Chapter 203
While recuperating from his injuries, Pan Buyi had been following the battle in Houcheng closely. But the more he watched, the more confused he became. Strangely enough, he admitted that Zhou Yushu was an exceptional commander at his age, but he himself wasn't far behind. Even if he couldn't be considered superior, he was certainly on par.
However, these two people with similar abilities, one leading the army in front and the other behind, had completely different results when the two armies fought.
Wang Lang seemed rather flustered when facing Zhou Yushu's tactics, a stark contrast to his previous composure, where he always seemed to anticipate his next move. This was a source of deep frustration. Lord Yao had said something was amiss with Wang Lang, and it was indeed the case.
After another great defeat, the soldiers who were still in good condition were cleaning up the mess, which actually meant recycling usable weapons and carrying their injured comrades back for treatment. In fact, it didn't matter whether they were treated or not. The level of military doctors here was much lower than that of Houcheng. Even after the injured soldiers received medical treatment, the mortality rate was still very high. I heard that Houcheng had a military medical team, headed by Doctor Ba, and the other members of the medical team were also very good doctors. The injured soldiers there not only received good treatment, but the post-treatment care was also said to be very good, allowing the injured to recover as soon as possible. It sounded very enviable, and countless soldiers secretly thought in their hearts.
Wang Lang faced the devastated battlefield, feeling dejected. He had suffered a crushing defeat. He had led an army of 300,000 men against a garrison of 100,000 men from Youzhou, only to be defeated again and again. Now he had only 80,000 or 90,000 soldiers left, each one dejected and listless, their morale completely shattered.
In reality, the imperial army led by Wang Lang was attacking Youzhou on an away field, and thus had many advantages over the soldiers fighting at home. For example, the soldiers of the Yichun Legion were well cared for after being injured. Furthermore, Yichun had a strong medical team headed by Ba Yuan, and their supply of medicinal materials was more abundant than Wang Lang's side. This alone significantly outperformed the imperial army.
In general, Wang Lang's army had no advantages in terms of military quality, away games, or leading generals, so it was no surprise that they failed. But Wang Lang didn't think so. His eyes were red and crazy, like a gambler who had lost everything!
Compared to the heavy atmosphere on Wang Lang's side, the atmosphere in Houcheng military camp was much more relaxed.
They reasoned that it would not be long before they would achieve complete victory.
The imperial court's 140,000-man army was reduced to only 80,000 or 90,000 men as battle after battle wore them out. This was especially true after the change of generals in Youzhou, who suffered a series of defeats and the enemy's morale was low. When more than half of the troops had been lost, the soldiers' psychological defenses were breached, and the army generally collapsed.
Now, they are at the breaking point.
"Be careful of the other party's desperate actions!" Yao Chunnuan warned. Wang Lang was a man with a strong gambling nature and would not sit still and wait for death.
Wang Lang had already driven himself to the brink of extinction. Returning to the capital, the new emperor would likely only give him a cup of poisoned wine. Someone must be held accountable for the sacrifice of 300,000 soldiers and the failure of this war. The new emperor could not be at fault; the only ones at fault were his ministers, and even incompetence was a fault.
She always felt that Wang Lang would do something big, especially after hearing the news from the Intelligence Department, this premonition became even stronger.
The latest news from the Intelligence Department is that the new emperor issued a series of secret decrees, asking Wang Lang to take back the remaining tens of thousands of soldiers, but obviously, Wang Lang did not listen.
Sometimes Yao Chunnuan had to admire the new emperor's judgment of the general situation. He was far away in the capital and issued this secret decree when the defeat of the imperial army was just beginning to become apparent.
Some of the generals present noticed that the imperial army was running out of food and fodder, but their spies, lying in ambush along the way, reported that the imperial army's supplies had not yet arrived. Was this a direct result of a food shortage?
"These tens of thousands of soldiers just gave up like that. The new emperor is truly ruthless!"
Simply not providing food and fodder, what else could that be but giving up? They did not know that the new emperor simply wanted to force Wang Lang to take back the remaining tens of thousands of soldiers.
"Can we take advantage of this?"
"Let's use it in the next battle. This news will surely be a huge blow to the imperial army, breaking the enemy's psychological defenses in one fell swoop."
"good!"
Criminal Court
Ever since she learned that her sister-in-law Huo Wei was pregnant, Xing Xingyue has often returned to her parents' home and given her family gifts such as food and cloth from time to time.
Xing Xingyue didn't know that after Huo Wei became pregnant, the people around her strictly guarded what she ate and what she wore, fearing it would harm the unborn child. Everything she sent home, whether it was food or clothing, was put away.
