Qiu Shuang followed Li Saozi1 into town. They saw a large crowd rushing frantically towards a place as soon as they arrived.
Li Saozi1 quickly grabbed a woman and asked, "Where is everyone going?"
The woman struggled but couldn't break free. In a hurry, she said, "The grain store has opened! Everyone is going to buy grain. Let go of me—I need to buy some too!"
Li Saozi1 was overjoyed and immediately released the woman's arm. She turned to Qiu Shuang and urged, "Let's go have a look. If there is grain for sale, let's buy some too." The town's grain store had been closed for two months, and no one knew why it had suddenly reopened.
Qiu Shuang was sceptical. Something didn't feel right. Lowering her voice, she said, "Let's ask around later and find out why they're selling grain now." She wasn't surprised that the grain merchants still had stock—they were hoarding grain to sell at higher prices. But for them to sell it at this moment seemed suspicious.
Six long lines had already formed at the entrance to the granary, with over thirty Yamen officers keeping order nearby. Qiu Shuang and Li Saozi1 wisely joined the shortest queue.
Looking at the dozens of people ahead, Li Saozi1 grew anxious. "What if they run out of grain before our turn?" She clutched the two taels of silver that Qiu Shuang had given her, intending to exchange it all for food so her family could survive the winter until spring.
Qiu Shuang remained silent, not wanting to draw attention to herself. But she also hoped to buy some finer grains to improve her lady's diet.
Fortunately, there was still grain when it was their turn. However, when Li Saozi1 learned that her two taels of silver could only buy twenty jin of coarse grain, her eyes widened in shock. "What? One tael of silver for just ten jin of grain? This is daylight robbery!" Normally, a jin of coarse grain cost only four or five copper coins, but now it was fifty per jin—outrageous.
The shopkeeper sneered, "If you're not going to buy, then step aside and stop wasting our time!" If the rebel army weren't about to reach Maicheng, their boss wouldn't have considered selling the grain at all. If they could hold on to it until next year, they could sell it for one tael per dou2.
Despite her anger, Li Saozi1 had no choice but to grit her teeth and exchange her silver for grain. The forty jin she had bought would barely last her family a month.
Qiu Shuang then handed over a ten-tael silver ingot and said, "Five taels' worth of white rice, five taels' worth of fine flour." She wanted to bring back some better food for her lady.
Since even coarse grain had skyrocketed in price, white rice and fine flour were even more expensive. Her ten taels of silver only got her thirty jin of fine grain.
Qiu Shuang strapped the grain onto her back without arguing and followed Li Saozi1 to the general store. There, she bought some dried goods such as red dates and soybeans. It was also at the store that she finally learned why the granary had been reopened.
It turned out that the Northwest Army had rebelled and was now approaching Lanzhou. Lanzhou was only a few days' journey from Maicheng, so the grain store owner feared the rebels would soon arrive. He wanted to sell off his stock for silver and flee before it was too late.
Upon hearing this news, Qiu Shuang breathed a sigh of relief. General Yun had finally rebelled—meaning her Master would likely be freed soon.
As they left the general store, Li Saozi1 whispered nervously, "Miss Shuang, two men are following us."
With their baskets full of grain, they couldn't afford to be robbed.
Qiu Shuang didn't even look back; she simply kept walking forward. As they passed a butcher's shop, she noticed that the stall was selling meat. At this point, she had already spent all of her silver. After a moment's thought, she took off her silver earrings and exchanged them for a small piece of meat.
On the way back, the two of them encountered three groups of robbers—two of which were wearing the uniforms of government officers. Qiu Shuang harboured a deep grudge against these so-called officers. When she saw them brazenly attempting to rob her, she struck without hesitation, killing both groups. As for the last group, who were simply starving and desperate, she spared their lives, only knocking two of them unconscious.
Li Saozi1 was so frightened that her legs went weak. "Miss Shuang, they'll definitely come after us!" she said in a panic. Killing officers—if they came looking for revenge, wouldn't that implicate their whole family?
Qiu Shuang remained calm. "Li Saozi1, don't worry. Those people weren't real officers—they were just wearing their uniforms." She only dared to kill them because she knew the Northwest Army was about to arrive. She wouldn't have acted so boldly if it were under normal circumstances.
Back in the village, Qiu Shuang immediately shared the good news with Fu Qingluo. "Miss, I'm sure Master must be with them! When the time comes, we should go find him—"
Before she could finish, Fu Qingluo shook her head and firmly refused. "No, we can't go looking for my brother." If she did, not only would she lose her freedom, but her child might also be taken away from her.
Qiu Shuang hesitated. "Then what should we do? We don't have much money left." They had already spent most of their silver.
Fu Qingluo said, "As soon as the Northwest Army arrives, you should go find Duoming." In her current condition, she couldn't risk wandering around. Fortunately, Duoming worked as an insider for Yun Qing and wasn't truly a rebel. Otherwise, her brother might never acknowledge her again.
The Northwest Army had advanced from Yu City to Wucheng without losing a single soldier, quickly claiming large swathes of Gansu territory. However, their rapid success was halted at Lanzhou.
As soon as Ji Xuan received news of the rebellion, he immediately mobilised 100,000 troops to fortify Lanzhou while ordering Chen Wei to attack Nancheng. The same Chen Wei that Yun Qing and Feng Dajun had once derided as incompetent now showed unexpected ferocity. In less than three days, nearly half of the insurgent forces in Nancheng had been k*lled or wounded.
