From the tenth day of October to the fifteenth day of October, the imperial army only controlled this small city for five days, and then hurriedly abandoned the city and retreated. All 60,000 remaining soldiers were defeated and fled back to Anzhou.
The order to retreat to Anzhou naturally came from Ning Yongnian, and Han Zhao himself was about to leave for Beijing. All affairs of the army were temporarily handed over to a deputy general named Xue Zheng.
The army was defeated at Niutoushan. General Han Zhaoren certainly had to bear the primary responsibility. The situation he faced after returning to Beijing was definitely not optimistic.
Removing him from office is the minimum. As for whether Ning Yongnian will kill him... Wei Changtian and Chu Xianping both think it is unlikely.
At the moment, Daning is in the midst of employing people. It would undoubtedly be too impulsive to kill a late second-grade general at this time.
Therefore, Ning Yongnian will most likely send Han Zhao back to Anzhou, or to Dafeng, so that the latter can "make up for his mistakes."
For Wei Changtian, no matter what the situation is, Han Zhao can continue to play an important role.
Even if Ning Yongnian really wanted to kill Han Zhao, he could still let Wei Xianzhi take action to save the latter.
"..."
"Sir, the Daning army in Fengyuan has not moved yet. I think they won't be back in a short time."
The black carriage drove slowly into Guanghan City. Chu Xianping in the sedan said softly: "Also, Wu Ding escorted Li Qi to Jianchang Mansion. It seems that he will continue to go east. Will he return to Daning now?
Not sure yet.”
"But there is news from Tongzhou that their trip may be to Huailing Mansion..."
"..."
The wheels rolled over the road, and the sun shone brightly in the sky.
The dirt road in the outer city was somewhat muddy, and the bumps of the carriage made Chu Xianping's voice slightly intermittent.
After the Battle of Niutoushan, violent reactions broke out in all aspects. All kinds of information gathered at Chu Xianping like snowflakes, and he sorted it out and reported it to Wei Changtian.
There are many things involved in this, but what Wei Changtian should be most concerned about is whether Ning Yongnian will transfer the troops from the Dafeng battlefield to Shuzhou.
Today, Daning still has more than 300,000 troops stationed in Dafeng, and most of them are concentrated near Fengyuan.
If such a large army is brought back to deal with him, it's hard to say whether he can defend it a second time.
After all, an ambush like the one in Niutoushan is difficult to replicate, and it would be a bit fanciful to want to do it again.
And if it's a head-on confrontation... it will still be difficult until the Tengu Army develops and grows.
Fortunately, it seems that Ning Yongnian is reluctant to give up such a piece of fat.
Once the army is transferred back, Dafeng will undoubtedly return to Li Qi's hands. Even if Li Qi is killed in advance, Li Wutong will still be there.
As long as there is royal blood, it is not that difficult to reunite the fragmented Dafeng.
Therefore, Ning Yongnian had to make a choice between Dafeng and Shuzhou.
If we want to continue to attack Shuzhou, we must give up Dafeng.
If you want to be a great leader, you can only give up Shuzhou temporarily.
The multiple choice question about the territory of a country and the land of a state is not difficult.
And Ning Yongnian did choose the former.
As for where he wants to take Li Qi and what he wants to do... Wei Changtian is too lazy to think about it now.
"knew."
Nodding, Wei Changtian opened the curtain and took a look outside, and then ordered softly:
"parking."
"Yes, sir."
"Hush!"
The driver tightened the reins and the carriage quickly stopped slowly on the side of the road.
"Brother Chu, have you found out Zhang Shi's situation?"
Wei Changtian dug out a few banknotes from the car and put them into his chest, and asked casually: "Have you found his body?"
"found it."
Chu Xianping nodded: "However, the body was cremated before the breakout, and the ashes are now placed in Yizhuang, Guanghan County."
"Sir, do you need to send someone to bring his ashes?"
"..."
