home"Mo Xiuyao nodded slightly with a smile in his eyes as he looked at Ye Li and said, “I have some matters that I need to settle with my wife first. We just came over here to disturb your Excellency...93. Calculating the Battlefield Situation

Alongside an official road not far from the shattered snow pass, several covert guards quietly hid their traces to secretly protect their respective masters. Dark Guard No. 300 idly hung himself on a large tree with dense foliage and pointed at a small hill some distance away, saying to Dark Guard No. 2 who was standing under the tree resting his eyes: "Look how foolish they are; hiding there will definitely be discovered by His Royal Highness and Her Lady." Dark Guard No. 2 looked up and glanced at him, "They are covert guards, not trackers or spies. As long as they aren't found by others it's fine. Even if the prince does not notice them, he knows that they follow behind them." Covert guards protect their masters' safety around the clock. Dark Guard No. 3 rolled on the ground and said, "We are also covert guards." Though we don't seem to fit in well.

Dark Guard No. 2 looked somewhat displeased, "We aren't qualified covert guards. When we return this time, His Royal Highness will likely give Her Lady a few more covert guards."

The expression on Dark Guard No. 3's face was also downcast. Earlier during the battle, if it were not for Her Lady stopping him, he would not have been injured. As far as using himself to block arrows for Her Lady, Dark Guard No. 3 did not think there was anything wrong with that at all. The Prince of Ding Kingdom trained them specifically so they could protect their masters from any danger at the necessary times. And just now when trying to prevent him from blocking the arrow, Her Lady had been slashed by a knife. If it were not for His Royal Highness's arrow, who knows if she would be alive or dead right now. As covert guards, they really are not qualified; Dark Guard No. 4 and Dark Guard No. 1 haven't appeared yet, even though this is according to Her Lady's orders. He and Dark Guard No. 2 have completely failed in their duties as covert guards, "I will take the blame before His Royal Highness, I won't drag you guys down with me." Dark Guard No. 2 shot him a glance, "What nonsense are you talking We're part of the same team, if they replace you then do we get to stay behind Besides, it's not just your fault. I merely… prefer following Her Lady."

"So am I," he glanced at the other covert guards. Covert guard life before following Her Lady was far too boring. Although they had not followed any other masters before that point, simply training and listening to their seniors' teachings were already very dull. If it weren't for them following Her Lady, they would be as boring as those other covert guards, "If we go over there now to take the blame, do you think His Royal Highness will give us a lenient punishment"

"Going there right now will only make things worse," Dark Guard No. 2 said coolly. As an honor-bound covert guard, he would never let anyone know that he saw His Royal Highness and Her Lady doing something… of course including the prince himself.

"But Your Royal Highness and Her Lady have been here for a long time now. If they stay any longer, Commander Murong will come looking for them," Dark Guard No. 3 said anxiously.

"Then let them go ask His Royal Highness and Her Lady to leave." Dark Guard No. 2 raised his chin and looked at the covert guards following Mo Xiuyao in the distance, confident they were equally anxious. Hmm… as a royal attendant's covert guard, their abilities of stealth are too poor. He and Dark Guard No. 3 found them so easily.

"Your Royal Highness, Her Lady." Dark Guard No. 2 straightened up from behind the tree and bowed to the two approaching people. The dark guard on the tree silently landed and followed suit.

Mo Xiuyao squinted at them and said coolly, "Excellent skills."

The two involuntarily shivered in their hearts. Was His Royal Highness praising them

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Get up, what are you doing here" The two looked miserable but did not dare to speak. Her Lady doesn't need them following her at all times; however if they were to go off to do their own things now, His Royal Highness would surely be furious. Her Lady can order them around, but… His Royal Highness could replace them. Mo Xiuyao frowned and asked, "Where did the other two go I recall you having four people"

Ye Li smiled and said, "I sent them to do some errands."

"If there aren't enough people, we can get more from somewhere else. Covert guards are for protecting your safety," Mo Xiuyao disagreed and said: "Since these four people cannot fully protect you, should we send other people Or give the ones following me to you" Ye Li glanced at Dark Guard No. 3 who gave her a pleading look in secret and said helplessly, "I don't like having someone follow me."

