But this was because at that time it was the emperor surnamed Zhou who had been in power, and Yuwen Tong, though capable of guaranteeing comfortable life for soldiers willing to stay in north-western prefectures like Shengzhou, Youzhou, had been unable to guarantee that the soldiers would enjoy all the rights they deserved after leaving the north-west. After all, at that time he had been merely a marshal, not the emperor, and his reach had not been that wide.
Now, however, things were different. Yuwen Tong had the power to make any decision he wanted when it came to the placement of the injured.
Ling Zhang’s words shocked the grievously wounded soldiers and at the same time gave them hope. Many of them had families who would take care of them, and some had their own way to make a living, but they were still touched. They not only were moved but also saw hope.
These words soon spread through the whole army. The severely injured soldiers, who had been rather dejected, all dismissed their negative emotions and began to actively do as the physicians said, and no longer saw the future as dim.
Ling Zhang was not making empty promises. He and Yuwen Tong had long since conferred with each other about it, and it had also been discussed in court meetings. They had even finalized a specific action plan, which would be carried out right after Yuwen Tong took the Wan capital.
The reason why they would wait until that time to execute the plan was mainly because the bunch of courtiers believed that the people would be more deeply impressed by the emperor’s wisdom that way.
Ling Zhang, in order to avert suspicion, had not participated in the handling of those state affairs, so he had never stated his stand on this matter before.
But after seeing the disoriented and depressed looks on the faces of the severely injured soldiers, Ling Zhang had felt it unnecessary to wait that long to tell them. If he did not give these soldiers some hope at this point in time, they probably wouldn’t be able to live long enough to return to their hometowns, so he had directly disclosed it to them, and he didn’t care whether or not the news would spread. All he wanted was for these injured soldiers to have more hope which would help them survive.
Yuwen Tong also felt that it would be better if the message spread. On this day all soldiers had extra dishes on their tables, and at the same time Yuwen Tong, as the emperor, officially confirmed what Ling Zhang had said to the injured.
The whole army was thrown into excitement. Those who still felt somewhat drained due to a day and night’s fierce fighting swelled with great enthusiasm at the news, and the despondency was instantly swept away. All the troops became thrilled once again as though given stimulation treatment.
…
Ling Zhang, who had just returned from the infirmary, exhaled deeply and sprawled in an armchair, heedless of his undignified sitting position. Wang Dashan and some others were standing guard outside the tent, so he did not have to worry about any uninvited visitors seeing him.
The past few days had indeed been quite rough. Given that even he, the empress, was dead beat, it was safe to say that each and every member of the army was dead beat. Because of Yuwen Tong’s verbal confirmation of the placement policy, the encampment was uproarious on this day. Hearing the excited voices from outside, Ling Zhang felt a sense of relief. If truth be told, he had never served in the army and thus was unsure whether or not the soldiers’ reaction was normal, but he still couldn’t help but worry that it might affect the combat readiness of the army if the situation continued.
Ling Zhang exhaled deeply once again, sprawling in his armchair with no consideration whatsoever of his personal image, clearing his mind, thinking about nothing.
Though he had merely acted as an auxiliary worker in the infirmary, the heavy workload there was beyond his expectation.
Yuwen Tong, on entering the tent, saw Ling Zhang sprawling in an armchair in an undignified manner. Knowing that Ling Zhang was exhausted, his heart aching for Ling Zhang, he walked over and scooped Ling Zhang up from the armchair.
“Go and lie down on the bed. I’m sure you’ll feel much more comfortable lying in a bed than sprawling in an armchair.”
Ling Zhang wriggled out of Yuwen Tong’s embrace and said, “I reek of sweat and need to take a bath first, or else the bed would stink of my sweat as well. You’ve got everything handled?”
Yuwen Tong said, “Sort of. Tonight there’s going to be a bonfire to help the troops relax, and we’ll have to put in an appearance. You may go and have some sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.”
Ling Zhang shook his head, feeling it unacceptable to go to bed all sweaty and dirty. Having lived in a palace for years, he had developed certain habits and some of the things he used to be accustomed to now struck him as unbearable.
Yuwen Tong felt an urge to laugh at the sight of Ling Zhang’s bearing. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just the two of us. I don’t mind,” he said amusedly.
Ling Zhang slid him a sideways glance. “But I do. Okay?”
Yuwen Tong sighed, “All right. Let’s have a bath together. Then we go to bed.”
Um? Together?
“You want to have a bath as well?” Ling Zhang asked him.
Yuwen Tong said, “I want you to massage my shoulders. I’ve been having some tough days lately.”
After hearing this, Ling Zhang said, “Okay, then. Let’s bathe.”
Yuwen Tong had some hot water delivered inside. A large bathing barrel was right in the tent, and all bathroom ware was also available.
The encampment was in the vicinity of Jifang City. All supplies could be transported to the encampment in a timely manner, and it was also very convenient to get water, so soldiers had no difficulty getting what they needed to bathe.
After the two of them stripped and entered the bathing barrel, Ling Zhang offered to massage Yuwen Tong’s shoulder. Yuwen Tong had Ling Zhang turn around and started kneading his shoulders first.
“Didn’t you say that you want me to massage your shoulders? Why are you massaging mine?” asked Ling Zhang, feeling so comfortable he could barely keep from groaning.
Yuwen Tong pecked Ling Zhang’s ear and said, “Your wrist is in no fit state to perform any exertion of great strength.”
Ling Zhang looked at his wrist. The bandages had been removed, and the scab on the cut had come off, but his wrist still ached when he exerted great strength, so he tried to avoid using that hand whenever he could. On that day, when attacking the mountain pass, he had felt thankful that it was his left hand he had had cut, because otherwise he would’ve been unable to use a sword, which would be a disgrace.
