Chapter 244

The Zhan family also stopped in Bu County, which made rumors even more prevalent. Many people began to regret it.

The waiting time was always exceptionally long.

Four hours later, the sun began to tilt west again, and the scout Zhan Song sent back to Dunyu galloped back, bringing news that for the Zhan family, it was hard to say whether it was good or bad: "Dunyu posted notices in the middle of the night yesterday, and today it is decorated with lanterns and colored banners everywhere. At noon, every restaurant was full; the Song family troupe set up a stage at the Little Jiaotian Square at the South Gate, which is said to be arranged by the provincial government, and they are going to sing for most of the day."

The scout added: "Dozens of heads are hanging on the city gate, said to be generals of the Xunzhou cavalry, as well as the leaders who killed the most in looting. They have been sprinkled with lime, and many people are watching."

"By the way, Dunyucheng has reopened, it's not sealed anymore."

Enemy heads hung on the city tower?

Dunyu opened the city again?

Zhan Song held the back of the chair and sat down slowly, his heart cold. "We've been fooled, we've been fooled."

The clansmen looked at him eagerly; what should they do now?

Someone asked: "Could it be fake again?"

"How can there be a reason to seal the city yesterday and unseal it today?"

"We just arrived in Bu County, and the news of the victory also arrived; how can there be such a coincidence?"

"Right." Zhan Song suddenly answered. "There is no such coincidence."

Everyone was stunned. "Are you saying Chief Steward He didn't win?"

"Won." Zhan Song smiled bitterly. "But I'm afraid he hid it and didn't report it, using this news to set a trap for us! After all, when the victory report is sent back is not up to him?"

The atmosphere was temporarily heavy.

When Dunyucheng was in danger, they didn't feel good.

But Chief Steward He defeated the enemy army and beheaded the enemy generals, and they seemed to feel even worse.

All two hundred people in the clan came out, what should they do later? Go back to Dunyucheng? Over the past few days, they sold everything they could sell and stripped their assets, so what could they do if they went back? Not to mention that among the four great families, only they left; if they went back like this, wouldn't they be laughed at to death by the other three families? Zhan Song's heart was twisted like a twist, and it was uncomfortable to squeeze.

This dumb loss was really eaten big.

But who told him to have insufficient concentration? Look at the Li family who came out to sweep goods and acquire assets yesterday; could it be that they got the wind first? After sighing for a long time, he spat out a turbid breath. "Not going back, we continue to go south. We still have assets in the south, and the clansmen who moved away earlier are all in Canglin County, where the houses are enough for us to live in."

He still had words left unsaid: not only were there Zhan family assets there, but it was also closer to the border. Once Dunyu showed signs of defeat, they could lift their legs and flee Xiazhou.

The clansmen looked at each other, all shrinking their heads, and had no objection.

Zhan Fourth Master, however, patted the table and stood up, furious. "You don't go back, I have to go back! I have an account with the Li family that hasn't been settled clearly!"

His wife and children died in the hands of the Li family's private soldiers, and he was still waiting for justice. "I said earlier, don't go, don't go, none of you believed me! Now it's good, a huge farce has been set up, who of you still has the face to go back?"

Zhan Second Master looked at Zhan Song's face and coughed lightly. "Shouldn't say that, Fourth, you are impulsive. We originally planned to move south, and we didn't plan to go back."

Zhan Song nodded. "Let Fourth go back, can't let the Li family live too comfortably."

He raised his hand and summoned a steward to his side. "You take two people to accompany Zhan Fourth Master back and take good care of his daily life."

It's good for Zhan Fourth to go back and watch, and he can urge the provincial government to handle the case fairly as soon as possible. Even if the Zhan family left, they couldn't let the Li family off easily; the compensation the Li family should pay couldn't be less by a penny!

Dunyucheng.

A day ago, it was a cold night with bleak winds, all trades were withered, and even dogs didn't come out to bark.

A day later, it was decorated with lanterns and colored banners everywhere, and the streets were full of people.

Two worlds of ice and fire, the difference was just a hearty victory.

He Chunhua specifically set up a banquet at He Su Tower to "welcome and dust off" the victorious generals led by Zhao Qinghe and Wu Shaoyi—

In fact, this team returned triumphantly the morning before yesterday, but had been hiding in the countryside, and only returned to the city grandly today, so they received a warm welcome from the people.

When the generals talked about the battle on the front line at the banquet, they were all high-spirited.

He Chunhua specifically didn't choose a private room, but directly booked the second floor. In this way, the movement upstairs could be transmitted downstairs, and other guests could hear it clearly.

When the generals talked about the exciting parts, guests came upstairs one after another, insisting on toasting them.

This situation happened again and again, so He Lingchuan simply opened a flowing banquet on the first floor, which anyone could come to eat, and everyone could have fun together.

After eating and drinking, the various gossip and details here would definitely be exaggerated and spread throughout the city, just as the He father and son expected.

This meal was eaten from noon to dusk before everyone left happily.

He Lingchuan grabbed He Chunhua. "Old father can't pit his son, settle the bill for today's banquet quickly!"

He Chunhua was happy today and also a bit floating from drinking, so he waved his hand very simply. "Put it on the account, put it on the provincial government's account!"

In fact, He Lingchuan already knew that the team He Chunhua sent out had indeed won, but this victory was somewhat watery. The Xunzhou army they caught and defeated was nowhere near 9,000.

