Chapter Twelve: Horseshoes and Refugees

  Looking ahead at Xiao Mohe, who was being closely watched by Shang Buqi, sat upright on his horseback, walking at the end of the team, a happy smile spread across the corner of his mouth.

  Looking up at the still gloomy sky at a 45-degree angle, I inexplicably felt some oppression and couldn't help but frown and mutter to myself: "Damn it, Longsun Honglue didn't die, Wei Puhu wasn't completely defeated, Xiao Moye is already in my hands, the wheel of history has been kicked by me, has it deviated from its original trajectory? Has there been a change that I can no longer control? Can my ideals be realized?

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a neat and solemn procession advancing, his heart suddenly relaxed with excitement, and he smiled self-mockingly, thinking to himself: "I'm going, is it that the Buddha's magical hand is afraid of being too much? The bigger the fist, the harder the truth, ten years of preparation, isn't it just for today? What is there to fear from a small Yang Jian?"

  Suddenly, his eyes lit up with excitement, and he narrowed them, a wicked smile spreading across his face. Xiang Mo saw the excited smile on his face as he turned around, and his heart skipped a beat, feeling somewhat uneasy. His already tense nerves became even more vigilant, staring tightly at Gaoxing.

  Gao Xing, although born beautiful and lovely, was actually cunning and deceitful. Not only did he scare off Chen's 20,000-strong army with just 1,700 men, but also manipulated himself into submission with mere words. Seeing Gao Xing's fox-like smile, how could Xiao Mohe not be on guard?

  Xiao Mohe was stunned, and then the tragedy occurred.

  "Xī Lǜ Lǜ", Xiao Mohe's horse suddenly let out a loud whinny, and before he could react, it violently raised its front legs, causing Xiao Mohe to fall off the horse again, once more landing on his butt.

  All the Northern Qi soldiers who were advancing first paused in astonishment, and then burst out laughing. The surrendered Chen soldiers, on the other hand, turned their heads to one side, their faces burning with shame.

  Xiao Mohe sprang up from the ground, his face flushed red, his eyes bulging with blood, and his breathing growing heavier. He glared at all the Qi troops, a torrent of brutal and violent killing intent gradually emanating from him.

  Xiao Mohe was a tall man, nearly one meter eighty in height, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a lion nose and wide mouth. He also had a black goatee and a dark complexion, which made him look quite intimidating. At this moment, he was filled with murderous intent, his eyes were round and glaring, making people's hearts fill with fear. The nearby Qi soldiers' faces changed color, they stopped laughing and didn't dare to look at him again.

  The soldiers all burst out laughing, and with their joy they came back to themselves. Seeing Xiao Mohe's ferocious appearance, they were about to take action when suddenly a loud shout of "Quiet!" rang out from the mouth of one of them.

  All laughter ceased, and everyone stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at Gao Xing.

  Gaoxing galloped his horse to Xiao Mohai's side, and in a low voice said, "General Xiao hasn't forgotten our agreement, has he?" Then he didn't look at him again. Gaoxing sternly and coldly swept his gaze over the crowd, pointing with his whip, and asked in a light tone, "What is a soldier's duty?"

  "Obey orders!" Conditioned reflexes generally respond.

  "Alright, during the march, you all laughed and chatted at will. This is a violation of discipline. From now on until we return to Xuyi City, except for formation commands, no one is allowed to speak, not even during meal breaks or rest time. Whoever disobeys will be punished with a month's worth of bran!"

  His eyes gleamed with a cold light as he swept his gaze over the crowd, but the smile on his lips was warm and radiant. His voice was not loud, nor was his tone severe, yet to the ears of the Qi military officers, it seemed like a chill from the nine hells, making their spines tingle and sending shivers down their backs. Everyone's face turned solemn, their lips tightly pursed, and they didn't even dare to glance around carelessly.

  A few days ago, Gao Xing punished a sloppy soldier like this. When the logistics soldiers were cooking, Gao Xing had the soldier stand at attention next to the stove. At mealtime, everyone else was drinking soup and eating meat, but that soldier could only stand there in the middle of everyone, thirstily swallowing his saliva. It wasn't until after everyone finished eating that the soldier was allowed to eat, a true "chaff".

  The evil delight didn't stop there, he made the soldier eat with the dog, not from the same bowl, but eating the same thing.

  Can you imagine when a person's appetite is fully stimulated and the greedy worm in his stomach is awakened, then let him eat the same thing with a dog, what kind of taste will he have in his heart?

