Chapter 324: Continue To Fight
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Xiao Yuan had just thrown the handkerchief aside when his guard brought a new one.
Xiao Yuan glanced at the guard and accepted the new handkerchief.
Then, he looked at the person in front of him.
“Supreme Commander… Please take care of your health.” The person before him spoke first. He looked very worried.
The Supreme Commander was already so old, yet he was still leading the army this time.
If anything were to happen to him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xiao Yuan waved his hand dismissively.
“I know my own body well.
“Right now, in the entire army, apart from you and my personal guards, no one knows that I’m ill.
“My condition must be kept a secret from the outside world.” At this point, Xiao Yuan gave a warning look to the person in front of him.
Otherwise, the morale of the army would be shaken and the Jin army would seize the chance to attack.
“Yes, Sir!” The man knew the gravity of the matter and quickly answered.
Xiao Yuan’s expression improved somewhat upon hearing him.
“This time, 1 was too anxious. I didn’t expect Qin Xiaoyao to return to High Pass Town and set up an ambush in the town.
“What a pity… Cough, cough…” Xiao Yuan coughed violently again.
“It’s a pity that it was at night. Otherwise… otherwise, why would it end up like this!” he said with bitterness.
If they had broken into the town during the day, even if there was an ambush in the town, it would not have affected the morale of their army and caused such a large number of casualties.
More than 23,000 soldiers were gone just like that…
He felt so remorseful…
Cough! Cough! The sickly taste of blood rose up in his throat again, and Xiao Yuan coughed out a lot of blood once more.
“Supreme Commander, please take care!” The expression of the person in front of him changed at once, and he hurriedly bowed.
Xiao Yuan finally showed signs of fatigue.
“Was I really wrong…” he suddenly said.
Previously, he had asked the Emperor for reinforcements, but the Emperor had dragged his feet in approving the request. However, it was not entirely to suppress the Xiao family that he did this.
It was just that the situation of the Great Liao State was not much better than the Jin State.
The current Jin State couldn’t afford to get embroiled in a war, and the Great Liao State was in a similar predicament.
It would be good if he won when he deployed troops against the Jin State.
They could plunder large amounts of resources and slaves from the Jin State, as well as obtain land and monetary compensation.
However, if they were defeated, the days to come for the Great Liao State would be difficult.
And Xiao Yuan would become a sinner of the Great Liao State and the Xiao family.
The Empress Dowager was in a delicate situation. If Xiao Yuan were defeated, it would be a big blow to the Empress Dowager and the Xiao family.
Unfortunately, there was no antidote for regret in this world.
Now, it was too late for him to regret sending troops to High Pass Town.
“Supreme Commander, don’t be discouraged. We haven’t lost yet!” That person in front of him cupped his fists and said to Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan’s expression brightened up visibly.
That person then continued, “Qin Xiaoyao has returned to support High Pass Town. The defense of High Pass Town has been strengthened. Although it will be more difficult to take it down, now, we still have more than 10,000 more soldiers than the Jin army. So we still have the upper hand.
“Since Qin Xiaoyao has returned to High Pass Town, she won’t be able to continue attacking our troops within the Jin State. It will give our troops a chance to catch their breath.
“After this, as long as we can take down High Pass Town, we can attack the Jin State’s forces in a pincer attack and annihilate the Jin army.
“At that point, not only can we save our men within the Jin territories, but we can also defeat the Jin army thoroughly!”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan’s spirits finally lifted.
“Now, I can only take this final gamble,” he said in a low voice.
If he gave up and returned to the court now, what awaited him and the Xiao family would be his clan’s decline.
If he continued, there was still hope for the Xiao family to retain their glory.
For the sake of the Xiao family, he had to fight one more time.
Xiao Yuan’s eyes were filled with determination when he thought of this.
“Go. Summon all the generals for a meeting,” he said in a low voice.
“Yes, Sir!” The person acknowledged the order and retreated out of the tent.
Inside High Pass Town.
