Tangli Fried Snow

Jiang Qimo led his men up the city wall and had them continuously pour water onto it. After the water froze, they would pour water on it again. Before long, the "mud wall" turned into an ice wall, which was even thicker than an ordinary wall.

He looked down and saw Zhao Muqing, clad in armor, organizing the troops to retreat.

Their eyes met from afar. In the dim torchlight, his gaze was indistinct, yet it clearly conveyed unwavering determination and resolve.

Jiang Qimo's complex emotions grew stronger, and he recalled the scene of his first meeting with Zhao Muqing.

Back then, I was a naughty boy. Every time I went to a banquet in the palace with my mother, I would sneak out to play. The goldfish in the Imperial Garden were fat and clumsy. I would sharpen a branch into a harpoon and stick them in one go.

It seemed to be autumn, and the osmanthus blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom. He had secretly slipped away from the palace servants and run out to play. He was killing the goldfish he had caught one by one when a little girl popped her head out and asked him curiously, "What are you doing?"

She was extremely beautiful, with delicate features, and dressed strangely. She wore an orange robe with black floral patterns and a four-eagle cross-collar, her hair styled in a loose, flowing style. A genuine leather belt was tied around her waist, which was also covered with quivers, bow cases, and helmet-shaped swords. Two shiny black braids hung down from under her fur-trimmed hat, and her eyes were as clear and bright as black grapes.

This was the first time Young Master Jiang met Zhao Muqing. Looking at her strange attire, he frowned and asked her, "I was playing with goldfish. Why are you dressed so strangely?"

Her eyes sparkled, and her small, jade-like face was filled with disdain. She said, "All you do is play with these pitiful goldfish. What kind of man are you? If you've got the guts, go and try fighting a pack of wolves and tigers."

She speaks with a slight lisp, and she's missing two lower front teeth that haven't grown in yet, making her look somewhat comical.

But what she said wasn't funny at all. Jiang Qimo threw all the goldfish back into the water, stood up, looked at the girl who was a head shorter than him, and said unhappily, "Have you ever fought tigers or wolves?"

The girl tilted her head back proudly and said, "I practice riding horses and shooting arrows every day. When I grow up, I will definitely be able to shoot a tiger with my own hands! When that time comes, I will spread the tiger skin in my mother's palace so that everyone who goes there can see it."

Jiang Qimo frowned and asked, "Are you a princess?"

The girl said unhappily, "What kind of eyes do you have! How can you talk nonsense like that! Whose child are you?"

Jiang Qimo was speechless for a moment, even more confused by her words.

He could only laugh awkwardly and say, "I'm sorry, please forgive my rudeness. I just heard you mention the Empress Dowager and thought you were a princess."

The girl gave a light snort and said, "I see you're carrying a short sword too, so you must know some martial arts, right?"

"How about we have a competition?"

Before Jiang Qimo could agree, they took the initiative to attack.

Despite being a head shorter than Jiang Qimo and being a girl, she was incredibly skilled, easily defeating him with a few standard wrestling moves.

She said proudly, "How about that? My master is the number one expert in the Northern Desert..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Qimo flipped her over and pinned her down. The two of them, not caring about words, engaged in a fierce and tireless fight, punching and kicking each other. She was like a wolf cub, ruthless, agile, and tireless. The two of them fought until they were completely exhausted.

Even when the two of them lay exhausted on the ground, panting heavily, the girl mustered her last bit of strength to stand up and gave him a contemptuous look that said, "I won."

The courtyard was enormous, covering dozens of acres, with lush trees, a vast lake, artfully arranged rockeries, and verdant grass. The accompanying palace servants searched everywhere for the two. Hearing a servant's anxious calls, the girl staggered away. Jiang Qimo forced himself to sit up and loudly asked her, "What's your name?"

She turned around and replied haughtily, "Remember this, my name is Zhao Muqing."

Later, whenever Jiang Qimo entered the palace, he would search for her everywhere. Her attire was still so strange. Sometimes she dressed as a young master, sometimes as a little girl, or sometimes as some strange foreign attire. It wasn't until the two of them became familiar with each other and took out their genitals to relieve themselves that he realized that Zhao Muqing was actually a boy, just like him, and even the emperor's son!

It turns out that the famously beautiful imperial concubine loved girls the most and dreamed of having a daughter. After giving birth to a son, she was still dissatisfied and often dressed her son up as a girl to soothe her regret. In addition, he was surrounded by palace maids and eunuchs from childhood, which caused Zhao Muqing to have some gender identity disorder from an early age.

