Chapter 344: Breaking the stockade and the two young ladies, Chai Rong, blocking the way [Thanks to everyone for your support!]

Amidst the massive military formation,

beneath a large banner with the character "Cao,"

Cao Zhao, the fourth son of Marquis Tuoxi, who was about the same age as Xu Zaiduan, wore armor and used his hand to shield his eyes from the glare, looking up at the Bai Gao Kingdom military stockade not far away.

Cao Zhao turned his head to look back at the direction of Yongle City in the distance behind him and let out a deep breath.

Afterwards, Cao Zhao used his leather boots to stomp hard on the ground, turned his head, and said to Zhang Fangshun, the eldest son of the Ling Guo Gong, who was beside him:

"Brother Shun, do you think there are the bones and blood of our Great Zhou sons in this soil?"

Zhang Fangshun, who was also wearing general's armor, looked at the surrounding terrain and said, "Yes."

"The Yongle City we departed from, isn't it not far from the old site of that 'Yongle City' from decades ago?"

Cao Zhao nodded and said with deep emotion, "Indeed! The blood of our predecessors!"

Since the founding of the Great Zhou,

the military families of Cao, Zhe, Zhong, Yao, and Liu have guarded the northwestern frontiers of Great Zhou for generations.

There used to be a Guo family, whose strength was far above the previous four families; at their peak decades ago, they even produced two Empresses.

That year, when His Majesty had just taken personal control of the government, he married the eldest daughter of the Guo family, the head of the northwestern military families, and in high spirits, he launched a campaign against the Bai Gao Kingdom.

In the early stages of this war, the Great Zhou army was like a hot knife through butter, invading the territory of the Bai Gao Kingdom.

However, the head of the Guo family was greedy for merit and proud, underestimating the enemy. Although other generals risked military punishment to offer earnest advice, he turned a deaf ear.

According to the older generation, that General Guo was so impatient because the Empress Guo had not conceived for many years after their marriage—it wasn't that there were no heirs, but that she had never been pregnant.

This eventually led to a crushing defeat; more than half of the elite Western Army was lost, and the Great Zhou army was forced to flee in defeat, retreating back into Great Zhou territory.

This place was the battlefield back then.

Cao Zhao said again, "By the way! Brother Shun!"

Zhang Fangshun looked over in confusion: "Hmm?"

Cao Zhao: "Do you remember the child from the Marquis Yongyi family I mentioned to you before?"

Zhang Fangshun smiled and replied, "What do you mean remember? That kid helped us quite a bit in Bianjing; how could I forget?"

Cao Zhao nodded and said, "My third uncle, who was born of a concubine, was saved here by his maternal grandfather."

Hearing this, Zhang Fangshun raised his eyebrows.

Looking at Zhang Fangshun's expression, Cao Zhao said, "Brother Shun, you knew already?"

"Yes! I heard my father mention it before."

Cao Zhao nodded.

Zhang Fangshun said, "Alright, the flag over at Marquis Cao's side is waving; let the artillery carts smash them for a while first."

Afterwards, the two stopped talking.

Before long,

stones of various sizes flew through their field of vision and then smashed heavily into the Bai Gao Kingdom military stockade.

After the stones were finished, another wave of jars filled with flammable grease was thrown onto the stockade walls of the Bai Gao Kingdom military camp.

A raging fire broke out.

After smashing like this for an hour, the stockade walls of the Bai Gao Kingdom had become extremely damaged and mottled.

The artillery bombardment ended,

and the war drums not far from Zhang Fangshun began to rumble.

A battalion of five hundred Great Zhou soldiers wearing armor and holding shields walked toward the stockade, followed by soldiers pushing crossbow carts and siege towers.

This troop of soldiers had just walked halfway.

There was an uproar in the Bai Gao Kingdom military stockade, and figures were moving on the stockade walls.

Then, in the Great Zhou military formation, another round of artillery stones flew over and smashed fiercely into the figures on the stockade walls.

Looking at the high siege tower used for scouting the enemy, a soldier was waving a flag.

