Chapter 103 Night Attack

"Idiot! Waste!"

In the Xiqi military camp, the angry shouts of Xiqi King Motuo were heard from the big tent.

"You can't even defeat a group of women soldiers. You've brought shame upon Xiqi! And you keep saying, 'Xiqi warriors, the king will surely win!' You're all just a bunch of idiots. The moment you encounter a setback, you just want to run away!"

With a snap, King Xiqi grabbed the wine glass on the table and threw it hard to the ground. The generals kneeling in the tent were silent as a mouse, not daring to make a sound.

"Ah! Be gentle!" King Xiqi cried out in pain. He looked down at the military doctor bandaging his leg wound and angrily asked, "Are you trying to kill me?"

The military doctor apologized repeatedly, and his hands were shaking as he applied the medicine.

King Xiqi's leg was hit by a musket, and the bullet penetrated into the flesh. He could only use a knife to dig it out and then apply medicine and bandage it.

The other generals, noticing the change in King Xiqi's anger, spoke cautiously, "Your Majesty, this can't be entirely our fault. Who would have thought that the firearms of those women soldiers would be so powerful that even their silver helmets and armor couldn't withstand them?"

"Who says it isn't true? If they didn't have artillery, we would have already stormed into Yuzhou City and captured Princess Fuguang and brought her to the king's tent!"

"Your Majesty, why don't we withdraw our troops? The weather will get colder in a month or so, and the soldiers won't be able to withstand it. We won't gain anything by continuing to fight Princess Fuguang."

King Xiqi was still angry, but war was a very realistic thing. Winning was winning, losing was losing. There was no point in being tough. Fighting head-on would only result in greater losses.

But he lost so many men and wasted so much money and food without getting anything, so he ran back to Xiqi in disgrace. Those royal nobles would definitely make trouble for him, and he was afraid that his position as king would be in jeopardy.

"Since the Yuzhou soldiers' artillery is so powerful, shouldn't we just find a way to avoid their artillery?"

Seeing that King Xiqi still refused to give up, the generals had to think hard about how to attack the city.

Someone suggested, "Why don't we dig a tunnel into the city? We can't fire the artillery at the city!"

King Xiqi thought about it and felt that this was a very good idea. When the time comes, they can enter the city through the tunnel and open the city gate. The army outside the city will be able to rush into Yuzhou and capture Princess Fuguang!

"Great! Once we reach Yuzhou City, these women soldiers will have to cry out in surrender. Then we'll assign these women to your tents for your enjoyment."

As King Xiqi spoke, a greedy smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

The other generals laughed and responded, and their lustful desires gave them the courage to fight again.

At this moment, gunshots suddenly rang out from outside the tent. A soldier rushed into the tent and shouted, "Oh no, my king! The Yuzhou soldiers are attacking us at night!"

The King of Xiqi was shocked and quickly asked his personal soldiers to help him out of the tent. When he looked up, he saw flashes of fire in the darkness. Dozens of tents were set on fire by artillery fire. There were shouts of killing everywhere. The Xiqi soldiers fled in panic and confusion.

He couldn't help but get furious, "What are you afraid of? Kill them back!"

There was a loud bang, and the shells came over and exploded in front of him, and dozens of soldiers fell to the ground and died.

King Xiqi was so frightened that his soul flew away. How come the soldiers from Yuzhou even brought artillery here?

He panicked and shouted, "Quick! Retreat!"

Unfortunately, his leg was injured and he had difficulty moving, so he had to let his personal guards carry him onto a horse and escort him on horseback to break out.

Seeing that the Yuzhou soldiers were coming in full force, the other generals knew that something was wrong, so they also led their cavalry to follow closely and rode their horses to break out and escape to the northwest.

The fire in the Xiqi camp became more and more intense, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day. The Xiqi King Motuo lay on his horse, only to hear the gunshots getting closer and closer behind him. Looking back, he saw arrows and guns falling like rain, and the cavalrymen fell off their horses one by one, with screams ringing in his ears.

He was so panicked that he kept urging his personal guards to drive their horses faster, but he didn't expect that the personal guards actually reined in their horses and refused to move forward.

