Chapter 79
Fan Changyu returned to the camp. The other spoils were counted by the general in charge of military supplies. She first took Yu Han's cloak and roasted lamb to find Yan Zheng.
When he entered the tent, he found Gongsun Yin there too. He was very surprised and asked, "Mr. Gongsun is here to visit the wounded soldiers again?"
She heard other soldiers in the camp call this handsome and elegant man "Mr. Gongsun", and she thought he should be an official like Old Man Tao, so she started calling him that too.
Gongsun Yin answered yes in a daze.
Fan Changyu said, "I just happened to bring back a roasted whole lamb. We can eat lamb together later."
After she finished speaking, she walked straight towards Xie Zheng. The joy she gained from her outing today had long since overshadowed the discomfort she felt last night. As she spread her cloak over Xie Zheng, she smiled and said, "I found you something to keep you warm at night."
Not seeing Chang Ning, she held up the remaining cloak and asked in confusion, "Where is Ning Niang?"
Xie Zheng looked at the obvious Chongzhou emblem on the cloak, and his handsome brows wrinkled. He was about to ask where it came from, but because of Fan Changyu's question, he had to answer first: "She was sleepy, I asked someone to take her back to rest."
Gongsun Yin looked at the roasted whole lamb in Fan Changyu's hand and asked uncertainly, "Miss Fan, did you hunt a lamb and bring it back? Is it roasted already?"
Fan Changyu said with a pair of honest eyes: "I stole it from the bandits down the mountain."
Gongsun Yin almost choked on his own saliva, while Xie Zheng's expression suddenly turned ugly. He fixed his eyes on Fan Changyu and asked in a bad tone, "You went down the mountain?"
Fan Changyu nodded: "Yes."
Xie Zheng shouted: "Nonsense, there are many dangers down the mountain!"
Fan Changyu knew that Xie Zheng was worried about him getting into danger, so he didn't get angry when he heard his bad tone. He just said, "I just want to see if I can help. The bandits are all gathered in front of the mountain, so there must be fewer people in the back. We don't lack food in the mountain, but we lack salt. It would be good to go down and grab some salt and bring it back."
Xie Zheng frowned, knowing that Fan Changyu had really come down the mountain and fought with the rebels. His heart was lifted. Although she was standing in front of him, he couldn't help but feel scared, and his tone became more severe: "The terrain of the back mountain is steep, which is not conducive to marching. The rebels will not choose to attack from the back mountain unless they have no other choice. Today, the army wants to burn the rebels' food and grass. If you rush down the mountain to rob the food, it will only affect the overall plan. You are not in the army and are not bound by military regulations. If you cause a big disaster, I don't know how many lives will be lost. Don't act rashly in the future."
After hearing these harsh words, the smile on Fan Changyu's face slowly faded. After staring at Xie Zheng for a while, he put down the roasted whole lamb and left without saying a word.
Gongsun Yin looked at the curtain that had been closed again, glanced back at Xie Zheng, and said, "She has returned safely, why are you scolding her so harshly? Do you really think of her as a soldier under your command?"
Xie Zheng closed his eyes and said, "The battlefield is no joke."
Gongsun Yin sighed, knowing that he was too concerned and confused.
Xie Zheng on the other end of the line had already ordered in a deep voice: "Call Xie Qi and Xie Wu."
Xie Qi and Xie Wu were the two personal guards sent by Gongsun Yin to protect Fan Changyu. They had both been trained on the battlefield with Xie Zheng for many years.
In a moment, Xie Qi and Xie Wu, who were still handing over the salvaged rations to the quartermaster, all rushed over.
The two of them were still somewhat happy at first, but when they saw Xie Zheng's face was as gloomy as ice, they realized the problem, quickly restrained their expressions, knelt down and bowed their heads, saying: "I admit my guilt."
When Xie Zheng thought of Fan Changyu's back as she left in anger, his heart felt blocked. In addition, the wound hurt every time he moved, which made him feel even worse. When he raised his eyes, the arc of his long black eyelashes also brought a bit of harshness. He almost laughed angrily and said, "You know your guilt? You still followed her around? I asked you to protect her, but you protected her and went to the thieves' den? What do you think of military regulations?"
Xie Wu was the guard who stayed with Fan Changyu in the back mountain and fought side by side. The corners of his lips moved and he said, "Lord, calm down. I followed Fan... Madam to the back mountain. I wanted to let her take a look on the mountain. I was afraid that I couldn't persuade her, so I reported to Mr. Gongsun. But I happened to run into a rebel who pretended to be one of our people and sneaked up the mountain. I wanted to protect Madam and break through the siege, but I didn't expect that Madam was a heroine who was very brave in killing the enemy. After taking down all the rebels who came up the mountain, Madam examined several of the rebels' soldiers and found out the deployment of the troops at the foot of the mountain. Then she thought of retaliating and killing them by surprise to avenge the brothers who died tragically on the mountain. However, before the reinforcements that Xie Qi had brought back arrived, the rebels at the foot of the mountain were about to retreat. Madam was worried that something had happened in the front mountain, so in order to delay the rebels at the back mountain, she went to rob the rebels' camp.
He paused and continued, "Madam led us to rob five bags of coarse salt and sixty-two bags of grain, and no one was injured or killed. I failed in my duty and am willing to be punished. I beg you not to blame Madam."
After hearing these details, Xie Zheng did not say anything for a while. His long dark eyelashes drooped on his eyelids, covering up all the emotions in his eyes.
Gongsun Yin saw this and said, "Miss Fan acted according to circumstances, and was not reckless. Her action of going down the mountain was more a merit than a fault. The Marquis was worried and confused, and he would have let it go if he didn't know. Now that you know the whole story, you should not disappoint Miss Fan."
