Chapter 222: Victory is also defeat
Fan Xingjian grabbed Fan Laoer who was standing beside him and said, "Look, are there 6,000 Qingyun Guards down there?"
Fan Laoer's back was soaked with cold sweat.
He had never seen such a scene before. In the past, he had at most fought with bandits from different mountain strongholds for territory and treasures, but he had never fought a real battle with the regular army. Now he was panic-stricken.
"Look, I can't see clearly, big brother."
Fan Xingjian slapped him hard.
It was too chaotic down there to see clearly, and their own people didn't have uniform clothing, so at first glance it was such a mess that it was hard to tell who was friend or foe.
Besides, he could feel that Xie Tingzhou was looking at him with a look that showed he was confident of victory.
"You go!" Fan Xingjian drew his knife and said to Fan Laoer, "Send the pigeons to the front to pass the message, and let those ambushed people come to support us!"
Fan Xingjian rushed down the hillside and faced Xi Feng. After a few moves, he was beaten back repeatedly. Fortunately, he had some advantage in strength and managed to hold on.
He struggled to hold the knife, "Damn it! Why haven't the reinforcements come yet?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man named Pigeon ran back and shouted from the top: "Boss! The people ambushing ahead have been taken down, retreat quickly!"
Fan Xingjian's heart sank, but it was too late to curse.
Because he saw that after the pigeon shouted, many bandits wanted to escape.
They were already at a disadvantage, and now the Qingyun Guards' offensive was even more unstoppable.
Fan Xingjian was furious. He pushed away Xifeng's knife with a sudden move, then turned around and ran up the mountain. He didn't hear anyone chasing him, and was wondering when he looked up the slope and suddenly stopped.
A man walked down the mountain, holding a bright red Tang sword in his hand. No one knew whether the color was stained with blood or it was originally a terrifying scarlet color.
The man's body was covered in blood, with a few drops on his face. There was a sharpness hidden between his beautiful eyebrows.
Fan Xingjian suddenly shuddered and subconsciously took a step back.
There are numerous Qingyun Guards behind him and only this one person in front of him. As long as he kills the person in front of him, he will have a chance to escape.
But that step showed cowardice, and the momentum was weakened.
Fan Xingjian cursed secretly and rushed forward with a knife in hand.
When the weapons clashed, Fan Xingjian felt a chill in his heart.
The opponent's swordsmanship was too fast, and the weapon was also a treasure. After several rounds, his sword
Several cuts were made on it.
Fan Xingjian took two steps back, the veins on his forehead throbbing a few times, "You are, Chen, Yu?"
"Since you know, just leave your life behind." Chen Yu drew her knife.
The knife's movement was so powerful and domineering that Fan Xingjian's knife broke into two pieces in an instant.
The knife was already at the side of his neck, and Fan Xingjian felt the coolness of the blade.
Chen Yu threw him to Qingyunwei and walked towards Xie Tingzhou. She stabbed any bandits she met on the way until she reached Xie Tingzhou.
Xie Tingzhou leaned down on his horse, looked at her face, and rubbed her bloody face with his thumb, but it made the bloodstain even more smeared.
"Come." Xie Tingzhou stretched out his hand towards her.
Chen Yu shook her head, "There's blood on my clothes, don't get yours dirty too."
Xie Tingzhou did not allow her to refuse, he grabbed her arm and lifted her up, Shen Yu was still thinking about the poison in his body, so she quickly climbed up.
Xie Tingzhou turned his horse around and said to Xifeng, "Xifeng, I leave this to you."
"Yes!" Xi Feng shouted loudly, "Qingyun Guards, listen to my order, clean up the battlefield immediately."
There was a stream beside the road they had come from, not far behind.
Bai Yu had been scouting for half a day and was exhausted, so he stopped on his horse to rest.
Shen Yu dipped her hands in the water and didn't feel cold. She was so hot from killing that she was sweating slightly.
Xie Tingzhou soaked a handkerchief and tilted his head to wipe the blood off her face. She didn't react at all, just hung her head and rubbed her fingers vigorously in the water.
"What's wrong?" Xie Tingzhou asked.
Shen Yu didn't dare look at him, still staring at the water, "The casualties ahead are more serious."
“How many people are there in front?”
"About 7,000 or 8,000." Chen Yu said.
Xie Tingzhou nodded thoughtfully, "It seems that our prediction was correct. There are more troops in the front than in the back, so it is normal to have more casualties. You don't have to take it too seriously."
Shen Yu's mood did not improve, "But I can't explain to Qingyunwei."
"What do you want to explain?" Xie Tingzhou threw away the handkerchief, pinched her face and turned around.
"How can there be no casualties in a war? The Qingyun Guards are the best soldiers I picked from Beilin. I care about every one of them, but I also know that since they put on the black armor, they have been prepared to die in battle."
"That's not the case." Shen Yu was a little anxious, and her eyes were red.
"There shouldn't have been so many casualties. I don't know what went wrong. The casualties are heavier than I thought."
Xie Tingzhou grabbed the back of her head, hooked her and pressed her towards him, forehead touching, "Don't think about it yet, you are tired, take a rest."
Chen Yu slowly leaned on his shoulder and pressed Xie Tingzhou to sit on the stone by the stream.
Xie Tingzhou hugged her, propped up one leg for her to lean on, and held her in his arms.
Chen Yu fell asleep leaning against Xie Tingzhou, with the cloak wrapping them into one.
She had led her men to ambush in front at midnight yesterday. She hadn't slept all night and had fought such a battle, so she must be tired.
Xi Feng rode over and guessed that they had come here. He dismounted and saw the two people hugging each other by the stream, but he did not go forward and just waited on the side.
Xie Tingzhou turned his head and saw Xi Feng. He wanted to wake up Chen Yu but couldn't bear to wake her up. Half an hour later, he finally woke her up.
Chen Yu was still dazed from her sleep, so she wrapped herself in Xie Tingzhou's cloak and sat on a rock to wake herself up.
Most of Xie Tingzhou's body was numb. He stood up to relieve the pain and talked to Xifeng about the casualties.
"How many casualties?"
Xi Feng's face was not good. "Three hundred and seventy-three people died and five hundred and sixty-eight were injured."
Nearly a thousand of the six thousand men were killed, so even a victory would be a defeat.
Chen Yu raised her head, "How many casualties were there?"
Xifeng hurriedly looked at Xie Tingzhou, and Xie Tingzhou blinked to indicate his approval.
Xifeng gave a vague number, "The casualties in the latter part accounted for less than 40%."
Shen Yu was silent.
Sixty percent of the casualties in the front were caused by the soldiers she led, so she should be held responsible for this number of casualties.
"Let's talk about it when we get back." Xie Tingzhou didn't want her to think too much, so he bent down, picked her up horizontally, and walked towards the horse.
Xifeng looked at the other side and pretended to be blind. When he heard the sound of horse hooves, he got on his horse and followed.
The Qingyun Guards set up camp and erected tents, and everyone resumed the game in the tents.
The lieutenant general was originally sent by the King of Beilin to lead troops to escort the betrothal gifts to Hezhou. He sat down and reported the military situation to Xie Tingzhou.
Chen Yu sat next to Xie Tingzhou and said, "I am responsible for this matter."
The lieutenant general said, "The Crown Princess does not need to take the blame on herself. In fact, we have discussed this privately. There is no problem with the Crown Princess's arrangement."
"Where's the problem?" Shen Yu asked.
The lieutenant general hesitated to speak.
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