King Xiqi glared at him fiercely, "What are you doing?"

The guards' eyes widened, and they pointed ahead in panic, "Your Majesty, look ahead! It's the Golden Crow Guards! We're surrounded!"

King Xiqi quickly turned around and saw a group of soldiers suddenly appear in front of them, rushing towards them and encircling them.

Everyone could see clearly the fierce flames reflected from the heavy silver armor of the leading general, and the fiery red cloak fluttering rapidly as he galloped.

There was a look of horror in the eyes of King Xiqi. It was Zhao Yuzhang, the commander of the Jinwu Guard!

The officers and soldiers of Xiqi screamed in unison, and the King of Xiqi shouted, "Turn around and run! Quick!"

However, it was too late.

It seemed as if Zhao Yuzhang had already anticipated that they would break out in this direction, and he had laid an ambush early on, dividing and encircling them from the front and back, and annihilating them one by one.

Xiqi soldiers were constantly being chopped off their horses, and the situation soon became clear.

King Xiqi wanted to run again, but Zhao Yuzhang chopped him off his horse with a blow. The rest of the soldiers immediately surrounded him and hacked at him. Soon, Medog was killed.

Everyone cheered in unison, "King Xiqi is dead!"

Upon hearing this, the Xiqi soldiers became even more panicked and confused. They abandoned their baggage and tents and fled to the northwest. Those who did not have time to escape were all killed by the Jinwu Guards.

This was the first defeat that Xiqi had suffered since attacking Dayong. The King of Xiqi even died on the battlefield, and the morale of the Xiqi army was in great chaos.

You have to know that Xiqi didn't have a system of primogeniture; the throne was established by the royal family, nobles, and important ministers and generals. The King of Xiqi had three daughters and four sons, so it's conceivable that after his death, these people would fight fiercely for the throne, and they wouldn't have the energy to attack Darong for at least several years.

Zhao Yuzhang led his troops to check the camp of the Xiqi army, and then came to the captured Xiqi soldiers. In addition to men, there were also women and children.

"Kill the men, leave the women and children behind, and bring them back to the city!"

"Yes." The soldier stepped forward and pulled the man out of captivity.

The screams of men and the cries of women immediately exploded in the crowd, "No! Don't kill him, he's my husband!"

"No, he is our enemy." Zhao Yuzhang said coldly, then strode away without looking back.

After a night of fighting, the red sun had risen in the sky unknowingly.

Zhao Yuzhang led his troops back to Yuzhou City, facing the rising sun. Zhao Mingyue, who had received the news, had already led Zhu Dafeng and other soldiers to greet them outside the city. The city was in jubilation, and the people spontaneously poured into the streets, cheering and throwing flowers in celebration.

"Great! The Xiqi soldiers have been driven away!"

"I came from Tangzhou. My family was killed by the Xiqi people. God bless me, I finally got my revenge!"

"It's not God's blessing, it's Princess Fuguang's mercy, General Zhao's might, and the bravery of the women's army!"

"Yes! Yes! The women of Yuzhou are all capable of surpassing all others. They are capable of managing households, making decisions, and fighting on the battlefield!"

"If the army didn't want me, I would have joined the army to fight Xiqi!"

"Look, they're coming!"

The people stopped talking and looked towards the city gate. They saw teams of soldiers walking into the city from afar, with the Golden Crow and Red Phoenix military flags in front of them. Princess Fuguang and Zhao Yuzhang rode side by side, leading the way. They immediately cheered in unison, lined the streets to welcome them, and threw flowers in their hands to them.

Zhao Mingyue reached out and brushed away the petals that had fallen on Zhao Yuzhang's armor. She smiled and said, "Aunt, your great victory over Xiqi has finally fulfilled your long-cherished wish. From now on, you will surely become famous throughout the world and be recorded in history!"

Zhao Yuzhang looked at Zhao Mingyue's sincere eyes, and his heart was touched. His cold face softened a little, and he said in a gentle voice: "Mingyue, if you hadn't rescued me from the princess's mansion, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today."

