Chapter 249: The Duties of Men on the Battlefield
The screams in Su Zhenzhen's ears never stopped.
Life slips away before my eyes, yet I remain unmoved; this is not the behavior of a spirit medium.
Su Zhenzhen really wanted to ask Hensheng if there was any way to conquer Xicheng without bloodshed.
Those who died in the war included not only the imperial family's elite troops, but also the Huo family's troops.
Many of them were originally just refugees from the south who fled to the border regions and joined the army in order to make a living.
They had so much of their lives ahead of them, yet they all perished in the smoke of battle.
In the central command tent, Hensheng sat upright before the commander's desk.
Upon seeing Su Zhenzhen approach, Hensheng quickly stood up, grabbed her hand, and led her toward the desk.
"Zhenzhen, please sit down."
Hensheng helped Su Zhenzhen sit down, while he himself sat on the floor against the table.
"Zhenzhen, our army is in a very good position. It won't be long before we can take Xicheng."
Hen Sheng's eyes were filled with joy, but Su Zhenzhen's words were stuck in her throat, leaving her speechless.
“Zhenzhen.” Hensheng continued to express his beautiful vision, “Once we take Xicheng, I will bring Father here. After we take the capital, we will hold the wedding as soon as possible.”
Su Zhenzhen swallowed the words that were on her lips and forced a smile.
"good."
Not all aristocratic families are fools who live off their ancestors' legacy. Besides, there is also a branch of the Jiang family that has been hiding in the shadows.
If Xicheng falls, the loss of Xicheng will be devastating, and these aristocratic families who have long resided in the capital will be exposed to Hensheng's butcher's knife.
When the capital was besieged, none of these people offered any help.
For Yu Hensheng, they were all indirect enemies who killed his father.
Su Zhenzhen could tell that this battle would not be easy just by looking at Chunzhi, who had never rested at the front lines.
But there's nothing I can do.
Chunzhi may have the talent to lead troops into battle, but the opposing side is a powerful and influential family.
With just a spit from each member of a powerful family, they could create a second great river.
If they were united, they would have changed dynasties long ago.
At night, Su Zhenzhen meditated amidst the smell of blood.
Perhaps it's because I've been a mother for a few months that I've become more sentimental, unable to bear seeing joys and sorrows, separations and deaths.
"Tap tap tap—"
The sound of hurried footsteps approached, and Su Zhenzhen smelled a strong stench of blood.
Chunzhi lifted the curtain, and a cool breeze rushed in, startling Su Zhenzhen so much that she shivered.
Two soldiers followed behind her, carrying a bloodied figure.
"Miss Su, please save him." Chunzhi knelt down on one knee, her face covered in blood and filled with grief.
They probably knew that the person might not survive.
Su Zhenzhen looked up and saw that two soldiers had already gently placed the person on the ground.
He is a one-eyed old man.
He is in very bad condition; he is covered in blood, and it is impossible to tell where the blood is coming from.
"What happened? Where is Hensheng?" Su Zhenzhen asked.
Hensheng said that night he would go and relieve Chunzhi so that she could take a break.
“A troop of soldiers launched a surprise attack on Xicheng last night, and the one-eyed old man clashed with the enemy general. That man was very strange; he seemed to have no sense of pain and did not hesitate even after being stabbed several times. The one-eyed old man was old and was slashed several times in succession. If His Highness had not intervened in time, the one-eyed old man would probably be cut in two by now.”
Chunzhi spoke earnestly, “Miss Su, the military doctor said the one-eyed old man is not going to make it, but I know you must have a way. Please save him! He is the most senior member of the Huo family army. If he is lost, I am afraid the morale will plummet.”
“The military doctor is right, he really is beyond saving.” Su Zhenzhen walked closer and examined him carefully. “Even if I give him medicine, it won’t help. The damage is to the core. He’s just barely hanging on.”
Su Zhenzhen suddenly remembered when they first met, the one-eyed old man said he wanted to live to be a hundred years old.
Unable to fulfill this wish, Su Zhenzhen was too distressed to speak, silently peering outside through the gap in the curtain.
The curtain was lifted again, and a dark figure darted in.
"Woo-woo!" It was that old monkey.
The old monkey lay down in front of the one-eyed old man and stroked his head with its dark palm.
"Waaah!"
The one-eyed old man, who was barely breathing, suddenly stopped breathing.
When Su Zhenzhen looked again, the old monkey was no longer making noise, and quietly lowered its head, like a sleeping child.
Su Zhenzhen covered her mouth, managing not to make a sound.
Good heavens, do you want to see what you're doing?
Chunzhi's eyes also reddened. She cut a piece of cloth from her robe and gently covered the one-eyed old man's face.
"Miss Su, I don't have time to waste. Please help me see the hero off properly."
After saying this, Chunzhi hurriedly left the central command tent with two soldiers.
Now that we are at war, funerals cannot be held in a grand manner, and even burial is a luxury.
Su Zhenzhen took it upon herself to cremate the one-eyed old man and his adoptive father, the old monkey, and scatter their ashes in the mountains bordering Bianzhou and Huzhou, so that they could be considered to have returned home.
However, before that, they need to meet their old friends.
Su Zhenzhen released General Huo from the storage compartment.
Su Zhenzhen spoke first, "Take one last look at your old friend."
General Huo was floating in the air. In fact, even without Su Zhenzhen saying anything, he noticed the one-eyed old man lying on the ground immediately.
After a long silence, the general, who had spent half his life on the battlefield, calmly asked, "Where are we fighting?"
"Xi City".
After uttering those two words, Su Zhenzhen kept observing General Huo's expression.
"This is the duty of a man on the battlefield; he has died a worthy death." General Huo looked up at the sky above.
Ghosts don't actually have tears, so they don't need to do that.
"Xicheng sent troops to launch a night raid on our camp. The leader seemed to be a formidable man. If Hensheng hadn't intervened in time, your old friend would probably not even have a complete corpse."
"That shouldn't be the case. The Jiang Dynasty doesn't have many talented generals, and there are even fewer among the aristocratic families. Otherwise, they wouldn't have put us commoners in the position of Grand General."
Seeing that General Huo's expression was flawless, Su Zhenzhen continued to ask, "What about the collateral branches of the Jiang family? Are there any capable people among the collateral branches of the Jiang family?"
General Huo remained silent for a long time before uttering a meaningless remark.
“The Jiang family’s collateral branches are very low-key; I never met them during my lifetime.”
Seeing that she couldn't get any information out of him, Su Zhenzhen shoved the person back into the storage compartment.
By the time Su Zhenzhen had finished dealing with the bodies of the one-eyed old man and the old monkey, slivers of light were already appearing on the horizon.
Summer nights are always short, and the light is not far away.
As the war drums sounded, the battle between the two sides officially began in the first rays of dawn.
Fearing she might cause trouble, Su Zhenzhen quietly listened to the sounds of battle from the central command tent.
I wonder how Hensheng is doing, and whether he was injured in the battle last night.
However, what she feared most came to pass. When Chunzhi's personal guards rushed over, Su Zhenzhen knew that something terrible was about to happen.
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