Chapter 229: Chapter 227: Thank You Bai Family Army_1 Chapter 229: Chapter 227: Thank You Bai Family Army_1 Bai Qingyan listened to Qin Shangzhi’s words and nodded, cupping her fists towards the Crown Prince, “Then, please have the Crown Prince send soone to retrieve the bodies of my Huying Camp’s fallen elite soldiers and see what Xiliang has to say!”
“No, that can’t be done!” Fang Lao paused in stroking his beard and quickly looked at the Crown Prince. “No matter what, Qiushan Pass is still under Xiliang’s control. It is already inappropriate for the Jin Kingdom to have sent soone to scout in the first place. We can’t revert this now and request those bodies back. Wouldn’t that be admitting to Xiliang that we sent people to scout Qiushan Pass? Crown Prince, you must think this through!”
Upon hearing Fang Lao’s objection, Qin Shangzhi frowned deeply and imdiately decided not to speak any further. After all, whenever Fang Lao spoke, the Crown Prince always heeded his advice, making anything he said pointless.
Bai Qingyan glanced at the seemingly composed Fang Lao and lowered her eyes in response, “Fang Lao’s concerns are valid. His Highness did instruct us to return quietly, but we failed to fulfill his command. We have let down His Highness!”
The Crown Prince saw Bai Qingyan kneeling on one knee, deeply remorseful, and signaled Quan Yu to help her up. He spoke slowly, “General Bai, there is no need for self-reproach! Originally, this began because Li Zhijie was evasive in the peace negotiation tent, even falsely accusing of sending a maidservant, insisting on postponing the negotiation. It was only prudent for us to scout Qiushan Pass; besides, how else would we have known that a group of n in Jin uniforms, skilled in martial arts, was hiding there, ready to ally with Xiliang’s soldiers in defending the city?”
Bai Qingyan, supported by Quan Yu, looked towards Fang Lao with great respect, “What is Fang Lao’s wise plan?”
Fang Lao, feeling pleased with Bai Qingyan’s respectful deanor, stroked his beard even more deliberately, turning his head towards the Crown Prince, “In my humble opinion, we should maintain our current position and stay alert. Let us protect the Crown Prince and see what King Yan Li Zhijie intends to do next.”
The Crown Prince thought for a mont and nodded, “What do you all think?”
“Currently, we are unsure of Xiliang’s intentions, so this is also good! However, we cannot leave our Huying Camp’s fallen elite soldiers’ bodies behind, right?”
Zhang Duanrui, being a soldier, felt strongly about this. The brothers from Huying Camp were comrades who fought and bled alongside them on the battlefield. How could their bodies be left unattended? This would chill the hearts of Jin Army soldiers!
Fang Lao raised his eyebrows, looking down at Zhang Duanrui, and asked loudly, “Are a few bodies more important than the reputation of the Jin Kingdom?”
Fang Lao’s question caused the generals in the tent to look at him with discontented, indifferent eyes.
“What do you literati know?!” Zhen Zeping stood up excitedly, gritting his teeth, “They were heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country! Are their lives as worthless as grass?! Are their bodies not worth anything?! Were they not born to their parents…”
“Indeed, we were all born to our parents! However, for the honor of the Jin Kingdom, I wouldn’t hesitate to have my old bones turned to dust. As soldiers… shouldn’t we be more aware of this than an old man like ? As subjects of the Jin Kingdom… our duty is to the Jin Kingdom! What does a re skeleton count for?!” Fang Lao stood on the moral high ground, his voice powerful.
Zhen Zeping’s eyes widened, “Damn you!”
“You! A soldier may die but must not be humiliated! Crown Prince, will you just stand by and watch this disrespect?!” Fang Lao was so furious he nearly fainted. His face turned red.
“All right, all right! Let think about this!” The Crown Prince, woken from his sleep and feeling muddled, couldn’t help but feel a headache at Zhen Zeping’s loud voice. “General Bai, you’re injured! Go back to bandage your wounds and rest for a while!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” Bai Qingyan saluted respectfully, then withdrew from the Crown Prince’s tent.
·
In the wounded soldiers’ camp, Bai Qingyan checked on the elite soldiers from Huying Camp who had accompanied her and were injured. They were all safe. She stood for a long ti by Xiao Ruojiang’s bed, who had already taken dicine and fallen asleep. Her fists clenched slightly. Turning to the military doctor, she said, “Take good care of him.”
The military doctor, seeing the wounds on Bai Qingyan and her armor, said, “General, your injuries need treatnt too! This female dical officer volunteered, and her dical skills are excellent. Let her take a look at you.”
The female dical officer, wearing a veil, stepped forward and saluted Bai Qingyan, looking up at her, “General!”
“Thank you!” Bai Qingyan nodded to the female dical officer.
Drawing the curtain, the dical officer carefully helped Bai Qingyan out of her armor and clothes. Her eyes trembled…
She had never seen a woman with so many wounds like Bai Qingyan. The scars crisscrossed all over her body, so old, so fresh, so scabbed and cracked again.
The female dical officer raised her head to look at Bai Qingyan sitting calmly on the stool, her face serene, not blinking. She thought of General Jiyong Bai Qingming, who died protecting the people of Feng County, and her eyes couldn’t help but redden.
She had been a ruined woman, her face disfigured by the Xiliang soldiers, about to take her own life. But General Jiyong Bai Qingming had leaped off his horse, wrapping her broken body in his cloak, his eyes blazing like fire as he said, “The Bai family soldiers fight and die at the front lines to save the people. Does that an we save you just for you to take your own life afterward?! Living is more important than anything! You have to live to be worthy of the countless Bai family soldiers’ sacrifice!”
So, she gritted her teeth and continued living.
The female dical officer gently cleaned the edges of Bai Qingyan’s wounds with a fine cotton cloth dipped in hot water and couldn’t help but speak softly, “General, my father is a doctor at Caoan Hall in Feng County. The people of Feng County were fortunate to be saved by the young general Bai Qingming’s sacrifice. I am grateful to the young general Bai Qingming of the Bai family and the Bai family army on behalf of the people of Feng County!”
That was why she risked coming to Youhua Road!
The generals of the Bai family died protecting the lives of people like her. When she heard that the eldest daughter of the Bai family, young general Bai, severely injured years ago and lost all martial skills, had left Dadu to lead troops against the enemy and protect the people after the Bai family generals died, her blood boiled with passion.
She thought that young general Bai was a woman and that military doctors might not be able to examine her closely due to her injuries. Being a woman with dical skills, she could surely help young general Bai. So she left a letter for her father and ca to Youhua Road in secret.
Bai Qingyan gazed at the tearful, red-eyed young girl in front of her and suddenly thought of her aunt, Bai Suqiu. Bai Suqiu had studied under Doctor Hong. Doctor Hong had once said Bai Suqiu had surpassed him in dical skills, driven by her patriotic fervor.
She couldn’t help but feel fondness for the young girl in front of her and asked in a low voice, “How old are you? What is your na?”
“Sixteen, nad Ji Langhua,” Ji Langhua said, her hands gentle and swift, trying hard not to let her tears fall, “My life was given by the Bai family army and General Bai Qingming.”
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