Traveling through ancient times: starting with live streaming

Chapter 682: Departure on Starry Night

Zhou Chang saw that the generals had many doubts, but he was no longer willing to waste his energy, so he turned to Wu Ling and said, "General Wu, do you have any opinions?"

Wu Ling's expression did not change at all, as always: "I will obey the orders of His Royal Highness Prince Yi."

Zhou Chang nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand to dismiss everyone: "Generals, if you have no other opinions, please disperse."

The generals were dissatisfied, but due to Prince Yi's status and power, they had to exchange glances and retreat.

"General Wu..." Zhou Chang called out to Wu Ling, who was about to leave, "Stay here. I have another mission for you."

"Yes." Wu Ling stopped where he was, bowed and waited.

After everyone had left, only Zhou Chang, Gao Yuan and Wu Ling were left.

Zhou Chang then slowly spoke: "General Wu, you and Brother Xian Wang have been to Jizhou before, right? Among all the generals, you should be the one who is more familiar with the terrain here, right?"

"Yes, I am quite familiar with it." Wu Ling answered in a proper manner.

"So, do you know where Fengming Mountain is?" Zhou Chang continued to ask calmly.

"Yes, if we go west from here, we can reach the foot of Fengming Mountain in about an hour by fast horse." Wu Ling's face became calmer, and he was not curious at all why Prince Yi suddenly asked about Fengming Mountain.

Zhou Chang also controlled his normal tone and said, "Very good. I have something to do in Fengming Mountain tomorrow. Since you know the way, you can lead the way for me."

Wu Ling bowed his head slightly, without even raising his eyelids, and lost his usual fawning demeanor: "Yes, at your command, Prince Yi."

"Why don't you ask me what I'm going to do?" The other party was so calm that Zhou Chang couldn't help himself.

Wu Ling bowed respectfully: "It is a great honor for me to be able to serve your Highness. No matter what your Highness orders, I will go through fire and water to do it."

"Okay, okay... This is exactly why I'm looking for you." Zhou Chang clapped his hands and looked at Wu Ling with admiration and trust. "To be honest, I received a kidnapping and ransom letter today. Someone kidnapped my princess and wants me to go to Fengming Mountain in person tomorrow to redeem her."

Wu Ling was finally surprised: "How could this happen?"

"Of course not. It doesn't matter if this war starts a day earlier or later. The defeat of the Mirage Kingdom is an established fact. Therefore, I decided to redeem the people first and then go to war." Zhou Chang said confidently.

Wu Ling nodded and said, "Yes, our army will win, not in one or two days, but the princess's safety is imminent."

"But..." Zhou Chang's tone was a little more negotiating, "General Wu... this matter cannot be known to anyone other than the three of us. We have to set out before dawn, and I need to bring some guards with me, but it's not convenient to make a big fuss. Although most of Brother Xian's former generals have returned to Jindu, you have been in the army for so many years, you should have your own brothers, right? Can you secretly transfer some of them out?"

Wu Ling did not hesitate much, and only thought for a moment: "How many people does Your Highness want to use?"

"Redeeming someone is not a war. It's mainly for the purpose of escorting the guards on the road. How many people can you secretly mobilize?" Zhou Chang didn't know how many people were needed, so he added, "Of course, this trip is a private matter. No matter how many people we bring, we will not let our brothers run in vain. As long as the guards go and return safely, everyone will naturally get a reward."

Wu Ling bit his lower lip and calculated in his mind: "Two hundred people, do you think that is enough, Your Highness?"

Zhou Chang seemed dissatisfied: "Two hundred people are a little too few in such a wild place..."

Wu Ling gritted his teeth and said, "I can gather at most 300 people. Your Highness Prince Yi, in my opinion, if you don't want people to know, the fewer people you mobilize, the better. You saw what happened just now, because they didn't agree with the temporary change of the date of the dispatch."

"You make sense. Let's gather 400 people." Zhou Chang added another 100 people without further ado. "I have never done such a thing as ransoming people. It is safer to have more people."

Wu Ling looked embarrassed, but it didn't last long before he agreed: "Okay, I will do my best to gather 400 elite soldiers for Your Highness to protect Your Highness' safety."