  Gao Xing is rather "considerate" of his subordinates, giving them a generous amount. A hungry person will definitely eat their fill. If you don't eat, Gao Xing will say, "Wasting food is shameful," and for the next three days, you'll be eating congee instead. There are ten dogs in the camp, all with shiny coats and plump bodies, which Gao Xing specially brought to accompany soldiers who violate military rules.

  Seeing all the soldiers becoming serious, Shang Buqi reorganized his troops and continued on their journey. With a bright smile, he jumped off his horse. He ignored the fading bloodshot eyes of Xiao Moyan and walked straight to the horse that Xiao Moyan was riding.

  He walked around the horse in a circle, carefully examining the ground and the horse's body, muttering to himself: "Strange, why would this horse suddenly become startled?"

  Xiao Mohe gazed at the figure not far in front of him, excited and slightly weak, with no guard. His eyes flickered restlessly. As long as he could subdue Xiao Xing, he could escape and regain his freedom. A hint of murderous intent seeped onto Xiao Mohe's face, his fists clenched, relaxed, clenched again, and relaxed once more, repeating the motion incessantly.

  "Ah, I see!" Just as Xiao Moyu was about to make his move, a cheerful and slightly excited voice rang out, and he glanced at Xiao Moyu with a hint of playful smile in his eyes.

  Gaoxing apologized: "General Xiao, it's this horse that's no good, it's harmed you and caused you to lose face, sorry! Look, it's this sharp stone that punctured the hoof!"

  Xiao Mohe followed the direction of his excited finger and saw that the horse's right front hoof was hovering above the ground, with fresh blood still on its hoof hair.

  Heaved a sigh of relief, gently stroking the horse's mane, and slowly said: "This horse is probably done for, what a tragedy without horseshoes!"

  Xiao Moye was perplexed, and just as he was about to ask what Xiao Huan meant, Xiao Huan's voice came again: "General Xiao, let's hurry up too! Let's get to Xuyi City early and have a competition!" After that, Xiao Huan led the injured horse and chased after the large army in front.

  Looking at the happy back, Xiao Moye's eyes were firm, and he said in a low voice: "I, Xiao Moye, am a great man, I will surely defeat you with honor!"

  On the afternoon of April 28th, a group of people walked into the military camp outside Xuyi City with the warm sunset.

  He ordered his troops to rest well and not to maltreat the surrendered soldiers, showing respect to Xiao Mohe, then hastily left the camp and rushed home.

  Arriving at the entrance of Neishi Mansion, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, feeling a sudden jolt in his heart. The originally quiet Neishi Mansion was now even more quiet and oppressive.

  With some trepidation in her heart, she happily knocked open the big door.

  "Ah, Master! You've finally returned! Thank heavens, Madam! The Master has come back!" Gao Fu, who opened the door, was overjoyed to see the person, first stunned and then ecstatic, excitedly grabbing Gao Xing's sleeve and pulling him into the courtyard, his words trembling with excitement, somewhat incoherent.

  "What? Xing'er, has Xing'er come back? Where is he, my Xing'er?" Zheng's disbelieving voice echoed from afar, her tone somewhat hoarse and trembling with fear.

  "Brother!" - Seeing a figure in military uniform, Zheng excitedly and sorrowfully cried out as she ran, her feet moving even faster.

  "Rip-" "Ah!" The sound of ripping fabric accompanied Zheng's cry, as she had run too quickly and stepped on her own hem, causing her to stumble and almost fall.

  "Mother!" With a swift movement, he immediately supported Zheng Shi, leaving only a residual shadow on the spot, making Gao Fu stare in shock.

  "Xing Er, you've finally come back! You've been away from home for so long without a word, do you know how worried I was about you? This is simply going to be the death of me!" Zheng Shi hugged Xing tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face and quickly soaking through Xing's collar.

  "I'm sorry, Mother. I was wrong to make you worry about me! Punish me!" Zheng's warm tears seemed to flow into his heart like hot oil, scorching and causing Gaoxing a pang of heartache. Feeling Zheng's agitation and concern, the dense love, looking at Zheng's red and swollen eyes, pale and somewhat sickly, just a few days without seeing her had made her face thinner, Gaoxing's eyes slightly reddened.

  In his past life, he was used to being alone and had no concept of home. This time when he went out, he only left a letter saying that he would be going out for military training and would return in a few days, without thinking that Zheng Shi would worry so much. He apologized and comforted Zheng Shi with a happy tone, while making up his mind to protect this family from now on and not let his mother worry about him again.

