The immense force of the impact sent Gu Yuzhi flying backward, crashing straight into the edge of the bed before rolling off.
The intense pain caused Gu Yuzhi's vision to go black. He clutched his chest, vomited a mouthful of blood, and then fainted.
When Gu Yuzhi regained consciousness, he had already returned to Changzhou and was lying on his bed, covered with a soft and delicate silk quilt, with Xie Changshi's worried voice in his ear.
"Judge Qin, how much longer until His Highness wakes up?"
Imperial Physician Qin took the pulse and said, "It'll be soon. I'll go and prepare another dose of medicine. Once His Highness takes it, he should be able to wake up."
Xie Changshi had also become skin and bones during this time. Taking advantage of Gu Yuzhi's unconscious state, he held his hand tightly, his eyes red and bloodshot. "How is Mr. Huo doing?"
Judge Qin lowered his eyes slightly and after a long while said, "Mr. Huo's hand is broken, but at least he is still alive!"
He paused, thought for a moment, and chuckled softly, "They've used up all their luck just to be alive."
Upon hearing this, Xie Changshi could no longer hold back his tears, which fell suddenly. It took him a while to calm down: "Yes! They are much luckier than those guards who couldn't find their bodies and whose heads were hung high in front of their tents!"
Gu Yuzhi was in a daze, unsure whether this was a dream before his death or a real return; his head was shaking violently.
If it was a dream, why did those guards still sacrifice themselves, especially Mr. Huo, whose hand couldn't be saved...?
"What did the Emperor say?"
They had already informed Gu Yuchen as soon as they received intelligence that the Northern Barbarians were making unusual moves.
After receiving the letter, Gu Yuchen dispatched troops. When the Northern Di retreated due to a shortage of food, Tian Shu and others led the capital troops to pursue them beyond the pass, killing the Northern Di's 100,000-strong army and leaving only a few thousand men.
Alentel's head was naturally brought back to the capital.
With the death of the Northern Di Khan and the collapse of his army, coupled with the destruction of his stronghold, the Northern Di dared not invade for at least twenty years.
However, facing the arrogance of the Northern Di, Quanzhou suffered a pyrrhic victory this time. If it weren't for Gu Yuzhi cutting off their supplies and Gu Yuchen's immediate dispatch of troops, it's hard to say whether Quanzhou could have been saved.
Qin Yuanpan's face was full of vicissitudes as he thought about what he had seen and heard during this period: "The Northern Di have sent people back to bring back the bodies of those guards, and they have also sent a letter of surrender, willing to submit to the emperor, as well as an annual tribute of 500,000 taels of silver."
He glanced at Gu Yuzhi, who was still unconscious, and his eyes instantly softened: "Furthermore, His Majesty has agreed to Your Highness's suggestion and is willing to transfer more military doctors to the northern desert, where I will be responsible for their instruction."
Xie Changshi then smiled, touched Gu Yuzhi's wrinkled little hand, and said with heartache in his eyes, "Fortunately, the storm has passed now."
Judge Qin sighed, "Yes. This time, we really owe a debt to Xueye's mother. If it weren't for her leading the wild beasts to the rescue in time, His Highness and Mr. Huo..."
Gu Yuzhi then realized that after he fainted that day, he sensed something was wrong on a snowy night nearby, tore open the tent and rushed over, tackling Hu Jintiele to the ground.
At that time, of the twenty-odd people who came out, only he and Mr. Huo were still alive.
Mr. Huo was already exhausted. If it weren't for the fact that the other two guards held onto Hu Qu Tiele's body even in death, Mr. Huo would have been killed by Hu Qu Tiele long ago.
He didn't even get to be rescued on that snowy night.
Although there weren't many guards left in the Northern Di's main camp, the Northern Di people were warlike by nature, and everyone could be a soldier. In addition, the Beast Legion was also exhausted, and when Xue Ye came to rescue him, he was covered in wounds.
Mr. Huo only paused for a moment before rushing back into the tent with his gun. He and Xue Ye worked together, but they were still being overwhelmed by the Tiele until they heard a wolf howl.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks on the snowy night, raised his head and let out a long howl, his voice filled with sorrow.
The wind and snow had long since stopped, revealing a clean and clear sky, and a round moon gleaming with an eerie light.
The mother on the snowy night seemed to be standing in the middle of the moon, tilting her head back and letting out another wolf howl.
At the sound of the wolf howl, the people in the Northern Di camp all knelt down and kept saying in the Northern Di language, "The wolf god has appeared..."
The next instant, the outer perimeter of the Northern Di people's camp was breached by the wolf pack, which quickly found Gu Yuzhi's tent.
Some wolves protected Xueye and the Iron-Eating Beast as they led Gu Yuzhi and Mr. Huo to their retreat, while the rest of the wolves surrounded and attacked Hu Jintiele, biting him to death.
Seeing this cruel scene, the already timid and panicked Northern Di people could no longer control themselves and screamed, "The Wolf God has punished us! The Wolf God has punished us!"
At this moment, the Northern Di people had completely lost the will to resist. They all lay prostrate on the ground, trembling, fearing that the Wolf God would punish them for their sins.
The mother of the snowy night did not kill humans. After seeing that Gu Yuzhi and Huoxian's voices had been brought out, she let out another wolf howl and led the wolf pack to begin the escort.
When they returned to the northern desert, the war in Quanzhou had just ended. After handing Gu Yuzhi and Mr. Huo over to Xie Changshi, Xueye's mother took Xueye back to her hometown.
Thinking back to when he first met the young prince, the prince was covered in blood and his pulse was so weak it was almost imperceptible, Qin Yuanpan couldn't help but sigh again: "What the young prince has done for the people of the Northern Desert and the people of the Sang Dynasty is something that neither you nor I can compare to!"
Suddenly, Imperial Physician Qin looked up at Chief Secretary Xie, his gaze intense, and said, "Now that the Sang Dynasty is peaceful and prosperous, His Majesty has eliminated both internal and external troubles. Your Highness has made such a contribution, what is His Majesty thinking?"
Before they came, they all thought that the young prince was just a pawn of the emperor. Once the emperor's affairs were settled, whether the young prince lived or died was none of their concern.
But none of them think that way now!
Qin Yuanpan thought that if the Emperor really had some bad intentions, they would do everything in their power to save the young prince's life.
Only after feeling Gu Yuzhi's small hand regain some warmth did Chief Secretary Xie put it back into the quilt and instruct Cailian to bring a few more hot water bottles so that His Highness's bedding would be warm enough.
Only after Cailian left did Chief Secretary Xie say, "This morning, Heiyuan delivered a secret letter from the Emperor, containing three pieces of good news."
"His Majesty has publicly acknowledged the young prince's actions during his recent trip to the Northern Barbarians and has bestowed upon him a new title: Qin."
"Secondly, once His Highness recovers and enters the capital to receive his title, he will be accompanied by Consort Taixian upon his return."
Judge Qin's eyes widened, and before he could react, he heard Chief Secretary Xie say, "Third, His Majesty personally sought out Master Cheng and invited him to come out of seclusion and serve as the headmaster of the academy in the northern desert!"
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