From the moment he fled without fighting in Chen State, Yuan Shu lost the courage to fight for the world.

Later, remnant soldiers gradually fled back to Shouchun, and Yuan Shu guessed that the territory north of the Huai River would be lost.

At this time, a lot of external forces were involved in Shouchun City, and rumors were flying all over the place for a while.

As Cao Cao's forces approached the Huai River, Yuan Shu, who stayed in the palace, was terrified all day long. He was worried that Cao Cao would cross the Huai River to attack Shouchun, but he had already made a plan to move the capital.

A tense atmosphere enveloped Shouchun, and the dignitaries in the city felt uneasy. They were worried that the mob would take the opportunity to cause trouble, so each mansion recruited its own guards.

When Long Xiang arrived at Qiao Mansion, he found that the original two guards at the door had increased to eight.

After passing the guard's call, Qiao Rui's guard chief Li Tun came out to welcome him.

"Yunqi, haha, I knew you were alive..."

Li Tun walked with a breeze, and his tone was filled with joy. He walked up to the front and stood on tiptoe, as if he was counting.

Long Xiang had never seen Li Tun be so enthusiastic, so he asked in surprise:

"What is Guard Li looking at?"

"With twenty people back, it's really not easy to get up..."

Just after Li Tun finished his sigh, he lowered his head and leaned into Long Xiang's ear and whispered:

"Yun Qi may not know that when we broke out from Qixian, more than 30,000 people, only less than 3,000 people returned to Shouchun, and only a few people from each camp leader survived. That's really not even one out of ten...

"

After hearing this, Long Xiang was noncommittal, and Li Tun added with a hint of pride:

"I also worked hard to bring back more than two hundred people..."

"They are ..."

Long Xiang pointed at the guard in front of the door but stopped talking.

"This time, many of the generals who accompanied the army were killed, and the remnant soldiers who escaped under their command were left unchecked. Your Majesty has been distracted from government affairs recently, and no one has yet reorganized his troops. The officials and dignitaries in the city were worried about the uncontrolled soldiers causing trouble, so they secretly added more troops.

guard."

Li Tun finished his explanation, and then added earnestly: "I have been a master and servant of General Qiao for many years. Although I am not capable of protecting him, I must do something for his family."

"Weiwei Li is interested."

Long Xiang nodded slightly in confirmation, then changed the topic and asked: "Is Madam at home? The general would like to go in for a visit..."

Li Tun patted Long Xiang's shoulder and sighed: "General Qiao has not returned yet, so he is probably in trouble. Madam may not be in the mood to see you. Come back after a while..."

"The general has passed away. His sword is here. I want to return it to my wife with my own hands. Please ask Guard Li to take me to see her."

Long Xiang took off his sword and held it in front of his eyes, with an expression that he could not refuse.

Li Tun's eyes widened. He looked at the sword repeatedly, and then exclaimed: "It's really General Qiao's sword. Where did Yun Qi get it?"

"The exact location is unknown, but it should be roughly due north of Qixian County..."

Long Xiang frowned and briefly summarized Qiao Rui's situation.

Li Tun remained silent after listening to it. He stared at the sword for a while and asked:

"Can the general leave any last words?"

"No..."

Long Xiang shook his head sadly and said to himself that the general entrusted me to take care of his family, so there was no need for him to tell outsiders.

"Several arrow sores were festering. The general must have been in pain at the time. It's normal that he didn't leave any words..."

Li Tun comforted himself first, then grabbed Long Xiang's left hand and said: "Yunqi returned the general's relics, and my wife will not be angry. I will take you into the house right now."

"Good work."

Li Tun nodded slightly, and then shouted to the people Long Xiang brought: "There are many female relatives in the house, so you guys will wait inside the door."

The twenty people didn't seem to hear, and everyone only looked at Long Xiang, which instantly made Li Tun feel a little embarrassed.

Long Xiang is well versed in the ways of the workplace and can see Li Tun's little thoughts at a glance.

