Chapter 159

Chapter 159

After capturing a city, an army usually needs some time to rest and regroup. During this period, the generals must tally the soldiers' battle achievements to award them accordingly, replenish military funds and supplies, pacify and govern the local populace, select suitable troops to remain as garrison, and prepare for the next battle.

Han Zongping gave the right-wing army five days.

Xiao Shouyi and others spent one day tallying their soldiers' battle achievements and sent the records to the old general. After Tong Sui assisted the old general in verifying the records, she dispatched someone to send the inventory of seized war spoils and the military achievement records to Han Zongping in Xinzhou.

The two places were only forty miles apart, so the messenger returned quickly with the records and reported to Xiao Mu, "The Great General only briefly flipped through a few pages and instructed the general to follow the military achievement records."

Xiao Mu nodded.

Tong Sui took the two ledgers and habitually opened them. She saw that after the old general's name at the top of the military achievement record, someone had added: additional reward of one hundred taels of gold, two boxes of pearls, and one hundred bolts of silk.

The military regulations for evaluating battle achievements were strict, but as the Great General, Han Zongping could allocate any part of the war spoils to specially commend his generals.

Tong Sui showed the additions to the old general.

Xiao Mu, upon seeing it, smiled and shook his head. At his age, he no longer cared much about such worldly possessions.

The next day, the old general awarded the right-wing army according to their battle achievements. Xiao Gufo, Sun Wei, and several clerks stood by the boxes of silver and copper coins, calling out names and distributing rewards based on the military achievement levels.

The most eye-catching was Qi Yun's "First to Scale" achievement, which earned him one hundred taels of silver. As the commander of a guard unit, receiving one hundred taels of silver did not make him ecstatic, but the "First to Scale" achievement was not tied to rank. Xiao Yan and Xiao She received one hundred taels each for being the first to scale the city walls, and any common soldier who did the same would receive the same amount!

One hundred taels! If used frugally, it could provide a lifetime of comfort for an ordinary family!

If yesterday's city assault had frightened some soldiers, making them fear dying far from home, these generous rewards now bolstered their courage. Living to earn military achievements and having substantial compensation for their families if they died—what was there to fear?

The camp had dedicated couriers. Soldiers who worried about carrying their rewards and salaries could entrust the couriers to send the money home.

The four thousand soldiers came from the northern regions like Shuozhou, so sending money home was relatively convenient.

After the rewards were distributed, many soldiers queued up to see the couriers. Of course, some had no families or simply preferred to keep the money themselves, either hiding it on their person or buying clothes, shoes, and good food and drink to indulge themselves.

Tong Sui was intercepted by Qi Yun, who insisted on giving her fifty taels of the military reward.

Tong Sui: "Other archers also helped you fend off the defenders. Shouldn't you share some with them?"

Qi Yun didn't know those archers, and how could they compare to Tong Sui?

No matter what he said, Tong Sui refused to accept the money.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan pounced from behind, grabbing Qi Yun's neck. "You've got some nerve, daring to stop our Second Sister-in-Law. Do you think Second Brother won't come over and beat you up if he finds out?"

Qi Yun pushed away his arm and said seriously, "I sincerely thank Second Lady, with no other intentions."

Tong Sui noticed a wound on Xiao Yan's hand and forgot to glare at him. "What happened to your hand?"

Xiao Yan glanced at his hand, not very concerned. "Got splashed with some hot oil, nothing serious."

Tong Sui: "It's hot now, and small wounds can easily turn into big ones if not treated. Go to the medic and get it treated."

Xiao Yan: "I've had worse injuries than this. I'm not that delicate."

Tong Sui: "Better safe than sorry. Think about the people who care about you at home."

She wasn't sure if Lin Ningfang would worry about Xiao Yan, but there were still He Shi and Xiao Yuchan.

Xiao Yan naturally thought of his wife. If anything happened to him, she would surely be coveted by other men.

He turned and headed towards the medic.

Qi Yun continued trying to give Tong Sui the silver.

Xiao She, Tong Gui, and Zhang Wengong pulled him away together.

Tong Sui followed the old general to the county office, handling the day's military and administrative affairs. When she returned to her tent with Zhou Gui, she found two square boxes on the table.

Tong Sui looked at her cousin in confusion.

Zhou Gui helped her open the boxes, revealing two boxes of pristine, lustrous pearls!

Zhou Gui smiled. "The Right General just sent these over."

Tong Sui: "..."

The pearls in the boxes were both loose and strung into necklaces. Zhou Gui took out a necklace and helped her sister put it on.

Tong Sui looked down, touching a pearl, then looked at her cousin. "I feel different. If I had received these pearls last year, even just one, I would have been as happy as finding gold. Now, I don't feel particularly excited."

Zhou Gui: "That's because you've earned many military achievements and have several gold ingots. Your husband's earnings are all yours too. You're almost swimming in wealth, right?"

Tong Sui thought of the silk they had stored under their bed, which she would feel heartbroken about if damaged. This meant she wasn't wealthy enough to ignore pearls.

Tong Sui took off the necklace and hung it around her cousin's neck.

Zhou Gui had already bathed and changed into a fresh, elegant dress. The young girl looked like a flower bud, and the pearl necklace suited her perfectly.

Tong Sui finally appreciated the beauty of the pearls.

When the sisters had their fill of the novelty, Tong Sui carried the two boxes of pearls to see the old general. "Grandfather, I have nowhere to put these. Moving them around is troublesome. Can I leave them here with you?"

Xiao Mu smiled. "Sure, I'll have someone send them to our house in Shuozhou and give them to you later."

As he spoke, he took out two pearl necklaces from one of the boxes and gave them to Tong Sui. "This one is for you and Axiang. You can wear them at night when you have free time."

He couldn't guarantee that the sisters would survive until the end, but having some good things with them would at least bring them happiness in the present.

Tong Sui didn't argue further with the old general.

On the morning of May 29th, the reorganized Right Army set out, leaving behind five hundred troops to guard and over a thousand wounded soldiers. They also brought along more than two thousand surrendered soldiers who were willing to follow the Right Army, thus replenishing the losses from the seven battalions.

The Right Army marched southwest and joined forces with Han Zongping's army before noon. In Xinzhou, the treatment for the surrendered soldiers was the same: the wounded were left in the city to recover, those still capable and willing to follow were retained, and those unwilling were allowed to return home. This way, they also made up for their losses. After the two armies merged, they still had a total of seventeen ten-thousand strong...

No, something was off; Tong Sui couldn't find Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Yan and the others noticed this as well and asked Xiao Ye, the Qiao brothers, and Sun Dian, but these four didn't know either.

At this moment, the old man simply said, "The Grand General has his own plans; don't speculate unnecessarily."

—

As early as the day Shuozhou and Xiangcheng fell, Meng Jingye, the imperial general stationed in Tai Yuan, received the battle report and immediately sent it to the capital city via an express courier.

Xinzhou is only one hundred and fifty miles from Tai Yuan, which can be reached within two days. In the report, Meng Jingye pledged to hold back Han Zongping's seventeen-ten-thousand-strong army.

Tai Yuan has the advantage of its terrain and is defended by a ten-ten-thousand-strong army. Even if Han Zongping had seventy-ten-thousand troops, Meng Jingye was confident he could hold out for several months.

In the capital city, Luocheng.

The late emperor had been in his coffin for so long that he no longer emitted any odor. The young prince was just a year old, knowing only how to eat and sleep.

Imperial Uncle Dou oversaw the court, and all military and administrative affairs had to be reviewed by him.

With Meng Jingye in charge, Imperial Uncle Dou believed Tai Yuan was temporarily safe. What he was worried about was Quan County. A seventy-year-old rebel leader had broken through Xiangcheng with only four-ten-thousand troops in just one hour. Quan County had only three-ten-thousand defenders, and the opposing force was led by the renowned general Lu Gong with seven-ten-thousand troops. If Quan County fell, Lu Gong could rely on Niangzi Pass to cut off reinforcements from Shizhou and also send part of his forces to support Han Zongping in besieging Tai Yuan.

The only solution was to send reinforcements to Quan County before Lu Gong's army arrived!

Shizhou originally had a ten-ten-thousand-strong army to guard against Han Zongping's advance from Jizhou. After Han Zongping changed his route to Shuozhou, Imperial Uncle Dou immediately ordered his brother, Dou Dechang, who had retreated to Baizhou with two-ten-thousand remnants from Wanping, to rush to Shizhou, combining forces to form a twelve-ten-thousand-strong army on standby.

Of the twelve-ten-thousand troops, five-ten-thousand would remain in Shizhou, while seven-ten-thousand would first repel Lu Gong at Quan County and then continue to reinforce Tai Yuan. This way, Han Zongping would have no chance of breaching Tai Yuan even if he had wings!

Wasting no time, Imperial Uncle Dou immediately issued an edict to Cheng Lun, the commander of Shizhou, ordering him to lead the seven-ten-thousand troops to Quan County and hand over Shizhou to his brother, Dou Dechang.

Cheng Lun wanted to accept the edict, but Dou Dechang was unhappy.

He had suffered a crushing defeat in Wanping and fled like a dog chased away. He desperately needed to regain his honor. The area around Tai Yuan and Quan County was full of treacherous mountains. As long as he led the seven-ten-thousand troops to reinforce, he was confident he could successfully intercept Han Zongping. Why should his brother give such a great opportunity to someone else?

"I will stay in Shizhou, and you go to Quan County," Dou Dechang snatched the edict from his brother and said to Cheng Lun without hesitation.

Cheng Lun: "How can that be? This is the edict of the Imperial Uncle... the Emperor. How can we disobey?"

Dou Dechang raised his chin arrogantly and said, "A general in the field may sometimes disregard orders. General Cheng, there's no need to worry. As long as we hold Tai Yuan, I will speak well of you to the Emperor, and the credit will still be yours."

Cheng Lun tried to argue, but Dou Dechang ignored him and went outside to muster the troops. Everyone knew that the court was run by Imperial Uncle Dou, and Dou Dechang, with his status as a junior imperial uncle, could mobilize troops at will.

Unable to stop Dou Dechang, Cheng Lun hurriedly sent a messenger to inform Imperial Uncle Dou.

—

When Imperial Uncle Dou received Cheng Lun's report and cursed his younger brother, Dou Dechang and his seven-ten-thousand troops were only a few miles away from Niangzi Pass.

Ahead was all mountains, with only a narrow path.

They camped outside the mountains for the night. The next morning, Dou Dechang, riding his horse, pointed to the towering mountains and said to his deputy, "Look at these mountains, how suitable for an ambush."

The deputy was a bit nervous: "General, do you think... Lu Gong's men might..."

Dou Dechang: "Impossible. According to our scouts, they set out from Shuozhou on the 17th. The road from Shuozhou to Quan County is full of winding mountain paths, and it's the height of summer. Even with breaks along the way, it would take them at least half a month to cover six hundred miles. Today is only the 28th, and they haven't even seen the shadow of Quan County. How could they be here to ambush us? Besides, they would need to capture Niangzi Pass first. The situation in Quan County is calm, indicating no battle has taken place."

The deputy found this reasoning convincing.

Once they entered the mountain path, the sun was blocked by the mountains, making it much cooler.

Dou Dechang was eager to pass through the pass quickly and enjoy the comforts of Quan County. He didn't send scouts ahead, just rode his steed and led the seven-ten-thousand infantry forward at a rapid pace.

Suddenly, small rocks began rolling down from one side of the mountain. Dou Dechang looked up and was shocked to see an ambush!

Arrows rained down, and Dou Dechang spurred his horse to flee forward.

The cavalrymen indeed managed to escape the ambush in time, but the infantry were brutally slaughtered. However, a cavalry unit suddenly appeared on the narrow path ahead, led by a general in full armor, his spear gleaming.

Dou Dechang quickly reined in his horse and ordered the cavalry behind him to engage.

The cavalry charged forward but were held back by the leading general, who fought ten to one. Those who managed to get past him were intercepted by the defending troops behind him.

Seeing no way forward, Dou Dechang turned around and, under the protection of his guards, barely made it through the rain of arrows. But another cavalry unit emerged from behind.

Dou Dechang recognized this person and exclaimed in shock, "Zhao Jin, what are you doing here!"

Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Traveled hundreds of miles day and night, climbed mountains and crossed rivers to catch up with you?"

Dou Dechang: "..."