Jiang Jin looked at Qiu Liao, who had suddenly fallen deep into thought, and couldn't help but feel even more curious. "What's wrong?"
Qiu Liao returned from his thoughts and offered a bitter smile. "Back then, the general ordered us to break out separately. He drew away the enemy's main force so we could escape, but the general himself..."
Zhou Sui felt an ache in his heart. These were the loyal soldiers who protected the Yan Kingdom, heroes who held their ground for their homeland until the very last moment.
Yun Ci also felt terrible. He and Chu Xiong had guarded the northern and western borders of the Yan Kingdom, respectively.
Punan Commandery in Chongzhou had been conquered by the Ji army more than a decade ago, and Chongzhou subsequently lost two more commanderies. Chu Xiong had faced an incredibly difficult time defending it.
"My condolences. They are all heroes of our Yan Kingdom, and we will remember them forever," Jiang Jin comforted him.
Qiu Liao pulled himself out of his grief. "After we broke through the siege, we headed south, only to find that a large number of Jiao troops were already there. Left with no choice, we had to go north."
Their original plan was to head south after breaking out and return to Dingyang. This was also what he and Chu Qing had agreed upon beforehand—if their ranks were scattered, they would head south and regroup.
At that time, they were physically and mentally exhausted and had many wounded soldiers with them, so they had no choice but to head north and find a large mountain to hide in.
While letting the injured soldiers recover, they inquired about the whereabouts of the general and Chu Qing, and gathered the scattered troops.
More than half a month passed like this. They gathered all the soldiers they could, but there was still no news of Chu Qing.
However, they did hear the news of the general's death in battle. It was said that he was beheaded and his head was hung on the city walls of Fan County.
Even though he knew the general had little chance of survival, hearing the confirmed news still made Qiu Liao's heart twist like a knife. The pain made it hard for him to breathe, and he blamed himself even more for failing to bring Chu Qing out safely.
Nan Wen only found out later that the military advisor was supposed to break out with Chu Qing, but he had disrupted the plan. He felt extremely guilty.
The battlefield had been filled with the sounds of slaughter and screams; he genuinely had not heard what Qiu Liao said.
At the time, seeing the military advisor surrounded and attacked, he was so anxious that he rushed to save him without a second thought.
A few more days passed, and there was still no news of Chu Qing. They did not know if he had died in battle or managed to break out and escape to the south.
Just as they were sharpening their weapons and feeding their horses, preparing to fight their way back to Dingyang, they heard the news that Dingyang had fallen.
The bitter heartache, despair, and desolation of a fallen nation could probably only be truly understood by those who had experienced it firsthand.
The soldiers were enveloped in grief and low morale, not knowing where to go. Qiu Liao finally decided to head to Fengzhou to join the Northeast Army.
However, upon arriving in Fengzhou, they discovered that the Northeast Army had suffered even more tragically than they had; they were almost completely wiped out.
After many twists and turns, they finally settled down on Paba Mountain and became bandits.
Yun Ci was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. He sighed and forced a comforting smile. "Don't worry, we will definitely take the Yan Kingdom back."
Qiu Liao looked at Jiang Jin. If it were in the past, he wouldn't have believed it much, but now he did. "Yes, we definitely will!"
After the banquet, Qiu Liao followed Yun Ci back to his courtyard.
The courtyard Jiang Jin had arranged for him was not yet tidied up, and the furniture had not been fully set up. Besides, he also wanted to have a chat with Yun Ci.
Qiu Liao couldn't help but ask, "General Yun, do you know the Lord's true identity?"
Yun Ci was taken aback. "I thought you already knew. The Lord is His Majesty's sixth daughter, born of the Empress, with the title Jinyang."
Qiu Liao suddenly understood. It was close to what he had guessed, though her status was even higher.
Yun Ci spoke with a sorrowful tone, "General Chu's token... perhaps you should give it to the Lord. One day, she will lead the people of the Yan Kingdom to reclaim Chongzhou."
