That night, Qin Chuyuan and Gong Xiaohua ate dinner together.
The two of them ate in silence. After dinner was over, the maid brought tea and then withdrew.
"Wei Country covets Dayi Dynasty greatly. In the future, war will be inevitable. The court will use this marriage alliance to try to delay the start of the war as long as possible. After the envoys from Wei Country leave, Dayi Dynasty will immediately start recruiting and training a large number of troops," said Qin Chuyuan.
Although he did not state the reason specifically, Gong Xiaohua guessed some of it: "Mm, the two princes of Wei Country are key. During this period, I will arrange for the imperial guards to strictly patrol people entering and leaving the city to prevent any mishaps."
Court policies and decrees concerned national affairs that affected the lives of people throughout the world. She had never actively participated in them because she arrogantly believed that as a person from the future, she could reverse the rise and fall of a dynasty.
On the contrary, the ancient people were very wise. The scholars and politicians in Dayi Dynasty were not only profoundly learned but also had been immersed in the court of Ye Country for many years. They knew how to formulate policies and decrees that best suited the current national conditions.
She only stood on the shoulders of later generations and knew some advanced knowledge. But this was not necessarily suitable for the present.
Although she could make some simple firearms, she would not let them appear in this world until the critical moment of life and death. She never underestimated the ambition of any king.
She only needed to keep her original intention and combine the knowledge of later generations with the present in the areas she was good at. She would make her troops stronger so that the warriors could survive better on the battlefield. She wanted to make a little contribution to this dynasty with her limited capabilities.
The envoys from Wei Country stayed in Dayi Dynasty for only half a month before proposing a marriage alliance with the fifth prince of Ye Country, an idle prince. Under the urging of the envoys from Wei Country, the two sides held a simple wedding ceremony.
Then they were eager to propose returning to their country. To them, the tenth princess was just a tool to exchange for the two princes and tens of thousands of soldiers.
When they set off, Ye Country sent Gong Xiaohua leading hundreds of imperial guards to escort them all the way to ensure the safety of the two princes of Wei Country. This was to avoid war and prevent the other three countries from taking advantage of the situation.
The Crown Prince had previously sent imperial spies to investigate and found out that those three envoys were all people under the second prince of Wei Country. The two sides reached an agreement to release the two princes of Wei Country and ten thousand border troops, providing the necessary food and supplies in installments over one year.
During this period, the city walls of the capital had been repaired. Detailed maps of the capital's geography were drawn in modern architectural drawings on a 1:100 scale. One copy was submitted to the imperial palace, and one copy was in Gong Xiaohua's hands.
Moreover, she spent time every three days to check the training results of the army and handle some military affairs.
The "Eight Saber Breaking Forms" and "S Country Fighting Techniques", after more than a month of training, many Western Garden Army soldiers had only learned the basics and were far from the level she required. Only He Lianyu barely met her standards, thanks to her special coaching for him many times.
The imperial guards were also practicing these two martial arts. When she first took over the imperial guards, she singled out some people with a good foundation to learn from her separately. Then they passed on the learnings to others.
Although everyone had different aptitudes, these two martial arts did not have fancy moves. They were all direct killing techniques that did not require exceptional talent, just persistent daily efforts. Eventually, there would be achievements.
In addition, she spent time transcribing the famous military book The Art of War to cultivate the military quality of the army commanders.
Army commanders needed to be wise, trustworthy, benevolent, brave, and strict. Among the commanders of the two armies she was in charge of now, trustworthiness, benevolence, bravery, and strictness were adequate, but wisdom was somewhat lacking, especially for He Lianyu and Guo Fan. The former was a playboy, while the latter was a hothead.
She gave the transcribed The Art of War, simply named The Art of War, to her uncle Li Zichen.
Her uncle was very knowledgeable, especially skilled in military theories and had some insights into troop deployment. She asked Li Zichen to study it first and then teach it to the captains and above in the army.
Li Zichen received The Art of War and was instantly attracted after seeing the thirty-six stratagems inside. He did not care where his niece got the book from and directly praised it as the divine book of military strategies. He became completely engrossed in the book.
When Gong Xiaohua left with a hundred imperial guards, Qin Chuyuan secretly sent dozens of spies to follow them, including the head spy Qin Yi.
Before leaving, they assured their young lord that as long as they were there, the young mistress would be safe. Even if they were not there, they would do their utmost to ensure the young mistress returned to Ye Country alive.
