Shi Rui frowned. “As far as I know, Princess Jinyang’s forces shouldn’t be very large.”
Jiao Tai said helplessly, “That’s true. But there’s something you don’t know: the Jinyang Army has powerful repeating crossbows. Their combat strength is extraordinary and can’t be judged by ordinary standards.”
Shi Rui knit his brows. “Are the Jinyang Army’s repeating crossbows really that formidable?”
He had been stationed in Dingyang all this time and truly didn’t know much about the situation here.
Jiao Tai nodded. “Extremely formidable. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have lost the four counties of Daqing so easily.”
Mu Qi sighed. “The Jinyang Army rose too quickly. We’ve underestimated their strength time and again.”
Jiao Tai agreed. “Indeed. If Qu Zhao hadn’t underestimated Princess Jinyang back then and had sent a large army to destroy her immediately, she probably wouldn’t have had the chance to develop.”
He said helplessly, “But it’s too late to say any of that now. Let’s report the situation truthfully to the Grand Chanyu and see what he decides to do next.”
Shi Rui said nothing more this time.
Jiao Tai ordered loudly, “Clear the city as quickly as possible. Aside from the garrison troops, everyone else will return to Liang City with me tomorrow.”
On the official road in Shangjing Commandery, Jiang Jin rode at the head of the procession, watching the civilians busily clearing the road around them.
Shuangjiang asked curiously, “My lord, are we going to Daqing Commandery first?”
Jiang Jin nodded. “Yes. It borders the Jiao Army, so I’ll feel better after taking a look around. Since it’s on the way, there’s no harm in going.”
Xia Chanyi raised an eyebrow. “Are you planning to visit Keyuan Island and Xiaoyuan Island as well?”
Jiang Jin smiled. “If we have enough time, we’ll take a look.”
Now that the Jiao Army had captured Ying Commandery, Keyuan Island could play an enormous role. Arrangements had to be made for both offense and defense.
Yun Chengxuan became interested. “Are there any bunnies on the island? Or pheasants, wild oxen, or wild sheep would be fine too.”
Jiang Jin thought for a moment. “There probably are.”
Just like Xunfeng Island back then, there were quite a lot of wild rabbits there.
Thinking of Xunfeng Island naturally reminded Jiang Jin of its surroundings. Although most of the island consisted of rocky mountains, it had been the first island she had ever captured.
The docks, barracks, training grounds, and other facilities on the island had all been built to a very high standard.
She was currently considering whether to build another dock or perhaps a watchpost on the eastern side of Xunfeng Island.
“My lord, can we announce the news that we’ve taken the two commanderies of Chongzhou?” Bailu asked excitedly.
Jiang Jin smiled. “Go ahead. It’s just the right time to give everyone something to celebrate.”
She now had complete control over Punan Commandery and Shangjing Commandery. It was time to make the news public.
Even if she didn’t publish it in the newspaper, everyone would find out eventually. They would simply learn of it a little more slowly.
Xia Chanyi raised an eyebrow. “We haven’t announced the four counties of Daqing either.”
Jiang Jin had no objections. “Then announce those as well.”
Bailu was overjoyed. “I’ll send the news back right away and have the Times publish it.”
As the enormous procession moved away, the civilians who had been clearing the road finally dared to whisper among themselves.
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know. They must be important people. The woman at the front is their leader. Could she be the Princess?”
“No, that can’t be. How could ordinary people like us ever get the chance to see the Princess?”
“I saw the patrol soldiers salute her just now. I think there’s a good chance she really is the Princess.”
“Should we ask the soldiers?”
“I don’t dare. If you want to ask, go ahead.”
“I don’t dare either. Let’s just get back to work. It’s two hundred copper coins a month. Hehe, three people from my family are working, so our monthly wages can buy several hundred jin of grain. We won’t have to go hungry this winter.”
“Two people from my family are working too. Sigh. In the past, who would ever have imagined we could live such good lives?”
Two days later, all of Fengzhou was thrown into an uproar.
Lu You spat out a mouthful of soy milk. “Cough, cough…”
Although his coughing made his face turn red, his eyes remained fixed on the headline on the front page of the Times.
Mu Xue looked puzzled. “Why are you so worked up? What does the paper say?”
She thought to herself that fortunately she had been sitting far away. Otherwise, her face would have been covered in soy milk.
Gefeng’s food really was excellent, though. Even breakfast came with so many different dishes.
The soy milk in particular was delicious with a little salt added. She had heard it was nutritious, too.
As she thought this, she lifted her bowl and took a sip.
Mmm. It was good.
Lu You finally stopped coughing. His hand trembled slightly as he held the newspaper. “Our lord… she took back the two commanderies of Chongzhou from the Ji Army.”
Pfft.
The soy milk in Mu Xue’s mouth sprayed out. “W-what did you say? The two commanderies of Chongzhou?”
Her shock was understandable. As the wife of a military officer, she knew all too well how difficult the past few years had been for Lu You while defending Daqing.
She had known about the recovery of the four counties of Daqing more than half a month ago, and that news had already left her speechless.
But now, they had even taken back two commanderies of Chongzhou!
More importantly, none of these military operations had been revealed beforehand—not even the slightest hint.
Lu You wiped the soy milk from his face. “Our lord led several thousand elite troops in a surprise attack on Wenxia City, capturing Ji Duoyan, the Grand Chanyu of the Ji tribe, along with all the civil and military officials and the Ji nobles in the city…”
Before he could finish, Mu Xue snatched the Times from his hand. “Let me see.”
Lu You was speechless.
It seemed that from now on, he would have to buy two copies of the newspaper.
He hurriedly leaned over to read it with her.
After all, he had only read the beginning himself.
“How marvelous. Our lord had begun laying out this plan so long ago. She truly has everything under control,” Mu Xue exclaimed.
Lu You gave a quiet hum. “Still, this strategy was rather risky. If anything had gone wrong, the consequences would have been disastrous.”
Mu Xue agreed. “That’s true. But the rewards are beyond imagination as well. She recovered two commanderies without losing a single soldier!”
“Two commanderies,” she said with a sigh. “If they had taken them by force, how many soldiers would have had to die?”
She set down the newspaper and took another sip of salty soy milk to calm herself.
“The two commanderies of Chongzhou… they’ve really returned just like that?”
“Especially Punan Commandery. The barbarians had coveted it and launched attacks to seize it decades ago. Who would have thought that it would return to us in the blink of an eye? The people of those two commanderies are truly blessed.”
As she spoke, her voice gradually became choked with emotion.
Anyone with even the slightest sense of patriotism would be moved by the return of their nation’s territory.
Lu You fell silent.
Punan Commandery was not only the earliest territory of the Yan Kingdom to be occupied; it was also the passage connecting the Ji Army with the regions beyond the frontier.
Shangjing Commandery was the passage connecting the Jiao Army with the peoples beyond the frontier.
Now that their lord controlled the passageways of the Ji, Jiao, and Qu Zhao tribes, she had left them with no way to return.
His heart gave a sudden leap.
He had a faint suspicion, yet at the same time, he felt it was impossible.
In Xianglu County, Yan Xuanji nearly choked on his food while sitting in the courtyard of his newly purchased residence.
“You said what? Hurry up and keep reading!”
He had only arrived in Fengzhou a few days ago and had not yet learned the simplified characters, so he had specifically hired a tutor. It was the tutor who was reading the newspaper aloud to him now.
He had never imagined that he would receive such wonderful news immediately after arriving in Fengzhou.
Those were two entire commanderies!
And just like that, they had returned—without the slightest warning.
