Chapter 1406 - 1082: I Will Wait for Him to Arrive

Would sacrifice love, but not the nation?

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi raised her eyebrow: "Are you saying that in my eyes, my country is less important than my lover?"

Lu Xiao replied: "I don’t mean that."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I mean, even if the country is broken and home is lost, you will not lose hope and will certainly find a way to support the establishment, turn the tide when it’s about to collapse, and bolster the falling building. These things have been accomplished in various dynasties throughout history."

Shang Ruyi raised her eyebrow again, and although she tried to keep her emotions hidden, the movement revealed her momentary joy.

Lu Xiao continued: "But there is one thing that no one has accomplished since ancient times."

Shang Ruyi asked: "What is that?"

Lu Xiao replied: "Resurrection."

"..."

"So I say, you are someone who would sacrifice for love, but not for the nation."

"..."

Shang Ruyi said nothing further, and the trace of joy on her brow gradually faded. Wo Xue, watching her calm yet slightly gloomy expression, held her breath, afraid to speak.

Just as they were enveloped in the silence of Nanyan, the sound of footsteps echoed nearby.

Shang Ruyi turned to see Jiang Kesong and Gao Feng ascending the mountain.

Both were armored, but their armor was covered in blood and dirt, and they looked disheveled, reminiscent of rugged young men emerging from a dirt hole, with wild hair and faces covered in dust. They approached Shang Ruyi, saluted, and reported the numbers Shang Ruyi had sent them to gather.

Listening, Shang Ruyi’s brows furrowed: "So, there’s less than... a hundred left now."

"Yes."

Gao Feng said grimly: "Moreover, all the trees nearby have been chopped down, leaving the mountain top exposed, and the soldiers are at their wit’s end. Princess—"

At this point, he seemed unwilling to continue.

It was Jiang Kesong who spoke gravely: "Princess, if there’s one more battle and we don’t retreat, not only will Hu Yang Valley be indefensible, but we won’t leave alive."

Shang Ruyi’s brow formed a knot.

This force of three hundred heavy cavalry troops was carefully chosen by her, and she spent her own money—most important to a woman, her dowry—cultivating them from martial arts to weaponry, armor to warhorses, expenses exceeding those for Yuanyuan and proving more reliable than her son. Each lost soldier felt like a stab to her heart, and now, their first deployment, they were down to less than a hundred...

She felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if it might stop her breath.

Wo Xue, seeing her pallid complexion, hurriedly approached to gently soothe her back, helping her catch her breath. This time, Shang Ruyi didn’t refuse, and after a while, she managed to suppress that piercing pain, sighed deeply, and raised her head to face Jiang and Gao: "Take note of these men, and ensure good care for their families upon returning."

Jiang Kesong responded: "Rest assured, Princess, I will."

Shang Ruyi nodded.

Gao Feng added: "Princess, should we retreat now?"

Shang Ruyi didn’t respond immediately, but turned again to look at the distant enemy camp. Jiang and Gao followed her gaze, where smoke billowed indicating they were cooking. In the past few days, especially when not preparing for an attack and resting, the cooking times in the camp were staggered, rarely causing so much smoke simultaneously.

Seeing this, Jiang Kesong murmured: "We cannot retreat for now."

Gao Feng gently nodded, glanced at the sky, then said: "They will definitely attack again by dusk. Princess—"

Shang Ruyi instructed: "Pass the order, after eating, everyone should rest except for those on patrol duty."

"Yes."

With that, the two left.

Sitting at the side, Lu Xiao listened to their words, seemed puzzled, glanced again at the smoke spreading in the distance, and asked: "You still want to fight? With fewer than a hundred men under you, can they withstand the night like this? Why don’t you retreat?"

Shang Ruyi replied solemnly: "There is an art to retreating too."

"What?"

"Our numbers are already disadvantageous, and in a terrain like Hu Yang Valley, especially with the enemy poised for attack, if we retreat now, we’d lose the strategic benefit of Hu Yang Valley. Their tens of thousands of horses will chase immediately. At that point, we’d not last the night, and might die without knowing where."

Lu Xiao’s eyes widened slightly, half fearful, half admiring.

She said: "You... are truly a General’s Tiger Daughter."

Though she knew that Shang Ruyi often went to war with Yu Wenye and had played an important role in the Xingluo Granary battle, this time, she’s leading the troops almost independently—three hundred men against the enemy’s eighty thousand. To deduce the enemy’s intent and timing from mere cooking smoke and plan a strategic retreat, such a skill is beyond the pampered Princess, perhaps even ordinary generals.

Shang Ruyi smiled wryly: "Actually, my father taught me little, but I’ve spent much time on the battlefield these years, learning by observing and thinking. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived till today."

Lu Xiao cast her a complicated look, fell silent for a while, then asked: "By the way, didn’t you send a message to Tongguan earlier, requesting reinforcements from them? Why haven’t they arrived yet?"

Mentioning this, Shang Ruyi’s face grew even more gloomy.

Wo Xue, who had remained silent beside them, softly said: "Tongguan Defender Chu Zhengfei is under Duke Wushan."

Lu Xiao immediately furrowed her brows.

Earlier, when she was brought to Chang An by Shang Ruyi and stayed at the Shen Family, despite living a reclusive life, she wasn’t deaf to the tumult outside, understanding some of the court’s struggles. For instance, Duke Wushan was a supporter of the Crown Prince’s faction, in opposition to King Qin’s group. With the Tongguan Defender as his subordinate, it’s feared that the opponent would delay reinforcement efforts.

Seeing Lu Xiao’s serious expression, and Wo Xue’s face showing disappointment, Shang Ruyi instead calmed down, took another glance at the far-reaching smoke, then slowly said: "There’s still Hulao Pass."

Wo Xue immediately asked: "Princess means, Prince Qin will come to save us?"

"..."

"But, isn’t Hulao Pass several hundred miles away? Even if Prince Qin comes, can we... hold on?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi paused in silence, then replied slowly, "I will surely wait for him."