Chapter 23

Liang Huiyong eventually returned to Guangning with more than 200 soldiers, but Hu Baicheng and 300 sacrificial men were completely killed. The scouts reported that more than half of the Jin army's rations had been burned. The cattle and sheep fled in panic, and hundreds of them froze to death and had frostbite.

The Jin’s vigor was heavily damaged. They had no more strength to attack the city, and they retreated within the next few days. Almost on the same day, 20,000 of Dasheng’s reinforcements arrived in Guangning from Shuntian prefecture. Without stopping, they rushed to pursue Zhuo Letai.

Guangning's danger was finally relieved. The whole city was overflowing with the joy of life after surviving a disaster. That heart of enthusiasm even melted the bitterly cold winter.

Yuan Mao took his soldiers to patrol the streets and congratulated the whole city.

"Lord Yuan, it's Lord Yuan!"

"Lord Yuan, you saved Guangning. You saved all of the people in the city."

"LORD YUAN!!!"

People were very excited to see Yuan Mao as if they had met the Savior. Not sure who knelt on the ground to kowtow in thanks first, the people congested the streets and alleys knelt on the ground with Yuan Mao as the center. That scene was magnificent.

"Thank you, Lord Yuan, for saving us."

"Thank you, Lord Yuan, for saving us." The sound of one voice after another vibrated in every corner of Guangning City.

"Please get up quickly." Yuan Mao helped the old man up beside him. He said in a loud voice, "The battle of Guangning is not my work, but the whole city's officers, soldiers, and villagers’ united efforts to resist the enemy with one heart. My Liaodong men... No, my Liaodong sons and daughters are clearly lofty and unyielding. When facing the Jin’s army, which was 20 times bigger than ours, they still resisted the enemy desperately and never gave up. They defended our Liaodong gateway and our Dasheng’s territory. How can I have the honor to fight with you guys in this life? I’m the one who should thank you all!” At the end of his speech, he bent down, knelt on one knee on the ground, and clasped his fist with force, "I thank everybody!"

"Lord Yuan! Lord Yuan is a hero!”

"LORD YUAN IS A HERO!!!" The sound of shouting shook the world for a long time.

Yuan Nanyu, who was standing in the corner, clapped his hands excitedly: "Second brother, they called our father a hero!"

Yuan Sikong's heart was shaking crazily by the yells. He said happily from the bottom of his heart: "Father is a hero!"

"Second brother is also a hero." Yuan Nanyu nudged Yuan Sikong with his elbow and winked, "The strategy to repel the enemy is second brother's idea. Second brother's contribution is great. It’s a pity they don't know."

"No, Guangning survived because of father." Yuan Sikong was looking attentively at the brave man who seemed to be shining in the crowd with an unconcealed glory on his face.

For many years, Yuan Mao was upright, honest, and good at directing troops. He established his prestige in Guangning and was respected and trusted by the people. It was Yuan Mao who took the lead and was not afraid of life or death. No matter how many arrows and boulders flew over the city, he always stood with his soldiers in the most dangerous places to command the battle, and never retreated even when he was hit by a stray arrow. It was Yuan Mao who shouldered the heavy pressure, did not fear the influential officials, did not give the commander’s seal to a useless person, and insisted on defending it to the last. It was Yuan Mao who took a risk out of desperation to trust the plan created by him, a child who had never fought a battle before.

Apart from Yuan Mao, no one could gather the morale of the soldiers and the people's wills. There would be no Li Boyun, Hu Baicheng, and so many unknown heroes who died for their country. All of them could do it because they had faith in Yuan Mao, and they believed in him!

Sun Tzu's Art of War was arguably the most thorough book on war, but what this book taught was by no means any ingenious plans or scheming plots against the enemy. On the contrary, Sun Tzu thought that only when we had the conditions to win could we seek the possibility of winning on top of this condition.

The reason for the success of his plan was that Yuan Mao created the conditions for victory. Without Yuan Mao, Guangning would be the ruins under the Jin’s cavalry today.

