The actual situation was basically consistent with Fan Ziruo's prediction.
After being caught in a pincer attack by the Qi army, the Yan army began to retreat westward toward Luoyue Pass.
The Qi army from the Southwest King's side and the Qi army from Yin Jingcheng's side began a long pursuit.
The previous skirmishes resulted in minimal casualties, but if the Yan army were allowed to withdraw completely back to Yan, it would be difficult to explain to any party. Moreover, the Yan army wasn't withdrawing back to Yan, but rather to Luoyue Pass.
Even though Luoyue Pass had been breached by the Yan army, it remained a strategically important and easily defensible pass. Its significance in the hands of the Yan state was entirely different from that in the hands of the Qi state.
In the hands of the Yan state, Luoyue Pass was their frontline for southward expansion. For the Qi state, it was a double-edged sword hanging overhead, threatening to plunge them into vast territories at any moment. In the hands of the Qi state, Luoyue Pass was a shield against the Yan army's iron cavalry, capable of thwarting Yan's ambitions to advance south.
In fact, the Yan army's orderly westward retreat was not a case of a defeated and remnant force.
Furthermore, when they retreated to a large, flat area, they used the advantage of cavalry charges to turn around and launch a surprise attack on the Qi army.
The Qi soldiers, hastily pursuing the enemy, suffered heavy losses when confronted by the overwhelming charge of the Yan army. Of course, this did not include the New Chu army, to which He Yunxiao belonged.
On the plains west of Yinjing, a large contingent of Yan cavalry was chasing a group of Qi soldiers who were retreating in panic.
Human legs are no match for horse legs, and the distance between the two armies rapidly closed. Then, just as the cavalry was about to catch up with the infantry, the ground beneath the Yan cavalry suddenly collapsed.
Rows of Yan cavalry charged forward, then row after row of Yan cavalry broke through the thin wooden planks used to disguise the ground, falling into the trenches that the Xin Chu army had dug in advance.
Before the Yan army could react, arrows mixed with grenades rained down from the sky, exploding with a series of thunderous sounds on the uneven ground. Then, the Xin Chu soldiers who had been fleeing in panic instantly raised their spears and lances and turned back.
Such scenes are not uncommon on this land where yellow sand fills the sky.
...
Qingyuzi recently noticed that He Yunxiao was in low spirits and not in much interest.
The most obvious change is that she can now practice her martial arts at night to recover. Previously, He Yunxiao would never have given her the opportunity to practice.
The area where the grasslands meet the Gobi Desert is sparsely populated, and it often takes a day or two to reach a town on horseback. Stationing troops in such a place is naturally not as comfortable as stationing them near Yinjing. Even the female protagonists initially only lived in tents.
One evening, Qing Yuzi found He Yunxiao and said to him, "Come with me."
He Yunxiao left with Qing Yuzi without saying a word.
The two entered Qing Yuzi's tent, where Qing Yuzi, rather politely, poured tea for He Yunxiao, who was looking rather sullen. It should be noted that He Yunxiao was the disciple, and it was He Yunxiao who should have been the one pouring tea for Qing Yuzi.
"If you have any difficulties, you can talk to me. Now that I have accepted you as an outer disciple, I will naturally not abandon you."
"Thank you for your concern, Daoist Master," He Yunxiao replied perfunctorily.
Qing Yuzi's eyebrows, hidden beneath her veil, furrowed slightly. He Yunxiao's unfamiliarity made her quite uncomfortable.
On the eve of their arrival on the grassland, He Yunxiao would still joke around with her every day, and then stare at her with lecherous eyes, justifying his actions.
In his sophistry, he argued that this wasn't "lecherous" but rather "artistic appreciation."
He Yunxiao now looked lifeless, like a martial artist whose power had been completely depleted, or someone who had gone mad from practicing qi cultivation.
"Extend your hand, and I'll take a look at it for you."
"Master, I'm fine," He Yunxiao said.
"Give me your hand," Qingyuzi said again.
Helpless, He Yunxiao had no choice but to extend his hand to Qing Yuzi.
Qing Yuzi felt his pulse and used her internal energy to check his skill level; everything was normal.
“Your illness is rather strange,” Qingyuzi concluded.
"Master, I'm not sick."
Qingyuzi frowned.
"Why are you so listless if you're not sick?"
"I..." He Yunxiao paused, "Daoist, you don't know, but the Qi and Yan armies have already killed 300,000 people in the past few days. The figures are like mountains, and the blood flows like rivers... How can you expect me to be happy?"
Thanks to prior preparations and the extensive use of fortifications, explosives, and arrows, the rear guard suffered the fewest casualties in this decisive battle between Qi and Yan, though still numbering over 20,000. He Yunxiao recognized many of them. (www.cascoo.net)
Even though casualties on the battlefield are the most normal thing, such a large area of desolation caused a sense of melancholy to frequently linger over He Yunxiao.
Those scenes of ruins shrouded in the night, too dark to look at directly, often made He Yunxiao wonder if the Qi-Yan war had any meaning.
What did the State of Yan gain? What did the State of Qi gain?
In He Yunxiao's memory, the feud between Qi and Yan had been ongoing for a long time, yet the borders of their main territories had hardly been altered. The changes were limited to minor adjustments in small areas.
For example, Hexi County, which was lost twenty years ago, was recaptured more than ten years ago thanks to the efforts of Chu Fan's father, Chu Tianzhu, and the Chu family army.
"He Yunxiao." Qing Yuzi sat up straight. "As the commander of an army, if even you are so negative, what are you expecting the rest of the soldiers to think?"
He Yunxiao opened his mouth, but remained silent. After closing it, he said, unwilling to give up, "Does the Daoist priest think I act like this in front of the soldiers?"
Qingyuzi: ? ? ?
He Yunxiao shrugged. "You shouldn't bring bad moods to work. Every adult should understand that, right? I was sullen in front of the Taoist priest simply because I was off work and at home, and I didn't treat him like an outsider."
“You…” Qingyuzi didn’t know what to say.
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