Robe blanche - Chapitre 140
Somewhat confused, just as she was about to ask, Zi Nuo smiled mysteriously: "Sister, don't worry, you'll see it soon." She whispered something in Shao Yuan's ear, and Shao Yuan obeyed and left. Before long, lanterns slowly rose and drifted slowly out of the city.
The British soldiers below all looked up. Kongming lanterns were unfamiliar to them. They had talked about them with Zi Nuo at the Prince Qing's mansion, but had never actually used them. They never expected that Zi Nuo would use them here today.
Among the soldiers, some were curious, others were terrified. One of them nocked an arrow and shot down a lamp, which fell to the ground. The thin paper cover was instantly engulfed by flames, but Zinuo's smile grew deeper. Seeing someone shoot down a lamp, the rest began to follow suit. White-tailed arrows pierced through lamps one by one, and clusters of flames fell like a meteor shower.
Looking back into the city, many Kongming lanterns were still being lit and slowly rising. As they rose on one side, they fell on the other. On one side, stars shone brightly, and on the other, meteors fell, yet they shone with the same brilliance. I wondered what kind of formation Zinuo had set up. Of course, I didn't really think he was just showing me artificial stars.
When all the Kongming lanterns inside the city were finally released, the number of lanterns outside the city also decreased rapidly. As the last lantern fell, the sky finally quieted down, turning into an endless blackness, leaving only the scattered lanterns on the city walls and countless torches below the city swaying in the wind.
"Sister, the stars have all been released. It's windy upstairs. Let Ruosheng take you back to rest." After glancing at the soldiers of Xuan Ying below, Zinuo turned to me and said, her eyes, which were darker than the night sky, reflected a few points of light and flickered with a faint smile.
She glanced at him with dissatisfaction: "The show has already begun, and you're only letting me see the opening?" Although the opening might be much more splendid than the ending, this is Zinuo's first time commanding a battle. Since I'm standing here, how can I not watch the whole thing? Those Kongming lanterns definitely have a secret.
Zinuo smiled helplessly: "There's really nothing interesting to see next."
I stopped responding, pulled Gan Lin up from the stool, and made him lie face down on the crevices.
The flickering firelight illuminated the faces below, some young, some weathered, and it was uncertain how much longer these faces could retain their vitality. Almost as expected, cries of alarm and collapses began to ripple through the once orderly ranks. Seeing the dire situation, the commander hastily ordered a retreat, but he too fell from his horse after only a few steps.
Zi Nuo watched all this unfold with a smile. When there was no one left to stand, Zi Nuo ordered the soldiers in the city to cover their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs before opening the city gates and leaving. Watching their own soldiers approach step by step, the soldiers of Xuan Ying could only stare wide-eyed, their arms motionless, seemingly trying to grab their weapons, but ultimately it was all in vain; they were left only to be slaughtered.
Seeing that the enemy troops had been bound and captured effortlessly, one couldn't help but admire Zinuo for eliminating so many people without shedding a drop of blood. Compared to the battles he had experienced in the Northwest of Youjing, Zinuo's victory was undoubtedly the only one worthy of the title. Giving Zinuo an approving look, Zinuo smiled brightly. From tonight onwards, the name of the Regent Prince would likely become known to everyone.
"Aren't you curious about why they reacted that way, sister?" Zi Nuo asked with a smile.
"Can you tell me? I thought it was a military secret and it was inconvenient to ask, so I didn't ask."
"It's nothing. Such a plan can be used once, but it's not guaranteed to work a second time. It's just that those papers were soaked in medicine, and when they were burned, the medicine would spread into the air and take effect. This is the method that Shao Yuan came up with." I see. The secret was indeed in the lamp.
Once the captured enemy soldiers had regained some strength, they were all escorted into the city. I thought the matter was over, but Zinuo did something that shocked and delighted me even more.
Zi Nuo wrote a letter and had it delivered to Xuan Ying Kingdom overnight, asking them to send someone to negotiate. Since it concerned the lives of more than 20,000 prisoners and the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken southern region, Xuan Ying Kingdom naturally attached great importance to it and sent a very important person—King Min, whom they had met once before.
When King Min arrived in Qizhou from Xuan Ying with minimal entourage, Zi Nuo courteously welcomed him into the post station and arranged for him to stay on the other side. He also ordered the captured generals to be brought out. After a day of rest, the negotiations officially began.