The Yuan brothers looked at Yuan Mao with pride in their eyes.

-----

On that day when the banquet was hosted to celebrate the heroic deed, Yuan Mao found an excuse to leave early and rushed home to personally apologize to his wife.

Ever since the Jin crossed Huangshui, this was the first time he stepped into the house after 49 days.

Yue Qingshuang was a woman with profound righteousness. She neither blamed him nor pitied him for his obvious emaciation in front of the whole family. Instead, she poured a goblet of wine and respected him for relieving Guangning's danger.

Yuan Mao looked at her with relief: "Dear, I appreciate your hard work these days. Shaoxu and I have made you worry by not coming home all day long."

"My Lord is the one who worked really hard. I wish I could help you personally." Yue Qingshuang held up her goblet. Although her appearance was soft and graceful, her eyes had an unswerving determination. "My husband is an official of Dasheng, so naturally he should take the national calamity as the first priority. You really didn't disappoint the people in Liaodong, and also let those Jin see. My Liaodong not only has Han Zhaoxing and other mediocre and unambitious people, but also…”

Yuan Mao interrupted her: "Dear, who told you that?"

Yue Qingshuang was puzzled and said, "The whole city was saying that Han Zhaoxing wanted to surrender to the Jin, that's why Lord Li gave you the commander’s seal."

Yuan Mao gently frowned: "Chief Soldier Han didn’t really want to surrender to the Jin. At least he didn't say that. These words should never be mentioned again. You guys be sure to keep your mouths shut too."

The children of the Yuan family nodded obediently.

"Alright, let's eat."

Yuan Nanyu said happily, "Father, all the people in the city were shouting you were a hero during the day. You were really awe-inspiring at that time."

Yuan Mao smiled faintly: "I'm not a hero, I'm Guangning’s military officer who’s just dedicated to my duty." He took a piece of braised pork and put it into Yue Qingshuang's bowl.

Yuan Shaoxu said: "No, father's contribution has already surpassed that of a military officer, especially when compared with Han Zhaoxing..."

Yuan Mao knitted his eyebrows as a warning.

Yuan Shaoxu coughed softly: "In short, it's a miracle that father led us to guardint Guangning. That Zhuo Letai had a total of 70,000 troops, and we only used 3,000."

"Yeah, Father is so powerful!" Yuan Nanyu looked at Yuan Sikong, "Of course, second brother's strategy was also amazing."

Yuan Mao said with a smile, "Kong'er really made great achievements."

Yuan Shaoxu put down his chopsticks and puckered his lips gently.

Yuan Sikong said in a hurry: "Kong'er only contributed a little. Father is the most meritorious person in this war."

Yuan Mao picked up the flagon, poured two goblets of wine, and handed them to Yuan Shaoxu and Yuan Sikong respectively: "Shaoxu, Kong'er, you two have made great contributions in this battle. You guys were unafraid of death despite being young. You guys are not only father's good sons, but also my Dasheng's good sons."

Only then did Yuan Shaoxu's face relax. He held up his goblet and said, "Father, I'd like to serve my country by pledging with my life and defend Dasheng’s territory just like father."

"Good!" Yuan Mao drank all the wine in his goblet, and the two sons followed him.

Yuan Sikong's was drinking wine for the first time, which made him stick out his tongue and wrinkle his small face due to the burn.

Yuan Mao poured another goblet of wine and looked at Yuan Weiling and Yuan Nanyu with a smile: "The both of you, one is a daughter, and the other one who had just recovered from a leg injury, have also made a lot of contributions. Very good, all of you are my good children! Father toasts to you guys."

"Since I'm a good child, I'll have a drink too!" Yuan Nanyu went to grab the goblet while saying.

Yuan Mao knocked his hand with a chopstick: "You don't need to."

Yuan Nanyu pouted his lips and made everyone laugh.

That flickering lights, sweet food, and wine, and the laughter of family members made the warmth in the house better than the extreme cold of Liaodong, which seeped into everyone's heart.

