59Chapter 59: Cloud City

"How did you know that Wang Er was suspicious?" After Jiang Lang left, Mu Hanzhang walked to Jing Shao and asked, why did he suddenly think of checking a bookkeeper.

Jing Shao reached out and hugged him tightly, one hand around his waist, and the other hand picked up a pen to write a peace letter to his father: "Today I saw his eyes flickering, so I became suspicious." Jing Shao made up a lie. In fact, he didn't see Wang Er's face at all. The dignified King Cheng would not admit that he did this to kill the lecher who coveted his princess!

The body in his arms had a faint medicinal fragrance. Jing Shao didn't like the smell of this medicine at first, but when it was on his princess and mixed with his own breath, it smelled unexpectedly good. He couldn't help but bury his nose in the clothes and sniffed hard.

Mu Hanzhang was tickled by him, so she broke away from his embrace and sat aside: "Are you going to report the unusual behavior of the King of Southeast to the emperor?"

"Yes." Jing Shao was quite dissatisfied with not being able to take advantage of him. However, although his own princess was sitting next to him, he couldn't write a word if he reached out to embrace her at that angle, so he had to give up and finish the memorial honestly.

"Please mention Hao Dadao's contribution and the bravery of the Shu army." Mu Hanzhang glanced at what Jing Shao wrote and reminded him.

"Shu army?" Jing Shao turned his head to look at him in confusion. Hao Dadao's contribution and background must be mentioned. He also hoped that his father would quickly make Hao Dadao a general, but what about the Shu army? They just followed Hao Dadao to fight, which was no different from the Hunan Army and the Guizhou Army. Why should they be mentioned specifically?

Mu Hanzhang smiled: "Your Highness, have you forgotten that the Shu army followed the eldest prince to fight the southern barbarians in Yunnan and Tibet a while ago."

The Shu army was transferred to rescue the eldest prince at that time. After Jing Rong was rescued, he led the Shu army to attack the Nanman, but the result was very limited. When the battle for the southwest began, Emperor Hongzheng recalled the Shu army to follow Jing Shao to fight in the southwest fiefdom, leaving only the troops of the General Zhengdong assigned to the eldest prince to continue to torment him.

Jing Shao frowned and thought, if he praised the bravery of the Shu army, Emperor Hongzheng would remember that the Shu army had no achievements in the hands of the eldest prince, and the two were compared, and the difference was obvious.

"Jun Qing... Fortunately, you didn't marry someone else!" After a moment of silence, Jing Shao said slowly.

Mu Hanzhang shook his head and sighed, "Even if I married someone else, I would never help him so wholeheartedly." I'm afraid there is no second person in the world who loves me and trusts me like you. He didn't say the last sentence, but just looked at Jing Shao quietly. Seeing that he gradually grinned, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch his cheek.

"That's natural. There is no one more handsome than me in the royal family." Jing Shao said proudly.

Mu Hanzhang was immediately amused by him, pursing his lips and chuckling: "That's right, there is no one in the royal family who is thicker-skinned than you."

The two of them finally finished writing the peace letter after a lot of joking, and the left guard came to report with the results of the interrogation.

Wang Er couldn't stand the interrogation and soon confessed everything. The person who contacted him was a minor official in the capital. He was given money and only asked him to hand over the total amount of food used by the army every day, and didn't care about the rest.

"When did it start?" Jing Shao asked.

"We have been in contact since Wang Er became a clerk in the suburbs of the capital, but we didn't hand over the news at that time. It started after we crossed the border of Shu." The left guard answered very thoroughly. He has always been responsible for the interrogation in the army, so he knows the extent of the questioning best.

By handing over the amount of food used every day, we can judge the number of soldiers in the camp. Jing Shao frowned. No wonder the archers and horsemen came to attack that day. They were sure that the army was not in the camp and had a great chance of killing him.

"That little official," Mu Hanzhang slowly stroked the agate paperweight on Jing Shao's desk, "I think he is a secret agent planted by the King of the Southwest in the capital." The one who started paying attention to the military movements before the army set out should be the King of the Southwest.

"Wang Er doesn't know the name of that person. After arriving in the southwest, there is someone else who contacted him," the left guard handed over a letter, "This is the message that Wang Er didn't have time to hand out today."

The only neat words on the note were a few numbers, and it was wrapped tightly with a piece of oil paper.

Mu Hanzhang held the note and read it for a while, then took a piece of paper and wrote a few words, which were exactly the same as Wang Er's words, but the number on it was nearly three times larger: "This is the number when the Shu army is here."

Jing Shao took the note and looked at it, and immediately understood what his princess meant. Let the other party mistakenly think that the Shu army has returned to the camp, and the Southwest Army or Southeast Army ambushed nearby will not dare to act rashly. When they move out tomorrow, the probability of encountering an ambush will be greatly reduced.

