Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 856 Extra: He Tan (2)

northwest.

Da Shun City.

Since taking over Dongjia and the Duke of Wei two years ago, the Northwest has returned to a state of peace, but that is only on the surface.

The neighboring country knew that the Great Liang had spent a lot of money to quell the rebellion, so it secretly planned to send troops south. Now they finally got their chance... The Great Liang emperor passed away, and the Great Liang court was busy stabilizing the political situation and had no time to pay attention to the border.

The war came on fiercely, with Northern Qi and Western Xia determined to win, leading 100,000 troops to press on the border. The massive army was at the city gates, but to the surprise of Northern Qi and Western Xia, the generals guarding the border of Daliang were not as panicked as they had expected.

After the first day of fighting, the Northern Qi army suffered heavy losses, but they still did not give up and continued to attack the city. After all, the truce had lasted for many years, and the generals all wanted to use their military achievements to exchange for official positions.

If the new emperor of Daliang secures his throne, such a favorable situation is unlikely to continue for some time.

The next day, the Northern Qi sent in even more troops. Just as their fighting spirit was high, a banner with the character "贺" (congratulations) appeared on the top of the city wall of Daliang.

The Northern Qi generals were immediately taken aback. They had been told that He Tan had led his troops to Bianjing, so how did he end up here?
What surprised them even more was yet to come.

A barrage of firearms was hurled at them. They had seen this kind of oil in earthenware jars before, but unlike before, it was now mixed with iron projectiles.

Once the projectile is ignited and fired, it explodes upon impact with the crowd. The gunpowder inside is more powerful than ordinary gunpowder, causing chaos and disarray among the crowd.

The generals of Northern Qi were blinded by rage. Despite suffering heavy losses, they forced their soldiers to continue the siege, knowing that if they were defeated today, their morale would collapse and no one would dare to storm the city walls tomorrow.

The battlefield was filled with smoke and blood.

Just as the Northern Qi general ordered his army to continue pressing forward, the city gates suddenly opened. A troop of soldiers charged out of the city and rushed towards the attacking troops.

The sounds of battle shook the heavens, catching the armies of Northern Qi and Western Xia completely off guard. The outcome of their well-prepared attack and their hasty response was predictable.

As darkness fell, the Liang cavalry re-entered the city, leaving behind hundreds and thousands of corpses outside.

“Too reckless,” Zeng Jiqing, the heir apparent of Marquis Changyuan, looked at He Tan. “If the Northern Qi army’s formation hadn’t been disrupted, wouldn’t you have been courting death by rushing in?”

"What should I do then? Should I send the city's garrison to provide support, or watch you all be captured?"

He Tan smiled nonchalantly: "Young Master underestimates us. Even if we lose, we won't be captured alive."

“You,” Zeng Jiqing didn’t know what to say to He Tan, “really…”

He Tan looked at Zeng Jiqing: "These fireballs are useful, but... how much money will each one cost? If we can't scare them out of their wits in one go, this war will continue for even longer."

When this came up, Zeng Jiqing was speechless; he truly didn't know as much as He Tan did.

After all, the fireballs were made by the newly established Ordnance Bureau.

The person who secretly supported the Military Equipment Bureau was Wang Yan, who had retired from officialdom.

Although Wang Yan had left the court, the late emperor had given him an imperial decree instructing him to do some things in secret, one of which was the Military Equipment Bureau.

Away from conflict, they could focus their energy on these things. Most of the officials in the Armory were recommended by Wang Yan, and with the support of Lady Xie's caravan, the Armory's equipment seemed to have been completely transformed.

If a workman wants to be good, he must first sharpen his weapon.

Zeng Jiqing was extremely surprised when he saw the power of the fireball.

If such things were used casually, they wouldn't be afraid of any number of people attacking the city, but that's impossible... after all, they're all made of real gold and silver.

“You are the commander-in-chief,” Zeng Jiqing said, “you absolutely cannot act so impulsively again, otherwise…”

He Tan smiled and said, "I understand, Your Highness. Don't worry, the Northern Qi will need to rest for a while before coming back."