By the time Qin Xiaoyao finished drinking and came out with the generals, it was already past midnight.
As they were still in the middle of a war, no one drank until he was very drunk.
After leaving the restaurant, Qin Xiaoyao was just about to return to the camp when someone came up to invite her.
When she found out that it was the Second Prince who had invited her, Qin Xiaoyao hesitated for a moment before agreeing to go.
After that, she was ushered onto the horse carriage.
As soon as she got into the carriage, she found the Second Prince sitting inside.
“Greetings, Your Highness,” Qin Xiaoyao immediately bowed and she became more sober all of a sudden.
“Teacher Qin, please don’t stand on ceremony. Have a seat and accompany me for a ride around the town,” the Second Prince said with a faint smile. He didn’t look as stern as he usually did, and he seemed quite kind and gentle.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Qin Xiaoyao answered.
She found a seat and sat down. After that, she didn’t dare to move.
This was because she noticed that the Second Prince was staring at her from time to time.
In such a constrained space, she felt that the atmosphere was a little…
Well, she had to admit that if the Second Prince wasn’t so stern-looking, he would be quite good-looking.
Unfortunately, her heart already belonged to someone else. Her heart was completely and utterly occupied by her husband.
As a virtuous wife, she would not be fickle-minded nor would she blow hot and cold to string people along.
“Hehe…” The Second Prince couldn’t help but laugh out loud when he saw Qin Xiaoyao’s wary expression.
This laugh made Qin Xiaoyao even more nervous.
She didn’t dare to look at the Second Prince and asked stiffly, “Your Highness… what are you laughing at?”
“How dare you laugh! If you weren’t my boss, 1 wouldn’t be putting up with your shit!” she thought.
Damn it! She never thought that someone like her would also suffer from workplace harassment one day.
Pfft! To her surprise, Qin Xiaoyao’s reaction made the Second Prince burst out laughing.
When he saw Qin Xiaoyao looking at him speechlessly, the Second Prince finally suppressed his smile.
“Teacher, there’s no need to be nervous. 1 invited you out to discuss the defense strategy of High Pass Town and guarding the town,” the Second Prince said with a solemn demeanor.
Well, he did actually… have some other thoughts.
As a Prince, he had seen many beautiful women, of course.
However, this was the first time he had seen someone like Teacher Qin who was so… special.
It was a pity that Teacher Qin was already someone’s wife and doesn’t seem to be interested in him.
And he couldn’t possibly take someone’s wife by force.
Qin Xiaoyao then heaved a sigh of relief and looked at the Second Prince.
“Ahem… Please speak, Your Highness,” she immediately said.
So he wanted to discuss work-related matters? That was fine.
“In this battle, although the losses of the Liao army are greater than ours, they still have the advantage in terms of military strength.
“According to the information from the spies, the Emperor of the Liao State is not willing to get embroiled in a protracted war with our Great Jin State.
“Xiao Yuan requested his reinforcements from Empress Dowager Xiao.”
When he saw Qin Xiaoyao’s puzzled look, the Second Prince gave her an analysis of the situation in the Liao Imperial Court.
“So, if he is defeated, it won’t be as simple as a mere battle defeat. It will also drag down Empress Dowager Xiao and the entire Xiao family.
“Hence, I predict that Xiao Yuan will not withdraw his troops after this defeat.
“Not only will the Liao troops not retreat, but they will also launch a second attack soon. They want to take down High Pass Town before we totally wipe out the Liao troops still stuck inside the Jin territories,” the Second Prince said in a deep voice.
Therefore, after this, they still had a tough battle to fight.
Furthermore, after being tricked this time, Xiao Yuan would be even more cautious in his next operation.
“How many soldiers does the Liao army still have? How much more than us?” Qin Xiaoyao asked.
She was Xiao Yuan’s bitter enemy.
Now that the news she was at High Pass Town had been leaked, Xiao Yuan would definitely be eager to capture her and tear her into pieces to avenge his grandson..