Chapter 37
After Wen Yi arranged the restoration of the city, Yao Wenjun set out again, this time guided by the man who had sent the envoy. In fact, since he had chosen to cooperate with the envoy, there was only one way for this man to succeed, so he readily lent his manpower to Yao Wenjun.
Watching the team leave, Wen Yi noticed the gazes from the dilapidated building behind him looking at him, but he didn't say anything. He just signaled the soldiers behind him to follow him back. At this time, he couldn't do such a dangerous thing as walking alone. After all, this was not Pingyi, or Shangyong, which had already settled down.
The other side.
Although the remaining people knew that Fuyi had been captured, because the people who knew the truth were restricted, after discussing for a long time, they could only come to the conclusion that Yao Wenjun led a large number of soldiers and had equipment that could easily capture the city.
The people who had fled gathered again, looking at each other with a touch of panic. A middle-aged woman sitting at the far edge, sensing the silence, raised her wine cup. She wasn't used to meeting eyes in silence, so she listened intently to the conversation around her. She hadn't been informed of the previous gathering, yet this time she was included. It seemed they were trying to drag her into it, but she always enjoyed such fun, so she wasn't particularly angry.
The guy who followed her analyzed the current situation in a coherent manner. At least it sounded reasonable. The people around her unconsciously turned their ears to listen to his analysis:
"It seems the situation ahead isn't that bad after all." Based on the current military strength, excluding those left behind to garrison Fuyi, the number that could be deployed would likely be much smaller. Everyone knew what Fuyi was. While it had managed to maintain stability before, it still occasionally experienced unrest due to excessive oppression. With the current situation so favorable, those oppressed to the point of not being able to afford food would only add fuel to the fire.
Zhi glanced through the things in his hand again, and when his eyes fell on one of the transfers and messages, he stopped, looking a little confused.
"What's wrong?" the middle-aged woman asked, looking at the man who seemed to be struggling with something.
"Nothing. I just feel like this arrangement is weird. It's not that important. It shouldn't be like this."
However, Zhi did not directly conclude that this was a mistake. Perhaps there was a lot of hidden information, but he just didn't know it yet.
The middle-aged woman didn't ask further questions, nor did she interrupt the thoughts of those around her. She feigned a state of reverie, but in reality, she cast a glance at the old man and young man in the middle, observing their expressions. However, these people were mostly fox spirits, and for a moment, she couldn't see anything wrong. She averted her gaze with some disappointment.
There was a lot of confidential information written on the silk that was distributed to everyone. The middle-aged woman glanced through it and sneered inwardly, but her expression was still as smiling as at the beginning. No one could see what she was thinking.
After a while, everyone put the things back into the box, and those who knew each other gathered together to start discussing and expressing their opinions.
"Where are we going?" Zhi asked.
The middle-aged woman nodded, and then the two of them walked to the nearest place, and the people kneeling there made some space for them.
"In my opinion, what we should do next is to strike head-on, use the troops here to cut off the enemy forces that have penetrated deep into this side, and then cooperate with the outside forces inside." This person was referring to the road coming from Fuyi, but if they wanted to arrive before Yao Wenjun and others, they had to set off immediately and speed up their pace.
"This is inappropriate," someone nearby retorted. "Not to mention the fatigue of the soldiers in those areas, the baggage and food alone won't be enough to sustain the assault. If we're surrounded from behind, we'll fall into their trap."
"In my opinion, we should make a decisive move and abandon some personnel, or send a letter to inform them to disperse and hide, and wait for the arrival of supplies and reinforcements from the rear before advancing."
The man from before retorted:
"Not to mention our strong army and horses, we were able to hold out for so long and still send back information. The rear also quickly sent reinforcements, proving that there must be someone or something that needs them to persist."
"But now the information channels have been cut off, we don't know..."
The middle-aged woman overheard the group's argument and roughly understood what had happened. However, since they were calling for reinforcements, they probably meant to rescue them. Their goal, of course, wasn't to kill the reckless former leader, but to take over the land.
They had also heard that the man's treasury was filled with mountains of supplies and treasures, as well as this year's bumper harvest of grain. If they could get a few bites, any losses incurred along the way could be repaid double, and they could also find many people who could continue to be used.
The middle-aged woman was not optimistic about this. In fact, she had already vaguely sensed the problems between the group of interests in front of her, as well as some strange things in the battle report. However, no one asked about it, so what did it have to do with her?
*
Yao Wenjun advanced extremely quickly, and the messenger in front also promptly conveyed the news that there seemed to be an ambush.
Yes, although they wanted to wipe out the enemy completely, they still considered certain issues, including the impact of fatigue on the soldiers. In the end, they decided to set up camp on an open space not far from the next city. This would not only prevent them from being unable to escape after the city was lost, but also allow them to switch formations more flexibly.
After determining the ambush location of this group of people, Yao Wenjun naturally would not continue to follow the route. Instead, he divided his men into several small groups and went around in several directions, while he led the remaining guys who were not his men forward.
