Zhao Yang was not careful and was attacked from both sides by Yan Xun and Chu Qiao. The Southwestern Army, the Northern Alliance and the Batuha Army were defeated in front of the battle. Zhao Yang was unable to hold on alone and had no choice but to retreat to the Helan Mountains. Yan Xun pursued closely and killed more than 200,000 enemies along the way. Except for Zhao Yang's Northwest Army, the main forces of the other three armies were almost all destroyed. Yan Xun led his troops all the way into the northwest inland of Daxia and stopped at Yanming Pass. Afterwards, the Black Hawk Army set up camp north of Yanming Pass. Zhao Yang looked across the river and saw that the northwest of the empire had been completely occupied by the Yanbei Army. All the officials and nobles in the northwest surrendered. He was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the frozen Chishui River.
With this, the First Northern Expedition came to an end. The Yanbei army lost as many as 400,000 soldiers at the two cities of Beishuo and Chidu. Chidu city was turned into a wasteland and countless refugees died during the migration. The finances of Yanbei, which were already poor, became even more difficult.
Compared to Yanbei, the damage suffered by Daxia was simply incalculable. Not only did the Northern Expedition Army lose most of its troops, a prince was beheaded on the battlefield, and half of the northwestern territory fell into the hands of the enemy. If Yan Xun had not turned his sword around on the battlefield and headed back to rescue Beishuo, even the imperial capital might have been captured. The eyes of the entire Simon Continent were focused on it. In the northwest sky, a magnificent red sun slowly set. The three hundred years of glory and dreams of the Great Xia Empire were heading towards an unstoppable decline.
After Zhao Yang returned to the imperial capital, the royal family of Daxia was furious, and the Council of Elders passed a resolution to put Zhao Yang in prison with a unanimous vote, which was rare and quick. Three days later, the empire quickly dispatched 300,000 troops from the Southeast Army, Northeast Army, and the family armies of major families, led by the seventh prince Zhao Che, and once again sent them to the Northwest battlefield.
Zhuge Huai, the eldest son of the Zhuge family, served as the chief reserve dispatch officer in the First Northern Expedition and was also implicated in this defeat. The Zhuge clan was ostracized and impeached by the Council of Elders. Zhuge Muqing had no choice but to once again use his fourth son Zhuge Yue to serve as the general dispatcher of the reserve forces and the chief military supply officer of this army. He followed Zhao Che's footsteps and quickly headed to the northwest.
It can be imagined that another war is about to begin. The room was silent. Occasionally, a jackdaw would flap its wings and fly past the window. The wind rustled the snow. The moonlight shone through the window lattice onto the ground, surrounded by a candle flame, but it was ultimately a dim light.
When Yan Xun came over, it was already very late. The sparse footsteps sounded like a night watchman's drum, quietly coming from a distance. The maids in front of the door knelt down in unison, their knees hitting the snow, and there was a sound of snowflakes being crushed.
"Your Highness, the girl has gone to bed." The maid's voice was faintly filled with awe and timidity.
The wind seemed to suddenly get stronger, faintly covering the silence and awkwardness that could not be concealed. The trees swayed, and the moonlight was dim and uncertain. There was only a faint grey shadow that silently cast its shadow through the window pane. The grey shadow stood in front of the window, neither speaking nor leaving.
"Did you sleep well, girl?" After a moment, a mellow voice sounded faintly. There was no obvious joy, nor resentment for being blocked outside. It just asked calmly, "Has the doctor come to see you?"
"The girl suffered some minor injuries, but it's nothing serious." The maid answered obediently.
"Oh." Yan Xun answered, and then asked, "What did you have for dinner?"
"I only drank half a bowl of porridge."
Yan Xun nodded silently, "She might be hungry at night, you guys should prepare some food and keep it warm, be alert and don't fall into a deep sleep."
"I understand."
Yan Xun stood under the corridor, his figure gleaming. The weather outside was so cold that the wind and snow were swirling on the ground, wandering back and forth. The moonlight was dim, illuminating the white ground. He stood in the center of the light and shadow, lowered his head slightly, and whispered to the closed window: "Ah Chu, I'm leaving."
A light breeze blew, ruffling the black hair at the man's temples. Yan Xun turned around and walked down the stairs. His steps were light, but they landed heavily.
The people outside gradually walked away. Chu Qiao lay on the bed. The cold moon was like a hook in the sky, as if it was still the crescent in Shengjin Palace many years ago. In the dim light and shadow of Yingge Courtyard, there were residual red blood dripping between fingers. The child's dark eyes were like shining stars, and his eyebrows were twisted with red eyeballs. A chill emerged from the bottom of his heart, like lingering water. Time passes, but people's hearts never disappear, and he is not the only one who has changed.
She suddenly became flustered, threw back the quilt, ran out of the inner room barefoot without putting on any clothes, and slammed the door open. A strong wind suddenly blew up the disheveled black hair. The maids screamed in unison. Before they could stop them, the woman in white soft shirt had already run out of the courtyard.
"Girl!" The maids chased after her in panic, and their voices were so loud that they startled the man walking in front.
However, just as he turned around, a slender shadow suddenly threw himself into his arms with such force. Yan Xun stumbled slightly, but his face was full of surprise. However, when he touched, he found only thin clothes. Yan Xun frowned and scolded him lightly: "A Chu, why did you run out wearing so little?"
Chu Qiao said nothing, but stretched out her hands and hugged the man's waist tightly, leaning her forehead against his chest. The familiar smell lingered in her nostrils, so warm that she almost wanted to fall asleep. Her eyes were moist and tears fell, wetting his shirt on his chest.
