In Beixi Village, the defense line is still there, but there is no defense target.
Zhang He led his team back from the horse riding, only to find that others had already returned first.
"Old Zhang, you are back. You didn't see just now that the thieves were being hunted down by the corpses!"
"That's right, I am really happy today. These traitors have been defeated and are no longer able to fight with our army. It will not take long to regain Liaoping!"
Zhang He nodded and then asked: "How many horses did you bring back?"
"I collected seventy-eight horses..."
"Hey, I have more than you... ninety-two horses!"
"You guys are awesome, I only received fifty-three!"
The Ming army was defeated in the morning, and many horses were left along the way. It was only up to those of them who had horses to gather them all back.
"Zhang Zongqi, how much did you receive?"
Zhang He smiled and replied: "Not much, one hundred and twenty horses!"
"You...you are amazing!"
They were chatting here, while other soldiers were resting, some were sleeping, some were eating and drinking, and only a small number of them were on guard.
Last night, I worked hard all night, and I am very tired now.
In a small courtyard in the center of the village, three thousand households stood respectfully.
"The bandit army is defeated, do you have any ideas on what to do next?" Zhao Yanxun said in a calm tone.
Yesterday evening, he failed to pursue Zhu Jinzhang, but instead put himself in danger. He decided not to do this kind of thing in the future.
The three Qianhus had already thought about the question he raised at this moment before they came. As military generals, this is their duty.
"Your Majesty, now that the rebel army has been defeated, our army is highly motivated to fight... It's a good time to take advantage of the victory and pursue it!"
Curling his waist, Wang Cheng expressed his thoughts: "In my opinion, our army should march to Baishan County as soon as possible. Taking Baishan will be easy!"
Zhao Yanxun nodded, then looked at the other two people and asked, "What do you say?"
Gao Zheng'an was about to speak, but he heard Fang Sheng speak first: "Your Majesty, the brothers below have not rested all night, and they are sleepy and exhausted... It is best to rest for a long time!"
"You must know that in this wilderness, in addition to the bandits from Baishan, our enemy's army also has countless monsters!"
Gao Zheng'an also joined in and said, "Your Majesty, what Fang Qianhu said is absolutely true. To be on the safe side... it's better to take some rest!"
At this moment, rapid footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, but a scout was let back.
"Reporting to your lord, a large number of defeated troops have returned from Baishan County!"
This is already the third batch of scouts from Baishan County, and the news they conveyed back is similar.
"Is there any trace of Zhu Jinzhang?" This is what Zhao Yanxun always asks every time.
"Not found yet!"
"Let's explore again!"
"As you command!"
After the scout left, Zhao Yanxun glanced at the three thousand households: "It's probably Si Shizheng (ten o'clock in the morning). The whole army has rested until noon (two o'clock in the afternoon) and will march towards Baishan County!"
A total of four hours of rest, plus the one-hour rest already taken before, was almost enough for the soldiers to recover their strength.
Beixi Village is only fifteen miles away from Baishan County via the official road, and it only takes an hour at most to get there.
Several thousand households all worshiped: "Your Majesty, the Holy Ming!"
Zhao Yanxun waved and said, "You guys should go and have a rest too!"
…………
You can rest peacefully here in Beixi Village, but in Baishan County, which is more than ten miles away, there are dark clouds and gloomy weather at the moment.
One after another, defeated troops returned, but these people did not have the joy of surviving the disaster, and some just looked sad and gloomy.
Zhu Xiaoan also returned with his people at this time. On the way back, he collected many broken troops, and there were more than 200 people following him.
"Has the prince come back?" Zhu Xiaoan asked the city gate defender.
"I came back last night!"
When he heard that Zhu Jinzhang was back, Zhu Xiaoan's heart returned to his stomach.
Then he led his men into the city, and the streets were deserted.
Zhu Xiaoan wanted his men to have a rest. After running away all morning and being chased by zombies, everyone was very tired.
