"Jushan City?"
Qu Dubian had a very clear understanding of the cities along the Northern Frontier border.
The Northern Frontier had successively conquered two cities on the western side of the Great Zhou, and Jushan City was the third city of the western defending forces. Occupying the advantage of a small mountain, it was easy to defend and hard to attack.
After the Northern Frontier forces conquered the two cities, the main pressure was concentrated on the eastern side and the center. The pressure on Jushan City was relatively the smallest.
However, Jushan City was equally important. If it was lost, the western defending forces would be almost entirely crippled. The two cities currently lost already faintly created a situation where the cities along the central axis could be attacked from both the front and the rear.
Xu Jin said seriously, "If you want to come to the very front lines, fight your way out from Jushan City."
"Leading troops in battle is not child's play. It's not that your grandfather won't let you stay here, but it's not possible at this critical juncture."
Even if he had come during the truce with the Northern Frontier, just like Xia Fuyang back then, he could have grown up dealing with small-scale skirmishes with the Northern Frontier at the very front lines, cultivating his loyal subordinates, and building the soldiers' trust in him.
But right now, it was wartime. The enemy would not give them time to cultivate a new general.
Just as the border soldiers thought, the Seventh Prince coming to the border with an imperial mandate carried more symbolic meaning than practical significance.
Although Xu Jin said this, Qu Dubian understood in his heart that his grandfather didn't want him to take risks and wanted him to stay in a relatively safe place.
He didn't make things difficult for Xu Jin. "I'll listen to you, Grandfather."
Xu Jin also faintly breathed a sigh of relief. He corresponded a lot with Siwan and knew that over the years, Little Darling was very close to Princess Zhiyi. In fact, his coming to the border this time was mostly because of her.
Stimulated by the bones hung on the flag, he was actually very worried that Qu Dubian, being young and aggressive, would be just like Tingfeng back then, charging out to fight personally regardless of how thorny the enemy was, keeping everyone's hearts in their throats.
Fortunately, his Little Darling was not like Tingfeng and wouldn't do something drastic at the drop of a hat.
"Then wait until tomorrow morning, and you will go to Jushan City. The general defending the city is your Uncle Er Sen. You can rest once you get there." The Northern Frontier army was glaring like a tiger watching its prey. Tomorrow would still be somewhat safe, but after tomorrow, they could launch another attack at any time.
When the time came and the First Central City was engulfed in the flames of war, he wouldn't have the time to make careful arrangements.
Qu Dubian said, "But Grandfather, if there is any free time during the war, you must rest well."
Xu Jin replied, "Definitely, definitely."
After the grandfather and grandson finished their meeting, it wasn't until evening that Prince Ming finally arrived, albeit belatedly.
His skin had been heavily weathered by the wind and frost of the Northern Frontier, making him look completely different from the prince who used to pose as a lover of culture in the capital.
Only that one-eyed look was still quite unique.
They had mutton for dinner. A bonfire was lit outside the tent, and the mutton was boiling in a large iron pot. There weren't many stools, so they just casually brought over some tree stumps to sit on.
Prince Ming slurped down a bowl of mutton soup and sighed, "My whole body warms up after drinking this. This is what you call life. Little nephew, did your imperial father mention any intention of letting me go back?"
Qu Dubian said, "Imperial Uncle, you still haven't given up."
Prince Ming submitted several memorials a year requesting to return to the capital, and Emperor Chongzhao couldn't even be bothered to read them anymore.
Prince Ming sighed, "I've stayed here long enough."
And he was tired of it.
When he first came, he never thought he would stay here for over ten years.
"Actually, Imperial Brother could have sent other imperial relatives, but he just doesn't feel at ease."
Xu Jin walked over carrying a pot of freshly boiled milk tea and coldly snorted, "That Border Army Inspectorate is an eyesore to me. They are barely of any use, yet they cause so much trouble. I'm not going to rebel, so what is that little boy emperor thinking?"
Prince Ming coughed heavily.
Xu Jin ignored him and poured a bowl of milk tea for Qu Dubian. "Come, have a taste. It's savory. We don't drink alcohol during the preparation period for war. It's good to drink this; it gives you strength."
Qu Dubian took a sip, smacked his lips, and commented, "Grandfather, the sweet kind still tastes better."
He looked toward the city tower and vaguely saw the figures of the Border Army Inspectorate personnel, in groups of three or two. "Do the people from the Inspectorate also patrol?"
Prince Ming nodded. "Yes, they just inspect whether the soldiers defending the city tower are slacking off. They come more frequently during wartime. Ever since the Inspectorate was established, this work has been carried out rain or shine."
Qu Dubian said, "Sounds quite dedicated."
"The soldiers under your grandfather's command are all good lads. Even if they slack off for a little while, it's not incomprehensible," Xu Jin said. "That bunch of people are nothing but annoying."
Prince Ming said helplessly, "That is the duty of the Inspectorate's military supervisors. I've already told them to interact with the Marquis as little as possible. It's not a big deal. Just ignoring each other is fine; we should all be considerate of one another."
Xu Jin said, "Alright, alright, stop."
Xia Hong wasn't here. If they kept talking, they would start arguing again.
