Chapter 360 Desperate Situation
"Where's the wine? Where's the wine?"
Just as dawn broke, a loud voice from somewhere woke Shen Yuexi up.
She opened her eyes and her face felt cold, but she was still warm because she was covered with two thick layers of blankets.
In the past, she would definitely lie in bed for a while before getting up, or wait for Xia Lan to urge her. Anyway, Xiao Zhuo would be there to solve all the problems. But now it is different. She has to shoulder an extremely heavy responsibility.
She jumped out of bed, combed her messy hair with her fingers and tied it up, picked up a blanket and opened the creaking wooden door.
Qiang Lin leaned against the door, sword in hand, stirring something in the fire in front of him with a branch. When he heard the door open, he turned to Shen Yuexi and smiled, "Princess An, did you rest well last night? Did you catch a cold?"
Shen Yuexi nodded and said, "I'm in the house. I have blankets everyone gave me, so I'm not cold at all. Why don't you go inside and get some sleep?"
Just like before, Qiang Lin stayed at her door all night, and this loyal protection always touched her heart.
Qiang Lin said, "It's okay. We often spend the night outdoors in the winter and have our own way. Princess An, don't worry."
Shen Yuexi spread the blanket and draped it over Qiang Lin, signaling him not to refuse. Then she looked up at the smoke-filled valley.
The valley was dotted with burning fires, with soldiers gathered in groups around them, some lying down to sleep, others sitting to warm themselves. Soldiers carrying food sacks moved among the crowd, distributing food to everyone, while many soldiers were chopping down trees to gather firewood, their axes making a dull sound as they struck the trees.
The wooden hut she stayed in was located halfway up the mountain. It was divided into two rows of fifty rooms, each accommodating twenty people. It was originally built for soldiers guarding forage to stay overnight. Now that forty thousand people had suddenly poured into the valley, the huts were completely overwhelmed. Most of the soldiers had to sleep outdoors. Fortunately, the abundant trees on Jutie Mountain provided warmth for everyone.
She withdrew her gaze and asked, "Was it the general who shouted just now?"
Qiang Lin used a burnt branch to dig out a blackened roasted sweet potato from the ashes, tied it up with a small branch, and handed it to her: "The general was very energetic this morning. He shouted so loudly, so his life should be saved."
Shen Yuexi smiled slightly, reached out to take the roasted sweet potato, peeled it and ate it while walking along the path towards the wooden house on the slope. When she arrived in front of the house, she heard Zhao Mu complaining inside before she even entered.
"I won't eat without even a drop of wine."
Shen Yuexi walked in and saw a doctor bending over to examine Zhao Mu's wound.
"General, this arrow wound shouldn't get worse," the doctor said after examining him. "You can have some porridge and some whole grains during your recovery, but definitely not alcohol or meat."
Zhao Mu was about to continue shouting when he saw Shen Yuexi enter the room. He waved his hand to send the doctor away, clasped his fists and bowed to Shen Yuexi, saying, "Princess An, it is thanks to you that you led the army out last night. If it were not for you, Zhao Mu would have committed suicide to express his gratitude. Zhao Mu is injured and cannot perform the formal ceremony. Please do not blame me for being impolite."
Shen Yuexi said, "General, there's no need to thank me. I saved everyone to help my husband."
"When the princess came to the border, I noticed you were different. You drank three bowls of wine like nothing happened," Zhao Mu said. "But I still underestimated your courage. Last night, the camp was in chaos, and you were able to rally the troops. I've been in the army for many years, but I've never seen anyone like you. I'm truly in awe of you."
Shen Yuexi said a few polite words and discussed with Zhao Mu what to do next.
Zhao Mu said, "Princess An, our camp was attacked last night. Our army was unable to resist the Iron Pagoda, so this is the only place we can go. Although there is enough food and grass stored here, it is freezing cold and firewood is limited, so it won't last long."
Shen Yuexi understood Zhao Mu's reason for worry. Last night alone, the soldiers had chopped down half a mountain's worth of trees for warmth. By that calculation, the entire army would be out of firewood for two more days and nights at most. In such a cold winter, the consequences of not being able to keep warm were unimaginable.