"They are for protecting your safety; I will choose people with the best ability of hiding so they won’t trouble you,"

“No one can be better than us,” Dark Guard No. 3 stole a glance at Mo Xiuyao and murmured, “None.” Mo Xiuyao's cool gaze immediately landed on him, causing Dark Guard No. 3 to stiffen involuntarily. Hearing Mo Xiuyao say calmly, "There has never been a covert guard who needed their master’s protection; in that regard, no one is more capable than you."

"Mo… Xiuyao…" Ye Li reached out and held Mo Xiuyao's hand and said softly: "They have helped me a lot. You can see I don't need covert guards, what I need are trustable assistants. And besides, covert guards aren’t useful everywhere, right" For instance, in some places it is impossible for them to follow. In places where they can follow, regular guards usually also appear, and the danger level isn't high either. Fortunately, only a small part of the Prince of Ding Kingdom's covert guards are specifically trained to protect their masters; the rest each have other responsibilities. Otherwise it would be too wasteful to use them this way. Mo Xiuyao swept his eyes over the two dark guards who had lowered their heads and looked at Ye Li’s serious face, saying in a deep voice: "They can continue staying with you, I will send another four covert guards for you."

"No," Ye Li smiled faintly. "I am not used to covert guards; even if you assign someone else to follow me, they would only become like Dark Guard No. 2 and the others eventually. What's the point of that"

Mo Xiuyao snorted softly and turned towards the official road and walked away. Ye Li smiled with pursed lips and followed behind him. Leaving Dark Guards No. 2 and 3 in a state of confusion, "Second Brother, what does Your Royal Highness mean by this

"It means we can continue to follow the Noble Consort. Probably..."

Frosted Snow Pass Great Camp

Seeing Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao enter, everyone in the main tent stood up hurriedly. Mùgong Shèn personally walked down from the commander’s position to greet them, "This officer greets His Highness and Noble Consort. This time it was thanks to His Highness and Noble Consort's timely aid that Yonglin was saved from great danger. Please accept this officer's bow." As he spoke, Mùgong Shèn lifted his battle robe to take a bow but Mo Xiuyao reached out to hold him by the shoulder and said calmly, "This is within my duties as Prince Regent; General Meng need not trouble yourself with formalities." With Mo Xiuyao refusing to accept his bow, Mùgōng Shèn could only give up. Seeing Mo Xiuyao's healthy appearance again, he couldn’t help but feel a bit delighted. He no longer insisted and stepped aside to invite them in, "His Highness, Noble Consort, please come in."

The people inside the tent were quite entertained by the sight of Mo Xiuyao entering with such vigor and the expressions on their faces varied from joy to shock to deep thought. Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li over to sit at a position below the commander's seat and asked, "General, how is the army of Nan Zhao" Mùgōng Shèn hesitated for a moment before walking back to his main position and replied, "The troops from Nan Zhao have been pressing their attacks on the city these few days. They are probably trying to coordinate with the rebel forces in the pass. Now that His Highness has personally come with reinforcements, there is no need to worry about those Southland barbarians anymore. We will go out tomorrow and drive them back into the deep mountains of Nanjiang!" It wasn’t just the soldiers at Snowy Pass who were frustrated during this period of defense; Mùgōng Shèn as their leader was even more so. However, no matter how frustrated he was, he could only endure it without showing it. With reinforcements finally arriving, it was a time to let off steam.

"How many troops did His Highness bring this time" others asked eagerly too.

Mo Xiuyao raised his brows and said indifferently, "Two ten thousand black clouds cavalrymen and five ten thousand infantrymen will arrive in three days."

