lady, please calm down

On the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, the army returning south crossed the Yellow River and camped overnight in Zaocheng, only 150 miles away from Tokyo.

Since entering Hebei, wherever the army passed, the streets were deserted and people lined the streets to welcome them.

This kind of treatment was a groundbreaking new experience for Xie Tianlu, Zhu Deen and other members of the Jinghu Army. They could not help but straighten their backs during the march, as if they were worried about letting down such kindness.

After crossing the Yellow River, the welcoming activities organized by officials along the way were even more blatant, with yellow soil paving the road and clean water being poured on the streets.

The mere act of "laying the ground" is a blatant act of usurpation.

Perhaps it was because they were homesick, the closer they got to Tokyo, the more nervous the people who had been excited about returning home for more than two months began to feel.

During the more than two months, although the journey was tiring, my companions all had similar experiences, so I didn't have to worry about being looked at strangely.

Furthermore, there is no need to worry about two meals a day, as they are all provided by the army, and there is a large army accompanying and guarding in front and behind. That indescribable strong sense of security will soon end after arriving in Tokyo.

Compared with the distant future, this kind of life where there is no worry about food and clothing and no worries is hard to give up.

That night, Xie Tianlu met Zhong Yi again. After nearly three months of traveling together, there was less restraint between them.

"Look, these were given to us by the locals when we passed through Baima County yesterday."

Xie Tianlu opened the bag he carried with him, revealing a few cooked eggs inside. To avoid Zhong Yi's misunderstanding, he explained, "I had no choice but to accept it. When the aunt saw me refusing, she even cried anxiously. I had no choice but to accept it."

Zhong Yi looked at Xie Tianlu who looked very proud, and smiled softly, "In the eyes of the people, Brother Xie is a hero who avenged them. I want to express my opinion."

Her smile directly attracted Li Tianlu's attention. She stared at Zhong Yi like a fool. The latter felt embarrassed and lowered her head slightly.

Xie Tianlu finally came back to his senses, but he touched his head and said ashamedly: "Hey, I know that the villagers are grateful to the soldiers under the command of the King of Chu. We are just marching with the Huaibei Army, and they can't tell the difference. When we were stationed in Jinghu Road, the people called us the thieves behind our backs."

When saying this, Xie Tianlu felt a little aggrieved.

But Zhong Yi knew at once that when the Jinghu Army was stationed in Jinghu Road, they were definitely not as honest as they are now. Jie Tianlu would come to find her whenever he had time, and he would talk about many things. Naturally, he also accidentally revealed the shameful things he did when he was in the army in his early years, such as stealing chickens and ducks from the people and robbing fruits from the fields.

However, when they arrived in Caizhou in March, they were punished by the King of Chu once, so of course they didn't dare to do it again.

Furthermore, for this northern expedition, all food and fodder were centrally allocated by the Tiance Mansion, so the Jinghu Army never lacked food and drink, so they naturally had no motive to harass the civilians.

The Jinghu Army was still the same Jinghu Army, but with strict military discipline and sufficient supplies, the style of the entire team immediately improved a lot.

Zhong Yi could understand these deep reasons, but she also knew that Jie Tianlu was not aggrieved by the attitude of the people when he was in Jinghu Road, but envied the respect that ordinary soldiers of the Huaibei Army received from the people.

Zhong Yi did not preach those great principles, but comforted him from another perspective: "Brother Jie, no matter how others see you, you saved me. In my eyes, you are a great hero!"

Oh my! Xie Tianlu, who had never been praised like this before, suddenly felt a few pounds lighter. If the night wind was stronger, he would probably be blown up to the sky.

The two walked out of the civilian camp and advanced several hundred steps in the night. Zhong Yi was a little worried at first, but she felt relieved when she saw that Jie Tianlu did not take her to that dark place.

It was not until the two of them walked to the outskirts of the soldiers' camp and saw soldiers sitting in groups around bonfires outside the camp that Zhong Yi could not help but ask, "Brother Jie, where are we going?"

"Oh, that's right. Some of my brothers in the Huaibei Army said that after we part in a few days, they don't know if we will see each other again in this life, so they want to see you."

Xie Tianlu grunted and groaned, his small eyes full of anticipation.

"."

Their relationship had not even begun, and Xie Tianlu was indeed rash in allowing her to meet his brothers.