While she was pondering, Wei Liang came to report: "General, Princess An, I have counted the troops. The total number is 41,080, including General Qiu's 4,009 crossbowmen. There are 2,100 war horses. Only 13,000 of them have weapons, 9,000 of them have armor, and 1,600 of them do not have helmets..."
Zhao Mu was furious when he heard this. He pulled at the wound in his abdomen, frowned and groaned, slapping the bed and saying, "These little bastards are just like the Iron Buddha who stole the camp. They even lost their weapons and armor. How can they fight the enemy?"
Wei Liang was hesitating, unsure how to respond, when Qi Shengjue reentered the room, clasping his fists and saying, "General, Princess An, our scouts report that 5,000 enemy Iron Pagodas have occupied our main camp. Their commander is You Bingjun. Another 50,000 enemy troops, led by Jiao Yong, have already set out south, likely targeting the rear of Prince An's army."
Shen Yuexi's hands and feet turned cold when she heard the news, and she almost dropped the roasted sweet potato in her hand. She had just finished counting the soldiers' weapons and armor, and was still worrying about everyone's warmth, when she heard such bad news.
She was in a daze when Qiang Lin also came into the room. Upon hearing the news, he comforted her, saying, "Princess An, Prince An always pays attention to finding out the enemy's movements. He will definitely discover such a large-scale troop movement in advance."
Zhao Mu, Wei Liang, and the others all supported Qiang Lin's opinion, but Shen Yuexi was still worried. She said to Qiang Lin, "I'm worried. Qiang Lin, go back immediately and tell my husband that there's no problem here. Also..." Before she could finish her words, a soldier rushed in and said, "General, Princess An, there's a cavalry unit coming from the south. Their banner is the Xiliang Army."
Everyone was very surprised to hear the news. Except for Zhao Mu, everyone else ran out of the house and climbed to the top of the mountain to see.
Standing on the top of Jutie Mountain, Shen Yuexi had a panoramic view of the plains to the south. She saw the Western Liang cavalry bypassing the main camp occupied by the Iron Buddha and heading straight for Jutie Mountain. The Iron Buddha seemed to have spotted the Western Liang cavalry and left camp to pursue them, but they were outdistanced. After a while, they couldn't catch up and returned to the main camp.
Qi Shengjue pointed down the mountain and said, "Look, the Iron Buddha cavalry's horses are slow and can't keep up with the Xiliang cavalry."
Wei Liang shook his head and sighed, "They have heavy armor... but what can you do if you can't keep up? Even if you can get behind them, you still can't defeat them."
Shen Yuexi looked at the Xiliang cavalry running to the foot of the mountain and recognized the leading female general Mei Dai at a glance.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been overjoyed, but this time she was startled and hurried down the mountain to greet Mei Dai. The first thing she said was, "Sister Mei, why are you here?"
Mei Dai lifted her mask, revealing a tired face. She took Shen Yuexi's hand and said:
"Last night, I learned that you were ambushed by the Iron Buddha and lost your camp. Prince An was very anxious, but he couldn't escape with his entire army. I left Chen Lan to help him and led 10,000 Xiliang cavalry to rescue my sister. Xiao Beiheng sent out cavalry to intercept, and we fought a fierce battle before charging in."
Shen Yuexi looked at the cavalry behind her and saw that many of the soldiers' armor was stained red, clearly having been through a fierce battle. She was deeply moved and went forward to hug Mei Dai.
Mei Dai smiled and patted her on the back, saying, "Don't be like this, sister. You are the one who has worked the hardest."
Shen Yuexi felt a little embarrassed. She had only shouted a few words, and hadn't even scratched her skin. The soldiers of the Border Guard and the Western Liang Army were truly fighting for their lives, and they had paid far more than she had.
She remembered the enemy troops that had already been dispatched and quickly told Mei Dai about this. Mei Dai said, "Don't worry, sister. Prince An knew that the northern route had failed and had already begun to arrange a withdrawal. He decided to withdraw his troops to defend Leshan City and won't let the enemy easily cut off his retreat."