On the way, Gong Xiaohua's group encountered several assassination attempts, all targeting the two princes of Wei Country, but they all failed.
Wei Country was north of Ye Country. The closer they got to Wei Country, the more severe the weather became. It could be scorching sun one day and snowstorms the next day.
When they were about to reach the border of Wei Country, heavy snow fell, making the road difficult to travel. Gong Xiaohua's group found a canyon to camp and rest, waiting for the snowstorm to stop.
"General Gong, the weather in Wei Country is too harsh. It's just autumn, but it's already minus dozens of degrees here. Our people in Ye Country are still busy with the autumn harvest."
"Yes, brr, it's too cold."
"I heard that large areas of Wei Country have such severe climate unsuitable for growing crops. No wonder they come out every year to raid and plunder. Otherwise they would starve to death."
Several guards sitting with Gong Xiaohua chatted idly.
"So do you know why we people of Wei Country come out to rob food every winter? This is the reason. Summer is hot and dry; what you call autumn is the beginning of winter for us, lasting nearly six months."
A voice came from behind the guards. It turned out to be the second prince of Wei Country, who walked over with the third prince and the young envoy, explaining as they walked.
The guards from Ye Country hurriedly stood up and saluted the people from Wei Country, then tactfully withdrew.
The second prince came over with a wine jug and sat down next to Gong Xiaohua while the other two chose to sit on the other side of the fire.
The second prince handed the wine jug to Gong Xiaohua, "Drink some wine to warm up."
Gong Xiaohua only glanced at it and did not take it. The other party seemed to know her concerns and said with a smile, "It's clean."
Only then did Gong Xiaohua take the wine jug from the other party and drank a sip. Her body instantly felt much warmer.
"What's the matter?"
"We're about to reach the border of Wei Country and will part ways soon. We came to thank General Gong for escorting us all the way."
"The prince is too kind. I'm just performing my duties."
Just as she finished speaking, a group of more than a hundred people appeared ahead, led by an old man.
Seeing the sudden appearance of people, the guards from Ye Country picked up their weapons and stood behind Gong Xiaohua, vigilant.
The second prince looked at the people coming and turned to Gong Xiaohua, "As long as you come back to Wei Country with me, I'll let these people behind you go."
"Are they your men?"
"Yes."
Upon receiving the other party's answer, Gong Xiaohua frowned. On the way here, nearly half of their hundred guards had died or were injured. Now the other side had over a hundred people, greatly outnumbering them.
"As long as you come back to Wei Country with me and swear allegiance to me, I can also make you a general, even higher position than in Ye Country. If you are still not satisfied, we can also make you a royal consort. Our third brother is infatuated with you!"
"Third brother." The third prince of Wei Country blushed rarely.
But he looked at Gong Xiaohua with hopeful eyes, "Since the last battle, I have especially admired you. As long as you come back to Wei Country with me, I will immediately ask my father the king to grant you the title of my royal consort. Don't worry, I don't mind that you were married before, and I will definitely treat you well. As the royal consort, you can also do whatever you want."
"Stop. I have no interest in being your royal consort at all." Gong Xiaohua said.
Then, not giving the other party any chance to speak, she looked directly at the second prince, "Does the second prince want to go back on his word?"
"Of course not. I sincerely appreciate your talents and sincerely invite you to join my Wei Country. What do you think? Consider it?"
"No need to consider. I am in Ye Country and will always be a person of Ye Country."
Everyone fell silent. The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.
At this time, the old man dismounted, came to the front of the second prince and others, and saluted.
"Your humble servant pays respects to Second Prince, Third Prince."
"No need for formalities."
"Thank you, Second Prince, Third Prince."
As he stood up, the other party suddenly attacked Second Prince, striking out with a palm towards the front. Second Prince was caught completely off guard and had to retreat several steps before stopping, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Master?" Third Prince immediately shielded his second elder brother behind him, looking at the man in front shock.
This man was none other than Ghost Eunuch, also his master, who had fought Gong Xiaohua at Nanlong Prefecture.
"You betrayed me?" Second Prince said angrily.
"I had no choice, I did not want to betray you, but in order to survive I had to do this."
"So the traitor who leaked information from Wuji Sect was you?"
"That's right, it was me. If you hadn't insisted on investigating the traitor in the sect, I wouldn't have resorted to this."
"It seems you all are more dangerous than us!" Gong Xiaohua replied with a laugh.
"Don't forget, we're still in Ye Country's territory. If I die, they'll frame everything on your Ye Country." The other gritted his teeth and said.
