Chapter 143 Escape (Revised) After avenging themselves, they'll come back and fight Lu Hong with us...
Sunset Slope.
A group of enemy soldiers caught up with them, and the elderly, women, and children in the group were terrified and hurriedly ran to the surrounding area.
Upon seeing this, Yue Yao immediately stepped forward and shouted sternly, "Everyone, don't run around! Be careful of trampling! Stop and listen to my instructions!"
With him as their pillar of support, the frightened people gradually calmed down. They stopped and looked at him with a mixture of worry and trust, waiting for his orders.
"Ma Ping, Liu Baoren, you two lead the way!"
The two men whose names were called immediately drew their swords and stepped forward, saying, "Yes!"
Yue Yao took the crescent blade from his horse, mounted it, and pulled hard on the reins. "Everyone else, fight alongside me!"
The escorting brothers responded in unison, "Yes!"
The family members were still nervous and afraid, but Yue Yao had protected them all the way. Although some were injured during the escape, none of them died. Therefore, everyone trusted Yue Yao very much.
Seeing Yue Yao send someone to lead them away first, they anxiously instructed, "Second Master, you must be careful!"
"Second Master, if we can't win, we shouldn't fight. We should just run."
You absolutely must catch up with us!
"Brother Yue, we're waiting for you up ahead!"
Yue Yao felt a warmth in his heart and laughed loudly, "Don't worry, I will personally escort you to Jinzhou!"
Ma Ping and Liu Baoren rallied everyone to walk quickly. No one hesitated any longer; they picked up the children, helped the elderly, and hurried forward.
Yue Yao and the others stayed behind.
The young general looked around, his eyes gleaming. He said, "Let's set up an ambush and have a good fight with them!"
As long as the pursuers are held back, the families can escape the pursuit. The young men can run freely under the noses of the pursuers, but the families cannot; they will surely be slaughtered.
Before long, the pursuers came into view.
The person in charge of surveillance rushed over to report.
Yue Yao's expression was grim as he raised his crescent blade high. "Gentlemen, we absolutely cannot let them catch up!"
With firm eyes and resolute expressions, the brothers shouted, "Yes!"
The two sides met at Luoxia Slope and started fighting without exchanging a single word.
With a swift swing of his sharp crescent blade, the enemy on horseback instinctively leaned back. Yue Yao swung his blade again, striking the enemy's right arm directly. Blood instantly seeped out, staining his sleeve red.
Yue Yao's eyes turned cold, and he slashed down with his blade, striking the other man's neck directly and splitting him in two.
The body fell from the horse's back and landed on the ground.
Just as the horse was about to bolt, Yue Yao swiftly reached out and grabbed the reins, then turned his head and called out, "Little Jiang!"
Jiang Shan, who happened to be fighting nearby with a meteor hammer, quickly stepped forward, took the reins that Yue Yao threw over, and used the momentum to flip onto the horse's back.
At the same time, Jiang Shan swung his meteor hammer, deflecting the sword that was thrusting at him.
Yue Yao raised his knife and brought it down, the enemy was hit in the face and fell to the ground.
The group from Mao'er Mountain fought fiercely to protect their families.
The pursuers were equally determined: after chasing for so long, they had nearly caught up two or three times, but Yue Yao and his companions, along with a group of elderly, weak, women, and children, still managed to escape. The pursuers' anger grew, and they longed to capture Yue Yao and devour his flesh!
People are being killed continuously.
People continued to fall seriously injured.
Out-of-control hooves trampled over the bodies of the living and the corpses of the dead.
Blood stained the fallen leaves and the soil.
Yue Yao raised his hand to wipe his blood-stained cheek, leaving a trail of blood.
His eyes, gazing ahead, held an unyielding hope: The people of Shengzhou will surely come to our rescue!
Just hold on until reinforcements arrive!
With reinforcements arriving, everyone will be safe and can be escorted to Shengzhou.
He dared not think about what would happen if Ning Huai'an was not interested in his deal and did not send reinforcements.
Fortunately, because He Qinglan had personally mentioned Yue Yao's name, Mo Jingchun and Ning Huai'an were willing to give him this opportunity and sent reinforcements.