That day, she sent some processed cloth home again. After making sure that the cloth had entered Huo Wei's yard, she found that her mother was entertaining Yao Chunnuan's daughter. She hated Yao Chunnuan and hated Yao Xiaoxi as well, so she didn't want to go and make herself unhappy. Since she was in a good mood, she simply started to stroll around her own garden.
On this side, Huo Wei's cousin Fang Yunzhi had just led Xing's mother away, sent away the people around her, and then stood outside to keep watch as if nothing had happened.
At this time, only Yao Xiaoxi and another doll were left playing house in the entire garden.
While little Yao Xi was playing, she discovered that two strange uncles appeared quietly in front of her and her little brother.
The two robbers who were ordered to rob people stared at the two children in front of them. They looked too similar. Both were over one year old and three heads tall. Their big, identical eyes were looking at them quietly. Both had red lips and white teeth, two small pigtails, and wore similar clothes. Which one was their target?
"Which one should we tie up?" asked the tall and big man.
"Look at me." The short, thin man said, then cleared his throat and asked, "Which one of you is Little Yao Xi?"
The two children looked at each other.
The two asked in a baby voice, "Uncle, what do you want to talk to little Yao Xi about?"
"Tell me quickly, who among you is Yao Xi?"
Both kids kept silent.
"Are these two children stupid? Can't they understand what we are saying?"
"Forget it, forget it. He's only a little over a year old and less than two years old. It's good enough that he can call people."
"You're so stupid, look who looks like the master!"
They looked carefully, but still couldn't tell the difference.
The tall man was very anxious. They didn't have much time. "We can't tell them apart. Let's just arrest them both!"
The short and thin man disagreed, "It's hard to take one out safely, and you want to catch two?"
"Okay, okay, then which one do you want to catch?"
The two of them discussed the matter as if no one was around while the two children were following them.
The two children held hands and listened to the kidnappers discussing in front of them.
Little Yaoxi blinked in confusion. Did these two uncles think that she and her little brother were stupid? But she wasn't stupid, and neither was her little brother. They were both very smart. It was the two kidnappers who were really stupid. Because they understood that these two were bad guys who were out to get Xiaoxi!
At this moment, Xiao Yaoxi heard the little brother beside her suddenly hold her hand tightly and say, "Xiaoyu, I'm afraid..."
"Haha! I get it! Catch the kid on the right. This kid let it slip that the one on the left is Xiaoyu, so she must be Yao Xi!"
Little Yao Xi blinked her eyes. She wanted to speak, but the little brother held her hand so tightly.
"Skinny monkey, you're really smart. Hurry up, catch them and run away!"
Then little Yao Xi saw her little brother being taken away with his mouth tied and held under his armpit by the bad uncle. She wanted to follow him, but the little brother shook his head at her.
Xing Xingyue, who was strolling in the garden, happened to come here and ran into the two kidnappers.
Before she could finish her sentence, she was stabbed in the neck!
"Don't kill me! I'm the general's sister—"
、
"Don't kill her!" Fang Yunzhi also stopped him.
The kidnapper gave her a sidelong look and said, "You're so long-winded!"
The woman witnessed this scene, and the best way to deal with it was of course to silence her. They still wanted to get away safely.
Xing Xingyue never expected that his life would end in this way.
Fang Yunzhi was extremely angry, but could only shut up unwillingly. She knew very well that Xing Xingyue was a drag on Xing Changfeng and Yao Chunnuan, and getting rid of her would only help them. But it was a pity that these two people didn't listen to her!
After the kidnappers left, a whistle sounded in the criminal residence.
When in danger, she was supposed to blow the small golden whistle hanging around her neck and then throw it away. She blew it and threw away the whistle. She listened to her mother, but her little brother was still captured.
Huo Wei was alarmed by little Yaoxi's condition.
"Xiaoxi is fine, but the little brother was arrested."
Yao Xiaoxi was so upset that she was crying. When the two kidnappers said they wanted to take one of her away, she wanted to claim that she was Xiaoxi's, but her brother wouldn't let her.
"Woo woo, it's all Xiaoxi's fault. If Xiaoxi hadn't insisted on coming to see Grandma Xing, little brother wouldn't have been captured by the bad guys."
The little brother that little Yao Xi was referring to was actually Qi Yingshan’s nephew.
Like the Yao family, after the Qi family established themselves in Yichun, many relatives heard about it and traveled long distances to join them. This child was also a pitiful one. His father was in poor health. After protecting his pregnant wife all the way to Yichun, he became terminally ill and passed away.
