The Humble Family’s Daughter Has A Spatial Pocket!
Chapter 1102 - 925, Surprise Attack

Chapter 1102: Chapter 925, Surprise Attack

Along the border where Xiliang shares a boundary with Xiliao, twelve towering and sturdy military towns have been established, with cavalry patrolling daily, granting the people of Xiliang a tremendous sense of security.

Having reclaimed the Dan River and constructed the military towns, Xiao Yeyang has firmly established himself in Xiliang, not only that but also has gained a respectable reputation.

At the Ganzhou Guard, Master Wang was sorting through the reports from the patrols of the military towns, feeling both happy and moved.

He was happy because each military town was defending and training according to the established military regulations, no longer passively defending, but now having the vigor and spirit of true soldiers.

What moved him was how the officers and soldiers were so obedient, because of their respect for Xiao Yeyang.

When Xiao Yeyang first took charge of the Border Army, not to mention others, even he himself thought Xiao Yeyang was just taking advantage of his status. But now, both he and everyone else could see that he had established his footing through his own abilities.

Seeing Master Wang looking pleased, a trusted aide couldn’t help but ask, "Master Wang, what’s making you so joyful?"

Master Wang smiled without saying a word. With a pillar like Xiao Yeyang for the Xiliang Border Army, how could he not be joyful?

With the twelve military towns operating in unison, supporting each other, the Xiliang Border Army finally didn’t seem fragmented like before.

Xiao Residence.

After the military towns began operating smoothly, Xiao Yeyang spent most of his time at the residence accompanying Daohua, only occasionally going out to see the training of the soldiers.

"I see your belly has grown a bit; our child must be getting taller," Xiao Yeyang said, staring intently at Daohua’s belly.

Daohua anxiously pinched the flesh around her waist. "It’s just me getting fatter, Nanny Li said I wouldn’t be showing much at four months."

Saying so, she glanced at Xiao Yeyang.

"After giving birth, if I get fat, you won’t disdain me, right?"

Xiao Yeyang laughed and passed the bird’s nest porridge to Daohua. "You getting plump would be great; I love how you look chubby."

Daohua took a sip of the porridge and gave him a sideways glance, not believing a word he said.

Xiao Yeyang watched Daohua with a smile. Seeing her face get rounder, reminiscent of her childishly cute appearance, he couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch those soft cheeks. As Daohua glared at him, he quickly withdrew his hand.

"I have some free time today; let me paint a portrait for you."

Daohua hastily put down the porridge bowl and nodded, "Sure, sure. Just paint me as I am now, so I can always see what I looked like while pregnant."

Xiao Yeyang, seeing Daohua so enthusiastic, smiled and asked Dufu to prepare the paper, brushes, and paints.

In the room, the charcoal brazier burned, warding off the chill from outside. Xiao Yeyang stood behind the desk, his brush constantly sketching, occasionally lifting his eyes to look at Daohua.

After sitting for a while, Daohua became restless, stood up for a walk and seeing Xiao Yeyang not objecting, picked up a pair of scissors and began to trim the fresh flowers in a vase.

"It truly has become rounder."

Once the painting was done, Daohua couldn’t wait to take a look. "My face and body have gotten rounder," she said, looking at Xiao Yeyang, "Next month you must continue painting me. I want to keep a record of my changes throughout pregnancy."

Xiao Yeyang laughingly agreed: "That’s a great idea."

Just then, Dufu’s voice, slightly panicked, rang from outside the door: "Master, it’s not good. The Xiliao Cavalry has launched a surprise attack on Xintunwei’s New Middle Town."

Xiao Yeyang’s expression turned stern: "I’ll go have a look. Keep the painting safe."

Daohua nodded quickly and brought him the Crane Cloak. "Be careful."

Seeing the worry in Daohua’s eyes, Xiao Yeyang embraced her tightly: "Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon."

Watching Xiao Yeyang stride away, Daohua lost the desire to look at the painting. She instructed Guyu to put the painting away and stood by the window, watching the snow flurries in the courtyard.