Qiu Liao felt a slight sting in his nose. 'Fighting back' seemed to have become an obsession for all of them.
However, he couldn't hand Chu Xiong's identity token to Jiang Jin because early the next morning, people from the Sheng family arrived.
Jiang Jin smiled; it seemed that Ze'a Commandery had made its choice.
When Sheng He and his companion saw Jiang Jin again, their feelings were somewhat complicated. They stood up and bowed. "Greetings, Princess."
Several major noble families felt that Gefeng was demanding too much grain, which would inevitably cripple them. They had deliberated for a whole day before finally deciding on a strategy.
Only then did the two of them hurry to Gefeng on horseback.
Jiang Jin wasn't too surprised that the Sheng family knew her identity. After all, as a prominent family, it was completely normal for them to interact with the royal family.
She waved her hand dismissively. "No need for formalities. Sit."
Sheng He and his companion then looked at Zhou Sui, Yun Ci, and Qiu Liao, who were also present. They nodded at the three men before taking their seats.
His expression was slightly unnatural as he explained their purpose for coming. "It's like this. We currently cannot spare enough manpower to transport the funds and grain for you. Could you perhaps send your own people to transport them?"
"Or, once Ze'a Commandery stabilizes, we should be able to free up some hands to deliver it to you."
In this era, transportation relied almost entirely on human labor, and few could afford animal-drawn carts.
Usually, it was done using flatbed carts, wheelbarrows, or carrying it on people's backs.
Setting salt aside, just for two hundred thousand shi of grain, if they used flatbed carts and each cart carried an average of 15 shi, they would need over ten thousand carts. One cart required three to four people, meaning forty to fifty thousand laborers.
If they used wheelbarrows or relied solely on human backs, the number of people needed would be even greater.
Before the troops move, the rations must go first. In ancient warfare, the transportation of provisions was the biggest problem. Often, logistics personnel made up half of the army, or even more.
It was indeed somewhat difficult for Ze'a Commandery to mobilize so many people at once, but they could manage it if they forced it. However, they simply did not want to hand over the grain.
In the past, others had always looked to them for cues; even the Emperor of Yan had to give them face. When had they ever been held by the throat?
Therefore, they were extremely resentful of Gefeng's "looting a burning house" and came up with this scheme.
Their meaning was crystal clear: I can provide the grain, but can you even transport it away?
Huo Chun's exact words at the time were: "How many people can a small city like Gefeng have? Even if they have the people, do they have that many carts?"
"Hmph. If they rely solely on carrying it on their backs, they'd need hundreds of thousands of people. Even if we give her this grain, she can't take it away. Once we resolve our crisis, whether we give it or how much we give will be up to us."
This was also the reason for Sheng He's unnatural expression. Being fellow Han people, and with Jiang Jin being a Princess of the Yan Kingdom, Ze'a Commandery was essentially trying to make Gefeng help them for absolutely nothing.
Although he was a member of the Sheng family, he also felt that this matter was taken a bit too far.
Jiang Jin understood Ze'a Commandery's intentions the moment she thought about it. She sneered inwardly. It was indeed a clever calculation, but unfortunately, they had miscalculated.
If she didn't have her spatial ability, these goods would indeed be difficult to transport. She neither had tens of thousands of carts nor that large of a population.
Zhou Sui and the other two turned cold. Seeing that Jiang Jin did not speak, they remained silent as well.
Jiang Jin said unhurriedly, "It is indeed difficult to transport. However, you can't possibly expect me to go directly to your warehouses to move it, right?"
Sheng He looked a bit embarrassed. "Of course not. It's just that there are too many supplies. How about..."
Jiang Jin shook her head. "Good. I remember there is a large valley to the south of your Fengan County, isn't there?"
Sheng He didn't understand why she was asking about the valley, but he answered honestly, "That's right, there is indeed a large valley over there."
Jiang Jin nodded. "That will do. Transport all the supplies I requested to that large valley. I will send my own people to transport them away."
"Wh-what?" Sheng He didn't quite grasp what she had just said.
