Thus, late that night, Shu Changyu hurried to the military camp to ask about him, only to learn that Jing Mu had already led the troops out on campaign.
His injury was now about halfway healed. The scab had formed thickly, and it no longer interfered with his daily movements. Perhaps because when he had been trapped in Huzhou during the previous period, the wound had split open countless times and he had never had the time to care. Compared with that, this little bit of pain no longer affected him much.
But once he arrived at the military camp, no matter which general he asked, they all answered evasively and refused to tell him where Jing Mu had gone.
Shu Changyu was not someone who could easily be fooled.
After making a brief investigation, he discovered that half of the troops Jing Mu had brought with him were missing. When he questioned them again, the generals had no choice but to tell him the truth.
The burly, broad-shouldered middle-aged man with a full beard said cautiously, “Lord Shu, please don’t tell the General that I told you. The military rods he uses to beat people hurt terribly.”
Hearing this, Shu Changyu sneered. “Why wouldn’t you tell me? He took half the troops. Other than going to war, the only other possibility is that he defected to the enemy.”
After saying this, he walked to the center of the main tent and sat down.
“When did he set out? Why did he leave in such a hurry without making arrangements beforehand? And why did he have to keep it from me?”
Seeing that there was no way to cover it up anymore, the general told Shu Changyu everything.
The more Shu Changyu listened, the deeper his brows furrowed. After the general finished speaking, Shu Changyu pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long time.
Jing Mu did not know Zhuo Renyue’s temperament, but Shu Changyu had been confronting him for so long that he had already figured out his character fairly well.
The man had courage but no strategy. He had managed to seize so many commanderies and prefectures entirely by relying on the starving disaster victims under his command, whose eyes had turned red from hunger.
When Shu Changyu had previously confronted him, he had tricked him numerous times. Yet Zhuo Renyue had never before lost his reason to such an extent that he would bury the people in his own army alive.
Moreover, provisions were always heavily guarded. What could those newly recruited soldiers possibly do to burn the army’s supplies?
Shu Changyu suddenly froze.
He had previously suspected that there was an insider in the imperial court working behind Zhuo Renyue.
Could it be that… this whole thing was a trap?
Could it actually be meant to lure Jing Mu across the river so they could catch him in a trap and surround and kill him north of the Yellow River?
Shu Changyu abruptly stood up.
That was it.
Jing Mu had rushed here all the way, concerned only with his own safety, and naturally knew very little about Zhuo Renyue. Shu Changyu, because he had so few men under his command, had been forced to guard against all these seemingly insignificant details.
Now, north of the Yellow River was Zhuo Renyue’s base. There were countless soldiers and bandits there. Jing Mu would certainly be outnumbered.
Shu Changyu instructed the general, “Your General Jing is in danger. Immediately count the troops. Leave the local Huzhou garrison and twenty thousand men behind. Everyone else will cross the river with me tonight.”
When the general heard that Jing Mu was in danger, he hurriedly agreed and rushed out to issue the order.
Shu Changyu stood before the seat, his fists tightening.
He gritted his teeth inwardly and cursed, Useless little bastard. I thought you had improved considerably after three years. Now it seems you’re still exactly where you were.
If anything happens to you, just wait and see how I deal with you.
——
Jing Mu’s forces had indeed been surrounded.
He had brought eighty thousand men and, after crossing the river, headed straight for Zhuo Commandery.
There were some insignificant troops blocking their path along the way, but their behavior was entirely consistent with that of a defeated dog fleeing for its life.
Jing Mu had only the newly recruited soldiers who were about to be buried alive on his mind.
If those people were buried, this entire trip would have been pointless.
The more urgently he rushed, the angrier he became.
That person over there was probably only concerned with these unrelated common civilians and did not have the slightest bit of room in his heart for him.
Yet Jing Mu himself had been born with such a cheap disposition. For the sake of one moment of displeasure on Shu Changyu’s part, he had led his troops across the river and driven them more than ten miles to rescue a bunch of people whose deaths would not cause the heavens to collapse.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He simply turned to the side and sneered at Shen Ziyu.
“Your Lord Shu has always loved meddling in other people’s affairs.”
Shen Ziyu seriously refuted him, “General, you’re mistaken. Lord Shu has the lives of all under heaven in his heart. He is a rare good official.”
Jing Mu sneered. “He doesn’t care about what he should care about, yet insists on interfering in what he shouldn’t.”
Shen Ziyu pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Just then, the marching troops abruptly came to a hurried halt.
Jing Mu raised his eyes.
He saw a mass of troops pressing forward in the distance. Looking around, he vaguely saw several forces moving into position, forming a tendency to surround them.
Jing Mu immediately realized that something was wrong.
They had been surrounded.
Jing Mu called out loudly, “There’s an ambush! Prepare for battle!”
He sneered inwardly.
So this crude fellow Zhuo Renyue had finally learned to scheme against him.
Unfortunately, using this ragtag army to lure him across the river was no different from inviting a wolf into the house.
He had originally waited there without attacking because he wanted to wait until Shu Changyu’s injuries had healed, then lead him all the way back to the capital.
He had not expected Zhuo Renyue to be so eager to die that he would try to scheme against him now.
Still, Jing Mu had made his decision almost without thinking after receiving the news.
It seemed he really had the temperament of a foolish ruler, the sort who would charge into danger in a fit of passion for the sake of his beloved.
Thinking this, Jing Mu actually curled his lips in pleasure.
Beside him, Shen Ziyu looked at the dark mass of enemy troops ahead, cold sweat breaking out over him.