But before he could speak, he heard a voice from a distance saying: "Everyone, go up to the city wall to prepare for Yong's army to attack the city!"
"Brother Xiaohe..." Zhu Xiaoan called.
The person who came was none other than Zhu Xiaohe. After Zhu Jinzhang was chased and escaped last night, he was the actual commander outside Beixi Village.
After defeating the army today, he also returned to Baishan County, because this was the city closest to them.
"If you want to rest, go up to the city wall to rest. Yong's army might be on the way!" Zhu Xiaohe emphasized.
Zhu Xiaoan couldn't refute this, so he said: "Listen to Zhu Qianhu and go to the city wall!"
As a result, the soldiers walked onto the city wall one after another, and Zhu Xiaoan dismounted and came to Zhu Xiaohe.
"The prince is back too?"
"Back!" Zhu Xiaohe said expressionlessly.
Gritting his teeth, Zhu Xiaoan said: "Then I will go and apologize to the prince!"
Just as Zhu Xiaoan was about to leave, he heard Zhu Xiaohe say: "Beixi Village was defeated. I should also apologize to the prince. When the prince wakes up, we will go together!"
Stopping, Zhu Xiaoan said in disbelief: "What time has it been? Can the prince still sleep?"
But the next moment, he realized something was wrong, so he looked at Zhu Xiaohe with questioning eyes.
"The prince was attacked last night and fell off his horse while escaping. He hasn't woken up yet!"
Hearing this, Zhu Xiaoan became even more depressed and a little panicked.
If something happens to Zhu Jinzhang, the foundation they have created will collapse in an instant.
"Zhu Qianhu... Both adults are here. Master Wu sent me to inform you that the prince is about to wake up!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiaohe said to Zhu Xiaoan: "Let's go to see the prince!"
The two of them didn't say much at the moment, and immediately walked to the county government office in the city.
In the county government house, Zhu Jinzhang was lying on the bed, his forehead had been simply bandaged.
After drinking a few sips of water, Zhu Jinzhang slowly sat up from the bed with Wu Pingxuan's support.
He only felt a headache, but nothing else was a big deal.
Slowly walking to the main hall, Zhu Jinzhang asked: "How is the situation outside?"
"Your Highness... Now the army has withdrawn from the city.
Guilty!" Wu Pingxuan didn't know what to say, so he could only say this.
Turning around, Zhu Jinzhang asked in a deep voice: "We lost?"
"Yong's army is strong, our army can only avoid the edge temporarily!" Wu Pingxuan said slowly.
"Bring me my knife, bring me my knife..."
Before Wu Pingxuan could react, Zhu Jinzhang grabbed the steel knife on the table and said immediately: "Change my clothes and prepare my horse!"
He wants to return to the front line, to the place where the battle took place.
Seeing Zhu Jinzhang's situation at this moment, Wu Pingxuan didn't know how to persuade him. He was afraid that the truth would irritate Zhu Jinzhang.
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty..."
Outside the room, Zhu Xiaoan's and his two voices sounded.
Zhu Jinzhang walked out of the door in twos and twos, and Zhu Xiaoan and his wife just walked up the steps.
Seeing Zhu Jinzhang, the two of them knelt on the ground, and only heard Zhu Xiaohe say: "Your Majesty, Beixi Village has been defeated. I will... be punished by death!"
"I am also defeated. Please, Your Majesty, punish me with death!"
These two sentences were like two heavy hammers, hitting Zhu Jinzhang's already injured head.
"Failed...defeated?" Zhu Jinzhang didn't want to believe it.
Zhu Xiaohe kowtowed to the ground and said in a trembling voice: "Our army was defeated, and now the number of troops withdrawn from the city is less than 600..."
Zhu Jinzhang staggered back a few steps and almost fell down the steps. Xin Hao and Wu Pingxuan quickly moved to catch him.
There are less than 600 remaining troops... In just two days, he was defeated so miserably.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jinzhang was completely disappointed.