Qu Dubian could pretty much tell.
His grandfather found the people from the Inspectorate annoying, much like being annoyed by a classmate who would record everything that happened in the class and report it in full detail to the homeroom teacher.
Yet, you really couldn't just shove their heads underwater, because they had a special appointment from the homeroom teacher.
Qu Dubian poured a bowl of savory milk tea for Yi Shier. He originally thought Liuliu wouldn't be used to drinking it, but unexpectedly, he found it much more palatable than Qu Dubian did.
"However, can the Border Army Inspectorate really not be removed?"
Prince Ming said, "Little nephew, if you can get your imperial father to nod, this Inspectorate can be removed." Otherwise, why hadn't he been able to go back for so many years?
Xu Jin said, "Jushan City doesn't have these aggravating things. Once you go there, you won't have to look at them anymore."
Qu Dubian shook his head. "No, I just feel that if conflicts accumulate for too long, something bad will happen."
Prince Ming said, "Don't worry. Feng Bing came from the Eastern Depot and is a very tactful and smooth-talking person. Having been here for so many years, he handles things with ease."
For the first few years, he didn't feel at ease, but after gradually delegating power, he felt that Feng Bing was actually quite good. Every task assigned to him was handled very well. Therefore, he handed over miscellaneous chores like patrolling and inspecting to Feng Bing, while he himself went to the rear to handle armaments and people's livelihoods.
"Oh..."
Qu Dubian recalled the eunuch who had welcomed him at the gates of the Third Central City.
He had been in a hurry to travel and hadn't paid much attention. Next time he had the chance to run into him, he would chat with him. He sounded like an interesting person.
They didn't eat much of the mutton soup; the rest was distributed to the soldiers.
When they came over to get it, they appeared very restrained. It was probably because Qu Dubian was here that they didn't even dare to utter half a sentence of the crude remarks they usually made.
Qu Dubian went straight into his grandfather's tent. Only after he went inside did the people outside gradually loosen up.
"In the end, we're still not familiar with each other."
The soldiers he had led during the bandit extermination wouldn't act like this at all.
Yi Shier said, "We'll be staying here for a long time. You'll get familiar with them."
Qu Dubian said, "I'd actually prefer to resolve things a bit faster."
During the war between the two sides, the borders were sealed. There was still no news about where Xie Lishan and his older sister had gone after escaping.
On the surface, Princess Zhiyi was already dead. The news that she was still alive was top secret during the war; otherwise, the Northern Frontier would likely conduct a thorough search, and by then, his older sister would definitely not be able to stay hidden.
For the sake of safety, all actions had to be carried out in the dark.
Yi Shier understood what he was thinking. "Once they find a safe place to stay, they will try every possible means to send a message out. Your Highness, please wait with peace of mind."
"Wait for what?"
Xu Jin came in. "Waiting for your grandfather?"
"Yes, waiting for you."
Yi Shier silently left the tent, leaving the space to the two of them.
Qu Dubian and Xu Jin, grandfather and grandson, chatted until midnight. Most of what he talked about were the daily trivialities between him and his maternal grandmother, and his grandfather listened very attentively.
These were the ordinary days that he had never been a part of.
It wasn't until the latter half of the night that Xu Jin suddenly realized it was getting very late. He told him to hurry up and rest, as he still had to travel to Jushan City tomorrow.
Qu Dubian said, "Grandfather, you should sleep too."
Xu Jin replied, "Grandfather isn't sleepy. I still need to go out and take a look."
Qu Dubian grabbed his sleeve.
A few seconds later, looking at his grandson's disapproving and subtly threatening gaze, Xu Jin compromised, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you."
The person who said he wasn't sleepy actually fell asleep not long after his head hit the pillow. Qu Dubian gathered internal energy at his fingertips and pressed a few acupoints that promoted sleep for a moment, helping his grandfather enter a deep sleep.
He pulled up a small stool, sat by the bed, and sighed softly.
If possible, he really wanted to drug his grandfather to make him sleep for a whole day and night to properly restore his energy. But he couldn't; during wartime, even drinking alcohol was forbidden. He could only use this method to improve his grandfather's sleep quality.
Hopefully, it would help him recover a bit.
He stayed here and kept watch for the rest of the night. Whenever his grandfather subconsciously jolted awake, he would use his internal energy to soothe his grandfather's acupoints.
It wasn't until early morning, when the sunlight was faint, that Qu Dubian stretched and walked out of the tent.
Seeing him come out, Lang Qing waved from afar and trotted over, "Your High—"
"Shh."
Qu Dubian said softly, "Grandfather is sleeping. He hasn't woken up yet."
Lang Qing's eyes widened. He quickly went in to take a look, and a few seconds later, he covered his mouth and tiptoed back out.
Only then did he dare to point at the old man inside, whose breathing was steady and long, and whisper, "Is it really true?"
Qu Dubian nodded.
Lang Qing quickly pulled him away, simultaneously ordering all the soldiers in the area to lower their voices so as not to disturb the person inside.