He asked nervously, “General Jing, their numbers are clearly greater than ours. What should we—”
He stopped before finishing.
Jing Mu, however, was completely unconcerned. He raised his hand and knocked on Shen Ziyu’s helmet.
“Keep your life safe. I’ll definitely bring you back to Huzhou alive.”
——
The troop contingent Jing Mu had taken with him lost contact in the middle of the night.
By this time, Shu Changyu had already led his troops to the riverbank.
When he heard the news, his vision went black.
Jing Mu had practically delivered his own head into the enemy’s hands.
He had taken a mere eighty thousand troops into four prefectures occupied by the enemy. The city defenses belonged to them, and so did the fortifications.
Going there was practically the same as seeking death.
Seeing the slender, frail-looking lord sway, the burly, dark-faced deputy general beside him hurriedly reached out to support him.
Shu Changyu steadied himself.
Looking at the river rushing eastward through the night, he said in a deep voice, “Pass down the order. We cross the river now.”
“Lord Shu…” The deputy general froze.
Jing Mu had taken only eighty thousand troops with him, while Shu Changyu had only fifty thousand left.
Although the enemy’s main forces had suffered considerable losses, they occupied four prefectures, so they still held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Not only had their main forces been divided in two, there was no communication between the two sides.
That was a major taboo in military strategy.
Shu Changyu merely gave him a faint glance.
The deputy general immediately straightened and saluted.
“Yes!”
Before turning away, he did not forget to say to Shu Changyu, “Lord Shu, you must have confidence in our General! Our General is invincible and has never lost a battle. Surely he won’t let that old thief take advantage of him this time either!”
Shu Changyu gave a quiet “Mm,” but his expression did not relax in the slightest.
That traitor was probably already in the capital, but Shu Changyu could not determine who the person coordinating with him was.
Now that the enemy was hidden while they were exposed, and they had only this tiny amount of military strength in their hands, Shu Changyu simply could not put his mind at ease.
He stared intently at the surging Yellow River, both fists clenched tightly at his sides.
The deputy general was extremely efficient.
In less than half an hour, the boats on the river had already gathered along the riverbank.
Shu Changyu stood by the river, watching boat after boat carry soldiers across.
The weather in Huzhou during spring was still somewhat chilly. Cold wind rustled past, carrying the chill from the river.
Shu Changyu was preoccupied and had no attention to spare for the cold. He simply stood there in the wind, thinking only about the situation before him.
Just then, a clumsy, rough hand carefully slipped a hand warmer into his hands.
Shu Changyu looked up.
Unexpectedly, it was the eight-foot-tall, coal-black-faced deputy general with eyes as large as copper bells.
The man had a face like a guardian deity at a temple gate, yet in his hand he held a delicate little hand warmer.
Seeing Shu Changyu looking at him, the burly man gave an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head.
“This was something the General previously sent to you, my lord. He said the wind by the river cuts straight through a person, and that Lord Shu gets cold easily.”
“But Lord Shu returned it. Somehow, it was accidentally packed up with our things this time.”
“I thought the wind tonight was indeed rather fierce, so I brought it to you on the General’s behalf.”
This big man was tall, broad, and thick-skinned, so naturally he could not feel much of the cold river wind.
But seeing this slender, thinly built lord standing in the wind, he felt as though Shu Changyu might be blown away by it.
Shu Changyu frowned when he heard this.
“Returned it?”
The big man froze.
“Yes?”
He had followed Jing Mu for more than two years.
At the time, it had been the winter of the year when he had begun following Jing Mu. Jing Mu had been suppressing bandits in the capital region, and the ice would freeze all over his armor during winter.
Once, when they stopped to rest in a small town in the capital region, the General happened to see this little thing.
Normally, the General treated everyone without the slightest courtesy. Yet when he saw this little object, he stopped in his tracks and stared at it with an unusually solemn expression for a long time.
After the General bought it, he simply stuffed it into the big man’s hands and told him to go to the post station and send it to Huzhou for Shu Changyu.
“The wind by the river is strong, especially in winter. Lord Shu has always been afraid of the cold, but he never pays any attention to it himself.”
At the time, the General had spoken several sentences to this little officer—something he almost never did.
“Send it. Don’t write my name.”
But the big man was careless.
When he went to the post station, he simply told them that it was being sent by General Jing.
A month later, the item was returned exactly as it had been sent and delivered to the Prince’s residence.
At the time, the General summoned him and asked how this had happened.
Only then did he remember that he had accidentally given the General’s name.
Back then, the General had held the object in his hands for a long while without saying anything before dismissing him.
Seeing that Shu Changyu clearly knew nothing about the matter, the big man found it strange and proceeded to tell him the entire story.
Shu Changyu gripped the hand warmer tightly, pressing his lips together without saying a word.
No wonder…
No wonder Jing Mu had acted as though he were certain that I had abandoned him the moment he arrived.
So the hand warmer that Shu Changyu had never received, the one Kong Qing had returned after learning where it came from, had already told Jing Mu what his “attitude” was.
And yet he had still rushed thousands of miles to Huzhou to save him.
He still could not let Shu Changyu go.
Even though that hand warmer had conveyed his attitude of cutting ties completely, Jing Mu still could not bring himself to let him go.
…He really is an idiot.
Shu Changyu lowered his eyes.
The hand warmer was made of silver, its exterior wrapped in pale blue silk embroidered with cloud patterns.
Under the faint light of the night, the cloud patterns shimmered softly.
Shu Changyu raised his head and looked at the deputy general.
“Get on the boat,” he said.