Chapter 419 : The Great War (2)

Six scouts were sent out, and all of them returned unharmed. They reported that everything ahead was as expected, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Yun Qing did not relax because of the scouts’ reports. On the contrary, his mood became even heavier. It was just that the military orders were like mountains1. Qin Zhao had ordered him to reach the designated place within the specified time. It would have been better if they had been attacked on the road, but now that it was obvious that everything was fine, there was no time for them to lose.

Huo Changqing looked at Yun Qing’s appearance and asked, “What’s the matter? Is there something wrong?” Yun Qing’s talent in warfare was something that he could not match.

Yun Qing shook his head. “Nothing.” He thought that perhaps he was being too careful. No matter what, Qin Zhao was Marshal Qin’s grandson and a descendant of a famous general, so he would not have put so many soldiers at risk just for his personal gain. Despite this thinking, Yun Qing still couldn’t relax and sent many scouts to spy on the road ahead. Only when he was sure there was no problem did he order the army to move on. Although they had to slow down, they reached the established position within the specified time.

Yuxi sat on a chair sewing her clothes, but she had to do it slowly because she was carrying a big belly. However, since she did not need to rush, she took her time finishing it.

“Ouch……” The needle poked the tip of her finger. Beads of blood quickly formed from the wound while her right eyelid twitched.T

/C

Zijin was startled and hurriedly helped Yuxi, asking, “Madam, what’s wrong with you?” Looking at the beads of blood on Yuxi’s hand, Zijin hastily called out, “Mama Qu, bring the ointment over. Madam has poked her finger.”

Mama Qu quickly fetched the ointment and applied it to Yuxi, saying, “Madam, it’s alright. It will heal soon.” For someone new to needlework, there were simply too many times when she would poke her finger. But Yuxi was used to holding the needle and thread and rarely had this problem.

Yuxi mumbled, “My right eyelid keeps twitching. I’m afraid there’s danger on the General’s side.” Since she was at home, there was no danger to her. Therefore, something might have happened on Yun Qing’s side.

Both Zijin and Mama Qu’s expressions turned unsightly when they heard this. However, Mama Qu had been through a lot more and quickly calmed down as she said, “Madam, the General has fought so many battles without any accidents. This time, he will return safely too. You can’t scare yourself like this.”

Hearing these words from Mama Qu, Zijin also hurriedly echoed, “Madam, the General will be fine. Just put your worried mind at ease!”

Yuxi looked down and thought for a while after hearing these statements and muttered, “Maybe I think too much.” Perhaps the twitching in her right eyelid was not a disaster for Yun Qing, but for her. Thinking of this, Yuxi immediately stood up and instructed, “Call over Xu Wu.”

Yuxi looked at Xu Wu and reminded him, “During this time, make sure to pay attention to the residence’s security. Do not allow any miscellaneous people to enter the house.”

Xu Wu nodded. “Madam, don’t worry. My subordinates will ensure that not even a fly will be allowed in.” Yun Qing transferred another sixty men over before he left. This enforcement was also because he was worried that someone would turn against Yuxi while he was away. Together with the forty guards from before, the Yun Residence now had over a hundred guards. This many people would have been enough to protect Yuxi.

That day, Yuxi was in a state of distraction. And it was on this day that Yun Qing experienced the first significant defeat in his life. This defeat was the result of a mistake in intelligence. Qin Zhao had previously said that the northern barbarians’ vanguard was only 50,000. They had sent 60,000 men because they intended to have these 60,000 men fight against 50,000 enemies, which gave them a numerical advantage. Besides, with them being on favourable terrain, they could inflict severe damage on the northern captives’ vanguard.

However, no one expected that the northern barbarians’ vanguard was not 50,000 but 80,000, and they were obviously prepared. The 80,000 northern barbarians’ men were divided into two, with 40,000 solely attacking Yun Qing’s battalions. The soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty were at a disadvantage in terms of battle strength compared to the northern barbarians, and now it was still two to one-between the enemy and their troops. The battle was particularly fierce.

It lasted from morning until dark before the two sides called a truce. At that time, Yun Qing’s side was already surrounded by the northern barbarians.

Looking at the battlefield, littered with corpses, and then at Jiang Bo’s corpse beside him, a devastating light erupted in Yun Qing’s eyes. “Qin Zhao ……” To get rid of him, Qin Zhao treated the lives of 20,000 soldiers as child’s play.

With this thought in mind, Yun Qing drew his sword and slashed at the stone, splitting it in half.

Huo Changqing said soberly, “Yun Qing, this is not the time to grieve. We will demand Qin Zhao pay this debt later. What we should think right now is a way to break out from this siege.” If they didn’t escape the encirclement that night, their enemy would kill them tomorrow without a soul left.

Seeing that Yun Qing still could not calm down, Huo Changqing continued, “Yun Qing, think about Han Shi. She is still waiting for you at home with her big belly. If anything happens to you, she might not be able to survive either. Can you bear to let your child die without being born?”

Yun Qing’s crimson eyes finally slowly returned to normal. After a moment, he called out loudly, “Guo Xun, take an inventory of how many troops we have left.” After saying this, he took down the dry food from his horse and gave some of it to Huo Changqing, then took two luobing3 that were as hard as stones for himself and chewed on them. I didn’t know what the food tasted like, so he ate it only to fill his stomach so that he could have the strength to escape.

