Chapter 143: How Did We Meet Again?

Gu Xixi brought the empty wine cup to her nose, incredulously lifting her eyes to look at the two people.

"It's not wine; this is clearly... plain water?"

The water was still warm.

Huo Jiang gestured for Meng Chengping to explain.

Although Meng Chengping was still smiling, he wasn't mocking; his expression was utterly serious.

"Boss Gu knows the Northwest Army's predicament—troops can eat their fill every day, but they often have to rely on the Grand General dipping into his own purse; where would there be spare money for liquor?"

"Moreover, there's another reason: five years ago, at the onset of winter, the Northwest went two months without rain or snow; combined with the mountain peaks freezing solid in winter and the rivers running dry, a bowl of clean, odorless hot water became the army's most luxurious perk."

"Even the Grand General himself wouldn't drink it, reserving the clean water first for the wounded, sick, and elderly in the army."

"Everyone else could only drink the autumn rainwater stored in earthen cellars—water so murky and earthy that its filth hardly mattered; it contained all sorts of dirt: horse dung, grass stalks, insect corpses..."

"All right, all right." Huo Jiang cut Meng Chengping off: "Boss Gu is, after all, a young lady and a guest; while we're eating, let's not mention those disgusting things!"

Meng Chengping chuckled, giving a final summary: "Anyway, ever since then, hot plain water has become the army's special way of welcoming guests—offered only to true friends!"

Gu Xixi gazed at the bronze pot, her feelings a tangled mix.

"Plain water is good; I'm thirsty from rushing along, and I really need to drink this."

She said this, then poured herself three cups in a row and drank heartily.

Huo Jiang and Meng Chengping exchanged a glance and both laughed.

Gu Xixi finished the meal cleanly, not a grain of rice or a vegetable scrap left.

At last it was time to get down to business.

Huo Jiang led Gu Xixi to the sand table.

At the moment she saw the sand table, Gu Xixi could clearly feel that Huo Jiang's relaxed demeanor suddenly tightened; compared to his earlier chatter over dinner, he seemed like a different person.

Huo Jiang said, "I suppose this kid already told you that war will break out soon."

Meng Chengping's gaze darted about as he hunched his shoulders, wishing he could vanish on the spot.

Gu Xixi glanced at him and honestly defended Meng Chengping: "General Meng only said that, fearing future fighting, you didn't want me to encounter danger, so after our meeting he ordered General Meng to escort me back overnight."

"He hasn't revealed any other military details, nor the reason you asked to see me today."

Huo Jiang snorted with a laugh: "Boss Gu, you're overthinking; you needn't explain for him."

"Don't I know this kid? Even if he usually likes to talk and make a fuss, being a big mouth, he still knows in his heart what to say and when to say it."

Meng Chengping visibly relaxed: "Grand General, you overpraise me!"

Huo Jiang glanced sideways: "Who's praising you? I'm saying, if you lacked this bit of discernment, you'd have ruined my big plans long ago—I'd have chopped you up and fed you to the wolves!"

Meng Chengping felt a chill on his neck and couldn't help shrinking back again.

Huo Jiang pointed out several positions on the sand table one by one, then told Gu Xixi: "According to intelligence, this time Beili has massed a large contingent of the royal army's main forces; I won't go into the exact disparity."

"You just need to know that the enemy is overall stronger than us,"

"this region inside the passes will inevitably be lost at first, falling into a stalemate of back-and-forth fighting."

"Boss Gu, you understand what that means."

Gu Xixi still remembered the planting zones she had previously marked out.

She examined them carefully and said, "The areas you pointed out add up to roughly ten mu of alfalfa, twenty mu of oat fields, and..."

"... relying on the small hill to the east, that should be my Pinpo Guoyuan."

Huo Jiang was very pleased with Gu Xixi's memory: "Exactly."

Gu Xixi's expression had already grown solemn; she lifted her head to face Huo Jiang.

"Once the enemy breaks in, even though the newly sprouted alfalfa and oat won't be seized outright for supplies,"

"but those tender shoots could hardly be prevented from fattening Beili's warhorses."

Huo Jiang nodded: "So we can only leave nothing behind."

He paused, then said: "For the Northwest Army, abandoning these few fields would still allow us to preserve the remaining nearly one hundred mu of oats."

"But most of Boss Gu's Pinpo Guoyuan trees are planted there."

"It was I who initially lent you that hill for your use; therefore, I owe Boss Gu an apology."

Gu Xixi naturally felt a pang of sorrow upon hearing that.

But what she cares about isn't just her own loss; it's also those crops that had painstakingly sprouted seedlings.

To destroy them now would be a terrible waste!

Huo Jiang continued: "So I invited Boss Gu here—first, to apologize in person."

"Second, to discuss compensation; Boss Gu only needs to calculate the value of the saplings, and I will pay double."

As Gu Xixi was pondering how to respond, she caught sight out of the corner of her eye of someone walking into the tent—a figure and bearing that seemed unusually familiar.

She turned her head, eyes wide, and exclaimed involuntarily, "How are you here?!"

Mu Nan Zhao calmly glanced at Gu Xixi, made no salute, and said to Huo Jiang, "My intelligence matches your earlier report pretty closely—take a look?"

The bamboo tube in his hand Gu Xixi still recognized—it was the one used exclusively for transmitting secret messages via the sea-eastern green falcon.

Huo Jiang took the secret letter; as he read, his expression gradually grew grave.

He grabbed the paper in one hand and bellowed at Mu Nan Zhao, "Surname Mu! What the hell do you call 'not much different'?"

"Their cavalry outnumbers ours by a full half!"

"And among them are experts in horse archery! Once the tide turns against us, you might as well prepare to die for the country alongside me!"

Mu Nan Zhao, annoyed by the shouting, couldn't help frowning: "Those specific cavalry numbers—weren't they what you begged me to scout? If you don't want them, just send them back!"

Meng Chengping also hurriedly whispered in Huo Jiang's ear: "Grand General, stay calm; my Mu brother will be of great use later—we need to make good use of this ally, not offend him!"

Huo Jiang's emotions settled; he stared fiercely at Mu Nan Zhao and said, "I've seen it and committed it to memory—if you want to regret and take it back, it's too late!"

Mu Nan Zhao let out a cold chuckle, his eyes glancing elsewhere, his tone light: "The whole army, top to bottom, is a bunch of scoundrels."

Ho Jiang snapped, "Who are you calling a scoundrel!"

Mu Nan Zhao: "If the beam is not upright, the lower beam will be crooked."

Meng Chengping, stuck in the middle, was near tears, clinging to General Ho as he earnestly pleaded.

Gu Xixi watched the spectacle from the sidelines with great relish, temporarily tossing her own losses to the back of her mind.

No wonder Mu Nan Zhao enters without needing to be announced, strutting about arrogantly.

From the way he interacts with Ho Jiang, it's clear their relationship is at least on equal footing.

Even so, Mu Nan Zhao's sharp tongue occasionally gives him a slight edge.

Mu Nan Zhao always handles verbal sparring with ease.

In a lull, he glanced at Gu Xixi and asked, "What trouble have you come to stir up here?"

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere inside the tent, Gu Xixi lifted her chin and forced a smile, saying, "I'm here at General Ho's invitation to discuss matters; it has nothing to do with you, so don't get ideas."

Ho Jiang instantly stopped being angry and burst out laughing, "You Ho, you too have your day!"

I've said it before—you lot who play power games have dirty hearts; I can't out-argue you, but someone will always be able to take you down!

Mu Nan Zhao's face darkened as he was about to speak.

Outside the tent, a squad leader came to report, "General Ho, our sheep have run into trouble!"