The tent fell silent. Everyone felt as if they had been doused with a bucket of ice water from the outside to the inside. One of them stood up and asked skeptically, "Your Highness… How could the imperial court order five ten thousand troops" What about two hundred and fifty thousand black clouds cavalrymen What about eight hundred thousand Mo Family soldiers A faint smile flickered across Mo Xiuyao’s lips, "I am merely here to offer initial support. His Majesty will make his own arrangements for what comes after." Everyone fell silent; Mùgōng Shèn sighed in his heart. How could there be any misunderstanding at this point The emperor needed someone who could quickly provide aid for Nanjiang, and the only troops that could travel so fast were those of Prince Ding’s Black Cloud Cavalrymen. But the emperor was also wary of Prince Ding, so he would never allow Prince Ding to bring too many troops with him. The main force was behind. And leading them would certainly be someone trusted by the emperor. In future, after peace is restored, the credit would naturally go to those who came later. Would such harsh treatment of Prince Ding’s household not cause any problems

"Originally… I thought that with the Prince's recovery, this time he might finally settle Nanjiang and continue his unfinished ambition from the past. But it looks like we can only let these Southland barbarians go for now." Mùgōng Shèn smiled a little sadly after a long pause. As a general no one did not want to achieve fame on the battlefield, but suddenly Prince Ding’s recovery had already put him under suspicion of the emperor, and there was simply no way that the emperor would be willing to give such a historic feat as restoring peace in Nanjiang to Prince Ding. Mo Xiuyao smiled nonchalantly, "It seems this is not a good opportunity indeed. We will have to trouble General with all his efforts for these days. I shall temporarily stay at Yonglin for several days and leave for the capital when reinforcements arrive."

Mùgōng Shèn was stunned, "Your Highness is not staying in Snowy Pass"

Mo Xiuyao smiled, "With you here, General, Snowy Pass does not need me to give orders. Besides, there are also more than ten thousand of Jingli’s troops at Yonglin. I… have something personal to take care of."

Mùgōng Shèn could only nod and say, "If that is the case, Your Highness can do as you please." Although he felt somewhat disappointed that he would not be able to give Nan Zhao a harsh lesson this time, it was something beyond his control as a mere general. Besides, Prince Ding’s presence in Snowy Pass alone would be enough to scare those Southland barbarians into pieces. After all… the last war where Nanjiang almost fell had only been ten years ago. They returned to Yonglin at nightfall; luckily, everything did not require too much of Mo Xiuyao’s attention as Feng Zhiyao had already taken care of it well. Ye Li looked curiously at Feng Zhiyao who had changed out of his ornate red clothes and into a blue armor and white robe that made him look like a completely different person from the one in the capital city. At the same time, Feng Zhiyao was also curious looking at Ye Li who remained calm and composed as usual. It was really hard to associate this elegant lady before him with the cold-blooded black-clothed woman on the battlefield.

Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li over to sit in his study room and asked Feng Zhiyao, pointing at a chair beside them, "Is Leng Haoyu not here yet"

Feng Zhiyao smiled, "He just arrived. He went to change into clothes and will be coming over soon. He encountered some trouble on the way and was being chased all along, so he looks a bit messy."

Ye Li raised her brows curiously at Feng Zhiyao who replied with a smile, "Didn’t you know He used his money to compete with Prince Li for food. Isn't that just asking for someone to kill him But the result is good; he bought up more than 30% of this year's grain in Jiangnan. Now even if Prince Li turns around and attacks Jiangnan, it won’t be long before there’s a shortage of food. Therefore, Prince Li has sent assassins everywhere to chase after him."

"What does he plan on doing with that much grain" Jiangnan was basically the granary of Dazhou; 30% of its grains was not a small amount either. Feng Zhiyao smiled indifferently, "With chaos in Jiangnan, prices will soar and there won’t be any problem selling it all. Even if we can’t sell them, we still have tens of thousands to feed."

Indeed, soon Leng Haoyu appeared at the door. A faint scar was still visible on his handsome face, but fortunately, it did not look too severe and should not leave a permanent mark, "Your Highness, Noble Consort."

Mo Xiuyao nodded gravely and asked, "In more than half a year, what happened in Lingzhou Why would Jingli suddenly decide to start the war" Leng Haoyu looked at Mo Xiuyao in surprise and said, "Didn’t Your Highness hear about Prince Li’s rebellion before bringing troops southward" Mo Xiuyao replied calmly, "I came here for some matters in Nanjiang. I received news of Jingli’s uprising just as my journey started. Even if he is the most stupid person, Jingli should know that he was not fully prepared."

