Chapter 82: New Mission
General Xiao was forced here by the Xiongnu army’s stray arrows. The Xiongnu people fired arrows randomly. If they were lucky, they would hit their targets. If they didn’t, they would be able to force out some movements and traces. If they weren’t lucky, they wouldn’t find anything. And most of the time, they didn’t find anything. However, they didn’t have to worry about not having enough weapons to eat now that they had obtained the rations and supplies of the Northwest Army Camp. When they had nothing to do, they would shoot a round of arrows. Even if they only hit once out of ten times, they would almost wipe out the remaining soldiers of the Northwest Army Camp.
General Xiao was severely injured and was carried by his trusted aide.
When the two of them discovered Da Niu, they almost thought that they had encountered Xiongnu pursuers. Fortunately, they had gotten the secret code right in time, so they did not end up killing each other.
The cave that Yu Shaoqing and the others were currently in was big enough. It was divided into two by a few large natural rocks. Yu Shaoqing originally lived in the small rock cave on the left with Gou’zi, who was a sentinel. Wu San led the remaining soldiers to live in the big rock cave on the right. Yu Shaoqing was the only one left in the cave now that Gou’zi was injured and had been moved to the injured area of the big rock cave.
That’s right. Before Gou’zi came to the cave, another sentinel had stayed beside Yu Shaoqing. It was the one who had been hit by a stray arrow and couldn’t survive the fourth day of the first month.!!
General Xiao was carried into Yu Shaoqing’s small cave. There were no beds in the cave, only cotton clothes pulled off the dead.
General Xiao lay on the cotton clothes. He had lost too much blood and his face was pale. His lips were cracked and the beard around his mouth had grown out. His hair was messy and his armor was broken.
“How long has it been since you last ate?” Yu Shaoqing asked General Xiao’s subordinate.
Yu Shaoqing recognized him. His surname was Zhou and his name was Huai. He was less than twenty years old and had followed General Xiao for two years. He had never gotten himself an official position and had always been loyal to General Xiao.
Zhou Huai smelled the strong fragrance of the meat soup. He swallowed his saliva and said, “Three days.”
Yu Shaoqing said to Wu San, “Go and cook a bowl of hot soup with a pancake. Cook it for a long time and don’t put anything in it.”
“Aye!” Wu San hurriedly left.
General Xiao’s injuries were too serious and he was unconscious. Yu Shaoqing could only continue to ask Zhou Huai, “Are there only you and General?”
Zhou Huai knelt beside General Xiao and clenched his fists. “They… they were shot.”
Some died on the spot, some were killed by the Xiongnu people, some were injured but could not bear to use General Xiao’s medicine, and died of starvation. There were also those who froze to death and starved to death. Zhou Huai could no longer count them.
“There were two more people in the cave we stayed in today, but they couldn’t escape… There were too many arrows…” As Zhou Huai spoke, his eyes turned red.
It was obviously not wise to go and rescue them now. Yu Shaoqing instructed Da Niu to bring a few soldiers. After the Xiongnu finished searching, they would go to the cave where General Xiao was staying.
Actually, it was impossible for there to be any survivors, but at least the corpses had to be retrieved and buried.
It was unknown if it was because they had found traces of General Xiao, but the Xiongnu people’s search this time took longer than usual. Fortunately, they did not find the cave on Yu Shaoqing’s side. The Xiongnu people did not find anything. They seemed to be very disappointed and went down the mountain cursing.
“What are they looking for, Brother Da Niu?” A recruit who was taken in halfway whispered to Da Niu.
The two of them joined the army together, but because Da Niu had followed Yu Shaoqing earlier, his status in everyone’s hearts was no longer the same.
Da Niu said, “I don’t know, but the centurion said that the Xiongnu people went through so much trouble. I’m afraid we have something they want.”
The recruit was enlightened. “No wonder they didn’t let us fend for ourselves.”
Da Niu continued, “Alright, they’ve gone down the mountain. They won’t come again tonight. Let’s go!”
Da Niu was promoted to become a scout by Yu Shaoqing not only because he chose Yu Shaoqing when he was forced by Yan Congming, but also because he indeed had outstanding investigative and analytical abilities.
