Thirteenth Master and Seventeenth Master returned to Wusong Wharf with Shi Cong and two dilapidated boats. As soon as the boats docked, Thirteenth Master immediately sent people to count the number of people.
After a while, the military doctor came to report: "Your Highness, there are more than five or six hundred wounded on the ship..." In his anxiety, the Seventeenth Prince grabbed the military doctor by the collar and asked urgently, "How many people have died?"
The medic, trembling with fear, replied, "Your Highness... approximately eight hundred soldiers perished..."
Seventeenth Master was shocked and enraged. He shoved the army doctor aside and rushed to Shi Cong in a few steps, roaring with fear and anger, "It's all your fault... Did you hear that? More than eight hundred people have died!"
Shi Cong was startled and retreated several steps in fright. Thirteenth Master quickly stepped in front of Shi Cong, hugged the aggressive Seventeenth Master, and said, "Seventeenth... calm down..."
Seventeenth Master broke free from Thirteenth Master's arm, his eyes wide as he pointed at the timid Shi Chen behind Thirteenth Master, and shouted, "Thirteenth Brother? How can you expect me to stay calm? Eight hundred lives have been lost under his irresponsible command..."
Thirteenth Master frowned and sighed, while Seventeenth Master was still roaring hysterically, "These are all human lives... Thirteenth Brother, how are we going to explain this?"
Thirteenth Prince closed his eyes and shouted loudly, "Enough! This is a battlefield, death is inevitable, now is not the time to discuss this..."
Seventeenth Master finally calmed down, glared angrily at Shi Cong, and then plopped down in a chair with his back to Thirteenth Master. Thirteenth Master then turned around and stared at Shi Cong, who felt a chill run down her spine and involuntarily shrank back.
The Thirteenth Prince said to Shi Cong in a deep voice, "Lord Shi, do you have anything else to say?"
Shi Cong shook his head timidly, whispering guiltily, "This time I underestimated the enemy. I beg Your Highness to forgive me!" The Thirteenth Prince said, "You should ask the fallen soldiers for forgiveness..."
Shi Cong nervously looked up, meeting the Thirteenth Prince's cold gaze. He said in a panic, "Your Highness, please forgive me! I now surrender all command and will obey Your Highness's orders..."
Seventeenth Master turned around and glared at him angrily, saying resentfully, "We should never have relied on you in the first place..."
Seventeenth Master stood up, his anger subsided considerably, and said to Thirteenth Master, "Thirteenth Brother, now we should properly take care of the wounded..." Thirteenth Master nodded and gave the order, and the county government officials of Songjiang Prefecture and all the military doctors were mobilized to do their best to treat the wounded.
By evening, all the wounded had been taken care of, and the soldiers began cleaning their guns and sharpening their swords in preparation for rest. Seventeenth Master went to Thirteenth Master's room and looked around.
Thirteenth Master laughed and said, "Lord Shi isn't here! What do you need?" Seventeenth Master sat down angrily and complained, "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have failed. Now I get angry just looking at him..." Thirteenth Master sighed and blamed himself, "I also bear some responsibility. This failure isn't entirely Lord Shi's fault."
Seventeenth Master sat up straight and said, "Thirteenth Brother, I came here to discuss this with you. We should stick to the original plan and send someone in to infiltrate first, so that we can coordinate an attack from the inside and outside, which would be the safest course of action..."
Seventeen sighed again, looking distressed, and lamented, "Alas... but the war has already begun, what should we do..."
Thirteenth Prince pondered for a moment, stopped what he was doing, and slowly said, "The last resort is for me to transport some more grain to test them."
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