I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 230 Exhausting All Family Fortune
The chaotic battle in Lin'an City continued until late at night before finally ending.

Only when the sounds outside subsided, with only the intermittent voices of the night watchman coming from outside, did the defenses within the Ji residence relax.

The lights were turned back on in the dark courtyard. Ji Ningxuan excitedly led Qin Chulin into Mu Cang Zhai and excitedly reported, "Elder sister, Commander Ji and General Zhu have quelled the unrest in the city and have brought Princess Helian here."

Ye Wanshu glanced calmly at Emperor Zhaolie and Consort Zhang, who were enjoying tea around a brazier, and everyone in the room cheered excitedly.

"Your Majesty, Aunt, I implore you to hand Helian Jiu over to my daughter for disposal." Mu Qingqing's eyes darkened, and her small fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Emperor Zhaolie pursed his lips: "Wan'er has already given instructions. You can deal with this person as you see fit, but there's one thing: don't let her die too easily."

"Your subject obeys," Mu Qingqing replied immediately and left.

Many people left the room to watch the spectacle, including Emperor Zhaolie and Consort Zhang.

Looking at the now quiet room, Ye Wanshu's eyes darkened slightly. She glanced at Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji beside her and asked in a cold voice, "Ning Xuan, has he been brought back?"

Ji Ningxuan knew exactly who her elder sister was referring to, and said in a deep voice, "Prince Dao'an was hacked to death by Ji Sima."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wanshu suddenly felt a pang of unease.

It wasn't that she was saddened by his death, but thinking about everything in her past life and those who died tragically because of Gu Tingchen, she felt a sense of injustice.

"Elder sister, I know you're heartbroken," Ji Ningxuan comforted her. "But since he's already dead, let him go, and let yourself go too. There are many good days ahead for you."

Ye Wanshu forced a smile and nodded gently in response.

Looking at Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji, who were both looking sullen, she felt a little down, but she was comforted that her cousins ​​were still alive and well, and that she would be able to better protect them in the future.

"Qingmian, Tingji, everything has settled down. You should go with Ningxuan and Chulin to rest early," Ye Wanshu comforted. "Once the city is cleaned up, I will accompany you back to the Duke's Mansion to hold a new funeral for your aunt."

"Cousin, you should take good care of yourself too," Gu Qingmian said before leaving with Gu Tingji, following Ji Ningxuan and Qin Chulin.

The room became unusually quiet, with only the crackling of the charcoal fire in the stove.

Chunhong silently poured Ye Wanshu another bowl of hot tea and said with a smile, "Miss, the Third Miss is right. Everything is in the past now, and no one will be able to bother you anymore."

Ye Wanshu simply picked up the teacup and took a small sip of tea, her mind filled with memories of her time in Tongyang.

How carefree those three siblings were back then!

Perhaps people always have to learn to grow up, and people's hearts will change as they grow.

Having gone through so much, all she wants now is to cherish everything she has, to protect this hard-won peace for His Majesty, for Fu Mingchi, and for herself.

Ye Wanshu took out all the silver deposit slips from her bosom and slowly handed them to Chunhong, gently instructing her: "The Great Ye Dynasty has been through many ups and downs these past years, and the Crown Prince's days at Jiayuguan are probably not easy either. Give the silver slips to Brother Tao and ask him to spare no effort in preparing provisions and equipment for the Crown Prince, so that the soldiers at the border will not have to worry about provisions."

Chunhong nodded: "This servant will go right away. You should rest well, Miss."

"it is good."

Xingtao came over and helped her up. Ye Wanshu walked to the bedside, thinking of Emperor Zhaolie's expectant gaze, touched her lower abdomen, and forced herself to lie down.

She knew that her mission was no easier than Fu Mingchi's. He was fighting fiercely on the front lines, while she had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of continuing the imperial family's lineage.

For three months, war raged. After the Crown Prince of Daqiu led 300,000 cavalry into the pass, he was besieged and annihilated by the army of Daye.