The rhythm of the drums in the Great Zhou military formation quickened.

At this moment, stones flew out from the Bai Gao Kingdom military stockade, targeting the battalion of soldiers currently advancing.

Upon seeing stones flying over, the commander of the battalion had already ordered a rapid advance.

But the stones still smashed into the battalion's formation; it seems someone in the Bai Gao Kingdom military stockade had anticipated the Great Zhou soldiers' movements.

Attacking cities and breaking stockades is not a game,

and the miscellaneous laborers are also Great Zhou citizens, so naturally, they cannot be used to consume the Bai Gao Kingdom's arrows.

Therefore, the leading troop consisted of convicts exiled here after committing crimes within Great Zhou; if they were lucky and performed meritorious service in attacking cities and stockades, they could enter the regular army.

If they were unlucky, they would be left for corpse collection.

Fortunately, they had the crossbow carts behind them for cover, and this military stockade had already been smashed once by the artillery carts.

Before the sun had set, this military stockade had already changed hands.

The subsequent Bai Gao Kingdom military stockades were mostly taken down in this manner.

Mid-March,

afternoon,

Bianjing,

Imperial Palace,

inside the Great Hall,

the Chief Eunuch walked hurriedly to the entrance of the Great Hall,

and after walking in quickly, just as the Chief Eunuch was about to speak, he saw Zhao Fang standing beside the Emperor.

The Chief Eunuch immediately adjusted his expression and said in a suppressed breath:

"Your Majesty, an urgent military report from Marquis Tuoxi."

"Read it!"

The Chief Eunuch held the document in his hand and read it carefully.

The Emperor stood before a massive map,

and standing beside him was the Imperial Prince Zhao Fang, whose somewhat confused gaze followed the Emperor's finger as it moved continuously across the map.

"Hahahaha! Good! Very good!"

"This kind of steady, step-by-step approach is the right path!"

Glancing at the confused Zhao Fang, the Emperor said:

"Has the enlarged map drawn by Gu Dalang while accompanying the army not been copied yet?"

Hearing the Emperor's question, the Chief Eunuch bowed slightly and said:

"Replying to Your Majesty, this time there is only this urgent military report; there is no map of the newly expanded territory."

The Emperor said: "Hmm? How did this happen?"

The Chief Eunuch did not speak, bowing even deeper.

Glancing at Zhao Fang, who was looking at the map with his back to him and the Chief Eunuch.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and said: "Fang'er, go find your mother the Empress and tell her this good news!"

Zhao Fang turned around and bowed:

"Yes, Father Emperor!"

Afterwards, Zhao Fang walked out happily.

"What exactly happened?"

The Emperor sat on the chair behind the imperial desk and asked in a low voice.

The Chief Eunuch bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, the urgent report from Marquis Tuoxi states that two days ago, while Gu Dalang was surveying and mapping the newly expanded territory, he encountered Bai Gao Kingdom scouts."

Hearing this, the Emperor's eyes widened, and he asked urgently:

"Is he alright?"

"Did Marquis Tuoxi not assign guards to Gu Dalang?"

As he spoke, the Emperor stood up and snatched the battle report from the Chief Eunuch's hand.

After reading it, the Emperor sighed.

"Since Gu Dalang's body was not found, does that mean it's possible Gu Dalang was captured by the Bai Gao?"

"Your Majesty is wise; this servant thinks so too."

Outside the hall,

Zhao Fang stopped his steps at the entrance, his eyes full of shock and anxiety.

Just as Zhao Fang was about to lift his foot to enter the hall, not knowing what he thought of, he forcibly stopped his steps.

His eyes were full of thoughtful expressions; afterwards, he withdrew the foot he had stepped out, turned around, and walked away from the hall.

On the way to find the Empress, the expression on Zhao Fang's little face became increasingly serious.

Walking outside the Empress's hall,

hearing the laughter inside, Zhao Fang, despite his young age, actually adjusted his expression.

After changing from serious to a smiling face, he called out:

"Mother Empress!"

Jiying Lane,

the two carriages of the Marquis Yongyi family turned at the intersection,

and got onto the wide main street of Bianjing.