"Very good. We still have two hours to prepare. I'll leave everything to General Wu." Zhou Chang clasped his fists in his seat. "In order to keep a low profile, we must set out before dawn. In order to avoid being seen by others, I have to hide in the carriage. General Wu will lead the way, Gao Yuan will follow, and we will hurry to Fengming Mountain."

"Yes, I'll do it right away." Wu Ling agreed without hesitation.

Zhou Chang couldn't help but wonder in his heart, how could Wu Ling mobilize 400 elite soldiers without making any noise?

Did I underestimate the number of people just now?

Jiang Meng's army assembled an army of 100,000 when it set out.

After two years of fighting, less than 70% of the troops were still able to fight and move, which was barely 60,000 to 70,000 people, which seemed a lot more than 400. But if there were 400 or even more disloyal people among the 70,000, that would be another matter.

"Okay, thank you General Wu for your hard work. We will set out at 1 a.m. and arrive at Fengming Mountain before 9 a.m." Zhou Chang emphasized again with a smile.

After Wu Ling left, Zhou Chang asked Gao Yuan, "Do you think he is a traitor?"

"At least other people's reactions are more normal. As for him..." Gao Yuan thought for a moment, "He is usually talkative and flattering, but suddenly he doesn't ask anything and isn't surprised. This is really abnormal."

"No matter if it's him or not, we'll send someone to follow him starting tonight and keep a close eye on the mountain road tomorrow. We're all relying on him." Zhou Chang made up his mind.

"Yes..." Gao Yuan agreed but hesitated, "It's just that I'm worried that tomorrow the prince..."

Zhou Chang made up his mind and raised his hand to stop them: "Unless you have a better idea, we can only take a gamble."

Gao Yuan stopped talking.

Afterwards, the two of them prepared separately.

Later, before leaving, Zhou Chang went to take another look at Zhong Yu.

Zhong Yu didn't know whether he was unconscious or asleep, and he never woke up.

Aunt Jing and Shouhou were both standing by the bed, and they were too tired to be woken up.

After Aunt Jing washed and combed her hair, she was mostly back to her original state. Under the moonlight, she looked much thinner, and her face was no longer covered by a veil or scarf, but the scars from the injuries did not look that hideous.

Zhou Chang silently looked at the three sleeping people in front of him and sighed.

Unexpectedly, the people from Prince Yi's Mansion gathered together again, actually in the military camp in Yuebei.

The world is so unpredictable, and ups and downs are hard to predict.

After accompanying him silently for a while, Zhou Chang came out of Zhong Yu's tent.

It was still dark, and the sky was full of twinkling stars. The darkness grew darker as it approached dawn.

Zhou Chang returned to his tent. It was pitch dark and he didn't even bother to light a lamp.

The night before dawn is the quietest. From time to time, the sounds of owls and insects can be heard outside the tent. With the moonlight shining in, Zhou Chang lies on the bed with his clothes on, pressing the jade pendant to his chest, and prays silently.

After learning that Yuan Qi was kidnapped, she and Prince Yi Fengming had the same intention and were determined to rescue her at all costs.

Only in such a quiet and deserted moment could Zhou Chang and Prince Yi think about Yuan Qi without restraint.

No wonder there has been no news about Yuan Qi during this period.

When was Yuan Qi kidnapped?

When was the last time you saw her?

When was the last time you heard about Yuan Qi?

Zhou Chang could no longer remember clearly. Time seemed to pass very slowly and also very quickly, making his thoughts confused.

The last time Wu Hong came to deliver supplies was at least half a month ago.

At that time, Wu Hong probably didn't know about Yuan Qi's kidnapping.

And this jade pendant with branches embracing each other, originally symbolized the deep and loyal love between Empress Zhao and Emperor Ran. What treasure? What key?

And there is Liu E. She should have been kidnapped along with Yuan Qi, but she was unexpectedly implicated innocently.

Gao Yuan appears calm on the surface, but who can understand the turbulent waves in his heart?

That kind of pain is not only a sudden storm, but also a long and fragmented dampness for the rest of your life.