CH 5

Chapter 5

Waiting for them to make a decision, Ji You didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. He knew the temperament of their general. He hates entertaining guests and exchanging pleasantries the most. Being able to have him send a team to escort him was already based on Great General Wei’s face… Uh, and many benefits.

Changlan Mountain was not far from here, it was just the journey of two or three days. The most crucial matter is that this road will save a lot of distance and time to Liangcheng. They would be able to settle down sooner if they could reach the destination one day earlier. If one thought about it this way, a little trouble could not be considered a trouble at all.

Ming Yu arranged for tomorrow’s matter again. Just when it came to an end, the maid Qingping brought the food up. She was the most useful person for Ming Yu among the attendants. Ming Yu’s food and clothing expenses were all managed by Qingping.

“Your Highness, it’s getting late, if there’s something else, let’s discuss it after dinner.” Qingping put the three dishes and one soup on the small table. Originally, according to the prince’s meal, it could not be so simple and crude like this. But under Ming Yu’s persistence, Qingping could only compromise.

Seeing this, Mo Jiang and Ji You were ready to salute and retire. Ming Yu suddenly nodded, noticing that time had passed. His complexion turned deathly pale when he saw the meal on the table. Thinking of the tragedy in the village today, he had been suppressing his emotions before and ordered himself to not think about it. Later, he was discussing business with them and temporarily forgot the incident. Now, when he loosened up and saw the big piece of barbecue on the table, he immediately recalled the tragic scenes and could no longer suppress his thoughts. He rolled over and threw up. 

Ming Yu was a person who grew up in the peaceful era of later generations, so seeing this bloody scene unsuspectingly for the first time, no matter how strong a person was, he would not be able to accept it. Him being able to hold it in until now was already not easy.

“Your Highness, what’s the matter with you?” Qingping asked anxiously. She didn’t understand why His Highness was suddenly like this. She thought it was because his body was uncomfortable. “I’ll go call the imperial physician.”

Ming Yu grabbed her, waved his hand, then said weakly, “I’m fine, I’ll be fine after I vomit. Take these away, I won’t be able to eat for the time being.”

“This…” Qing Ping was extremely anxious. Not knowing the cause, she didn’t know what to do for a while.

Seeing Ming Yu’s pale face, Mo Jiang went to help him sit down, “Your Highness? Are you?” Suddenly remembering the brutal and inhuman scene in the village, he had guessed seven or eight points in his heart, so he calmed Qingping and said, “Remove the meal first. Go and make some light congee later, that will do.”

Qingping looked at Ming Yu helplessly, then seeing him nod, she quickly ordered the people to take away the meal.

Mo Jiang regretted it in his heart. He shouldn’t have told His Highness of the matter, or he should have stopped him and not let him go. Thinking of them going to Changlan Mountain, if they encounter General Xie fighting against the barbarians there, he was afraid that His Highness will not be able to stand this scene even more.

“Your Highness, it’s better to take a detour tomorrow. Although it will take a few more days, it will be safe and sound.” Mo Jiang said worriedly.

Ming Yu was taken aback. After he vomited, his heart felt much better. Then he thought about it and realized Mo Jiang’s worries. Then he smiled and said, “No matter, since it has been decided, there is no need to change it. Actually it is not a big deal. I’ll just get used to it.”

He looked at His Highness Duan Wang, who was forcing himself to smile and was somewhat helpless. His face with baby fat was pale, and the peach blossom eyes were watery because of the physiological reaction after vomiting. There was even still a little water on his eyelashes. Mo Jiang sighed with grief in his heart. In the end, he was still a young man of seventeen to eighteen years old. He was the prince who was held by the hands of everyone inside the palace since his childhood. Leaving his familiar environment to an unknown and dangerous place, maybe inside his heart, he didn’t want to show that indifferent look on the surface at all.

Mo Jiang felt distressed. The more he understood him, the more he felt distressed. That’s right, it’s distress. Distressed for this prince who was covered in glory, splendor, wealth and rank. What is he thinking in his heart? Why did he insist on wanting this desolate and war-torn Liangzhou to be his territory in the face of everyone’s strange gaze and ridicule? Is living in the land near the capital and being a rich and idle prince not a good thing?

He was thinking like that in his heart, but he inadvertently spoke this out loud and asked. Ming Yu looked at him in surprise. Mo Jiang’s face reddened, hai, why didn’t he control his mouth? How could he, a subordinate, ask questions about His Highness’s matter? He saluted in remorse: “Your Highness, Chen* will leave first.” 

(Chen: I, your servant. It’s hard to keep saying this subordinate this, this subordinate that, so i just put the pinyin lol) 

Ming Yu nodded. Seeing Mo Jiang and Ji You go out together, for the first time there was a daze in his heart. That’s right, why did he choose such a place? He asked himself honestly. He didn’t want to stay near the capital because the capital was the center of the whirlpool. He was afraid that he would involuntarily sink into it and eventually be torned apart into pieces.  However, he could also find a place far away from the capital and not need to suffer hardship. He could have enjoyed a future life in the land of fish and rice in Jiangnan. So, why?

His only understanding of the entire Great Yan Dynasty was from the memory of the original owner and from the book “The History of the Great Yan”. When he saw the situation in Liangzhou, he subconsciously came up with an idea: crisis and opportunity coexist, this was an opportunity. The place, the female land, was a blank picture scroll that had never been developed. If he arrived in Liangzhou, he could use his hands to draw everything he wanted on this blank paper of Liangzhou. He may be able to change Liangzhou’s current situation a bit as well. 

