“You may rise, my soldiers and generals!” Long Yang’s voice sounded benevolent, yet was filled with authority at the same time.
He spoke at a normal volume, but his voice reached the ears of every soldier and general present.
Once he finished speaking, all the soldiers and generals stood up, each of them looking tall and dignified as they stood at their respective positions. Their eyes were all focused on the Emperor standing at the city gates.
Lu Liangwei could not help but turn to look at Long Yang as well.
He stood calmly where he was, like a towering mountain, his mere presence capable of giving people a sense of security.
Right now, he looked much more serious than he ever did before. His handsome eyes looked down at the soldiers and generals below him with a great sense of authority.
“Danjue has created disturbances at our frontiers again and again, causing endless insecurity and fear to the people living there. This has worried me greatly. You are the cream of the crop of Great Shang, which is why I have given the order for all of you to head to the frontiers and expel our enemy back to the Great Desert. We shall ensure that they will never dare step onto the lands of Great Shang ever again. I will be waiting here for all of you to return victorious!”
He was not generous with his words, but his calm and rea.s.suring tone gave everyone the confidence they needed.
He had powerful internal strength, and did not need the help of a herald for his voice to quickly reach the ears of every soldier.
The soldiers and generals burned with enthusiasm and pa.s.sion when they heard his speech. They held up their weapons high in the air as they shouted fervently, “We will die protecting the land of Great Shang!”
The shouts were so loud, they could have moved the mountains.
All who were present were influenced by the emotions.
Even Lu Liangwei was moved.
Right then, she spotted Lu Hetian in black armor. He was sitting on a horse as he appeared in front of the soldiers and generals. Following right behind him was, of course, Lu Tingchen.
The soldiers stopped their shouting when Lu Hetian appeared and all eyes looked toward him.
Lu Hetian bowed at Long Yang before pulling his sword out. He pointed it at the sky. “Heed your order, soldiers. We set out immediately!”
“Set out…”
The message was spread out as he gave the order. Soldiers and generals turned one by one.
The first to leave were the logistics soldiers who were in charge of taking care of provisions. The provisions would always need to move out before the soldiers and horses.
There were many soldiers, but they were disciplined and the troops were lined up tidily. It was obvious that they were trained well by the general who was leading them.
Lu Liangwei wanted very much to go down and see her father and big brother off, but due to her current status, she was forced to give up the idea.
She called Chu Jiu over and pa.s.sed a bag to her.
Chu Jiu understood what it meant. She took it and quickly went down from the city gates.
Lu Tingchen was with the vanguard. He was about to leave and stole a quick look at his younger sister on the city walls.
The siblings looked at each other without saying a word, but they understood what it meant to each other.
Lu Tingchen turned away and pulled on his reins as he urged his horse forward.
Right then, a figure quickly came toward him, reaching out to yank the reins in his hand.
The horse, which was already moving forward, suddenly neighed and was forced to stop.
Lu Tingchen was surprised as he s.n.a.t.c.hed back control of the reins.
The expression on his face turned dark.
He thought it was some careless soldier who had stopped his horse, but when he turned to glare at the person, he saw a heroic-looking woman with a nice face that was difficult to hide.
He was momentarily stunned. A thought flashed through his mind as he frowned and said to her with annoyance, “Are you tired of living?”
Chu Jiu glanced at him and threw the bag into his arms.
“The Empress has requested for me to bring this to you. There are effective medicines for wounds and different types of treatments for flu. There are also coma-inducing medicine b.a.l.l.s. All of them were made by Her Highness. She said they might be useful to you and would like you to keep them well.” Chu Jiu pa.s.sed the message robotically and turned to leave.
A warm feeling welled in Lu Tingchen’s heart as he looked at the bag in his hand. Weiwei must have spent sleepless nights making all these medicines.
He gave a start and noticed Chu Jiu was about to leave. He anxiously flicked the reins in his hand toward her, quick as lightning.