Later, after giving birth, his mother suffered a heavy hemorrhage and passed away. When Qi Yingshan learned about this, he took the child home and hired a wet nurse to take care of him. Pingtan's parents also helped to look after him. They raised him like this until he was over a year old.
"Auntie Wei, the person they wanted to capture was Xiaoxi. They took little brother away thinking he was Xiaoxi."
"Investigate, you must investigate!" Huo Wei broke out in a cold sweat. If Yao Chunnuan's daughter was robbed in the Xing Mansion, she couldn't even imagine the consequences. It would be a disaster!
Xing's mother was also scared half to death. She had been away for such a short while and this happened. She couldn't help but look at Fang Yunzhi with suspicion. It was she who came to tell her that her daughter-in-law had a stomachache, which was why she left in a hurry.
At this moment, Fang Yunzhi was cursing in her heart, how could Wang Lang's men do things? God knows, after she had gone to great lengths to send the kidnappers away, when she came back and saw Yao Xi was still there, she wanted to faint.
If Huo Wei wanted to investigate, those dirty deeds would be exposed. Furthermore, Fang Yunzhi was already a suspect. This investigation would lead to her being found.
Huo Wei was so angry that she slapped Fang Yunzhi. "You traitor! Tell me, why did you do this?!"
"Cousin, you misunderstood."
"Don't talk about other things!"
"You really misunderstood."
"Humph, you know clearly whether there's a misunderstanding or not!" Who are you trying to fool? "You don't admit it, right? You don't want to explain, right? I've already had someone notify Yao Chunnuan. I'll hand you over to her later. Then you can go explain to her!"
"No, cousin, you can't do this! My mother..."
"No, I can! Are you trying to use your mother, my aunt, to pressure me? I will explain this to my aunt. If I can't explain it clearly, there's still my father." Huo Wei said coldly and ruthlessly.
She didn't even think about the fact that if Yao Chunnuan's daughter was really kidnapped with her instigation, even if all the hard work of the Huo family didn't go to waste, she would have destroyed it. Why should she still consider her?
Fang Yunzhi lowered her head. Of course she had a reason for doing this, but how could she explain it?
In recent years, some bizarre scenes often appeared in her mind, including skyscrapers, things called cars, airplanes that could fly into the sky, and so on.
It was not until all her memories were awakened that she realized her identity. She was not Fang Yunzhi, or rather, not just Fang Yunzhi, she was also Wang Xiaoying from the future!
When the truck rushed towards Yao Chunnuan, she and Wei Qiuyu were held back by Yao Chunnuan. Yao Chunnuan and Wei Qiuyu faced the truck head-on and died instantly, but she was blocked by the truck, which absorbed some of the force. She was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, but she never died, nor did she wake up. She became a vegetable, suffering miserably. Her family also suffered miserably.
Because of the car accident, she and Wei Qiuyu were held back by Yao Chunnuan.
Her family and the Wei family sued Yao Chunnuan's family, and her grandmother responded to the lawsuit.
Yao Chunnuan's grandmother was very stubborn and directly used Yao Chunnuan's inheritance to sue them.
The surveillance footage clearly reconstructed the facts of that day. When the judge heard the case, he sentenced each of them to fifty lashes. After comprehensive consideration, he concluded that all three parties were at fault. If she and Wei Qiuyu hadn't blocked Yao Chunnuan on the side of the road, refusing to let her leave, even clinging to her when danger was imminent, the other party wouldn't have grabbed them when they were unable to escape. While the other party was wrong to hold them together, there were reasons for it, and Yao Chunnuan was dead, so the debt was settled.
Although Wang Xiaoying became a vegetable, she was still alive. The judge only recommended that Yao Chunnuan's grandmother pay 10,000 yuan in humanitarian compensation.
Wang Xiaoying hated this result very much.
Her family wasn't particularly wealthy, just a well-off one. Raising a patient like her, who was half-dead, naturally created a growing conflict. Watching all this, Wang Xiaoying felt deeply distressed.
Finally, one day, she died. She thought she was finally free. Unexpectedly, she traveled through time. Unfortunately, she had been in a coma due to her previous vegetative state. By the time she recalled all her memories of the afterlife, Yao Chunnuan had already become powerful, and Wei Qiuyu had been rendered mute by her. Later, she died in a family fight in the backyard.
Seeing Yao Chunnuan in such a high position, she truly hated him. She hated God for being unfair. Why didn't he let her wake up sooner? Now that she was awake, she knew she couldn't defeat Yao Chunnuan. Her purpose in helping these villains was simple: to make Yao Chunnuan lose her daughter and make her suffer!
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