Wei Changtian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "No, just tell me about this person's situation."
"yes."
Chu Xianping took out a small booklet he carried with him from his arms and introduced softly:
"Sir, Zhang Shi is from Guanghan County. According to friends in the same camp, he still has an old mother living in Guanghan City who has never been married..."
"..."
...
Half an hour later, that familiar alley.
From the time I left to the time I came back, it was only four days.
Including the old woman waiting outside the courtyard gate, nothing has changed.
"Mother-in-law!"
Wei Changtian shouted loudly, and a smile appeared on Wei Changtian's face.
The old woman's expression was one of surprise and joy.
This time she didn't immediately turn around and go back to the house like before, she just stood there a little helpless until Wei Changtian came all the way close.
"Mother-in-law, the army won the battle. I'll come back to see you."
Smiling and standing in front of the old woman, Wei Changtian looked at the uncontrollable uneasiness in the latter's eyes and knew what she was worried about.
"By the way, I also heard about your son Zhang Shi."
"Don't worry, he is not only alive, but he has also made great achievements. He was promoted to an official just a few days ago!"
"It's just that the battle isn't over yet. According to military regulations, he can't come back to see you, but he asked me to bring you a message..."
Wei Changtian took out a one hundred tael silver note from his arms and gently put it into the smiling old woman's hand.
"He said you must take care of your health and wait until he comes back to fulfill his filial piety when he becomes a high official!"
"..."
Perhaps it was because it had rained heavily a few days ago, but the sun was exceptionally bright today.
The warm sunshine fell on the two of them, causing a smile to bloom on the old woman's weather-beaten face. Her wrinkled forehead gradually relaxed a little, and there seemed to be a light flickering in her narrowed eyes.
She held up the banknote and looked over it over and over again, her wrinkled palms trembling as she brushed over every small word on it, as if this was not a banknote, but some great treasure.
Obviously, she was definitely not happy because of the one hundred taels of silver.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! However, Wei Changtian felt an indescribable feeling in his heart when he saw the old woman's current appearance.
"Mother-in-law, let's go into the house and talk."
Forced to maintain the smile on his face, Wei Changtian took the lead and walked into the small courtyard.
A big goose immediately flapped its wings and rushed over. It screamed loudly and jumped up and down. It didn't look like a goose, but rather like a domestic dog guarding the house.
Um?
After being stunned for a moment, Wei Changtian remembered that he had bought the goose himself and planned to add it to his meal.
"Mother-in-law, it's almost time for lunch."
Turning back with a smile, Wei Changtian rolled up his sleeves and said, "How about we eat this goose at noon today?"
"..."
The old woman paused, and although she nodded quickly, the reluctance in her eyes was still caught by Wei Changtian.
Could it be that he has lived alone for too long and developed feelings for this big goose?
Wei Changtian had a guess in his mind, so he gave up the idea of eating the goose.
"Forget it, mother-in-law, let's keep it."
"You wait at home for a while, I'll go find a restaurant and buy some cooked food."
Wei Changtian shook his head, knowing that he would hardly have the opportunity to visit the old woman again, so he prepared to buy some good food and then have a meal with the latter.
He quickly walked out of the courtyard and reached the end of the alley amid the geese's never-ending cries.
Stopping and looking back, the old woman was already standing outside the courtyard door again, looking at me from a distance with a kind face.
well......
Looking back, Wei Changtian sighed in his heart.
Some people can see each other again after separation, but some people are separated forever.
For me, meeting such an old woman who didn't know she had lost her son was just a trivial matter. Maybe within ten days and a half, I would completely forget about the old woman and Zhang Shi.
But for the old woman, there is a high probability that she will wait here forever.
Waiting for her to bring her son's current situation, waiting for the appearance of the person who will never appear again.
And this is why Wei Changtian lied that Zhang Shi was not dead.
perhaps.
It's better to wait for something than to wait for nothing.