A fuzzy sensation came across his face.
Qian Xun, seeing that the fight was over, automatically came back to rub against him, as if expressing concern.
"The wound's not serious, I'm fine, let's go."
Chen Sansi picked up his reed-leaf long spear, mounted his horse, and galloped away.
The next day, with the main forces.
Sun Buqi, looking at Tang Ruoshan who was as lifeless as a dead pig, widened his eyes, "Where's Sansi, you left him alone to deal with the Meridian Passage expert?!"
"He ordered us to rescue Wang Zhi, and he alone lured away the Witch God Sect expert with the Meridian Passage ability..."
Zhao Kang and the others also showed worried expressions.
But in the army, obedience was of utmost importance.
Having decided to acknowledge Chen Sansi as their commander, they had to follow orders, whether they were commanded to face death or to retreat.
"I'll go take a look."
Sun Buqi said as he was about to take his spear and mount his horse.
"That won't do, Mr. Sun!"
A group of people hurriedly held him back, "Mr. Chen's White Swan Horse is unbelievably fast, perhaps he has already shaken them off. If you go , you might just end up being a burden."
The familiar voice and the White Horse appeared.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.
Chen Sansi asked, "Is he dead?"
Zhao Kang placed his hand at the base of the neck, "He's still breathing, but I don't think he will live much longer."
Chen Sansi took out all the medicinal herbs that could heal wounds on his body and handed them over to Wang Zhi's nephews and subordinates to take care of him.
Whether he could survive was now up to Wang Zhi's own fate.
It was the same old saying.
On the battlefield, there is no such thing as an immortal man.
Sun Buqi cursed with his mouth, but his eyes held no excitement.
His impression of the fat man, Tang Ruoshan, stayed back in his early childhood memories when he used to follow him around. Tang didn't mind his naughty pranks and sometimes would even skip martial practice to take him tree climbing, where Tang could climb particularly high, scaring him to the point of wetting his pants.
That was until later when his older brother left with him and never returned...
Actually, his older sister was right.
Sometimes you can't just blame Tang Ruoshan; he was also trying to save his father. If there was someone to blame, it was the Emperor.
Chen Sansi asked, "What about the pursuing forces?"
"Reporting to Mr. Chen."
Zhao Kang replied, "The ambush at the gorge will delay them for a while, the civilians at the front are moving faster, and in about two more days, we should reach the Hongze River. Once we cross the river, we'll be at Huanwen County."
"We're running out of time."
"We're about to enter the plains, and the barbarian cavalry will catch up soon. The force is more than twenty thousand strong, and they're likely to bypass the mountains and directly appear here, right in front of the civilians."
"They're really not planning to spare a single one."
After continued losses along the way, Chen Sansi now had only about a thousand usable men left, including Wang Zhi's nephews and subordinates, many of whom were greenhorns.
As he was devising a strategy.
Xu Wencai's voice rang out, he couldn't ride a horse, so he had Zhu Tong ride with him in the back, looking as if he was about to be thrown off at any moment.
His face was full of ecstatic joy, "We're saved, we're saved!"
"What do you mean, saved?"
Chen Sansi asked, "Is there military aid?"
"Fifty thousand troops!"
Xu Wencai held up his hand, "At the very front, a large number of troops are coming from Huanwen County, carrying the banners of the Youzhou Guards, saying they've come to provide aid to Yunzhou, and are currently asking the civilians for specific details about the state of Yunzhou!"
The Youzhou garrison soldiers, which included the Reserve Generals mentioned by Han Cheng, had arrived early!
"Good, I'll go check it out!"
Chen Sansi immediately spurred his horse forward.
All the usable tricks had been spent long ago.
From now on, even if Han Xin or Zhuge himself came, they would have to engage in close combat; there was absolutely no second method to delay time.
But if indeed fifty thousand troops had come to their aid.
Everyone has a way to live!
On an endless wasteland.
Tens of thousands of common folks, carrying their belongings, were helping one another move forward.
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble.
Rolling dust clouds rose in the distance.
Before long, a dense mass of cavalry came into sight.
The hearts of the common people quivered, fearing the barbarians had caught up so quickly.
But soon they realized.
This wasn't the cavalry of the barbarians; it was the cavalry of the Great Sheng Dynasty!
On the military flag fluttering high, a huge "Sheng" was depicted, the Sheng of the prosperous era.
The generals at the forefront looked imposing, each a young talent!
Upon encountering the people, the army slowed down, loosely sending cavalry to approach the crowd.
The commoners, seeing their saviors, had excitement written all over their faces.
They took out what little dry food they had left: "Military Lords, you must be tired from the journey, please have something to eat and drink!"
"This cake even has sesame in it, I've never eaten such good cake in my life, you should try it."
A young general around twenty, majestic in his armor, sat on his horse, gazing down at the commoners in rough linen clothes, his voice devoid of emotion, "Where do you come from?"
"To answer the lord, we were led by Mr. Chen out of Yunzhou, escaping from Po Yang!"
"Po Yang? Where's that?"
"An Ding Prefecture, it seems to be under the jurisdiction of An Ding Prefecture!"
"The county? I'm not asking about that. I'm asking about the specific situation in Yunzhou."
"What specific situation, what do you mean, Military Lord?"
"You're talking about the war, right? We don't understand that."
"It's just that they say there are barbarians everywhere."
"And there are those chasing us right behind!"
"But now that you Military Lords are here, we'll be safe!"
Seeing that he couldn't get much information, the young general gradually lost patience and was about to move on to ask others.
"Wait, Military Lord, try this jerky, it was left by the barbarians, it's very fragrant."
"Stand aside." The young general seemed deaf to their pleas.
"You can take it with you to eat on the road."
The young general frowned and used the handle of his weapon to sweep the commoner to the ground.
The gaunt man spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
"Why are you hitting people?"
"Are you lot disguised as barbarians?!"
Lai Zi was nearby, cursing from afar, "Hey! How dare you!"
"It's you scum, you poor wretches, who I'm hitting!"
The young general raised his hand and with a single whip, killed an old man on the spot; he then stirred his Qi-Blood, his voice booming:
"You bunch of troublemakers, do you realize you're blocking the path of my advancing army!
"If you get trampled to death, so be it! But if you trip up even one warhorse, can you afford to compensate!"
Tens of thousands of common people simultaneously stopped in their tracks, nearly a hundred thousand pairs of eyes looking towards the general on horseback, the joy and excitement on their faces vanishing into nothingness, replaced by the resignation they should have been accustomed to.
At that moment, they remembered.
They were the lowest of the low.
Scenes of harmony between the military and the people only happened when it was time to use them as cannon fodder!
In this world, perhaps only that Mr. Chen with the surname Chen would say to them, "All who volunteer can follow with the army, and we, the military, will cover your retreat!"
"Military Lords, please spare our lives——"
At this moment, people recalled the fear imprinted in their bones through generations.
No longer daring to come a step closer, they scattered like startled animals in all directions, leaving the flattest and easiest path open for the cavalry bearing the "Great Sheng" flag to pass.