Although the situation was urgent, Jiang Yun did not care enough to lose his mind.
He was first contemplating who was behind the scenes of kidnapping the Jiang Empire’s Xiao Huangsun. According to Jiang Lang’s confession, the other party claimed that it was sent by the Crown Prince of Sui.
Can Sui Heng really kidnap a naive child and use such vulgar means to win the war? He understood Sui Heng, who had his own pride and self-esteem when leading troops in battle. Now that the real battle has not yet begun, will Sui Heng use such tactics?
If it were not Sui Heng, when the two armies are at war and military orders are like mountains, who would have the guts to do this kind of thing behind Sui Heng’s back?
Jiang Yun once again thought of Chen Qi.
Chen Qi was able to kidnap Meng Hui’s wife and children to threaten Meng Hui in the past, so he might not necessarily come up with the idea of colluding with Jiang Lang and kidnapping the Jiang Empire’s Xiao Huangsun to threaten them.
If it were really Chen Qi, what would Sui Heng’s attitude be towards this?
Will he acquiesce to Chen Qi’s behavior?
There is another strange thing. Since the Sui army has successfully kidnapped the little boy, why hasn’t there been any movement for two whole days? There’s not even a threatening letter.
Jiang Yun inevitably worries about the little boy’s safety. He is so young and has received the most meticulous care from the palace since birth. Now that he is in the enemy camp, will he receive the same kind of care? A baby at this age, if not taken care of properly, is too prone to encountering dangerous situations.
What’s more, this wasn’t just any enemy camp, it was his other father’s enemy camp. He could withhold the truth so that they would never recognize each other, but he couldn’t stand by and watch them fight as father and son. This is too cruel for both the little boy and that person.
Jiang Yun returned to his room and did not sleep anymore. Instead, he sat behind his usual table, where he usually sat to handle official affairs, lit the lamp, and picked up the brush to write.
This writing went on all night long.
Gongsun Yang had been standing outside the hall and naturally knew what was going on inside. He was worried that Jiang Yun would not be able to eat, so he went to the canteen to get some porridge to replenish his strength in the morning.
Gongsun Yang walked into the curtain and saw Jiang Yun rolling up the written notes one by one, placing them in different brocade sachets, with specific numbers written in ink outside the sachets.
Gongsun Yang was surprised and said, “Your Highness, what are you doing?”
Jiang Yun said, “I’m afraid I’ll forget some new ideas about defense over time, so I’ll write them down on paper first.”
Gongsun Yang put down the congee and said, “Your highness, eat something first, I’ll help you.”
Jiang Yun did not refuse and instructed him on the classification method. Gongsun Yang wrote them down one by one, and without looking at the contents of the notes, he quickly rolled them up and put them into the brocade sachet in turn.
After drinking only half a bowl of congee, Jiang Yun told Gongsun Yang, “Go and inform Yun Huai, Fan Zhou, and all the guards and officials in the pass. From today onwards, Gu shall go to the tent and discuss as usual.”
At dawn, the Generals gathered in the center tent.
Jiang Yun slowly walked in with Gongsun Yang in his green robe. He casually smiled and said to the crowd, “Gu has some new ideas about the defense of Muyun Pass these past few days. If you have any new suggestions and ideas, you can say them without hesitation.”
After arriving at the table, he sat down with bright black eyes that shone brightly, and there was no sign of illness on his face.
All the Generals are concerned about Xiao Huangsun’s safety.
Jiang Yun did not conceal anything and said, “King Chu, Jiang Lang connected with external enemies and joined forces with the assassin of the Sui Empire to kidnap Xiao Huangsun to the Sui military camp.”
All the generals’ faces suddenly paled.
Although there were already speculations in everyone’s hearts about this cruel and terrifying result, when the truth was truly verified, everyone felt extremely cold and angry.
When two armies fight, there is no such thing as morality. The best plan is to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy with minimal casualties. Although the Sui army’s actions were somewhat despicable, there have been cases in history where they achieved victory in war.
The Qinglang Battalion was notorious and was never any kind of good people.
The beacon tower has been captured by the Sui army. The Sui army is engaged in long-distance combat, and if the war lasts for one more day, it will require an additional day of food and supplies. The rations for 300,000 troops are not a joke. Even with the help of the Mo cavalry of the Jimo family, it will take a lot of effort to raise funds and allocate resources during this period. The Crown Prince of Sui came with great ambition and will not let this war drag on for too long. Muyun Pass is the Sui army’s next target, and the Sui army will attack Muyun Pass with a more fierce posture than dealing with beacon towers.
