Chapter Thirty-Five: Post-War Discussion

  Zhao Kuang was still unaware that he had been wanted nationwide, and even if he knew, he would just laugh it off. He withstood the Jin State's occupation of Yanshan Prefecture and kept the people safe, which was enough for him; even in death, he would have no regrets.

  Today, all the generals gathered in the military account, and all the civil and military officials were present. Zhao said: "Cai Zhifu, tell me about the casualties of our army."

  Cai Jing said: "According to the latest statistics, our army has lost a total of 32,700 and 52 people in this defensive battle. The local garrison troops have been reduced by more than half and cannot be reorganized. The Changsheng Army has suffered heavy casualties, leaving only 5,000 soldiers who can still fight. It's a devastating loss!" Cai Jing sighed helplessly.

  Liang Fangxu's body was wrapped in thick bandages, and it was thanks to the doctor's mercy that he could attend the meeting without being completely wrapped up. Liang Fangxu's voice trembled as he clenched his fist: "Your Highness, the Imperial Forest Army has over a thousand brothers, but now only 153 are left."

  Zhu Zhi did not dare to remain silent, and said to Cai Jing: "Bring over the families of our soldiers, as long as my Imperial Guard exists for a day, I will support them for a day."

  "The inventory of the Yanshan Prefecture's army has been fully recovered, which is enough to compensate for the deceased soldiers. The only problem is where to arrange the families of these soldiers." Cai Jing was somewhat hesitant in making a decision.

  "Arrange all the families in Jinlin School Field near Bianjing, where there are many undeveloped lands and a few villages. I believe that the families of these soldiers can adapt quickly to the place. It is only hoped that Lord Cai will handle it impartially and not allow any corrupt practices."

  Looking at Zhao's sharp eyes, Cai Jing was sweating profusely. Who wouldn't be tempted by millions of taels of silver? Cai Jing wasn't an exception either. He had thought he could make a good profit, but didn't expect to be exposed ahead of time. In a panic, he said: "Your subordinate doesn't dare, please rest assured, Your Highness."

  "Of course, Lord Cai's hard work will absolutely not be in vain." Cai Jing immediately knelt down and said: "Thank you, Your Highness. I am willing to die for your trust."

  Just then a bodyguard rushed in to report: "Report, Your Highness, tens of thousands of troops have appeared in the distance, with the flag bearing the character 'An'."

  Zhao Yun's heart was filled with resentment, his eyes narrowed slightly. As for An Yiqi not immediately sending troops to rescue the Yan Mountain Prefecture, Zhao Yun still had some complaints in his heart. However, since he himself had given the order to act freely, he couldn't blame An Yiqi. At this time, the Yan Mountain Prefecture had just gone through a great war and its defenses were empty. If An Yiqi had ulterior motives, the Yan Mountain Prefecture wouldn't have the ability to resist.

  "Hou Yi, have your troops retreat twenty li to the rear, bring my personal guards to surround Anyi Qi and bring him over." Zhao Yan commanded thoughtfully.

  Li Fangxu was quite annoyed, the Imperial Forest Army suffered such a great loss, all because of An Yiqi. He said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, please let me go and welcome General An." The two words "welcome" were emphasized heavily.

  "Go, General Liang, don't spoil the harmony." Zhao Yan said calmly.

  Nearly 20,000 troops lined up neatly under the city of Yanshan Prefecture, with strict military discipline and no noise. An Yiqi, Qin Hui and other officers had already dismounted their horses to wait. An Yiqi's eyes were dull, and his cold and handsome face showed no emotional changes.

  On the ground under the city of Yanshan Prefecture, a mountain of corpses piled up, and the remnants of weapons had been cleared by the Forbidden Army of Yanshan Prefecture. The moat around the city was also filled in, but the broken city wall and the land stained red with blood still proved that this place had experienced a bloody battle not long ago. The air still retained the breath of iron and blood.

  The city gate of Yanshan Prefecture slowly opened, and several large holes made the heavy city gate seem like it was about to collapse. Hou Yi led fifty personal soldiers to the front of the army and loudly declared: "His Highness has an order, the entire army will retreat twenty li and set up camp, waiting for further instructions." Hou Yi gave a signal with his eyes, and the fifty personal soldiers stepped forward to surround An Yiqi in the middle. He said: "His Highness has ordered that General An come alone, and also please hand over your weapons."

  An Yiqi glanced at Hou Yiyi faintly and didn't move.

  Hou Yi said solemnly: "Routine matters, General An, don't be too hard on me."

  An Yiqi shook his head and handed over his sword to Hou Yi with a faint bitter smile.

  "Please, Your Highness has been waiting for a long time."

  "General An, you..." Qin Hui hastily said.

  An Yi raised his hand to stop Qin Hui and said calmly: "I'm fine, lead the troops to retreat twenty miles back."

  "Yes sir." Qin Hui sighed and silently accepted the order.

  The mighty army of the Invincible Army slowly departed, and many soldiers had complaints in their hearts. They defeated the Jin army, fought fiercely on the battlefield, and achieved brilliant results. However, there was no record of Song Dynasty cavalry defeating the Jin army in history. Not to mention rewards for merits, they were not even allowed to enter the city gate now. How could this make the soldiers of the Invincible Army convinced? But military orders cannot be disobeyed, so the rear army of the Invincible Army changed to the front army and slowly withdrew from Yan Mountain Prefecture.

  An Yiqi stood in the formation surrounded by his personal guards, marching into the city gate. After entering the city gate, the eyes of the Jinyiwei soldiers guarding both sides showed a hint of hostility towards An Yiqi. Now most of the soldiers knew that during the battle with the Jin army at Yan Mountain Prefecture, An Yiqi had not returned to rescue them, and for a time, An Yiqi became the villain in the hearts of the soldiers.

  Liang Fangxu, still wounded, walked to the front of his soldiers with a gasp, blocking their path. An Yiqi also stopped and looked at Liang Fangxu silently with both eyes.

  Liang Fangxu stepped forward, his voice filled with sarcasm: "I'll take the place of the deceased generals to welcome our great General An." As he walked, he drew his sword, ready to charge over and kill An Yiqi.

  Hou Yi hastily stepped forward to block Liang Fangxu, "General Liang, you must not do this. General An may also have his own difficulties. Even if he is guilty, we must wait for the Emperor's judgment. You must not act rashly."

  Li Fangxu suddenly put down the steel knife in his hand and said sorrowfully: "Hundreds of good brothers of the Imperial Forest Army died on the city wall, but this son actually delayed coming to rescue."

  An Yiqi looked at Liang Fangxu's expression without any change, just like earlier when Liang Fangxu wanted to kill him, still the same, only coldly staring at Liang Fangxu.

  "Alright, alright, you all go see His Highness, I'll go take a look at those deceased brothers." After saying that, he turned around dejectedly and left.

  When the guards brought An Yiqi to the military tent, only Zhao Yan was present. An Yiqi knelt down with his legs straight and did not speak. After Hou Yi and others retreated, the two people in the military tent remained silent.

  Zhaoyan looked into Anyi's eyes, but apart from seeing the deep gaze, he couldn't see anything else. Zhaoyan said: "I just want to know your reason for not returning to rescue Yanshan Prefecture."

  An Yiqi replied calmly: "Doing what should be done for Your Highness."

  Zhao Yan sneered and asked: "Please tell me, General An, what is it that you should be doing?"

  "Capture and cut off the Golden Army's rear route, lift the siege of Yanshan Prefecture, let Wan Yan Zongwang escape, and lay down a hidden pen for future events."

  "If I were to kill you now, what would be your explanation?" Zhao Jian gazed deeply at An Yiqi.

