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Chapter 854: Extra: Personal Expedition (Part )
Jiang Shaohua appeared calm, not showing any sign of nervousness. After returning to the military tent, he put away his smile, lay down on the bed, and sighed.

Cui Du came over silently and stretched out his hand to massage her shoulders: "You haven't slept for two days in a row. Take a nap first. Get enough sleep before getting up."

Jiang Shaohua didn't say anything.

Cui Du raised his eyes, feeling both amused and distressed. It turned out that Jiang Shaohua had fallen asleep in just a short while.

In the eyes of the public, she is the wise and powerful emperor of Daliang, energetic and responsive. But she is also a flesh and blood body, not made of iron, and she always gets tired, nervous, and panicky.

This rare weakness is only revealed in front of her husband.

Cui Du leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek.

My Queen, sleep peacefully! Have a sweet dream!
Jiang Shaohua slept for a whole night and half a day, and woke up almost at noon. After eating and drinking, his physical strength and spirit returned.

Jiang Shaohua asked someone to invite General Fan and bring the grassland topographic map over.

Over the years, General Fan trained his troops while sending people to investigate the grassland terrain. After spending countless manpower and efforts, he finally drew a relatively accurate grassland terrain map.

When the map was unfolded, it was six feet long and three feet wide, with mountains, hills, valleys and rivers marked out. There were no fixed roads in the grassland, only a few routes along the river, which were also marked out.

General Fan had made great contributions in this battle, and he was full of joy and energy. "Your Majesty, please look here. I have studied for several years and found three places where the Rouran Khan's tent might be stationed."

General Fan lightly circled three places with a charcoal pencil.

Jiang Shaohua frowned slightly: "These three places are in different directions and far apart. If we lead the troops into the grassland, should we split them up? Once we split our troops up, even if we find the Rouran barbarians' lair, we may not be able to complete the mission. We may even end up sending ourselves to die."

"Then we won't divide our forces." General Fan said in a deep voice, "We will select one of the places and march forward in a large force. It would be best if we can wipe out the Rouran barbarians in one fell swoop. If we fail, at most we will return empty-handed."

"Not right." Jiang Shaohua frowned even more tightly. "Eight years ago, Duke Weiyuan led the army into the grassland. This time, I will lead the army in person. I must completely subdue the Rouran barbarians before I can withdraw my troops. If the army goes out and returns without success, won't the Rouran barbarians laugh at us?"

In the final analysis, we still have to divide our troops and advance in three directions simultaneously. This will give us the highest probability of finding the Rouran's lair.

General Fan sighed, "We still don't have enough troops. Many were killed and wounded in this battle. The total number of troops we can mobilize now is only about 110,000 or 120,000. We have to leave some to guard the barracks. The remaining troops are divided into three parts, which is not enough. It would be great if we had tens of thousands more troops at this time."

"Otherwise, let's wait for the court to send reinforcements!"

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "Given the tempers of Prime Minister Chen and Minister Feng, the reinforcements should be on their way soon. However, the capital is a long way from the border, and by the time the reinforcements arrive, the Rouran barbarians will have enough time to move home twice."

"We can't wait for the imperial court to send reinforcements. We have to send troops as soon as possible."

"I have already arranged for reinforcements. They will be here in three to five days at most."

General Fan was in high spirits: "Where did the emperor get the elite troops from?"

Jiang Shaohua smiled slightly: "Three months ago, I ordered General Yu to lead the Nanyang Army to come to the border army to support. In addition, several garrisons closer to the border army also came together, about 40,000 soldiers."

General Fan's brows relaxed immediately: "That's great! The emperor really has no plan left!" Jiang Shaohua also laughed: "What do you mean by no plan left? When two armies face each other, what matters in the end is the combat power and national strength. In the face of a powerful military force, conspiracies and tricks are all unorthodox. Over the years, I have always supported the training of the border troops, and the focus of my inspections outside the capital has been on the garrisons, so that the garrisons can come in handy at critical moments."

Now, the critical moment has come.

Raise an army for a thousand days and use it for a while.

When General Fan thought about the several garrisons coming to the border army camp, his blood boiled, his eyes lit up, and his voice became much louder: "With reinforcements, it will be easy."

"I will call all the generals to a meeting to discuss and formulate a plan and set out the rules."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "I am the Grand Marshal of the expedition. I am indispensable for such a meeting. General Fan directly summoned the people here. I also want to listen."

Three days later, General Yu Chongyu led the Nanyang Army to the border army camp.

Back then, Jiang Shaohua was only a 10-year-old Princess of Nanyang, and Yu Chong was a down-and-out military commander. Twenty years later, Jiang Shaohua had become the beloved and respected emperor of Daliang, and Yu Chong was nearly 60 years old, with a lot of white hair on his head, but his back was still straight, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

"Your humble servant, Yu Chong, greets His Majesty."

Yu Chong suppressed his excitement and bowed.

Jiang Shaohua smiled and stretched out his hand, personally helping Yu Chong up: "General Yu, please stand up. You have been tired on the way, so let's go to the military camp first and let the soldiers rest for a few days. The army will be assembled and dispatched soon, and then General Yu will have the opportunity to make achievements."

Yu Chong's eyebrows raised with joy and he nodded repeatedly.

Civil officials do not love money, and military generals are not afraid of death. This is just the minimum ethics of court officials. Civil officials are diligent and love the people, and military generals are happy to hear about war. This is the style of a prosperous court.

Yu Chong was already in his sixties, but he had never refused to retreat. He had been waiting for an opportunity like this to lead his troops into battle and kill foreign enemies.

In the next two days, another garrison arrived. The commander of this garrison was a member of the Nanyang Guards. When everyone met, there was a lot of excitement and joy.

Jiang Shaohua waited for five days and finally the guards battalion that was chasing the deserters returned.

The three battalions of soldiers gathered from different directions and returned to the barracks together. Qin Zhan's laughter was particularly loud and his pace was the fastest. He took two steps at a time and arrived in front of Jiang Shaohua. He said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have brought back the head of Marquis Shi Luo."

Jiang Shaohua was overjoyed: "Did you catch Shi Luohou?"

Qin Zhan smiled happily: "That's right. I was lucky. I led my men to catch up with the deserters. After killing a lot of them, I found Shi Luohou."

Shi Luohou had a high fever and his chest was covered in blood. He would not live long even if he was not killed. Qin Zhan originally planned to bring Shi Luohou back alive, but Shi Luohou was brave enough to throw himself off his horse after realizing that he could not escape the pursuers, breaking his neck.

Qin Zhan had no choice but to cut off Shi Luohou's head and return.

Jiang Shaohua laughed: "Good! Good! General Qin has made great contributions! I have made note of it!"

"Once Shi Luohou dies, the Rouran barbarians will lose their morale and fall apart. We must prepare to send troops immediately!"