Chapter 324: Make Them Grateful And Submissive
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was all thanks to the Second Prince’s precautions that he kept the captured Great Xia soldiers alive. When they were exchanged back, he had to tell his brothers how difficult it was to deal with the Third Prince of Great Xia.
However, what they did not know was that at this moment, in the Xiongnu camp, the Second Prince did not plan to give them such a “future”.
“Prince, do you mean that we won’t exchange captives?”
“Not only do I not want to exchange, but I also want to send more people to them.” The second prince revealed a cruel smile.
“Are Big Brother and Third Brother’s men still jumping around?”
Advisor Jun quickly reacted. “Prince, you mean…”
The second prince licked his lips, his eagle-like eyes filled with sharpness. “Great Xia is short of food, but in order to exchange for the soldiers we captured, they had no choice but to distribute the food to the captives. Listen, it’s so interesting.”
“If they refuse to take good care of the captives, we’ll say that the Third Prince of Great Xia is cold-blooded and heartless. We’ll see who will want him as a general in the future.”
“If they really take good care of the captives, I don’t believe that those soldiers will really be willing to starve themselves. Besides, how can soldiers who can’t eat their fill be a match for our Xiongnu warriors? No matter what, the Third Prince is wrong. Xiongnu will definitely win this battle.”
The military advisor was a little worried. “But I heard that Great Xia’s next batch of food is already on the way. There’s quite a lot of them. When the time comes, they won’t have to worry about not having enough food.”
The second prince turned around and looked at him meaningfully. “Don’t worry, there’s no such possibility.”
In Great Xia’s city, the deputy generals were indeed having a headache over food.
“How long before His Highness the Crown Prince arrives?”
No one could answer this question. Rong Yan pondered for a moment and instructed, “Reduce the Xiongnu people’s food by half.” It was fine as long as they did not starve to death.
Xiongnu did not respond to Great Xia’s request to exchange for captives. Instead, it launched a few more attacks. Great Xia tried their best to teach them a lesson. Even though their stomachs were growling, they returned victorious every time.
The battle report might make the emperor happy when it reached the Imperial Capital, but Rong Yan couldn’t smile at this moment.
Deputy General Xiong and the others were puzzled. “Your Highness, we’ve won many times and captured so many captives. Why don’t you look very happy?”
Rong Yan swallowed the thick and hard steamed bun in his mouth because there was really not enough food. “Arrange for a team to hunt and look for wild vegetables and… weeds nearby. Make a pit with the boiled dried vegetables and buns.”
He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Mix rice chaff into the bun.” At least they could fill their stomachs.
These were all temporary measures. If the Crown Prince did not come, they would only be able to last five days at most even if they made do.
At this moment, the Crown Prince, who was setting up camp halfway through the march, was putting down his bowl and chopsticks with a look of disdain. He was born noble and was the Crown Prince. He was also the person whom the entire Yan Family supported with all their might. He had used intricate and precious things since he was young. He had never eaten such “rough tea and plain rice”.
The aide asked, “Your Highness, when do we leave?”
The Crown Prince threw away his bowl and chopsticks and picked up a snack that could be considered extravagant on their march. “If I appear now, they will only think that it’s natural for me to send food. But if I appear again when they can’t hold on…”
They would treat him as their savior.
Since he was here, he naturally had to maximize the benefits of this trip. He wanted the rough people in the military camp to be grateful to him and bow down to him.
However, he had never thought about what irreversible and terrifying things would happen if he really caused the border to fall because of his deliberate delay.
The soldiers at the border endured another two difficult days. From the ordinary soldiers to Rong Yan, their faces were sallow and their footsteps weak. Even the Xiongnu people who had been captured in the captive camp were already breathing less and less. They only had the strength to lie down and struggle.
At this juncture, Rong Yan’s identity was special. He could have given some special treatment, but he insisted on eating and sleeping with the soldiers.
Apart from being touched, the soldiers also changed their opinion of the prince, who looked delicate and pampered. They sincerely admired and trusted him.
People fell one after another in the military camp. However, not only was the army short of food, but they were also short of medicine. The lives of the injured and the sick could only be left to fate.
Today, the young soldier who came to deliver food to the injured, staggered. His eyes were clearly green, but he still put down the steamed bun that had been curled into small pieces. “I’m not hungry. Hurry up and eat.”
However, the injured also looked away. “It’s a waste for us to eat it. On the other hand, you can kill a few more Xiongnu b*stards after eating.”
The soldier’s eyes turned red when he heard this. “What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by waste?! How can you recuperate if you don’t eat? I’m still waiting for you to kill Xiongnu together! Eat quickly!”
The two sides pushed each other. Neither of them had much strength, but both of them were determined.
At this moment, a fragrance that made the people hungry wafted over. Everyone’s first reaction was that Xiongnu was up to no good again! Their anger allowed them to find the strength to stand up, but when they went out angrily to take a look, the smell actually came from behind them?
Rong Yan was speechless when he was told that someone was asking to see him outside the garrison camp and was cooking on the spot. “Cooking on the spot outside the camp? Why?” Were they provoking him?
The person who came to report scratched his head. “I think the person who came said that she was sending food to us. Everyone thought that there was no such good thing in the world. It must be a trap created by that Xiongnu, so they weren’t allowed in. That person said that she knew you, so everyone didn’t believe her even more. Then…”
Rong Yan suddenly remembered that Xiaoxiao’s letter was many days late.
He only felt that his head was buzzing, and unbelievable thoughts were stirring. However, his footsteps were so fast that he did not seem like a person who had been hungry for many days. The messenger followed behind him, and he had to jog to keep up.
Yun Er, who was following behind Rong Yan, had already smelled an unlikely possibility from the fragrance of the food.
The two of them quickly left the others far behind and strode out of the military camp.
A few familiar-looking iron stoves were emitting smoke and sweet fragrance. There were burly men with fierce eyes surrounding them with their arms crossed. The petite figure in the middle darted around like a butterfly. Looking at the temperature of this stove and the heat of that stove, she was extremely busy.
Rong Yan recognized the burly men and cupped his hands to greet them, but he did not know what to do with the person in the middle.
She probably felt that it was enough. She put on her homemade insulation gloves and took out a plate of small biscuits.
Coincidentally, someone said something to her. She cried out in pain and her hand trembled, as if she had been scalded..
