan, Feng Chenmu, killed two generals in a row, and everyone in the court felt insecure for a while.

"What? Is it possible that our Yan State has no generals who can lead the troops to war?"

He scanned the ministers with his sharp eyes and saw the frightened expressions on their faces. He was so angry that he almost wanted to chop off all these useless things.

"Very good, very good. Then I will personally lead the army."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Minister of War stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the morale of the Great Zhou is high, the troops are strong, and the food and fodder are abundant. I think we should not engage in a head-on confrontation. How about... sending another princess to negotiate peace?"

The Prince of Northern Yan glanced sharply at the Minister of War's face. "The Princess Qinghe we sent over died of an unexplained illness. You still want me to send another princess? Don't you think I have any dignity?"

The Minister of War suppressed his fear and continued, "But Your Majesty, if we don't negotiate peace, our food and fodder supply will be almost exhausted!"

In fact, one of the most important reasons for the Yan army’s previous defeat was the lack of food.

It was originally thought that a single battle between the Great Zhou and the Xia Kingdom would deplete the Great Zhou's strength, and that Yan could then provoke a further war against the Great Zhou to take a piece of the pie. However, the Great Zhou's calm response to the battle delayed the Yan Kingdom for over half a year, severely damaging Yan's national strength. Furthermore, due to the freezing weather and shortage of food and fodder, Yan was ultimately defeated. Despite the defeat, the Great Zhou refused to withdraw its troops and continued its assault on Yan's Wuya City.

With sufficient food and grass, Wuya City could have held out for three months, but now that there is not enough food and grass, it may not even last for twenty days.

Unable to feed their own soldiers, some died and some were injured. They were no match for the Great Zhou.

"Where does the Great Zhou get its food from? According to intelligence, aren't they also short of food?"

Feng Chenmu glanced at them, and the Minister of Revenue stepped out timidly, saying, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Great Zhou army raises livestock locally, and the cooks raise them themselves... They raise many pigs, sheep, and chickens. As for food, I don't know how they can only deliver a batch every two months without interruption."

The Minister of Personnel stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we still have over 30,000 captives. If we do not negotiate peace and pay a ransom, I'm afraid these people... I think it's more practical to negotiate peace."

"Yes, it's better to negotiate peace. We should never fight with the Great Zhou again. The Great Zhou is truly powerful!"

"We should develop peacefully for a few years. We can't have wars every year and waste our national strength!"

There were many discussions in the court, most of which were urging the King of Northern Yan to negotiate peace.

Feng Chenmu was furious when he saw the court officials begging for peace one by one.

He has always been a warmonger. When his brother was emperor, he kept asking for peace, which he despised. After his brother died, he launched a coup and became emperor. He had long wanted to fight a war with the Great Zhou. During his lifetime, he hoped that the Yan cavalry would flatten the Great Zhou and take the wealthy Great Zhou into his possession.

Moreover, he had met the Emperor of the Great Zhou, who was indecisive. How could he sit on the throne of the country?

This beautiful land should belong to a pioneering and enterprising emperor like him, not a conservative emperor like the Emperor of the Great Zhou.

The war between Xia State and Great Zhou State was actually the best opportunity, but Yan State was not strong enough at that time and lost the chance. It was thought that Great Zhou State would need some time to recuperate after the war with Xia State, and it was the chance to raise an army and seize the city of Great Zhou State. However, it was unexpected that the battle with Great Zhou State would be so difficult and they were defeated in the end!

The sounds of peace talks filled his ears. Feng Chenmu clenched his fists and slapped hard, smashing a large vase standing not far away into pieces through the air.

The noise was so loud that the court fell silent in an instant.

Feng Chenmu walked down the steps and came in front of the ministers. With a stern face, he said majestically: "Ministry of Revenue, do everything you can to raise a month's worth of military rations within three days. I will lead the army in person in three days. Anyone who dares to stop me will be killed without mercy!"

In one month, he would force the army of the Great Zhou to retreat back to their hometown, plunder the border of the Great Zhou, and kill all of them without leaving a single survivor.

Qi Yizheng and Jiang Yingying hid their identities and pretended to be people from Yan State to track Cangqi for several months but failed to catch him. When they heard that the army of Da Zhou had reached the border of Yan State, they wanted to go back and reunite with the army before making plans.

However, the State of Yan had already blocked the city gates for exiting the country. The two of them observed nearby for a few days and found it impossible to pass through without a pass to exit the city.

After returning to their temporary residence, Jiang Yingying washed up and changed back into women's clothes. Qi Yizheng bought some food from outside, and the two of them had a quick meal.

"What should we do now? The money we brought is almost used up. If we want to go out to work, we are afraid that our identities will be discovered." Jiang Yingying asked.

Qi Yizheng thought for a moment and told her the news he had heard on the street today: "I heard that the Yan court is recruiting soldiers. I thought, why don't we pretend to join the army and sneak out of the city with the army."

Jiang Yingying was a little worried: "After all, our identities are fake. Can we really escape inspection? What's more..." Jiang Yingying glanced at her chest and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Qi Yizheng's gaze followed hers, his face instantly burning, and he quickly looked away.

"Ahem... well... that's definitely not appropriate. I... I'll think about it again..."

Although the two had been engaged for a long time, they had not yet had the time to get married, so they restrained themselves and followed the rules, not crossing the line. Qi Yizheng's ears flushed as he cleared the dishes and took them down to wash.

Jiang Yingying rolled her eyes at him, and thought about how she had tried to bewitch him in every way during this period, but he was as unmoved as an old monk in meditation, which made her so angry that her teeth itched.

As a child of the underworld, Jiang Yingying had long accepted the fact that she was Qi Yizheng's fiancée. Even if there was no wedding, she was willing to give it to him. However, that blockhead was impossible to move. He would run away every time when sensitive topics were mentioned.

"Knock, knock, knock... knock, knock, knock..." There was a knock on the door. Jiang Yingying hurried back to the inner room to change clothes. Qi Yizheng slowly asked who it was and watched Jiang Yingying change her clothes before opening the door.

"What's going on? You've almost knocked the door down." A broken door opened, revealing soldiers standing outside. Qi Yizheng calmly asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The leading officer looked him up and down and said, "We have been ordered to collect grain. Hand over all the grain in your homes."

Qi Yizheng: “…”

"Master Jun, we have no food left at home. We even bought our meal from outside today, and there is not a single grain of food left."

The officer didn't believe it and waved his hand: "Search for me. Take away all the food."

Qi Yizheng did not stop him because he could not expose himself.

The officers and soldiers were more like bandits than the bandits themselves. After entering the house, they searched everywhere and turned the three already dilapidated houses upside down.