Inside the carriage,

Xu Zaijing looked at Qingcao and smiled with some disbelief: "Qingcao, are you saying that Xiaodie went on a blind date two days ago?"

Qingcao shook her head:

"Young Master, it wasn't a blind date! It was Sister Xiaodie going out to let Madam Ni and the others take a look at her."

"I heard from Xiaotao that there were also several madams of our family's relatives and comrades-in-arms!"

Xu Zaijing nodded; he really hadn't paid attention to Xiaodie's affairs.

"By the way, Young Master, looking at the fabric of the clothes on the Fifth Da Niangzi, don't you find it familiar?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said: "I didn't notice that!"

Qingcao pursed her lips and looked at Xu Zaijing, saying:

"Young Master, I heard from Xiaotao that when Sister Xiaodie went to the Ni family, she bumped into Brother Yue of the Ni family! Even the clothes that Madam Wei likes the most were torn!"

"So, Madam Ni gave the fabric that our family's Madam gave her..."

Xu Zaijing thought for a moment and said: "One of those fabrics bestowed by the palace?"

Qingcao nodded.

Thinking about Rulan's attire, Xu Zaijing pondered for a moment and said: "When we return to the mansion today, you go to the storeroom and take a few more similar pieces of fabric to send to the Old Madam."

"Yes, Young Master."

At this moment,

Qingyun outside the carriage said: "Young Master, I see Brother Gao Yunqing."

Xu Zaijing was stunned and said: "Ah? They returned from the south?"

Qingyun said: "I just saw him riding a horse past; he seems to be in a great hurry."

Xu Zaijing thought about Zhao Meifeng's trip to the south and said: "There shouldn't be anything wrong, right?"

In Youyang, he's just a scholar; it shouldn't be enough to make the soldiers of the Imperial City Division so anxious.

"Yes, Young Master."

The two carriages of Xu Zaijing and Zaihang continued to walk on the street.

At an intersection some distance away from the Xu brothers,

two luxurious carriages were parked on the side of the road where there were few people,

one hanging a "Chai" sign and one hanging a "Rong" sign.

The four maidservants standing around and the servants following were keeping people from getting close to these two carriages.

Inside one of the carriages with the "Rong" wooden plaque, Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan were sitting in the same carriage, leaning together toward the carriage curtain to look outside.

Chai Zhengzheng said softly: "Sister Feiyan, will the Xu family young master really come home from here?"

Rong Feiyan nodded and said:

"I saw the Xu family young master before when I was serving porridge on behalf of my sister; the Sheng family returning to the Xu family, this is the only way."

"Sister Zhengzheng, this little eunuch's mouth is really tight; no matter how I ask him, he won't say what's going on."

Chai Zhengzheng said: "The Imperial Prince brought him over personally and even said it was a secret between the Prince and the Xu family young master; how could he speak?"

At this moment,

Miss Yun Mu outside the carriage walked to the side of the carriage and said: "Da Niangzi, it seems the Xu family's carriage is coming."

"Block it and say there's something to find Young Master Jing about."

"Yes."

Inside the Xu family carriage,

Zaihang lifted the carriage curtain, looked at Miss Yun Mu standing on the side of the street outside, and said: "Whose maidservant are you? Why are you looking for my little brother?"

Miss Yun Mu bowed and said: "Third Young Master, this servant is from the Chai family; Brother Jin and the Fifth Young Master are on good terms."

Zaihang glanced at Miss Yun Mu, then looked at the two luxurious carriages decorated with fresh flowers in the distance, pondered for a moment, and put down the carriage curtain:

"He is behind."

Afterwards, the Xu family carriage continued to walk forward a few steps,

and the servant of Zaihang following the carriage said: "Young Master, should we wait a moment?"

Zaihang said: "No need! Let's go!"

Behind them, Qingyun was sitting on the back of a horse; hearing the words of the maidservant Miss Yun Mu, Qingyun's gaze immediately looked toward the Chai family carriage on the side.

