Mountains and rivers are waiting for you to return

Chapter 256 Cang Xue’s Sincerity
Gu Jinheng's act of asserting his sovereignty just now made Han Ruize and Da Xian a little unhappy.

"Some people are so busy with work that they can't even take care of themselves, leaving Pei Na hungry until now." Han Ruize stabbed him.

Gu Jinheng frowned when he heard this, and asked Pei Nai softly, "I made breakfast for you and put it on the table in the tent. Didn't you eat it?"

Pei Nai shook his head and said, "I went out after practicing martial arts and didn't go back to see you."

Gu Jinheng stroked her face with his fingers, looking slightly remorseful.

"Please sit down and eat. You're still hungry." Pei Nai invited him, but found that Da Xian was sitting on her left and Han Ruize was sitting on her right. There was no empty seat on either side of her.

She reacted and prepared to stand up and pull Gu Jinheng to sit next to her.

Han Ruize pushed her down, stood up before her, and said, "I've already eaten, you guys eat, I'll go to other banquet areas."

Pei Nai's eyes then sparkled with a look of gratitude.

Gu Jinheng sat down and the silver-armored guard beside him handed him new tableware.

He first asked Pei Nai what dishes he wanted to eat, then he personally took them to the stove to heat them up.

After Gu Jinheng finished heating up the dishes, the first thing he did when he came back was to peel two large shrimps and put them in Pei Nai's bowl, covering the food that Han Ruize had peeled for her.

Pei Nai was stunned, as if he smelled the sour smell of vinegar.

Daxian sneered and turned his head away speechlessly.

The banquet lasted until the evening, and after they had eaten and drunk their fill, they walked around the various banquet areas.

With laughter and joy, and drinking and chatting, the soldiers relieved a lot of their stress.

The joy continued until late at night, when the banquet was coming to an end.

Scouts at the front line and their spies in the Wu tribe and the Western Allied Countries reported to them that Yue Cang had finally set out. The Western Allied Army had already set out in the afternoon and was heading east.

"It's coming, the final battle." Pei Nai said.

Gu Jinheng and Han Ruize have already sent people to inform all the armies to return to their camps in an orderly manner to rest.

Tomorrow the commanders and deputy commanders of each army will gather, and the entire army will set out early the day after tomorrow.

Some generals came to ask in confusion: "Why are we setting off the day after tomorrow? Isn't this a step too late for the enemy?"

Pei Nai answered them: "First, let everyone sober up and recuperate for another day; second, we are closer to the target battlefield, so we don't have to go so early. Why do you think Han Ruize and Shao Liran wanted to fight the preliminary battle before? It was to fight for favorable terrain for the East Territory. We can pull the enemy to a battlefield position that is favorable to us, and we can rest for one more day than them!"

The foreign generals suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

"Let the soldiers go back and rest and prepare for the war." Pei Nai added.

The noisy and bustling sounds on the plain ceased, and the soldiers of each army returned to the initial banquet area in an orderly manner, and then formed a team and were taken back to the camp.

Pei Nai and the others left last. Gu Jinheng held her hand as he watched the army disappear into the dark night.

There was an uncontrollable worry in his eyes, not for his own life or death, not for the success or failure of the army, not for the future of all people, but only for her.

"Trust me." Pei Nai smiled at him gently.

Everyone was looking at her. Pei Nai's eyes swept over all the members of their alliance team at the same time, including Han Ruize, Da Xian, Gong Yang Zisheng, Shao Liran, Ju Liancheng, Qu Baiyi, Da Xi Shangle, Hu Yanwei Zhao, Zhang Sheng, Luo Yuanying, Lin Shengtao, Zhong Lin, Du Ling, and Grandma Xun.
She met everyone's concerned gaze with her determination and openness, making them feel at ease.

Pei Nai finally went to find a bunch of clean wine glasses, passed them around, and filled everyone's glasses.

She raised her glass high and said, "Han Ruize and I like to say 'cheers to the despair before us'. That's because we always believe that if we push away despair with all our strength, despair will turn around, and behind it is new hope!"

Everyone's anxiety seemed to be blown away by the night wind and her words.

"A toast to the despair before us." Han Ruize raised his cup with a smile.

Pei Nai continued: "I also respect the infinite hope behind it!"

Laughter continued to rise, everyone clinked their wine cups together, and drank together under the moon.

The next morning, Pei Nai finished his martial arts practice accompanied by Gu Jinheng.

As soon as the two of them returned to the tent, someone came to report that the emperor Tianyao's imperial decree had arrived, and all the military leaders, commanders, and deputy commanders were required to gather and listen to the decree. Everyone else had already gone to the big tent to discuss matters.

Pei Nai and Gu Jinheng also packed up hurriedly. Pei Nai put some food in the bag, and they rushed over together.

Almost everyone can guess the content of this imperial edict.

The Eastern Alliance will set up a temporary imperial council to vote on various matters during the war. Xiao Mingyi had told her more than once.

The other commanders of the Tianyao Army had also heard about it, so the news of the temporary imperial meeting had already spread.

This imperial edict came just in time, as the expedition would begin tomorrow and the generals of each army were supposed to hold a meeting today.

