Chapter Thirty-Six: The Army Sets Out

  On the second day, the Changsheng Army marched slowly into the city, and Zhao Jiong and all the civil and military officials welcomed the Changsheng Army at the gate of Yanshan Prefecture. The Changsheng Army had long since lost its timid appearance on that day, and now it was spirited and morale-boosting, with a strong fighting spirit. Having experienced bloody battles, the iron army became more courageous in battle, like a sharp sword unsheathed and unstoppable.

  Zhao Kan walked over, smiling and leading Qin Hui and others into the banquet. After the host and guest seats were determined, a sumptuous feast was brought up one after another, with dishes that made people drool and eager to dig in.

  Qin Hui's face was filled with worry, and he looked out of place among the crowd who frequently raised their cups to resist the invasion of the Golden Army. Zhao Xiao stopped his cup and said: "General Qin, what's troubling you? Why not speak up, we might be able to help."

  Qin Hui hesitated for a moment, walked around the dinner table and came to the hall to clasp his fists: "Your Highness, General An is innocent. General An led us to capture Ji Zhou, set an ambush in the mountains and forests, defeated the Jin army, forced them to retreat, and truly lifted the siege of Yan Shan Fu. Now he has been sent to a place in the south, which makes the soldiers feel cold."

  Zhao Kang's face suddenly changed color, and he slammed the wine cup in his hand to the ground, saying in a deep voice: "If at that time the Jin army had attacked the city with all its might, and the Yan Mountain Prefecture was broken, who would be responsible for the death of the people after the city was broken?"

  Qin Hui was silent and didn't know how to answer this question either.

  Zhaobin continued: "An Yiqi disobeyed military orders and did not return to the army on time, which is disloyal. Seeing that the defense of the Yan Mountain City was tight and not saving it is unjust. Not considering the people in the city is inhumane. This disloyal, inhumane and unjust person, do I still need to give him credit?"

  Qin Hui knelt down and said: "Your Highness, I was seriously injured in this battle. I hope you will allow me to remove my armor and return home."

  "In that case, I'll let you go home. Here are 5,000 taels of silver, take it." Zhao Yan said calmly. Cai Jing stepped forward and handed the silver note to Qin Hui.

  Qin Hui didn't pretend, went forward and took the silver ingot, bowed his head and retreated.

  Qin Hui left, and Cai Jing immediately said: "Qin Hui is an ungrateful person. Your Highness has shown him such great kindness, yet he still begs for mercy on behalf of An Yiqi. It seems they are birds of a feather, flocked together by lust. Your Highness must not be angry."

  Zhao Yan smiled and said: "Indeed, he doesn't know how to behave." Zhao Yan looked at An Yi in surprise as she left, muttering to himself: "With such a brother, you should be relieved."

  In the afternoon, Zhao Jie ordered the entire army to assemble on the drill ground. Tens of thousands of imperial guards were lined up in formation on the drill ground. What was strange was that even the wounded soldiers from today's battle were carried out and made to line up. Xu Shu had strongly opposed this at first, but only reluctantly agreed after Zhao Jie whispered a few words in his ear. He still instructed the wounded soldiers to return to their quarters early to rest and recover.

  At this time, the Yan Mountain Prefecture's drill ground was gently swept by a breeze, with military flags fluttering in the wind. In the center of the drill ground, a long object over two zhang in length was placed, covered with black satin fabric, which tightly concealed the object. The soldiers were whispering to each other, trying to guess what it was. One soldier quietly said: "I know what this thing is."

  Several soldiers leaned in and whispered: "Come on, brother, everyone is curious."

  "Then you'd better invite me for a drink, okay?"

  "It's just a drink, I'm paying, come on." A burly man urged.

  "This morning, dozens of people used all their strength to move this thing from a distant stone factory." The soldier who reported the news said in a low voice.

  "Ah... a rock..." The surrounding warriors also didn't know why Zhao Yun had brought over a rock.

  "Don't forget to buy me a drink."

  When Zhao Yun and others stood on the high platform in the school field, all the forbidden army naturally quieted down. Zhao Yun not only led the soldiers in the battle to defend the Yan Mountain Mansion, but also saved many wounded soldiers in the hospital, winning the respect of the generals.

  Zhao Yan took a step forward and said in a deep voice: "In this battle of Yanshan Prefecture, everyone fought bravely, we resisted the greedy and cruel enemy, stopped the slaughter of our people, destroyed our city. We are fighting for justice, many people have fallen in this battle, you have guarded Yanshan Prefecture with your lives and blood, your blood will not be shed in vain. I don't know how later generations will evaluate, but today your names must be recorded in the annals of history. You have worked hard." After finishing speaking, he bowed slightly.

  "Someone, take down the brocade." Zhao Yan ordered, straightening his waist.

  Under the gaze of all soldiers, the brocade slowly fell, and a two-meter-high stone monument appeared before their eyes, majestic and solemn. This was built by Zhao Kun according to his memory in the style of the People's Heroes Monument, with a quadrangular wide-body sword-shaped column on top and a three-dimensional square base at the bottom, like a sharp sword pointing straight into the sky.

  On the front, eight gold-plated large characters "Hua Xia Er Nü" are engraved. On the back, an inscription reads: "From this moment on, in order to oppose internal and external enemies, defend national territory and people's freedom and happiness, Hua Xia Er Nü who sacrificed in each battle will be immortal!"

  On the side, more than 30,000 names are densely engraved.

  The appearance of the monument left the Imperial Guardsmen shaken, some with tears in their eyes. The dense array of names was not only a tribute to the soldiers, but also a proof of the existence of those who had died. For a person's life, what is sought after is nothing more than fame and wealth. When one knows that they will be remembered by history after death, rather than becoming just another insignificant number in the numerous wars, the significance of fighting becomes different for the soldiers.

