The General Was Pregnant with the Emperor's Child - Chapter 21

The night had quietly passed its midpoint.

Ye Wuyou was jolted awake from his light slumber to find the sky outside his tent illuminated by a towering blaze.

“General! The camp where our grain and fodder were stored is on fire!” Kang Jiang rushed in, his face covered in soot and ash.

Ye Wuyou’s gaze darkened instantly. He stood up, grabbed his outer robe, and followed Kang Jiang out of the tent. What hit him first wasn’t the heat of the fire, but a damp mist in the air. In an early summer that shouldn’t have been dry, the East Camp was engulfed in a massive fire, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.

The fire raged intensely. By the time Ye Wuyou rushed to the scene, Yang Shen had already led men to dig a firebreak.

The fire was discovered early, but because the camp had been doused in fire oil, it still took half an hour to extinguish. As the last sparks died out, Ye Wuyou sat back in his tent, suppressing his rage as he glared coldly at the men kneeling before him.

“The East Camp held a vast amount of grain and fodder. The enemy used fire oil; we couldn’t save it…” Kang Jiang was on duty tonight, and he knelt before Ye Wuyou, head low, seeking punishment.

“Fire oil? Those barbarian bastards! Fine, very well!” Ye Wuyou slammed his chair and stood up, his anger plain on his face. “I only moved the grain to the East Camp a week ago. The enemy received the news remarkably fast.”

The General didn’t lose his temper often; his roar made the kneeling soldiers tremble in a rhythmic shudder.

“General, please calm your anger!” Yang Shen glanced at Kang Jiang and knelt beside him. “The enemy destroyed our supplies right before we were set to march; it must have been a long-premeditated plan. If we march now, short on food and clothing, our soldiers will be hesitant and fearful. We would surely suffer a crushing defeat. However, this subordinate has a plan!”

Ye Wuyou’s expression softened slightly. He glanced sideways at Yang Shen, his lip curling. “Speak.”

“The barbarians destroyed our supplies, and distant water cannot put out a nearby fire. Why don’t we go and snatch theirs instead?” Yang Shen said. “Tonight, the enemy will be busy mocking us for the fire; their camp’s security is bound to be lax. If we strike now, we can catch them by surprise! I can lead three hundred light cavalry. We will wrap the horses’ hooves in soft cloth and slip behind the enemy lines before dawn. We snatch what we can, and if we can’t snatch it, we burn their grain along with them!”

“A taste of their own medicine. The worst-case scenario is that both Luren and we have no food.” Ye Wuyou gave a cold laugh and looked at Yang Shen. “The Vice-General knows the grassland terrain well and understands the language of the wolves. I’ll leave this to you.”

“Yes! This subordinate will not fail the mission!”

In a few short sentences, the strategy was decided. Yang Shen’s three hundred light cavalry seemed as if they had been prepared all along, assembling at the camp gates fifteen minutes later. Ye Wuyou patted Yang Shen’s shoulder, his expression solemn. “Remember: burning the grain is the priority. Do not linger for battle.”

“Aiyai, Ye Mian, you’re overacting. Don’t worry.” Yang Shen caught Ye Wuyou’s eye and grinned, away from the sight of the others.

“Yang Shen, if you dare lose yourself out there, I’ll go burn your wolf den down.” Ye Wuyou pressed his voice low, his face cold and clearly displeased with Yang Shen’s attitude.

“…The General should worry about whether his own legs are shaking too much to walk to the wolf den first!” Yang Shen laughed as he mounted his Snow Steed, heading quickly toward the barbarian position located by the wolf packs.

Watching the cavalry disappear into the distance, Ye Wuyou irritably dismissed the kneeling soldiers and walked back into his tent. He took up a brush and wrote a single line of small characters.

“Your Majesty, no food left. Come quickly.”

When he finished, he summoned a carrier pigeon. The bird affectionately pecked at the slip of paper between his fingers.