----

The reinforcements returned to Guangning a few days later. It was said that they chased Zhuo Letai for 50 kilometers and killed 4000 of them. Zhao Fuyi, the general in charge, appreciated Yuan Mao very much and promised to report to the emperor to reward him heavily. However, they did not stay in Guangning for long and immediately returned to the capital.

The battle of guarding Guangning city created a miracle of pushing back more soldiers with only a few and fighting against the odds. Their firm and unyielding spirits had already become famous all over the world. With Yuan Mao's achievements, he will surely be additionally rewarded, but he did not dare to take the credit alone. All the things that happened before and after the war, and all the people who died in the war, had already been listed in the roll of names and presented to the emperor. In the following days, they were rebuilding Guangning while waiting for the emperor to bestow a reward.

The Guangning city wall was seriously damaged and repairing it was a big project. Yuan Mao had requested an imperial decree to rebuild it. After all, the victory of Guangning was only the beginning. Zhuo Letai was in his prime and refused to give up his evil intentions. He would make a comeback. By that time, they should let him see a more powerful Guangning Wei.

-----

After the first frightening war, Yuan Sikong's life returned to peace. He studied and practiced martial arts every day as usual and went to the horse farm to work during his free time. However, the images of the war had always been hovering in his mind, which made him unable to forget it for a long time.

"Second brother!" Yuan Nanyu shouted into Yuan Sikong's ear.

Yuan Sikong shivered from the fright and punched Yuan Nanyu: "Are you trying to scare me to death!?"

"I've been calling you for a long time." Yuan Nanyu said with uncertainty, "Why are you always in a daze recently? Are you still afraid?"

"I’m not afraid."

"Don't pretend. You were trembling with fear when you were on the city wall that day."

Yuan Sikong was unconvinced: "Aren't you afraid?"

"I'm afraid." Yuan Nanyu said casually, "But I admit it. Unlike you who doesn't dare to admit it even though you’re afraid."

Yuan Sikong said with feigned anger, "You are so annoying."

Yuan Nanyu said with a smile, "I won't laugh at you. If you’re afraid this time, but you won’t be afraid next time. If you’re afraid when you’re young, you won’t be afraid when you grow up."

Yuan Sikong nodded. To say that he was afraid, it’s more like he was shocked. And even if he was afraid, he would never withdraw.

"Second brother..." Yuan Nanyu's gaze moved down, "not only are you always in a daze recently, but you also love to hug that dagger.”

Yuan Sikong looked at the dagger at his waist: "Since when did I hug it? I’m just…just holding it."

"That dagger is so beautiful." Yuan Nanyu held out his hand.

Yuan Sikong took out the dagger and handed it over to him.

Yuan Nanyu carefully stroked the delicate and beautiful carving and casting patterns of the scabbard, and that gem, which looked valuable at first sight: "If you sell this gem, you could certainly get a lot of money for it."

"What should I sell it for?"

"Mm... That Little Highness is really willing to give you such a valuable thing."

"This is a keepsake. A few years later, when we meet each other, if we don't remember each other’s face, we can recognize each other with this keepsake." Yuan Sikong said with a smile, "I don't know if we will see each other again in this life."

Yuan Nanyu shrugged his shoulders. His tone was a bit perfunctory: "Who knows? The world is so big. It’s difficult to say."

"Do you think the battle of Guangning has spread to Datong Prefecture now?" Yuan Sikong nodded to himself, "Definitely. Guangning became famous with one single battle and has already become known to the world. I heard that there is a war in Datong Prefecture now. I hope they can successfully drive back the enemy like us."

"King of Jingyuan has a large army on hand and is also a famous general in the present dynasty. He will not be in a difficult position like us. Don't worry." Yuan Nanyu threw the dagger to Yuan Sikong, "Second brother, let’s go and sleep."

"Okay..."

----

PS: first knife will be coming soon

Edited 7 Jul 21 (Ari & Emzie)

 

 

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