  Zhao Kuang continued: "I have decided to use the stored wealth of Yan Mountain Prefecture to reward the three armies. If there are those who want to leave, I will not stop them, and I will provide them with travel expenses. Those who are willing to stay will have their military pay doubled, and the families of the officers and soldiers who stay will be brought to the outskirts of Bianjing. The families of those soldiers who have already sacrificed themselves will also go together."

  No one dared to move, no one dared to flee and live a life of cowardice under the gaze of tens of thousands of comrades. After a soldier's heart had struggled in pain for a long time, he suddenly put down his weapon and left the army formation. As he walked away, he looked back anxiously at Zhao Yun on the high platform. In fact, it didn't matter to him whether he was given travel expenses or not; he had been captured and forced to become a soldier, as long as he could go home, that was all that mattered.

  "Wait," Zhao Kan said loudly.

  The warrior fell to the ground in a tight bow, tears streaming down his face as he knelt and begged: "Please, Your Highness, let me go back home. My family has only my elderly mother who is lonely and dependent on me; I am willing to be a cow or a horse in the next life."

  Zhao Kan took the ten taels of silver from Cai Jing's hand, walked to the soldier's side, gently lifted him up and said in a warm voice: "Take it, buy something, go home and take good care of your mother."

  The soldier had already cried so much he could hardly speak: "Thank you, Your Highness."

  Someone took the lead, and soon hundreds of soldiers asked to go home. The pressure on them was immense, under the gaze of tens of thousands of comrades-in-arms, they became deserters. Perhaps years later they would regret it, but at this moment they still chose to escape.

  Zhao Kan handed over the silver ingots to each person and gave a few words of farewell advice.

  Several hours later, Zhao Jie finally comforted all the departing soldiers. During this time, Xu Shu had already arrived to take away the wounded and subtly criticized Zhao Jie, who could only smile and not refute. Xu Shu was also not a noisy person, letting the soldiers carry the wounded away.

  Zhao Yun stepped onto the platform and continued, "We have lifted the siege of Yan Mountain Prefecture and thwarted the Jin army's ferocious ambitions. However, on our western flank, our comrades-in-arms and the people are still under attack by the Jin troops. Brothers, what should we do?"

  "Rescue, rescue, rescue..." The cries shook the sky, making one's blood boil with excitement.

  "All right, it is settled then. In a few days, I will lead 20,000 troops to rescue Taiyuan City in Pingzhou and the remaining soldiers will stay in Yanshan Prefecture to defend."

  "We will go!" The imperial guards all shouted in unison. At this time, the morale of the Yanshan Prefecture Imperial Guards was high, and their heroic spirit soared to the sky.

  Zhao Kuang signaled everyone to stop, and loudly said: "I understand everyone's mood, with a united heart and determination, I, Zhao Kuang, take an oath here. As long as I, Zhao Kuang, still breathe, I will surely kill all the enemy bandits and reclaim our rivers and mountains."

  "Hurray, hurray......"

  Zhao Kuang left the Dotting Platform, today's effect is still good, believing that following his own 20,000 forbidden army will make the soldiers risk their lives, hoping to arrive before the city of Taiyuan is broken.

  "Your Highness, those deserting soldiers have severely affected the morale of our troops. Why don't we..." He made a throat-slitting gesture as he spoke.

  Tsai Zhifu, don't you look down on these hot-blooded men?

  "The subordinate dare not." Cai Jing thought: "Are these fleeing soldiers still considered men of blood and integrity?"

  "They will certainly resist the Jin army with all their might, soldiers are always soldiers, don't mention these words again, or it won't be good for you." Zhao Yan said calmly.

  "Yes, Your Highness. Ah, yes, Your Highness. Miss Cai Xuan and Miss Yu Wei have already been taken in by General Hou. This humble official takes his leave." Cai Jing bowed and retreated.

  Zhao Jian thought that Wu Caiyun's heart had a hint of warmth, when Zhao Jian returned to his own military account, only Tang Yuxi supported her hands, casually lightly tapping her toes, practicing dance steps, her body light and airy, like a lively swallow.

  When Zhao Jin came in, Tang Yuwei put away her dance steps, and her slender hands hung at her waist. For a moment, the scene around her dimmed, and Zhao Jin involuntarily sighed with regret.

  Tang Yuwei's eyes were as gentle as silk, and she smiled warmly at Zhao Yan, saying: "Congratulations to Your Highness on achieving such a great victory. However, I'm afraid Your Highness may be heading for disaster. It would be wise to make a decision early."

  Zhao Kang's heart tightened, Tang Yuwei represented Feng Huang Lou, she wouldn't say this for no reason. Zhao Kang said: "Please, Miss Yuwei, be clear."

  "I've just received a pigeon message, the prince has been wanted nationwide and it won't be long before the scouts from Bianjing arrive at Yanshan Prefecture...” Tang Yuwei said with a charming smile.

  Zhao Yan's face was calm, but he had already thought of the severe consequences long before taking control of the entire Yanshan Prefecture. He just didn't expect the imperial court to make such a big decision and issue a nationwide wanted notice. It seems that things are not as simple as they seem.

  Zhao Yun made up his mind that after repelling the Jin army besieging Taiyuan, he would definitely build his own intelligence network. However, now that the military expedition was imminent and Zhao Yun had not found a suitable candidate, Tang Yuwei was indeed a good leader in intelligence work, but she was now an enemy rather than a friend. This matter would have to be discussed later.