Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 675 Guess
After speaking with Liu Erlang, Zhao Zhongliang, and others, Xie Yuyan went to check on the wounded soldiers.

The fight with Yang Jun tonight didn't last long, and the Baoding team came to their aid in time, so the damage to them wasn't too great, but three people were still killed and six were seriously injured.

One of the laborers died; he was only twenty years old and the youngest in the area.

A group of laborers surrounded the corpse and refused to leave. Two men in their thirties shed tears. After a while, someone took out a water bag, moistened a cloth, and began to carefully wipe the bloodstains off the corpse.

Xie Yuyan and the others stood there for a long time without saying a word.

“They were all trying to save us,” a laborer said in a hoarse voice, “and pushed us aside, but he ended up being trampled by a horse’s hoof.”

"At the time, I thought he was alright."

“We watched as he got up and together with us pulled the traitor off his horse. After we tied him up,” the laborer said, his voice trembling, “when we looked up at him again, we found that he was vomiting blood.”

"It was too fast... He didn't even get to say a word to us before he passed away."

The laborers looked remorseful. If they had been more careful and taken the person aside to rest, perhaps things would have turned out better? Although they all knew the outcome would be roughly the same.

If his internal organs hadn't been trampled by the horse's hooves, he wouldn't have died. Once something like this happens, even if a doctor is there, he can't be saved.

"We don't know how to explain this to his mother when we get back."

Xie Yuyan looked at the generals and said, "The bodies of the fallen soldiers and laborers should be sent back to Longde."

The general nodded and said, "That's right, but the weather is hot."

Xie Yuyan said, "So we need to set off quickly, carry the body on horses, go to the nearby prefectural city mortuary to get ice, and then use a carriage to escort the coffin along the way. I can order people to hire carriages and manpower, but the military officers will also need to send people to accompany us."

Having a government official's badge makes doing these things much easier.

The general nodded: "Alright, let's set off at dawn."

War always results in death; no matter how meticulously planned, such deaths are inevitable. Swords and spears are indiscriminate, inherently designed to take lives, making them exceptionally dangerous.

Xie Yuyan couldn't bear to think about whether there was a problem with his arrangements. If Zhao Zhongliang and the others had arrived earlier, perhaps those people wouldn't have had to die.

However, other situations may arise.

Overthinking can make you hesitant and timid, potentially leading to a wrong decision next time.

Xie Yuyan would send money to try and make amends, but the lost lives could never be brought back. This was also for the sake of the people's hope for peace and prosperity, and fewer wars.

She didn't know if arresting Xie Yizhi, Xia Mengxian, and others, and finding the people behind the Third Manager, could prevent the war that would destroy the country decades later, but at least she could use this opportunity to rectify the administration and eliminate deep-seated problems.

This will also prevent them from becoming rich and powerful and causing harm to the region.

They treated human life like dirt back then, using countless lives to build their path to wealth. Now it's time to pay the price with their heads.

The general asked Xie Yuyan, "What's our next move?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Go east."

The general was somewhat surprised: "Aren't we in a hurry to escort the prisoner back to Bianjing? Won't this delay things?"

Xie Yuyan looked into the distance, her voice clear: "Aren't there still prisoners we haven't caught? Wouldn't it be better to escort them all together?"

It took the general a while to realize that the prisoner Xie was referring to was Yang Jun, the one who led the assassination attempt on them. He was now worried about how to escort the many more prisoners, but Xie seemed to think it wasn't enough... The general had been on duty for so many years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation; everything was already out of his control.

Just as the general was about to say something, Jingyuan, dressed in a monk's robe, stepped forward.

The general immediately performed Buddhist rituals. Just then, the nun Jingyuan was performing a ritual for the deceased soldiers and laborers. At that moment, the general truly realized that she was a virtuous nun.

Master Jingyuan asked, "Before leaving Longde, did the prefect give any instructions to the military officers?"

The general responded, "The prefect said that if anything happens, we should obey Lady Xie and... the nun."

Master Jingyuan nodded: "Then the general will discuss with me what to do next."

The general instinctively looked at Xie Yuyan.

Master Jingyuan said, "Madam Xie has other important matters to attend to."

The general stood there stunned for a moment before regaining his senses: "Madam, are you taking your men and leaving?"

Xie Yuyan did not respond, but instead directly ordered: "The general will send five men to accompany me, as a testament to what is to come."

It wouldn't be a bad idea to send a few of his trusted confidants to follow Lady Xie, but he needed to know: "What does Lady Xie intend to do?"

Xie Yuyan didn't want to hide it. At this juncture, the generals were already tied to them. As long as everything went smoothly, the generals would get credit, and if something went wrong, the generals would not be able to escape responsibility.

Xie Yuyan said, "Persuade the leader of the demonic sect to lead the rest of his followers to surrender to the imperial court."

The general's eyes widened immediately. Had Lady Xie forgotten that the Demonic Cult had used so many of its members to try and kill her? Wouldn't going there now be... walking into a trap?
Just as the general was about to speak to stop her, he noticed that Abbess Jingyuan beside him had a sharp look in her eyes: "General, you only need to do as Madam Xie says."

The general instinctively took a step back. The nun's face darkened, making him feel as if he were in a Buddhist temple. The clay sculptures above seemed to suddenly speak in whispers, their solemnity tinged with an eerie atmosphere that instilled fear in him.

The general hurriedly replied, "I will obey the orders of the lady and the nun."

……

As dawn broke, Yang Jun and the others reined in their horses to rest.

After washing his face by the stream, Yang Jun finally looked up to see the situation of everyone. He had only fought the Xie family once, and already lost 30% of his troops. Before this, he had never imagined that things would turn out this way.

Despite having meticulously planned and acting at what he considered the perfect moment, he suffered such a devastating defeat.

The worst part is that his identity was exposed.

“Commander,” the general beside him stepped forward and said, “should we rest here for now and send someone to look for the troops that haven’t caught up yet?”

They ran in such a hurry that many people couldn't keep up.

Yang Jun said, "Send someone to check on the movements of the Xie family and others."

If Xie had already left with her men, then her sudden calling of his name last night was most likely a ploy to trick him. Xie had captured so many members of the Demon Cult and must have obtained many confessions, so it wouldn't be hard to deduce that he was connected to Xie Yizhi. Because he had a guilty conscience, he didn't dare to think too much and fled with his men.

Yang Jun truly regretted not arresting Xie Shi and interrogating her thoroughly, so as to understand the current situation clearly and avoid making wild guesses.

(End of this chapter)