The left guard was surprised when he saw the note in his hand. He had kept Wang Er alive because he was afraid that the prince would use him to pass on false information. He didn't expect that the military advisor had such a special skill: "Prince, what should we do with Wang Er?"

Jing Shao frowned: "Kill him, don't make it public first." Although he wanted to beat the person who coveted the military advisor, no, the traitor, to death in front of the whole army, he couldn't make it public if he wanted to pass on the message in the name of Wang Er.

The next day, when they moved camp, Jing Shao asked Jiang Lang to add another quilt to the bottom of the carriage to prevent the road from being bumpy.

From Shengjing Pass to the hinterland of the southwest, the road was unexpectedly smooth. Presumably, the note yesterday worked. Hao Dadao's vanguard had already reached the vicinity of Yuncheng. The Southwest Army naturally had no energy to deal with the increasing number of troops, and it was estimated that they had already returned to help.

Seeing that there were no obstacles on the road, Jing Shao got into the military advisor's carriage and let Xiao Hei wander around the carriage boredly.

The little tiger lay on the carriage window and looked out. He was very curious about the little black outside the carriage. He stared at him intently. Seeing that the little black just walked and ignored it, he stretched out his claws towards the little black. The little black glanced at the fur ball by the window and blew hot air at it.

"Meow~" The little tiger cub was startled, rolled into a ball and fell down, falling on the soft quilt, screaming shrilly.

"Oh, you can even imitate the cat's meow," Jing Shao was amazed, grabbed the little yellow and pulled his ears, "Meow again."

"Wow!" The little tiger was unhappy when he saw Jing Shao, and shook his head to prevent him from touching his ears.

Mu Hanzhang smiled and touched the soft round ears: "Why don't you go out? What's the point of staying in the carriage?"

"The military advisor's injury has not healed yet. This king loves talents as much as his life, so naturally I have to take care of the military advisor in the carriage." Jing Shao lay down on the soft big pillow and approached his own princess and said roguely.

"What will the people in the army think of your behavior?" Mu Hanzhang sighed helplessly. The right guard had asked openly that day. It must be that Jing Shao did something when he didn't know.

"Let them think whatever they want." Jing Shao said indifferently, thinking about how to let everyone know that the military advisor is his princess, so as to stop some people's thoughts. Since discovering that Wang Er secretly kept Jun Qing's portrait, Jing Shao realized how popular his princess is in the army now. Even a spy like that can't help but admire her, so how many others will admire her? Suddenly, he felt a sense of crisis that his treasure was discovered by others, and he didn't know that this treasure belonged to him.

Mu Hanzhang glared at him, hugged the little tiger in his arms, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The little tiger twisted and turned in his owner's arms, pressed the beautifully shaped chin with the meat pads of the claws, and rubbed the round head against it.

"Haha..." Mu Hanzhang was tickled by the rubbing, and lowered his head to look at it.

The little tiger, with its belly facing the sky, called out to its owner in a coquettish manner. Because the sound was too shrill, "Wow" became "Meow"!

Jing Shao couldn't bear to see it, so he went over to pick up the little tiger cub and threw it into the corner of the carriage, and then he moved over to occupy the seat next to Jun Qing.

Mu Hanzhang looked at his childish behavior and couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and touched the top of his head: "Since you don't want to go out, just take a nap. It will be difficult to sleep well when you arrive in Yuncheng at night."

Jing Shao felt very comfortable being caressed by the slender and warm hands. He couldn't help but squint his eyes, bury his face in the chest of the person next to him, and hugged the narrow waist: "Then you sleep with me."

"I'm not here, where else can I go?" Mu Hanzhang smiled, slid down a little, and rested his head on a long pillow with him. It was really a steal of half a day of leisure to be able to take such a quiet nap during the battle.

There were no obstacles along the way, and there were not many scattered weapons and corpses. It must be because Hao Dadao did not forget to clean up the battlefield all the way. It was reported that Hao Dadao broke the tiger tooth and crane beak, bypassed the second pass and broke through the pass in one fell swoop, and continued to fight without stopping after joining Zhao Meng. The Southwest Army did not expect that Shengjing Pass would be lost within a few days, and they were immediately in a panic and defeated all the way.

The Southwest fiefdom was not large. Not far after Shengjing Pass was the main city-Yuncheng.

When they arrived near Yuncheng, Hao Dadao had already led people to attack the city.

The reason why Yuncheng was named this is because of its special terrain. It rises from the ground and is much higher than the surrounding area. Standing outside the high city wall, it really looks like it is built in the clouds.