Inside the elegant room, everyone sat facing each other. From the Golden Sparrow Kingdom, only Zinuo, Shao Yuan, and I were present. Since the Golden Sparrow King had entrusted the entire matter to Zinuo, the presence or absence of the others was irrelevant. From the Xuan Kingdom, there was King Min, the accompanying officials, and the main general of this rebellion. Because Gan Lin had known King Min before, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Gan Lin, who had always stayed by my side, did not accompany us this time.
King Min's deep eyes swept over Zinuo and me, a hint of doubt in his gaze, before he smiled and said, "Your Highness and Holy Maiden bear a striking resemblance to two of my old acquaintances. Perhaps, it is you two?"
Amazed by King Min's extraordinary memory, and wondering how to cover it up, Zi Nuo laughed and said, "How fortunate Luo Yang is that even such a brief encounter has made King Min remember you to this day."
Then he remembered that King Jinque had claimed that Zi Nuo had traveled to Youjing, and it was not impossible that the two had met by chance outside Qingzhou City. Rather than hiding it, it would be better to admit it openly, and then there would be no need to think of so many lies.
"You two were so young back then, yet you inflicted one of the most defeats of my life on me, and even lost a close friend. It's hard not to remember that." King Min smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes.
"Otherwise, Jinque would probably never have had Prince Luoyang and Saintess Qingqiu," Zi Nuo said indifferently.
The Prince of Min's gaze shifted, the coldness in his eyes vanished instantly, and he laughed loudly, "Your Highness's methods are indeed extraordinary. Xuan Ying's defeat at the hands of Your Highness once again is nothing."
Zi Nuo snorted and said coldly, "King Min is mistaken. Jin Que kindly settled the refugees of Xuan Ying, but in return, Xuan Ying's army is at the gates of the city. It is truly disheartening."
King Min smiled without speaking, fully aware of everyone's ulterior motives; now, the bargaining chip was simply in the hands of the Golden Sparrow.
Without further ado, the two sides quickly drafted an agreement: the fate of the disaster victims in Xuan Ying would be decided by the victims themselves; those who remained in Jinque would be resettled by Jinque Kingdom; however, the more than 20,000 soldiers who had provoked trouble and disrupted the border needed to be punished. Considering the severe damage caused by the floods in Xuan Ying's southern border, 10,000 soldiers would be released and sent back home, while Xuan Ying would be provided with 100,000 dan of grain for disaster relief. The remaining 10,000 soldiers would remain in Jinque as hostages to assist Jinque Kingdom in resettling the Xuan Ying disaster victims, and would not be allowed to return home for three years.
This was an agreement that seemed to offer Xuan Ying Kingdom all the advantages. For Xuan Ying Kingdom, it was a risk-free deal; bringing back ten thousand soldiers and one hundred thousand dan of grain was an unimaginable benefit. For Jinque Kingdom, however, it was a long-term plan that sacrificed short-term gains. King Min looked at Zi Nuo with deep eyes. Zi Nuo met his gaze calmly. After a long silence, King Min chuckled and finally stamped his bright red seal on the agreement. Zi Nuo also pressed his seal.
After the agreement was signed, each party kept a copy. King Min led 10,000 soldiers captured by Jinque and 100,000 dan of grain back to Xuanying to provide relief to the disaster area. Zi Nuo then began to settle the remaining 10,000 prisoners and disaster victims. The prisoners continued to be held captive, and after learning about the agreement between Jinque and Xuanying, they behaved themselves. However, none of the disaster victims who had fled to Jinque were willing to return to their country, presumably because they had long admired Jinque's prosperity over the years.
“Sister, the northern part of Jinque is mountainous with no fertile land. Most of the rice is purchased from the south. If the disaster victims settle here, they will have many inconveniences in terms of rice. Why don’t we move them to the southern plains and allocate more fertile land for them to cultivate, so that they can become self-reliant?” Zi Nuo stood with her hands behind her back in front of the huge map of Jinque Kingdom.
After staring at the map intently for a long time, he finally shook his head and said, "It's not appropriate. Most of the disaster victims grew up in the mountains, and they might find it difficult to adapt to the plains. If they want to reclaim wasteland, it doesn't necessarily have to be on the plains." There are very few rice paddies in the northern part of Jinque, only a few fields along the mountain valleys and rivers. The terraced fields that I had seen in the northern valleys have not appeared in other parts of the Kunpeng Continent, which really has great potential for development.