“There, there.” Ye Wuyou tucked the paper into the bamboo tube tied to the pigeon’s leg. He cradled the bird in his palms, lovingly stroking its head, and whispered instructions: “Zero-One, be clever. Avoid them if you can. Get this letter there fast. Even if you end up stewed into pigeon soup by His Majesty, we can’t let the enemy…”

Ye Wuyou’s voice grew quieter. He lifted his hand and tossed the pigeon into the night sky. Zero-One flapped its wings and flew resolutely into the dark veil. The speck of white struggled until it was swallowed by the starry curtain.

New fires began to burn on the plains, and several brilliant falling stars streaked across the sky.

Luren shot down the soaring pigeon. He pulled Ye Wuyou’s private message from the tube, and seeing that line of scribbled “coquettish” writing, the corner of his mouth curled up.

“The Great Jing’s General and Emperor… interesting.”

At the same time, the light cavalry slipped into the barbarian camp. Yang Shen used knock-out incense to daze the guards and directed the cavalry to load grain onto their horses.

“Don’t be greedy! Two bags per horse, then head back immediately!” Yang Shen slung two bags onto his own horse as the sky began to turn pale.

After a busy half-night, the three hundred cavalry began to head back in scattered groups, the sound of hooves growing lighter.

“The enemy has an ambush! Take the grain and go, I’ll cover the rear!” Yang Shen suddenly shouted. As he yelled, he tore open the bags on his own horse which were actually filled with dirt and weeds and doused them in fire oil.

Flames soared once more, and thick smoke drifted over the center of the barbarian camp. Yang Shen expressionlessly shot several fire arrows toward the retreating Jing cavalry. Standing before the flames, he used his sword to cut gashes into his own armor.

“You’re using this pile of junk to fool the Jing people?” Luren walked up behind Yang Shen, dangling the captured pigeon.

“That doesn’t matter, as long as Ye Mian believes it.” Yang Shen dismounted and performed a standard grassland greeting to Luren. “Great Khan.”

“Ye Mian!”

Xiao Yun’an was startled awake from his sleep once again. He clutched his heavy chest, his heart racing.

Lately, he hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully. A fire always appeared in his dreams, and within the flames and smoke, many sheep and cattle lay dead.

In today’s dream, Xiao Yun’an had tried to walk closer. In the center of that recurring fire, he had seen his Great General.

“Your Majesty, you’ve had another nightmare.” Gao Su’s worried face filled his vision as the eunuch held a damp towel above his head, offering it respectfully.

“Has there been any word from the North?” The fair, beautiful neck of the Emperor was strained with veins. He took the towel and asked with a stony face.

“None yet…” The sweat on Gao Su’s forehead was heavier than the Emperor’s. He wanted to reassure him that General Ye was blessed by heaven, but seeing the dark bruise-like shadows between the Emperor’s brows, he swallowed his words.

“A bunch of useless trash! Send people to investigate the situation in the North immediately!” Xiao Yun’an threw the towel to the floor, his expression becoming even more ghastly. He clutched his stomach, which was churning with sour fluid, and shouted, “Bring the brush and ink from the study! Zhen must send a letter to Ye Mian!”

“Yes… yes.” Gao Su bowed and retreated, hurrying toward the study.

Hah. He had just suppressed the “Flower Thief” case that pointed all evidence toward Ye Wuyou, and now the situation in the North was destabilizing. Xiao Yun’an stared coldly at the flickering red candle in the room. The dim light of the candle overlapped with the roaring fire in his dream. He swept his sleeve and extinguished every flickering light in the room.

Someone has begun to move against Ye Mian… it seems there are people in court who are restless again.

Ye Mian, whatever you do, do not let anything happen to you.

Xiao Yun’an gripped the imperial decree beside him and wrote the first line:

[Zhen was robbed by a thief at the brothel. The capital is strictly investigating the Flower Thief case, but…]