Ziye stood with Su Rong at the top of the mountain, observing the battle in Nanping City.
As soon as the drumming of the Jibei Army stopped, Su Rong said to Ziye, "Let’s go; along with our men, we are heading to Nanping City."
Ziye exclaimed in surprise, hastily replying, "Lady Su Qi, the Young Master instructed us; your injuries haven’t yet healed, you cannot participate in the fight."
"I am not going to fight." Su Rong said: "They have succeeded."
The cessation of the drum meant the soldiers drumming had been killed, and that Zhou Gu Fen Ling had broken into the Jibei Army camp, and the drum didn’t sound again, which meant the Jibei Army was in chaos. Only when the commander is in trouble would the Jibei Army be in such disarray.
Zhou Gu Fen Ling must have succeeded.
Ziye was amazed, "So quickly?"
Before his words ended, it seemed as if the city gate of Nanping City was opened, and then soldiers from inside Nanping City charged out.
Stunned and elated, he said, "In that case, Lady Su Qi, let’s hurry."
Su Rong nodded.
She had just started walking again, naturally she couldn’t walk fast. Ziye anxiously asked, "Should I carry you?"
Without hesitation, Su Rong replied, "Sure."
So, Ziye carried Su Rong on his back. Despite the heavy cloaks between them, they could feel each other’s lightness. He thought gleefully, fortunately, it was winter and the clothes were thick. Otherwise, if the Young Master saw him carrying Lady Su Qi, he might be met with disapproval.
They descended from the mountain and could vaguely see the Jibei Army retreating in the distance.
Ziye was tempted, "Lady Su Qi, it seems that Zhang Yun did not die. He’s trying to escape with his men!"
"Let him go." Su Rong noticed it too. If she had five thousand soldiers at her disposal and had not been injured, she could rush up to stop Zhang Yun. But for now, when she was still considered a cripple, protecting herself was the priority.
Ziye also felt the need to protect Su Rong and had no choice but to carry her around the fleeing Jibei Army in a panic.
Zhang Yun also saw Su Rong. While he was being carried away by his guards, and Su Rong was being carried by someone else, they glanced at each other from a distance of half a mountain. Seeing that there were not many people around Su Rong, but their movements were swift, indicating they were all masters. Although he had tens of thousands of soldiers, these people were panicking and fleeing. Moreover, with the Nanping Army chasing him on his heels, he could only look away and pretend he didn’t see her. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Su Rong chuckled suddenly, "Zhang Yun is quite a character."
Just the other day, due to him, she was almost killed by Nangong Yu. However, he refrained from witnessing the outcome of Nangong Yu killing her personally. After merely a glance, he moved on to attend to his business.
Now that Zhang Cheng is dead, leading tens of thousands of Jibei troops, he decisively retreated. Although he clearly saw her, he pretended not to, and walked away with his men.
Flexible and adaptable, knowing how to adapt to the times, he didn’t bother doing what he couldn’t.
Ziye didn’t quite understand what Su Rong meant, but he also knew that this Zhang Yun was indeed a prominent figure in the Zhang Family.
They walked down this side of the mountain, and saw Zhou Gu bringing his men toward them. Seeing his own Young Master, Ziye was overjoyed. He quickly put Su Rong down and said, "Young Master, you’re so skilled! In such a short time, you have resolved the crisis in Nanping City. Lady Su Qi and I saw that the tens of thousands of soldiers of the Jibei Army were in a panic, like a spineless flock, running for their lives."
Zhou Gu glanced at Ziye and grunted in acknowledgment; he then turned towards Su Rong, displayed a playful smirk, and said, "I’ll carry you."
Laughing, Su Rong climbed onto his back, hooked her arms around his neck, and nestled her head against his back, praising him, "Truly impressive."
Zhou Gu was overjoyed, "Indeed, with two surgical strikes, first I killed the vice general guarding Zhang Cheng, and then killed Zhang Cheng. This time, my sword was accurate, killing both with a single stroke."