Feng Zhiyao shook his head and said, "I think Prince Li chose this time very well. It caught us off guard. No matter how late we arrived, even half a day would have been enough to leave Snowy Pass unguarded." Mo Xiuyao frowned, "If he was really prepared, there was no reason for him to be so anxious about congratulating Snowy Pass. He could easily divide his army into two paths; one side could hold General Meng off in Snowy Pass while the other advances eastward. The southeast has always been peaceful with few troops stationed there. Once he fully occupies the area south of Yunlan River, even if we have only tens of thousands of men now or twenty to thirty thousand later, it won’t be easy for us to smoothly cross Yunlan River and quell the rebellion. General Meng will not be able to support Snowy Pass alone; it is just a matter of time before he fails. At that point… Jingli could gain any benefit without having to share with Nan Zhao."

"If he hasn’t prepared well but still rushed into war… it means the emperor wants to deal with him" Leng Haoyu guessed.

Feng Zhiyao shook his head, "No. If His Majesty wanted to do something against him, he would never have let him leave the capital city.

Cold Haoyu nodded and said after thinking for a moment, "Prince Li's cavalry indeed came unexpectedly. He had just returned to Lingzhou without causing any commotion, but three days later he suddenly rose up in rebellion. I was quite shocked then."

Ye Li asked, "What reason did the Prince have for coming so urgently"

Mosius Yao looked at her and took a letter from his pocket to pass it over. Ye Li received it and saw that it contained the trinket she had sent back as well as an apparent note written by her grandfather. After reading through it, Ye Li was surprised and said, "The Holy Maiden of Southern Frontier, Shuman Lin, is actually a descendant of the previous dynasty's emperor!" This was something Ye Li did not expect when sending the trinket back. It was too melodramatic for her to have guessed that Shuman Lin had other identities. However, the Holy Maiden of Southern Frontier being a descendant of the previous dynasty’s emperor and Mo Jingli being the current emperor's brother made it seem as if they were plotting rebellion together

The Nanzhao Kingdom wasn't founded by betraying the previous dynasty How could they allow descendants of that dynasty to be their holy maiden

Mosius Yao said, "The trinket you sent back was a relic from Princess Dawang who married into a tribe in Southern Frontier during the previous dynasty."

Ye Li raised an eyebrow. So what Wasn't it several hundred years since the establishment of Nanzhao

Feng Zhirao explained, "This Princess Dawang was an extraordinary woman who had even participated in court politics before her marriage, but Emperor Gaozong didn’t like women in politics and often reprimanded her for that. Later on, he sent her to marry into a tribe in Southern Frontier as part of a political alliance. Although she disappeared after the wedding, her husband's tribe became the largest in Southern Frontier due to the support of the previous emperor and thus formed the ancestor of Nanzhao’s royal family. The Nanzhao royal family admired Central Plains' culture even though they didn't have good relations with the previous dynasty; however, they treated some ministers who had betrayed that dynasty very well. Since the founding of Nanzhao until the fall of the previous dynasty, at least three princes, two princesses and a prince were granted refuge in Nanzhao for various reasons such as rebellion or being framed and fleeing to Nanzhao. Without exception, they all ended up marrying into the royal family’s direct line. The last one was recorded vaguely but we believe it was the previous dynasty's crown prince."

"So you’re saying that the Holy Maiden of Southern Frontier could possibly be a descendant of the previous emperor’s crown prince" Ye Li asked as her head spun from all this melodramatic information. Indeed, if she found historical novels too unrealistic and absurd, then reality was even more so.

Feng Zhirao laughed, "Three years after the fall of the dynasty, a Nanzhao queen married an unknown man from Central Plains. Five years later, Nanzhao continuously invaded the borders of Chu for many decades until both the queen and her husband died. Since then, however, the relations between the two countries have never been truly peaceful; every chance they get, Nanzhao tries to find ways to invade Central Plains."

