Why Does Mr. Xie Favor Me? Chapter 48
byChapter 48 Winter Blade Hidden Temperature
Zuo Yunci: My care is always blocked by gentleness
Guzang City has entered early winter from late autumn, and the cold is getting worse day by day.
Xiao Jue used his troops like a god. In just three months, he conquered three border towns in the Northern Dynasty and regained more than 200 miles of lost territory.When the good news came back, Emperor Longyan was overjoyed and awarded him numerous awards.
But what arrived at Xie Heng’s desk along with the good news was a secret message from Xiao Jue through a special channel. The letter was very short: “Food and grass are sluggish, with only half a month left. Winter clothes are thin, and the soldiers are cold and miserable. Everything on the Changlong has been hindered, and it seems that someone is man-made.”
Xie Heng pinched the tissue paper, his fingertips were cold.He immediately summoned Uncle Cheng for questioning.
“Returning to Master Lang, the seven branches of Changlong Hao in the Northern Territory have been subject to routine inspections by the government in the past month, and the cash in stock has been temporarily sealed. If you want to transfer large amounts of cash, you need to apply for approval at various levels, which takes at least half a month. Moreover, the grain roads leading to the Northern Territory from various places have been frequently disturbed by bandits recently, or the roads have been accidentally damaged.”
“Is Xu Shuhuai here?”
“Waiting in the side hall.”
Xie Heng stood up and walked to the side hall, where Xu Shuhuai was sitting. When he saw him coming in, he put down the tea cup and said, “Have you read it?”
Xie Heng handed him the secret letter. Xu Shuhuai scanned it and sneered: “The method is old-fashioned, but cruel enough. The soldiers on the front line are bleeding and fighting, but there are people in the rear who are blocking their way of survival.”
“What do you think about the Changlong issue?”
Xu Shuhuai pondered for a moment: “The Changlong ship has a clean background. If the opponent can accurately pressure seven branches at the same time, there must be internal support, and they have a good understanding of the Xu family’s industrial layout in the north.”
He paused and said, “Besides you and General Xiao, who else knows about the existence of the bronze talisman?”
Xie Heng shook his head: “It’s extremely confidential. Unless there is a ghost around Xiao Jue.”
The two looked at each other and both saw solemnity.
“The top priority is food and grass.” Xu Shuhuai said, “I can transport the food from the south of the Yangtze River to Tianjin by sea, and then go north by land. But it will take at least a month.”
“Xiao Jue only has half a month left to store food, and the risk of shipping in winter is also high.”
“Then let’s use a two-pronged approach. I’ll take the sea route, and you try to open up the land route. Someone must come forward to put pressure on the DPRK and China side.”
Xie Heng thought for a moment: “Let Your Majesty personally take care of the winter clothes and food for the soldiers in the North. Tomorrow, I will report to Your Majesty at the court meeting. In order to commend the soldiers in the North, the royal family and the inner court will take the lead in collecting private materials, forming a labor mission, and going to the North to reward them in person. Your Majesty will appoint the list of the mission.”
Xu Shuhuai put his hands on his hands and smiled and said: “Wonderful! If the royal family and the inner court lead the mission, Du Zhi Cao and Wu Bing Cao will not dare to delay any longer. And when the mission goes north, it will naturally see many things along the way.”
“It’s just that the choice of the head of the mission needs to be carefully considered. It must make the Wang family fearful, but it must not be one of ours to avoid His Majesty’s suspicion.”
The two discussed in low voices for a long time, and the sky outside the window turned completely dark.
Thousands of miles away in the north, the wind is freezing.
Xiao Jue’s camp was stationed outside the newly recovered Yunzhong City.The atmosphere in the Chinese army’s tent was solemn.
Xiao Jue looked at the grain and grass account book on the case with a gloomy expression.Wen Boyan stood at the bottom and reported: “General, the next batch of food and grass allocated by the court should have arrived ten days ago as usual, but there is still no news. The food stored in the camp will last up to twelve days if the current troops and horses have two meals of gruel per day. In addition, there is a shortage of winter clothes, and the number of frostbite cases is increasing day by day.”
Xiao Jue tapped his fingers on the table. The copper talisman given by Xie Heng could not be withdrawn from Changlong, and there was no food available in the market.
