Chapter 190 Rushing
Shen Yuexi and his group broke away from the Jingzhou cavalry and fled desperately.
She was worried about not being captured by the Jingzhou army, while General Jia wanted to get to Yongwei as soon as possible to get himself treated. Both sides had a tacit understanding, and the carriage ran as fast as it could.
Even so, General Jia felt the pace was too slow and kept urging them: "Let's run faster. They are cavalry and it will be easy for them to catch up with us."
Shen Yuexi and the others were so shaken in the car that they couldn't sit still. They kept hitting their heads and waists, but they endured it in order to escape.
After running for a while, she opened the car window and shouted, "We've run this far, we should be fine. Let's slow down, otherwise the car will fall apart."
Qiang Lin turned around and looked behind him: "Master, another group of cavalry is chasing us!"
General Jia looked back at the dust in the distance, startled. Not knowing what to do, he said, "We took advantage of the chaos to escape. General Zhang must have known something was wrong. He's here to take us back."
With this carriage, we can never outrun the cavalry.
When the incoming troops approached, Shen Yuexi shouted in surprise, "It's General Zhang... No, it's General Zhang from Xiliang who has arrived."
The pursuing troops were the Xiliang cavalry led by Captain Zhang Song.
Before, Captain Zhang Song had gone to Langya Pass with Mei Pu to rescue them. She had also asked Zhang Song's soldiers to recite an evil-repelling spell to the villagers of Xiaogang Village.
Zhang Song caught up close, reined in his horse, and shouted hurriedly, "It's Madam Shen! Let's not talk about it anymore... Let's run."
Shen Yuexi was stunned. Just now, General Jia kept talking about running away because he was being chased by cavalry. Now that Zhang Song was here, why was he still talking about running away?
When he looked at Zhang Song, he found that his helmet was gone, his armor was loose, and the scabbard at his waist was empty. He looked extremely miserable.
"Captain Zhang, what's going on?" she asked.
"Don't mention it. The thousand cavalrymen I led were no match for the Jingzhou cavalry on the opposite side. I escaped first..." Zhang Song said with a little embarrassment.
Shen Yuexi finally understood. It turned out that the Xiliang cavalry had been defeated in the initial confrontation, and Zhang Song was fleeing with the remaining troops.
Thinking that the Jingzhou cavalry might be chasing them, the three groups gathered into one team and continued to run along the road. As they ran, Zhang Song and Shen Yuexi talked about what happened in Yongwei.
It turned out that Zhang Song brought a thousand cavalrymen to look for Li Wan.
Ever since she left with Li Wan, Xiliang King Mei Cheng was furious. Xiao Zhuo refused to help him fight, so he sent Mei Pu to attack Zhangwu City, which was occupied by the Xirong.
But Li Wan's escape couldn't be ignored, so the King of Xiliang sent Zhang Song with cavalry to search for her. Xiao Zhuo also sent Qiu Liming with his men. The two groups headed in different directions, with Zhang Song heading towards Longsheng Town.
Before reaching Longsheng Town, they ran head-on into the Jingzhou cavalry. Zhang Song initially intended to avoid the fight, but a sergeant reported that Mei Dai's carriage had been spotted among the Jingzhou cavalry. Zhang Song then decided to intervene.
Both sides met hastily, with no time to assess each other's strength before engaging in direct combat. Zhang Song had no idea the enemy had 3,000 cavalrymen, and his 1,000 cavalrymen were scattered on the spot. Fortunately, he spotted the carriage and quickly led the remaining troops in pursuit.
Seeing that Zhang Song had three or four hundred cavalrymen, Shen Yuexi no longer worried about General Jia's men. She told Zhang Song about the previous situation, including the news that the Jingzhou army was about to arrive.
Zhang Song was struck by lightning and almost fell off his horse.
No wonder we encountered the Jingzhou cavalry in Xiliang territory. It turned out that the other side had launched a large-scale attack.
"Madam Shen, since these people won't help the Jingzhou army fight, let's find a place to treat their illnesses." Zhang Song said, "We must hurry back and report to the prince."
After running a little further, the carriage wheels began to creak, and everyone had to stop.
Qiang Lin looked back, then lay on the ground again, listened carefully for a moment, then stood up and said to Shen Yuexi, "Master, the Jingzhou cavalry didn't catch up."
Madam Li and Li Wan had never ridden in such a fast carriage before, and both vomited from the jolting. Doctor Hua wasn't much better off either, having been hit on the head several times. Although the injuries weren't severe, he still covered his head and groaned for a long time.
The cavalrymen dismounted one after another. The Jingzhou cavalrymen were on this side of the carriage, and the Xiliang cavalrymen were on the other side. They were clearly distinguished.
Shen Yuexi breathed a sigh of relief and asked Doctor Hua and others to rest in the car. She took food from the car and distributed it to Qiang Lin and the secret guards, then took a water bag to drink.
After just two sips, another group of people came from a distance.