“It won’t ache if I use only a moderate amount of strength,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong didn’t let him. For him, having a bath with Ling Zhang was itself a relaxing thing. Now the cut in Ling Zhang’s chest had also healed, so …
He held Ling Zhang in his arms and had sex with him in the bathing barrel. When Ling Zhang, gripping the edge of the bathing barrel with his hands, started letting out muffled groans, the auditory stimuli were so intense that Yuwen Tong almost ejaculated prematurely. Fortunately he managed to hold it. It was mainly because they hadn’t done it for quite a while, and Yuwen Tong felt it difficult to restrain himself.
Eventually, Yuwen Tong carried Ling Zhang back to the bed and did it a second time. When the second round was over, Ling Zhang directly fell asleep for exhaustion. Yuwen Tong wet a towel with hot water, wiped Ling Zhang clean and then cleaned himself. After that, he went to the inner compartment and had his bodyguards get the bathwater out of the tent.
Yao Yi had a faint flush on his face when leading a couple of men into the tent to carry the bathing barrel. Looking at the patches of water on the ground, he felt quite sympathetic towards Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang. How sexually repressed must they have been to make out so wildly?
…
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had slept for two hours when Yao Yi woke them up. “Your Majesty, Your Highness, the banquet’s starting.”
As he was awoken, Ling Zhang burrowed his face into Yuwen Tong’s chest, having no intention to get up or go to any banquets.
Yuwen Tong instructed Yao Yi to tell the soldiers that the two of them would be there later. Yao Yi sensibly took his leave.
As Yuwen Tong looked down at Ling Zhang who was burrowing his face into his chest, and whose whole body was in his embrace, he felt so warm, aroused and satiated as though he were soaking in hot water again. He lowered his head, kissed Ling Zhang’s hair and said, “You may sleep for a little while longer.”
But after an hour, the “little while” still hadn’t come to an end. Knowing that they really needed to go, Yuwen Tong had no choice but to wake Ling Zhang.
When Ling Zhang was awoken, his face wore a hurt expression and he looked on the verge of tears. Yuwen Tong’s heart ached at the sight of it. He gave it some thought and then said, “How about you continue to sleep and I go without you?”
On hearing Yuwen Tong offer to go without him, Ling Zhang shook his head and said, “I’ll go with you.”
After saying that, he reluctantly got out of bed and waddled to the wardrobe to get his clothes.
Yuwen Tong hastened out of bed and went to help him.
It took them some time to make themselves presentable. The whole encampment had turned into an ocean of uproar when they walked out of the tent. Their arrival at the banquet gave rise to another surge of excitement among the troops. Because of their lateness, Yuwen Jin, who was always bold, suggested the two of them each drink a cup of wine as punishment. The soldiers took up the chant and the two of them had no alternative but to receive their punishment.
In the knowledge that he could easily get drunk by drinking on an empty stomach, Ling Zhang, after sitting down, immediately started eating, intending to get some food into his belly first. He also conveniently put some meat and vegetable into Yuwen Tong’s bowl. “Eat,” he said.
Naturally, Yuwen Tong ate the meat and vegetable given to him by Ling Zhang. As he saw that there was some gravy at the corner of Ling Zhang’s mouth, he reached out a hand and wiped it off.
There was some kind of tacit behavioral agreement between the two, which had been developing in a natural fashion for years, but this scene struck people in the vicinity as a public display of affection, one that flooded them with self-pity.
“I find it incredible the marital bonding between His Majesty and His Highness is still so strong, given that they have been married for over five years,” said a soldier in a muted, envious voice.
“Tell me about it. The exemplary marriage between the imperial couple is known to everybody in the world,” said a second soldier proudly. Why he said this with pride was a mystery to the others, for all those who knew him were aware that he was still a bachelor.
“Alas. If only I could also get a wife with whom I’ll have a lifelong happy marriage,” sighed a third soldier, manifest envy in his voice.
“When this war is over, we’ll return home war heroes, and when we do, I don’t think it’ll be too difficult for either of us to find a good wife, will it?” said a fourth soldier.
“That’s hard to say. It’s not easy to find the right person. Why else do you think I’ve been single for so many years? Because of this, my mother once beat me so hard I was almost crippled. I think she would really cripple me if I still refuse to get married the next time I return home. The very thought of it makes me feel tired. I don’t even want to go back any more,” said the third soldier.
Yuwen Jin, having great empathy with the one who said these words, raised his wine cup at that soldier, who raised his in response. The two of them exchanged a glance and then gulped down their wine at the same time, silently expressing their common vexation and their sympathy for each other.
Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang, sitting in the high seats, naturally heard those men’s whispers and saw Yuwen Jin’s actions.
Ling Zhang said in an undertone, “I think this guy’s going to be beaten up by his mother as well when he returns home if he refuses to get married.”
Yuwen Tong observed, “This is not something we can rush him into.”
Ling Zhang looked sidelong at him. “Who was the one that threatened him with it a couple of days ago?”
Yuwen Tong chuckled, “You said it yourself it’s just a threat. You can’t take it seriously. I’m not going to interfere in Yuwen Jin’s marriage or that of any other Yuwen. They have the right to make decisions for themselves about whether they want to get married or not. The Yuwen family has enough money to keep them fed for the rest of their lives anyway.”
On hearing these words, Ling Zhang almost burst into laughter. If Yuwen Jin came to know these opinions about him of his second cousin, he would probably jump up in annoyance and yell “I don’t need anybody to keep me fed!” or something like that. Still, Ling Zhang found Yuwen Tong’s broad-mindedness truly admirable. It was really not easy for an emperor to give his relatives such freedom, braving social pressure, but Yuwen Tong was doing it in such a natural fashion as though it were as easy as drinking water from a cup.
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