Chapter 853 Return to the Great Yu Kingdom

The guards continued to report.

When the Western Rong court officials learned that Lady Sui and her entourage had fled, they were so enraged that they smashed two coffins on the spot, but there were no bodies inside—the bodies had been secretly buried by Cheng Wanwan half a month earlier.

Not only that, they also hung the disfigured body of the Western Rong queen on the city wall. When the Western Rong people learned that the queen had almost killed their king, they almost lost their minds. Tens of thousands of people gathered at the foot of the city wall and kept throwing rotten vegetable leaves and small stones at the queen's body...

The King of Qin pursed his lips: "She sacrificed her own life and Xin'er's to buy us time to escape..."

He had no feelings for this sister who was not born of the same mother, so even though he had been in the Western Rong Kingdom for so long, he had never met Princess Taiping in private.

In that instant, he suddenly felt a pang of regret, regretting that he had never had a proper conversation with this woman.

Cheng Wanwan looked at the gradually brightening sky and said in a hoarse voice, "The only thing we can do is avenge her."

If she hadn't been on good terms with Princess Taiping, and if it weren't for facilitating their escape, would Princess Taiping have taken this path?

Perhaps Princess Taiping wouldn't have been very happy alive, but at least she was alive, and as long as she was alive, there was hope...

At this moment, Cheng Yi came in and reported: "The Western Rong pursuers have left the city; we should not stay here any longer!"

He Xiao made a decisive decision: "Retreat according to the original plan!"

More than a hundred people quickly walked out of the cave, circled around from the west to the south, and then headed east... After walking east for a day or two, they would reach the border between the Western Rong and the Great Yu Kingdom, at which point they would be safe.

No matter how meticulous the plan, it cannot prevent changes.

Because of the incident involving the King of Xirong, the royal family issued an edict that anyone who could take the head of a person from Dayu Kingdom would be immediately rewarded with a thousand taels of silver. If the head of an official or a prince could be taken, the official would be directly appointed. If Lady Sui was captured alive, she would be exceptionally appointed as a king of a different surname!

The Western Rong cavalry acted like madmen, launching a city-wide manhunt before any orders were given.

The pursuers came from all directions. After leaving the forest, the sound of galloping hooves could be heard at any time, clattering like a death knell.

"Your Highness, Lady Sui, you go first!" He Xiao stopped, his face serious. "Keep heading east, and don't look back!"

King Qin, holding his musket, sneered, "I'm going to teach these bastards a lesson. Lady Sui, you may leave now!"

Cheng Wanwan was protected in the middle by Gu Bing and Gu Leng, with Cheng Yi and Cheng Ding protecting her on the outside, and many guards surrounding her. She was treated as a key person to be protected.

Hearing the approaching hoofbeats, she asked, "About how many pursuers are there?"

He Xiao's ears twitched, and he said, "At least five hundred cavalry."

“We’re running out of gunpowder.” Shen Dongming took out the booklet from his pocket. “These are the records of workers and peasants from Asab and Xirong. The Great Yu Kingdom can learn from them. Please ask Lady Sui to take them back to the Great Yu Kingdom.”

He drew his long sword from his waist, holding it with an unorthodox motion, and looked resolutely in the direction from which the Western Rong cavalry were approaching.

Ministers such as Lord Bi and Lord Yang also took out their treasured items and handed them to Cheng Wanwan, then picked up their weapons and stood at the forefront.

There are plenty of courtiers like them in the Great Yu Kingdom, but there is only one extraordinary woman like Lady Sui.

Lady Sui cannot die; she must return to the Great Yu Kingdom alive...

Cheng Wanwan's eyes felt hot.

Princess Taiping has already died for them; she cannot let any more people die before her eyes.

She said, "We all must return unharmed. He Xiao, come here!"

She slipped her left hand into the sleeve of her right hand.

Upon seeing her action, He Xiao's eyes lit up immediately.

Every time my cousin does this, it means she has a backup plan.

My cousin's tricks are often unexpected and shocking.

“These are bombs that were made at the same time as the muskets.” She pulled out a bunch of round, black things. “I didn’t take them out because I thought I wouldn’t need them, but now it’s time to show you the power of these things.”

Bombs are many times more lethal than firearms; one can kill or injure countless people. She doesn't want to use them unless absolutely necessary.

But is there still a choice now?

She placed the bomb in He Xiao's hand: "Just bite off the fuse and throw it in the direction where there are many people."

The King of Qin's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked one up and examined it in his hand: "There's even more gunpowder inside. If you throw one out, at least ten bastards will die."

As they spoke, the Western Rong cavalry had already come into view.

They rode large horses, their hooves pounding through the snowmelt, splashing yellow mud, and exuding a menacing aura.

This time, the Western Rong cavalry were clearly prepared, each carrying a shield to defend against musket fire.

The King of Qin smiled, bit off the fuse, and threw it out fiercely.

The black object, sparking with sparks, landed among the cavalry. Before the Western Rong people could react, there was a loud bang.

The yellow snow and mud were blown apart, and more than a dozen cavalrymen fell off their horses. More than a dozen horses were startled and ran away in all directions, creating chaos in an instant.

He Xiao and the King of Qin, along with twenty guards, were responsible for throwing bombs, while another fifty or sixty guards were responsible for shooting lone Western Rong soldiers with muskets. Shen Dongming and a group of ministers, armed with weapons, went forward to finish off those who fell off their horses. Another thirty or forty guards were responsible for capturing the warhorses that were running away. If they were to walk back to the Great Yu Kingdom, it would take two days, but with horses, it would be much faster.

With the coordinated efforts of over a hundred people, the five hundred pursuers were either killed, wounded, or fled...

A total of 146 uninjured warhorses were captured, which was barely enough.

"Let's get out of here before the next wave of pursuers arrives!"

At He Xiao's command, everyone mounted their horses. There weren't enough horses, so guards led the ministers in pairs, and they galloped eastward.

They had just mounted their horses when the sound of hooves rang out behind them once more.

Cheng Wanwan sat on the horse's back and threw out a few smoke bombs without hesitation. The smoke affected her vision, and the sound of hooves behind her gradually weakened.

They dared not linger, and even when they were tired, hungry, or thirsty, they did not stop, but ran all the way to the border between the Western Rong Kingdom and the Great Yu Kingdom.

With 350,000 soldiers from the Great Yu Kingdom pressing in, and 300,000 cavalry from the Western Rong stationed along the entire front line, crossing it would not be easy.

Fortunately, they had already communicated secretly. After Cheng Wanwan set off the fireworks, a small skirmish suddenly broke out on the northern border, and thousands of soldiers from both countries stationed at the front lines suddenly started fighting...

With the two sides engaged in battle and their rear vulnerable, He Xiao seized the opportunity to lead his group to abandon their horses and walk through the depths of the dense forest, crossing the border.

After walking for about half an hour, we finally arrived at the garrison at the forefront of the Great Yu Kingdom.

The moment the fireworks signal lit up, the General of the Cavalry sent men to the entrance to greet them.

A large group of people stood there, craning their necks to wait.

As soon as Cheng Wanwan emerged from the dense forest, she saw many familiar figures.

It wasn't surprising that San Niu was there, but it was even more unexpected that Si Dan was there too. What surprised her even more was that Da Shan and Er Gou were there as well, along with Zhao Youyin, Zhao Youcai, Da Wang, Er Wang, Zhang Dagang, Zhao Tiezhu, Zhao Shagen... and many, many familiar faces from Dahe Town... and students from Xiao Qin University...