Seeing Zhong Yi's worried and embarrassed expression, Xie Tianlu waved his hand and said, "Don't be embarrassed, sister. If you don't want to see her, I will send you back. I don't mean to be frivolous. It's just that I have a close relationship with Shitou and Heng Ge'er. They said they wanted to meet their future sister-in-law, so I am doing this. Don't worry."

"Future sister-in-law" was even more abrupt, but Zhong Yi looked at the man in front of her who didn't even frown when he was injured while saving her in Huanglong Mansion. At this moment, she was sweating profusely with anxiety. Suddenly, she smiled with relief, "Okay! Since you are Brother Jie's lifelong brother, then I will accompany you to meet her."

"Haha, what a nice girl."

Xie Tianlu led Zhong Yi towards where the brothers were. Although this place was outside the camp, many soldiers were warming themselves by the fire nearby.

Seeing a good-looking lady approaching, they all involuntarily stared at her.

This made Zhong Yi even more shy, so she had to lower her head and walk forward.

Xie Tianlu, who was walking in front, was like a lion, looking in all directions as he scanned his comrades, whether they were familiar or unfamiliar, one by one.

This is a declaration of sovereignty.

It was not until he approached the location where Kang Shitou, Zhu De'en and others were originally that Xie Tianlu was stunned.

Just now there were only five or six people around the campfire, but now there were eight or nine people crowded around it.

During this visit to Lin'an, the commander of the Jinghu Army Wu Gong and the Minister of War Luo Ruji were all present, as well as several civil servants from Qi State wearing green robes. They did not even have a seat, but stood aside, pretending to listen with their heads down.

One of the civil servants, Xie Tianlu had just met, was the local magistrate who was welcoming the army outside Zaocheng County today.

And who else could be the one secretly regarded as the core by everyone but the King of Chu!

Just now, Jie Tianlu and Kang Shitou were sitting here warming themselves by the fire. It was after hearing the latter's words that they brought Zhong Yi here.

How come so many big guys suddenly showed up after only being away for a quarter of an hour?

When Xie Tianlu was hesitating and didn't dare to move forward, Kang Shitou, who was sitting by the campfire, saw him, stood up quickly, waved from afar and said, "Old Xie! What are you doing? Bring your sister-in-law over here. I specially invited the prince to come over tonight."

Everyone around couldn't help but look at Li Tianlu, wondering why the King of Chu suddenly came here to inspect the camp just now, and Wu Gong and Luo Ruji hurried out of the camp to accompany him. Now it sounded like the King of Chu came here just for a small camp commander?
At first, Xie Tianlu didn't know what was going on, but Zhong Yi behind him was also very nervous. She quickly pulled the corner of Xie Tianlu's clothes and whispered, "Brother Xie, since the King of Chu wants you to do something, then I will go back first."

As soon as she opened her mouth, Xie Tianlu realized that more than a month ago, Kang Shitou had promised him, "Leave it to me."

Chen Chu also saw the embarrassment of the two men, and could not help but say to the accompanying officials: "You go back first, I will talk to the soldiers for a few words."

After some of the civil and military officials who had gathered around the campfire had left, Xie Tianlu brought Zhong Yi forward.

Kang Shitou on the side quickly introduced: "Your Majesty, this is Jie Yingzheng"

"I remember that in March, I almost had a duel with my eldest son because of a crime committed by one of my subordinates."

Laughter rang out all around, but Chen Chu smiled and said, "He is a good man. In the battle of Dalinghe in June, Xie Yingzheng's troops were the vanguard of the Jinghu Army. In August, when the rebellion was suppressed in the Huanglongfu Imperial City, Xie Yingzheng personally killed three people from Hezha and led the Luzi Camp to capture more than 270 heads. If we follow the method of transferring the Huaibei Army, this achievement is enough to be promoted to the commander of an army."

Wu Gong and Luo Ruji, who were staying here, couldn't help but look embarrassed. During the expedition of the Jinghu Army, although the food and grass were supplied by the Tiance Mansion, the transfer of military merits was still decided by his Lin'an Dynasty.

There was obvious regret in Chen Chu's words, implying that Xie Tianlu's credit might have been misappropriated by Shang Gong.

Xie Tianlu was a down-to-earth man. He immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "It is a great honor for me to fight side by side with the brothers of the Huaibei Army and defeat Huanglong."

Chen Chu couldn't help but laugh and said, "You don't hate me anymore?"

Everyone present knew that Chen Chu was talking about the incident in March in which Du Hong, a subordinate of Xie Tianlu, was beaten to death for harassing a woman outside Caizhou City.

This matter was quite sensitive. Zhu De'en, the general of the Lu Battalion, wanted to speak up for his honest and straightforward superior, but Xie Tianlu answered without hesitation: "At first, they held a grudge! But the prince later gave them a resettlement allowance, which was much more than the pensions for the brothers who died in the battle. Du Hong's family finally had money to survive." "Ahem~"

Wu Gong on the side coughed twice uncomfortably. Similarly, the pensions for the soldiers of the Jinghu Army who died in battle were also issued by the Lin'an court.

Now the two armies not only fight side by side, but also eat and live together, and have exchanged information with each other countless times.

In short, the pensions received by the Huaibei Army soldiers were dozens of times more than those received by the Jinghu Army, and were enough to provide food and clothing for their families for half their lives.

But this matter could be discussed in private, but saying it in person would make Wu Gong and other Zhou generals feel ashamed. However, this matter was not simply about caring for the soldiers or not. The key was that the financial situation of the Lin'an Dynasty was very poor.

The customs duties of the Lin'an Dynasty were controlled by Huaibei, and the financial expenditure of the court was tightly controlled by Liu Changqing and others, the third and fourth ministers of the Ministry of Finance. Every penny saved had to be paid as compensation to Huaibei. Now even the salaries of court officials could only be paid at 40%, and military expenditure was even tighter.

But these things could not be explained to the middle and lower-level officers.

After this northern expedition, I am afraid that the Jinghu Army will be in a state of confusion when they return.

Wu Gong even suspected that the King of Jin insisted on forcing the Lin'an Dynasty to send troops to the expedition in order to undermine the will of the soldiers.

Over there, Xie Tianlu, who had opened up the conversation, continued, "Your Highness is clear about rewards and punishments, and is strict when necessary. He treats the enemy like a beacon fire, and treats the people like his own children and relatives. Only then can we have the Huaibei Army, a great army in the world, and gain such love from the people along the way."

Listening to his clear and logical talk, Chen Chu couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Did you figure all this out yourself?"

Xie Tianlu shook his head honestly, turned his head to look at Zhong Yi who had been standing next to him, and said with a smile: "These are all what my sister from the Zhong family said, and I just figured it out."

"."

Zhong Yi, who was already nervous and at a loss, became even more embarrassed when she heard Jie Tianlu suddenly mention her. She quickly looked up at Jie Tianlu, then quickly lowered her head.

"Oh?"

Chen Chu then remembered the purpose of coming here today, and said, "Ms. Zhong, I think you are also a lady from a wealthy family. May I know your family background?"

Although she was nervous, Zhong Yi had a good education in her childhood, so she had a decent way to deal with it. She bowed and said in a low voice: "As a woman who has lost her chastity, it will only bring shame to my father and brothers if I report this to my family. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Most of the women who returned home were in the same situation as Zhong Yi, so Chen Chu did not ask any more questions and only said, "I heard that Madam Zhong and Jie Ying are in love with each other. Is this true?"

This process is designed to prevent women returning home from being forced.

Xie Tianlu, who was still kneeling on one knee, immediately looked at Zhong Yi with eager eyes. Even Kang Shitou, Zhao Heng, Zhu Deen, Cao Laoliu and other brothers from the two countries all looked expectant.

"."

But Zhong Yi was embarrassed. Firstly, although she knew Jie Tianlu's feelings very well, they had never talked it out loud, let alone talked about marriage.

And at this moment, in front of everyone, even if she wanted to accept Xie Tianlu, she couldn't open her mouth to agree.

Seeing Zhong Yi's face flushed but she hesitated to speak, Chen Chu couldn't help but misunderstand her and his face immediately became serious, "Don't be afraid, tell the truth! If Jie Yingzheng is forcing you, he will be punished with a stick! You can stay in the camp of our commander Shen tonight. By the way, Commander Shen is also a woman. When you arrive in Tokyo, if you don't have family to pick you up, my wife will arrange a job for you to support yourself. Don't be afraid of his revenge."

Upon hearing that Xie Tianlu might be beaten with a military stick, Zhong Yi quickly shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, please don't punish Brother Xie! He is a good man."

