HMHSE - 82

In Youzhou city, the sound of killing gradually ceased.

There were no more enemy soldiers coming from the pass, and the grey-armoured Danzhou army, like a tide, poured into Youzhou city. Working in concert with the black-armoured Youzhou army, they quickly gained the upper hand.

Zhou Jun, holding his broad saber, personally led his men up the city wall. He scanned left and right. The enemy soldiers here had been eliminated, and the wounded Youzhou soldiers were being carried down the wall.

Seeing the number of defenders on the wall, he frowned with a grim face. Then he turned around and looked down from the city wall.

Below, Lady He was being escorted away from a street corner. Zhao Jinkam’s face was pale in the firelight. His official robe was covered in dust, but he was already there, directing officials to comfort the people.

He looked around for a while before finally seeing Zhao Fumei.

In a corner below the city walls that had just been secured by the Youzhou army, Zhao Fumei was squatting with a piece of cloth in her hand. If he hadn’t looked closely, he might not have seen her.

Zhou Jun narrowed his eyes and looked for a few moments, only to realize that she was bandaging a soldier with a knife wound on his leg. Her hands were a little flustered, but he remembered that he had heard she knew some medical skills before marriage.

Zhao Fumei finished bandaging, stood up, and looked up at the city wall. It seemed she saw him. She lowered her head, twisting the cloth in her hand.

Zhou Jun looked at her, then turned his head, and sat down next to the elevated war drum, waiting for his soldiers to report on the battle.

Before his soldiers arrived, a familiar, simple skirt hem appeared before him. It was stained with dry blood. A hand stretched out, offering him a cloth.

Zhao Fumei had come up to the city wall and stood in front of him, holding the cloth out to him. “My lord, it looks like your hand is injured.”

Zhou Jun’s narrow eyes looked at his hand. His face was as grim as ever. He had indeed been cut by an enemy’s knife on the back of his hand when he entered the city, and it had bled a little. He didn’t move. “Just a small cut. I’m not that frail.”

Zhao Fumei pulled her hand back and managed a smile. “My lord, I really didn’t expect you to come to Youzhou’s aid.”

Zhou Jun suddenly let out a cold smile. “This shows that Shan Zong isn’t the only one who can save you. I can save you, too.”

Zhao Fumei was stunned for a moment. She remembered the arrow that had come flying just in time on the city wall, and she also remembered the war in Youzhou years ago, her family who had all died in the fighting, and that heroic dark figure who had appeared out of nowhere to pacify the war. Finally, she thought of his figure riding out from outside the city walls not long ago. She gripped the cloth in her hand, looked at his pale, grim face, and just nodded. “Yes, this time my lord saved me.”

Zhou Jun looked at her. She had already gathered her skirt and squatted down beside him, taking his hand that held the saber, and wrapping it with the cloth.

He looked at her lowered face with his narrow eyes, and finally did not pull his hand away.

________________________________________

From the firelight-covered night to the grey dawn, the enemy vanguard that had breached Youzhou city received no reinforcements from the pass. They were finally completely cleared from outside the city gates. Now, they were gathering their remaining troops and desperately fleeing towards the pass.

A Danzhou soldier galloped to the city, loudly reporting the news. Only then did Zhou Jun lead his men down the wall.

The Danzhou army had only been reinforcing for a few hours, so they still had enough energy. A troop of several thousand men followed them out of the city in pursuit.

In the wilderness near the rolling mountains of Youzhou, the wind and sand swirled. In the distance, figures on horseback appeared. There were only about a hundred of them, most with messy hair and dragging chains, like wild ghosts that had crawled out of the deep mountains. But in an instant, they attacked on horseback, without retreating or avoiding the fight, their ferocity far surpassing an army of thousands.

The Khitan leader shouted loudly, leading the remaining troops to charge at them. The soldiers at the front, who had just swung their sabers, were cut down. Only the fast horses charged out. They couldn’t even see how the sabers were used, only hearing bursts of wild, bloodthirsty laughter.

“Run, you bastards, run! We haven’t had our fill of killing yet!”

The leader was shocked. With pursuers behind and an obstruction in front, he no longer cared about anyone else. He mustered all his strength to shake off the others, rushing alone towards the pass.

The men covering him were held up, but a shiny black warhorse charged straight at him. He looked up and only saw a pair of dark eyes. He widened his eyes and shouted a “Shan,” but the saber’s cold light swept past, and his chest felt cold. His words were cut short. He fell from his horse and collapsed to the ground.

The Danzhou army arrived instantly and surrounded the remaining enemy troops.