Yang Duoming was deeply worried. At this rate, Nancheng would fall in less than three days, and their only option would be to flee to Shu.
His trusted aide, Yan Xi, was puzzled and muttered, "Boss, the Imperial Army is suddenly fighting fiercely. Why did they hold back before, acting so weak and ineffective?" He couldn't make sense of it.
Yang Duoming was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Ji Xuan deceived us. It's not that he couldn't destroy the rebels - he deliberately delayed. His true goal lies elsewhere."
Yan Xi frowned in confusion. "Who is Ji Xuan really after?" Who could be so important that Ji Xuan would orchestrate such an elaborate plan?
Yang Duoming's expression darkened. "His target is Yun Qing. If he can eliminate Yun Qing, the Northwest will truly be under his control." The Northwest Army was like a sword hanging over Ji Xuan's head. If he had any treacherous ambitions, that sword could easily take his life.
Yan Xi grew anxious. "Boss, Ji Xuan has gathered 100,000 troops from Shaanxi to fortify Lanzhou. Including the forces already stationed there and Chen Wei's army, his total strength must be around 130,000 to 140,000 soldiers. Yun Qing only has 30,000 men—how can he possibly win?"
A four-to-one disadvantage—was there any question as to who would emerge victorious?
Yang Duoming shook his head, "We must send someone to deliver this information to Yun Qing." If Yun Qing were caught unprepared, he would suffer a devastating loss.
Yang Duoming fell into deep thought.
Shen Xiaomao, on the other hand, became increasingly worried. "Boss, Chen Wei's forces are about to break through Nancheng! We can't just sit here and wait to die!"
Yan Xi frowned as he said, "Boss, we can barely protect ourselves right now. How are we supposed to send a message to Yun Qing?"
Yang Duoming insisted, "No matter what, we have to get this information to Yun Qing." If Yun Qing failed this time, Yang Duoming might never get his revenge. Even if it cost him his life, he had to make sure that Yun Qing was aware of the situation.
Yan Xi shook his head. "Boss, that's not realistic. We're hundreds of miles away from Yun Qing, and all the roads are sealed off. It'll be too late by the time our message gets to him."
Yang Duoming fell silent—because Yan Xi was right.
Yun Qing was not a reckless man. Even though he was leading the rebellion this time, he had not rushed to seize territory and expand his forces but had proceeded carefully and methodically instead. As a result, he always sent out a large number of scouts to survey the road ahead, which naturally caused delays.
Cui Mo thought Yun Qing was being overly cautious. "General, the local troops are all cowards. They will either run away or surrender. What's there to worry about?"
Yun Qing glanced at Cui Mo. "The terrain ahead is complex. We'll suffer heavy casualties if someone sets up an ambush there." The Northwest Army was strong but not invincible.
As a general, he naturally wanted to win battles. But if he could do so with a minimum of casualties, that would be even better—and in that respect, Yun Qing was excellent.
Cui Mo couldn't help but mutter to Yuan Ying, "The General is being way too careful."
Yuan Ying glared at him. "This isn't about being careful—it's about prudence. It's about taking responsibility for the lives of thirty thousand soldiers." If there were no ambush, they would only lose a few hours. But if there was an ambush and the scouts discovered it, they could prevent unnecessary casualties.
Cui Mo scoffed, "Those guys are running away before the battle even starts. Where would they get the nerve to set up an ambush?" The local troops were too weak to stand up to them. The moment they heard the name of the Northwest Army, they fled—an ambush? That was a joke.
Yuan Ying couldn't be bothered to argue with him. "Just follow the General's orders. Otherwise, if we get attacked, don't say I didn't warn you." When Yun Qing got angry, the only one who could calm him down was Huo Changqing—no one else dared to step in.
Cui Mo grumbled a bit, but he wouldn't actually defy Yun Qing's orders. Violating military law meant a flogging at best and losing his head at worst. With victory in sight, dying now would be a genuinely pitiful end.
And sure enough, Yun Qing's caution proved to be justified. Of the twelve scouts he sent out, only one returned—and he was gravely injured.
When Yun Qing heard the scout report that there was an ambush in Gaojialing, he didn't even flinch. Instead, he calmly asked, "Have you been able to estimate their numbers?" As a commander, he had to remain calm and clearheaded, even in sudden crises.
The scout shook his head. "Not exactly, but it looked like a lot." The moment they discovered the ambush, the enemy sent pursuers after them. If it weren't for the sacrifice of his eleven comrades, he wouldn't have made it out alive.
Yun Qing immediately ordered the army to halt. "Prepare for battle." They might not be advancing, but that didn't mean the enemy wouldn't attack.
When Cui Mo heard the news, he broke out in a cold sweat. "D*mn it, there really was an ambush." If the scouts hadn't discovered it, their army would have walked straight into a death trap.
P.S. (Author June): O(∩_∩)O~ Writing male battle scenes is my weakness, but I'm working on it......
Footnotes Full List
- lit. elder brother's wife; sister-in-law. Saozi is also a general term for a young married woman and an honourable title for a friend's wife.
- a traditional unit of volume, equal to 10 sheng (市升), and equivalent to 10 litres or 17.60 pints or 2.2 gallons
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi