Following this voice, a tall figure rushed towards Cui Jing, hugged Cui Jing tightly, and patted Cui Jing's back heavily with his thick palm.
Hu the governor and others were terrified. If it had been a thinner person, he would have probably bleed to death.
Ah Dian quickly let go of Cui Jing and asked excitedly, "Xiao Jing, why are you here? Are you here to look for me and Xiao A Li?"
Cui Jing glanced in Chang Suining's direction, nodded, and said in a gentle voice: "Yes."
"Then you are late. Little A Li just led us to a great victory!" A Dian's eyes lit up and he said in a boastful tone.
"Yeah, I heard about it." Cui Jing praised him seriously: "Senior is very good."
Ah Dian's expression couldn't help but become more proud, but he was also very polite and considerate of other people's feelings: "Xiao Jing, you are also very good!"
He said to Cui Jing with a look that said, "You don't have to be disappointed," "If there is a next time, we will take you with us!"
He looked caring and said, "If there is another great opportunity, let's all be great together."
Cui Jing smiled: "Okay, thank you, senior."
Xiao Min and others couldn't help laughing.
Chang Suining asked, "How is Vice General Jin now?"
"Lieutenant General Jin is no longer bleeding!" Ah Dian said seriously, "The military doctor said that the knife almost stabbed his heart. Fortunately, the boat was shaking and unstable at the time, so the stab was a little off!"
Thinking of the traitor, he clenched his fist and said angrily: "It was the ship that helped. The man was bad, but the ship was good!"
He was not clear enough in his words, so Governor Hu added: "General Ningyuan, don't worry, Lieutenant General Jin's life is not in danger for the time being."
After that, Hu Lin suggested that after Lieutenant General Jin woke up, he could be sent to the Governor's Mansion in Bianzhou City for treatment so that a skilled doctor could be invited to use the most appropriate medicine.
Of course, this is not just a privilege given to Lieutenant General Jin alone. What Hu Lin meant was that all injured soldiers should go to Bianzhou for treatment and recuperation.
Governor Hu modestly stated that they had nothing else in Bianzhou City but some money.
After all, Bianzhou was a major grain producer and had no shortage of money and grain.
Thinking about how the military pay and rations allocated by the court had always been tight, and how every time he asked for them, he was always met with cold words and doubts from officials in the capital, Xiao Min almost shed tears of envy when he heard this.
Although he was moved, Coach Xiao still subconsciously looked at Chang Suining, waiting for her to make a decision.
Chang Suining asked implicitly, "Will it be too much trouble for Bianzhou?" After Hu Lin waved his hands repeatedly, he nodded happily and thanked him again and again.
It is certainly something to be happy about when someone takes care of your medicine and food.
Xiao Min also followed her to thank her.
Hu Lin sighed and said, "I, Hu, should thank the two generals and all the soldiers on behalf of the people of Bianzhou. It is because of you that Bianzhou was saved from this disaster."
Before he left the city, he instructed the remaining subordinates to defend Bianzhou City to the death, and also asked the people to prepare to escape through the rear gate.
Xu's army has no military discipline at all. Once they enter the city, they will burn, kill and loot. The soldiers have the duty to live and die with Bianzhou, but the people are innocent.
Now, the people of Bianzhou City no longer have to leave their homes and become homeless refugees, and he will have the opportunity to return home and hug his adorable little daughter again.
He is lucky.
However, those unfortunate soldiers were destined to never return home. Their heroic spirits could only remain on the Bian River forever.
The bodies were salvaged one after another, carried up and placed on the river bank. The sight was particularly shocking at first glance.
As the weather gets warmer, there is only one option left for burying so many bodies nearby.
Cui Jing asked his subordinates to help dig the soil, and He Wuhu and others also took the initiative to help, allowing the soldiers who were already exhausted to rest.
As He Wuhu was wielding his shovel and sweating profusely, Shepherd's Purse came over and asked him politely, "Our general asked me to ask if you have any wine on you? Can you lend some to our general?"
Drinking is not allowed during the march, and the army does not have any alcoholic beverages available.
"Yes!" He Wuhu immediately ordered his brothers to take all the wine jugs they brought, and gave She Cai a slightly flattering but sincere smile: "Here are all the wines that the brothers brought. Give them all to our General Ning Yuan!"
Hearing the purposeful words "filial piety" and the voice of "our General Ningyuan", She Cai looked him up and down, then picked up the two wine jugs and said, "That's enough, you can put away the rest!"
Shepherd's Purse ran to the river with the wine jug.
Chang Suining unscrewed the wine jug and slowly poured the wine onto the bank of the Bian River.
She looked at the river disappearing in the night, listened to the sound of the slowly flowing water, felt the night breeze blowing on her face, and stood there quietly for a long time, holding the empty wine jug.
Cui Jing stood not far away, looking quietly at the vast Bian River with her, with a deep and tranquil awe in his eyes.
Fighting during war is the most brutal, but the big hand that truly pushes people into the abyss of sorrow often appears after the war is completely over.
Especially as a general, what he bears is not only sadness, but also the guilt that he cannot reconcile with himself.
For a long time afterwards, Chang Suining didn't say much.
Cui Jing, Xiao Min, Hu Lin and others worked together to handle the subsequent affairs, from the placement of the wounded, to the inventory of seized weapons and money, to the subsequent repairs of the damaged warships, no matter how big or small.
Knowing that he was experienced and was no worse than himself in handling these post-war matters, it would be a waste not to use him. So the exhausted Chang Suining allowed himself to sit in front of the fire and be lazy and dazed for a while.
The night is deep, and the stars and the moon are high in the sky.
The soldiers were all very tired and gathered in groups of three or four to rest.
Ah Dian sat beside Chang Suining, fanning the fire for her and talking about this and that. Chang Suining bent her legs, folded her hands on her knees, rested her chin on the back of her hands, looked at the fire, and listened quietly.
After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly heard a sound of music.
Chang Suining turned his head slightly and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Cui Jing sitting on the ground not far away, holding a green leaf between his slender fingers and placing it horizontally against his lips.
The young man sat quietly and blew leaves. The sound was clear, resonant and distant, and spread in the night wind.
The music is like the sound from outer space, as if taken from lakes, seas, snow-capped mountains, vast and clean. It floats in the air, and together with the moonlight, it cleanses the remaining bloody air between the world, soothes the tired and grief-stricken living, and paves a way home for those heroic souls who no longer have to distinguish between enemy and friend.
The soldiers around listened quietly. Some looked towards their hometowns, while others looked towards the place where their comrades were buried. They raised their hands and wiped away tears quietly on their scarred faces.
Chang Sui listened quietly and also looked at Cui Jing who was sitting there.
The young man's usually cold eyes and brows were now exceptionally calm under the moonlight. In this calmness, there was a kind of compassion that a military commander had never expressed, as well as a stubborn pursuit of peace.
Ah Dian also shed two strings of tears. He didn't know the quality of the music, and he didn't know that the children of the Qinghe Cui family had been proficient in music theory since childhood. This music was of the best quality, but he could hear what the music was saying.
They tell those who are awake not to be sad anymore, to move forward, and that everything will be fine.
They said to the sleeping people, all the pain is over, come on, we will take you home.
When Cui Jing put down the leaf, he stood up and walked towards Chang Suining, only to see that she had fallen asleep leaning on Adian's shoulder.
The girl's tired sleeping face seemed particularly peaceful and harmless in the firelight, completely different from the general who was shooting enemies in the daytime.
Cui Jing did not disturb her. Just as he was about to ask Yuan Xiang to get a thick cloak, he saw Yao Ran coming over and gently covering Chang Suining with a blanket.
Seeing how soundly she slept, even Adian felt a little worried and reached out to touch her forehead. After making sure that she didn't have a fever, he felt relieved. He held his breath and pursed his lips, not making a sound. He carefully supported her shoulders and let her sleep on his legs.
Her Highness has now become a girl and has become thinner and smaller. He must protect Her Highness well.
With an attitude of treating everyone equally, Adian waved at Cui Jing again, gently patted his other idle leg, and invited him to lie down too.
Cui Jing did not lie down, but sat down by the fire.
He whispered, "Senior, go to sleep. I'll keep watch."
Adian was almost sleepy. Hearing this, he yawned, nodded obediently, and fell asleep leaning against the big tree behind him.
Cui Jing then sat quietly, adding branches to the fire from time to time to keep Chang Suining and Adian warm.
…
The army rested here for two days before completing all post-war matters.
During these two days, the battle report here has been transmitted back to Bianzhou City.
In the mansion of the governor of Bianzhou, the governor's wife was in disbelief when she heard the news of the great victory. Facing the servant who came to deliver the message, who looked a little crazy despite his ecstasy, she was so shocked that she said, "...are you crazy or am I crazy?"
"Madam...it was truly a great victory!"
The governor's wife stared in astonishment: "How did it happen so quickly?"
One of Hu Lin's concubines also found it incredible: "That's right, how could the master be so capable!"
After he finished speaking, he covered his mouth and quickly made amends: "I mean...how can 10,000 people defeat Xu Zhengye's 100,000 troops?"
The soldier who reported the news came in and explained in full: "…This time it was General Ning Yuan and Commander Xiao who set up an ambush in advance on the Bian River!"
"General Ning Yuan?"
"Coach Xiao..."
How come General Ning Yuan and Commander Xiao suddenly appeared in the Bian River? Didn't they say they had been chasing them from behind but had not been able to catch up? !
“…How could this be?”
The news soon spread back to Luoyang. The military advisor in Li Xian's tent was extremely surprised when he heard it, and his face changed.
The Xuan Ce army guarding outside the city of Luoyang has begun to celebrate the news of the great victory at the Battle of Bian River. Even though the credit was not theirs, they did not hesitate to express their admiration and praise for the soldiers who won the battle.
Winning the battle was a good thing, and the safety of Bianzhou City was the greatest comfort to them who were not allowed to send troops to help.
They didn't care about merit, or rather, as the Xuan Ce Army, when had they ever lacked merit? They certainly didn't lack merit, but someone else did.
Li Xian sat in the tent for a long time. After confirming the news again and again, his eyes finally darkened.
He was still waiting for the news that Bianzhou could no longer hold out and asked him to send troops, but who knew that what he waited for was the "good news" that Xu's army was defeated...
Xiao Min and the girl from the Chang family had actually set up an ambush in the Bian River in advance, just waiting for Xu Zhengye to fall into the trap...but he knew nothing about such an important plan and was kept in the dark from beginning to end.
"I have confirmed it..." The military advisor returned to the tent and whispered, "Xu's army was not defeated, but surrendered."
"What about Xu Zhengye?" Li Xian looked up at the military advisor.
"Xu Zhengye has been killed." The military advisor lowered his eyes and said, "It is said that it was General Ning Yuan who killed him personally. The news has spread."
Li Xian narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a laugh that was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry.
"What a great General Ningyuan! He is truly a hero in his youth..." He whispered, "The manifesto that was regarded by all officials as full of arrogant words...actually came true."
Such arrogant and unrealistic words can come true. Now, she is afraid that she will be regarded as a real general by the people.
With such a great achievement of eliminating the Xu bandits in one fell swoop, no one in the court dared to laugh at her, and no one was qualified to criticize her mistakes.
But he was destined to become a joke.
Xu Zhengye was not defeated briefly, but was completely eliminated in one fell swoop...
Therefore, he didn't even have the chance to pursue, and his move of keeping his troops in Luoyang from beginning to end became a complete joke.
Li Xian sat there, not much emotion showing on his face.
The voices of celebration outside the tent sounded particularly harsh to his ears, as if they were mocking him for having gained nothing from this trip.
The military advisor said at the right time: "... General, you have been ordered to defend Luoyang. Now that Luoyang is safe, the general's trip is considered a success... If the general can successfully take charge of the Xuan Ce Army in the future, there will be opportunities for meritorious service in the future. There is really no need to worry about the gains and losses at this time."
Li Xian came back to his senses and smiled: "What the military advisor said makes sense."
He doesn't need to worry about immediate success.
He just... didn't understand why all the good luck belonged to those people, while he never had a chance to realize his ambitions and be seen by the world.
He had waited for so many years, and finally got this opportunity, but his plan failed again. He couldn't help feeling that he was being played a trick on by the world.
But the military advisor was right. As long as he could take charge of the Xuan Ce Army and become the new general of the Xuan Ce Army, he would have opportunities to display his talents.
The news of Cui Jing's accident has spread secretly in the capital. Soon, the saint will issue an order to appoint someone to take over the position of general of Xuan Ce's army, and he is the only candidate the saint can trust.
Thinking of this, Li Xian calmed down.
He smiled and said, "Have someone prepare some wine so that I can celebrate the great victory at the Bian River with the soldiers."
The military advisor agreed with a smile.
The woman in blue beside Li Xian knelt and ground the stone. Li Xian wrote a letter of congratulations in his own handwriting and prepared to have someone send it to Xiao Min and Chang Suining.
However, as soon as the letter was put into the envelope, he heard that Lieutenant General Yu had returned to the camp and asked for a meeting outside.
Li Xian's eyes moved slightly, but his smile did not diminish: "Please come in quickly."
Deputy General Yu had previously led a thousand light cavalry and left the camp for many days in the name of patrol.
But Li Xian did not intend to blame him at this moment, just waiting for the other party to explain a little bit - as the future leader of the Xuan Ce Army, why not be more generous at this time? Soon, Deputy General Yu, who entered the tent to pay his respects, did give an explanation.
But this explanation was totally beyond Li Xian's expectations.
Good night, sweet dreams~ (Tonight, Xiao Cui will blow leaves to help you sleep)
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