Xiliang is situated on the border, a region prone to conflict, and prior to her arrival, she braced herself for the prospect of war. Now that it looms imminent, she can’t help but be anxious.

"Miss, your husband is exceptionally skilled in martial arts, he will be fine," Guyu reassured Daohua, not wanting her to worry.

Daohua nodded slightly and remained silent for a while before asking Lixia to bring over some writing materials.

Thanks to the promotion of high-yield crops, this year’s military provisions are not abundant, but just enough to fill the stomachs of the Border Army and military households. She has thus stopped asking Xiaoliu to continue delivering food here.

Now that Xiliao has suddenly initiated hostilities, she is unable to help Xiao Yeyang much but can only send more food to ensure a sufficient military supply.

This time, Daohua not only had Xiaoliu transport the grain harvested from the fields owned by her and Xiao Yeyang to Xiliang, but also had him purchase a batch with Silver.

With nearly three hundred thousand soldiers stationed in the twelve army towns, Daohua prepared two years’ worth of military provisions for this force, instructing Xiaoliu to send them in batches to Xiliang.

"Two years, Xiao Yeyang will definitely be able to deal with the people of Xiliao."

After handing the note to a Hidden Guard, who used a carrier pigeon to send it back to Beijing, Daohua then called for Cao Chuan to inquire about the situation at the ranch.

"How many cattle and sheep do we have on the ranch now?"

Cao Chuan replied, "Madam, ever since we retook the Dan River, the growth of the grass at the ranch has been robust, and now we have over fifty thousand cattle and sheep."

Daohua pondered. She wasn’t certain whether Xiliao was about to immediately spark a war with Daxia, but to be on the safe side, it was better to raise more cattle and sheep; after all, the soldiers needed meat too.

Even if she raised too many, she wasn’t worried. With the Li Family and Sun Family trade caravans, she wasn’t concerned about selling the livestock.

"Next year, we’ll rear even more cattle, sheep, and camels."

After Cao Chuan left, Yan Shouhou arrived.

Daohua spoke directly to him, "Go to the Li Family and Sun Family and tell them to transport more salt over here."

The salt in Xiliang is all transported from outside, and there has always been a shortage here. Once warfare commences, the army might also encounter a salt deficiency.

After arranging these matters, Daohua finally rested on the recliner.

...

Xiao Yeyang returned in mid-November.

Seeing his disheveled beard and bloodshot eyes, Daohua was greatly distressed and personally took the washbasin to help him clean up.

Knowing Daohua was worried about Yan Wenxiu at Xintunwei, Xiao Yeyang said, "Big Brother is fine. This surprise attack by Xiliao was merely a probe to test the defensive capabilities of the military towns, and they didn’t break through the defenses or cross the border."

Daohua nodded, taking the chicken soup handed over by Guyu, "Have some soup to warm your stomach first."

Xiao Yeyang guzzled it down quickly, "The Border Army has become complacent in defeat. Even though they have actively trained this year, when faced with an abrupt charge of tens of thousands of cavalry, their morale immediately collapsed, resulting in numerous casualties."

Daohua promptly asked, "Does Xiliao want to initiate a full-scale war?"

Xiao Yeyang shook his head, "This time is probably just a probe, to gauge the defense and reaction of the military towns. Clearly, the military towns performed too poorly, lacking any coordination and cooperation during the conflict."

"Fortunately, I’ve left my people in every military town who were able to quickly transmit news of the assault; otherwise, the casualties would have been even higher."

"I thought we could take it easy for a while, but seeing the state of the Border Army, I’ll need to continue inspections and drills in each town this year."

"Xiliao won’t give us time to train the Border Army. This time was a probe; next time may well be a full-on war."

Daohua interjected, "Wasn’t it said that Xiliao hasn’t been doing well in recent years? How dare they suddenly wage war against Daxia?"

Xiao Yeyang narrowed his eyes, "Something is indeed fishy. When we recaptured the Dan River last year, Yelu Kangda retreated without uttering a word, indicating that Xiliao couldn’t face Daxia at the time."

"It has been only a year since, so how come they are daring to attack our military towns now?"