In fact, the other side only had 1,200 people.

After Nian Zanli tore a hole in Zhao Pan's defense line, he transferred the main force south, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to take a few more cities and expand the results, so that he could stand firm, otherwise, a lone army going deep would be easier to send food.

But at the same time, he also sent several cavalry units to continue to fight small-scale Mobile Corps Commander warfare in the south, while harassing townships, looting commoners, and searching for the route of the official grain transport team, preparing for a surprise attack.

These cavalry units had strong mobility, but each had only a few hundred people.

He Chunhua knew that the Xiazhou army was poorly trained and had poor combat effectiveness. If they fought on the front line, they would be scattered at one charge. However, winning more with less on their own turf still had some chance of winning.

Before setting off, he repeatedly rehearsed countermeasures with several generals. Wu Shaoyi and Zhao Qinghe were also very lucky this time. With the response of local commoners in Xinhuang, Hetao, and Lu'an, they successfully ambushed two enemy units, and the last one actually retreated without a fight and didn't really fight them.

The Xunzhou army suffered because they didn't know He Chunhua had already rushed to Dunyu, and still thought the Xiazhou defense was empty. Plus, they hadn't encountered any decent resistance in the previous few looting of townships, and the defenders were defeated at one blow, so it was inevitable that they were rough and arrogant.

He Chunhua caught them off guard, which had such a good effect. But even so, his own side suffered more than 400 casualties.

When He Lingchuan knew the real number, he couldn't help but give He Chunhua a thumbs up. "As expected of the old father, if you want to play, play big, and even faking it is so watery!" Faking five times!

"How do you think morale and military heart can rise?" He Chunhua smiled bitterly. "Half depends on blowing!"

"With this victory as a foundation, their courage can be greater when facing the Xunzhou army next time." Chief Steward He had half joy and half trouble in his eyes.

The joy was that this great victory laid a solid foundation for his prestige in Dunyu, and the power and status between him and the powerful families headed by the four great families had undergone subtle changes.

The heavy stone pressing on He Chunhua's heart was put down by half. With this victory, many of his subsequent government orders could be smoothly promoted.

The trouble was also very obvious; the foundation that the Xiazhou army couldn't fight was exposed without doubt, and his conscription and training plans must be implemented as soon as possible.

But no matter what, the most difficult moment for them to arrive in Dunyu had passed.

That night, He Lingchuan entered the dream again, but Meng Shan, who had just finished repairing several opponents in the Reading Wu Tang, hung up a sign of exemption from war, the reason being that he was tired from fighting and wanted to rest for a few days.

Last time, He Lingchuan almost shattered his throat.

Although He Lingchuan was still forcibly disconnected by him grabbing his neck, Meng Shan didn't receive special care from the dream and couldn't recover the next day after being injured, so he needed to rest for a few days.

Now, He Lingchuan could hold on for more than a quarter of an hour under his hands.

Logically speaking, the rules of the Reading Wu Tang were actually more favorable to Meng Shan, because the sharpness of weapons didn't work here, and the advantages of blunt weapons and giant strength were obvious. Meng Shan was thick-skinned, fleshy, and had infinite strength, so no matter what He Lingchuan used to stab, the damage he caused to him was limited.

Not to mention that this was a head-on confrontation, and moves like sneak attacks and ambushes were basically useless.

But even so, the time He Lingchuan insisted on was getting longer and longer.

Although military merit was not enough to exchange for new supernatural powers, he had spent a long time in the Reading Wu Tang and also learned from others' strengths, and equipped another very useful military weapon: sleeve arrows.

As the name suggests, this thing was hidden in the sleeve, and could attack enemies within thirty-four steps by raising the wrist. The sleeve arrows provided by the Reading Wu Tang were made of wood, both the arrows and the box, so the durability and quality were not very good. Even so, He Lingchuan used it to sneak attack Meng Shan, and almost poked the other party's eyes blind.

After returning to reality, he immediately asked Li Fubo to customize sleeve arrows. The arrow box was purple copper, and the arrow head was mixed with a little refined gold, two shots in a row.

At the same time, the arrow body had to be inscribed with two talismans, which was to add two magic arrays, one "Wind Control," which was to be free from wind influence, so as not to be brought crooked, and the other "Elite," to improve the penetration of the arrow head, after all, the power of the sleeve arrow was not as good as the long bow, and it needed additional blessing.

A set of arrow boxes, six short arrows, and could also be quenched with poison.

He also asked Li Fubo to combine the hook rope with the sleeve arrow, which was that the back of the arrow had to be able to connect to the rope for emergency use.

Just making this thing, another 300 taels of silver were gone.

This was worth half the price of a shop. The expert customization of Songyang Mansion was so expensive, and it was still a friendship price with a 50% discount.

Li Fubo gave him a thumbs up repeatedly, trying to comfort the trauma on the customer's heart. "This thing is practical, the Young Master has an eye for it. Many regular customers of Songyang Mansion must have it, and they come to us to replenish arrows after using them."

He Lingchuan was too lazy to roll his eyes; since it was useful, why didn't you recommend it to me earlier?

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about another famous hidden weapon he saw in books, the "Rain of Pear Blossom Needles," but after Li Fubo told him the cost, especially the dozens of special large-headed needles shot out at once couldn't be fully recovered, he instantly dispelled this idea.

Who came up with such a wasteful thing!

(End of chapter)