Chapter 146 Returning Home
"grandmother."
Ji Mingzhu looked at Zhou Yunzhi, who was sitting upright in the chair even though he had no legs, and said, "Go home."
Zhou Yunzhi's eyes were slightly red, "Yeah."
Home is where their family is.
At this time, only the Zhou family and Nanny Wang beside Ji Mingzhu were left in the entire hall. Chuwu was guarding outside the door with Chunque and Dongge, while Chuqi and Shiliu were guarding the doors of the front and back yards.
"It seems that your sister has told you everything."
Zhou Yunzhi nodded silently.
Ji Mingzhu and Zhou Yunshu also had a tacit understanding. She looked at her grandson and said, "From now on, you must assist your sister more."
She looked at Zhou Yunshu who was standing next to Li Jialan and said to Zhou Yunzhi, "Your sister needs your help now, do you understand?"
Zhou Yunzhi continued to nod.
Seeing Wu Yue, who was sitting on the right, looking at Zhou Yunzhi and seeming to hesitate, Ji Mingzhu said directly to Zhou Yunzhi, "Your second aunt wants to ask you something."
Zhou Yunzhi had never had the courage to visit his second aunt before. After all, Yunkun was killed in a car accident while trying to save him.
As the eldest brother, he was unable to save his younger brother and he was ashamed to face his second aunt.
"Yunzhi, how did your second uncle, Yunhai, Yunkun and others die?" Before Wu Yue finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes.
Ji Mingzhu had only said before that he went to identify the bodies, but Wu Yue had no idea how they died.
Zhou Yunzhi wanted to move, but he had no legs to support him.
But even so, he pushed the chair away and fell forward, crawling in front of Wu Yue in a very embarrassed posture.
"Zhi'er!"
"Husband!"
“Big Brother!”
The women in the room were frightened by Zhou Yunzhi's action and hurried forward. Even though they were in such a mess that they could hardly get up, Zhou Yunzhi still stretched out his hand to stop them, saying, "Don't come over."
"Yunzhi, don't be like this. Second Auntie is just asking."
Wu Yue was also panicked. As Zhou Yunzhi was the eldest grandson in the family, his status in the family had always been transcendent.
She was used to seeing Zhou Yunzhi wearing armor, looking handsome and standing next to the old man with a spear in his hand. He suddenly acted like this and really scared her. She didn't want to blame Zhou Yunzhi, she just wanted to know the truth.
Zhou Yunzhi's legs were cut off from his calves. He couldn't stand up straight and could only support himself with his hands.
"Second Aunt, Yun Zhi should have apologized today, but..."
"Zhi'er!" Li Jialan didn't want to interrupt Zhou Yunzhi, but his leg was bleeding!
"Madame Wang! Zhi'er is bleeding, he's bleeding..."
"Mom!" Zhou Yunzhi crawled on the ground, his voice choked with sobs, "I'm fine, please let me finish."
Li Jialan looked at Zhou Yunzhi's bleeding wound and felt as if her heart was being cut into pieces by a knife. She covered her chest and was hugged by Fang Huiwen, who also had tears on his face.
Zhou Yunshu, who was standing by, held Yuan Li and Yuan Yi, who were crying uncontrollably, beside her and said to Li Jialan with a sour nose, "Mom, please let Big Brother finish."
Li Jialan was no longer able to speak and could only cry.
Wu Yue didn't sit down either, she just half-knelt in front of Zhou Yunzhi.
"On July 19th, the Tiele invaded. My father, following my grandfather's orders, led Yun Kun and me north to attack the main Tiele cavalry force. On July 26th, the two armies clashed, and the Tiele were severely defeated. The Zhou army pursued them, and the Tiele were routed and shattered. On August 6th, my father led the Zhou army to Feiqiang City to rest, but the city guard refused, saying they had received orders from the military governor to close the city gates for the sake of the people and not allow anyone to enter or leave."