Seeing her reaction like this, Chen Chu naturally understood. The old man might not have said everything yet, and in his haste, he embarrassed Madam Zhong so much that she didn't know what to say.

In this case, Chen Chu was willing to help Jie Tianlu. He said seriously, "Don't be afraid! Since Madam Zhong doesn't want to, no one can force you. I will call someone over and beat him with a military stick in front of him!"

On the side, the brothers from the Jinghu and Huaibei armies thought they would be watching a celebration, but no one expected the situation to turn out like this, and they couldn't help but get anxious.

But the King of Chu had accumulated power for a long time, so even if they felt there was a misunderstanding, they did not dare to step forward to stop it.

It was Zhao Heng who stood up after hesitating for two breaths and wanted to speak for Xie Tianlu, but was pulled back by Kang Shitou. If the prince wanted to beat Xie Tianlu with a military stick, he could just shout "someone come", there was no need to say something like "I will call someone over right now".

Sure enough, when Zhong Yi saw that the King of Chu was "really" going to make a move, she no longer cared about the embarrassment and shame, and immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please don't hit me! I, in my heart, am willing to marry Brother Jie."

After saying that, she couldn't help but look at Li Tianlu, and said to herself: "As long as Big Brother Jie doesn't mind that I have lost my reputation."

This sentence is so tortuous and sad, as if all the hardships and sorrows of the past eighteen years are wrapped up in this sentence.

Xie Tianlu, a straightforward man, suddenly felt a sore nose and red eyes. He stared at Zhong Yi and said, "Sister! I swear to heaven, I will never let anyone bully you in this world again!"

Zhong Yi burst into tears when she heard this.

The comrades nearby, after experiencing joy, tension and worry, saw this scene, many of them had red eyes, and the young Zhao Heng was even in tears.

Kang Shitou, who was standing by, knew the identity of this young subordinate and could not help but pat him on the shoulder. "I heard from the princess that you already have someone you love?"

Kang Shitou and Qin Shengwu are sworn brothers. Qin Shengwu is the princess's cousin, so everyone knows Kang Shitou's background. It is not surprising that he visited the princess. I guess he heard the news because of this.

Zhao Heng wiped his tears and said, "Well, Brother Shitou, I want to get married."

"Hahaha, let's get married. Men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough. I will be your best man then!"

Chen Chu, who was still sitting on the wooden stake, saw the happy ending, laughed and stood up, turned to the accompanying officials and said: "When we get to Tokyo, ask the princess for 100 taels of silver as a gift to Jie Yingzheng. Jie Yingzheng is getting married, and I can't go, but I can't forget to give the gift money."

Xie Tianlu grinned foolishly, and only reacted after Zhong Yi gently pulled him. He quickly bowed down with Zhong Yi.

This is both a thank you for the gift and a thank you to the prince for being a matchmaker.

As the commander-in-chief, I, Wu Gong, felt that I should say something, so I could not help but scold Jie Tianlu: "Your Majesty, you can't even say thank you!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Tianlu was about to kneel again, but Chen Chu held his arm. Chen Chu then turned to look at Wu Gong and said, "Commander-in-Chief Wu, Xie Ying is getting married, don't you want to express your gratitude?"

"."

Wu Gong choked. He thought that historically only subordinates gave gifts to their superiors, but it was impossible for superiors to give gifts to their subordinates.

But when the King of Chu said this, he could only say: "Of course I have to express my gratitude. When I return to Jinghu Road, I will give him a gift."

Luo Ruji was much more perceptive than Wu Gong, and he immediately said, "After the war, there is a happy event, and I will also present a gift to share in the good fortune."

Well, that's right. The King of Chu's words brought generous start-up capital to Xie Tianlu, who was about to form a small family.

A bright moon hung high in the sky. Upon hearing the good news, the nearby soldiers rushed over to congratulate.

For a moment, there was a continuous sound of booing and laughter.

At this moment, the Huaibei Army, Anfeng Army and Lin'an Army seemed to be indistinguishable from each other.

Xie Tianlu only cared about bowing and thanking the many comrades who were congratulating him, but Zhong Yi bowed to the King of Chu again with gratitude and whispered, "I and Brother Xie thank the prince for his kindness."

Chen Chu sighed silently, but said: "Live well, you were saved by countless soldiers who shed their blood. Live well, so that the soldiers' blood will not be in vain." (End of this chapter)