As soon as the battle ended, Yun Qing immediately returned to the rear to check on Feng Dajun. Seeing Feng Dajun lying unconscious on the bed, Yun Qing asked the military physician, Hou Junyi, "How is his condition?"
Hou Junyi replied, "Battalion Commander Feng was fortunate—he was just a hair's breadth away from losing his life." One of the arrows had missed his heart by only a tiny margin, while the other was merely a flesh wound.
Yun Qing felt relieved; this was still good news as long as Feng Dajun's life was not in danger.
Hou Junyi added, "If we had more of this hemostatic powder, many more soldiers could have been saved." He was implying that Yun Qing should try to get more of the medicine. He had dared to remove the arrow so quickly because of the powder's excellent hemostatic properties. Otherwise, if the bleeding couldn't be stopped, pulling out the arrow would have meant certain death. One had to admit that Master Yang had made a significant contribution to Yun Qing and his men.
Yun Qing nodded, "I'll try to get more in the future." Once he conquered the entire Northwest, he wouldn't have to worry about affording medicinal ingredients. And since Master Yang had already agreed to help him make medicine, as long as there were enough ingredients, they wouldn't have to worry about running out of good hemostatic powder.
After confirming that Feng Dajun was out of danger, Yun Qing returned to his own quarters. After this battle, Ji Xuan wouldn't be able to send another large army against them anytime soon, so things were safe for now.
Not long after, Gao Song came in and reported to Yun Qing, "General, one of the three archers has confessed. Their real target was you."
Yun Qing looked up in surprise. "Their real target was me?"
Gao Song felt fortunate to know this: "Yes, their real target was you. General Ji Xuan must have known that you always led from the front in battle, so he sent elite archers to hide in the shadows and assassinate you when the opportunity arose." Gao Song despised Ji Xuan, thinking that he was incapable of real strategy and could only resort to such despicable tactics.
Yun Qing's expression immediately darkened. What he hated most was being attacked from the shadows. However, considering Ji Xuan's character, he was not surprised. Ji Xuan was a treacherous man by nature, so this was exactly what he would do.
That evening, Yuan Ying and Cui Mo came to report on the situation. Yuan Ying said, "General, we lost 1,315 men in this battle, and 2,681 were seriously wounded." Today's casualties were much lower than the previous day as the battle had ended before noon.
Cui Mo added, "General, we captured 23,783 prisoners." These were uninjured soldiers; the lightly and heavily wounded were not included in this count.
Yun Qing nodded and then turned to Cui Mo. "How many prisoners did we take in total?" Their forces were still too small, and they needed to expand their army.
He continued, "Ask them if they are willing to stay. Those who agree can get a month's pay in advance. Those who refuse—if they're from Wu City and the surrounding areas—let them go after they've eaten a full meal."
Cui Mo was surprised and asked, "General, if they won't surrender, why waste food on them? Shouldn't we just kill them? What if they go back to Lanzhou City?"
Yun Qing replied, "Once we take Lanzhou City, there is nothing we can do to stop them from returning." He wasn't foolish enough to return those prisoners to Lanzhou. If they were to return, even with no will to fight, Ji Xuan would force them to defend the city.
Cui Mo asked, "General, why go through all this trouble?"
Yuan Ying interjected, "Cui Mo, these soldiers are not northern barbarians. How can we kill them? If we do that, the local armies will resist even more fiercely in the future." There would also be other consequences as well.
Cui Mo snorted. "Resist fiercely? How fierce can they be?" In his mind, as long as his cavalry attacked, these people were nothing.
Yun Qing said, "If they go home to farm, they will pay taxes in the future, which will support all of you." Most of these soldiers were civilians. If they went home, they would most likely go back to farming.
Cui Mo was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "So General is thinking far ahead." He had been too focused on the immediate battle and had forgotten that once Yun Qing controlled the entire Northwest, these people would become his subjects.
Late that night, Yu Cong rushed in and said, "General, there are incoming letters from Yu City." He then handed over a stack of letters.
Yun Qing opened the letter from Fu Tianlei first. After reading it, his expression softened. Fu Tianlei reported that the gold and silver Yun Qing had sent back had arrived, and some had already been distributed to the soldiers. The compensation for the fallen soldiers would also be allocated before the New Year. However, for now, this only applied to those who had died in the battles in Yu City and Xinping City—other regions had yet to be covered.
Yu Cong smiled and said, "General, Du Zheng and his men will arrive in three days to join us." The sooner they arrived, the sooner they could take Lanzhou City.
Yun Qing remarked, "The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve." This statement meant that Du Zheng's 30,000 troops would arrive on the first day of the New Year. Marching in battle in the New Year—this was a first for the Northwest Army.
Yu Cong laughed, "Once we win this battle, every day will feel like New Year." With victory, they could feast every day—wouldn't that be like celebrating New Year all the time?
Yun Qing also smiled. These soldiers followed him in the rebellion because they believed he could give them a better life.
After chatting for a bit, Yun Qing continued reading the letters. He read those from Huo Changqing, Du Zheng, and Xiang Weiguo before finally opening the one from Yuxi. Her letter was the thickest—thicker than all the others combined.
As soon as he opened it, Yun Qing felt relieved. The handwriting was strong and steady, showing that Yuxi had recovered well.
In the letter, Yuxi didn't discuss anything particularly urgent. She mainly wrote about her recovery and updates on Zaozao and Liu-er. At the end of the letter, she reminded him to write back.