LUOBING

After half a second, Guo Xun came over and reported, “General, there are still more than seven thousand and six hundred men left.” Of the 20,000 men, there were now over 7,000 of their men left, and these 7,000 included quite a few wounded ones.

After formulating a plan to break out from the siege, Huo Changqing suddenly said to Yun Qing, “I’ll cut off the back!” The so-called ‘cut off the back’ meant to hold back the enemy, which meant that those who did this would die.

Yun Qing responded without thinking, “No way.”

Neither Guo Xun nor Yu Cong agreed, and they both even competed to stay behind and cut off the back. In the end, they drew lots and Guo Xun won it. Guo Xun patted Yu Cong on the shoulder. “Protect the General and yifu4 well.” Those who stayed behind would surely not survive, but if they followed the General and managed to break out, they might not be able to stay alive either. It would be a seven or eight days journey from here to Yu City, and it would certainly not be peaceful on the way either. He only hoped that the General could escape back to Yu City safely.

Yu Cong gave vigorous affirmative nods. “I will give my life to protect the General and yifu.”

At midnight Yun Qing broke out with 7,000 men, leaving behind more than 3,000 corpses, after which he broke out of the encirclement. However, this did not mean they were safe, as their pursuers were still chasing after them. Everywhere was dangerous until they reached Yu City.

In the early morning, Han Ji was shocked by the news of the fire on the farm and rushed to see Yuxi. When he arrived outside the inner courtyard, he said to Mama Qu, “I have something important to see Madam.”

Mama Qu said, “Madam spent most of the night reading the sutra yesterday and hasn’t slept for long. If it is not particularly urgent, you should return later.”

Last night, Yuxi’s eyelid kept fluttering, and her heart was restless. She simply got up and went to the Buddhist temple to recite the sutra. After chanting for most of the night, she was so tired that she went to bed and slept. So, Mama Qu did not want to disturb Yuxi’s good night’s sleep.

Han Ji said anxiously, “There was a fire on the farm yesterday, and someone burned the granary. All the grain there was burned.” It was good that they had put only a few of the grain bought in the granary. Otherwise, they would have been dripping with blood5.

Mama Qu’s face went pale. This incident was no small matter. “I’m going to call Madam.” The grains, which Madam was thinking of using for emergencies, were not expected to be burned.

When Yuxi heard the news, she immediately got up, put on her clothes and went out without even bothering to freshen up. Once she met Han Ji, she asked, “Were there any casualties? What happened to the children?” There was little food in the granary, and they could buy more if they ran out of things. If there were any damage to the children, it would be a big problem.

Han Ji said sorrowfully, “The four men guarding the granary were all killed by arsonists. The fight alerted the others on the estate, so those children are alright.” They built the house where the children lived in the second lunar month, which was a bit far away from the granary. Again, they had discovered the incident early, and these arsonists didn’t have time to do anything to these children. Of course, it was because their main target was the granary, and it would have been too puzzling if their aim had been the children.

Yuxi cupped her hand into a fist and asked sternly, “Have you caught all the arsonists?”

Han Ji nodded. “The messenger reported all of them have been caught. Madam, what should we do with these people? Does Madam think we should report them to the authority?”

Yuxi sneered. “There is no need to report them to the authority. Just torture them. If torture doesn’t help, let them have a taste of being burned.” What Yuxi meant was that these people should be burned to death.

Han Ji opened his mouth and said, “Madam, is it appropriate for us to do this?” Han Ji felt such a tactic was a little too ruthless.

Yuxi sneered. “I want to let them know that I, Han Yuxi, am not a soft persimmon that they can pinch6 as they pleased. If they dare to attack me with their plan, I will make them pay back twice as much.” She had been holding back her anger for more than ten years, and she was not going to hold back any longer; if she continued to do so, she would completely live a life of a turtle that kept on hiding its head7.

Han Ji bowed her head and answered, “Yes!”

Yuxi thought for a moment before instructing, “You should personally make a trip to comfort those children. If any of them want to go home, just let them.” Some of these children still had parents, but most were orphaned, and there was nowhere else to send them. So a new problem arose, what to do about security on the farm.

Han Ji suggested, “How about letting these children return to Yu City? Those two houses for the school are quite empty. Why doesn’t Madam let these children live there?” It was slightly safer for the children to stay in Yu City.

Yuxi shook her head. “It’s just as unsafe to live in Yu City.” In Yu City, no place could be said to be safe.

Han Ji stated anxiously, “Madam, it was a fluke that the children were all fine this time, but they may not be so lucky next time. If we don’t bring them back, we must ensure their safety. However, we can’t withdraw any workforce from the Yun Residence.” They had to consider the safety of those children, but Madam’s security was more important. If something happened to Madam, they would all be buried with her.

Yuxi thought for a moment and said, “I will solve this matter. You go to the farm first and check up on them.” When Han Ji was about to leave, she added, “Talk to Xu Wu and ask him to transfer ten men to follow you to the farm.” Who knew if the people behind the curtain were also trying to kill those around her?

Hearing this instruction, Han Ji turned towards Yuxi and expressed, “Many thanks, Madam.” It was a lie to say that they weren’t afraid of death, but he guessed not many people would beat their chest to say they weren’t scared of death, let alone having a meaningless one. With ten guards following him, it was like having an extra layer of security.