Chapter 61: The Battle of Pingzhou (13)

  Looking at the gun tip close at hand, Zhao Jiong was stunned. Yang Zaixing didn't know why he did it again. Seeing his opponent's eyes were icy cold, seemingly not pretending, Zhao Jiong asked in doubt: "Brother Yang, what is the meaning of this?" The surrounding soldiers were suddenly shocked and immediately drew their weapons to surround them.

  Yang Zai Xing said coldly: "You will marry my sister Li Yue immediately, otherwise you will die."

  Zhao Yan furrowed his brow, and it seemed that Yang Zai Xing had found out about the artificial respiration he gave to Li Yue in the fire scene. Suddenly, a wave of helplessness washed over him as he looked at Yang Zai Xing's furious gaze. Zhao Yan understood that even if he explained himself, it would be useless. He glanced at the young girl standing far away with a slightly red face and looking flustered, and let out a sigh in his heart.

  Zhao Yan said calmly, "Yang brother, it's not that I wanted to do so. In the midst of the fire, the situation was precarious. This young lady was poisoned by the thick smoke, and I had no choice but to act as I did."

  Yang Zai Xing looked into Zhao Yan's eyes, and Zhao Yan looked back at Yang Zai Xing. Since Zhao Yan was innocent, his gaze wouldn't waver. Yang Zai Xing put down his spear and said in a low voice: "But you've done this, how can my sister get married in the future? Be a man and bravely take responsibility."

  Zhao Yan was silent and hesitant, to be honest, Li Yue was very beautiful, pure and lovely, with an independent and strong personality, clear distinction between love and hate. Zhao Yan also had no bad feelings towards her, although Li Yue's appearance was not comparable to Wu Caiyun's, she was still a stunning beauty. However, at this moment, Zhao Yan's heart was already filled with Wu Caiyun, it was too difficult to accommodate someone else. But Zhao Yan understood that he had done something wrong, but under the circumstances at the time, it was absolutely impossible for him to turn a blind eye and do nothing.

  Just then, Li Yue's eyes turned red and tears welled up in her eyes. She stepped forward stubbornly and said: "Brother Yang, don't beg him, he is a high-ranking official, how could he look down on us common people? He saved me, I won't blame him, it's just a matter of dying." Suddenly, she rushed forward, snatched a knife from a soldier's hand, and was about to kill herself.

  Yang Zai Xing swiftly used his long spear to knock the knife out of Li Yue's hand, and the knife flew away. The girl's wrist hurt, and she sat on the ground with tears streaming down her face, making people feel heartbroken. Yang Zai Xing turned around and furiously shouted: "Zhao Kan, are you still a man?"

  Zhao Tan sighed, walked over and stretched out his hand to help Li Yue up. When Zhao Tan touched Li Yue's arm, he felt a sudden jolt of electricity all over his body. He didn't struggle, letting Zhao Tan pull him up. Li Yue slightly lifted his head, looked at Zhao Tan with a pang in his heart, and threw himself into Zhao Tan's arms. The surrounding soldiers immediately started teasing them, leaving Zhao Tan laughing and crying at the same time. Li Yue was embarrassed, burying his face deep into Zhao Tan's chest. Zhao Tan gently patted Li Yue's back to comfort him.

  Yang Zai looked at Li Yue with a sense of relief, deep down he still agreed with Zhao Kuang, a man with ideals and responsibilities who could become Li Yue's haven. Yang Zai felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, now was the perfect time to leave. The tragic fate of the Liangshan heroes after surrendering to the imperial court had filled Yang Zai with disappointment towards Song Ting. Originally wanting to leave, he feared Li Yue would be bullied, but now that Li Yue had found a haven, there was no need for him to stay behind. He put away his spear and prepared to depart.

  "Brother Yang, please stay." Yang Zai Xing stopped in his tracks as Zhao Yan pulled forward a slightly flushed Li Yue and said: "Brother Yang, at this time when foreign enemies are invading, the rivers and mountains of Great Song are precarious. Please come out and serve as a general, fight on the battlefield, protect the mountains and rivers of Great Song, and do your part for the people of Great Song." As he spoke, Zhao Yan clasped his fists and bowed.

  Yang Zaixing said calmly: "I have lost interest in officialdom, isn't the fate of the Liangshan heroes enough to warn future generations? You don't need to say more."

  Li Yue stepped forward and asked: "Yang brother, why don't you stay? Little sister can't bear to part with you."

  Yang Zai Xing's heart softened a bit, but Yang Zai Xing had already made up his mind to go out and do something big, and now he didn't want to join the Song army. He said in a warm tone: "Sister, you should live well, if this kid dares to bully you, I'll make him regret it." Yang Zai Xing smiled slightly and turned to leave.

  Zhao Yun sighed and said: "It's a pity that in the future, tens of thousands of cavalry will have no one to command them. It seems that I can only disband the cavalry and turn them into infantry."

  Li Yue looked at Zhao Yan, and saw that Zhao Yan blinked his eyes. Li Yue understood in her heart, smiled but didn't speak. Li Yue had long known that Yang Zai Xing's dream was to lead many cavalrymen, eliminate the enemy, and Zhao Yan happened to mention what Yang Zai Xing was most interested in.

  Yang Zaixing was originally a man who liked to lead cavalry in battle, and at a young age he began studying cavalry tactics, gaining some insights. Organizing tens of thousands of cavalry is not a simple matter, not only because of the expensive training costs, but also because one cavalryman can support over ten elite infantrymen, and the Song people were originally short on horses. Therefore, building tens of thousands of cavalry was a very difficult task, and training a branch that could conquer and fight well was even more extremely difficult. Yang Zaixing struggled repeatedly in his heart, clenching and unclenching his fists.

  Yang Zai suddenly turned around and walked to Zhao's side, saying urgently: "We can't disperse, the cavalry has a great effect and often changes the outcome of war."

  Zhao Yan sighed and said, "It's a pity that there is no one in our army who can lead the cavalry to fight. I had no choice but to disband the cavalry. I also wanted to have a good fighting cavalry."

  Yang Zai Xing seemed to have made up his mind and said to Zhao Jie, "I can help you train cavalry, but I will never join the Song army. Are you willing?" Because Yang Zai Xing also understood that easily handing over the army to others was equivalent to putting one's own life in someone else's hands.

  Zhao Yan was unwilling, not joining the Song army didn't matter, anyway in the future there would be Yang Zaixing commanding the cavalry, believing that this cavalry would definitely be a powerful and victorious force. Zhao Yan excitedly said: "If so, it's like a fish getting water."

  From then on, Zhao Kuang had another brave and good general under his command. Zhao Kuang didn't have time to talk to Yang Zaixing in detail, and he hurriedly rushed to Taiyuan City to rescue the people. The story of Zhao Kuang saving the beauty from the fire quickly spread, and many versions were formed. Later, it also brought some trouble to Zhao Kuang, but that's a story for later.

  The city of Taiyuan, which had gone through the great war, was left with broken walls and houses, and the collapsed buildings were all reduced to rubble. The flames in the city had long been extinguished, leaving only a faint smoke and dust settling everywhere. As the people searched for their loved ones amidst wails of grief, most of the young and strong men had died in the battle to defend the city, their bodies now unrecognizable. Those who were lucky enough to return home were overjoyed, while those who did not return could only secretly mourn, shedding tears that would not cease.

  But the people of Taiyuan City were filled with joy at their victory, and Zhao Jiong also rushed to join the ranks of those treating the wounded. Although many of the wounded soldiers eventually died in bed, Zhao Jiong worked day and night to rescue them, his face pale but still standing by Zhao Jiong's side, helping him bandage wounds and deliver medical instruments, warming his heart.

  The victorious army buried a large number of corpses, splashed clear water on the passageways, and flushed away the accumulated blood. However, after many days of fierce battles, the bloody smell in Taiyuan City could not be eliminated, but the military and civilians inside the city had already gotten used to it and didn't mind. The scene inside the city was bustling with activity. According to Zhao Jie's orders, the victorious army set up porridge stalls, built plank houses, and fortunately, the current high temperature made it possible for the people to live outside without major issues. Zhao Jie sent people to strictly control the water source of the wells to prevent infection from corpses and disease. Many places in the city were sprinkled with quicklime for disinfection.

  The sky was just bright, Zhao Yun led the crowd to inspect the porridge house, many people lined up in a long queue, waiting for porridge to fill their stomachs. Suddenly, Zhao Yun found that Li Yue had already arrived at the porridge house and personally scooped porridge for the people. Zhao Yun's heart was moved, Li Yue expressed his determination to help Zhao Yun through action. Zhao Yun stepped forward and took over the spoon from Li Yue's hand, saying softly: "Go rest for a while."

  Li Yue originally wanted to refuse, but looking at Zhao Yun's concerned eyes, she finally nodded and retreated to the side. Zhao Yun scooped porridge for each of the common people who came forward. The common people had already heard about Zhao Yun's great reputation as a prince who disregarded personal danger and rushed into the fire scene to rescue people, led the Invincible Army to rescue Taiyuan City, built shelters for the people, treated the wounded, and at one time, every time someone received porridge, they would first kneel down and bow, with the people behind them following suit, to thank Zhao Yun for saving their lives. Every time Zhao Yun scooped porridge for the common people, he also had to help them up, which greatly slowed down the speed of distributing porridge. In the end, Zhao Yun could only give up on the idea of continuing to scoop porridge.

  Zhao Song let someone send Li Yue back to rest, and called Liang Fangxu to his side to ask: "General Liang, how many days' worth of grain is available for the common people?"

  Li Fangxu also looked worried and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, we only have enough for one more day. The troops sent out to collect grain have not returned with any news yet. The soldiers are still fine, but the civilians in the city were already suffering from hunger and weakness. If this continues, I fear there will be a large number of deaths. I hope Your Highness makes a decision soon."

  Zhao Yi's eyebrows were tightly locked, and he said in a deep voice: "First, restrict the military's rations, prioritize providing for the people, and treat all officers equally. If anyone is found to be extravagant or wasteful, they will be beheaded."

  "Yes, Your Highness."

  "Report, Your Highness, General! A grain convoy has been spotted fifty li away in the distance, heading straight for us!" a guard rushed over to excitedly report.

  Zhao Kan and Liang Fangxu exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with joy, and hastily followed the imperial guard who had delivered the decree towards the city gate.