Chapter 236: What Was There to Pity?
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Jiang Yun turned around and saw Xiao Jin walking out. He was surprised at first, but soon, a shocked expression spread over his face. “Your Highness! It’s really you, Your Highness!”
Jiang Yun quickly walked to Xiao Jin and knelt down. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Xiao Jin’s eyes were also filled with irrepressible excitement. However, his expression did not change much all along, so his emotions were not as obvious as Jiang Yun’s.
Xiao Jin went forward to help Jiang Yun up. “Deputy General Jiang, you’ve had a hard journey.”
Jiang Yun’s eyes became red-rimmed. “I’ll die without regrets if I can keep myself alive until 1 meet Your Highness.”
“Is everyone alright?”
Jiang Yun said, “Something happened on the way. We lost some brothers.”
Xiao Jin patted his shoulder. “It’s cold outside. Let’s go in first.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Xiao Jin followed Jiang Yun to a group of soldiers. Everyone was very excited when they saw Xiao Jin.
It was getting dark and the cold wind was blowing fiercely outside. Xiao Jin led them into the Tiger Base first.
There were many of them, and the Tiger Base could barely accommodate them.
“Brother, I’m sorry for what happened just now.” Meng Zi came down from the gate wall and cupped his fists at Jiang Yun.
Jiang Yun naturally did not take it to heart. “It’s only right to be vigilant in this godforsaken place. Brother, there’s nothing wrong with what you did.”
“Everyone is cold and hungry. Uncle Meng, can I trouble you to prepare some food for everyone?”
“Don’t worry, Master Xiao. I’ve already sent someone to prepare the stuff.”
After Xiao Jin thanked him, he led Jiang Yun and the others into the Tiger Base.
After Tiger Might left with his men from the Tiger Base, the Tiger Base was used by Meng Zi as a resting place for the brothers guarding the base camp. There were not many things inside, but the supplies could still meet their daily needs.
Jiang Yun and the others had been walking in the ice and snow for several days. They were cold and hungry. If it were not for the fact that they had been soldiers for many years and had good physical fitness, they would have collapsed long ago.
Meng Zi got people to light fires in each room to warm everyone up first.
“The food is still being cooked in the pot. Everyone, drink some hot water to warm up first.” Someone came in with hot water. There weren’t enough bowls, so everyone took turns drinking.
After a few mouthfuls of hot water entered their bodies, the soldiers’ frozen bodies were warmed up slightly.
Xiao Jin took Jiang Yun to a small room and listened to Jiang Yun’s report on the situation in Jin City.
“When the soldiers heard that Your Highness was wrongly imprisoned, they were very angry. It also made the soldiers feel downright intolerable. Later, when they found out that you were exiled, someone said that they would jointly write an appeal to the Emperor to seek redress for Your Highness. Who knew that this was a scheme of those sinister people? Fortunately, Your Highness reminded them in time. Otherwise, even General Sima could not be protected.”
Xiao Jin’s face tensed up, and his brows furrowed. “After that, did the Emperor send someone to Jin City to take over the 200,000-strong army?”
Jiang Yun shook his head. “No. Jin City is temporarily under General Sima’s command.”
“You guys must be very tired after coming all the way here. Take a break first. If there’s anything else, we’ll talk about it after you have rested.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Everyone is so happy when they found out that Your Highness is fine. The heavens have finally opened their eyes!”
“Food is here! Food is here! Everyone, take a break and eat something.”
As they were talking, the people from the North District carried a large amount of potatoes and watery porridge into the room.
“You guys have been hungry for a long time. You can’t eat those rich dishes like fish and meat, so eat something light to fill your stomachs first.”
Xiao Jin also asked Jiang Yun to go eat something. A tall and sturdy general like him had lost so much weight he was only half his normal size now.
While the soldiers were eating, Meng Zi came to Xiao Jin’s side.
“How do you plan to settle these soldiers, Master Xiao?”
Xiao Jin looked at the soldiers wolfing down the potatoes and said, “Let’s settle them down in Sky Alpha City first.”
Meng Zi nodded. They were all Xiao Jin’s men, so it made sense for them to follow him to Sky Alpha City.
However, it was already late now. If they wanted to leave, they would have to leave the next day. He then decided to ask people to prepare more food for them to eat tomorrow morning. After all, there was still a long way to go from the Tiger Base to Sky Alpha City. They could not leave on an empty stomach.
That night, Xiao Jin rested with Jiang Yun, and the others in the Tiger Base for one night.
In the morning, some soldiers woke up from their sleep before dawn.
Although it was quite cold when they slept last night, it was much better than sleeping rough in the open wilderness.
As soon as the soldiers woke up, they smelled a strong fragrance. It was the smell of pancakes.
Xiao Jin had woken up long ago. Last night, he counted the number of people. There were a total of 2,730 people. This number did not sound like a lot, but when he arranged them one by one, he knew that it was a lot.
“Everyone, wake up. Breakfast has been prepared for everyone.” Meng Zi and his men carried a large basket of pancakes and porridge into the room.
“We don’t have anything good here, so we used the dried bird meat prepared earlier to make pancakes and mixed-grain porridge. Everyone, come and get it. It’s guaranteed to fill your stomachs.”
Meng Zi enthusiastically called for the soldiers to come forward.
If it were in the past, people who had been hungry for so long would have swarmed over when they heard him say that. However, the soldiers only stood straight and did not move. It was only when they saw Xiao Jin walk in and ask them to line up to take their share that they went forward obediently.
Meng Zi was secretly impressed as he watched from the side. “I’ve long heard that the army led by Your Highness is invincible. Now that I’ve seen it today, it really lives up to its reputation. Sigh! What a pity…”
Xiao Jin smiled indifferently. “1 used to think it was a pity too.” However, ever since he became acquainted with Su Ying, he knew that even in utterly hopeless situations, he still had to hold his head high and keep moving forward.
“Looking at it now, what’s there to feel pity for?”
Meng Zi suddenly understood and laughed heartily. “That’s right. People only eat, drink, and shit wherever they go. Why is there a need to get bogged down by emotional burdens? When does Master Xiao plan to leave for Sky Alpha City?”
“After everyone has eaten their fill, we will set off. We should reach there before dark.”
“Alright.”
After the soldiers had eaten their fill, Jiang Yun began to reorganize the troops. They followed Xiao Jin in an orderly manner and left the Tiger Base.
“Your Highness, where are we going?” Jiang Yun thought that Xiao Jin had settled down in the Tiger Base.
“Sky Alpha City.”
Sky Alpha City? What kind of place was that?
Jiang Yun was puzzled, but he did not ask further. After all, he would find out in due course.
In Sky Alpha City, Su Ying was getting people to clean up the area outside the palace when she discovered an abandoned farm.
From the outside, it looked like an independent courtyard, but when they walked in, they found that there were only a few single-story houses inside. There were also some livestock sheds and the rest of the area was used to fence in the livestock.
Due to years of disrepair, those sheds were almost ruined. However, because the fencing was built with green-fired bricks, the place was relatively intact.
The livestock she brought were still placed behind the palace. In the future, those livestock would be used for breeding. It was not suitable to keep them behind the palace. She was also looking for a suitable place to raise them in the city today, but she did not expect to find an abandoned farm..