She raised her head, her eyes red, and just stared at him steadily. The man was wearing plain clothes and had long eyebrows. It was still the familiar face, but he looked a little more worldly and tired. Suddenly withdrawing camp from the battlefield was a big taboo in military strategy. How much effort and energy would it take to be safe and sound and return to Yanbei quickly? She didn't know these things.
"You're back?"
Yan Xun smiled slightly, his lips soft, covering up all the tiredness and hardship, and just nodded quietly, "You are here, I will not not come back."
Vaguely, it seemed as if I had returned to that snowy night eight years ago. The young man, who was still being hunted, led his troops back to rescue the little slave who had fallen into the hands of his former master. Facing the child's questioning, he just smiled and said, "If I don't come back, what will you do?"
Time flies. It has been eight years. So many things in the world have changed, but they are still standing together, still holding hands.
As soon as his body lightened, he was picked up by Lingkong. Yan Xun frowned slightly, lowered his head and said to Chu Qiao in his arms: "A Chu, why have you lost so much weight?"
Chu Qiao raised her head, gently grasped Yan Xun's collar with her fingers, and whispered, "Because I miss you."
Yan Xun's expression froze for a moment, not without shock. Even though they had been dependent on each other for many years, they seldom spoke such words to each other. In the end, the warmth came over them layer by layer, like boiling water. He wrapped Chu Qiao in his cloak and chuckled, "I've lost weight too."
The servants all breathed a sigh of relief, the wind died down, and Yan Xun strode into the room holding Chu Qiao. After days of fighting, he had to coordinate the pursuit of Xia soldiers and the internal city defense after returning. The affairs were complicated. Even though he missed him so much, he had no choice but to rush over so late at night. He took off his outer cloak, revealing that his inner clothes were covered in dust. He asked the servants to boil some hot water, and the two of them sat opposite each other in the room, with a lot to say but didn't know where to start.
"A-Chu..."
“No need to say more!” Chu Qiao hurriedly stopped him, as if she didn’t want to bring it up, her voice a little awkward, “It’s enough that you’re willing to come back.”
The light shone on the girl's pale face, and Yan Xun suddenly felt a chill in his heart. How much suffering had she endured these days?
"After all, I still deceived you. I'm sorry."
"Didn't I threaten you?" Chu Qiao smiled faintly, "I really thought so at the time. I would stay here and refuse to leave to see if you would come back."
Yan Xun nodded and smiled: "From childhood to adulthood, I have never won a game with you."
Daxia recruited soldiers and the army came to attack. Beishuo started a thunderous war. Yan Xun led his army into the inland of Daxia. During this period, many people died in the war, many people died in accidents, and many soldiers would never see their loved ones and children in their hometown again. The blood soaked the earth and the bones piled up into mountains. Such a battle that was enough to reverse the fate of the entire continent was nothing more than a few casual words in the mouths of the two men.
"Achu, I have something for you."
Hot water was brought in and poured into the huge bathtub bucket by bucket. Chu Qiao stood by the pool and tested the water temperature with her hand. When she heard Yan Xun's words, she turned around and asked, "What?"
It was a very plain ring, without any fancy design. It was made of white jade with a circle of fine patterns on it. Upon closer inspection, they were actually simple crape myrtle flowers.
“When did you buy it?”
"I don't remember." Many years ago, after hearing her occasionally talk about the customs and etiquette of her hometown, I often polished that piece of Hetian jade in my free time. One year, two years, three years, five years, I had already prepared it, but I never had the courage to give it to her, simply because I was too weak at that time, and had nothing but hatred. I just kept waiting and waiting, trying to find the right time and the right place, but I waited for so many years.
Chu Qiao put it on the ring finger of her left hand without thinking, then held it up, looked at it stupidly, and smiled, "It looks really good."
The curtains were drawn, Yan Xun was bathing inside, and Chu Qiao was sitting outside waiting. Just like many years ago, when one person was bathing, their guard was always the lowest, so they were always used to one bathing while the other was keeping watch outside.
The curtains, layer upon layer, were filled with a pleasant aroma. There was no wind in the room, but the curtains still moved gently. Yan Xun's voice came from inside, "Ah Chu, face towel."
Chu Qiao quickly picked up the white face towel, stretched her arm over the curtain, and gently touched her fingertips. It was scorching hot. Chu Qiao quickly retracted her hand and asked awkwardly, "Is the water hot?"
"fine."
The sound of water splashing was heard, Chu Qiao sat outside with her chin in her hand, and the two of them chatted casually.
"Yan Xun, are you injured this time?"
"No, I didn't go to the front."
Steam spread out from inside little by little, and the room became warm.
"Why would Huai Song cooperate with us to conduct military exercises on the border? Do you know their eldest princess?"
The man said, "We've only met a few times, so I can't say I know you, but I have a friend in Huaisong, and he was the one who handled this matter."
"Oh, I see."
"Ah Chu, are you seriously injured? Where are you hurt?"
"Nothing serious, just some minor scrapes."
The room gradually became quiet. After a long while, Chu Qiao suddenly said, "Yan Xun, if you have any problems in the future, don't hide them from me anymore."
The person inside didn't say anything. Chu Qiao waited for a long time, but there was no answer. She couldn't help but called out twice, "Yan Xun?"
Still no answer, Chu Qiao became anxious, pulled aside the curtain and ran in barefoot. But Yan Xun was just sitting in the pool, sleeping with his head leaning against the wall, his brows slightly wrinkled and his face full of fatigue.