Shen Yuexi worriedly asked, "What if Xiao Beiheng uses cavalry to harass us again like before? My husband has no Xiliang cavalry or crossbows to help. Sister Mei, please lead the army back quickly and bring back General Qiu's crossbowmen. Tell my husband that everything is fine here and I will find a way to get the border troops to help."
Wei Liang also said, "Queen of Xiliang, the Iron Pagoda is blocking us to the south, and the repeating crossbows are useless. Your cavalry is agile, so you can shake them off and return with the repeating crossbows to support Prince An."
Mei Dai knew she couldn't afford to be fussy at this point, so she nodded and said, "Okay, since you've decided to stay here, I'll immediately take the crossbow and return to help Prince An."
There were more than 5,000 Xiliang cavalrymen who came to Jutieshan. Among the 4,000 crossbowmen, the tall and heavy soldiers rode the only 2,000 remaining war horses in Jutieshan, while the short and light soldiers rode two people with the Xiliang cavalrymen. Qiu Liming and Qiang Lin also mounted their war horses and returned with Mei Dai.
Before leaving, Shen Yuexi said goodbye to everyone and said to Mei Dai, "Sister Mei, the enemy's goal is to eliminate my husband. You should avoid fighting with the enemy and reunite with my husband's army as soon as possible. I will find a way to break through here."
Mei Dai nodded in agreement and led the army away.
Shen Yuexi stood on the top of the mountain and watched the army disappear on the horizon before turning around and going down the mountain.
After all this trouble, it was noon. Jutie Mountain had stored a lot of food and fodder, and the soldiers cooked porridge and rice. She drank two large bowls and then went to Zhao Mu's house to discuss countermeasures with him.
"In addition to food and fodder, Jutie Mountain also has tens of thousands of pounds of iron ingots and wooden poles, originally used to make bows and arrows," Zhao Mu said. "Now the soldiers are short of weapons. I want to forge these iron ingots into weapons to help with the emergency, but all the forging tools are in the main camp, and the main camp is occupied by the Iron Pagoda. These things have become useless waste."
After he finished speaking, he sighed heavily, seeming helpless.
Shen Yuexi was also worried.
The wood at Jutie Mountain was only enough to burn for two more days. The soldiers had few weapons and their armor was incomplete. Fighting the Iron Buddha like this was like committing suicide. Even fully dressed, they couldn't defeat them. If they didn't fight, the infantry couldn't outrun the Iron Buddha and couldn't escape the enemy like the Xiliang cavalry had done and reach Xiao Zhuo.
Headache.
She didn't know what to do for a moment, so she had to go out of the house to get some fresh air.
When she got outside, she came to a group of soldiers tinkering with sticks. She saw them using their swords to sharpen a long stick into a pointed shape and asked, "What are you doing?"
Qi Shengjue happened to walk over and said to Shen Yuexi, "This is what I ordered. Make some wooden spears. If the Iron Buddha attacks, we can't just go up and fight them with bare hands."
Chen Yuexi held her forehead in her hands, speechless. What could a wooden gun do? Why not have Daxiong make a batch of weapons? At this critical moment, there was no point in hiding the universal manufacturing machine. If all else failed, they could just say it was a gift from the gods. Perhaps that would even boost morale.
She took two steps and thought that even if Big Bear made weapons, he would not be able to penetrate Iron Pagoda's black light armor and would still lose the battle.
While he was deep in thought, a scout rushed into the valley on horseback, stopped his horse on the mountain path, and ran all the way up the mountain, shouting:
"Urgent report: King Duoma of the Western Rong has captured Nanping and is leading 70,000 Western Rong troops towards Leshan."
Shen Yuexi remembered. Back in Shengjing, when they learned that Xiao Beiheng's troops were attacking in two directions, Mei Dai and Shen Lan had mentioned the issue of King Duo Ma attacking Nanping. At that time, Shen Lan had said that Nanping should be able to hold out for three months.
It now seemed that Chen Lan had underestimated King Dorma's strength. Now Xiao Zhuo was really facing a desperate situation with wolves in front and tigers behind.
"Chen Yuexi, think of a solution quickly," she clenched her fists tightly and shouted in her heart, "Think of a solution quickly."
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