Chapter 137 Fight to the Death and Never Retreat
The arrow grazed Lin Changning's cheek. Lin Changning raised her eyebrows and looked at the young general opposite her who had drawn his bow to shoot at her. She then retaliated with an arrow of her own.
The third Tatar prince dodged the arrow, but a bloody gash appeared on his shoulder. He looked down at the burning wound and chuckled, "Interesting."
After saying that, he looked at Lin Changning, who was sitting on Mo Yun's back, and swiped his thumb across his neck, then gave the third prince of Tatars the middle finger.
The third prince didn't understand the meaning, but he knew it wasn't a friendly gesture. He couldn't help but sneer, a hint of displeasure flashing across his bronze face. His voice was cold: "Very good. When we conquer Daxing, we'll use this man's head as a sacrifice for our flag."
After saying this, he led his army back to the camp.
With the Tartars withdrawing, the soldiers of Qi Rong and Da Xing breathed a sigh of relief. The battle had lasted for several hours, and both the Tartar army and the Da Xing soldiers were exhausted.
As the smoke of battle slowly dissipated, the dawn broke through the clouds, illuminating everyone's tired but joyful faces. The army retreated into the city in an orderly fashion. Among the troops were many wounded men; those with minor injuries helped the seriously wounded, while those too badly injured to walk were placed on makeshift stretchers and carried into the city.
Lin Changning rode a tall horse at the back of the column, his shoulder and back wounds throbbing. Although he had been very careful, it was inevitable to get injured on the battlefield. When he was fighting, his adrenaline surged and he didn't feel the pain in his wounds, but once he stopped, the pain would sweep over his body.
Upon entering the city, familiar scenery came into view, and Lin Changning finally breathed a sigh of relief. Qi Rong was sitting shirtless in an open space in the city, bandaging his wounds. He had two deep wounds on his left shoulder and chest. Lin Changning noticed that Qi Rong also had some small cuts of varying depths on his back.
The military doctor was stitching up Qi Rong with needles and thread that had been heated with alcohol. Qi Rong looked up and was shocked to see Lin Changning's hair dripping with blood: "Sixth Brother? Where are you hurt? Why is there so much blood?"
Lin Changning dismounted, which aggravated the wound on his body, causing him to wince in pain: "It's a minor injury. The blood is from the Tartars killing many people, so it got splattered on me."
Qi Rong breathed a sigh of relief: "The army doctor is here. Take off your clothes and let him take a look at you."
Lin Changning waved his hand: "Me? No need, it's just a minor injury. Shilang left me some commonly used medicine powder, which works quite well. There's no need to trouble the military doctor. You can treat it for someone else. I won't waste resources."
Qi Rong remembered that Lin Changning had a doctor with him who was also in the army. His cousin, who was also in the army, usually treated him. Qi Rong thought that the doctor was quite good at treating Lin Changning's injuries, so he stopped trying to persuade him. After all, time was life. Liu Lang was considerate of his subordinates and was willing to give up the army doctor to treat others, which was equivalent to saving lives.
Old Ma sat on the other side of the stool, and another military doctor was stitching up his wound. Old Ma was screaming in pain. His two sons hadn't left this time either, and they both had some injuries.
Old Zhou, who was guarding the city, was not injured, but he was startled when he saw Lin Changning, who was almost covered in blood.
"Oh dear, Changping? Where are you hurt? Quickly, let someone take a look at you. Look how pale you are."
Lin Changning sighed: "I'm fine. I'll go home and wash up first, then apply the medicine powder and come back. My body feels sticky."
After saying that, he was about to leave when Zhang Bo was dragged down from the city wall. The guard glared at Zhang Bo and pulled him to Qi Rong's side: "Your Highness, he tried to escape, but we just caught him!"
It is a grave taboo for a general to retreat without a fight. Qi Rong stared at the outwardly fierce but inwardly weak Zhang Bo, and the killing intent in his heart was hard to suppress.
Zhang Bo glared at Qi Rong and roared, "I am the commander! I am the commander personally appointed by the imperial court! What right do you have to imprison me?! What right do you have?! Who gave you this authority?! Qi Rong, you are really something, imprisoning the commander on the front lines! Do you know that this is insubordination?! It's a capital offense!"
Qi Rong scoffed and didn't reply. Seeing Qi Rong's silence, Zhang Bo became even more emboldened: "If you know what's good for you, arrange for a thousand cavalry to escort me to join the main army. That way, I can also bring reinforcements to Daxing. We have no food, no soldiers, and so many Tartars outside! Qi Rong, you want to die here, but I don't!"
The men of Daxing stared at the roaring Zhang Bo, and the scene fell silent instantly. Lin Changning, pulling Mo Yun along, slowly retreated, then sneered at Zhang Bo: "Someone like you, you call yourself a human being? Incompetent in military affairs, a coward as a mouse. Daxing can't win, but why can't Daxing win? Who tampered with the supplies? Why did Yongning bury nearly half of Daxing's fine men? Zhang Bo! Tell me!"
Zhang Bo's face was pale as he cursed loudly: "Who do you think you are, daring to point at me and speak to me? Believe me, I can dismiss you from your position as commander right now!"
Lin Changning took a deep breath and said loudly, "Daxing cannot be saved, as everyone knows. The reason we are still here is because our families and fellow villagers have not yet left!"
The imperial court withheld supplies and sent an incompetent general who betrayed my Daxing soldiers. But we are not guarding the border solely for the court. How many of you are from Daxing? How many of your families are behind Daxing? If the Tartars invade, I'm sure you all know the consequences.
Who are you fighting for? We are fighting for our families behind us! We are fighting for our parents and fellow villagers! The reason we are still here is because our loved ones haven't all been evacuated yet.
Lin Changning closed his eyes, drew his waist knife, and chopped off Zhang Bo's head. Blood spurted out, and Zhang Bo stared wide-eyed in resentment, seemingly not understanding why his perspective had suddenly changed.
Lin Changning raised her long sword high, pointing it towards the sky. The setting sun shone on the young woman, its orange-yellow light seemingly gilding her. Her thunderous voice echoed in the hearts of the soldiers:
"Those who desert before battle! Kill! Those who undermine morale! Kill! For the sake of Daxing! Fight to the death! Never retreat!"
Old Ma and Old Zhou suddenly stood up and straightened their backs, seemingly not expecting that this kid would actually kill Zhang Bo in front of so many people on the battlefield. Killing a general on the battlefield, especially one's own superior, is a capital offense!
After the initial surprise, upon hearing Lin Changning's shout, Old Ma suddenly felt a surge of heroic spirit about to burst forth from his chest. He exchanged a glance with Old Zhou, then burst into laughter, immediately drawing his sword and roaring, "For Daxing! Fight to the death! We will not retreat!"
Qi Rong stared at Lin Changning, who was raising his long sword high, his eyes suddenly flashing with light. He immediately drew his sword and raised it high: "For Daxing! Fight to the death! Never retreat!"
Three thousand longswords were drawn and pointed to the sky, like silver dragons breaking through the mist and lightning shattering the darkness. The clear sound of the swords being drawn, along with the voices of the soldiers, pierced the clouds.
"For Daxing! Fight to the death! Never retreat!"
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