Zhou Jun, who was close behind, reined in his horse. His face was pale and grim as he stared at the man on horseback who was blocking the path in front of him. He saw him holding a long, thin saber. His black Hu-style clothing was already stained with blood. It was clear he had planned to wait here.

During the night, the Danzhou army had reported what had happened earlier: he had been lured into sending a group of reinforcements out, then the main enemy force had chased them and retreated, and now he was being intercepted here.

“I came to support Youzhou, but it seems I was completely used by you,” Zhou Jun said grimly.

Shan Zong reined in his horse in front of him, wiping the blood from his saber with his sleeve, deliberately ignoring his words. “I will remember the merits of the Danzhou army.”

Zhou Jun just sneered dismissively. “I sent my army because I was concerned about my marital ties to Youzhou.”

“Hmm,” Shan Zong simply replied.

Zhou Jun suddenly glanced at the group of ghost-like soldiers behind him who had just stopped to rest. He felt he had seen them somewhere before, and a strange look appeared in his narrow eyes.

“Time to head back to the city,” Shan Zong said, before he could speak, and rode to the side, heading towards the mountains.

A group of people were slowly riding out from there. After Shan Zong had brought Shen Rong, Donglai, and the guards out of the mountains, they had been waiting in a nearby valley. Now that the danger was cleared, they came out.

Seeing Zhou Jun, Shen Rong realized whose reinforcements Shan Zong had been talking about. She couldn’t help but look at him a couple of times, her eyes darting around as if she hadn’t expected it.

Zhou Jun’s gaze swept over her and Shan Zong, and he said nothing. He then looked at the group of unkempt figures on horseback again.

________________________________________

The sky was completely bright now, and the war in Youzhou city had stopped.

Shen Rong, wrapped in a cloak, slowly rode her horse through the breached city gate. Shan Zong pulled on the reins to block her path, intentionally obscuring her view. “It’s best not to look.”

He had seen such scenes too many times. This time the result was quite good, and there were no longer any ripples in his heart, but she might not have seen it in person, and he was afraid she would be uncomfortable.

Shen Rong tilted her head slightly and still looked around.

Dust flew in the morning light, mixed with a burnt smell of lamp oil. Soldiers, mostly from the Danzhou army, were moving about, cleaning up.

In a corner at the foot of the city wall, there were defenders everywhere, asleep from exhaustion. In the distance, a medical clinic on the main street had opened its doors, and the assistants inside were helping to carry the wounded inside.

The long street from the city gate was washed with water. It was clear that this section had seen the most severe fighting and the most damage. The houses nearby had scorch marks, and the courtyard walls were half-collapsed, but there were no signs of civilian casualties.

Further inside, it looked quite peaceful. It was likely that the remaining Youzhou army and the arriving reinforcements had held up the enemy soldiers before they could cause more damage.

With twenty thousand troops fighting against a hundred thousand, and refusing to surrender, it was a great fortune that Youzhou city was still preserved.

“Report!” A fast horse suddenly galloped from outside the city gate. A soldier quickly rode to Shan Zong, dismounted, and saluted him with his fists. His voice was particularly loud. “Chief, the main force outside the pass has all retreated!”

Immediately, cheers erupted throughout Youzhou city. Even the tired, wounded soldiers struggled to get up.

Hu Shi Yi, from an unknown corner, shouted loudly, “I knew these dogs couldn’t break in!” His voice was filled with a hint of a sob.

Youzhou city had experienced many wars. From the soldiers to the civilians, even those who hadn’t personally experienced it had heard the stories countless times. They were already resilient. At a time like this, there was no grief, but rather the pride of repelling the enemy.

Shan Zong dismounted and listened as the soldier detailed the process:

The main enemy force, when chasing them into the pass, had not all entered. After retreating, it seemed there were some disagreements. Some were regrouping, and it seemed they still had plans to attack again, but as dawn broke, one team after another began to retreat.

Finally, the army with the Nili City banner also retreated after not seeing the vanguard return.

He just nodded after hearing it.

As expected, his deduction was correct. Sun Guozhe must have allied with other Hu tribes. A failed attack meant the alliance had collapsed.

“Clean up, reorganize, and properly settle the men I brought back.”

After giving several military orders, the soldier left to carry them out. Shan Zong stretched out his arms, took Shen Rong from her horse, and walked with her towards the city.

The entire city seemed to have relaxed in an instant.

The officials from the Youzhou government office were all sent out. There were busy figures everywhere cleaning up, counting the casualties, and arranging for the damaged city gate to be repaired.

Small groups of soldiers quickly came from various places to report.

