Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Just as Ji Yan’an had predicted, the Barbarians soon began to run short on logistical supplies.

So they turned their thoughts to plunder.

And when it came to abundant resources, nothing compared to the Central Plains.

They also knew that Mobei had a crop that was filling and grew exceptionally well.

Sweet potato seeds had actually been traded to the grassland tribes before, and some tribes had indeed opened fields and planted them. But they still relied mainly on herding.

Whether the grassland tribes were truly terrible at farming, or whether it was because of the soil and water, no one knew. Sweet potatoes that grew perfectly well in the Central Plains looked half-starved once they were in their hands.

As for a race like the Barbarians, whose bones seemed engraved with a talent for pillaging, they disdained farming even more. Compared to planting crops with their own sweat, tending the fields through hardship, and waiting an entire year for a single harvest, they preferred stealing the fruits of someone else’s labor.

Since they could not break through from the front, some of their cavalry squads would always manage to find obscure mountain paths, sneak into villages, and burn, kill, and loot.

“Young Master, word has come from Xiahe Village. A force of Barbarians entered the area and has now been completely executed.”

Ji Yan’an set down the writing brush in his hand. “Well done. Don’t let your guard down anywhere else either.”

“Yes!”

Over the next two months, reports came in one after another.

The Barbarians who entered the villages all fell into traps while completely unprepared, then were killed by the ambushing soldiers and villagers.

Although their side also suffered casualties, compared to passively letting the Barbarians plunder them, this was already an excellent outcome.

The villages that had been attacked grew even more grateful toward the Ji Family Army.

“Wonderful! We survived. We… we really killed the Barbarians.”

In Lijia Village, a battle had just ended. The villagers stared at the Barbarians who had died in the traps or been killed by their own hands.

Their faces were still streaked with blood, but at that moment, everyone was cheering with joy.

In the past, when facing the Barbarians, all they could do was wait for death or flee.

They had never imagined that they, too, could kill Barbarians.

At that moment, the terrifying, demonlike image of the Barbarians gradually became less frightening in their hearts.

They were flesh and blood too. They could be killed too.

“Thank you! Thank you, my lords!”

The village chief of Lijia Village led everyone to kneel in the wind and snow, thanking the Ji Family Army soldiers who had taught them how to set traps, trained the villagers in martial arts to strengthen their bodies, and protected their village.

Nanmo sat astride his horse, a head hanging at his side. It was the head of the leader of this Barbarian squad.

He said nothing. He simply turned and left with everyone.

On the black banner, a large character for Ji fluttered in the wind.

Everyone said the Ji Family’s pillar had fallen, and that in the future, Mobei’s Ji Family Army would likely change hands.

But that poisoned, frail young man had dragged his sickly body forward and protected all of Qiusha City.

As soon as Qiusha repelled the Barbarian Army, Ji Yan’an would have completed a beautiful reversal.

After the Ji Family Army soldiers guarding the villages in various places returned with the heads of the Barbarian leaders who had attacked those villages, Ji Yan’an placed a piece on the chessboard.

“It’s time to end this.”

The young man’s voice was clear and cool.

Song Jin glanced at the state of the board and shook his head. “Ah, I lost again.”

Jiang Yunsui sat on a stool, her two little hands propping up her chin, her tiny brows tightly knitted together.

Seeing her like that, Song Jin laughed and said, “Well? Did you understand any of it?”

Jiang Yunsui shook her head and said in her soft, milky voice, “I don’t understand, nope, not at all.”

“Rotten wood cannot be carved.”
Jiang Yunsui glared at him with her big eyes. “You’re the rotten wood. I’m Little Mushroom.”

“Fine, fine, I know. A silly Little Mushroom.”

“I’m not silly.”

Ji Yan’an thought, Childish.

Qiusha and the Barbarian Army had been locked in a stalemate for half a year. With the weather making things worse, supplies on their side were running short, and they could not plunder anything from the Central Plains. Their tempers were growing more violent by the day.

In contrast, once Beizhen City began shipping over large batches of sweet potato vermicelli, Ji Yan’an had people cook it right on top of the city walls. He even had a few pigs slaughtered, ordering them to let the aroma drift as far as possible.

The Barbarians were driven nearly mad by the provocation.

“Bring those heads over.”

“This time, I’m going too.”

The battlefield could change in the blink of an eye. If he stayed at home and waited for news before making adjustments, it would be far too difficult.

Spring was nearly here. The snow had long since stopped falling, but thick snow still covered every part of Mobei, and the weather outside remained bitterly cold.

With Ji Yan’an’s health, how could anyone not worry?

“Don’t worry. I still understand the principle that a gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. I won’t go onto the battlefield, but I must have a clear grasp of the entire situation. Waiting for messages from you, whether by fast horse or carrier pigeon, still won’t be as quick as me being right behind the front lines.”

By now, every general who had come to Qiusha was completely convinced of Ji Yan’an’s ability.

At first, they had indeed looked down on Ji Yan’an. But Ji Yan’an had used his own skill to show everyone what a true young genius was.

In the end, Ji Yan’an went with them.

Everyone in the residence was going along except Jiang Yunsui.

“Why can’t I go with you? I’m useful too.”

Little Mushroom was unhappy. She was angry.

This time, she was truly angry. For several hours, she refused to pay Ji Yan’an any attention.

Ji Yan’an placed his jade-white hand on the little one’s fluffy hair.

“The battlefield is no game. No one knows what might happen there. I know you’re useful, but you’re still young. The battlefield isn’t a place for you.”

When he had first met Jiang Yunsui, he really had wanted to make use of her strange abilities. If she were properly trained, she would be convenient in the future, whether for gathering information or carrying out assassinations.

But after spending time with her, he could no longer bear to do it.

He could not bear to let her take that risk.

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back safely.”

On the day he left, although Jiang Yunsui was still angry, she still ran to the entrance and stared longingly after Ji Yan’an’s procession as it departed.

Her eyes reddened, and she struggled to hold back her tears.

“It’s not like I’ll miss you.”

Jiang Yunsui wiped at her tears messily and sniffled.

“Yunsui.”

A voice sounded from behind her. Jiang Yunsui turned around. “What?”

Xiao Xing held out a piece of candy to her.

“For you.”

“Don’t be sad. Young Master is so smart and capable. He’ll definitely win.”

Xiao Xing did not understand tactics, but he knew that because of Ji Yan’an, Qiusha City still had not been taken by the Barbarian Army.

The people in the city had gone from the initial panic and despair of knowing the Barbarian Army was at their gates to gradually daring to come out and sell things again.

The civilians still in the city now were all people who could not leave.

Without travel permits, money, or food, where could they possibly flee?

“Of course he’ll win.”

Little Mushroom muttered, “But he still wouldn’t take me with him. He must think I’m dead weight.”

Xiao Xing paused awkwardly.

Was that how “dead weight” was supposed to be used?

“He doesn’t. Young Master is just worried about you.”

If he were Young Master, he would not want Jiang Yunsui to go either. The battlefield was far too dangerous.