Chapter 27: Triumphant Return

  Ma Tengjun was defeated by Ye Jiajun, and the various materials left behind were scattered all over the place. The Ye family army divided up to collect these materials.

  Ye Xuan stood alone on the mountain, gazing into the distance. Ever since confirming that Sun Yu was unharmed, he felt extremely relieved in his heart. This battle was Ye Xuan's first hard-won victory since arriving in this world.

  Although this battle only annihilated about 50% of Ma Teng's forces, Ye Xuan initially made a mistaken judgment that almost led to the destruction of the Ye family army. However, Ye Xuan was still very satisfied, after all, history has always judged heroes by their victories and defeats, not by the process of battles, hasn't it?

  So even if it wasn't a crushing victory, this was already enough for Ye Xuan, so he didn't have any regrets about the outcome either.

  The ground was like a slaughterhouse, with a strong smell of blood that might attract wild beasts. Ye Xuan had no choice but to order his men to quickly gather their things and leave the place.

  After collecting the spoils of war, Ye Xuan ordered everyone to take their own people back to Tianlong Village. As for the corpses of the enemy, Ye Xuan was also helpless and could only leave them unattended, taking advantage of the wild beasts in the mountains.

  Perhaps in fear of poverty, Ye Jiajun had already dug three feet into the ground when he left, taking everything that could be taken away, and even the armor and clothing of the dead enemy were not spared...

  At dawn, the troops of the Ye family had already returned to the Tiantong Fortress. After receiving the news of this great victory, the Tiantong Fortress was once again filled with jubilation.

  This time, just the armor alone had over 400 sets received, and this result made Ye Xuan extremely satisfied. Originally, his own soldiers were all bare-bodied, without any protective gear at all.

  In this case, Ye Xuan was worried about being hit by the opponent's silver arrow, but after doing his best in this battle, at least half of the soldiers of the Ye family army could change into armor. This thing had to be counted as a message that made Ye Xuan ecstatic, but this was nothing compared to the next piece of news that made Ye Xuan even more excited.

  It turned out that the main force fighting against Ye Xuan this time was Ma Teng's cavalry, and this time they captured nearly 1,000 war horses from Ma Teng's cavalry. In his previous life, Ye Xuan admired cavalry the most in the era of cold weapons.

  After arriving in this era, Ye Xuan had always wanted to form a cavalry regiment. As a general under his command didn't have 8,000 iron cavalry like Lü Bu, it wouldn't be worth living.

  Unfortunately, I'm too poor for that, how can I afford to have a cavalry regiment? There are only a few dozen horses in the whole mountain village.

  But this time Ye Xuan can be a local tyrant again, I estimate that our Ye family army will laugh out loud even in their dreams.

  ……

  Ye Xuan's first act after returning to the old nest shocked everyone. Instead of opening a banquet to celebrate his and the Ye family army's victory, he gathered all the people at the gate of Zhongyitang, personally enshrining their spirit tablets inside, and solemnly paid respects to those brothers who died in battle. He also burned incense and paper money so that they would not suffer poverty on the road to the afterlife. Some of these men left behind families, and Ye Xuan immediately ordered that each month, two dou of rice be given to these bereaved families as compensation for losing their husbands, sons, or fathers. He guaranteed that he would take care of their livelihoods in the future and would not abandon them.

  This point was recognized by everyone, and most people in this era believed that after death, they would go to another world. Although burning incense and paper money is just a formality, these people were very moved, feeling that at least after their deaths, there were still people who remembered them, burning some paper money for them, so that they could have money to spend underground. Who knows when they themselves might die, and also receive this treatment? The survivors all felt fortunate for those who had already made the ultimate sacrifice, fortunate that they had followed the right master, although they died, at least there were still people who could remember their names.

  At the same time, it is also a psychological comfort for them. Therefore, when mourning these dead soldiers, everyone was very solemn and at the same time more determined to follow Ye Xuan.

  ……

  After everything was busy, Ye Xuan ordered his subordinates to take a day off. If the nerves were always tense, they would break one day, and this truth Ye Xuan still understood.

  Although it was a holiday, Ye Xuan only allowed the crowd to move around in the mountain stronghold. After all, his subordinates were all young and vigorous men who had not yet started their own families. If he let them run wild, who knows what kind of trouble they would get him into.

  Ye Xuan did not want his hard-won prestige to be ruined in an instant.

  ……

  At this time, although the outdoors was very noisy and joyful, Ye Xuan and Zhuge Yu inside didn't think much of it. The two drank tea while discussing the future development of the Ye family army.

  Zhuge Yu smiled calmly and said, "First of all, congratulations to General and the Ye family army for their great victory!"

  Ye Xuan shook his head and cupped his hands, saying: "This is still thanks to your credit, if you hadn't managed the headquarters well in the rear, I, Ye, wouldn't have been able to achieve this victory. Fortunately, with you around, I was able to make up for my mistake this time."

  Ye Xuan was right, this time Ye Xuan's initial strategic mistake, if not for Zhuge Yu's consolation in the rear, would have avoided causing panic among the people, so this victory Ye Xuan clearly knew that Zhuge Yu's contribution could not be ignored.

  After hearing Ye Xuan's words, Zhuge Yu looked at him with satisfaction, because the quality of knowing one's mistakes and being able to correct them was extremely rare in this era. In this era, those in power would rather not admit their own mistakes in order to maintain their prestige among their subordinates, even if they had lost a battle. Unlike Ye Xuan, who although victorious, remained humble and unyielding, and was brave enough to analyze his own shortcomings - a truly rare quality.

  Zhuge Yu was very satisfied at this time, and secretly thought: Perhaps General is the person I am looking for...

  Watching Zhuge Yu in a daze, Ye Xuan didn't get angry, took a sip of tea, and then smiled and asked: "Sir, this time Ma Teng retreated, do you think he will make a comeback in a short period of time?"

  Zhuge Yu thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "It's impossible, General. Didn't you hear the news? The Xining Empire took advantage of Ma Teng's weak defense at this time to send troops."

  Ye Xuan nodded, then habitually touched his chin and asked: "Sir, you see, Xi Ning used to turn a blind eye to us in Hebei. Does this behavior represent..."

  Ye Xuan didn't continue, but Zhuge Yu already understood what he meant. He smiled and said: "Anyway, this is a good opportunity for us to cultivate our vital energy. In the short term, I think the imperial court won't take action against us, after all, General's identity is there."

  I'd rather wait until the imperial court really wants to take action against us. Perhaps by then it will be a case of having the heart but not the strength."

  Ye Xuan listened and nodded in agreement: "Sir is right, perhaps I'm just being overly anxious."

  As soon as Ye Xuan finished speaking, Chen Fei walked over with a frown and said, "Big brother, it's not good! The common people have gone to worship the Dragon King Temple again!"