Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 433 - 430: Torrential Rain_1

Chapter 433: Chapter 430: Torrential Rain_1

The injured soldier who was under Du Sanbao, now a Centurion, said, "But that’s not entirely correct. In battle, our soldiers exert effort; the commanders lead. We have different roles!"

The Jin soldiers were gathered in a group discussing when they suddenly heard someone on the city tower shout, "They’re back! The Commandery Princess is back! General Wang Xiping is behind her!"

Liu Hong felt relieved and shouted, "Quick, open the city gate!"

The soldiers inside Longyang City, who had been waiting for news without resting, all stood up, stretched their necks, and looked towards the city gate.

Dark clouds covered the moon. Fierce winds blew, all signs of an impending rainstorm.

In the pitch black, Bai Qingyan and her group raced back. They did not light torches and galloped straight back against the wind.

Following Bai Qingyan and the Bai family guards closely was Wang Xiping with his cavalry, holding high torches.

On Bai Qingyan’s horse, Bai Jinzhi, who had fainted due to exhaustion, was swaying but did not wake up, possibly because her elder sister was beside her.

It had been half a month. Bai Jinzhi’s mind had always been tense like a tightrope. The moment she saw Bai Qingyan, she finally let go, and fainted.

The heavy city gate slowly opened. The drawbridge over the moat lowered with the sound of iron chains. Bai Qingyan and her group rushed into the city.

Liu Hong had already led people down from the tower. Seeing Bai Qingyan dismount, the Bai family guards also dismounted. They hurried to help Bai Qingyan lift the blood-covered and unconscious Bai Jinzhi from the horse and took her to the injured soldiers’ camp.

"Centurion!" The injured soldiers saw Du Sanbao, who was covered in blood and lying on the back of his horse, and hurriedly called out as they rushed forward.

"Take them to the injured soldiers’ camp first!" Bai Qingyan ordered.

"Yes!"

Lu Ping dismounted and carried Shen Qingzhu on his back, running towards the injured soldiers’ camp.

"Princess, you’ve worked hard!" Liu Hong looked at Bai Qingyan and said.

Afterward, Wang Xiping led his unit back. He dismounted spiritedly and said, "When I saw the Liang Army descending the mountain, I knew the Princess had succeeded and immediately withdrew the troops."

On the way back, as the wind blew even stronger, Bai Qingyan couldn’t help but worry. She asked, "With the heavy rain approaching, has the Commander evacuated the civilians and sent people to harvest the wheat and destroy the Liang Army’s grain path?"

Liu Hong nodded, "Rest assured! Everything has been arranged! As you predicted, the Liang Army plans to flood Longyang City and has sent many men to dig canals overnight to end the battle of Longyang City quickly. Princess, please rest! We still have a tough battle ahead."

"By the way!" Liu Hong suddenly remembered the Bai family guards outside the southern city gate, "The general guarding Longyang City reported that several Bai family guards escorted a lady here to see the Princess!"

Bai Qingyan turned and instructed the Bai family guard closest to her, "Go check it out!"

After speaking, Bai Qingyan clasped her hands in a fist salute to Liu Hong and walked towards the injured soldiers’ camp.

On the way back, Bai Qingyan checked Bai Jinzhi and found no significant wounds, thinking she fainted from exhaustion. Shen Qingzhu, however, was seriously injured while protecting Bai Jinzhi, and Bai Qingyan was very worried.

Bai Jinzhi had no major issues, just extreme fatigue. Aside from the burn on her hand, the military doctors couldn’t check her body thoroughly but found her pulse stable.

Shen Qingzhu had knife and arrow wounds and collapsed from exhaustion. The military doctor said his condition was serious.

Seeing Shen Qingzhu’s pale face, Bai Qingyan told the military doctor, "Draw a curtain, I’ll check Shen Qingzhu’s wounds and inform you of his condition. You will instruct me on how to treat him."

"Can do!" The military doctor nodded.

Once the curtain was drawn, Bai Qingyan just removed her armor and washed her hands with hot water when she heard Ji Langhua’s voice, "Eldest Young Lady!"

Bai Qingyan turned and saw Ji Langhua running over, looking travel-worn, "Eldest Young Lady! I followed promptly after you left but still couldn’t catch up!"

Ji Langhua glanced at the tent, "Is Fourth Young Lady injured? Leave her to me!"

In Shuoyang City, knowing Bai Qingyan was heading to the Northern Frontier, Ji Langhua quickly packed her belongings to go with her, as there would inevitably be injuries on the battlefield. With Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi both being women, she could help treat them.

But when she reached the front hall, Bai Qingyan had already left. Mrs. Dong decisively sent Bai family guards to escort Ji Langhua to catch up, but from Shuoyang to Longyang City, she didn’t catch up until now.

Bai Qingyan trusted Ji Langhua’s medical skills, and with Ji Langhua there, she felt at ease. Bai Qingyan lifted the tent curtain for Ji Langhua, saying, "It’s Shen Qingzhu! Thank you!"

Bai Qingyan stayed inside the curtain to assist Ji Langhua.

After Ji Langhua treated Shen Qingzhu’s wounds and wrote down a prescription, she fell asleep on the table out of exhaustion.

Before dawn, outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared as the rain poured.

Bai Qingyan tucked Shen Qingzhu in and stood under the eaves, watching the heavy rain, worried if the wheat had been harvested.

In the moment when lightning pierced the night, soldiers could be seen bending down, braving the rain to harvest the wheat. On higher ground, guards held arrows to prevent Liang scouts from spying.

Tonight’s actions must be swift and silent. This was a military order, and everyone had to obey.

The Jin Army harvested the wheat fields overnight, while the Liang Army dug a large canal overnight.

At dawn, Xun Tianzhang’s son was serving medicine to Xun Tianzhang when a scout braved the rain to report.

A soaked Liang commander hurried into the tent, wiping rain off his face, and said, "Commander! The scout reports that last night the Jin Army destroyed all our grain paths except for Pingming Road, likely intending to cut off our food supply!"

Xun Tianzhang clenched his fist, paused in thought, and shook his head, "If the Jin Army wanted to cut our food supply, they would block all paths entirely. Leaving Pingming Road clear is an attempt to lure our troops there."

The Jin Army likely wanted to eliminate the Liang troops guarding the grain first, then take the grain. At that point, without food, how would the Liang soldiers fight?

"What should we do now, Commander?"

Xun Tianzhang wiped his mouth with a cloth to rid the bitterness of the medicine and calmly said, "Send the main forces to Pingming Road to annihilate all Jin troops there. Summon all commanders to the tent for a meeting."

"Yes!"

"Is the canal finished?" Xun Tianzhang turned to ask his son.

Xun Tianzhang’s son nodded, "The soldiers who dug the canal returned to camp to rest. I have sent a battalion to take over, waiting for your order. Fortunately, you acted decisively yesterday. Before dawn, it started pouring harder than ever in my forty years of life!"