  "I won't explain, I'll just wait for my punishment." An Yiqi remained expressionless.

  Zhao Song helped An Yiqi up and said: "General, you have been wronged. I have an important task for you, are you willing to go?"

  If it were an ordinary person who had just started showing loyalty and making vows, An Yiqi simply listened attentively and did not say any unnecessary words.

  Zhao Kui said: "After the battle of Yanshan Prefecture is over, I will lead the army to rescue Taiyuan, which will be besieged by the Golden Army on the Western Route. You can select 2,000 elite soldiers from the Changsheng Army, remember to choose those with no family burdens and are trustworthy. Go to the south, I'll give you 200,000 taels of silver, no matter what method you use, within a year, build an army of tens of thousands that does not belong to the imperial court's command, are you willing?"

  Zhaoyi's eyes sparkled as he stared intently at Anyi Qi, who nodded without hesitation: "I'm willing to go."

  Zhao Yan finally let out a sigh of relief, only to discover that his hand gripping the hilt was already drenched in sweat. This kind of moment made one's heart skip a beat, and with a single misstep, death could be lurking nearby.

  What Zhao Yi and An Yiqi just said is no different from rebellion, privately forming troops is a major taboo of the imperial court, even if Zhao Yi is a noble prince, he will die more miserably.

  An Yiqi agreed without hesitation, which completely dispelled Zhao Chen's doubts. An ordinary person would have taken some time to consider such a matter, and even a cautious person would have had some misgivings, but An Yiqi did not. Zhao Chen then briefed An Yiqi on some specific details, and An Yiqi also offered his own opinions.

  "General An, you can return to the Changsheng Army camp outside the city first, select your soldiers, and I will send someone to deliver the silver to the place of your choice. Tomorrow, I will recall the troops and reward the soldiers, but General An will have to suffer a bit, as I still cannot clear your name. If you are noticed by those with ulterior motives, it will cause even more trouble." Zhao ordered.

  "You will understand eventually."

  "It is suggested that you go along the river, where you can fight and train soldiers with the Jin army, and also get support from local resistance forces, which will be very beneficial for development." Zhao Bian suggested.

  "The final decision will be made at our discretion, and we hope Your Highness will grant us full authority to make a decisive judgment."

  "This is natural, General An can decide for himself." Zhao Yi also didn't mind An Yiqi's rebuttal, walked to the weapon rack and drew out a treasured sword together with its scabbard, handing it over to An Yiqi.

  "General An, this divine sword was forged by my friend and is called 'Mingyue'. It's extremely sharp. I'm giving it to you now, hoping that you'll achieve great victories with it." Zhao Zheng solemnly handed Mingyue over to An Yiqi.

  An Yiqi took over the treasure sword with both hands, pulled it out smoothly, and the cold light of the sword's edge made people feel a kind of unspeakable chill.

  "Good sword." An Yiqi couldn't help but praise.

  An Yiqi held 'Mingyue' in his hand and swung it twice, the blade seemed to cut through the air, bringing a blue cold breath with the sword body. An Yiqi handed the scabbard of 'Mingyue' to Zhao Kan, looking at Zhao Kan's puzzled eyes, An Yiqi said lightly: "When the scabbard arrived, it was when I was about to withdraw my troops and return to the army, so I will take my leave first." An Yiqi bowed to Zhao Kan and walked out of the military tent with his sword.

  Hou Yi saw An Yiqi carrying the treasure sword out of the military account and was shocked in his heart. He rushed in immediately, and only when he saw that Zhao Yan was not seriously injured did he feel at ease. Zhao Yan held the scabbard with a smile of relief and said to Hou Yi: "Later, when the sky is darker, bring wine, water, and food to the camp where Changshengjun is stationed outside, and order them to move their troops tomorrow."

  "Yes, Your Highness, but is it just going to be like this? The brothers have a lot of grievances against him."

  "Let General An handle his own affairs, let him go." Zhao Yan said calmly.