They have to discuss wartime deployment and division of labor strategies based on the latest information reported by scouts.

Pei Nai and others were also mentally prepared that many conflicts and contradictions might arise during today's general meeting of the Eastern Frontier Alliance Army.

Tianyao and Qilu have the largest number of troops, and coupled with the influence of Zhubei Spear on the Eastern Territory, the promulgation of the temporary imperial decision will undoubtedly be beneficial to them and can help them stabilize the situation to a certain extent.

At least in such an emergency, deciding and solving the problem first is more important than anything else.

The guards drew aside the high curtain of the main meeting tent.

Pei Nai and Gu Jinheng strode in, only to see that everyone had already taken their seats, except for the two of them.

Most of the generals present knew that Pei Nai had just returned from martial arts training, so no one complained.

After all, everyone knew that she was the key to victory or defeat.

Hundreds of generals and people in power from various countries in the Eastern Territory are waiting for the holy order from the leader of the Eastern Territory - Tianyao.

The palace guards of Chaoyang were distributed on both sides of the big tent, and standing at the innermost was Xiao Mingyi's eunuch chief steward.

He held the golden imperial edict in his hand and finally waited until everyone arrived.

The chief eunuch bowed to Pei Nai.

Pei Nai nodded to him as well.

"On behalf of the Holy Emperor Tianyao, the commander of the Pei family army, Pei Nai, has accepted the order, and all the alliances in the East Territory must obey it!" The eunuch chief opened the silk scroll and announced it widely.

Why did she have to accept the order alone?
Pei Nai didn't understand Xiao Mingyi's intention, and everyone looked at her with some confusion in their eyes.

Except for Gu Jinheng and a few generals from countries other than Tianyao who stood up and stood where they were, everyone else saluted, knelt on one knee and listened to orders.

Pei Nai was also about to kneel down, but was stopped by the chief eunuch.

He said, "General Pei, His Majesty has specifically instructed that you don't need to kneel. He said that from now on, you don't need to kneel to anyone."

Hearing this, Gu Jinheng looked at Pei Nai.

He was not quite sure what happened between Pei Nai and Xiao Mingyi the last time he entered the palace, but he could feel that Pei Nai was very angry about what happened then.

Pei Nai frowned slightly, still not understanding Xiao Mingyi's purpose.

Seeing that everyone was ready, the eunuch chief began to read the imperial edict, "By the grace of Heaven and the Emperor, I proclaim: Pei Nai, the commander of the Tianyao Pei Family Army, is the current successor of the Zhubei Spear Palm. He has inherited the ancestral lineage, has extraordinary talents, is virtuous and diligent, and is a master of martial arts. He has twice killed the commander of the Wu Army, Xi Han Dao, and has been victorious in every battle. He has saved millions of people, and his achievements are recorded in history. His honor will be passed down for generations, and his great merits have shocked the ancients and the present. Now the enemy alliance in the western border is headed by the Wu clan, who suck blood and bite their teeth, look like owls and look back like wolves, and are eyeing the people, committing evil and crimes."

The chief eunuch looked at Pei Nai, paused solemnly, and then continued in a loud voice: "The East is facing a critical moment. According to my personal order, Pei Nai is appointed as the heroic and brave Marshal of the East Alliance Army, commanding the three armies. In addition to the imperial guards, the garrisons of the fourteen states of Tianyao, the eight border armies, the five major divisions of the Pei family independent army, and the garrisons of the twenty-three border cities are all under my command and must fight the enemy with all their strength. Those who disobey my order will be executed! All vassal states under the rule of Tianyao will see the heroic and brave Marshal as if they have seen the emperor coming, and they will certainly help with all their national strength. Those who resist will be stripped of their protection and will never be protected. Disintegrate the Western Alliance and destroy the Wu clan at all costs!"

He finally rolled up the imperial edict, but the whole place was silent.

Everyone was shocked. What kind of trust is this?
They could understand why Pei Nai was appointed as the marshal, but they could not believe in the trust of handing over all of Tianyao’s troops and military power to one person.

unprecedented!
If Pei Nai defeats the Wu tribe and the Western Territory and then turns against them, the world will surely change hands.

Pei Nai stood there in a daze, not responding to the order.

"Your Majesty said that when he was seven years old, you rescued him from Zhou Mingfang and carried him on your back in the snow while telling him, 'Each generation of the Pei family guards the land and obeys the ruler.' He did not believe that there was no second thought between the ruler and his subjects, but he believed that the seven-year-old him and the seventeen-year-old you had hearts as white as snow and were always sincere to each other."

After the chief eunuch finished speaking, he handed over the imperial edict with both hands.

Pei Nai shed tears. Although Xiao Mingyi had been on guard against her, he finally gave her all his trust.

She reached out and took the imperial edict. From that moment on, no one could question her position as commander-in-chief.

There was no temporary imperial decision-making meeting, and all war decisions were made by her.

“Greetings to the heroic Marshal!!” The whole audience responded with the order. Even the generals from non-Tianyao vassal states knelt on one knee and performed the military salute of their respective countries.

Even Gu Jinheng looked at her, knelt on one knee in front of her, smiled at her, and lowered his head.

(End of this chapter)