It was late, and the army just returned to the camp. Zhao Meng saw the personal army and ran over first.

When Hao Dadao saw it, he told the soldiers to disband on their own, and he also dismounted to meet them.

"Military advisor, military advisor, the three tips you gave me are so useful! It's really amazing. I, Old Zhao, really admire you!" Zhao Meng ran straight to the military advisor's carriage without seeing the prince, and shouted loudly outside the carriage.

The curtain was lifted, and the first person to come out was their commander!

Jing Shao slept well in the carriage, hugging his princess's soft body. He got off the car to stretch his limbs, and turned to help the people in the car. A slender and slender hand was handed out, and he led the military advisor in snow clothes and jade crowns, and the tiger in the military advisor's arms.

Zhao Meng was stunned for a moment, and smiled: "I was wondering why I didn't see the prince, but he was lazy in the military advisor's carriage."

"General Zhao, how are you?" Mu Hanzhang greeted Zhao Meng.

Afraid that he would jump off the carriage and affect the wound again, Jing Shao took the little tiger and threw it to Jiang Lang to hold, and reached out to hold his princess down.

"Your Highness!" Mu Hanzhang was caught off guard and was hugged by him. Her face immediately turned red. In front of so many people, even if others knew that they were a couple, they would be embarrassed. Moreover, in the eyes of these people, they were just the relationship between the military advisor and the commander-in-chief. Such behavior was really too rude!

"You are injured, don't move!" Jing Shao said calmly, and carefully put the person down.

Zhao Meng immediately forgot the ambiguous situation he had just seen when he heard it, and asked anxiously: "I heard that the camp was attacked. Is the military advisor injured?"

Mu Hanzhang pursed his lips, glared at the man who was obviously intentional, and chuckled: "It's okay, it's just a minor injury."

"Haha, it's okay, I, Old Zhao, also got a lot of injuries this time. As a man, you have to have a few scars on your body to be manly enough!" Zhao Meng laughed and was about to pat the military advisor on the shoulder, but Jing Shao quickly caught his wrist.

Hao Dadao looked at the noisy people coldly. He really admired the prince's full trust and the military advisor's ingenious calculations in this battle. However, he couldn't bear to see the ambiguous relationship between the two people. But he didn't bother to care about other people's private affairs. He suppressed the emotions in his eyes and stepped forward to salute.

Jing Shao looked at Hao Dadao who was well-mannered and nodded secretly. Then he looked at Zhao Meng who was held by his wrist. He couldn't help but feel a little itchy. He told everyone to pack up and gather in the middle tent. According to the merits and demerits of this attack on Shengjing Pass, rewards and punishments will be given.

Hao Dadao made great contributions this time, and his bravery and good fighting skills were obvious to all the army. Jing Shao directly promoted him to general. The commander-in-chief was away, and he had the power of life and death, appointment and dismissal. As for the rank of the general, it had to wait for the emperor to decide.

Everyone had no objection to this, and Hao Dadao knelt down to receive the general's uniform.

"Haha, Brother Hao is so brave, he really deserves to be made a general!" Zhao Meng also admired Hao Dadao very much, and happily punched Hao Dadao who stood up.

"Don't be happy yet," Jing Shao looked at the silly and happy Zhao Meng coldly, "Zhao Meng was impulsive and ignored the overall situation, almost causing the cavalry to be wiped out. He is not worthy of the position of general and should be demoted to General of the Central Army."

Zhao Meng knelt down with a sad face and accepted the punishment: "I am guilty, I accept the punishment."

After all the merits and demerits of the young generals were rewarded and punished, Jing Shao spread out the map and discussed the siege plan with everyone.

"This Yuncheng has only two gates, front and back. I ordered people to guard the back gate to prevent the King of Southwest from escaping." Hao Dadao pointed to the map and said, "But the terrain of Yuncheng is too high, and it is really difficult to approach the gate. Moreover, I found that the city wall of Yuncheng is very solid."

"This Yuncheng was built when the country was founded. Taizu used rice soup and mud to build a high wall to show his favor. It is unbreakable." Mu Hanzhang frowned when he heard it, thinking of the records he saw in history books.

"Rice soup and mud!" Zhao Meng was surprised. Rice soup and mud would make the mud several times thicker, and the wall built would really be a copper wall and iron wall, unbreakable.

"So that's it," Hao Dadao nodded, "The military advisor is really knowledgeable."

Jing Shao curled his lips, pointed to the sketch of Yuncheng, and pointed his slender index finger to the west side of the back door: "One foot to the west, there is no rice soup and mud."

Everyone looked over when they heard it, and they were surprised.

"How does the prince know that it is not rice soup and mud?" Zhao Meng couldn't help asking.

