Chapter 421 : The Great War (4)

きつね: Here is another extra for everyone since I’ve reached my monthly goal for December on Ko-fi. Thanks a bunch, Syrenz, beexcw, Alex and Speracles!

Yun Qing left some of his men behind to cut off the back while he led Huo Changqing, Yu Cong and the others to continue their escape towards Yu City. This time, they lost another six hundred men.

The group stopped when they could not see the road ahead because the day had darkened. After running for most of the day, not only men, even the horses, could not take it anymore.

Looking at the darkening sky, Huo Changqing advised, “Yun Qing, just do as I said. Take advantage of the night and leave with some of the men.” Yun Qing was very familiar with the terrain after spending most of his life there, and as long as Huo Changqing could get rid of their pursuers, Yun Qing would be fine.

Yun Qing disagreed. “No. Just come with me. We can do this.” If he escaped, none of these people would survive.

Huo Changqing argued, “If I go with you, we will soon be discovered by Agu’s men. At that time, it will be really dangerous.” Today, with less than two thousand men, not only were they exhausted, but many of them were wounded and would not be able to escape.

Yun Qing still refused.

Huo Changqing grabbed Yun Qing’s shoulders. “You have to live and get justice for the dead soldiers.”

No matter how hard Huo Changqing tried to persuade Yun Qing, he still failed even when he brought up the issue of Yuxi and their child. In the end, Huo Changqing had no choice but to knock Yun Qing unconscious while he wasn’t looking. He then selected sixteen more men and told them to take Yun Qing away that night. Before leaving, Huo Changqing told Yu Cong, “When he wakes up, tell him that I’ll be waiting for him in Yu City.”

Yu Cong nodded. “You should also take care of yourself, Yifu1.”

Huo Changqing handed Yu Cong the things that Yuxi had given him. “These are what Madam gave me that day. Take them with you. You should be able to use them.”

Yu Cong shook his head. “Yifu1, your situation will be more dangerous. You should keep these!” These things were life savers. How could he take them?

Huo Changqing rebuked him coldly, “I told you to take it. What with all this nonsense?”

Yu Cong was afraid of Huo Changqing because he had brought him up. Thus, Huo Changqing’s authority had a strong influence on his life. But Yu Cong still didn’t want to accept those things. After thinking for a while, he finally said, “Yifu1, let’s divide these kinds of stuff.” In the end, the contents of the small bag were divided into two, but Huo Changqing gave all the detoxification pills to Yu Cong.

After Yun Qing woke up, it was already a shichen2 later. Looking at Yu Cong and then at the sixteen attendants who had followed him, Yun Qing knew what was going on.

Yu Cong worried that Yun Qing would return to Huo Changqing and hurriedly said, “General, you will let down Yifu1’s painstaking efforts. Yifu1 said that anything could happen to anyone but not to you and that trash Qin Zhao will not be able to protect Yu City.”

Yun Qing’s hand kept shaking as he gripped his longsword tightly.

Seeing this reaction, Yu Cong quickly added, “General, Yifu1 said he would be waiting for you at Yu City. Yifu1 always keeps his word. Since he said he would wait for you at Yu City, he will wait for you there. General, what we should think about right now is how to get out of this situation.”

After hearing these words, Yun Qing regained his composure and instructed, “Let’s go.” Yun Qing quickly left the original place with his group of people.

The more Yu Cong walked, the odder he felt and asked, “General, where are we going now?” This path was different from the direction to Yu City!

Yun Qing said, “We can’t return to Yu City now. Once Agu realises he hasn’t caught me, he will set up a checkpoint near Yu City. Going back there right now is like throwing ourselves into a trap.” The best thing to do was to find a secret hiding place until the war started and then look for an opportunity to return to Yu City. It was even possible for them to fish in troubled waters3.

Yu Cong nodded. “I’ll listen to the General.”

On Huo Changqing’s side, there were already too many wounded and disabled soldiers. Besides, they were so exhausted from running for their lives these past few days that even their horses could not run anymore. So, that night they rested in the middle of the night where they currently were. It was not until it was almost dawn that the group continued their escape.

In less than a shichen2, the pursuers were already closing in on them. Duan Quan, the one pretending to be Yun Qing, said towards Huo Changqing, “Yifu1, with me here, I can hold them off for a while. Yifu1, you must be safe.” Duan Quan was also Huo Changqing’s adopted son.

Huo Changqing was not an unreasonable person. He knew that he would only die if he were being stubborn, and by escaping in small numbers, there would still be a way for him to live. Huo Changqing patted Duan Quan’s shoulder and said, “Remember, make sure to survive. I’ll be waiting for you in Yu City.”

Duan Quan nodded his head. “Okay.” Duan Quan knew very well in his heart that he was bound to die this time. These northern barbarians never left anyone alive.

Huo Changqing took over a hundred men with him and soon disappeared before everyone’s eyes. Duan Quan wiped the teardrops from the corner of his eyes and shouted, “Brothers, let’s go all out in our fight with the northern barbarians!”

More than a thousand soldiers, including those who were wounded, also echoed, “Let’s go all out in our fight with the northern barbarians!” Since it was a death sentence, killing one would be considered a return, but killing two would be considered a profit.

There were more than 8,000 men in pursuit this time, and they were all elite soldiers. Eight thousand elite soldiers against a thousand remnants, the end was already predetermined. But even so, none of the 1,000 remnants surrendered and begged for mercy. They even dragged more than 400 northern barbarians with them to their death.T

/C

Scouts sent the news of the battlefield situation back to Yu City. On the fourth day after the battle, Qin Zhao learnt that the northern barbarians had eradicated all Yun Qing’s troops, and Kang Donglin and Xia Hong had lost half of their army.

