Tianliangyuan

Chapter 406 Prepare to go to war

After everyone had left, Madam Yu opened the note in her hand, read two words, and then handed it to Xie Xiaocheng.

When Xie Xiaocheng saw the words "Shiwei" written on it, he roughly knew what kind of battle it would be.

"I see. No wonder my niece-in-law asked my eldest and second sons to make preparations. The Shiwei are not yet a threat, so it will be easier to ambush them now."

For many years, the glory of the Duke's Mansion has been maintained by the eldest son and his father. Although the second and fourth sons did not say anything, they felt guilty.

They enjoyed the wealth and luxury of the Duke of Huguo's mansion, but the eldest son's family was always left to do the bloody and risky things. How could they feel at ease in the mansion?

Now, finally, there's an opportunity.

Xie Xiaowei also stood up: "Second brother, how about arranging a job for me too!"

"We can't make that decision. Besides, you're just a civil official, what are you doing getting involved?"

Xie Xiaowei fell silent. Xiao Lin, who was standing to the side, seemed to realize that there was a chance for her to rise to prominence. Her eyes darted around and she asked, "Why did you only mention the eldest and second sons? Is there any task that the fourth son can handle?"

Xie Xiaocheng glanced over and said, "Stop thinking! Si Lang is still young and has never been to the army. If you really send him out, you'll be crying."

Ms. Kobayashi immediately shut up.

That's right, they're going to the battlefield. What if something goes wrong?

So, let's just calm down.

After much deliberation, Ms. Kobayashi decided it wasn't safe and that it was best not to go.

After lunch, there was still no news from the front. However, Xie Xiaocheng had his men find out that many military generals in the court had been summoned to the palace. Among them was Lu Jin, the Minister of War and the Grand Commander of the previous Northern Expedition.

It seems that war is inevitable.

The old lady was too old to stay up any longer, so she went to rest early.

The others waited in the front hall of the front yard. Xie Rong and Xie Lang were also ready, while their wives sat with a hint of worry, occasionally twisting the handkerchiefs in their hands, clearly uneasy.

Soon, the servant at the door ran back.

"Reporting to Second Master and Fourth Master, the Heir Apparent's wife has returned."

"You came back on horseback?"

"That's right, but there was a carriage following behind, it seemed to be from the palace."

There are horse-drawn carriages too?

Everyone stood up and walked out together.

As soon as Xu Zhaozhao dismounted and entered, she saw the large group of people.

"Don't rush, let's go inside and talk."

Xie Xiaocheng then realized that he, as the second uncle, had become impatient, which was unbecoming of his status.

"The matter is now basically settled. The Shiwei and the Mohe are secretly colluding, intending to harm the northeastern part of our Daxing. However, at present, we can only ascertain the strength of the Shiwei's troops, and we are still unclear about the Mohe's situation. Therefore, His Majesty is urgently summoning all the generals to discuss the matter."

After everyone learned the accurate information, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

The northeastern region is somewhat better; it should be easier than the last northern expedition.

"What has been confirmed so far is that His Majesty has appointed my father as the Grand Commander of the Army, Xie Zheng and General Fang as the left and right vanguards, my second brother, as well as Cui Shu, Fang Liang, Zheng Tuo, and Qi Yunze, the heir of the Marquis of Dingnan, will all be on the march, but their specific positions have not yet been determined."

Xie Xiaocheng nodded, and with the appointment of the Grand Commander, the general nature and outcome of the battle were basically determined.

Given Xu Han's temperament on the battlefield, he would never call back his troops unless he crippled the enemy.

The Shiwei and Mohe are now just small border states, not a significant force. They dare to meddle together; they'll be beaten to a pulp.

Xu Zhaozhao took a couple of sips of tea to pause for a moment: "My eldest and second brothers should be in charge of escorting the grain. My father has already recommended this to His Majesty, and my third brother has also seconded the proposal. Minister Lu at the time also nodded in approval. So, this matter is likely to be settled. However, no official decree was issued before I left the palace."

Xie Xiaocheng nodded: "Good, good! Whether it succeeds or not, Second Uncle should thank you for this, and also thank the Marquis."

Xie Rong and Xie Lang simply stood up and bowed to Xu Zhaozhao.

Xu Zhaozhao turned slightly to the side, not daring to accept the full courtesy, after all, she was her younger brother's wife.

"By the way, this information was brought by my steward, and after combining it with some information from the Ministry of War and the border, we were able to reach an accurate conclusion. His Majesty has now ordered someone to rush to the northeast to confirm whether the information is correct. The army will set off in five days at most."

Xu Zhaozhao was actually a little reluctant to part with it.

Since her marriage, she has never been separated from Xie Zheng.

She hadn't thought much of it at first, but now the thought of being separated for months, or even a year, made Xu Zhaozhao feel uneasy.

Xie Xiaolin and Xie Zheng did not return until dinner time. The matter had been settled. Xie Zheng would not be on duty for the next few days and would stay at home for a few days before setting off with the army.

Xie Xiaolin didn't need to go on the expedition, but he couldn't be careless either, because more than ten generals had to be sent out at once. So Xie Xiaolin was assigned the task of guarding the palace gate.

Don't think he's just a gatekeeper.

This was out of concern that if news of unrest at the border reached the city, some troublemakers within the city might cause further disturbances.

At crucial moments, it becomes clear who His Majesty trusts!

Normally Xie Xiaolin does nothing, but when it comes to something important, he's always the first to step up.

In addition, Xie Jun'an also took on a task to patrol the city. He, along with the imperial son-in-law Cui Chong, Prince Qi's heir Li Xian, and General Li Zhangping, took turns leading troops to patrol the entire capital, working continuously for twelve hours a day.

This is going to keep us busy.

Although it was a patrol led by soldiers, it was not a patrol of hundreds or thousands of troops. Instead, it was divided into small teams led by squad leaders. Otherwise, with so many wards in the capital, how long would it take to patrol?

In addition, Zhao Changqing and the two county magistrates of the capital city also made unified arrangements for their subordinates, such as yamen runners and criminals, to cooperate with these four on patrol and be responsible for the security of the capital.

Everything is proceeding in a tense yet orderly manner.

No matter how reluctant Xu Zhaozhao was to part with Xie Zheng, she couldn't stop him from going to the battlefield.

Regardless of whether Xie Zheng needs to exchange military merits for the glory belonging to the Xie family, or whether Xie Zheng is truly willing to kill enemies and serve his country.

To say that someone was born into a prominent family and enjoyed many benefits but is unwilling to serve them in times of crisis is to be a coward.

Nobody respects a coward!

Xu Zhaozhao was no exception.

Because Xu Zhaozhao knew the news early and had been preparing to collect various medicines, and had previous experience, she was very well prepared this time.

After all, the Grand Commander of the Army is her father!

We absolutely cannot let anything happen to them.

A large quantity of various life-saving drugs were prepared. In addition, people were ordered to purchase hemostatic and anti-inflammatory drugs from pharmaceutical merchants and prepare to send them to the battlefield.

Gu Dongyang from the Ministry of Revenue also got busy, and every now and then he would send someone to check up with Xu Zhaozhao, so the two of them were going to work together.