Xie Zheng half-closed his eyes and then spoke: "Go down."
The words were obviously directed to the two bodyguards.
After the two guards left, Gongsun Yin looked at Xie Zheng and said, "Although Sui Yuanqing was rescued by the rebels, it was only by hanging him as bait in the front mountain that the heavy troops of Prince Changxin were able to successfully burn the grain and grass. Without the grain and grass, the rebels would not be able to hold out for much longer. Miss Fan's accidental hit can be regarded as helping you complete this great plan. You have already killed the person, so think about how to comfort him yourself."
Xie Zheng pursed his lips slightly and said nothing, but there was a hint of self-loathing in his expression.
Gongsun Yin shook his head and walked out of the tent, thinking that he should play the role of a peacemaker and help Xie Zheng to persuade him. He asked the sentry on guard duty nearby about the whereabouts of Fan Changyu. When he learned that Fan Changyu had gone to Huotouying, he slowly followed him.
When we arrived at the place, we found that the whole Huotou Camp was in full swing. A group of soldiers gathered in a circle and made a noise. I had no idea what they were looking at.
Gongsun Yin walked closer and found that it was Fan Changyu who was killing the pig.
The wild boar brought back from hunting was tied up and carried back by the soldiers instead of being stabbed to death.
It had been raining for many days, but today the sun finally came out. The sunlight was not dazzling, but it was shining down. Fan Changyu, who was killing pigs with his sleeves rolled up in the crowd, even had his hair emitting a layer of hazy golden light.
Gongsun Yin was just thinking that Fan Changyu's expression was calm and beautiful at that moment, but the next moment he saw her raise her knife and cut the tightly tied wild boar. The boar howled and blood gushed out from its neck.
Gongsun Yin's face turned pale and he quickly looked away, thinking that perhaps only Xie Zheng could afford this girl.
The soldiers watching cheered loudly.
"Miss Fan, you have a great way of killing pigs! Kill them with one blow!"
"Look at this big pot of pig blood. We can make one more dish for the soldiers today!"
Fan Changyu put away his knife and listened to the compliments, thinking that they were recognition of his pig-killing skills, so he smiled.
When she looked up, she saw Gongsun Yin standing in the crowd, as if he had come to see her. She said a few words to the captain of the gang, then pushed through the crowd and walked over to her side. She asked, "Sir, are you here to see me?"
Gongsun Yin didn't want to show it too obviously, so he coughed and said, "I came to Huotouying to take a look. I just happened to see you killing pigs."
He paused here before revealing the real purpose of his trip: "Don't take your husband's words to heart. He has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He is afraid that you will encounter an accident when you go down the mountain. The battlefield is extremely dangerous. Look at his wounds, you will know that every battle is a fight for life. It's good that you return safely this time. If you get hurt, he is so injured that he will not be able to save you even if he wants to."
Fan Changyu found a stone block to sit on and said, "I'm not angry with him. It's just that after listening to what he said, I realized that I seemed to have done something bad with good intentions. Just like what the master said, I was lucky to escape unscathed this time. If I didn't come back and killed other soldiers, I would really be a sinner. Those soldiers also have wives, children and mothers waiting for them to return. I feel heavy in my heart just thinking about it."
Gongsun Yin was surprised that Fan Changyu could say such a thing. He said, "Although Miss Fan is a woman, her character is no less than that of a man. What Miss Fan said is also the truth that it is difficult to find a talented general."
Seeing that Fan Changyu seemed a little confused, he explained, "As a general, every decision you make is related to the life and death of your soldiers, but there is no battle that can be fought without shedding a drop of blood or dying. The tactics formulated by the general can only exchange the death of a few people for the life of the majority. Victory and defeat are common in the military. If a battle is lost, the commander's character is not strong, and it is difficult for him to achieve anything in his life."
Fan Changyu suddenly felt that those who became generals were not only powerful in martial arts, but also had admirable personalities.
She looked at Gongsun Yin and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir."
Gongsun Yin thought that with Xie Zheng's bad temper, he probably couldn't bring himself to flatter him, so he said, "Your husband is afraid that you will annoy him, so he asked me to come and take a look."
Fan Changyu picked up a small stick and poked the mud on the ground, saying in a muffled voice: "I'm not angry with him. He was so badly injured. He must have experienced life and death on the battlefield. He was afraid that I would get involved and kill other people, so he told me this. I... am quite ashamed."
Gongsun Yin raised his eyebrows in surprise and said truthfully, "He is just afraid that something will happen to you."
Fan Changyu paused in poking the ground, but kept his head down and said nothing.
Gongsun Yin didn't know what the girl was thinking for a moment, and said, "I have already told Miss Fan what I have said. I have some trivial matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."
Just as he was about to leave, he heard the people from Huotouying talking loudly: "It's a pity to hunt such a black bear in this mountain. If we bring it down the mountain with all the seasonings, I can make a whole bear feast for it!"
Gongsun Yin turned around and went over there, asking, "Did you hunt a bear?"
Hearing his voice, the soldiers of the Fire Head Battalion looked towards him. Seeing that he was dressed in white and had a handsome appearance, they guessed his identity and hurriedly made way for him, calling out, "Military Advisor."
Gongsun Yin saw that the black bear was huge and might be difficult to capture without a strong general leading the charge. He praised, "Today we have defeated the rebels in Chongzhou. This bear is a good omen. Which general hunted it?"
The fireman nearby said excitedly: "Miss Fan hunted this!"
Gongsun Yin: ???
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