At this time, Chai Zhengzheng happened to be lifting the carriage curtain in the Rong family carriage to look.

Seeing Qingyun, Chai Zhengzheng smiled and nodded.

Qingyun's eyes were somewhat knowing as he said by the carriage: "Young Master, it's Sister Zhengzheng."

Xu Zaijing asked in confusion: "That young lady from the Chai family?"

"Yes!"

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing lifted the carriage curtain; his good eyesight allowed him to see the "Rong" wooden plaque on the carriage, as well as Ningxiang and Seeing Xi Bu beside the carriage.

Seeing Xu Zaijing look over, the maidservant bowed, while Rong Feiyan and Chai Zhengzheng pointed toward the Chai family carriage.

Xu Zaijing got off the carriage in confusion.

At this moment, inside the Chai family carriage, the little eunuch Qingyun lifted the carriage curtain, bowed to Xu Zaijing, and had an urgent look in his eyes.

Xu Zaijing understood and walked to the side of the carriage; looking at the gazes looking over from around, he did not get on the carriage but stood by the carriage window and said:

"Little Eunuch, may I ask what is the matter?"

"Fifth Young Master, I am Qingyun from the palace; the Imperial Prince sent this servant out of the palace, saying there is an important matter to tell you!"

Xu Zaijing smiled and said: "Then speak."

Qingyun looked around and then whispered a few words in the carriage.

Xu Zaijing's smile froze on his face; he stared at Qingyun and said: "Is this true?"

"Fifth Young Master, it is true! It is what the Prince heard from His Majesty."

"The Prince is worried that this matter will spread too quickly and let the Xu family Madam know, so he specifically sent this servant out to report."

"The Prince also said..."

Xu Zaijing calmed his mood and said: "Speak."

"The Prince said that using the two Li family brothers, it is highly likely that the person can be exchanged back."

Xu Zaijing took a deep breath and nodded:

"Alright, I understand! You go back and thank the Prince for me."

"Also, don't forget to remind the Prince to go and plead guilty to His Majesty and the Empress."

Qingyun nodded repeatedly in the carriage.

Xu Zaijing sighed and walked to the front of the Rong family carriage.

Xu Zaijing squeezed out a smile and bowed to the two young ladies in the carriage.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's action, in broad daylight, Rong Feiyan lost her previous "fierce" look of "just looking at you" and lowered her head slightly.

Then Rong Feiyan looked at Chai Zhengzheng beside her with a sudden feeling.

Looking at Chai Zhengzheng's smiling eyes looking at Xu Zaijing, Rong Feiyan hurriedly raised her head and smiled in the same way.

While smiling, she also glanced at Chai Zhengzheng several times.

Chai Zhengzheng felt Rong Feiyan's gaze looking over from time to time and tried hard to keep herself from turning to look at her.

Seeing Xu Zaijing get on the carriage, Chai Zhengzheng said: "Sister Feiyan, what secret do you think it is? Why does the Xu family young master look so unhappy?"

After asking, Chai Zhengzheng said to the maidservants of the two families who leaned over: "Let's go, return to the mansion."

The carriage began to move.

The sound of the carriage wheels,

listening to the shouting and selling sounds and talking sounds outside the carriage, Rong Feiyan in the carriage did not look at Chai Zhengzheng again, but lowered her head and pondered for a while:

"Sister Watching Watching Rong Fei said that the Prince has always been very smart and sensible, and also likes the Xu family young master very much! The secret... it wouldn't be Yong..."

Chai Zhengzheng beside her looked at Rong Feiyan's shocked expression and listened to her words that stopped halfway; she frowned and pondered, then shook her head:

"No!"

"If there really were such a major event, His Majesty would not let the Prince participate at such a young age!"

Rong Feiyan nodded.

Quyuan Street,

at the entrance of the Marquis mansion,

Xu Zaijing sat in the carriage and said: "Qingcao, go and take out the things you three made for my sister."

Qingcao: "Young Master, the one for that young lady?"

Looking at Xu Zaijing's eyes,

Qingcao: "Oh, the Eldest Da Niangzi!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 345 =====