331 Recall (3)
Even the usually calm Grand Tutor Zhao could not remain calm. As soon as he left the palace, he urged the coachman to return to the residence quickly.
His Majesty was abandoning him!
The capital was completely overturned. After Shen Yijia and the others met up with South Wind at the foot of the mountain, they climbed the mountain from another place and went straight to the private army.
This private army had been hiding in Qilin Mountain, so the late emperor named it the Qilin Army.
When Great Xia was first established, because of the chaotic war, the commoners were struggling to survive. Many people chose to become bandits in order to eat.
Old Master Song was ordered to eliminate the bandits, and there was also the secret plan to establish a private army.
He simply ordered these people to be exterminated, and reported it as such, but they were actually hidden away.
At that time, there were countless bandits. If not for the fact that they could not survive, the commoners would not have taken that path. In the eyes of the public, Old Master Song directly killed all of them.
At that time, there were even rumors that the Song family’s patriarch was bloodthirsty. Only the late emperor, the Song family’s patriarch, and the thousand soldiers who participated in the suppression of the bandits knew the truth.
Later on, the soldiers who participated either died in battle or died of illness for various reasons. They were all recruited into the private army.
Apart from these, there were also some generals who were implicated in the vortex of succession when Emperor Chong’an first ascended the throne.
Emperor Chong’an insisted on killing them as a warning to the rest. The old master could not bear to see his former comrades die an unjust death, so he secretly saved them.
Those were all famous generals of their generation. They could be let in to train the unorthodox soldiers who were former bandits.
Song Jingchen explained the origins of the private army to Shen Yijia.
Shen Yijia was shocked. Her grandfather and the late emperor had hidden everything from everyone in the world.
When they reached the mountainside, a few people suddenly darted out of the forest.
Shen Yijia subconsciously wanted to attack them, but Song Jingchen stopped her.
The person paused and quickly knelt on one knee. “Greetings, Eldest Young Master.”
Only then did Shen Yijia see that Uncle Yang was also among them.
She cracked her knuckles. These were her own people.
There were a total of five people kneeling in front. Apart from Uncle Yang, the others were all wearing armor.
Song Jingchen glanced at them, his eyes darkened, and he nodded.
Although they were curious about when Song Jingchen’s legs recovered and wanted to show some concern, they knew that now wasn’t the time.
After getting up, they led the way to a bush and stopped.
Uncle Yang stepped forward and pushed the bushes aside, revealing the stone wall behind the bushes. He felt around the right side of the stone wall a few times, and the stone wall moved to the side, revealing a cave.
The cave was only wide enough for one person. After entering, the cave gradually expanded. They walked in the cave for about half an hour before reaching the end.
Uncle Yang went forward and fiddled with it for a while more. The stone wall in front of him opened, and dazzling light shone in.
Shen Yijia was shocked by the scene in front of her.
They were now halfway up the mountain. From afar, there was a wide training ground. They could vaguely see figures moving. It was where the soldiers were training.
Apart from this, there was a small river below that divided the col into two. On the other side of the river, there were rows of houses from the mountain pass to the middle of the mountain. There was a lot of farmland around the houses.
Shen Yijia thought that the private army would hide in the cave. She did not expect it to be like this. It was like a small town isolated from the world.
“Thank you, generals. It’s getting late today. You can go back first. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Song Jingchen said.
The sun was about to set. Their Eldest Young Master still needed to rest after a long journey.
The few of them looked at each other, cupped their hands, and left.
Uncle Yang did not leave. He led them to a courtyard built halfway up.
He stepped forward and pushed open the courtyard door. “I knew that Eldest Young Master was coming, so I specially brought the women at the foot of the mountain to clean this place these few days.”
The courtyard wasn’t big. It was an ordinary small courtyard with stone tables and chairs in the middle. In the past, Old Master Song or Song Jingchen had always stayed here.
They had everything they needed in the house. The bedding looked new, and everything was clean.
Shen Yijia walked around. There were three rooms, a central room, and a small kitchen. Thirty Thousand and South Wind lived in one room, which was just enough for them.
Uncle Yang was indeed a butler. There were also some ingredients in the kitchen.
“Young Madam, see if there’s anything else you need. Tell me.”
Seeing that Shen Yijia had led Furball around every house as if they were patrolling their territory, Uncle Yang went forward and said politely.
“I haven’t seen anything missing yet. I’ll definitely tell you when I see it,” Shen Yijia said seriously, but they wouldn’t stay for long.
Uncle Yang was speechless.
Mo Yuan went to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Thirty Thousand helped with the fire.
After Shen Yijia finished bathing, Song Jingchen helped her twist her hair with a handkerchief. When her hair was dry, dinner was ready.
Shen Yijia asked Mo Yuan to place dinner in the courtyard.
After wandering around the mountain for nearly half a month, they could finally sit down and eat a proper meal.
“There aren’t so many rules here. Let’s sit down and eat,” Song Jingchen said.
Shen Yijia quickly nodded. “That’s right. Let’s eat together. The more the merrier.”
Uncle Yang wiped his tears and led the way to sit down.
After dinner, Uncle Yang followed Song Jingchen into the central room, as if he had something to say.
Shen Yijia was still wondering if she should follow when Song Jingchen called out to her.
Shen Yijia grinned and followed happily.