Once the Muyun Pass is conquered, it is equivalent to breaking through the northern gateway of the Jiang Empire. Muyun Pass is known as the most powerful pass in Jiangnan. If Muyun Pass can’t hold on, how long can the remaining cities hold on?
In the past two days, both the upper and lower levels of the pass area have not expressed their concerns, and in fact, they have been extremely worried. Whether during daily patrols or rotation, they have maintained a high level of vigilance and sensitivity, and dare not slack off at all. Yun Huai changed the internal defense again to prevent any more thieves from infiltrating.
The Sui army kidnapped Xiao Huangsun as a hostage, obviously hoping to open the gate of Muyun Pass without any bloodshed.
“What if the Sui army were shameless and followed the example of the northern Shahu in the past, tying the young child to the front line? What should we do?”
“Your Highness, this deputy general is willing to lead troops to the Sui military camp to rescue Xiao Huangsun!”
“And so will this deputy general!”
The generals were on their knees.
Jiang Yun said, “Gu appreciate your kindness, it’s just that this matter involves the safety of the entire Muyun Pass and hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangnan. We cannot play around with it.”
“The most important thing at present is to guard the Muyun Pass well. Gu thinks, since the Sui army wanted to use Ah Nuo as their hostage, Ah Nuo’s life should be safe.”
Today, the Sui army still did not send any threatening letters.
Jiang Yun felt uneasy in his heart and called Yun Huai over to give orders.
Chen Qi is also equally anxious.
Chen Qi sat behind the table with a gloomy expression on his face.
He calculated everything but never expected that the little baby would hide in Sui Heng’s tent. No wonder he searched for two whole days and found nothing.
This put him in a dilemma. The time was not right yet, and if he were to tell Sui Heng the true identity of the baby immediately, he could not be sure what reaction Sui Heng would have. Acting without authorization from the commander was a major taboo in the military, but if the truth was not explained, leaving the baby in Sui Heng’s tent would not be a long-term solution.
Two days have passed, and the Jiang Empire must have been searching for Xiao Huangsun’s whereabouts everywhere. The next step is likely to be to suspect the Sui army. If Jiang Rongyu were to take the lead and come to the Sui army to question him, he would be even more passive, just hoping that that foolish King Chu, Jiang Lang, would be smarter and keep his mouth shut.
Chen Qi couldn’t bear to be anxious and asked, “What’s going on over His Highness’s place?”
His trusted subordinate whispered, “It was said that His Highness has sent his personal guards, Shi Fang and General Xu, to inquire about whose family has lost the baby. It seems like he doesn’t want to keep that little thing in the tent for too long.”
Chen Qi closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then summoned his trusted subordinates to give him some advice.
His trusted subordinate said, “The subordinate will go and handle it now.”
Shi Fang and Xu Qiao inquired around but did not find out who had lost their child. The Sui army’s base was moved to the beacon tower, and there were no residents nearby. The identity of the child who emerged out of thin air became a mystery.
On the contrary, the generals in the army heard that His Highness had picked up a beautiful little kid and came over to watch the excitement.
“Really beautiful.”
“Really cute.”
“I really want to rub him.”
“Quickly remove your rough hands, didn’t you see the little kiddo glaring at you?”
A group of fierce generals gathered in a circle, looking at the little kid sitting cross-legged on the table like a rare treasure.
Jiang Nuo looked at them expressionlessly.
“Ah, he’s really cute.”
“It would be good if my son was as beautiful as him.”
“Little kiddo, call uncle.”
Jiang Nuo remained indifferent and did not turn his head.
Everyone was amused and said, “The little kiddo has a really big temper.”
As soon as Sui Heng came in, Jiang Nuo immediately climbed down from the table and hugged Sui Heng’s leg, crying in frustration.
The generals find it extremely rare.
One person said, “Have you guys noticed that this little kiddo’s nose looks quite similar to His Highness’s? Hehe…”
In exchange, Sui Heng gave him a chilly look.
The General immediately shut up in fear.
Sui Heng had broad shoulders and long legs. Even with a ball hanging on his leg, he didn’t delay his walk. He ordered Shi Fang, “Hurry up and get him something to eat.”
Shi Fang has a headache and answers yes.
The little kiddo is not only a picky eater but also has a huge appetite. He drinks at least three bowls of goat’s milk per meal, and the ewes raised in the military are already being squeezed and unable to produce any milk.
Shi Fang managed to get half a bowl of goat milk and a bowl of rice porridge.
Jiang Nuo only drank the goat’s milk and refused to drink the porridge.
Sui Heng also took care of this little thing and asked Shi Fang, “What else can he eat?”
After thinking for a moment, Shi Fang suddenly said, “Cheese.”
“What cheese?”
