Compared with the unified empire of the Great Qi, the power of the Western Rong was actually scattered. It was a country composed of several tribes, and the king of the country was the chief of the most powerful tribe.
In recent decades, the strength of each tribe of the Western Rong had been growing, while the once - most powerful royal family had been declining. On the grassland where strength ruled, the tribal chiefs increasingly didn't put the royal family in their eyes.
To change this situation, the third prince, Tuotuo'er, had always been eyeing the Great Qi. The previous skirmishes with Yuheng Pass were all instigated by him.
However, these were just petty conflicts. To regain the respect of the tribes, he had to achieve something great. Just then, he learned the news that there was discord between the emperor and the regent king within the Great Qi.
So he personally went to each tribe to persuade them, thus assembling this 100,000 - strong army to attack the Great Qi. Although the number was large, there was a hidden danger - their hearts were not united.
As the saying goes, "Before the troops and horses move, food and forage come first." Food and forage were of utmost importance in military campaigns. What would happen to this army with divided hearts if their food and forage were burned?
Combining these two pieces of information, Shang Luoshu suddenly had this idea. But the prerequisite was that they had to first figure out where the granary of the Western Rong army was. After all, the enemy wasn't stupid. Knowing the importance of food and forage, they would surely hide it well.
"Your Highness, this subordinate has something else to report," Fang Qinhu suddenly said.
"Speak."
"The previous spy who went crazy said that the third prince of the Western Rong would send people to harass us in the next few days."
Since that man had been tortured crazy, Fang Qinhu didn't take his words seriously. He mentioned it at this time just in case the words were true.
Shang Luoshu understood his concerns. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Captain Su, in the past, why did the Western Rong invade our border?"
"Your Highness may not know. The Western Rong are a nomadic people. Now that the weather is getting cooler, they invade mainly to seize food..."
Here, Su Anhe paused slightly before adding, "Sometimes they also seize women."
The climate outside the pass was harsher than that inside. It was difficult for the weak - built to survive there. So most of the Western Rong women were tough. In contrast, the Western Rong men preferred the delicate and charming women of the Great Qi.
Although the folk customs of Yuheng Pass were open, not all women could fight on the battlefield. So these women were more likely to be the targets of the Western Rong.
"Hongrui..."
Just by the man uttering the name, Hongrui immediately knew what her master meant and immediately responded.
"This subordinate understands."
She was to disguise herself as a woman to be seized and sneak into the enemy camp to gather information.
"Your Highness, there are also women in the army. There's no need..." Su Anhe also understood the king's intention. But since he hadn't seen Hongrui's real strength, he thought she was just an ordinary maid.
Hearing this, Shang Luoshu slowly shook his head and refused.
"I know there are women in the army of Yuheng Pass, but can Captain Su guarantee that the faces of those women haven't been seen by the Western Rong?"
In contrast, Hongrui, who had just arrived, was more suitable than those female soldiers.
The plan was initially finalized. Shang Luoshu asked everyone to leave the tent. He still had to perfect it. Lu Yinxi was the last to leave. She was about to go out but suddenly changed her steps at the last second.
"Luoshu..."
"I disagree!"
As if knowing what she was going to say, the man flatly rejected her. The young girl couldn't help widening her eyes. "I haven't said anything yet!"
"What else could you say at this time?"
Shang Luoshu put away his smile and stared at her. "It's nothing more than wanting to go with Hongrui."
Yes, this was indeed Lu Yinxi's plan. But his rejection was also within her expectation. Still, she wanted to struggle a bit.
"Luoshu, Hongrui is a girl after all..."
After learning what the Western Rong wanted to do with the seized women, Lu Yinxi was a bit reluctant to let Hongrui go. Although Hongrui's master was Shang Luoshu, after getting along for a few months, Lu Yinxi had developed some feelings for this maid.
"I know your concerns,"
Pulling the young girl to sit beside him, Shang Luoshu patiently comforted her. "Hongrui was a killer. Although she's not as good as the Wolf Guards, she won't let those Western Rong people insult her easily. You can rest assured on this point."
Seeing that she still looked worried, the man helplessly clapped his hands. Immediately, someone lifted the curtain and came in. Who else could it be but Hongrui?
She had acted so quickly. It seemed that she had been waiting outside after leaving. Had she anticipated that Lu Yinxi would worry about her?
"Miss Four, rest assured. This maid will surely complete the task smoothly and come back safely!"
She said it very seriously. Even though Lu Yinxi had many worries, she couldn't help but choose to believe her at this moment.
"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."
The Western Rong always raided the same few villages. The villagers were attached to their homeland and were reluctant to move easily. They were reluctant to leave even after being raided several times.
After learning this, Su Anhe could only find a way to dig secret tunnels in each household for the soldiers. Once they found the Western Rong coming, they could enter the secret tunnels to avoid being attacked.
But this time, they couldn't hide.
After pretending to be a weak girl in the village for two or three days, Hongrui finally waited for the attacking Western Rong people.
"Help! Everyone, run! The Western Rong are coming! The Western Rong are coming!"
At this moment, she was like a timid and frightened girl. She screamed while running towards her home, with tears of fear on her face.
However, how could two human legs outrun four horse legs?
The home was just in sight, but Hongrui suddenly felt her body lighten. She didn't know when a pair of big hands had appeared around her waist. Then she was thrown onto the horse's back.
The running horse jolted so much that she almost vomited. But Hongrui didn't dare to forget her mission. She kept screaming, and her words turned into various kinds of scolding and begging.
The Western Rong people were already used to the crying and screaming of the Great Qi women. They didn't find it strange at this time. After seizing some food from the village, they rode back to their base camp.
"Eldest cousin, how's it going?"
Seeing Su Anhe rush into the tent in a hurry, Lu Yinxi immediately stepped forward and asked.
Su Anhe already knew the relationship between the two. Without hiding anything, he directly said, "It was very smooth. Miss Hongrui has been captured. Next, we just need to wait for the news!"
At the end, a look of joy appeared on the eldest cousin's face. After all, if the king's plan could be carried out smoothly, Yuheng Pass would be peaceful for a while.
Not everyone in this world liked war!
But Shang Luoshu couldn't smile. Just now, he received news from the capital that Shang Mozheng's army was marching towards the capital. This was the news from seven or eight days ago.
The matter here with the Western Rong had to be resolved as soon as possible.
However, Hongrui also encountered a small problem.
As soon as she entered the Western Rong's camp, before she could observe the surrounding deployment, she was sent to the tent of the third prince, Tuotuo'er.
This undoubtedly added another layer of difficulty for her to find out the location of the granary.