novelhk Chapter 9 Ingenious Schemes
Chapter 9 Ingenious Schemes
This night is destined to be sleepless!
The screams outside the military tent continued for an hour before gradually subsiding.
When Qin Xuan emerged the next day, all that remained of the scene was scorched earth, with only a ring of dark red soil around the perimeter hinting at what had happened.
"set off!"
The military commander sounded the bugle call to send the troops off on time, while the refugees followed closely behind.
"Your Highness, why do I feel that these refugees are somewhat different?" Zhao Luoying asked curiously from horseback.
Qin Xuan smiled slightly: "Because they have gained a greater sense of belonging!"
"A sense of belonging?" Zhao Luoying couldn't understand, but Qin Xuan didn't say much. However, every refugee knew what it meant at that moment—new citizens of the North!
Indeed, when Qin Xuan was willing to let them follow the Shence Army, they no longer considered themselves refugees.
Two days later, at dusk, the Shence Army finally arrived in Tianshan City in a grand procession.
This city is a vital passage to the capital, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and also the only route to the northern border.
Guo Huan, a lieutenant general of the Shence Army, led a seven-man squad and was the first to arrive at the city gate:
"We are from the Shence Army, ordered to go to the northern border to resist the Jurchens. Please open the city gates and let us in."
On the city wall, Jiang Xing, the garrison commander of Tianshan City, stood imposingly with a solemn expression: "Why didn't I receive this notification? Do I have a travel permit?"
Guo Huang frowned slightly and immediately took out the travel document from his pocket: "The travel document is here, please let me through."
“It’s already dark, I can’t see anything! Why don’t you set up camp outside the city now and enter the city when it’s light tomorrow?” Jiang Xing bent down and looked for a long time, but with the city wall six or seven meters high between them, how could they possibly see anything clearly?
Guo Huan was furious. As a deputy general of the Shence Army, he could ride his horse at full speed, not just in Tianshan City, but even in the cities of the Jurchen Kingdom.
But he had military orders to obey, so he had no choice but to turn his horse around and return to camp first.
"Your Highness, the garrison commander of Tianshan City clearly made things difficult for us on purpose." Guo Huan recounted the events, still seething with anger.
Qin Xuan seemed to have expected this, and said with a faint smile, "Although I had anticipated this, since they want to play this game so much, then let's play along."
Guo Huan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, do you have a solution?"
Qin Xuan nodded slightly, but only said, "Let's set up camp first, and remember to settle those refugees properly."
"Yes, Your humble servant obeys." Although he was curious, Guo Huan did not dare to ask any further questions since the prince did not speak.
Zhao Luoying suddenly snuggled up to her and said softly, "Your Highness, what ingenious plan have you come up with this time?"
"I can't tell you that now, haha!" Qin Xuan deliberately kept her in suspense, which made Zhao Luoying pout and give him a good punch.
Meanwhile, inside Tianshan City.
As soon as the garrison commander Jiang Xing returned to his residence, he saw that Song Zhiyuan, the prefect of Tianshan City, had been waiting for him for a long time.
The two men entered the hall without saying a word, and Song Zhiyuan finally spoke: "The Shence Army failed to enter the city, did they?"
Jiang Xing laughed and said, "Without my order, no one is allowed to enter the city."
"That's good." Song Zhiyuan nodded: "A message came from the palace, instructing us to hold off the Shence Army at all costs, and ideally, to deplete their supplies."
Jiang Xing nodded, and couldn't help but sigh, "To be honest, this King of Chu is really overestimating himself, actually daring to lead troops to plot..."
"Shh! Don't say things like that, be careful the walls have ears." Song Zhiyuan looked terrified, but Jiang Xing didn't seem to care.
He had served in the border guards in his early years and made some military achievements. Later, he was appreciated by the Third Prince Qin Zhen, which led to his current position.
The next morning, Guo Huan came to the city gate again, but this time it was not Jiang Xing who came out to see him, but one of his quartermasters.
The other party didn't say much. He hung a basket on the city gate, took the travel document, and then said that he needed to go to the government office to verify its authenticity before he could decide whether to let them pass.
Guo Huan was so angry that he started cursing, but no matter how much he cursed, no one paid any attention to him.
"Damn it, I'm so angry! This is outrageous!" Back at the military camp, Guo Huan was still furious.
Seeing this, Zhuge Xuan still smiled calmly and said, "I guess when you go to get the travel permit, the other side will continue to block the Shence Army from entering the city, citing the recent refugee disturbances."
Guo Huan's face immediately fell, and he pleaded, "Strategist, you've already guessed what will happen next, so why don't you have someone else deliver the travel permit?"
Zhuge Xuan laughed heartily: "That won't do! The Prince said that you are the most suitable to go."
"Why?" Guo Huan asked, puzzled.
"Because you look familiar!" Zhuge Xuan stroked his beard and laughed.
Meanwhile, in the military tent, Zhao Luoying was worried about the number of refugees.
In recent days, the number of refugees has continued to increase, exceeding 35,000, making the already strained military rations even more difficult to sustain.
"Your Highness, why aren't you worried at all? Our military rations are almost gone." Zhao Luoying muttered to herself, seeing that Qin Xuan remained calm and composed.
Looking at the woman he loved most, Qin Xuan chuckled and shook his head: "No rush, we'll have food once the city gates are opened."
"Does Your Highness intend to attack the city?" Zhao Luoying's eyes immediately lit up, looking eager to try.
Qin Xuan couldn't understand how his woman could be more warlike than him, and said with a wry smile, "The Shence Army is so precious, how can it be lost here?"
"Then you said we could enter the city? Guo Huan must be furious." Zhao Luoying couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Guo Huan's reaction.
"You always have such a short temper. Fine, I'll bring someone in and you'll understand." Qin Xuan sighed helplessly, then walked out of the military tent.
Not long after, while Zhao Luoying was still wondering, a somewhat sleazy-looking refugee followed Qin Xuan in.
At first glance, Zhao Luoying didn't react, but the next second, she suddenly exclaimed, "The God of Wealth, Hu Xu?!"
"This humble servant greets Your Highness!" Hu Xu, who was not tall, revealed a simple and honest smile.
Hu Xu is the chairman of Min Tai Commercial Bank, the largest of the four major commercial banks.
If it weren't for his mediation back then, the other three businesses wouldn't have become Qin Xuan's supporters.
Zhao Luoying became even more curious and hurriedly asked, "How did you become a refugee? When did you arrive?"
"I mingled with the refugees early this morning, along with Wu Weichen, the manager of Xingyuan Escort Agency, and a group of skilled escorts from the agency," Hu Xu answered honestly.
"Was it all arranged by the Prince?" Zhao Luoying asked again.
Hu Xu glanced at Qin Xuan, and seeing the latter nod, he said, "After you and the Prince returned from the Dali Temple, the Prince had already taken precautions and instructed me to secretly liquidate all the assets in the capital and transfer them out of the capital."
"Later, before the Shence Army returned, the prince instructed me to send someone to Tianshan City in advance, while I mingled among the refugees and followed them."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Luoying's pretty face instantly filled with disbelief.
Qin Xuan had actually laid out a backup plan before the incident even occurred?!