The middle-aged woman in the opposite formation had very good eyesight and naturally saw Yao Wenjun in the middle, but the person standing next to her also looked familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was for a moment.
But soon none of this mattered.
Several forces attacking from the side quickly broke up the fragile alliance, and then divided and eroded it. Yao Wenjun did not pursue the middle-aged woman who had decisively broken out and other parties not previously listed, but instead focused on a few people who were dancing happily.
With the tacit understanding of both parties, several guys dressed quite luxuriously were soon brought in front.
Yao Wenjun had sustained a minor scrape on her arm during the chaotic battle. As soon as it was bandaged, she went to check on the men who looked similar to the one from Fuyi. While she didn't have much emotion about the fall of Yudi, it was still quite interesting.
Seeing Yao Wenjun's attitude, the person kneeling there seemed to realize something.
wrong!
He turned his head sharply back and saw the messenger also helping to clean up the surroundings. Unlike the middle-aged woman, he immediately recognized who this person was.
Things that were originally considered unreasonable in a certain place are about to happen.
There were some who betrayed and surrendered among them very early on.
Looking at the terrifying smile on the other person's face, he suddenly felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured down on his head, washing away all the elation and joy he had felt during that time. Whether it was at the beginning or now, he still felt that Yao Wenjun was a very strange person. Perhaps... their previous decision was too hasty.
Yudi seemed to be of no importance to her at all.
Yao Wenjun smiled and raised her hand, signaling someone to take the man away first. As they passed by, the man heard her lowered voice:
"You are a smart man."
The man understood what Yao Wenjun meant and stopped struggling. Instead, he was dragged to the back in a daze. The rest of the people were also taken away one by one. After being reminded by this guy, the others also realized who the old man was and vented their anger on him.
The messenger looked at the group of people who were scolding him, then smiled and said:
"I don't consider myself a famous scholar. I have made mistakes in small matters and compromised my integrity, but this is the kind of person the world needs."
Only by resorting to any means necessary could we resolve potential problems more efficiently and quickly, avoiding paying a greater price. After struggling, those people were dragged away by the soldiers, leaving only a few standing in the temporary tent.
The messenger smiled and shook his head:
"Someone once asked me if I regretted it, and I answered yes, but if I could go back to that time, I would still make the same choice." The lives of several elders made him bear the infamy for decades, and he was even imprisoned later.
Under the condemnation of everyone, I, now in my thirties, was almost shaken. Was that the wrong choice? Even those closest to me severed ties with me. In the end, it was my current master who managed to allow me to walk back into the public eye, but I still faced criticism from time to time.
He is already old, and it is unknown how long his old bones can last. All he can do is to find more talented people or pave a way for him.
However, talented individuals often came from prominent families. The envoys were keenly aware that those who only knew how to discuss idle discussions would eventually be abandoned. They thought that by carefully teaching some students, they would eventually achieve success. However, before that day came, Yao Wenjun arrived and interrupted all their plans.
It is a pity that after experiencing exclusion and indoctrination from people around them, most children still accept the set of invisible rules that continue to exist, and it is not known whether this is good or bad.
but……
The messenger recalled the group of people of different ages. When he asked questions, some of them did not look at him, and some seemed to be lost in thought. No one spoke, but he could see through the layer of skin and the turbulent waves hidden beneath the calm.
This feeling is too familiar.
Those identities that were once so important no longer mattered. There was a difference between imposed ideas and those that came from within. The former could be easily changed by the environment, while the latter would only be constantly suppressed and eventually explode.
He had originally decided there was no hope, but upon seeing Yao Wenjun and the man called Wen Yi, he smelled something different. Something seemed to be within reach, but there was no rush for now. This place was still some distance from their base camp, so there was no need to rush.
The messenger smiled and shook his head, twirling his beard as he walked towards the place they had agreed on.
*
Chao Niang and two other people were assigned to the same house. When she returned, they had already settled in and were busy doing something in the yard. The newly occupied soldiers not only provided them with some food, but also temporarily provided them with shelter from the wind and rain.
One person was very outgoing and, seeing Chao Niang's hesitation, he smiled and handed her a bowl of porridge, then patted her shoulder.
"Come and eat something. You must be tired these days, right?"
Chao Niang was still immersed in her previous thoughts when she was suddenly interrupted. She raised her head with a look of confusion in her eyes. She drank half a bowl of wine before she came back to her senses.
"Ah...thank you?"
The person who had handed over the bowl earlier burst out laughing, and the other person also pursed his lips. Even though no sound was made, the people around him could sense his joy.
"Don't be so polite. I'm Zhi and the one next to me is Jiaya. These are what those people brought here. You should drink some while it's hot." These two people were exactly the middle-aged woman and her confidant from before, but for some reason they were mixed up here.
Chao Niang didn't know how to respond, so Jiaya, a middle-aged woman beside her, spoke up to help. Her tone was so gentle that people couldn't help but admire her:
"Whether it is or not, we will be living together for a long time from now on."
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