That being said, over the next two weeks, He Tan personally led his troops in several more battles, and Zeng Jiqing was always on tenterhooks.

In the final battle, the Northern Qi and Western Xia joined forces to set a trap to kill He Tan. He Tan turned the tables and burned their grain supplies. As the flames soared into the sky, Zeng Jiqing also led his troops out of the city to fight a decisive battle with the Northern Qi and Western Xia.

As dawn broke, the remnants of the Northern Qi army retreated north. Zeng Jiqing searched everywhere for He Tan but could not find him. Just as he was panicking, he saw soldiers carrying He Tan back.

Zeng Jiqing rushed forward to check on He Tan and, seeing that He Tan was not in any danger, he cursed again: "If the court asks me to lead troops with you again next time, I will never agree."

He Tan wanted to make a few jokes, but ultimately succumbed to exhaustion and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep. In his hazy state, he seemed to hear someone speaking.

"It's been so long since I've seen you all. I hope you're all doing well at home."

"Both the lady and the gentleman are well."

"Indeed, if it weren't for Young Master Wang and Madam Xie, we wouldn't have been able to fight this battle so quickly and comfortably. At least we won't be short of military supplies anymore, and there's no shortage of medicine in the army."

"There are still pancakes to eat."

"It's been a long time since I've seen Mr. Wang."

He Tan could tell that the voice came from his family retainer. In the past, He Chun often stayed with him and they would meet frequently, but since He Chun got married, it was already difficult to see each other once every six months.

“Now that my husband is married, things are naturally different from before.”

The one who said this was Zhao Zhongliang.

After Wang Langjun and Xie Da Niangzi got married, they were always seen together, which was common knowledge.

He Jiajun replied casually, "We don't know when our young master will be able to get married."

These words were followed by a moment of silence.

"Isn't our young master... a little..."

The person who was speaking was hit and then stopped talking.

"My lord is so focused on the war that he has neglected his marriage."

"That's right. If our young master takes a fancy to a girl, he can just turn around and marry her."

Upon hearing this, He Tan's frustration immediately dissipated somewhat, but little did he know, the man had more to say.

"Have you heard? When General Wei returned home the other day, he took a fancy to a young woman. As a result, he barged into her house to inquire about her."

"and then?"

"He was beaten out by the girl's family. He was thinking about marrying her, so he didn't dare fight back. He looked so pathetic..."

The crowd burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Has he gone mad from being in the army? How could he be so reckless?"

"Perhaps our Wei generals thought it was a battle and launched a direct attack on the camp."

He Tan, who was about to wake up, wished he could faint again upon hearing this.

Two years ago, after Wang Yan's wedding banquet, he ran into Zhang Erniangzi. Although he was not in a very presentable manner at the time, Zhang Erniangzi still left him with some... impressions.

The scent of wild roses and the gentle voice, in particular, would always appear in his dreams.

Later, he mustered up his courage, bought gifts, and went to the Zhang residence. Everything was fine until he saw Zhang Erniangzi. For some reason, he stupidly asked her, "Where does that fragrance on you come from?"

He realized his words were inappropriate after speaking so abruptly on their first meeting, so he explained, "I fainted not because I was drunk, but because I smelled that odor."

……

Looking back now, I must have been possessed by a ghost to be so incoherent.

Seeing Zhang Erniangzi's astonished gaze, he, who had never known fear, actually fled in panic. Afterwards, he simply returned to the Northwest and secretly trained his troops for two years.

Of course, he returned to the capital a few times during that time, and he couldn't help but try to subtly inquire about Zhang Erniangzi. Unfortunately, the people around him seemed to be deliberately going against him. No matter how much he hinted, they couldn't guess his thoughts and didn't reveal a single word.

Fortunately, he was still thinking about dealing with the Northern Qi, so he temporarily put this matter out of his mind. Now that the battle was won and there was nothing else to do, his mind was immediately filled with these thoughts after it became empty.

Could it be that Zhang Erniangzi has already gotten married?
As He Tan was thinking, he heard a voice say, "Is General He awake? I've come to change his dressing."

(End of this chapter)