Before Dugu Yuncheng left, he sent people to secretly mobilize the gentry of the Yan Province area.
At one point, the gentry from various parts of Yan Province, as well as personnel from aristocratic families and powerful clans left in Yan Province, all came forward to stir up trouble, and rumors spread like wildfire.
"The Cavalry General, as the Marshal of the Northern Border, abandoned his post with fifty thousand troops. His intentions are sinister!"
"And scorched earth? This is to let the barbarians laugh at our Great Qian Kingdom for being afraid of them!"
...
The influence of aristocratic families and powerful clans in the Yan Province area alone was incomparable to the Liang and Lu families. They were also certain that Lu Yi would not dare to do anything to these scholars.
Even the local landlords and wealthy gentry joined the chorus of condemnation!
The gentry, who once turned pale at the name of the barbarian cavalry, were now accusing Lu Yi of being afraid of the barbarians.
Scholars everywhere on the streets were propagating that Lu Yi had sinister intentions, causing widespread panic in the Yan Province area.
At the Yan Province Academy, Zhuo Wentao was furious upon hearing that students had gone out to participate in this matter: "Nonsense! If the Cavalry General wanted to rebel, he would have done it long ago. Why would he leave behind one hundred thousand troops of the Northern Border! Whoever goes out to cause trouble again will be permanently expelled from the Yan Province Academy!"
The total of two thousand students at the Yan Province Academy finally quieted down.
Zhuo Wuliang, who was stationed in the central army, was also worried upon receiving news of the unrest in Yan Province.
With his full authority to handle the military affairs of the Northern Border Army, morale was not a problem, but public opinion...
Nan Jiyun sighed, "I never imagined that the so-called 'aristocratic families and powerful clans' are truly so deeply entrenched!"
"Flowing dynasties, ironclad aristocratic families and powerful clans, are they not famous for nothing? Just the Dugu family, Gongyang clan, Ouyang family, and the He family of the capital, the four families combined are enough to shake the entire Great Qian. This is also why the Marshal has always been constrained. The Marshal can even compromise for this reason and stay away from the capital," Zhuo Wuliang said with a bitter smile.
Nan Jiyun clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He smiled and said, "But I believe that with the Marquis of Anguo assisting His Majesty, and the Prime Minister and the Marshal handling internal and external affairs, the country will be completely renewed! We just need to do our part and assist them."
Zhuo Wuliang's mood also improved considerably.
Liang Xiao! This young man who appeared out of nowhere brought too many miracles, perhaps he could truly change this country!
It was a pity he was too young and lacked the experience.
Outside Fierce Tiger River, the Feathered Forest Guard was clearing the surroundings, and Shadow Guards were constantly on duty to guard the gold.
As night fell, the moonlight was as cool as water.
Jian Qinwan walked by the river for a while, feeling quite depressed.
She usually bathed three times a day, but she couldn't be at ease bathing here, nor did she want to waste the scarce water supply!
Even if Fierce Tiger River hadn't dried up, and her senior sisters weren't here, was she supposed to let Liang Xiao, that notorious womanizer, keep watch for her?
The thought of Liang Xiao made Jian Qinwan panic.
Fortunately, Yan Province was in the northern region, and the weather was very cold, so she wasn't afraid of sweating.
Passing by her senior brothers' camp, Jian Qinwan smelled the aroma of grilled fish.
"Little Junior Sister, want some grilled meat!"
Ten senior brothers led by Chen Shaoling waved their grilled meat at Jian Qinwan, looking very pleased.
Jian Qinwan snorted, "You stinky senior brothers, you're becoming more and more unseemly and strange! Don't you know I hate barbecues the most? They're dirty and smoky!"
Without waiting for Chen Shaoling and the others to reply, Jian Qinwan walked away, afraid that her senior brothers would mention Liang Xiao again.
Returning to her own camp, Jian Qinwan cast a resentful glance at Liang Xiao, who was grilling meat, and sat down silently, lost in thought.
Undoubtedly, she and Liang Xiao were assigned to the same camp, and Ding Wuyi would occasionally come back to rest.
"Female Bodhisattva, have them prepare hot water for you, you can bathe in the tent," Liang Xiao suddenly said.