"On August 7th, the Zhou army was running low on food and fodder. Father knocked on the city gates again, but was again refused. They demanded that we leave the vicinity of Feiqiang City that day, otherwise they would report to the court that the Zhou army had deserted their posts, taken their own troops hostage, and occupied the city."
Zhou Yunshu looked at Zhou Yunzhi lying in a mess on the ground, and tears flowed down her face unconsciously.
"On August 10th, while the Zhou family army was stationed outside, they received help from the villagers and a hundred kilograms of food, which allowed them to survive. On the 12th, they received military orders to rush to Jade Pass to assist Grandfather."
"From Feiqiang City to Biyu Pass, we encountered seven cities along the way. Aside from one city that offered to resupply the Zhou army, the other six were completely closed. When we reached the last city, the Tiele were besieging it. The Zhou army fought desperately to break the siege, and even after repelling the Tiele, the defenders still remained closed."
Zhou Yunzhi's tone was full of despair. Perhaps because he was not strong-willed, he began to doubt himself, the Zhou family, and whether everything the Zhou family army had done was worth it.
"My father was seriously injured, and my brother Kun and I were slightly injured. We had nowhere to go and no food to eat, so we could only guard the city gate."
"Why don't you break down the city gate? They should open the city gate. Why don't they open the city gate?" Wu Gui said angrily!
Zhou Yunzhi was silent for a moment, then said, "The Zhou family army has strict military discipline, and the fundamental principle is that the army does not disturb the people."
"In the past, as long as the Zhou family army handed over the token, the city guards would prepare food and military supplies themselves, and the Zhou family army would just take them away."
"But in the past two years, the Emperor has sent three military supervisors and one military governor to the northern border. The Zhou family army is unrivaled in the northern border, but they are no longer as easy to persuade in front of local officials and cities as before."
"Grandfather and my second uncle were being attacked from both sides at Jade Pass. Cai Chuan was constantly trying to find fault with us. We were still able to occasionally get military supplies. If we disobeyed military orders, Cai Chuan would immediately issue an order accusing us of rebellion. Not only would we not get any military supplies, we would even become the target of public criticism in the North."
"If you are labeled a rebel, not only will the Zhou army be destitute, but you in the capital will also be implicated."
"But, our Zhou family is the one who has the final say in the Northern Territory..." Wu Yue murmured, "isn't it?"
"Originally, he was, but money and power are tempting. His grandfather was poisoned, and to avoid disrupting the morale of the army, he personally went to the front lines, but Cai Chuan seized control of the rear."
No matter how strong the soldiers are, without food and military supplies, they will be dragged down to death.
"Before we could even reach Jade Pass, we were found by Tiele's guerrillas. Do you know how they found out about us?"
Zhou Yunzhi himself said, "It was one of our own who tipped off the enemy. The soldiers who were sent to reinforce the city earlier turned against us."
"To bring down the Zhou army, these beasts actually planted chin beans in the rations. When the entire army was exhausted, they came over with Tiele."
"I hadn't eaten much at the time, so I was still strong enough to lead the so-called reinforcements to cover the rear. However, I could defend against the enemy but not our own troops. After being stabbed by one of our own, I realized belatedly that this was an ambush orchestrated by Cai Chuan and Tiele to kill the Zhou family army."
"Father and Brother Kun should have noticed something unusual and returned with the Zhou family army, but... they shouldn't have come back."
Drops of tears fell to the ground, and the blood from his legs had soaked Zhou Yunzhi's clothes.
"If my father and brother Kun hadn't come back to save me, they wouldn't have died. It was me who failed to protect brother Kun. It was me..."
"Yunzhi, it's not your fault." Wu Yue's voice was shaking, and her body was shaking too. "You are the eldest grandson of the Zhou family and the next head of the Zhou family. He should protect you. He..."
Before Wu Yue could finish her words, she fell straight to the ground.
"Second Aunt!"
"mother!"
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