“Bo Yan,” he said, “you personally lead a team of people and go a hundred miles south to pick up the supplies. No matter who is coming or what is being transported, check it carefully and record it in the record.”
Wen Boyan accepted the order: “Yes!”
He hesitated and said, “General, do you also want to send people to the surrounding states and counties to buy some? Although it is a drop in the bucket, it can last for one day.”
Xiao Jue glanced at him and nodded slowly: “Yes, but keep it secret and don’t let anyone know that the army is short of food.”
“You will finally understand.”
After Wen Boyan exited the tent, Xiao Jue sat alone for a long time.He took out the bronze talisman, and the cold touch woke him up.Xie Heng would not let the Changlong have an accident for no reason, unless someone knew about the existence of the bronze talisman.
Wen Boyan returned to his tent and did not immediately arrange for manpower.He sat in front of the case and took out a small old sachet from his arms.
The material of the sachet is ordinary, but the embroidery work is exquisite, with several poles of green bamboo embroidered on it.He rubbed the sachet with complicated eyes, as if he was making a difficult decision.
Familiar footsteps came from outside the tent, followed by the voice of a soldier: “Colonel Wen, Scout Zuo wants to see you.”
Wen Boyan quickly put away the sachet, took a deep breath, and his face returned to its usual calmness: “Come in.”
The curtain was raised and Zuo Yunci walked in. He was a few years younger than Wen Boyan. He had handsome features and an angry look on his face: “Bo Yan, I just went to the supply camp. Guess what? The new grain transport officer is actually a distant relative of the Wang family! I heard him bragging to others that he often went to the Wang Mansion to have wine when he was in Guzang!”
Wen Boyan’s writing hand paused slightly, and he raised his head with a gentle smile on his face. That smile could always easily appease Zuo Yunci: “Yunci, you can’t say this nonsense. The grain transport officer was sent by the Fifth Army Cao. It’s common for him to have an old relationship with the Wang family, so there may not be anything wrong with him.”
“But now that the food and grass have been delayed, and he has a relationship with the Wang family, isn’t this suspicious?” Zuo Yunci said anxiously, taking a step closer unconsciously, “We have to tell the general.”
Wen Boyan looked at his face full of concern and eagerness, and felt a slight stab somewhere in his heart.He stood up and walked to Zuo Yunci. He wanted to pat his shoulder out of habit. He raised his hand halfway, but instead straightened Zuo Yunci’s slightly crooked collar.
“The general has a lot to deal with every day, so why bother him with these baseless speculations?”
Wen Boyan’s voice became softer, “Don’t worry, I will take care of the food and fodder matter. Just take care of your soldiers, and be more careful when patrolling.”
Zuo Yunci felt the warmth of the fingertips across the skin on the side of his neck, and his face felt slightly warm. Most of the doubts in his heart were dispelled by this familiar gentleness.He looked away uncomfortably and lowered his voice: “That’s right… you have always done things safely. Then I’ll go back first, and I’ll have to patrol tomorrow.”
“Go.” Wen Boyan watched him leave, and the curtain fell, isolating the tall figure from behind.
Silence returned to the tent, and the smile on Wen Boyan’s face completely disappeared, replaced by a deep fatigue and struggle.He took out the old sachet again, looked at it for a long time, and then carefully put it away.
He spread out a piece of special tissue paper and dipped his pen in ink.The pen tip hovered for a moment and finally fell down.The content written was very brief, with only a few seemingly unrelated phrases and numbers, using code words that were difficult for outsiders to understand.After he finished writing, he dried it carefully and folded it into very small pieces.
He summoned a veteran who had been with him for many years and was absolutely loyal, and his voice was very low: “Old rules, leave it to Mrs. Zhou. It must not be passed into the hands of a second person, and it must not be let anyone know the content, including the contact person.”
The veteran looked solemn, took the piece of paper, didn’t say a word, just nodded heavily, then turned around and disappeared into the night outside the tent.
Wen Boyan stood alone, listening to the howling wind outside.Pictures from many years ago emerged uncontrollably…
He didn’t want to think about how he had climbed up step by step over the years. This was not only the future he dreamed of, but also an opportunity that could bring him closer to someone, and perhaps make him qualified to fight for something.
