Tianliangyuan

Chapter 241 Demanding People and Money

After resting for more than ten days, Xie Zheng returned to the battlefield.

This time, because Cui Shu was trapped, Xie Zheng and Xu Junfeng led 5,000 soldiers and finally found them on the vast grassland. By then, the sounds of battle were deafening.

Cui Shu's armor was covered in blood, some of his own and some of his enemies'.

He raised his arms and shouted, "Brothers! As long as we fight our way out, we will have achieved great merit. Today, we are fighting against a Turkic chieftain. If we cut off his head, we will be promoted and ennobled!"

"kill!"

In an instant, the sounds of battle shook the heavens.

However, despite their high morale, they had been fighting for several hours and were already exhausted. Meanwhile, the enemy was sending wave after wave of soldiers charging forward, and they were about to give up.

Cui Shu's hand trembled as he wielded the knife; he was terrified he wouldn't survive, especially since he hadn't even married Princess Leyang yet.

Just then, a general clad in black armor, wielding a long halberd, charged into the enemy ranks like a tiger descending a mountain. Wherever the halberd's blade struck, enemy soldiers fell one after another, their blood splattering across his armor and dripping down the halberd's shaft.

Cui Shu's eyes widened, and he shouted in a hoarse voice, "Reinforcements have arrived! Everyone, cheer up! Our reinforcements have arrived! General Xie has come to save us!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Xie Zheng's reputation has now spread throughout the three armies.

The Turkic Khaganate consisted of seven large tribes and many smaller ones, but in this campaign, Xie Zheng alone beheaded three chieftains. With such bravery, who would dare to disobey?

Xie Zheng's movements were swift and decisive, without any hesitation. His gaze was cold and icy, as if the life-or-death battle before him was nothing more than a common occurrence. Behind him, his personal guards followed closely, forming a tight formation, like a sharp dagger piercing the enemy's heart.

On the other side, an enemy general wielded a giant axe with immense strength. Each strike created a gust of wind, sending the surrounding soldiers back several steps. His face was covered in blood, but his eyes burned with a frenzied fighting spirit, as if only slaughter could quell the rage in his heart.

Just now, one of his brothers was knocked off his horse by Xie Zheng. Although he couldn't see the final outcome, on the battlefield, being knocked off one's horse with a single halberd would likely only result in being trampled into mincemeat.

"I kill you!"

Xie Zheng remained calm and quickly led his men to approach Cui Shu, then protected them all the way, allowing Cui Shu and his group to successfully escape the encirclement.

Now, we'll see how they perform.

Seeing that the other party had entered his territory, Xu Junfeng immediately raised his hand: "Control the bow!"

All the bows were drawn to their full strength. Xu Junfeng waited a few more breaths before lowering his hand and shouting, "Release!"

In an instant, arrows rained down from the sky, piercing through armor and embedding themselves in flesh.

Some men fell to the ground, wounded by arrows, struggling to get up, only to be trampled into a bloody pulp by the iron cavalry that charged towards their own territory. On the battlefield, severed limbs and broken arms were everywhere, and blood flowed in streams, slowly staining the entire land red.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, mingled with gunpowder smoke and dust, making it suffocating. The sky was obscured by smoke and fire, the sun dim and lifeless, as if even heaven and earth could not bear to look directly at this hell on earth.

However, the fighting continued; no one retreated, and no one stopped.

Life and death seemed so insignificant at this moment. Only the weapons in their hands and the beliefs in their hearts sustained each warrior as they continued to charge forward. Although they were enemies, Xie Zheng held these brave men in high esteem.

However, this did not stop him from wielding the knife.

Cui Shu and his group were rescued, but suffered heavy losses.

Cui Shu brought two hundred personal guards with him, but nearly half of those guards were lost. Of the three thousand soldiers assigned to him by the Grand General, only a little over a thousand remain.

If Xie Zheng and Xu Junfeng hadn't found them first, they would probably have perished on the grassland.

Fortunately, the person was brought back.

Cui Shu had injuries, and although there seemed to be many wounds, none of them were actually deep.

"Take good care of yourself; the Turks won't be able to cause trouble for much longer."

"Thank you, Sanlang!"

"polite!"

The two exchanged a glance and, without saying another word, tacitly agreed to remain silent.

Although Cui Shu nearly lost his life this time, he still made a contribution.

When Cui Shu was besieged in the early stages, he killed a Turkic general, and his position in the army was comparable to that of a deputy commander.

It can be said that this battle dealt a heavy blow to the Turks' morale.

Far away in the capital, Xu Zhaozhao had no idea what her fiancé and brother had just gone through. She was considering whether or not to send Xu Chuan to Lantian County.

Xu Chuan's main ability lies in managing accounts, and since he is my cousin, his credibility is not an issue.

However, Xu Chuan was too young and had only ever dealt with accounting matters, so he was unfamiliar with other methods.

Therefore, Xu Zhaozhao decided to keep Xu Chuan at Baiguoyuan and let him train there first. If he could really get used to interpersonal relationships in the future, it wouldn't be too late to give him an important position.

Moreover, no matter how many or how scattered Xu Zhaozhao's businesses are, the main accounting offices are all concentrated in Baiguoyuan.

“Miss, Yan Shu, whom you sent to Lantian County, is waiting outside.”

"Let him come in and answer the question."

Yan Shu lost an arm, but because he was in his prime and had come directly from the battlefield, he still exuded a strong aura.

He managed to suppress some people who had ulterior motives in Lantian County. He didn't intend to report this, but Xu Zhaozhao already knew about it.

"Your Highness, the estate is now largely complete. According to your previous plan, the first phase of houses is basically habitable, and the second phase is about to begin construction. Currently, there are 462 households dependent on Your Highness, far fewer than the 1,000 households granted by His Majesty."

"Well, there's no rush. Even if that many people come, we won't be able to accommodate them all, and it would just be more troublesome."

“The county magistrate is right.”

"How is the main house?"

"The main house is still under construction. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, it will be completed in another three months."

"Well, there's no rush."

"Regarding the estate, could the county princess bestow a name upon it?"

Xu Zhaozhao had long forgotten about this matter.

She was the Princess of Anle County and also the Princess of Lantian County, but the Princess's mansion had to be built inside the county town, so this estate outside the town had to be given a different name.

Xu Zhaozhao had a sudden inspiration: "His Majesty has granted me a fief of a thousand households, which is an immense favor that I cannot forget. In that case, how about we name it: Qianjiahui?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Shu thought, "A gathering of a thousand families?"

Logically it should be okay, but this character is not good.

"Your Highness, what three words?"

Xu Zhaozhao also realized at this time that this was an imperial society, and some names could not be chosen casually.

"I've thought about it again and feel this name is inappropriate. I'll consider it later. Is there anything else you wish to report today?"

"Your Highness, the weaving workshop is doing well, but we need to build houses and workshops, and we can't leave the fields uncultivated. So we need both people and money."