This time, Shen Yuexi wasn't nervous. The other side didn't have as many people as her own. And judging by their attire, they didn't look like the military.
"Master, I finally found you!" the man shouted from afar.
Shen Yuexi raised her hand and greeted, "General Qiu, you've come too."
Qiu Liming arrived with his men, dismounted, and approached Shen Yuexi, bowing. He said, "Master, we finally found you. Luckily, we ran into a caravan that said they had seen your carriage. Otherwise, we really wouldn't know where to look."
"My husband isn't here?"
Shen Yuexi was upset when he saw that Xiao Zhuo was not in the group. This man didn't even come to pick him up in person.
Before Qiu Liming could open his mouth, Shen Yuexi spoke first, "Is he at home with those ten beauties?"
Earlier, the Qianglin secret guards reported that Xiao Zhuo had come out to look for her. But Qiu Liming had already found her, and there was still no sign of Xiao Zhuo, which made her very depressed.
Qiu Liming touched the back of his head and smiled, "Master, regarding this matter... you should not blame the Lord. The Lord did not keep those ten beauties."
"They didn't stay?" Shen Yuexi asked doubtfully, "If they didn't stay, where did they go?"
"The lord gave all ten beauties to his men. He didn't keep any for himself." Qiu Liming counted on his fingers. "Three were sent to Xiaogang Village. Military Advisor Song and I both... ahem, took some."
"Oh." Shen Yuexi snorted, "Did he show any sign of heartache?"
Qiu Liming smiled and said, "My lord said that you are enough for him as his wife, and he doesn't need other women."
That's about right.
Shen Yuexi suddenly became happy again: "Then let's go back to Yongwei to find my husband."
Zhang Song ran over and said, "Madam Shen, we'd better leave quickly. The Jingzhou army is invading, and this news is extremely urgent. We must report it to the prince immediately."
"The Jingzhou army invaded?" Qiu Liming asked in surprise.
He came from the other side and did not encounter the clash between the two cavalry. Shen Yuexi told him what she saw on the top of the mountain.
Qiu Liming jumped up after hearing this and shouted, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"We all thought you already knew." Zhang Song replied.
"Whether I know or not is irrelevant," Qiu Liming said anxiously. "Everyone, hurry up and mount your horses. I heard last night that the King of Xiliang led his entire army to support Meipu in attacking Zhangwu. Now Yongwei is a deserted city."
Hearing the news, everyone panicked.
"This Mei Cheng is so confused. Jingzhou has been eyeing him covetously from behind. Doesn't he know it?" Shen Yuexi complained while packing the water bag.
But if you think about it carefully, given the character of the King of Xiliang, isn't it normal for him to make such a stupid decision?
"It's no use going back now to report," Qiu Liming said as he mounted his horse. "Yongwei is too close to here. If the Jingzhou army attacks, it will be impossible to hold it. Let's hurry to Yongwei City to find the lord and see what he means."
Everyone started running towards Yongwei again.
There was constant news along the way. First, a scout came to report that Prince Mei Pu of Xiliang had captured Zhangwu after a night of fierce fighting.
The good news was followed by bad news. The Xirong people mobilized their army and besieged Mei Pu inside Zhangwu City. It turned out that Xiliang King Mei Cheng had led his entire army to rescue his son.
After a day and a night of running, they returned to Yongwei. Arriving in the city, Shen Yuexi jumped out of the car to look for Xiao Zhuo. He discovered that Xiao Zhuo was also gone. Only military advisor Song Zhen remained.
"The Lord said that Prince Mei had saved his life and that he couldn't just ignore him since he was trapped in Zhangwu." Song Zhen said to Shen Yuexi, "The Lord left yesterday. Before he left, he told me that if Madam Shen came back, I should wait for him here."
Shen Yuexi shook her head: "Don't wait, Military Advisor Song, let's go together. There's still room for the carriage. Let's go to Zhangwu to find my husband."
Faced with such a huge crisis, the only way is to find Xiao Zhuo.
Qiu Liming and Song Zhen told him about the invasion of the Jingzhou army. Song Zhen was so shocked that he dropped his feather fan and stamped his feet, saying, "Yongwei is an empty city. There is no army at all. How can we defend it?"
He pulled out a piece of paper and spread it on the table. "I will immediately write a letter to the King of Xiliang, telling him to hurry his troops back. If Yongwei is lost, we will be finished."
Qiu Liming snatched the pen from Song Zhen's hand and placed it on the table. "Military Advisor, why are you still revising this book? Let's get going. The Jingzhou army will soon know that Yongwei is an empty city, and their cavalry will be here soon. We will all be prisoners."
Everyone packed up their belongings. Shen Yuexi ordered the soldiers to inform the people of Yongwei to leave the city and take refuge.
Since Shen Yuexi was leaving, General Jia had to follow. He knew the situation was urgent and Shen Yuexi didn't have time to slowly prepare medicine. As long as he followed Shen Yuexi, his life would be saved.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com