Chapter 1085 Crushing Defeat
At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the thick clouds and shone on the vast grassland, countless vultures and eagles were already circling in the sky.
The sunlight also illuminated the horrific scene on the earth.
Inside Huyang Valley, corpses lay strewn everywhere. Because the troops on both sides had retreated quickly, they had only hastily buried the bodies of the fallen soldiers. The thin layer of soil was no match for the stench of the dead, and the bloody smell attracted jackals and hyenas from the vicinity to fight over the food. These beasts let out greedy growls as they dug out pieces of pale, mutilated limbs from the soil, revealing faces filled with terror and regret.
Then, footsteps came from one side of the valley.
The sound wasn't loud. The wild beasts first looked up warily, and when they realized there weren't many people coming, they didn't leave, but just continued to tear at the flesh.
The faces of those who witnessed this scene showed not only regret and resentment, but also a sense of desolation. Especially Gao Feng and Jiang Kesheng, who had not slept all night and whose eyes were bloodshot, directed their men to shout loudly and wave their swords, trying to drive away these beasts. The jackals and hyenas were frightened and took two steps back, but then boldly returned and continued to gnaw on the beasts.
Jiang Kesheng sighed, then turned to Gao Feng, who was still having people search for the body, and said, "Brother Gao, the princess is definitely not here."
Gao Feng looked up at him: "Oh?"
Jiang Kesheng said, "My men saw that the princess and the others did not escape into the valley, but were surrounded by the enemy generals—if the enemy knew her identity as a princess, they would not kill her easily."
"..."
"Moreover, they walked so fast and didn't head towards Tongguan. I guess they must have gone back to Hulao Pass."
"..."
"His Highness the King of Qin is currently at Hulao Pass, and a living Queen Qin is priceless to them."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Gao Feng's face showed a mixture of joy and worry—he was naturally happy that Shang Ruyi was alright, after all, she was the young lady he had protected for many years, and now she had become the Princess Consort of Qin, a position of immeasurable nobility. If he had not protected her well and she had lost her life, then Gao Feng would not have been able to return alive to see the Shen couple.
What I'm worried about is...
He took a deep breath, suppressing his fear, and said to Jiang Kesheng, "In that case, let's hurry to Hulao Pass and tell Qin this news—"
Before the word "king" could even be uttered, the jackals and hyenas that were feasting on the pile of corpses suddenly raised their heads and looked behind them.
A sudden, heavy thud of hooves accompanied by a slight tremor of the ground struck. Everyone sensed something and hurriedly looked up at the front of the valley. On the open grassland, a troop of people was galloping towards them, and soon they were right in front of them.
Jiang Kesheng, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized the tall figure leading the way and exclaimed in delight, "Your Highness!"
Gao Feng also rushed over in a hurry.
The large contingent galloped in, immediately startling the jackals and hyenas, who scattered in all directions. Jiang Kesheng and Gao Feng led the remaining men and ran out of Hu Yang Valley. Just as they reached the valley entrance, the contingent stopped. The man at the front of the group tightened the reins, and his horse reared up with a loud neigh. The horse's hooves pounded heavily on the blood-soaked ground, kicking up a cloud of dust filled with the stench of blood, which made the rider's brow furrow.
The person who arrived was none other than Yuwen Ye, who had traveled day and night from Hulao Pass with his men.
Jiang Kesheng, along with Gao Feng and the others, hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "Your Highness, we, your humble servants, pay our respects!"
Yuwen Ye remained silent, his gaze, heavy with fear, sweeping over the crowd. Just moments before, as he ran towards this place, he had already smelled the stench of blood and corpses in the wind, seen vultures circling overhead, and heard the howls of jackals and hyenas, but he hadn't heard any sounds of battle. He had a vague feeling that something was amiss, and as he drew closer to Huyang Valley, seeing the devastation and the figures of Jiang Kesheng and the others, his heart sank completely.
At this moment, he took a deep breath and finally managed to speak, but his deep voice was also strangely hoarse: "Where is she?"
Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads.
Jiang Kesheng could only slowly raise his head, which met Yuwen Ye's bloodshot eyes, which stared at him intently as if trying to rip out his blood and bones.
Jiang Kesheng immediately lowered his head: "This humble servant deserves to die."
Yuwen Ye gritted his teeth and asked, "Where is she?"
Jiang Kesheng banged his head heavily on the ground, unable to utter a single word.
His actions have already said it all.
Having rushed here through the night, his already tense nerves were like a bowstring stretched to its limit. At this moment, a buzzing sound came from his mind, as if the bowstring had snapped. Yuwen Ye felt a darkness before his eyes and almost fell off his horse.
The guards following behind him, who had already dismounted, rushed forward upon seeing this: "Your Highness!"
Yuwen Ye instinctively tightened his grip on the reins, barely managing to steady himself. Those around him could even hear the clenching of his teeth. Then he said in a deep voice, "What happened? Explain yourself!"
Jiang Kesheng finally raised his head, his pale face filled with regret, and said, "After we forced Ashina Zhuxie's troops to retreat in Xia Prefecture, we followed the Princess south, intending to head to Luoyang to meet His Highness. But just four days ago, we suddenly heard that a large force from Hebei was about to pass through Huyang Valley. The Princess sent people to investigate several times and confirmed that the group was Xiao Yuansui's subordinates. And since they are taking this route, they are likely planning to advance into Guanzhong, so—"
At this point, he was so filled with remorse that he could barely continue.
In fact, he had advised Shang Ruyi that even though their heavy cavalry had shown great prowess against the Turkic Zhu Xie Khan, facing an enemy army of tens of thousands was like an ant trying to shake a tree, and they might very well perish here.
Shang Ruyi was not unaware of this truth.
At this point, she and the others had no other choice. If they allowed these 80,000 troops to pass through Huyang Valley, Chang'an, which was already short of troops, would be threatened, and Yuwen Ye and his men would have to turn back to rescue it. In that case, the attack on Dongdu, which was only halfway through, would be in vain.
so--
Gao Feng's throat tightened, and he said in a deep voice, "The Princess has decided to hold Hu Yang Valley."
Yuwen Ye tightened his grip on the reins, his knuckles cracking, and asked, "And then?"
Jiang Kesheng looked up at him, his eyes red, and said, "Yesterday, the enemy troops bypassed the valley and went to the back. The princess and the others were all captured!"
Yuwen Ye took a deep breath and then asked, "Where have they gone now?"
Gao Feng immediately said, "After capturing the princess, they did not continue through Hu Yang Valley, but turned back—if I am not mistaken, they should be heading south towards Luoyang."
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