Ye Li rubbed her forehead. "I understand now, so Nanzhao has a very strong lineage of the previous royal family and plans on reclaiming the throne in Central Plains"

"Reclaiming the throne might be a lie, but their intention to take over Central Plains is certain," Feng Zhirao nodded.

Ye Li looked at Mosius Yao strangely and said, "Even so, you didn’t need to come here in such hurry. Since they’ve been preparing for more than one hundred years, wouldn’t it be fine if they prepared a few decades longer" Mosius Yao stared at her and asked, “If Prince Li hadn't risen up this time, what would you have planned” Ye Li was stunned as she remembered her original plan to go see the holy site in Southern Frontier. "There’s danger"

Mosius Yao's expression wasn’t good as he said, “Don’t you think that there are something wrong with those so-called holy maidens of Southern Frontier”

Ye Li blinked and waited for his explanation.

"The Holy Maiden in Southern Frontier must enter the holy site after twenty-five. But actually most of them retire from their duties at twenty-one or twenty-two, some even earlier at nineteen. No one knows what these maidens look like, no one knows their backgrounds or identities, and nobody knows what they do once entering the holy site. Yet, these women are required to receive various kinds of education since childhood and even affect Southern Frontier's politics after becoming a holy maiden. How much time and effort would it take to raise someone to this position Can it be just for them to retire as a holy maiden, enter some place called sacred grounds, and die in peace" Mosius Yao said calmly.

Cold Haoyu agreed with his words, "It’s indeed strange that the Holy Maiden system of Nanzhao exists. The shortest serving time I know was two years for a certain holy maiden who became one at fifteen but retired at seventeen."

“We were supposed to be discussing if there's any danger in Southern Frontier” Ye Li reminded.

Mosius Yao said, "There’s no such thing as the sacred grounds of Nanzhao. There might actually exist a place like that but it’s definitely not where they keep their holy maidens or treasures to live out their lives. It should be the biggest secret of Nanzhao's royal family; once anyone touches this place, the royal family will use any means necessary to eliminate them. That’s how there are rumors saying no one survives after entering Southern Frontier’s sacred grounds.

Ye Li was a little disappointed as it seemed that the so-called holy site in Southern Frontier didn’t actually contain any mysterious flowers of Yulong.

Cold Haoyu said, "Then this has nothing to do with Prince Li rising up unexpectedly"

Feng Zhirao lazily leaned back and smiled. “Has no relation It’s a big deal! We thought before that Mo Jingli wanted to use the Holy Maiden of Southern Frontier or Nanzhao, but now it looks like he was fooled by someone. That's why he hurriedly rose up in rebellion. I thought he had become smarter, but an idiot is always going to be an idiot!”

Ye Li was puzzled and asked, "What could the Holy Maiden of Southern Frontier or Nanzhao possibly offer that would sway Mo Jingli"

Feng Zhirao smiled and said, “For example, sharing the rule of the land with him. With the support from Nanzhao, Mo Jingli would find it easier to gain control of the country. Once he has both power and beauty, no man will be able to resist that temptation.”

Ye Li couldn’t understand how much effort could be put into planning an invasion after a hundred years just for entering Central Plains. Was the whole world really so captivating “Hmph, their calculations are indeed meticulous; if they can't break Xueshan Pass from outside, they will try to do it from within. By the way, this time we wouldn’t have reached Broken Snow Pass or even Lingzhou and Yongzhou without your grace.”

Leng Haoyu frowned and asked, "What does Your Highness plan to do"

Mos Yao said coolly, "I have no plans. You are not safe in Jiangnan now; you should leave for the capital as soon as possible." Leng Haoyu moved his lips, wanting to say something, but Mos Yao looked at him and said, "I will inform General Murong that you and Murong Ting can get married sooner. Haoyu…" Leng Haoyu shivered and hurriedly replied, "Understood, Your Highness; thank you for facilitating it."

