Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 117 Lin Daiyu loves to read military books?
On the tenth day of October, the weather was slightly cool.

The first rays of sunlight spread across the sky, making the armor of the soldiers in the Beijing camp glow.

Outside the camp, fifteen thousand soldiers were lined up in neat rows with flags flying, waiting for the final military order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

When the order of "march" was heard in the team, this huge army began to move slowly.

The King of Qin immediately stood on a small hillside, gazing at the army dancing like a long snake. He felt a sense of heroism as if he were fighting on the frontier, and his heart became excited.

"Yue Ling, I promise that I will wipe out the rebellion and return to the court within three months at the latest. By then, you only need to resist the northern barbarians and wait for me to come back for help. Of course, it would be best if the northern barbarians never come south."

"Yue Ling, before you leave, do you have anything else to ask me?"

Yue Ling stood behind the King of Qin, looking at the army with him. When the King of Qin asked, he withdrew his gaze and said, "Is your old illness gone?"

King Qin nodded and smiled, "Basically, there is no problem."

Yue Ling heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. May Your Highness have a successful start."

The King of Qin, dressed in golden armor, seemed to be emitting a dazzling light at sunrise, competing with the sun. Carrying a large bow on his back and holding a horse lance, he looked majestic.

The King of Qin also said, "Okay, you too."

After saying this, the King of Qin pulled the reins, gave a loud shout, and led 5,000 cavalrymen to gallop down the hillside, stirring up a cloud of flying sand. He gradually merged into the army formation, and soon led the way in front of the army formation.

……

Privy Council, Council Chamber,
Now this place has become the office of the Grand Commander, with several minor clerks assisting in the work, but documents still fly onto Yue Ling's desk like snowflakes. Matters concerning troop deployment, food and fodder, garrisons, and reports on military affairs from local government offices are simply not something that can be read all at once.

Feng Yu walked out of the classroom, looked at Yue Ling, and asked with a smile: "Grand Commander, is this job easy to do?"

Yue Ling shook the document in his hand and said calmly: "Didn't you see it?"

Feng Yu sat at Yue Ling's desk and poured himself some tea from the tea table. "Your Highness has just left the capital. You will have even less free time in the future. If you have to deal with those soldiers again, it will be very frustrating."

Yue Ling put down the document and looked at Feng Yu with a frown.

Feng Yu quickly changed his words, "Of course, I'm not saying you're a soldier. The Grand Commander is different from those reckless men."

Yue Ling curled his lips and said, "If Mr. Feng is free, why don't you come and help me look at the document and draft a set of rules. Then I have to consult with the two governments and six ministries, and then send it to the palace. It's not that easy."

Although he has taken up the post of Grand Commander, Yue Ling still has to face those civil officials before the battle and cannot act at his own convenience.

Feng Yu stood up and said, "Forget it. I still have a pile of documents waiting to be revised. Once I have revised them, I will send them to the Grand Commander for review."

Yue Ling shook his head and turned his attention back to the correspondence.

What he is most concerned about now is the situation of the three inner gates.

As an army that originated from the grasslands outside the Great Wall, the Northern Barbarians are also mainly composed of cavalry. Once they conquer Datong Prefecture, they will certainly not attack cities and strongholds along the way, but will choose to move quickly south.

If we go south and enter the capital, we can capture the city. Even if we cannot occupy the city and defend it, the looting will bring unimaginable wealth.

Among the three inner passes, Daoma Pass required a detour of hundreds of miles, and the surrounding water network was intertwined, making it inconvenient for cavalry to march. Juyong Pass was the most important of the three inner passes because it was close to the border, and the garrison was the most complete, so it was definitely difficult to attack. Only Zijing Pass connected the Taihang Mountains and Yanshan Mountains, and the terrain was not high, so it could be detoured from the mountains, and then the pass could be attacked from both sides, which was the same as the history that Yue Ling knew, when the Wala invaded Beijing.

Although there is familiar history that can be used as a strategic reference, based on the existing conditions, it is still impossible to keep the Northern Barbarians' army outside the three passes, especially the Zijing Pass, which is probably impossible to defend.

When the decisive battle takes place in the capital, Yue Ling will be familiar enough with the surrounding areas, and with the support of strong cities and powerful artillery, Yue Ling will have a good chance of winning.

On the other hand, if a war breaks out at the foot of the capital, the civil service group will definitely obstruct it. In the court, they talk about the pros and cons, and are full of vigor and enthusiasm. But when the war really comes, there will not be many scholars with backbone.

Perhaps Feng Tongchen and he can be considered one.

How to unite the forces of all parties is also a difficult problem facing Yue Ling.

Yue Ling laughed to himself, "Why do I feel like the prince has thrown this difficult task to me, ordering me to defend the city until he returns from his expedition? That should be the scene where he and I will join forces to defeat the barbarian army. Successive victories in two battles to protect the country will make the prince's prestige spread far and wide."

He sighed again, "Victory is the most important thing. I hope Your Highness can return victorious soon."

After a busy day, the gong outside the yamen was struck several times. It was almost night before Yue Ling sorted out the documents and walked out of the yamen.