When Da Niu and the others carried the bodies of the two soldiers who were not killed by the arrows but were killed by the Xiongnu people, General Xiao also woke up faintly.
Yu Shaoqing quickly asked Wu San to bring over a bowl of soup paste made from the pancake. “General.”
General Xiao shook his head gently and raised his hand, indicating for Yu Shaoqing to help him up.
Yu Shaoqing helped him sit up and leaned him against the cold stone wall.
“Where’s Zhou Huai?” General Xiao asked weakly.
“There.” Yu Shaoqing pointed to General Xiao’s other side.
Zhou Huai was exhausted. After eating a bowl of soup, he fell asleep on the ground. He refused to go to the spacious cave and would rather curl up by General Xiao’s feet. He was holding a sword in his arms.
General Xiao smiled bitterly. “He hasn’t slept for three days.”
Wu San walked over with a bag. “Zhou Huai said that the General needs to change the dressing when you wake up. I’ll change the General’s dressing now.”
General Xiao shook his head again. “No need. Take the medicine and give it to the soldiers.”
Wu San hesitated. “But…”
“This is a military order.” General Xiao was weak, but he said firmly.
Wu San glanced at Yu Shaoqing, who nodded. He took the bag and went to the big rock cave.
Gou’zi had just pulled out the arrow, and Xiao Yu’s foot needed to be amputated. Both of them urgently needed medicine. Forgive him for not having the same awareness as General Xiao’s subordinates, that they would rather die or watch their companions die than touch General Xiao’s medicine.
A gratified smile appeared on General Xiao’s pale face as he looked at Wu San’s departing back. “You taught your division well. You are…”
“Centurion Yu Shaoqing,” Yu Shaoqing replied.
General Xiao was surprised. “You’re Yu Shaoqing… I’ve heard of you.”
He killed enemies fearlessly but was the furthest away from promotion. The number of people he had offended was even more than the number of enemies he had killed. If it wasn’t for the fact that he has many military achievements, he would have been pulled down from his position dozens of times.
General Xiao suddenly felt a little happy. He accidentally affected his wound and coughed softly. Afraid that he would wake up Zhou Huai, he hurriedly took a sip of hot soup and suppressed his cough.
Yu Shaoqing didn’t ask him what he was laughing about. Instead, he said, “Why didn’t you use medicine, General?”
General Xiao smiled faintly and said, “There’s no need.”
Yu Shaoqing’s gaze fell on the bandage on General Xiao’s abdomen.
“Don’t look anymore. Zhou Huai wrapped it up tightly. You can’t see my injuries, but the inside is already rotten,” General Xiao said with a smile.
Of course, Yu Shaoqing understood that he was not lying. When he was unconscious, Yu Shaoqing checked his injuries. The wounds had long festered and even rotted. The inflammation made his entire body extremely hot.
It was a miracle that he could still talk to Yu Shaoqing logically.
Or perhaps he was…
Yu Shaoqing tried his best not to think about those words.
General Xiao stopped laughing. His condition suddenly worsened and his breathing became short.
Yu Shaoqing’s eyes trembled. “General!”
General Xiao trembled as he reached into his pocket with his right hand. After a while, he took out an item the size of his index finger. “Xiongnu… has planted spies in Prefecture You… This is the list of spies…”
“General…”
“Yu Shaoqing, listen to my orders.”
Yu Shaoqing’s expression turned solemn.
General Xiao used what little strength he had to stabilize his body that could collapse at any moment. “I hereby appoint you as the Northwest Army… Beacon Camp… Centurion, go to Prefecture You immediately. You must deliver the list to General Pang Ren before Xiongnu sends their troops!”
Yu Shaoqing took the list solemnly. “Yu Shaoqing accepts the order!”
General Xiao seemed to heave a sigh of relief. He leaned against the stone wall behind him and said, “You’re from the Capital, right?”
Yu Shaoqing said, “From Lotus Flower Village. It’s at the foot of the Capital.”
“Then it must be very close to the Grand Marshal Mansion.”
General Xiao looked at the empty stone wall as if he saw something else through it.
The young general smiled in satisfaction. “If you can return alive, remember to tell the Grand Marshal that Xiao Yan died a worthy death… Xiao Yan did not disappoint him!”