After finishing the letter, Yun Qing smiled and picked up his brush to reply.😂
With this battle concluded, the war entered a stalemate. However, things were not going so well in the southern city. Chen Wei had taken nine days—nearly three days longer than planned—to finally break through to the southern city.
Peng Liangong ordered Jun Yuanbo to cover the retreat while he fled with 2,000 men. Jun Yuanbo did not refuse and prepared to fight Chen Wei to the death with the remaining 5,000 troops.
Yang Duoming said, "Brother Yuanbo, Chen Wei has over fifty thousand troops. Staying here is nothing but s*icide." He had not fled with Peng Liangong but chose to stay behind voluntarily instead.
Jun Yuanbo replied, "Should I flee to Shu like the Grand Marshal?" Would it be safe to go to Shu? One should not be foolish. Fleeing to Shu was just as unsafe. How could the Governor-General and the Provincial Governor of Shu possibly let them go! Besides, the journey from the southern city to Shu was treacherous. Whether they could even reach Shu safely was a question in itself.
Yang Duoming tried to reason, "No, the Northwest Army has already rebelled. We should avoid Chen Wei for now, hide in the mountains, and wait for the Northwest Army to arrive. Then, we can pledge allegiance to them." Yang Duoming respected Jun Yuanbo's character and did not want to see him die in vain.
Jun Yuanbo shook his head, "Yun Qing has countless capable generals under his command—he wouldn't be interested in us." Although Yun Qing had also rebelled and was technically a traitor, his army was still a disciplined force, unlike Jun Yuanbo's ragtag band.
Yang Duoming argued, "If Yun Qing takes control of the Northwest, he will certainly need to recruit more soldiers. With your martial arts skills, do you really think you won't have a future if you join his army?" His plan was for Jun Yuanbo to enlist as an ordinary soldier.
Jun Yuanbo knew Yang Duoming meant well and said, "Brother, I appreciate your kindness. But I can't abandon my men."
Yang Duoming replied, "Brother Jun, if you don't leave, you'll just be another dead man. Whether you stay or go, the fate of these remaining soldiers is already sealed."
Jun Yuanbo shook his head. "Brother Yang, I understand your concern. But as long as Chen Wei hasn't arrived, you should leave quickly!" The area around the southern city was mountainous, and if Yang Duoming led his men into hiding, Chen Wei would have difficulty tracking them down. Of course, the Northwest Army's rebellion also gave them an opportunity—without it, Chen Wei could have sent tens of thousands of troops to search the mountains, and hiding there would have been pointless.
Seeing that he couldn't convince him, Yang Duoming stopped trying. Instead, he clasped his hands in salute and said, "Brother Jun, I hope we meet again." He sincerely wished Jun Yuanbo would survive this ordeal.
Jun Yuanbo also cupped his hands and replied, "Take care."
Yang Duoming then led his men out of the southern city. He had never believed that the rebel army would pose a serious threat, so he had made various preparations in advance. Once they had escaped, his party swiftly disappeared into the mountains. There, they took shelter in a cave that could hold a hundred or two people, which one of his subordinates had discovered some time ago. Yang Duoming had previously stored some food there, though not much, as he didn't want to attract attention. It was just enough to last about half a month—provided they rationed it carefully.
Yan Xi asked, "Boss, what if Yun Qing fails? What do we do then?" Their current plan was an all-or-nothing gamble.
Shen Xiaomao said, "If Yun Qing fails, we can just go back to our old ways. Right, Boss?" They had about ninety men; if they recruited more later, they could still live freely.
Yang Duoming replied, "If Yun Qing fails, we'll be fugitives with nowhere to go. His failure would mean that Ji Xuan has no more threats to worry about, and at that point, the entire Northwest will be under his control."
Shen Xiaomao muttered, "Let's hope Yun Qing wins."
Yan Xi, however, was more cautious. "Boss, even if Yun Qing wins, will he take us in? I've heard that he has killed a lot of bandits and horse thieves."
Yang Duoming responded, "If Yun Qing wins, I'll take refuge with his wife instead." He knew he wouldn't have a bright future if he directly swore allegiance to Yun Qing. It would be better to turn to Yun Qing's wife—perhaps that would open up a different path for him.
Shen Xiaomao frowned. "Boss, Yun Qing's wife may be famous, but she's still just a woman. What kind of future can we have under a woman's command?"
Yan Xi fell into deep thought.
Yang Duoming said, "My situation is complicated and difficult to explain in a few words. But you are all different—you can join the army when the time comes." The Northwest Army had a strong reputation, but it wasn't an army one could simply join at will.
Yan Xi declared, "Boss, wherever you go, we'll follow!" They couldn't just leave him behind and seek their own future.
Yang Duoming chuckled. "Why argue about this now? We don't even know yet if Yun Qing will win!" Although he had faith in Yun Qing, the disparity in troop numbers was too great, and he couldn't be sure of his victory.
Yan Xi was silent for a moment before suggesting, "Boss, let's go out and see if we can find some food." They had no idea how long they would be stuck in the mountains, so they should avoid touching their stored supplies for as long as possible.
Yang Duoming stood up and said, "Let's go, we'll search together." Even though it was winter, there were still food sources in the deep mountains if one knew where to look.
Footnotes Full List
- I chuckled when I read Yuxi's reaction to his reply letter and how she wrote back to him.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi