Chapter 1047: Chapter 1042: Entrustnt
Fu Ruoxi and Wang Xiping nodded in agreent.
“Although elephants are cumberso, their trunks are quite nimble. When an elephant’s trunk grabs a person… or a horse and flings it, the consequences are predictable.” Shen Jingzhong, after pondering for a long ti, put down his teacup, looked at Bai Qingyan, and said, “And according to the letter sent back by General Bai, a trunk covered in chain mail is also hard to be a weak point.”
“Trunk…” Bai Qingyan paused, tapping her fingertips on the table, then stood up, taking a few steps, “How is an elephant’s sense of sll?”
Commandant Lu and the others imdiately understood what Bai Qingyan ant.
“Your Majesty intends to use the elephant’s sense of sll as a weak point to attack the Elephant Army?” Zhang Duanning thought it was worth a try.
“Quick, call over two elephant tars!” Dong Qingping turned around and shouted loudly outside the tent.
Very soon, several elephant tars returned, and upon being asked by Zhang Duanning about whether elephants have a keen sense of sll, the tars paused for a mont.
One of them thought for a while and said, “Yes, perhaps… because of the long trunk, an elephant’s sense of sll is very keen. We were told by the older elephant tars from mouth to mouth that when an elephant got sick and herbs were mixed within its food, the elephant would accurately pick out the dicine with its trunk…”
Another elephant tar quickly added, “So, it requires us tars to establish a deep bond with the elephants and inform them these can cure pain, to avoid our tad elephants dying from illness.”
“We are all elephant tars, these elephants have been with us since they were young, but… my ancestors were catching elephants for their employers, who were suspicious buyers of ivory. When I was young, I heard my grandfather say that elephants in the wild rely on their trunks to find food, so when catching them, they often used the elephants’ favorite food as traps.” That elephant tar bravely looked up at Bai Qingyan before lowering his head again, “And people have to stay far away, and only approach when there’s movent, otherwise the elephant will know people are there. So, I think perhaps an elephant’s nose is even more sensitive than a hunting dog’s.”
Bai Qingyan nodded: “Thank you both, General Lin, please have soone escort these two elephant tars to rest.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The two elephant tars bowed deeply together.
“Organize the information, and first send the first wave of ssengers to deliver the ssage to the generals of the Bai family army; perhaps… we can let so generals test it out before the battle begins.” Bai Qingyan said.
“I’ll handle this matter!” Zhang Duanning took it upon himself, “The ssage will be delivered today.”
Bai Qingyan nodded: “Thank you for your hard work!”
With matters settled, Bai Qingyan also had to return to the palace. She instructed Lin Kangle to have soone take good care of these elephants. If war truly breaks out in the future, the key to defeating the Elephant Army of Zhou Kingdom lies with these elephants.
Bai Qingyan plans to imdiately have soone tailor animal hide clothing according to the size of these elephants and dress them up. Once the elephants have recuperated sufficiently, they will be sent, along with the elephant tars, to the southern border, settling them north of Jinghe, thus allowing the weaknesses of the elephants to be conveyed to the frontline as swiftly as possible.
The ergence of Tianfeng Kingdom’s Elephant Army put the senior officials of Zhou Kingdom on edge, spurring them to prepare for the impending war, mobilizing provisions… mobilizing troops, with a sense of urgency spreading from Commandant Lu down to the various Chief of Staffs, tightening the tension among Zhou’s officials and soldiers from top to bottom.
Originally, after the autumn harvest, this year’s busy farming season had ended, and it was ti for the people to prepare for winter lodging, but it was observed that several fortified cities and large camps began mobilizing troops.
To prevent possible unforeseeable thoughts from those wielding military power in Daliang, which had just beco Zhou Kingdom’s territory, in the event of a war breaking out in the southern border, Bai Qingyan transferred all key Liang soldiers to the southern border, allowing Wang Xiping to lead troops to relieve duty.
Initially, the Liang soldiers were quite disgruntled, but upon hearing that the entire Bai family army was in the south, they ceased complaints and obeyed orders to head south.
The civilians observed the troop movents and, with so lucidity, sensed the impending war. Those with relatives working in the governnt offices heard whispers that Xiliang was about to cause trouble again, which is why the emperor was deploying troops to Xiliang.
So local governors had heard about the Elephant Army, but higher authorities strictly forbade revealing this matter to the public to avoid unnecessary panic among the citizens.
anwhile, in Dadu City, being close to the Imperial City, many from the Imperial Court households had already learned about the Elephant Army, inevitably worrying for the southern border.
Due to the Elephant Army, Bai Jinzhi and Xiao Ruojiang had been staying in the outskirts military camp with the elephant tars, spending their days with the elephants…
Bai Jinzhi believed that even if Xiliang and Tianfeng Kingdom did not dare to confront Zhou imdiately, Zhou must devise a strategy to counter the Elephant Army to ensure sure victory.
On October 29, in the early years of Yuanhe, Xiao Ruohai and Chen Qingsheng, who were ordered to go to Tianfeng Kingdom, returned to Dadu City together with Shen Qingzhu, who was secretly sent to the southern border by Bai Qingyan. They coincidentally encountered Bai Jinzhi, who was returning from the military camp, at the city gate, and the four entered the palace together.
Xiao Ruohai and Chen Qingsheng returned suddenly without sending prior notice. Chun Tao, who was accompanying Bai Qingyan in reviewing morials, was startled when Wei Zhong announced Chen Qingsheng’s return, making her hand, which was grinding ink for Bai Qingyan, tremble slightly before she quickly looked outside the hall.
Bai Qingyan put down her pen, smiling as she said to Wei Zhong, “Quick, let them in!”
Saying this, Bai Qingyan glanced at Chun Tao, who was eagerly looking outside the hall, and said, “Now that your cousin is back, to work for you, my mother can rest easy!”
Chun Tao’s cheeks flushed red as she bashfully said, “Miss…”
Chun Tao is the daughter of Mrs. Dong’s wet nurse. Although not biologically related, Mrs. Dong’s wet nurse treated Chun Tao like her own daughter.
The wet nurse held Mrs. Dong’s hand on her deathbed, entrusting her daughter to Mrs. Dong, before revealing the truth to her…
Chun Tao is the biological daughter of the wet nurse’s younger sister; at the ti of Chun Tao’s birth, her biological mother passed away. It was the wet nurse who detected movent in the abdon of her younger sister and perford a C-section to save Chun Tao.
However, the younger sister’s in-laws deed it unfortunate and rejected Chun Tao. Thus, the wet nurse kept Chun Tao by her side, raising her with care as her own child, knowing Chun Tao was her only relative in the world.
Mrs. Dong had always assud the wet nurse raised Chun Tao due to loneliness, never suspecting the true story. After the wet nurse’s death, Mrs. Dong took Chun Tao under her wing, informing the entire household that Chun Tao was the daughter of the wet nurse and that she should not be mistreated.
Mrs. Dong was also very concerned about Chun Tao’s marriage prospects, always feeling that arranging a good marriage for Chun Tao would fulfill her wet nurse’s final wish…
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