Xiao Wanya, a captain of the Shengzhou Army Cavalry Battalion, was ordered to lead his troops here. The horses' hooves clattered, raising clouds of dust.
In the red maple forest in front of Luoxia Slope, they encountered a group of family members who had fled from Mao'er Mountain.
Liu Baoren tensed up, a simple, honest smile appearing on his face, and stepped forward to ask, "Where are you all headed on official business?"
Xiao Wanya glanced at the exhausted crowd and said loudly, "I am Xiao Wanya, a captain of the Shengzhou Cavalry Battalion. I have come here on the orders of General Ning Huai'an to find Yue Yao, the second-in-command of Mao'er Mountain! Are you all from Mao'er Mountain?"
Ma Ping breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "We are indeed from Mao'er Mountain. Thank you all for coming to our rescue!"
Xiao Wanya nodded to them and asked, "Where's Yue Yao?"
Liu Baoren said urgently, "Our second-in-command is intercepting the pursuers at Luoxia Slope!"
Xiao Wanya frowned, ordered his centurion to lead men to protect the families, and then said to Liu Baoren and Ma Ping, "You each send someone to lead us to aid Yue Yao!"
Ma Ping and Liu Baoren exchanged a glance, and Ma Ping said, "I'll lead the way!"
Xiao Wanya led his soldiers on horseback, leaving the centurion behind to see that the group looked extremely disheveled and weak because they had been running day and night without rest or food.
They immediately ordered someone to bring them dry food and water to eat.
He said, “You all eat something first and get some rest. When our captain and your second-in-command return, we’ll all go back to Shengzhou together, and then we’ll have a good meal!”
The young children nestled in the arms of their elders, who shared a piece of white steamed bun with them. The children chewed it, their eyes lit up, and they opened their mouths wide to indicate that they wanted more.
The older boys and girls sat on the ground, tilting their heads back and gulping down water while munching on cold buns and steamed bread.
The women helped take care of the elderly and children, whether they were from their own homes or others' homes, and only after they finished taking care of them did they sit down to eat.
"This bun has meat in it!" A boy exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening as he showed his half-eaten bun to the old woman beside him.
The mother-in-law was also surprised, "It really is meat!"
The boy nodded happily, "The meat is so delicious!"
A young woman said, "The bosses say there's a goddess in Jinzhou who will give the people fresh meat and vegetables!"
Everyone was shocked, "Really?"
"That's why the second-in-command took us to Shengzhou!" An older woman rubbed her aching knees. "Shengzhou is like paradise for us poor people!"
A young girl couldn't help but swallow hard. "So, will we be able to have enough to eat from now on?"
The crowd cautiously looked at the Shengzhou soldiers. "Will that goddess also bestow blessings upon us?" an older woman smacked her lips.
"Probably. Once we go to Shengzhou, we'll be Shengzhou people..."
"Being able to eat my fill every day! This is something I never dared to dream of!"
Shengzhou.
Zhou Ci, the head of the publicity department, knocked on the door of the governor's office.
She presented the "Yunguo Monthly" and pointed to a page for Mo Jingchun to see: "The Jinzhou Propaganda Department is organizing a debate competition and calling on insightful people from all over the country to actively form teams to participate."
Mo Jingchun glanced at it quickly and immediately realized, "This is an invitation for scholars from different schools of thought to go to Jinzhou to argue."
Zhou Ci couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, "Exactly."
Jinzhou boasts excellent papermaking and printing techniques, as well as a library where books can be read for free, attracting countless students to travel great distances to visit it over the years.
Later, the goddess's involvement in "purging the court of corrupt officials" greatly promoted Jinzhou. Along with the refugees, many scholars who aspired to become officials and were devoted to learning also came to Jinzhou.
This debate competition is being held in Jinzhou this time...
Zhou Ci recalled the internal letter sent by the Propaganda Department of Jinzhou and said to Mo Jingchun word by word, "Currently, whether in Jinzhou or Shengzhou, seven or eight out of ten books in the library are from another world."
"We hope that the culture passed down to future generations is not just from another world, but also the thoughts of our own world, as well as the science, humanities, geography, politics, history and so on of our own world."
This requires us to rely on the powerful families and influential figures of this world to persuade them to hand over their collections of books for us to print.
So far, people from Legalism, Mohism, Confucianism, the School of Names, and the School of Medicine have all come to Jinzhou, and their treasured books have naturally been lent to printing houses for printing.
There were also many refugees who came specifically for the library. With the help of the library staff, they lent out their own books and their own writings, enriching the library's collection.
But it's still too little.
Mo Jingchun said with a mocking expression, "Oh, so this is how you pull this stunt to attract scholars to Jinzhou."
She recalled a scene she had witnessed in Jinzhou, where the Legalist Pei Wenzhao and the Confucianists Ji Zhun and Yuan Yingchuan argued. At first, Qian Shiwen and Zhu Youchuan listened with great interest, but then they exploded.
"I said, can you attack me...?"
"So-and-so from the Legalist school said this and that, don't be so narrow-minded!"
Mo Jingchun laughed, "Then let's cooperate with them to do a good job of promotion and encourage interested people to form teams and sign up."
Zhou Ci nodded, then asked, "Shouldn't we organize a debate team in the name of Shengzhou?"
Mo Jingchun waved his hand, "No, no, let the people participate themselves."
When the group from Mao'er Mountain arrived in Shengzhou under Xiao Wanya's leadership, it was already almost half a month later.
They saw the Shengzhou prefectural capital under construction. The houses were all beautifully built, and the buildings were exquisitely designed, unlike anything they had ever seen before, which greatly surprised them.
What's even more surprising is the spirit of the people of Shengzhou. Apart from their good health, everyone is full of energy, unlike these outsiders who look exhausted from head to toe.
Xiao Wanya said, "This is because the people of Shengzhou are now under the rule of the Goddess. They can eat their fill every day, their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation have been met, and they are no longer oppressed by the government and landlords. Naturally, their mental outlook has improved!"
He smiled and said, "It will be the same for you in the future. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will register you and allocate land for you. The county will help you build houses and buy furniture. You can settle down here with peace of mind."
Having just escaped death, the Mao'er Mountain Man saw the current situation in Shengzhou and was comforted by Xiao Wanya's words, which put his mind at ease and made him yearn for the future.
They followed a centurion to a temporary residence to rest, take a hot bath, and have a hot meal.
Yue Yao politely declined Xiao Wanya's suggestion that he rest first, and instead requested to see Mo Jingchun and Ning Huai'an.
Xiao Wanya said, "Alright, I'll take you to see them."
Mo Jingchun organized practical training for the female soldiers in the battalion, and borrowed a group of male soldiers to accompany them in the training.
Therefore, it was Ning Huai'an who received Yue Yao.
Yue Yao was very straightforward. As soon as they met, he made his request: "I would like to ask Shengzhou to lend me troops so that I can avenge my Mao'er Mountain!"
Although victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, since Yue Yao is still alive, he naturally wants revenge. He cannot watch Zhang Zigao and his brothers from Mao'er Mountain be killed in vain.
Ning Huai'an was not surprised that Yue Yao would make this request.
When the Shengzhou Administrative Office held a meeting to discuss this matter, some people had already thought of this point and raised it for discussion.
He said, "Shengzhou can send troops, but our orders are to retake Mao'er Mountain and capture Que Ling County!"
Yue Yao was surprised that things went so smoothly. He had thought of countless ways to persuade Mo Jingchun and Ning Huai'an along the way, but to his surprise, they actually agreed!
Yue Yao was overjoyed, "Yue Yao obeys!"
Ning Huai'an said, "Go and pack your things first, have a proper meal, and we'll be mobilizing troops here."
After a pause, Ning Huai'an continued, "We won't have time to rest from now on, so let's sleep as much as we can now."
Yue Yao was taken aback. "Huh?"
Ning Huai'an: "Lu Hong has already sent troops to attack Yun Kingdom, and they may arrive in our Shengzhou first."
Yue Yao: "!"
Ning Huai'an smiled and said, "Go and take your revenge first. Come back and fight Lu Hong with us after you're done."
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Author's Note: I'm still 3500 words short of the rankings. I'll update tonight; I need to rush some data right now.
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