“The cheese pieces that Lan Guifei gave to Xiao Junwang are said to be made of boiling milk.”
Sui Heng directly asked Shi Fang to take a large box over.
A moment later, Jiang Nuo sat cross-legged on the table, holding a large box of cheese chunks in his arms, his eyes sparkling, and gnawing on them.
Under the table, Xiao Junwang, Sui Zhang sat on the ground, splashing and rolling, wailing loudly.
“I don’t care, I don’t care. I only have ten boxes of cheese left. This little thing already ate two boxes, wuwuwu, wuwuwu…”
Sui Heng looked at his ugly nephew coldly and mercilessly.
“You’re so fat, what’s wrong with eating two fewer boxes? Don’t you still have eight boxes left?”
“If you dare to howl around Gu again, Gu will have someone take away those eight boxes together.”
Sui Zhang was immediately frightened and stopped crying.
But as compensation for his ugly nephew, Sui Heng had someone make a new armor and cloak for him.
Sui Heng did not put too much thought into a little boy with an unknown origin.
Since the capture of the beacon tower, Sui Heng has been closely planning the battle against Muyun Pass, and the overall deployment has been basically completed in the past two days.
He wants to take advantage of the strong morale of the entire army and take down Muyun Pass in one fell swoop.
After considering the weather, food, and supplies, Sui Heng set the deadline for the final battle three days later. At that time, all the 300,000 iron cavalry from the Qinglang Battalion will be mobilized and work hard to capture the difficult city.
Therefore, in these two days, the atmosphere of the Sui army camp has also become unprecedentedly tense.
Halfway through the meeting, his soldier suddenly came in, holding a letter and kneeling to report, “Your Highness, someone from the Jiang Empire side has sent the Crown Prince of Jiang’s handwritten letter over.”
“Jiang Rongyu?”
Sui Heng was somewhat surprised. After taking the letter and reading it, his face gradually turned pale.
Xu Qiao sat closest to him and carefully asked, “What did the Crown Prince of Jiang write?”
Sui Heng looked up and looked around the crowd, saying, “He said, Gu is not a man of virtue, kidnapped the Jiang Empire’s Xiao Huangsun, a child less than a year old, and took him hostage. And asked if Gu dared to fight him openly or not.”
Sui Heng held up the letter with a click and sneered, “Gu didn’t know that there was such a talent person in Gu’s army that could come and go freely in the enemy’s camp. If you have such ability, why do you still condescend to stay in Gu’s camp and serve Gu?”
His voice was low, with a hint of coldness seeping through his tone, making the air in the tent feel as if it had frozen.
Chen Qi sat among the generals, his fists hidden in his sleeves, clenched slightly.
This matter quickly spread to Jimo Qingyu’s ears. Jimo Qingyu was furious and rushed directly to the central army tent to scold Sui Heng.
After listening expressionlessly, Sui Heng returned to his tent and ordered Shi Fang to immediately send the little thing back to Muyun Pass.
“Immediately, right away.”
“Never let Gu see him again.”
The thought of him bringing that ugly hypocrite Jiang Rongyu’s child with him, eating and living together for two days, and still being looked down upon by that hypocrite, Sui Heng couldn’t help but curse.
Shi Fang looked at his scary face and busily answered yes.
When the two of them entered the tent, they found it unusually quiet. The little dumpling did not wait for His Highness at the entrance of the tent as usual, but sat cross-legged on the table, holding a large box of cheese chunks in his arms and nibbling on them.
Shi Fang were surprised.
Where did the little thing get the new cheese chunks?
Sui Heng couldn’t help but burst out with a murderous aura in his eyes. He sneered and thought, “That ugly monster is really lucky. With such an ugly face, he could still given birth to such a beautiful little thing.”
He’s afraid the smoke is coming out of his ancestors’ graves.
But Sui Heng could no longer look at this little thing at the moment, and with a wave of his hand, he immediately told Shi Fang to hurry up and carry him away, not to get in his way.
At this moment, Xiao Junwang, Sui Zhang, wearing his newly made small armor and a bright red cloak, ran in from outside in a lively manner.
Sui Zhang ran straight to the edge of the table, and, to Shi Fang’s surprise, he handed another large box of cheese chunks to the little boy. He straightened his chest and said seriously, “This county king will give you another box of cheese chunks. Can you lend me your mechanism bird to play with for a few more days?”
Sui Zhang raised a green mechanism bird in his hand.
He fiddled with the mechanism, and a pleasant chirping of birds immediately sounded in the tent.
Shi Fang sighed, “What a lovely mechanism bird.”
Sui Heng’s expression suddenly changed when he saw the mechanism bird.