"And you captured over a hundred thousand soldiers." Su Rong lauded, "Young Master Zhou, once the news of this goes out, your name will echo throughout the world."
Zhou Gu coughed lightly, "This honor is not mine alone"
"But you succeeded in night raids on the Jibei Army’s camp of two hundred thousand soldiers twice." Su Rong reached out and touched his face, "It’s a skill that will go down in history."
Her touch made Zhou Gu’s heart race. He whispered, "Don’t touch randomly."
Su Rong understood and ceased her hand movements. Her head rested on his back as she laughed softly, "You still need to work on controlling your emotions."
Zhou Gu was on the verge of showing his displeasure.
In Nanping City, the gloom imposed by the mighty army was swept away. Everyone was jubilant and wildly celebrating.
Jiang Zhu looked at Fen Ling as he orderly accepted the soldiers of the Jibei Army who had surrendered, remarking to the person next to him, "Who would have thought, without waiting for reinforcement from the Imperial Court, the crisis in Nanping City would be resolved. Since ancient times, which battle has ended this way? Zhang Ping is also from a military background, and the Zhang Family has military prowess, theoretically they shouldn’t be so terrible in managing soldiers. But a two hundred thousand-strong army has been defeated in such a way."
"Obviously an iron lion, but who knew it would just be a paper tiger." The person next to him expressed his feelings of having survived a catastrophe, telling Jiang Zhu, "Second brother, I have changed my mind. I want to go to Nanchu with you too."
This man was called Jiang Feng, Jiang Zhu’s cousin. Jiang Zhu is the second in the family line, and he, the third. Originally, Jiang Zhu planned to take his brothers who were willing to go to Nanchu with Su Rong, and the remaining Jiang Family members unwilling to go to Nanchu were to follow Jiang Feng, and pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince Yan Huisheng, staying in Daliang.
Jiang Zhu turned to look at him, "No take-backs."
Jiang Feng’s face fell.
Jiang Zhu gave him a pat on the shoulder, "You don’t suit accompanying Lady Su Qi, so stay in Daliang. The Crown Prince will no doubt be a wise ruler in the future, talented people won’t be hidden."
Jiang Feng sighed, "Alright then!"
The entire Nanping City was celebrating with rejoicing, a joyous escape from the calamity but, the countless broken and battered buildings made for a heartrending sight.
Zhou Gu carrying Su Rong approached the city. On seeing them, Ning Chi immediately greeted them. Seeing that Zhou Gu had no intentions of letting her down, Su Rong gave him a light punch.
Feeling the thump, Zhou Gu let her down; only to see her unable to raise her shoulders as they were burdened by the heavy woolen cloak. He took off the cloak he himself had tied around him, and draped it on himself before speaking to Ning Chi, "Have you counted the number of people?"
"Yes." Ning Chi replied, "Of Nanping’s thirty thousand soldiers, fourteen thousand were killed, six thousand seriously injured, and ten thousand lightly injured. We do not know the exact number of casualties from the Jibei Army, but right now, we have about one hundred and fifty-two thousand one hundred soldiers under our command."
This figure was extremely shocking.
To have gained command of one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers immediately- Niet Chi could not help the excitement in his voice.
As Zhou Gu had anticipated this number, he asked again, "What about the civilians?"
The excitement in Ning Chi’s voice quickly faded, replaced by a saddened tone, "Many civilians have been killed or injured , we’re still counting, no final numbers as yet."
Zhou Gu ordered, "Immediately issue a notice to console the civilians. The bereaved of the city protectors will be recompensed with threefold the usual monetary consolation based on the Imperial Court’s laws. In addition, for those bereaved families with children, they will be given an additional admission to the Taimin Academy. For families without children, they will be given additional compensation."
Ning Chi nodded, "Yes, this should be done."
For ordinary civilians, getting admission to the Taimin Academy was nearly impossible. Now possessing this opportunity, it was an extremely comforting compensation.
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