On the way home, Yue Ling's mind was full of thoughts about how to deploy defenses in the city. There were so many complicated issues that it was hard to figure out.

When I came to the hall again, I saw that Lin Daiyu had not gone to rest in her room, but was waiting in the middle hall, wearing an outer coat, with a warm stove beside her, quietly flipping through a book. When she is quiet, she is like a beautiful flower reflecting on the water. This sentence is very appropriate for her current appearance.

"Brother Yue is coming back later and later."

Lin Daiyu put away the book, put her hands in front of her, and looked at Yue Ling with twinkling eyes.

Yue Ling did not rush into the room. He sat next to Lin Daiyu and glanced at the book she was reading. The cover had four big characters "Seven Military Classics" written on it. He couldn't help but smile.

Lin Daiyu is really easily influenced by others. For example, in the original novel, when she was with Jia Baoyu, she would recite The West Chamber all day long and care about The Peony Pavilion. They were full of love and even used an old handkerchief to express their feelings for each other, as if once this love was gone, it would be difficult for them to live.

When he was with me, he flipped through military books and read them with great interest. It was really a different style.

Yue Ling picked it up and flipped through a few pages. Seeing her own annotations on it, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why don't you read the Four Books and Five Classics or Li Bai's poems, but read this kind of books instead? I never saw you read them before."

Just now, she was only concerned about Yue Ling's return, but she didn't pay attention to her own affairs. When she heard Yue Ling's question, Lin Daiyu couldn't help blushing. After thinking for a while, she replied to Yue Ling's words, saying, "I was just in a good mood and flipped through it out of curiosity."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "I've never seen a little girl who is curious about military books."

"Brother Yue will be a leader of the army in the future. What if I don't understand what he says to me in the future?"

Lin Daiyu couldn't say what was in her heart, so she used classics to argue with Yue Ling, "In the Song Dynasty, Old Lady She was still able to lead the army in her seventies. Many daughters of generals read military books."

Yue Ling teased again: "Sister Lin shouldn't come to read this military book. I should go out and find a book on salt policy."

Having failed to gain the upper hand in her talk, Lin Daiyu angrily hammered Yue Ling's shoulder, "Brother Yue has evil intentions and has started to bully me. Next time I send a letter to my father, no, to the Crown Princess, I will definitely report Brother Yue to you."

This Lin Daiyu is the one who really has someone in the court. Yue Ling stopped laughing and said to her angrily, "Okay, I was wrong. Sister Lin can watch whatever she wants. No one else can control it. When Sister Lin finishes her studies tomorrow and leads a hundred thousand soldiers to defeat the barbarians, I won't have to worry as much as I do today."

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Hearing the two people laughing and joking in the hall, the maids came out of their rooms and placed some prepared food on the table, waiting for Yue Ling to come back.

Lin Daiyu stayed beside Yue Ling, watching him wolf down the food, and her thoughts drifted away.

Xueyan sat opposite Yue Ling and ate one more meal, feeling contented.

The other girls drank tea and sat in a circle. Qin Keqing, Ruizhu and Zijuan all looked at Yue Ling from time to time, as if they each had something on their mind.

Only Baozhu looked at Xueyan and thought to herself, "Sister Xueyan is really amazing. She just finished her meal an hour ago and is still able to eat. How can I be inferior to her?"

After Yue Ling finished eating, Lin Daiyu handed him a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth, and then asked, "Brother Yue, have things gone wrong these days?"

Yue Ling thought for a moment and said, "It can't be said that it's not going well."

The little maid's attention was drawn to this, and Lin Daiyu thought that she had misunderstood the situation outside, so she waited for Yue Ling's next words.

Then Yue Ling said, "It's just that there is no progress at all."

Lin Daiyu curled her lips, feeling helpless.

Sure enough, Brother Yue did not pass the pressure on to them. He was still joking with them after bringing up this topic.

Xueyan leaned back on the bench, rubbed her belly, and asked, "Then it's still not going well, right?"

Yue Ling was surprised and said, "Xueyan, you have really improved. You can even hear this."

Xueyan looked at the others proudly, with a smug look on her face, "It's okay, it's okay, I also studied hard with the girl."

Yue Ling nodded, and said to Ruizhu and Zhuzhu, "That's good. Knowing how to read is not a bad thing. If you can learn a few more words, learn how to write, and then understand a few poems, you will benefit from books and have a different demeanor."

"Otherwise, if there are more little maids coming in the future, you can't even read, how can you compete with others for the position?"

After pinching Baozhu's chubby cheek, Yue Ling said, "You can't just rely on your pretty faces. Sister Lin has to use someone who can be used first."

The little maids all lowered their heads shyly again.

It’s not that Yue Ling was talking sweet words. The maids in the room all had outstanding looks. They were pleasing to the eye. Playing around with them was also a different kind of fun.

Lin Daiyu also laughed, "Brother Yue came back late, I just thought he had encountered something. Seeing that Brother Yue was still interested in joking with them, it can't be a bad thing. I will go back to my room to rest first, and Brother Yue should also take care of himself."

　It's the tenth day, and I feel exhausted
　　
　
(End of this chapter)