  "It's indeed a penalty!" A rather angry voice of Gao Changgong sounded from behind.

  "Father." "Husband." Gao Xing and Zheng Shi simultaneously turned around to look at Gao Chang Gong.

  "How dare you bring troops to Shiliang City on your own!" Gao Changgong glared at Gao Xing.

  Gao Xing's heart sank, and he hastily gave Gao Changgong a signal with his eyes, indicating that Zheng Shi was right next to him. However, Gao Changgong seemed not to have noticed and continued to scold: "You actually dared to lead over 1,700 soldiers with little combat power to the Shiliang battlefield to rescue Wei Hu, are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you know how worried your mother is about you? She's been crying every day, unable to eat or sleep. If you're late coming back or die in battle, how will she survive?"

  "What? Xing Er, you actually went to the battlefield?! You, you——" Zheng's eyes widened in shock, her long-standing worry and concern had taken a toll on her health, she was already very weak, and now her emotions had been tossed about again, she felt suffocated, and suddenly fainted.

  "Mother, mother, what's wrong?"

  "Madam! Madam!" Gao Zhangong couldn't scold Gao Xing anymore, and hastily rushed forward to shake Zheng's body.

  "Quickly, Gao Fu, go and invite a doctor! Invite the best doctor in town!" He Xiang excitedly shouted to one side, calling out to Gao Fu.

  Gao Xing and Gao Zhang Gong helped Zheng Shi into the room, soon after, Gao Fu led Lang Zhong to come over. After examination, it was found that Zheng Shi had no major problems, only her emotions were too excited, and her body was weak, so she could recover in a few days without any issues. Then, both Gao Xing and his son felt greatly relieved.

  Settling Zheng's family, Gao Chang Gong stared at him excitedly and said: "Follow me!"

  Delighted, she followed closely behind Gao Changgong and entered the study together. Gao Changgong sat down, just about to speak, when Gao Xing had already poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to him with a smile, saying: "Dad, moisten your throat first before scolding me, otherwise it's too hard on you with a dry mouth!"

  "Hmph!" Gao Changgong's face turned red with rage, but he couldn't say anything and his anger dissipated a lot.

  Gao Xing saw Gao Changgong's face calm down, and he quickly moved a chair to sit in front of him, smiling: "Father doesn't have to be angry, I'm not being reckless, but after careful consideration before acting. I won't joke with my own life!"

  Delighted to have poured himself a cup of tea, he took a refreshing sip before continuing: "This time in Shiliang City, those soldiers also gained some experience. Father, our bet is sure to lose!"

  Gao Chang snorted and said disdainfully, "We'll see about that later. I heard you caught Xiao Moye, what do you plan to do with him?" The tone of the second sentence was serious and solemn, with a hint of distrust and curiosity.

  "Ha! I'm going to subdue him!"

  "Xiao Mohe has always been brave and fierce, how did you capture him? Moreover, he shouldn't be a person who betrays easily, how did you subdue him?"

  "The child has his own plan, and Father can wait with bated breath." Gao Xing smiled mysteriously and continued to pour tea for Gao Chang Gong. Gao Xing then asked, "Father, how is the county recently?"

  Gao Chang furrowed his brow, somewhat worried, and said: "I don't know how it happened, but the news of my presence in Xuyi County has spread far and wide, and countless refugees are flocking here. But Xuyi is just a small place, how can I accommodate them? We've set up over a dozen soup kitchens in the city, but the refugees keep pouring in endlessly. In just a few days, the number of refugees that have flooded into Xuyi County is probably no less than 50,000! As the war draws near, the number of people will only continue to grow, I fear something will go wrong!"

  Delighted upon hearing this, his eyes lit up and he smiled: "Don't worry, Father, these refugees are a great thing! What a huge resource!"

  Gao Chang Gong stared at Gao Xing in confusion, Gao Xing coughed twice and surprisingly began to drink tea slowly and deliberately, even shifting his body to lean the entire back comfortably against the chair.

  "Speak quickly, or face family discipline!" Gao Changgong looked at him with a pleased expression, but his anger was not abated, and he shouted loudly.

  Delighted, he sat up straight and quickly leaned in close to Gao Zhang's ear, whispering softly.

  Half an hour later, Gao Xing walked out of the study with a smile on his face, while Gao Chang Gong's expression was complex, with shock, astonishment, and a hint of admiration.