Chapter Ten: A Great Victory Returns, Qi Shuyi
“I didn’t expect this,” Yang Xiao said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “The Yuzhou reinforcements that the lord mentioned are you, General.”
Bai Ming, holding the reins, chuckled helplessly, "I didn't expect it either. You saw me and immediately started shooting, completely disregarding who I am and refusing to listen to anything I had to say."
Yang Xiao chuckled and shook her head, riding alongside him. "I actually recognized you, General Bai, but..." She glanced back at the exhausted soldiers and sighed again, "We fought our way from Wei County overnight, encountering three armies, and then burned down the granaries along the way." She looked up at the sunlight and smiled helplessly, "Seeing how fiercely you came, I was even prepared to die in the first battle."
"General, why do you say that?" Bai Ming frowned as he looked at Yang Xiao, who was constantly adjusting her breathing and could not hide her joy. His eyes were full of worry and praise. "Just now, you kept attacking me. Every move was swift and agile. It was not something someone who had been fighting all night could do."
"It was just a last-ditch effort, a desperate gamble," Yang Xiao chuckled self-deprecatingly, glancing back at Bai Ming, then suddenly noticing the general's flag swaying in the wind behind him. "Actually, I should have recognized you when I saw that flag, but..."
“We’ve only met once, and we’ve been apart for so long. Even if we met normally, it would be hard for us to recognize each other, let alone on the battlefield,” Bai Ming comforted her without hesitation. He turned and looked at Yang Xiao with sincere eyes. “You once said, ‘If we are destined to meet, we will meet even if we are thousands of miles apart.’ Now it seems that I have come to meet you.”
Yang Xiao paused for a moment, then sat back on the horse and laughed heartily, “Yes, I went to meet you last time, and five years later you came to meet me. Such a fate, it seems that heaven wants us to work together on a great cause.”
Bai Ming nodded slightly, his eyes filled with a smile as he looked at Yang Xiao, and remained silent for a long time.
“The battlefield is certainly not the place for reminiscing,” Yang Xiao smiled at Bai Ming, then gripped his spear with deep emotion. “The situation on Yu De’s side is still unclear. Why don’t we go and provide support first, and then make further plans after we take Yanzhou?”
“That makes sense, but…” Bai Ming nodded slightly, then frowned and looked at Yang Xiao, “Is your body still able to handle it?”
"Don't worry," Yang Xiao said with a relaxed smile as she sat on horseback, "I'm fine."
Bai Ming was still worried. "Then I'll have to trouble you to be my deputy for now. If things aren't over with Yu De yet, you mustn't be reckless and charge into battle, okay?"
"Alright, General, don't worry." Yang Xiao twirled the gun in his hand and nodded at Bai Ming with a smile.
Just as the two were about to advance and help, they saw a group of people rushing towards them.
Yang Xiao frowned and gripped the spear tightly, but Bai Ming spurred his horse forward two steps and raised his spear to protect Yang Xiao behind him.
The flag bearing the words "Zhongli" fluttered in the wind as the black horse galloped happily toward the two of them.
"It's Yude!" Bai Ming looked at the flag, then back at Yang Xiao. The two exchanged a glance, slung their spears over their backs, and walked toward Zhong Lishuo.
"Lingyu!" Zhongli Shuo spurred his horse toward the two of them, then looked intently at Bai Ming and exclaimed with delight, "Zhaoqing! What brings you here!"
Bai Ming smiled and rode forward to meet them. "Lun Hong wrote to me, so I pacified the northern part of Yuzhou and then went north to meet you two."
“So the reinforcements you were talking about, brother,” Zhongli Shuo said, pulling on the reins and smiling at Bai Ming. “He really is something else. He can’t just say it directly; he has to keep us in suspense.”
Bai Ming smiled and shook his head. "He didn't just keep you in suspense; he also kept me in suspense. He only said that he wanted me to help you and another general, but he didn't mention General Yang's name at all."
"It's good that you two didn't fight," Zhong Lishuo patted Bai Ming on the shoulder. "But I saw you two chatting quite happily just now. How did you become so familiar with each other so quickly?"
“We met once before…” Bai Ming glanced back at Yang Xiao, then nodded to Zhong Lishuo.
"Even so, we still ended up fighting." Yang Xiao and Bai Ming exchanged a smile and urged their horses forward. "If I hadn't known General Bai before, I'm afraid I would have already fallen to his spear."
"It's all thanks to my elder brother." Zhongli Shuo slung his sword over his shoulder and pointed towards Jizhou with a smile.
"Let's not talk about that for now," Yang Xiao shook her head, then looked up at Zhong Lishuo, "How's the battle going on your end? Is it progressing smoothly?"
“Of course,” Zhongli Shuo rode ahead, proudly twirling the sword in his hand, “They’re just trash, we won before we even fought.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao sighed helplessly, "As expected, the Governor of Yanzhou has used all his troops on me."
"Hmm?" Zhongli Shuo turned to look at Yang Xiao, then nodded as if he understood. "No wonder. Your terrain is complicated, and your attack time is slightly earlier than mine. Yanzhou will definitely put heavy troops here."