Li Tun estimated that he was Qiao Rui's confidant and had brought back Qiao Rui's two hundred pieces, so he should be the leader of Long Xiang. At this time, he couldn't help but issue orders.

"Stand where you are."

"only."

After receiving Long Xiang's order, twenty soldiers responded in unison. The sonorous and powerful voice shocked the guards at the gate of Qiao Mansion.

Those energetic young men really didn't look like they were escaping from the battlefield, but looked like warriors who had won the battle.

Li Tun frowned and said nothing, then turned around and led Long Xiang into Qiao Mansion.

As soon as the two of them walked through the front yard, Li Tun stopped moving forward, and Long Xiang turned around and looked at each other in surprise.

"Is there something wrong with Guard Li?"

"There is one thing that I cannot complain about. This time our army suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Cao Cao. Not only did we lose tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, but only a few generals escaped.

Your Majesty will definitely reorganize the battalions the next day. You and I are both under the command of General Qiao. At this time, we must advance and retreat together, and don't let outsiders take over..."

Long Xiang raised his eyes and asked with a puzzled expression: "What do you want to say?"

"Although the general is dead, the young master is still alive. The army left by General Qiao should be inherited by the third young master. Don't let others take advantage of it..."

"Others? No, Your Majesty knows it well..."

Seeing that Long Xiang was a little unconcerned, Li Tun reminded him with a serious face: "The world is unpredictable, but we must unite ourselves."

"I don't have to worry about it. We'll talk about this later. Let's go see Madam first."

"That's fine."

Qiao Rui went to war for a long time and did not return. Chen and her children were mentally prepared. When they saw Qiao Rui wearing a sword, the Qiao family were heartbroken.

The three siblings burst into tears, but Ms. Chen managed to keep her emotions from breaking down and quickly arranged for her servants to decorate the mourning hall.

The funeral objects in Qiao Mansion have been prepared for a long time. Now we know that Qiao Rui was buried in Qiao County, eliminating the need for coffins, shrouds, funerary objects and other items. However, Qiao Rui had many old memories in Shouchun, so it was indispensable to set up a mourning hall for people to express their condolences.

Mrs. Chen then came to Long Xiang and said earnestly in front of everyone:

"General, he died for his country. You'er is only eleven years old now. I have to worry about you and Li Tun from now on. The Qiao family can't afford to lose like this. Speaking of which, You'er and Yunqi are very close..."

Long Xiang thought to himself, good fellow, it turns out that this is the source of Li Tun's words.

Ms. Chen expects the bridge servants to shine brightly? But this child has not been made to be a general since he was a child. Madam, please don't expect too much.

"Madam Rong, the last general is not good at fighting, and I am afraid that he will not be able to help the third son. I have made an agreement with the surviving soldiers. After returning the general's belongings, we plan to leave Shouchun and find a place to live in seclusion."

Everyone in the hall was stunned after hearing this, and Li Tun's face was even more ugly. He thought to himself, "You kid, you want to run away too? I wasted my time just now."

Qiao Wan suddenly took a step forward, stared at Long Xiang with her big watery eyes, and retorted softly:

"Are you not good at fighting? I don't think so... His Majesty led 50,000 soldiers on an expedition, but only less than 3,000 came back in the end. You were able to take your father to seek medical treatment behind enemy lines, and finally managed to return to Shouchun.

Can you do it with some skills?"

"Yes, yes, the second sister is right."

Qiao Min wiped her tears and stood up to agree with Qiao Wan.

Long Xiang clasped his fists and shook his head and replied: "Second Miss, you are so complimentary, I am just lucky..."

"Yun Qixiu must be humble. The general often praised you for your intelligence during his lifetime. Do you have other plans?"

Li Tun deliberately said something to irritate him, saying to himself, "Don't pretend, you kid. I have given advice to the general many times before. Do you think I, Li Tun, don't exist?"

Long Xiang was in a good state of mind. He pretended to be excited and started to defend himself: "The general is really going to live in seclusion. You also know the situation in the army. Brothers just want to have enough food to eat. Now they are hungry and become soldiers. We would rather not do it.
Chapter completed!