Zhutian: My skills are not serious

Chapter 589: Crossing Half of China Just to Save You
The Chai family father and son led the army south to expedition against the Song clan?

Shang Xiuxun was shocked when she heard this. She thought about how Chai Shao turned a blind eye to the coercion of the Song family, and how he finally compromised and killed the two disciples of Song Shidao and Song Lu for the sake of betraying the child. However, she never thought that the guy would lead his troops south for more than 2,000 miles to fight Song Que in order to save her and the child. What Emperor Wen couldn't do back then, could the current Sui court accomplish? Of course not. She couldn't think of any other reason for the Chai family father and son to do it even though they knew it was impossible, except for her and the Chai family's flesh and blood in her belly.

The person who treated her as a friend last year turned around and sold her out for political interests, while the person who treated her as an enemy was willing to sacrifice political interests and use the whole country's strength to save her.

She threw herself on the bed, unable to hold back her sobs.

If she had known this would happen, her father would have gone to the Chai family to force a marriage and reached a consensus with Chai Shen and his son. Why would she object? Why would she be so petty? Why would she run to Chang'an to relax because she was angry with her father?

"Xiuxun..." Li Xiuning wanted to coax her.

Song Yuzhi grabbed her arm and said, "Sister Xiuning, don't go."

"But……"

"Think about what Chai Shao did to the Li family." Song Yuzhi looked at the female owner on the bed and gritted his teeth and said, "Second uncle asked me to tell you something. I advise you not to refuse a toast and drink a forfeit."

……

More than half a month later.

"I...I can't walk anymore. My feet hurt so much."

A pale, panting soldier used his red tasseled spear as a crutch and walked a few steps. Finally, he could not hold on any longer, his body swayed, and he fell headfirst onto the muddy road.

The two companions behind him quickly pulled the man to the side of the road, sat on a boulder, gave him some water, and took off his wet boots. The man gasped in pain and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Military doctor, military doctor..."

The companion on the left looked at the soldier's feet that had been soaked to the point of being almost rotten, and seemed to empathize with him. His face twitched several times and he shouted loudly to the back of the team.

The companion on the right looked at the dense forest that was emitting hot and humid air, then raised his head to look at the gray sky, and felt uncomfortable all over.

Ever since the large army left Yuzhang County, it has been drizzling for nearly half a month. The roads are becoming more and more slippery. The sultry weather coupled with flying mosquitoes and the depression of not seeing the sun for a long time are almost driving those who live in the Jiangbei area crazy.

Those with good physical conditions could still hold on, but those with poor physical conditions began to suffer from various diseases. Acclimation to the local climate and sores on the legs and feet were considered mild, but the serious ones had already caused vomiting, diarrhea, and persistent high fever.

Morale? How could there be morale in this situation? The reason why they didn't get angry was because Lord Chai paid out of his own pocket to encourage them to keep going. In addition, they were already close to the border of Nankang County. If they marched a little further, they would reach Wengyuan County where Lin Shihong had deployed his troops, and they would have the opportunity to rest properly.

At this time, two soldiers who looked stronger walked over carrying a stretcher, one step deep and one step shallow. The person on the stretcher had broken his right leg and kept groaning softly, shouting "Mom, Mom" ​​over and over.

"Military doctor, military doctor..."

At this time, a soldier on horseback passed by the three men and said in annoyance, "Why are you shouting? The military doctor is treating the brother who was bitten by a poisonous snake. You can handle this minor injury yourself."

"Sir, this... is this a minor injury? He... he already has a fever. If you don't treat him properly, his leg will be crippled before he reaches Wengyuan."

"..."

Similar situations spread within the expeditionary army, and on the slope fifteen miles away, Chu Pingsheng and three women dressed as men, Dugu Feng, Linglong Jiao, and Fu Junyu, rode their horses and looked into the distance, planning to rest in Wengyuan for three days. If all went well, they would be able to reach Cangwu in another seven days. It was the gateway to Yulin and had once been the front line of the Lingnan Song clan against the armies of Xiao Xin and Lin Shihong. It was also the place of shame for Emperor Wen.

On the road next to the slope, with the help of Jin Huanzhen, Ding Jiuzhong and Zhou Laotan, the carriage carrying Xiao Meiniang finally rushed out of the mud and stepped onto a relatively flat road.

Chai Shen, who was following closely behind, tilted his head to glance at him, his face full of anxiety.

This is normal. At the beginning, silver could be used to motivate the soldiers. However, as the march lasted longer and longer, under the dual pressure of physical and mental fatigue, the condition of the expeditionary army deteriorated. Even the officers who were treated much better were full of complaints.

With such low morale, how much fighting power would they still have even if they reached Cangwu City? Could such an army really take over Lingnan?

"Drive, drive..."

The sound of horse hooves trampling on the ground came from behind, interrupting the eye contact between the father and son. Chu Pingsheng looked back and saw that it was Dugu Feng approaching from behind with Wuliangjian, a former general under Wang Shichong, and Shangguan Long, the leader of the Luoyang Gang and a disciple of the Yingui Sect.

The three men stopped their horses two feet behind Chu Pingsheng. Dugu Feng walked over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Lin Shihong sent someone to deliver the news that Song Que led 3,000 elite cavalry out of Nanhai County and entered Heyuan of Longchuan County, preparing to detour to the east to cut off the expeditionary army's food supply?