Qin Zhao’s expression was hideous as he questioned, “How could this happen? How could this really happen?! I thought there was only 50,000 enemy vanguard. Why did it suddenly become 80,000?” Regarding this matter, Yun Qing and Huo Changqing wrongly blamed it on Qin Zhao, who was genuinely unaware he had received the wrong information.T

/C

Seeing this situation, Mr Xia asked, “General, since the enemy’s vanguard army is 80,000, surely the northern barbarians have gathered more than 100,000 people this time?” After asking this, Mr Xia’s forehead was covered in a cold sweat. There were only 40,000 troops currently guarding Yu City. Although it was said that Yu City was easy to defend and difficult to attack, it did not mean that there was no possibility for Yu City to be breached.

Qin Zhao quickly came to his senses and immediately ordered the generals left in Yu City to be summoned for discussion. The city would be in danger if another mistake were made this time.

When Fu Tianlei heard that the northern army had suffered heavy losses and that the Dingbei Army led by Yun Qing had been wiped out, he kicked the table over, pointed at Qin Zhao’s nose, and cursed, “Qin Zhao, you despicable and shameless thing. You are so afraid that Yun Qing will take over your position that you have resorted to such despicable……”

In response, General Zhao sternly snapped at Fu Tianlei to stop him from continuing, “Tianlei, there’s an order of priority. It’s not the time to find out who is to blame. Right now, we should discuss how to solve the present crisis.” At that time, Yun Qing opposed the expedition, believing that the northern barbarians were fierce this time and that it would be more secure for them just to defend the city. But apart from Fu Tianlei, who supported him, everyone else was on Qin Zhao’s side, including General Zhao.T

/C

Although Fu Tianlei was furious, he had a sense of proportion and knew it was not the right time to settle scores with Qin Zhao.

General Zhao asked Qin Zhao, “General Qin, there are only 40,000 troops left in the city. If Agu leads 100,000 troops to attack the city, we can hold out for half of the first lunar month, no longer than that.” There was one more thing General Zhao did not mention. This time, the northern barbarians would definitely not exclude the 80,000 vanguard army, and with 100,000 troops, the enemy’s troops should be more than his estimation. But this matter could not be said as it would only make the soldiers and the people panic.

Qin Zhao said, “I have already sent someone to ask Ji Xuan, the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, for reinforcements.” There were only 40,000 people in Yu City now, so it would be challenging to guard it without asking for help.

Fu Tianlei scoffed. He did not say anything other than sneering. The most important thing was to guard Yu City. Everything else would be discussed after the northern barbarians had retreated.

The news of the frontline defeat in the front could not be concealed, and it soon spread out. When Yu Zhi heard it, he flew back to Yun Residence to tell Yuxi about the incident. However, coincidentally, Yuxi was chanting sutras in the Buddha Hall.

When Mama Qu looked at Yu Zhi’s face, her heart skipped a beat as she asked, “What happened?” Just by looking at Yu Zhi’s expression, she also knew that something was not right.

Yu Zhi answered in a low voice, “I just heard the news that the entire Dingbei Army was completely annihilated.” Completely annihilated meant that not a single person managed to come out alive.

Mama Qu’s face changed significantly at these words, but soon she regained her composure. “You can’t tell Madam about this.”

Hearing this statement, Yu Zhi argued, “Mama, it is impossible to hide such a big issue!”

Mama Qu’s meaning was simple. “It’s a good idea if we can keep it under wraps for a while.” It was best to hide it until Madam had her child. That way, Madam could endure her loss.

Zijin shook her head. “I can’t hide it, not even for a day. Madam knows me too well. She will know something is wrong when she sees my face after leaving the Buddha Hall.”

Mama Qu proposed, “Then you should pretend to be sick so that Madam won’t see you.” Mama Qu knew that this was not the best solution. It was just the next best thing. There was really no other way but to hide it.

Zijin shook her head and asked, “I can only pretend for a few days. I can’t continue to be indisposed all the time, right?”

Mama Qu said, “Madam is pregnant. She would certainly be stimulated if she knew that the General might have died in battle. We’ll likely lose two lives if she doesn’t make it through.” After a pause, she continued, “It’s just a rumour out there and not yet confirmed for now. Perhaps the General will be back in a couple of days. By then, Madam will be fine even if she knows.”

Hearing this, Zijin nodded her head. “Alright! Then I will pretend to be sick and hope the General will be safe and return home soon.”

When Yuxi came out, she didn’t see Zijin and was a bit puzzled, asking, “Where did Zijin go? Has something happened?” Since Yun Qing left for war, Zijin had been serving her closely and hadn’t left her even half a step. It was surprising that she was not in the courtyard this time.

Mama Qu’s heart jumped, but she pretended to be fine and replied with a smile, “Mama Bai has made mung bean cakes, and Zijin has just brought a plate of them to Master Yang.”

Hearing this reply, Yuxi said with a smile, “I seem to be a little hungry too.” She hadn’t had much of an appetite for the past few days, but for the sake of her child, she had to eat even if she had no desire.

At these words, Mama Qu smiled. “I’ll go to the kitchen and bring a plate for Madam.” She was under a lot of pressure to lie to Yuxi!

Yuxi didn’t have any clue about Mama Qu’s current situation as she smilingly requested, “Please also bring me another bowl of goat’s milk.” She always drank goat’s milk, so the kitchen had it prepared all the time.

PS (Author): 囧7, June wanted to write more spectacular and gruesome fight scenes, but June couldn’t do it. Sorry for the delay. June couldn’t update it on time.