Ming Yu thought of what he had seen and heard after entering Liangzhou. There were  aged faces who were numb from all of their ups and downs in life, there were young and energetic people who wanted to join the army to kill the enemy, and there’s even an innocent child without guilt or awareness of the dangers he would face in the future. He once asked them, barbarians invaded from time to time, and wars occurred year after year, why don’t you take refuge and move to other peaceful places and live a peaceful and stable life? However, the answers were all the same. It is hard to leave one’s homeland. Their ancestors have lived on this land for generations after generations. Who would want to leave their own homes against their will? Even fallen leaves return to their roots.

Humans are creatures with emotions. No matter how difficult it is, even if there are barbarians who looked at them like a tiger watching its prey, they still had the garrison troops to protect this land. In addition, there is still the Red Robe Army who were working hard for them. When the future comes, maybe the chaos of war under the heavens would quieten down and make it so they will have a happy life.

Ming Yu was silent, people had faith only when they had hope. Maybe they could do something for them.

Quietly staying in the tent, Ming Yu’s eyes gradually became firmer. When he came here, he never regretted it. Not now, nor will he in the future.

After separating from Mo Jiang, Ji You habitually squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Now, Duan Wang and the others decided to go to Changlan Mountain. Wouldn’t it be troublesome for the general? But, even if there were troubles, it wouldn’t fall on his body anyway. He’d let the general worry about it. As General Xie’s guard, he had never seen any other expressions on his face other than his usual cold face. This Duan Wang was very interesting, he didn’t know how he would react when he met their general.

Ji You sent a letter to their general about Duan Wang’s party route. Xie Yixiu, who was still creating a plan to trap the barbarians, saw the letter. The expression on his face remained unchanged, but his brow wrinkled slightly. He never liked these noble children from the capital, let alone the prince.

This kind of person who was unruly, willful, ignorant and incompetent was a typical hedonistic son of rich parents. Wouldn’t this Duan Wang come here to make trouble for himself? Ah! If he wants to come then let him come. If he knows his place then he can follow him, but if he is arrogantly criticizing him and giving out orders, he didn’t mind letting them go back wherever they came from.

He put the letter back and looked down at the map at hand. He had left this matter at the back of his head. He carefully deduced it to see if there were any mistakes or omissions in the operation. Although it was only against a small group of barbarians, in his mind, no matter how big or small a battle was, as long as the battle was started, there was no difference between big and small. There is only going all out to obtain the greatest victory at the least cost.

Others say that their Red Robe Army triumphed in every battle and won every fight, never suffering any loss in the war. Also, owing to the Emperor having bestowed a title of War General to him based on his constant victories, the people in the country admired and worshiped them. But what they didn’t know was that all these victories were the result of hard work and repeated calculations. The soldiers and officers were all unparalleled, bold, and powerful enough to kill the enemy

As a general, he did not dare to be negligent in each tactical plan. The lives of his soldiers were in his own hands, and the responsibilities he shouldered were heavier than that of Mount Tai, thus he didn’t have so much time to think about other things.

Ming Yu and the others began to strike camp early the next morning. Today, Ming Yu’s spirits have improved a lot, which made Mo Jiang breathe a sigh of relief. After he went back yesterday, he was still worried about whether His Highness’s body was good or not. Now it seems that there was no major problem. This was good, it put his heart at ease. 

Actually, a human’s adaptability is very strong. Ming Yu had a strong heart, otherwise he would have collapsed when he first came to this unfamiliar world. Two or three days was enough time for him to adjust his mentality. Therefore, when he arrived at Changlan Mountain, Ming Yu had already recovered to his original state, speaking and handling things as before. With a kind of unperturbed and unhurried appearance, just like the calm feeling of a spring breeze.

Originally, Ming Yu thought that he would be able to meet the prestigious War General in Changlan Mountain. Who knew that the other party wouldn’t even pay attention to him. Not to mention greeting him, he didn’t even show his face. There was only the lieutenant of the Red Robe Army and a few close companions coming to greet him.

Ming Yu was a little disappointed. Ji You had long expected this. He came out and smoothen things over for their general: “Your Highness, the general is still arranging tactics. He can’t get away for a while. I hope Your Highness will forgive him.”

Ming Yu smiled slightly, “It doesn’t matter, the general is excluded and without freedom to act independently. He should by all means attach great importance to his work.” 

Ji You quietly looked at Ming Yu’s amiable smiling face, for a while, he wasn’t sure if this was the truth or irony.

But Mo Jiang opened his mouth to clear the siege, “It’s because we were impulsive, and did not inform General Xie in advance. General Xie was occupied with an important matter, and we were also aware of that. General Ji doesn’t have to mind us.” He knew His Highness. Although he had regrets, he did not take this matter to heart.

Since Commander Mo had said so, Ji Yu nodded with an awkward smile. The lieutenant who came to greet him politely let Duan Wang and his party station there on the spot, waiting for them to destroy the barbarians before settling on to continue the journey. It shouldn’t be long, just the effort of two days. He didn’t dare let them into the battlefield. Although the number of barbarians was not large, they were all bold, powerful and vicious. Even rabbits who are anxious can bite people. If the counterattack happens to hurt Duan Wang’s people, then they wouldn’t have anything good to report back.  

Ming Yu knew of their difficulties, and accepted such an arrangement graciously. In fact, they didn’t really want to participate in the war. It was already a very good experience to be able to observe them from the sidelines.