Chu Pingsheng smiled coldly: "It doesn't matter."

No problem?

Dugu Feng was stunned by his answer. The weakest link in a long-distance march is the food supply. After the long journey, more than 30% of the soldiers in the expeditionary army have shown symptoms of acclimatization, low morale and complaints. If the food supply is cut off during the attack on Cangwu, subsequent supplies will be unsustainable and collapse will be inevitable.

Dugu Feng said, "You said you have a secret recipe to defeat the enemy, and let everyone believe you. The end of the Song family will be even more miserable than the Li family in Chang'an before. The Empress Dowager trusts you so much, but where is the secret recipe?"

"father……"

Dugu Feng pouted, looking a little unhappy.

In this matter, she was calmer than Dugu Feng. Wuliang Sword Xiang Siren was standing behind him. If he questioned Chai Shao like this, once the matter got out and the soldiers knew that there was a conflict among the top leaders, the situation would be even worse.

"The army is still in the area controlled by Lin Shihong, so we don't have to worry about the grain route for now. Lord Dugu, what did you say just now? Dozens of soldiers from the Right Guard mutinied, kidnapped the military recorder, and are clamoring to go home?"

"Yes, when I came over, the commander of the Right Guard was trying to persuade them."

Chu Pingsheng said calmly: "Kill him."

Wuliangjian Xiang Siren, who was standing behind, changed his expression. He didn't expect him to be so cruel.

Dugu Feng's expression also changed: "Kill him?" "Li Tang's spy, shouldn't he be killed if he shakes the morale of the army?"

"Li Tang spy?"

"Kill those people to serve as a warning to others. And have the messenger inform all the officials that I will pray tonight and ask the heavenly officials to grant holy water to help them overcome the difficulties of acclimatization."

Practice? Pray? Ask the heavenly officials to give holy water?
Not only Dugu Feng, Xiang Siren and Shangguan Long looked stunned, but Fu Junyu, Dugu Feng and Linglong Jiao also looked at him in disbelief.

Mr. Chai...when did he change his career to become a charlatan?
Dugu Feng said: "You...are you kidding?"

Yes, witchcraft, divination, and astrology were prevalent in the world, but they were usually used to predict good or bad luck and select auspicious days before the army set out. Operations like asking the heavenly officials to bestow holy water were very rare. If useful, it could indeed boost morale, but if useless, then the battle would be lost 80% of the time even without the enemy attacking, because it would be considered an act against heaven and would seriously undermine the prestige of the Empress Dowager.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Chu Pingsheng said, "You don't believe it, do you?"

"..."

Dugu Feng thought to himself, I don't believe you, you are the leader of the Xieji Sect, a heretic, asking the gods for holy water? Which god will respond to your prayers?

Shangguan Long: “…”

Xiang Siren: “…”

……

Two hours later.

Crash.

Crash.

Chu Pingsheng breathed a sigh of relief, walked out of the wooden barrel where steam was constantly rising, and inserted his feet, which were covered with water droplets, into the wooden clogs in front of him.

"What are you standing there for? Why don't you help me get dressed?"

He opened his arms generously and said to Ling Longjiao who was looking grumpy beside him, "Didn't your mother teach you how to serve a man?"

The Persian beauty with a pair of green eyes took a deep breath, wiped away the sweat from scrubbing him vigorously with the back of her hand, rummaged through her bag, found a set of noble robes that she wore when attending important ceremonies, held them in her hands, and walked towards him.

Chu Pingsheng glared at her, pointed at the clothes in her hand and said, "What are you doing with this?"

"Aren't you going to pray to the Heavenly Official for holy water?"

Ling Longjiao looked at the clothes in her hands again to make sure she had not taken the wrong ones. Although she was Persian and had limited knowledge of Central Plains culture, she could still distinguish between formal clothes and casual clothes.

"Holy water? I've finished asking for it."

"You're done begging?"

Ling Longjiao was confused by his words: "Where?"

Chu Pingsheng pointed at the steaming bath water in the wooden tub and said, "Isn't that it?"

"what?!"

Ling Longjiao thought he must be crazy, actually calling bath water holy water: "Did I hear it wrong, or are you talking nonsense?"

"I am a deity, why should I ask the heavenly officials for help?"

"This joke is not funny at all."

Chu Pingsheng ignored her and pointed at the gray coat in the bag and said, "Take that one..."

"..."

"I told you to take that one."

"..."

"My body looks good, is that addictive?"

She finally came to her senses, looked him up and down, walked over with a sour face, took the gray long coat from the bag, put it on him, and tied the belt.

Chu Pingsheng grabbed her chin, lifted it up, and looked at her again and again in the candlelight in the tent.

Linglong looked at him with her hot face, which was more three-dimensional than that of Asian women. Her eyes did not change at all from beginning to end.

"We are both Persian saints, but why is there such a big difference between Xiao Zhao and you?"

"..."

"To be honest, I prefer women like you because I get the pleasure of conquering them every day."

Her mouth was stretched.

Chu Pingsheng suddenly loosened his hand that was pinching her chin, and a cold light flashed in his palm. He then took the purple-gold Zhanlu sword and swung it sideways. The hair that reached her waist was an inch shorter. He held the hair in his palm, walked to the wooden barrel, and opened his five fingers. The black powder shattered by his internal force fell into the bath water.

(End of this chapter)