Humans are, after all, made of flesh and blood, and no matter how brave they are, there is always a limit. After several battles, Ning Ye was quite satisfied with his soldiers. They had not suffered any loss of morale, but instead became more and more courageous in battle.
It is invaluable in any army, and can be said to be extremely rare.
Although the other side is still entangled here, the gap between the two sides is still too large. Although they have not retreated, their morale is definitely declining.
However, Ning Ye still felt it was impossible to take down the enemy before their morale completely collapsed, since he only had a handful of men under his command and couldn't possibly wipe them all out.
Just then, Xiaoqing arrived on horseback, raising the jade pendant high in her hand. Whether anyone could see it or not, she didn't know, but now there was hope.
"Why don't you all retreat quickly? Your strategist has abandoned you. He needs you to save his life. Hurry up and leave."
Xiaoqing rode her horse across the battlefield, repeating her cries over and over again. Finally, someone saw the jade pendant. The first reaction was disbelief, but the jade pendant was so undeniably there before them. What could they do even if they didn't believe it?
The soldiers, who had been fighting desperately, immediately turned and retreated, flowing away like a tidal wave.
The original eight hundred light cavalry had dwindled to only about five hundred men. They rapidly approached Xiaoqing, and when they finally saw the jade pendant, the general commanding the light cavalry turned and retreated without hesitation.
Although Ning Ye was unclear about what had happened, he did not order his men to continue the pursuit. After all, they had already lost the battle, and there was no need to continue the pursuit. These people were not important at all, and what difference would it make even if they were all killed?
When Xiaoqing came to Ningye's side, Ningye finally learned the whole story. He never expected that Xiaoqing would go to such lengths for him.
Ning Ye exclaimed, "Xiao Qing, you've done a tremendous service this time. Without you, who knows how many more people would have died. How should I reward you?"
Xiaoqing smiled and said, "No need, young master. This is what I should do. Let's assemble the army first and treat the wounded as soon as possible."
"Okay, I'll think about how to reward you when we get back, otherwise I'll feel really bad about it."
When everyone had gathered, Ning Ye realized that he had indeed suffered a huge loss this time.
The casualty ratio had reached one-quarter, with a total of forty-eight people killed on the spot, and the rest slightly or seriously wounded, almost everyone was injured.
This was a huge loss for Ning Ye; he had never suffered such a loss before.
Ning Ye murmured, "Old Wang, I guess I really underestimated the heroes of the world. I never expected to suffer such a big loss."
Wang Wu was naturally heartbroken at the loss of so many brothers. “Sir, you can’t blame us. We have to blame ourselves. There are some things we just didn’t do well enough.”
"Alright, take all the brothers' remains back. Leave things here to Hu Laosan. He's done enough to earn this credit."
Wang Wu cursed directly, "If that old Hu guy ever breaks his promise again, see how I deal with him."
"Don't worry, you and Lao Hu are both loyal and righteous people. Otherwise, I wouldn't trust you so much. Consider this incident a lesson. Remember not to underestimate others, because it could very well cost you dearly."
Ning Ye took everything with him; not a single piece of armor that belonged to him would remain here.
On the way back, Ning Ye was still feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. So many people had died here. Although the casualty ratio was more than one to ten, Ning Ye still felt dissatisfied with the battle situation.
This even made Ning Ye wonder how those ancient generals managed to do it, and how a small number of people could fight against so many enemies. Could it really just be a embellishment?
Meanwhile, the spring examinations in the capital were about to begin, and Zhang Zihe was ready.
For the next few days of exams, you must find your own food and lodging in this exam hall. Apart from the rock-hard flatbread, there is only a small room of less than two square meters. If you leave here, it will be considered as automatically forfeiting your exam qualification.
When the exam ended, Zhang Zihe came out feeling as if a layer of skin had been peeled off, but fortunately he believed that there should be no problem with what he had written.
Although it's hard to imagine Zhang Zihe becoming the top scholar, it shouldn't be a problem if he just wants to get a position. There are countless people in the world who want to be officials, but the number of official positions that can be released in each spring examination is pitifully small.
For this spring exam alone, there are already over a thousand people who are capable of participating, but in reality, only a dozen or so places have been prepared.
If it weren't for the fact that those scions of powerful families weren't eyeing these positions, these poor scholars probably wouldn't have been able to get a single one of them.
The review of the spring exams has always been very quick, since it only takes about two days for officials from six departments to review the papers.
This was also to allow some children from extremely poor families to return home sooner, so they wouldn't end up stranded in the capital and unable to go back. After all, such things had caused quite a stir in the past.
When the results were announced, Zhang Zihe went out early. When he arrived, the place was already packed with people. However, he noticed a guy who didn't fit in among the crowd. That guy was Wang Mingyang.
After spending some time with Wang Mingyang, Zhang Zihe discovered that the man was impeccable in every aspect, but his interpersonal skills were absolutely terrible.
Apart from Zhang Zihe, who completely disregarded his words, everyone else avoided him like the plague.
Besides the candidates waiting for their exam results, there were also members of prominent families observing the scene. After all, while a humble background might not be ideal for a scholar, some were indeed talented. Even if they couldn't become officials, becoming a retainer of a powerful family was still a respectable profession.
After all, these powerful families have plenty of money in their pockets. As long as you are willing to work for them, it is not impossible for wealth to roll in.
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