It wasn't until she met Jiang Qimo, who was of similar age and had the air of an older brother, that she finally realized she was a boy. Boys can't wear girls' clothes or have girls' hairstyles. From then on, Zhao Muqing fought against the Imperial Concubine to the end, strictly refusing all women's attire, and finally escaped the fate of being a doll and a cross-dressing man.

Now he is tall and strong, wearing a majestic suit of armor, standing tall and straight, handsome as a god.

His gaze passed through the chaotic crowd and the flames of war, settling on himself, calm and serene.

He tilted his chin up at him, revealing a faint smile, and mouthed a silent message: "Live well!"

Then he resolutely turned around and led the Khitan soldiers away.

. . . . . .

Inside the magnificent tent of the Khitan general, a campfire was burning fiercely.

A burly man, eating roasted meat and drinking wine, looked at Zhao Muqing with disdain and said, "General, the people in this city don't even number 40,000 elite soldiers. They're not enough for me to lead my troops to fight. Some people swore they would lead us to break through the palace, but who knew that after leading men to attack the city for half a day, they still came back with their tails between their legs?"

"If this continues, reinforcements might arrive soon. We need to think of a way to break through the city gates."

A chorus of agreement arose from all around, and the large tent for a hundred people instantly resembled a bustling market.

Yelü Hongdan's eyes swept over the people in the tent, glancing at each one until everyone quieted down. Then he calmly said, "Their food, tools, oil, stones, and arrows are all limited. As long as we surround the city, they will eventually run out of supplies and ammunition. Then, just like Jingzhou, we will take it in one fell swoop."

The burly man, his face contorted with anger, said unhappily, "But I just can't stand some people who are all talk and no action, wielding their power like it's their own. Why not give me his men! Just give me two days..."

With a resounding roar, the prince consort drew his precious sword and unleashed a flurry of blades at the roasted lamb leg before him.

After a series of light, sharp cutting sounds, a piece of smooth connective meat was revealed on the greasy, golden lamb leg. Seven thin slices of meat, as thin as cicada wings, flew up layer by layer, bouncing evenly in the air. Zhao Muqing reversed the blade and inserted it, neatly skewering the seven slices of lamb leg meat onto the blade.

“Big guy, your head isn’t as strong as this leg of lamb.” Zhao Muqing slowly ate the slices of meat on the knife, glancing at the officer out of the corner of his eye.

Just as the enraged officer was about to make a move, Yelü Hongdan gave him a cold look, and the man finally suppressed his dissatisfaction and respectfully stepped aside.

Yelü Hongdan said loudly, "Today, Zhao Fuma is more capable than any of you. He led his men and almost captured one of the city gates in just one hour. Tomorrow, I plan to give him twice as many men and siege equipment and let him continue to attack there."

Zhao Muqing's expression softened slightly. Although the people in the tent were also unhappy that the general valued him so much, no one dared to object anymore.

Early the next morning, bugle calls rang out one after another.

A total of one hundred enormous catapults were pushed onto the open ground amidst the neat chants of the Khitan engineers. Large stones were pressed into the weight baskets to adjust the range of the catapults. The tall battering poles were bent as experienced throwers calculated the landing point and coverage area of ​​the catapults.

Before long, gusts of wind blew through the air, and a dark mass of boulders, like a flock of crows, came into everyone's view. They slammed heavily into the city walls and the boulders inside the city, creating deep craters. When they hit the city towers, they smashed them to pieces. The sounds of "bang, bang, bang" were deafening. If the boulders that landed on the city's equipment or supplies, chaos ensued. If any unlucky soul was hit by a boulder, they would be instantly crushed into a pulp.

Round after round of stones relentlessly bombarded the city walls and the city walls.

"Such accurate shooting!" Jiang Qimo had to admire the enemy's operators of these catapults.

After the siege engines finished hurling stones, deafening battle cries erupted again outside the city. A tidal wave of enemies surged towards the city walls, but they were dumbfounded when they reached them. The walls were covered in thick ice, both above and below, and the base of the walls was also covered in thick ice. Ladders could not be placed on them, and people could not even stand steadily.

Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, Yelü Hongdan couldn't help but curse and even threw down the military report in anger.

That's why they say you don't usually fight in winter, so how can you fight here?

Ladders were useless, so archers were sent to launch a fierce attack on the enemy on the city wall. Not many were killed, but a lot of arrows were sent into the city. Yelü Hongdan was so angry that he cursed and cursed again, and finally sounded the horn to withdraw his troops.

For two consecutive days, he kept ordering people to search for suitable stones in the nearby mountains to harass the city with stones, intending to damage the city walls and towers. The two sides entered into a tug-of-war.