“Who says otherwise?” Yang Xiao sighed softly, her gaze involuntarily falling on Bai Ming again. She turned her head and smiled, “If General Bai hadn’t arrived in time, I’m afraid I would still be fighting the enemy right now.”
Bai Ming looked at Yang Xiao with tenderness in his eyes. He shook his head slightly while carrying his gun. "I don't think so. The momentum and strength you displayed when you fought me just now were beyond the reach of ordinary people. If there really was an ambush force waiting for you, General, they would have been defeated without a doubt."
Zhong Lishuo pulled on the reins, turned around and looked at Yang Xiao and Bai Ming, his gaze lingering on the two of them. "So, how did you two meet?"
"It's a long story," Yang Xiao sighed softly, her voice a little hoarse. She looked back at Zhong Lishuo and smiled, "I'm exhausted now. I'll tell you the whole story when we get back to camp."
"Have some water to soothe your throat first." Bai Ming frowned as he looked at Yang Xiao, then took off his sheepskin water bottle and handed it to her. "Don't worry, this water is on my person, but it hasn't been touched yet."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao quickly reached out to take the water bottle. "Even if you've already drunk from it, it's alright..." Before she could finish speaking, she seemed to realize that her words were slightly inappropriate, so she stopped talking, looked up at Bai Ming with a smile, and nodded slightly. "Thank you, General."
She reached out and pulled out the stopper, glanced at the water in the bottle, then tilted her head back and drank, letting the water flow into her throat, quenching her intense thirst.
"Goodness," Zhong Lishuo exclaimed, watching her drink water. "This person is clearly a master drinker."
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Xiao choked on the rushing water and bent over, coughing repeatedly.
"Hey, are you alright?" Bai Ming quickly stepped forward upon seeing her, looking at her with concern in his eyes.
Yang Xiao shook her head, caught her breath, and waved her hand repeatedly at Bai Ming, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just choked a little."
“Looks like I spoke too soon,” Zhong Lishuo said with a smile, shaking his head. He then looked back at Bai Ming. “I said, Zhao Qing, Ling Yu was thirsty but didn’t want to say so. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Bai Ming paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's only polite to reciprocate. I'll follow Lun Hong's example and keep you in suspense for now."
“Zhao Qing, you…” Zhong Lishuo glared at Bai Ming with dissatisfaction, “This is so boring.”
Seeing this, Yang Xiao couldn't help but laugh. She raised her hand to wipe the water stains from the bottle mouth, put the stopper back in, and then handed the water bottle to Bai Ming, nodding to him.
Bai Ming nodded to Yang Xiaoyi, carefully took the kettle, and then hung it back in its original position.
-
The three traveled north from Dongjun, only to find that Zhongli An had already prepared a banquet in Qinghe, waiting for them.
"Brother!" Zhongli Shuo waved to Zhongli An from afar, then dismounted and ran two steps to meet Zhongli An.
"My lord." Yang Xiao and Bai Ming dismounted and bowed to Zhong Li'an.
Zhong Li'an stepped forward, looked at the three of them approvingly, clasped his hands and said, "Generals, you have had a long journey. Please take your seats." After saying that, he put his arm around Bai Ming's shoulder and said, "Zhao Qing, it's been a long time. This time I'm finally free from the constraints of paper and pen and can see you in person."
"Now that we've met, it's probably difficult to communicate by letter again," Bai Ming said with a smile as he followed Zhong Li'an to the table.
"Alright, alright, you two can catch up anytime," Zhong Lishuo said with a smile, stepping forward to put his arm around their shoulders and interrupting them. "Brother, you really are something. You kept it a secret from me and Lingyu. You could never have imagined that the two of them had known each other for a long time."
"Oh? Is that so?" Zhongli An smiled as he sat in the main seat, pouring tea and looking at the people around him. "When I wrote to Zhao Qing earlier, Ling Yu's military order was on the table." He chuckled and sighed. "I was wondering what it would be like if you two met, but I never imagined you already knew each other."
Bai Ming frowned upon hearing this, turning to look at Yang Xiao, "You even made a pledge?"
"It's just to appease the soldiers' doubts and boost morale along the way," Yang Xiao smiled nonchalantly at him. "Besides, we've run into you, General."
Yang Xiao appeared calm and collected, but she carried a heavy burden beneath her surface, a burden that was unspoken yet palpable. Bai Ming immediately understood her meaning, and a pang of sorrow welled up in his heart.
He looked at Yang Xiao, who was chatting and laughing nonchalantly beside him, with a worried expression, and secretly clenched his fist.
If not forced to, who would risk their life?
“The two of them fought as soon as they met, and I don’t know what happened after that,” Zhong Lishuo said, glancing at Yang Xiao and Bai Ming who were drinking tea. “Lingyu was too tired to talk after running around all night, but Zhaoqing was full of energy. However, he insisted on keeping me in suspense like you and wouldn’t tell me anything.”
"Look at you," Yang Xiao teased, pointing at Zhong Lishuo, "Why aren't you trying to claim credit after you come back? Why are you rushing to tell stories now?"
"If we're talking about who deserves the most credit," Zhongli Shuo nodded at Yang Xiao in return, and said with a smile, "I'll reluctantly give it to you."
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