Chapter 1014: News of Victory Arrives at Court! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Flap flap!
Several hours later, an eagle flew into Qixi.
”Lord Marquis! Lord Marquis! Lord Marquis!”
All of Qixi roared with cheers, and excited crowds were gathered outside the protectorate headquarters. Wang Bei and Su Hanshan both seemed very relieved. They had heard nothing of the army ever since it had crossed the Cong Mountains, but now, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
”Bring this news to Lady Xu!”
Su Hanshan, riding upon a tall Turkic steed, quickly passed this news to a waiting rider, who galloped back into the headquarters.
Within the headquarters, several maids stood nervously beside a wooden door. They were holding cups of tea and bowls of food, and each one of them had a worried expression on their face. Someone attempted to peer through the cracks in the door, but these efforts were in vain.
Cough, cough!
Intense coughing came from within the room, throwing the maids into even greater consternation.
”What do we do! Young Lady hasn't come out for an entire day, and the sound is even worse than it was yesterday! If something happens to Young Lady, I…”
One maid's eyes went red at the sound of this coughing, her eyes filled with heartache, but she did not dare to speak too loudly for fear of disturbing Xu Qiqin. Around her, the other maids said nothing, but their concern was clearly displayed on their faces.
In the room were a dressing table, a desk, a bed, and not much else.
Xu Qiqin sat in front of the desk, a mountain of documents in front of her. She was dressed in a thin white garment, her face pale and bloodless, but her eyes remained focused on the documents before her.
”Inform the Zhang Clan to hurry up with the supplies being sent to Talas. The soldiers of the Central Plains have different habits from people of the Western Regions. Although they eat beef and lamb, they can't do it for a long term without some rice.
”What is the status of the two hundred thousand warhorses? Has the Imperial Court's Director of Imperial Horses sent anyone to take them? Has the official reply arrived?
”In addition, pass on my order to begin recruiting craftsmen in the name of the Qixi Protectorate. Senior Zhang Shouzhi took many craftsmen with him to Talas, and we still don't know what losses they've suffered. However, the Tibetans or Western Turks could attack Qixi at any time, and we need to fortify the two small-scale steel fortresses as quickly as possible.
”The inscription masters that I previously ordered to be recruited should be escorted to Wushang's City of Steel. War not only requires craftsmen, but inscription masters as well. We will need their assistance in the future. In addition, supervise the great clans and have them hasten the forging of the weapons!”
One order after another was issued, some spoken and others written. On the surface, Qixi was under the command of Su Hanshan and Wang Bei, but everyone understood that the soul of the Qixi Protectorate was this feeble-looking woman.
Although she was a woman, it was Xu Qiqin's existence that allowed order and discipline to be preserved in Qixi, so much so that it even had extra strength to assist Feng Changqing in Anxi. However, Xu Qiqin was only getting paler as she issued her orders, and she was clearly ill.
Cough, cough!…
After dealing with half of the documents, Xu Qiqin finally could no longer restrain herself and began to fiercely cough once more, her body trembling.
”Young Lady, although the war is important, so is your health! If this continues, not only will your body collapse, but you won't be able to even worry about the matters in the rear. Listen to me! Eat something and rest a while!” Little Zhu suddenly spoke from behind Xu Qiqin, pounding Xu Qiqin's back to help with the coughing while tears of anxiety trickled down her cheeks.
”Little Zhu, I don't have time to rest. There are still one hundred thousand soldiers at Talas, and they are connected to the safety of the countless civilians in Qixi and Longxi. I must have everything taken care of and make sure that their supplies and reinforcements arrive on time. You don't need to worry. I know the state of my body. I can still hold on!” Cough, cough cough…
Xu Qiqin once more began to cough, this bout even more serious than the last.
”Reporting!”
At this moment, a messenger pushed open the door, rushed in, and kneeled on the ground.
”A letter from Talas! Lord Marquis has defeated Abu Muslim and forced the Arab army to retreat from Talas!”
”What!”
At these words, master and servant both shivered in shock, joy and delight exploding out of their eyes.
”Quickly, let me see!”