The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 434 : Fierce Battle (2)

This chapter hasn’t been edited.

The following day, after Zijin had fully fed herself, she asked Mama Bai to wrap up the rest of the pork-filled baozi[1], preparing to eat them on the wall platform. After yesterday’s experience, Zijin was no longer afraid of overeating.

大明九鎮邊軍 Chinese Ming dynasty northern garrison soldier

大明九鎮邊軍 Chinese Ming dynasty northern garrison soldier

きつね: I don’t know how accurate this is, but as you can see: The first three from the top left were not wearing armour.

Image Credit | Sharon YX Zhou via Pinterest

Yuxi stepped out, followed by Mama Qu and Mama Xi, each holding a suit of armour. Yuxi said, “Yesterday, I asked Xu Wu to find two armour sets for you two to wear.” Although Zijin was not injured yesterday, Yu Zhi was, but it wasn’t severe.

Ordinary soldiers wore uniforms, and only those of a certain rank were armed. But who made Yuxi a general’s wife? It was easy for her to get two sets of armour.

When Zijin heard this, she immediately put her armour on.

Yuxi looked at Zijin in her armour and smilingly nodded. “It looks good on you.” Zijin not only appeared heroic at that moment but also had an indescribable glow about her.

Xu Daniu was seriously injured yesterday. As a result, he could not join Zijin and Yu Zhi and had to stay at the Yun residence.

Once on the platform, the duo walked cautiously, having noticed that some of the soldiers were still asleep. But when they reached the place where they had been yesterday, they saw Big Head Huang coming towards them, smiling. “This girl looks very gallant in her suit of armour!” Everyone knew Zijin’s true identity last night.

It was only natural for them to have such an unusual relationship after fighting the enemy to death. Zijin immediately replied with a smile, “Thank you for your praise.” She also felt extremely good about herself.

Yu Zhi suddenly shouted, “Not good, the enemy is coming……” Having studied martial arts with Master Yang from a young age, his hearing had become much sharper than that of ordinary people.

Zijin did not doubt what he was saying as she shouted, “Everybody up! The northern barbarians are coming.

Zijin’s high-pitched voice shook everyone’s ears to the point of numbness. Besides, the sleeping soldiers were always on the alert, and as soon as they heard Zijin’s cry, they rose instantly.

Those who had just got up tried to look into the distance. As the sky hadn’t yet lightened up, they couldn’t see very far. But nobody questioned Zijin’s words, for no one would be foolish enough to joke on the city walls.

After a while, everyone could hear the sound of heavy footsteps. One of the soldiers cursed, “D*mn those northern barbarians! It’s not even dawn yet. I don’t know what’s wrong with them, attacking the city when it’s still dark.”

Zijin also sensed something was wrong, but there was no time to think deeply about it. A new round of fighting broke out as the northern barbarians approached the city walls.

Zijin killed another northern barbarian soldier who had rushed up to her and said to Yu Zhi, “Something is not right.” These barbarians attacked much more ferociously than yesterday and looked utterly reckless.

Yu Zhi felt the same way as well. “This is a completely desperate way of fighting.” Just like yesterday, when the barbarians saw how bravely Zijin had killed her enemy, they tried their best to avoid the two of them and went to attack the other soldiers. But today, it was as if they were not afraid to die. When one died, another came.

The commander-in-chief, Qin Zhao, and his deputy, General Zhao, soon became aware of the northern barbarians’ abnormality. Qin Zhao’s expression was unsightly. In one morning, they had lost nearly three thousand men. And with such a fierce attack from the northern barbarians, he didn’t even know if they could last five days, let alone ten.

General Zhao said sullenly, “The intensity of the northern barbarians’ attack is unusual. Something must have happened to them.” Otherwise, they would not have attacked the city with such ferocity. He just didn’t have a clue what the deal was.

The battle continued into the night. On previous days, the northern prisoners would have stopped fighting by nightfall, but today, as if they had taken the wrong medicine, they showed no signs of stopping and attacked as fiercely as they had during the day.

Zijin’s heart pounded with pain as she watched one familiar person after another fall. When you kill the enemy, you shouldn’t be softhearted. But as powerful as she was, she was still a mortal, not a god. She already felt exhausted after killing all day and having no time to eat.

Yu Zhi wanted Zijin to rest, but she was reluctant. Yu Zhi said, “If something happens to you, who will protect Madam?” Yu Zhi knew that nothing he could say would have as much effect as those words.

Zijin stopped struggling at once, and with her body covered in blood, she dragged her exhausted self to follow Yu Zhi back to the Yun residence.

After entering the Yun Residence, Zijin did not even bother to clean herself but went straight to the inner courtyard. When she saw Yuxi, she knelt on the ground and said, “Madam, Zijin has a request.”

It was unusual for the barbarians to continue their attack into the night. However, Yuxi had only just received the news, so she couldn’t work out why at the moment.

Looking at Zijin, who was covered in blood and had a sad and indignant face, Yuxi asked, “Do you want me to allow you to go back and kill the enemy?” Fighting at night was indeed very dangerous. Of course, compared to the northern barbarians, their side still had the advantage of fighting in this condition.

Zijin nodded. “Yes! Only by going to the city tower can we kill more enemies.” Her mind couldn’t calm down if she didn’t go and kill the enemy.

Yuxi asked after a moment of silence, “What if I don’t agree?”

Zijin bowed as she replied, “If Madam does not agree, I will not go.” No matter what, Madam was the most important thing.