Wen Boyan closed his eyes, and Zuo Yunci’s face, always full of trust, appeared in his mind unconsciously.That silly boy thought he was hiding well, but he didn’t know that every time he pretended to approach inadvertently, and even the small mistakes he made deliberately to attract his attention, Wen Boyan had long seen it.
Why wasn’t he tempted?But he couldn’t make a promise, let alone drag that sincerity into his own muddy quagmire.
So I can only push away, I can only pretend not to know, I can only use the attitude of a brother and keep a just right distance.
The firelight of the charcoal basin reflected his pale face, and he threw in the scrapped papers he had just written on.
At this moment, the curtain was opened again.Zuo Yunci left and came back with a bag of things in his hand, a little embarrassed on his face: “Bo Yan, I have some ointment for a wound. You gave it to me last time. I don’t think you are using it. I thought your old wrist injury might hurt in the cold weather, so…”
His words stopped suddenly, and his eyes fell on the pieces of paper that had not been completely burned in the charcoal basin.
Wen Boyan’s heart tightened, but his face remained calm. He calmly poked the charcoal with a poker, turning the paper into ashes. Then he turned around with a helpless and gentle smile on his face: “Why are you back again? It’s so late.”
Zuo Yunci looked at him, then at the charcoal basin, and asked straightforwardly: “What are you burning? I think it has writing on it…”
“It’s just some useless old documents.” Wen Boyan walked over and took the ointment from his hand naturally. His fingertips accidentally touched Zuo Yunci’s hand and felt the other person tremble slightly, “Some things, it’s not good to know too much. Burn them clean.”
He opened the ointment and smelled it: “You can keep this ointment for use, I still have it there. You are working hard on patrol, and you are more likely to get bumped.”
Zuo Yunci looked at his profile, which was very close to him, and looked particularly soft under the flickering candlelight. The doubts in his heart were easily dispelled.Boyan was always like this, thoughtful and considerate.There must be a reason for what he burned.
“Then remember to use it.” Zuo Yunci lowered his head, his ears a little red, “I’m going back.”
“Well, take a rest early.”
Zuo Yunci turned around to leave, then stopped, looked back and glanced at him quickly, and said in a very soft voice: “You should also go to bed early.” After saying that, he opened the curtain and went out as if he was running away.
In the tent, Wen Boyan stood for a long time holding the box of ointment that still contained Zuo Yunci’s body temperature.The simple carton of the ointment seemed to still have the clean breath of that person.
He held the ointment tightly in his hand until his joints turned white, then he slowly released it and put it into his arms, close to his heart.
“I’m sorry, Yun Ci.” Wen Boyan said silently in his heart, “I have to walk some roads. But at least, I want to make sure you are safe.”
He walked to the case and picked up the pen again. This time he wrote about the real military arrangements.The handwriting is correct and the organization is clear.
But at the end of the letter, he added a seemingly innocuous sentence: “Zuo Scout is diligent in patrolling and is worthy of a heavy responsibility. However, he is straightforward and needs a safe person to lead him.” This was the secret protection he could give Zuo Yunci.
On the other side, the secret guard brought news from the north: “Our people discovered that a veteran beside Wen Boyan secretly left the camp last night and went south. After following him for a while, we found that he disappeared after entering a town. We had previously marked that town as a contact point that may have secret connections with certain forces in the palace.”
Xu Shuhuai tapped his fingers on the table: “The forces in the palace? Concubine Zheng’s side?”
“Not sure, but it is certain that it is not a direct line of the Wang family. In addition, before the Changlong incident, local officials received hints from above, requiring strict inspection of the bank’s accounts. The source of the hint is very vague, but it points to the palace.”
“Isn’t Wen Boyan a soldier beside Xiao Jue?” Xu Shuhuai said thoughtfully, “This person is more complicated than we thought. Not only is he capable, but there seems to be a thread behind him that we don’t know about. Continue to investigate, but be more careful.”
“Yes.”
After the secret guard left, Xu Shuhuai walked to the window, the cold wind howling.
The sound of drums came and it was already the third watch.Guzang City is sleeping in the cold night, and a more complex and secretive web is being woven silently.
[The author has something to say]
I think this chapter is the climax of this article [Glasses]