After saying this, both of them laughed. They, the aunt and niece, had been together until today, and they understood each other's aspirations. Everything was self-evident.

That night, Zhao Mingyue held a grand banquet to celebrate the victory and reward the generals and soldiers. The people in the city also hung lanterns and decorations to celebrate the victory.

After the banquet, Zhao Mingyue looked at the lonely crescent moon in the sky and suddenly thought of Chi Li who was far away in the capital.

If my mother knew the news of victory in the war, she would be very happy, right?

He then thought of writing a memorial to report the victory to the court and reporting his military achievements to the Ministry of War, and he came up with the idea of taking the opportunity to pay homage to the court.

She immediately went back to her room and wrote a letter, intending to send it to the court along with the victory news.

I wrote the last words on the letter to ask how my mother was doing.

————

Ever since Zhao Yuzhang led his troops to defeat Xiqi, the women in Yuzhou City have started to enthusiastically join the army.

"Sir, I heard that if you join the Golden Crow Guard, you have to learn to read and write, right?"

Liu Cui, a merchant who ran a silk shop in the city, also had this idea. When she saw Liu Ruqian, an assistant officer of the Ministry of Household Affairs, coming to the shop to buy cloth, she hurriedly invited her to the inner room, served her tea, and asked her about it.

Liu Ruqian glanced at her and said affirmatively, "Of course! The Golden Crow Guards are the best of the best. Every soldier is trained to be a general. They must know everything about military tactics, formations, and firearms. How can you be illiterate?"

She remembered this person. When she was ordered to check the household registration in the city and implement the household registration reform, this person was particularly supportive.

Upon asking, I found out that Liu Cui was the only daughter in her family, so she inherited the shop and found a man for her to marry. They had two daughters, the older one was eighteen and the younger one was sixteen.

She was worried that after her father died, the shop would fall into the hands of a man and her two daughters would be married to him, but the government did not allow divorce without reason.

Therefore, when she heard Liu Ruqian coming to her house to persuade her to change the household name, she immediately agreed and changed the household name to her own name - after all, her father was too old to take care of things, and all the farms and shops were under her name.

As for her two daughters, the elder one would naturally stay in the store to take care of the business, but the younger one was a troublemaker and had no business skills at all, so she thought of sending her to the army. If she became a general in a promising way, no one would dare to ruin her family's business.

Hearing Liu Ruqian's answer, she immediately smiled and said, "That's great."

Before she could ask a few more questions, her husband suddenly came out of the house and asked her, "Sister, would you like to stay here for lunch? I'll make an extra portion later."

Liu Cui was immediately furious and glared at the man, "How dare you interrupt us women when we're talking? How many times do you need me to teach you how to cook?"

The man was immediately filled with shame and anger. He threw down the curtain and retreated back into the house.

Liu Cui turned back and said with a forced smile, "He's just an ignorant fool with no vision. My lord, please ignore him. If you're hungry, I'll have my servants go get some wine and food."

Liu Ruqian quickly waved her hand, stood up and said, "No need for dinner, I have errands to run later."

Liu Cui quickly stood up to see him off, and then gave two rolls of luxurious silk to the servants, ordering them to "Hurry and send them to Lord Liu's residence!"

He turned and smiled at Liu Ruqian, saying, "If you need any fabric in the future, just send someone to tell me and I'll personally bring it over for you to choose."

Liu Ruqian used to be a singer and a fashion icon, and even when she arrived at the prince's mansion, she had to live by the eyes of others. She never thought that one day she would be fawned over and flattered by others.

She was so happy that she couldn't help but say a few more words to Liu Cui, "Your daughter wants to join the Golden Crow Guard. I can ask for you. As for whether she can get in, it depends on her luck."

Liu Cui was naturally delighted when she heard her words, "Thank you, sir."

After seeing Liu Ruqian off, Liu Cui returned to the store. Thinking of the measures taken by Princess Fuguang after she took office as the governor of Yuzhou, she felt that she and her two daughters had hope for the future.

I really hope Princess Fuguang can stay in Yuzhou forever!

She prayed this in her heart.