Chapter 486: No Return
Two days later, Guanghan County.
From October 10th to October 15th, the imperial army controlled the small town for only five days, and then hastily abandoned the city and retreated. All 60,000 defeated soldiers fled back to Anzhou.
The order to retreat to Anzhou naturally came from Ning Yongnian, and Han Zhao himself was about to return to Beijing. All military affairs were temporarily handed over to a deputy general named Xue Zheng.
The army was defeated at Niutou Mountain, and Han Zhao, as the commander-in-chief, must bear primary responsibility. The situation he faced after returning to Beijing was certainly not optimistic.
Dismissal from office is the minimum. As for whether Ning Yongnian would kill him, Wei Changtian and Chu Xianping both felt that the possibility was not high.
Daning is in urgent need of manpower right now, and killing a general in the late second rank at this time would undoubtedly be too impulsive.
Therefore, Ning Yongnian will most likely send Han Zhao back to Anzhou, or to Dafeng, so that the latter can "make up for his mistakes."
For Wei Changtian, no matter what the situation is, Han Zhao can continue to play an important role.
Even if Ning Yongnian really wanted to kill Han Zhao in a fit of rage, he could ask Wei Xianzhi to rescue the latter.
“.”
"Sir, there is no movement from the Daning army in Fengyuan. I don't think they will be back in the short term."
The black carriage slowly drove into Guanghan City. Chu Xianping said softly in the sedan chair, "Also, Wu Ding has escorted Li Qi to Jianchang Prefecture. It seems that he will continue to go east. It is still uncertain whether he will return to Daning."
"But Tongzhouhui reported that they might be heading to Huailing Mansion."
“.”
The wheels rolled over the road and the sun was shining brightly in the sky.
The dirt road in the outer city was somewhat muddy, and the bumps in the carriage made Chu Xianping's voice seem slightly intermittent.
After the Battle of Niutou Mountain, violent reactions broke out in all aspects. Various information gathered here like snowflakes to Chu Xianping, who then sorted and screened it and reported it to Wei Changtian.
There are many things involved here, but what Wei Changtian is most concerned about is whether Ning Yongnian will transfer the troops from the Dafeng battlefield to Shuzhou.
Today, Daning still has more than 300,000 troops stationed in Dafeng, and most of them are concentrated near Fengyuan.
If such a large army was called back to deal with me, it would be hard to say whether I could hold out a second time.
After all, an ambush like the one at Niutou Mountain is difficult to replicate, and it would undoubtedly be a bit unrealistic to want to do it again.
However, it would still be difficult to confront them head-on before the Tengu Army grows stronger.
Fortunately, it seems that Ning Yongnian is not reluctant to give up such a piece of fat meat as Dafeng.
Once the army is transferred back, Dafeng will undoubtedly return to Li Qi's hands. Even if Li Qi is killed in advance, there is still Li Wutong.
As long as the royal bloodline is there, it will not be difficult to reunite the shattered Dafeng.
Therefore, Ning Yongnian had to make a choice between Dafeng and Shuzhou.
If we want to continue to attack Shuzhou, we will have to give up Dafeng.
If they want to conquer Dafeng, they will have to give up Shuzhou temporarily.
The choice between the territory of a country and the land of a state is not difficult.
And Ning Yongnian did choose the former.
As for where he was going to take Li Qi and what he was going to do with him, Wei Changtian was too lazy to think about it now.
"knew."
Nodding, Wei Changtian lifted the car curtain and looked out, then ordered softly: "Stop the car."
"Yes, sir."
"Whoa!"
The driver tightened the reins and the carriage soon stopped slowly by the roadside.
"Brother Chu, have you found out about Zhang Shi's situation?"
Wei Changtian dug out a few banknotes from the car and put them in his chest, then asked casually, "Have you found his body?"
“Found it.”
Chu Xianping nodded: "But the body was cremated before the breakout, and the ashes are now placed in the charity cemetery in Guanghan County."
"Sir, do you want to send someone to bring his ashes?"
“.”
Wei Changtian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "No need, just tell me about this person's situation."
"yes."
Chu Xianping took out a booklet he carried with him from his bosom and introduced softly: "Sir, Zhang Shi is from Guanghan County. According to his friends in the same camp, he still has an old mother living in Guanghan City and has never married."
“.”
Half an hour later, in that familiar alley.
It was only four days from leaving to returning.
Everything remained unchanged, including the old woman who was waiting outside the courtyard gate.
"Mother-in-law!"
After a loud shout from afar, a smile appeared on Wei Changtian's face.
The old woman's expression was one of surprise and joy.
This time she did not turn around and go back to the house as she did before, but just stood there at a loss until Wei Changtian came closer.
"Mother-in-law, the army has won the battle, so I came back to see you."
Standing in front of the old woman with a smile, Wei Changtian looked at the anxiety that could not be concealed in her eyes and knew what she was worried about.
"By the way, I also found out about your son Zhang Shi."
"Don't worry, he is not only alive, but also has made great contributions. He was just promoted a few days ago!"
"It's just that the war isn't over yet, and according to military regulations he can't come back to see you, but he asked me to bring you a message."
Wei Changtian took out a silver note of one hundred taels from his arms and gently put it into the hands of the smiling old woman.
"He said that you must take good care of yourself and wait for him to become a high-ranking official and come back to show your filial piety to you!"
“.”
Perhaps because it rained heavily a few days ago, the sun is particularly bright today.
The warm sunlight fell on the two of them, and also made the old woman's weather-beaten face bloom with a smile. Her wrinkled forehead gradually relaxed a little, and there seemed to be a light flickering in her squinting eyes.
She held up the banknote and looked at it over and over again, her wrinkled hands trembling as she brushed over every small word on it, as if it was not a banknote but some invaluable treasure.
It was obvious that she was definitely not happy about the one hundred taels of silver.
However, when Wei Changtian saw the old woman's current appearance, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
"Mother-in-law, let's go inside and talk."
Forcing himself to maintain a smile on his face, Wei Changtian took the lead and walked into the courtyard.
A big goose immediately came over, flapping its wings, cawing loudly, and jumping up and down like a goose. Instead, it looked like a guard dog.
Huh? After a moment's pause, Wei Changtian remembered that he had bought the goose as a snack.
"Mother-in-law, it's almost time for lunch."
Smiling, Wei Changtian turned around, rolled up his sleeves and said, "How about we eat this goose for lunch today?"
“.”
The old woman paused, and although she nodded quickly, Wei Changtian still caught the reluctance in her eyes.
Could it be that I have lived alone for too long and so I have developed feelings for this goose?
Wei Changtian had some guesses in his mind, so he gave up the idea of eating the goose.
"Forget it, mother-in-law. Just keep it."
"Wait for a while at home. I'll go find a restaurant and buy some cooked food."
Shaking his head, Wei Changtian knew that he would probably hardly have the chance to visit the old woman again in the future, so he prepared to buy some good food and have a meal with her.
Amid the never-ending caw of the geese, he quickly walked out of the yard and to the end of the alley.
He stopped and looked back, and saw that the old woman was already standing outside the gate of the courtyard again, looking at him from afar with a kind face.
Alas. Wei Changtian looked away and sighed in his heart.
Some people can be seen again after separation, but some people are gone forever.
To me, meeting such an old woman who didn't know she had lost her son was just a trivial matter. Perhaps within ten days or half a month, I would completely forget about the old woman and Zhang Shi.
But for the old woman, there is a high probability that she will wait here forever.
Waiting for me to bring her the latest news about her son, waiting for the person who will never appear again to appear.
This is also the reason why Wei Changtian lied that Zhang Shi was not dead.
perhaps.
It’s always better to have something to wait for than to have nothing to wait for.
(End of this chapter)
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