Shan Zong and Shen Rong walked to a house at the foot of the city wall. In that short time, he had already received the prison records from a soldier.

After the prison was breached, many prisoners had been taken away or had escaped. After counting, a list was made, including the prison guards who were wounded or killed fighting the enemy.

Shan Zong, ignoring the blood and dust on him, looked at the list. He looked up and saw a group of resting soldiers nearby all staring at one spot.

He glanced over. Wei Shenwu and Jia Chen San were squatting there, covered in blood and dirt. The other dozens of figures were behind them. No one had been lost, but a few were wounded. One of them had been hit by an arrow in his left arm during the pursuit by the main force last night. He had only grunted at the time. The wound was not fatal. Now he was gritting his teeth, muttering threats.

With Shan Zong’s military order, a military doctor had been sent to care for them. Someone had also brought them water and food, but it seemed strange. No one approached them, except for the soldiers from the mountains who had fought with them.

Wei Shenwu raised his scarred eyes and looked at Shan Zong, his expression grim and silent.

Shan Zong walked over. “Why aren’t you eating and resting?”

“Bah!” Wei Shenwu said grimly. “You’re done with us, so what are we doing here in the city!”

Shan Zong glanced around. “There’s no reason for Youzhou to keep the vanguard who saved the city and the mountain out of the city.” He then looked at Jia Chen San. “Pang Lu, take them to get treated and rest. I will have those four men return to you later.”

Jia Chen San suddenly looked up. “What did you call me?”

Even the few who were enduring their wounds stopped and looked at him.

Shan Zong said, “Pang Lu.”

Jia Chen San was silent for a moment. Several wrinkles formed on his forehead, making him look even more weathered. “I thought you had long forgotten my name.”

“I remember every one of your names,” Shan Zong said, glancing at Wei Shenwu who was staring at him, then turned and left.

Wei Shenwu stared at his retreating back, the white scar on his eye twitching with a smile. He then closed his mouth and said nothing more.

Not far away, Zhou Jun, who had returned with them, was standing by his horse, watching this scene. He thought about it for a moment and seemed to remember the name Pang Lu.

Lulong Army?

________________________________________

Shen Rong finally sat down in the house, holding a cup of hot tea soup in her hands. She finally felt like she had come out of the mountains.

Her body, like a tightly wound string, relaxed in an instant, and exhaustion immediately set in.

Shan Zong was still at the door. He had just assigned men to guard the mountain again and had not yet turned around when another soldier came to report something.

The remaining enemy vanguard troops who had been intercepted and returned had been escorted to the city gate by the Danzhou army, and they asked him to decide how to deal with them.

Hu Shi Yi and Zhang Wei, having heard about the prisoners, dragged their half-dead bodies to the city. Sure enough, they saw them squatting there.

The two of them were extremely exhausted and had no time to ask about the strange situation. Seeing that there were soldiers sitting in many places around, they also sat down on the ground.

They happened to hear the report, and Hu Shi Yi was furious. “Do you even have to ask? What good are those bastards!”

His previous arrow wound hadn’t healed properly. He had been holding on until now, and the wound had long since reopened. His shoulder was covered in blood, and he grimaced as he spoke.

Zhang Wei asked a soldier for some medicine and told him to quickly treat it.

In front of the house, Shan Zong sneered. “They should know my methods.”

Before he could give the order, a cry for mercy came from the breached city gate, a mixture of Khitan, Xianbei, and broken Han. They had surrendered.

This was followed by angry curses from the Youzhou army.

Shan Zong tossed the saber in his hand, and with one hand, he unfastened his bracer. He then said coldly, “We happen to be short on manpower. Let them go repair Youzhou Prison first. I’ve had enough bloodshed since I got married. I’ll deal with them later.”

Hu Shi Yi, who was just having Zhang Wei help him with his medicine, paused. “What did Chief just say?”

“Got married,” Zhang Wei whispered.

Only then was Hu Shi Yi sure he hadn’t misheard.

Inside the house, Shen Rong was silent.

Shan Zong turned around and found that she had already fallen asleep where she sat, with the cup of tea soup still resting on her lap.

He stood there for a moment, then walked over, took the teacup, and picked her up to take her to the inner room.

A moment later, Donglai entered the house with Zirui, who had rushed over from the official residence. He went to the inner room, lifted the curtain, took a look, then retreated, signalling for Zirui to go out first.

In the inner room, Shen Rong lay sleeping on a simple bed. Beside her sat Shan Zong, who had closed his eyes. Even at this moment, one of his hands was holding hers tightly, like a lost and found treasure he couldn’t easily let go of.