Feng Zhiyao grumbled, "We好不容易出了一趟京城，卻要草草收場。皇帝是不是太過防備我們了？真是浪費我公子的時間啊。”墨修堯淡然道：“南詔成不了氣候，暫時不必理會。你放心這回不會讓你白來的。”鳳之遙挑眉，“也隻有你纔敢說南詔成不了氣候。我看南詔人心計可不淺，居然能花這麼長的時間隱忍佈置……”墨修堯笑容冷淡，“一百多年時間，一代又一代都還不能成事，還能成什麼氣候？大概唯一值得稱許的就是他們的執著了。”鳳之遙笑道：“我猜南詔人最恨的大概就是定國王府了。”一百多年都冇能成事，定國王府絕對是功不可冇。比如說十幾年前那一次，要不是最後臨時撤兵，南詔人永遠都不用再煩惱怎麼入主中原的問題了，“那麼王爺說的不會讓我白跑一趟是什麼意思？咱們還打南詔麼？”

Mos Yao smiled and raised his eyes, "We will not start a war; we will eliminate bandits."

"Eliminate bandits" The three people in the study asked in unison.

Feng Zhiyao turned his gaze and asked, "I don't remember Yizhou having any formidable outlaws or robbers."

Mos Yao said calmly, "Just because there weren’t before doesn’t mean they aren’t now. What about the reinforcements from Yongzhou"

"Isn’t it Mo Jingli who sent someone to do this" Feng Zhiyao asked.

Mos Yao sneered, "Let’s not talk about whether he has the intelligence for it; even if he does, how could two thousand soldiers be wiped out by the rebels in Lingzhou When Mo Jingli’s troops were still near Yizhou city at that time, how did he manage to send at least three thousand soldiers on a long-distance ambush to Yongzhou's reinforcements"

Feng Zhiyao thought for a moment and said, "At the very least, he must have sent this force on the same day as his rebellion to ambush the relief troops near Yunlan River. Moreover, he would need prior knowledge that Yongzhou’s army would definitely send reinforcements to Suixue Pass. Few people know that Wu Chengliang is our man; Mo Jingli surely didn’t know either. If he doesn’t know, it’s even more impossible for him to set up an ambush specifically targeting the relief force from Yongzhou, because Yongzhou might not move at all like other places and might send troops together with them."

"The person who ambushed Minister Wu wasn’t Mo Jingli's man" Ye Li raised her eyebrows.

"There’s more than just South Jin eyeing Great Chu," Mos Yao said coolly.

“Western Ling.” Leng Haoyu stated with certainty. The Northern Rong was too far from the South Jin and their appearances were vastly different from those of the people in Great Chu, making it impossible to infiltrate large numbers into Great Chu. However, Western Ling was different; although there were slight differences between them, it mainly referred to the royal family who intermarried with foreign countries. Ordinary citizens in Western Ling had little difference from the people in Great Chu. The thought of a force capable of eliminating two thousand soldiers infiltrating Great Chu made Leng Haoyu shiver involuntarily.

Mos Yao’s eyes turned deep, "These border guards who hold fortresses should have been disciplined long ago."

Feng Zhiyao shrugged. In recent years, the emperor had replaced most of the border generals; they couldn’t do anything about it either. Eliminating bandits… seemed like a good idea.

“When are we leaving” Feng Zhiyao asked eagerly since he was going to fight regardless of whether South Jin or Western Ling was involved. Mos Yao looked at his long fingers and said softly, "After the emperor’s people take over Yonglin. Get ready first; remember… if you let any one person escape from Great Chu alive, don’t ever tell me that you want to go to war again."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Feng Zhiyao stood up and answered loudly. He hesitated for a moment but still asked: “What about Suixue Pass…”

“We don’t need to deal with it temporarily; they won’t be able to settle their conflict within months. We also have no time to manage them,” Mos Yao said solemnly.

"Understood."

Ye Li quietly watched the two men and frowned slightly, a strange feeling of unease stirring in her heart.e you trying to do You should know well yourself that there’s no way for your body to recover. Do you think giving the throne to Concubine Guifei will ensure peace for you" To make sure it would be fo...