Jian Qinwan's delicate body trembled, and she looked at Liang Xiao with shy anger: "You..."
"I'm not joking. After all, we'll be staying here for several days," Liang Xiao said earnestly.
Jian Qinwan taunted, "So you were joking before?"
"Ah, this, this, this..."
Seeing Liang Xiao's embarrassed expression, Jian Qinwan finally felt a little happier and snorted, "Don't worry, this young lady isn't as delicate as you think when she's out and about..."
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "It's because Fierce Tiger River has dried up, and there's little water here. The military water is precious, and you wouldn't want to waste it, would you?"
Her thoughts exposed by Liang Xiao, Jian Qinwan refused to admit it to the death: "Absolutely not!"
Liang Xiao glanced at Jian Qinwan, feeling emotional in his heart.
Always so kind and proud...
A brief silence fell between them.
Liang Xiao hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke, "Female Bodhisattva..."
Jian Qinwan quickly turned her head away, covering her ears: "Don't say those things..."
A burst of meat aroma entered Jian Qinwan's nose. She was startled and looked back.
It turned out that Liang Xiao was handing her a skewer of grilled meat: "Would you like to try some grilled meat? I grilled it with great care, and it's quite clean."
Jian Qinwan looked at the skewer of grilled meat.
It was golden brown and oily, emitting a unique and tempting aroma of meat...
Jian Qinwan hesitated for a moment, and her trembling hand took the grilled meat.
"Do you think it's too dirty? I can cook you some meat soup too," Liang Xiao said.
"This young lady isn't as delicate as you think when she's out and about!" Jian Qinwan said, and began to taste the grilled meat cautiously.
Fresh, fragrant, and delicious! Not greasy, not gamey!
"How did you grill it?" Jian Qinwan exclaimed.
Liang Xiao replied, "It's the sauce that my household chefs in Yan Province prepared according to my secret recipe. I casually brought a few portions."
Jian Qinwan remained silent, but from her engrossed expression while eating, it was clear she had been conquered by Liang Xiao's grilled meat.
Discovering that Liang Xiao had been watching her the whole time, Jian Qinwan realized she had been eating absentmindedly. Her pretty face flushed, and she said sheepishly, "Am I too useless, unable to help you with anything? In fact, you don't need a personal guard at all..."
Liang Xiao pouted, "I do! I'm as weak as a chicken, Female Bodhisattva, you'll have to protect me more in the future. Those barbarian assassins are so scary. The other day, my little heart almost jumped out of my chest!"
Jian Qinwan felt goosebumps all over her body and gave Liang Xiao a glare.
Carrying the Heavenly Dragon Breaking City Halberd that could cut iron like mud, and claiming to be as weak as a chicken?
Who would believe that!
But Jian Qinwan quickly regained her senses, heard the implicit meaning in Liang Xiao's words, panicked, and said, "You must never fail your fiancée, the Princess, and Yue Lian!"
Liang Xiao nodded solemnly, but did not say what he was thinking: Could he fail you?
The Great Qian Kingdom had fewer women than men and had always advocated for men to have three wives and four concubines. However, Liang Xiao carried a sense of modern egalitarianism.
One Princess Ning Shuang, one successor to the Three Sages, one fiancée, and Yue Lian, with whom he spent his days. He still hadn't figured out how to resolve the contradictions in their statuses.
It would be inappropriate for any of them to be a concubine, and they would surely face gossip.
Three days later, Liang Xiao and Ding Wuyi finally welcomed Lu Yi's fifty thousand troops, as well as a large amount of canvas, carriages, and boxes.
The grain transport vehicles alone exceeded ten thousand!
After arranging the stationed troops, Lu Yi put on a gas mask and entered the cave with Liang Xiao and Ding Wuyi to inspect the gold.
Gazing at the mountains of gold bricks, Lu Yi was almost driven to despair and prayed with tears: "Your Majesty the former Emperor! The Great Qian Kingdom finally has an opportunity for reform!"
After calming his emotions, Lu Yi looked at Liang Xiao: "Nephew, how should we proceed? These fifty thousand troops are at your disposal!"
The Shadow Guards around were startled.
A mere scholar, not yet twenty years old, commanding fifty thousand troops?