Jing Shao glanced at him and didn't answer: "Tomorrow, the soldiers will attack the city in two ways. Zhao Meng will be the vanguard to attack the main gate, and Hao Dadao will lead the troops to attack the back gate."

"Yes!" Everyone took the order and left.

Jing Shao stretched and followed his princess to the military advisor's tent.

"Aren't you going back to the king's tent?" Mu Hanzhang stopped and looked at him.

"I still have something to discuss with the military advisor." Jing Shao said calmly.

"What is it?" Mu Hanzhang stared at him. Is this man afraid that others don't know that he and the military advisor are not clear?

"Don't you want to know what happened on the west side of the city gate?" Jing Shao smiled and moved closer.

Mu Hanzhang turned sideways: "Raising a tiger is a disaster. The wise and powerful people like Taizu will naturally leave a trick for future generations. It's not surprising that the prince knows such a royal secret." After speaking, he turned and left.

Jing Shao scratched his head. In fact, this was not a royal secret. Taizu had kept this secret, but he probably thought that the King of Southwest might rebel at the beginning of the dynasty. The King of Southwest lived a peaceful life, but Taizu forgot to tell his descendants about this. In the previous life, one of the soldiers who was carrying the huge tree was shot and killed, and the direction of the attack on the city was off, so the city wall was broken by accident.

He looked up at the crescent moon that was as thin as a crescent. In the previous life, it took him several months to attack Shengjing Pass. Now he has reached Yuncheng in less than a month. This kind of joy has no one to share with him. It is really lonely. So he went back to the king's tent, wrote a letter to his brother, and waited until the lights in the camp were turned off before he slipped out of the king's tent and sneaked into the military advisor's tent.

"Wow!" Xiao Huang, who was sleeping beside the bed, was pressed down by the tail by the person who suddenly pounced on him. He jumped up immediately and roared at Jing Shao, but was hit on the head.

Mu Hanzhang sighed helplessly and moved to the inside of the bed to make room for him. Jing Shao immediately took off his coat and got into bed happily.

"Can't you sleep in your own tent for one night?" Mu Hanzhang looked at him sideways.

"It's not safe to sleep alone," Jing Shao squeezed closer to the warm body, "Maybe there will be assassins again."

Xiao Huang was very dissatisfied with the occupied bed. He pulled Jing Shao's collar and pulled for a long time, but he was too small to carry him off the bed. Instead, Jing Shao grabbed him by the neck and threw him on the footrest. Xiao Huang climbed onto the bed reluctantly and nestled on Jing Shao's chest, causing Jing Shao to be paralyzed by the ghost and woke up several times at night.

The next day, Zhao Meng and Hao Dadao led people to attack the city, and the Southwest Army sent people out to fight. Zhao Meng fought with the enemy generals and fought evenly. Soldiers from both sides rushed up to fight. The Southwest Army was mainly defending the city. When they saw that they were about to attack the city gate, they quickly returned to the city. They took advantage of the rolling stones falling from the sky. Taking advantage of the terrain of Yuncheng, the killing power was extremely high. Zhao Meng had to lead his troops to retreat.

And Hao Dadao did not encounter many situations. Not to mention attacking the city wall, it was difficult to even approach the city gate.

After fighting for a whole day without success, the army returned to the camp and fought again the next day.

"Hey, I heard that the prince stayed in the military advisor's tent again last night." A patrolling soldier whispered to another.

"Oh, since the assassin appeared that time, I often check on the prince's tent. The prince basically never slept in the king's tent." Another soldier whispered.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" The right guard slapped one of them from behind.

The beaten soldier shrank his head and dared not say anything, and continued to patrol honestly.

"Hey, what's going on between the prince and the military advisor?" Zhao Meng, who came to chat with the right guard, came out and couldn't help asking when he saw this.

"I don't know either." The right guard looked at the ground in distress, and thought of what the military advisor said, and couldn't help shuddering.

"Doesn't the prince dislike men? Didn't he make a fuss when the emperor asked him to marry a male wife?" Zhao Meng was very curious.

Hao Dadao, who came to share the dried meat with them, couldn't help frowning when he heard this: "Are you saying that the prince already has a wife, and it's a male wife?"

"Yes, don't you know?" Zhao Meng smiled, thinking that there was finally something that Hao Dadao didn't know, "The princess is the concubine of the Marquis of Beiwei, she is of noble birth, and I heard that she is very famous among the talented people in the capital."

His wife was held hostage in Beijing, but the prince did such a shameful thing, it was really...

Hao Dadao put down the dried meat and turned away.

Mu Hanzhang was sitting alone by the river, watching the little tiger catching insects in the grass. He heard footsteps and thought it was Jing Shao, but unexpectedly he saw Hao Dadao with a gloomy face.