After walking about a dozen meters away, Lang Qing explained, "The Marquis hasn't slept in a long time. These past few days, he's been working non-stop. Whenever we urged him to rest, he would just scold us. Actually, I also know that the Marquis has things on his mind, so he would wake up not long after falling asleep."
Qu Dubian said, "Grandfather slept for half the night this time, so his energy should be better."
Deep sleep is the fastest way to restore energy.
Lang Qing was almost ready to kowtow to him. "You are the only one who can persuade the Marquis."
Qu Dubian said, "Then I'll be leaving first. Uncle Lang Qing, when Grandfather wakes up, please let him know."
"Eh? Aren't you going to wait for the Marquis to wake up?"
Qu Dubian smiled. "If you guys don't wake him, he'll sleep for at least another hour or two."
Seeing his insistence, Lang Qing personally escorted him out through the rear city gate from yesterday. They took a detour through the second city to avoid the occupied cities, heading straight for Jushan City.
The five hundred soldiers Qu Dubian brought from the capital would be incorporated into his direct command troops in Jushan City.
Jushan City was built by hollowing out a small hill; its high terrain made it easy to defend and hard to attack.
There were also scattered small trees around, glowing with a hint of green.
After entering the city, Er Sen came to greet him: "Greetings, Seventh Highness!"
Lang Qing and Er Sen were both his grandfather's trusted aides. One was agile and the other was steady; Er Sen was the steady one.
He was not good at attacking, but he excelled at defending.
Qu Dubian said, "Uncle Er Sen, please dispense with the formalities."
Er Sen said, "Things are relatively peaceful here. Does Your Highness want to go select your direct troops first?"
"Troops do need to be selected," Qu Dubian rubbed his chin, "But Uncle Er Sen, is there a lot of gunpowder here?"
Er Sen: "?"
The topic jumped too quickly. He was stunned for two seconds before replying, "Quite a lot. But we still have to use it sparingly. The Northern Frontier people are no longer short of gunpowder, so our advantage in fighting them has diminished significantly."
Qu Dubian said, "I'd like to requisition some."
Requisitioning some was not a problem, but...
"What do you need gunpowder for?" Er Sen advised, "Your Highness, gunpowder is very dangerous."
Qu Dubian recalled the formula proportions he had mostly succeeded in testing out on the way to suppress the bandits. He shook his head as he walked, "No, it's not dangerous enough yet."
Er Sen held it in for a moment before squeezing out a word: "Ah?"
Gunpowder isn't dangerous yet??
On the other side.
Xu Jin had just woken up.
It was exactly an hour later, just as Qu Dubian had estimated.
Lang Qing had been guarding outside until he woke up. As soon as he heard the movements inside, he immediately went in and said cheerfully, "The Marquis is awake."
After a full sleep, Xu Jin felt much more relaxed, and his energy had recovered by at least half.
"What time is it now?"
Lang Qing replied, "The soldiers have finished their breakfast and are all preparing for battle now!"
"To think I actually slept until now."
"It must be because His Highness came to Middle First City. The Marquis was happy, and once you were happy, you relaxed!"
Xu Jin fell deep into thought.
He looked at the small blanket draped over him and the small stool by the bed.
He thought for quite a while before vaguely remembering that last night, every time he was about to jolt awake, a gentle force would soothe him, causing him to unknowingly continue his deep sleep.
It wasn't relaxation at all; he was afraid that someone hadn't slept all night and had watched over him for the latter half of the night.
Xu Jin's heart softened completely, feeling both moved and heartbroken.
The old man savored his grandson's thoughtfulness for a good while before patting his clothes and standing up. As soon as he looked up, he saw Lang Qing's horrified expression.
He: "..."
Xu Jin asked, "What are you doing?"
Lang Qing pressed a hand against his little heart, "Marquis, your expression just now was way, way, way too scary!"
Xu Jin delivered a kick his way.
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"
East First City.
Ever since Xia Fuyang heard that Qu Dubian had come to the Northern Frontier border, he had been scolding him on the one hand, saying that coming here was like putting himself right next to a den of tigers and wolves, while on the other hand, he eagerly looked forward to his arrival every day.
Whenever there was news, he would quickly rush over to ask where Qu Dubian had reached.
Upon hearing that he had arrived at Middle First City, he figured that given their friendship, Little Seven would definitely come to see him first no matter what, right?
He looked expectantly at the soldier delivering the message, "How is it? Is he coming to East First City?"
The soldier was frightened by the eagerness in his general's eyes and took a step back, "General, the Seventh Prince has gone to Jushan City."
The corners of Xia Fuyang's mouth began to droop, "Then did he say when he's coming? Did he mention me?"
The soldier shook his head with difficulty.
Xia Fuyang: "..."
He said with grief and indignation, "We haven't seen each other for almost three years, and he didn't even leave a single word for me!"
Was it because he had been hanging out with Xi Zixing for too long that he was pushed to the back of the line? He had inquired very clearly; the two of them had gone to suppress the bandits together!
He and Little Seven were such ironclad buddies. Now that Little Seven had come to the border, how could he not even send him a single message?
Impossible.
It was absolutely, definitely because Xi Zixing had taken advantage of his absence from the capital to speak ill of him behind his back.
He had known from the very beginning that this guy was insidious!