Fu Mingchi divided his troops into three routes, effectively splitting Daqiu's 700,000 cavalry into three segments, preventing them from supporting each other. The two armies fought a bloody battle around Jiayuguan for three months before finally capturing Daqiu's crown prince, Helian Rong.

The emperor originally intended to use Helian Rong to force the Daqiu cavalry to withdraw from Beidu and return the cities and lands they had seized in the past. However, the brother and sister had long been abandoned by the Daqiu royal family. Upon learning that Helian Rong had been captured and Helian Jiu had died in Lin'an, the Daqiu emperor quickly assembled an army of 300,000 and stationed them in Tiemu City, 50 miles away from Jiayuguan. As a result, the two armies were locked in a stalemate.

In the warm spring of March, Fu Mingchi was in his tent helping the Duke of Ningguo finish his medicine when Yu Bai hurriedly entered.

"Your Highness, our army is running low on supplies. In recent days, many generals have proposed to negotiate peace. If we cannot stabilize the morale of the army as soon as possible, I am afraid that unrest will break out in the army," Yu Bai cautiously reminded him.

The Duke of Ningguo coughed a few times, then burst into anger, saying, "I'm afraid it's those bastards from the Xie family army again."

Clenching his fist, Duke Ningguo said in a deep voice, "Mingchi, we really need to find a way to finish this quickly. Otherwise, once our supplies run out, it will indeed cause chaos, just as Yubai said. The daily consumption of the 400,000 surrendered soldiers from Daqiu is not simple."

Fu Mingchi shook his head: "Now is not the time for us to have a decisive battle."

He carefully analyzed, "Although Helian Rong's iron cavalry is said to number 700,000, most of them are actually puppets they have recruited in Beidu over the years, not the elite troops of Daqiu. The warhorses of my Daye are not as strong as those of Daqiu. Fighting in this season will only benefit the iron cavalry of Daqiu."

This was also a headache for the Duke of Ningguo. After the Daye Dynasty retreated to Lin'an, it not only allowed Daqiu to seize a lot of fertile land and cities, but also the warhorses that the Daye Dynasty used to produce were all in the north and fell into the hands of the Daqiu people.

The horses of the south are nowhere near as agile and strong as those of the north.

With a long sigh, the Duke of Ningguo said with a worried expression, "But this delay can't go on forever. The national treasury is empty, and I'm afraid His Majesty will have difficulty raising enough grain and provisions."

Just as everyone in the tent was feeling deeply troubled, Yan Jin suddenly led Tao Anran in.

"Manager Tao?"

Seeing Yan Jin's joyful face, Fu Mingchi guessed that the man's arrival must have brought good news.

"Your Highness, I have come to deliver provisions to the front lines on the orders of the Crown Princess," Tao Anran replied, bowing respectfully.

"Wan'er?" Fu Mingchi's eyes lit up. "How much grain did you escort over?"

Tao Anran smiled and said, "The Crown Princess guessed that His Highness must be worried about food supplies, so she used all her wealth to have the common people procure food supplies from all over the place. With the supplies prepared by the court, it is enough to last until winter."

The Duke of Ningguo was greatly encouraged: "This girl is truly capable. She actually anticipated this situation and prepared provisions for us in advance."

“In that case, we only need to wait for the rainy season to arrive, and then we can fight the Daqiu Iron Cavalry to the death,” Fu Mingchi said, his confidence growing.

"Your Highness, what should we do with those 400,000 surrendered soldiers?" Yu Bai asked with a troubled expression.

Duke Ningguo and Fu Mingchi exchanged glances. Fu Mingchi had been planning to execute these surrendered soldiers, but after all, it was 400,000 lives, and most of them were civilians of Daye. If they were all killed, the recapture of Beidu would likely encounter many obstacles.

Therefore, he could not make up his mind.

"I do have a solution."

Seeing that everyone was troubled by this matter, Tao Anran spoke up with a mysterious expression.