Yuxi sighed. “Since you have that intention, I won’t stop you. But you must fill your stomach before you go back into battle. How can you fight the enemies without any strength?”

Zijin did not answer immediately but remained silent for a while before saying, “Madam, do not worry. If anything happens, I will rush back to protect Madam when the city collapses.”

Yuxi shook her head. “Don’t worry. Xu Wu has already found a very hidden place; as soon as the city collapses, I will hide there. So you just need to take care of yourself and not worry about me.”

Zijin looked at Yuxi with teary eyes and said, “I am sorry, Madam.” She knew she should have stayed by her side, but she understood very well that doing so would not make her feel any better.

The look on Yuxi’s face remained bland as she said, “There is no need to apologise to me. Just come back to me alive.” This time, Yu City was truly in a state of crisis.

When Zijin wanted to return to the battlefield, Yu Zhi naturally had to accompany her. He didn’t feel comfortable letting her go there alone, and with him around, he could more or less look after her.

Seeing the young couple’s attitude, Yuxi hurriedly urged, “Go and eat first, and go back there again when you are full. It’s not a moment too soon.” Zijin was very capable of fighting, but guarding Yu City depended on all the soldiers, not just Zijin and Yu Zhi.

Zijin and Yu Zhi were ready to leave after wolfing down[2] two bowls of rice.

Mama Bai shoved the prepared mutton roujiamo[3] into their hands and said, “Eat this on the way.” The Yun residence was more than a quarter of an hour’s ride from the city tower. This food was something they could snack off on the way.

After they left, Yuxi went to her study. Apart from Yuxi’s bedroom and study in the courtyard, all the other empty rooms were now being used. The rooms on the left were for the maids and old women servants, while the rooms on the right were for Huo Changqing, Master Yang and the guards. But the good thing was that it was already the fourth lunar month, and those who had to sleep on the floor because there weren’t enough beds wouldn’t freeze to death.

Mama Xi had her heart in her mouth[4] ever since Yuxi entered the study. Yuxi was still working hard even though she was eight months pregnant. Mama Xi was worried that Yuxi might overwork herself and go into premature labour.

Two-quarters of an hour had passed, and there was still no movement inside the study. Mama Xi could no longer calm down and said to Mama Qu, “I’d better go in and have a look!”

Mama Qu shook her head. “Let’s just wait outside. If anything goes wrong, we’ll rush in.” She was worried that if they went in and interrupted Madam’s thoughts, the outcome would be much worse.

The two mamas’ worries were obviously unnecessary. Yuxi finally came out of the study after half a shichen[5]. There was nothing wrong with her except that she looked a little tired.

When Mama Xi saw Yuxi’s appearance, she hurriedly advised, “Madam, you’d better rest!” If Yuxi didn’t rest after being so tired, she would have had a premature birth. It could be said that since Yun Qing went on the expedition, Mama Xi’s heart hadn’t been at peace.

Yuxi nodded slightly. “I’ll rest after I see Uncle Huo.” If she had too much on her mind, her body wouldn’t be able to take it.

Mama Xi nodded. “Then I will accompany Madam.” Huo Changqing also lived in the inner courtyard, just a few steps away.

Huo Changqing had not yet fallen asleep. Otherwise, Yuxi would not have disturbed him. She also didn’t prevent others from listening to their conversation when she directly said, “Uncle Huo, the northern prisoners have attacked us very fiercely today and have even suffered more than 6,000 casualties in one day so far. Yet they are still attacking the city.”

Huo Changqing, who had spent more than a decade in Yu City, did not understand the meaning of Yuxi’s words. He immediately asked, “What’s going on?” Now that he was much better than before, he could finally speak in complete sentences.

Yuxi explained, “My guess is that these northern barbarians are now anxious to break through Yucheng because they are running out of food.” After a pause, she added, “Uncle Huo, I suspect that their provisions have been burned by He Rui!” Other than that possibility, Yuxi could think of no reason why these barbarians would still attack the city at night, despite suffering massive casualties. She could think of no one but Yun Qing who could have done this.

Huo Changqing thought this was a huge possibility. “If that’s the case, the northern barbarians won’t be able to feed themselves for more than three days.” What was the point of fighting in a war that would only make them hungrier?

Yuxi hesitated before saying, “Uncle Huo, this is just my guess. I have no proof to back it up.” The stakes were high. If her speculation was wrong, the consequences could be incalculable.

Huo Changqing looked at Yuxi’s pale face and said, “I’ll let Xu Wu handle this. You should take a rest!”

Yuxi was indeed a little overwhelmed, so she did not try to act bravely. “Uncle Huo, you should rest early too!” It was fortunate that Yuxi had a healthy body and was in a good frame of mind. Otherwise, she would have given birth prematurely, and it would not have been possible for her to stay safe and sound until now, when she was so agitated.

Back in her bedroom, Yuxi was about to go to bed. Mama Xi brought in a bowl of bird’s nest congee and said, “Madam, please eat this congee before you go to sleep!”

The porridge was not much, just half a bowl, so there was no danger of stones forming in her kidney. Yuxi finished the porridge in a few bites, then rinsed her mouth, washed her face, and lay down to rest without even taking a bath.[T/C]

Mama Qu didn’t even know what to say when she looked at Yuxi, who had fallen asleep as soon as she’d laid down. All the concubines in the palace had to guard against assassination attempts, but none were as exhausted as her wife. Miraculously, the child was still alive. It must be said that the child’s vitality was truly tenacious.