She shared her thoughts with Zinuo, who pondered for a moment and then smiled, saying, "Sister always has the most novel ideas. If we can develop the terraced fields you mentioned, then they won't have to migrate far away. Let me summon the people from the Ministry of Agriculture to investigate, and then we'll discuss this matter together."
The Ministry of Agriculture is the department in the Golden Sparrow Kingdom that is in charge of agriculture and fisheries. It is under the Ministry of Revenue and has many skilled farmers. With their participation, reclaiming terraced fields will not be a difficult task.
With the matter temporarily settled, Zi Nuo had some free time. He explained some specific matters, left Shao Yuan in Qizhou to assist local officials in taking care of the disaster victims, and took me and Gan Lin to the summer palace in Lizhou.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 123
Chapter word count: 3788 Update time: 09-09-16 13:11
Lizhou is located on the banks of the Youchun River, more than seventy li east of Qizhou, and can be reached in a day.
Early in the morning, the carriage set off, with a similar procession to when we left Hanyue City. However, Shao Yuan, who was originally in the group, returned to Qizhou City after seeing the carriage off from the city and no longer traveled with us.
Traveling eastward, we arrived at a small town around noon. The guards booked a small restaurant and cleared the place before letting us in. Someone must have leaked Zi Nuo's identity; upon hearing that it was the carriage of the Regent Prince Luo Yang, the people flocked to the streets, crowding outside the restaurant, eager to see what this once-in-a-century prince with three-tailed peacock feathers looked like. The already narrow streets became even more congested; it was a wonder how such a small town could have so many people.
At first, Zi Nuo was able to sit at the table and eat elegantly, but when many people crowded the trees and rooftops around the restaurant, and even more powerful figures climbed onto the roof of the restaurant to remove tiles but were pulled down by the guards, Zi Nuo had no choice but to stand up, smooth the wrinkles on his clothes, and slowly walk to the corridor outside the private room. The moment the door was opened, gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd.
Moving behind Zinuo, I peeked out and saw that there were indeed a lot of people. Zinuo's appearance made them push forward, wanting to see more clearly. Those in front couldn't stand the pressure and tried to get more space, so they pushed back, making it noisy and chaotic.
I reached out and tugged at Zinuo's sleeve. Zinuo turned to look at me, her brows slightly furrowed, a human emotion appearing on her angelic, exquisite features. If she were in modern times, she'd probably be adored by even more fans. I gave her a smug smile, turned, and walked to the table. I picked up my chopsticks and continued eating with Ganlin, not forgetting to make exaggerated, satisfied smacking sounds towards Zinuo.
Zi Nuo curled his lips, shook his head slightly, called over a few guards, and went downstairs.
Inside the house, they could clearly hear the cheers outside, growing louder and louder, indicating that Zi Nuo had arrived. They put a piece of parsley in their mouths and sighed inwardly; being a public figure was truly exhausting, even a proper meal was difficult. Other noble ruling classes probably wouldn't care much about the common people, but the Golden Sparrow Kingdom had always maintained such a fine reputation, and Zi Nuo valued the people more than anyone else.
A knock sounded at the door, and the guard at the door gently pushed it open. The innkeeper was holding a pottery jar in his hands, with a smile on his face.
"Holy Maiden, this is a five-flavor soup, a specialty of our Liuan Town." The shopkeeper placed the earthenware jar on the table, lifted the lid, and a unique, rich aroma instantly filled the room.
The innkeeper ladled out two bowls of soup and placed them in front of Gan Lin and me, rambling on and on about something else. My mind had gone blank the moment I heard the words "Liu'an Town." Wasn't this the first piece of land Shen Haoyu and I had set foot on since leaving the valley?
My heart is in turmoil. When he was with me, I didn't believe his feelings for me. After realizing my own feelings for him, we were separated forever. It's not regret, just the regret of understanding too late, only learning to cherish after losing him. My heart aches whenever I think about it… Is this God's punishment for me?
"Huai'en!" Gan Lin waved his hand in front of my eyes, a slight look of confusion on his face. Looking around the room, I realized the shopkeeper had already left, leaving only Gan Lin and me.