Going Out to Earn Money

Guo Youshan fled, leaving his army of 200,000 behind and taking only some of his personal guards. The Qian army swept through like a splitting bamboo, dividing and surrounding the 200,000 troops. With no unified command, the scattered Wu soldiers fled in all directions.

The rain had stopped! Day had broken!

"Commander Zha, what a satisfying battle. In a single night, our army captured more than half of the 50,000 Wu soldiers. Only a small number escaped." Deputy Commander Qin Shan found a rock at random and sat down, leaning on his sword as he spoke to Chahar, who was likewise seated on the ground.

"What a pity we didn't cut down Guo Youshan. That old bastard got away!" Chahar looked just as excited. This battle had shown the might of the Qian Kingdom.

The men did not rest for long. Chahar was the first to rise.

"Deputy Commander Qin, gather and reorganize the troops. You escort the prisoners; I'll take 10,000 men ahead to Qixia City." The fighting here was over, but Chahar still felt a little uneasy, not knowing how things stood in the city. The battle was not over yet.

"Yes, sir. I'll carry out your orders." Qin Shan rose and cupped his fists.

Before long, Chahar returned to Qixia City with a contingent of soldiers, leaving Deputy Commander Qin Shan to escort the prisoners of war.

Inside Qixia City

"Yuan Shiji, lay down your weapon and surrender." Ling Tianhan and a group of Qian soldiers surrounded Yuan Shiji. Aside from Yuan Shiji, not a single Wu soldier was left alive there.

"Hahaha..." Yuan Shiji did not answer. Bracing his sword against the ground, he staggered to his feet and looked around. Dead, all dead...

Though Yuan Shiji was eager for glory and great achievements, tears now filled his tiger-like eyes, and his body trembled. He wanted to say something more, but he could make no sound. His lips quivered uncontrollably, and he no longer even had the strength to clench his teeth.

"Kill him!" Ling Tianhan told the soldiers beside him. Commander Fang La was still fighting a bloody battle outside the city, and they could not waste time on this man.

The city gates slowly opened, revealing a bloody purgatory both inside and out. Ling Tianhan led his soldiers through the gates.

After a night of fighting, both sides were utterly exhausted. On the Wu side, the remaining subordinate generals had all been slain by Fang La after Yuan Shiji entered the city. Like dragons without a head, their troops had scattered and fled, and no longer posed a threat.

Fang La could still stand, but that was all. It was impossible for him to raise his saber and fight again.

"Commander Fang, are you all right?" Ling Tianhan led his soldiers over the corpses of the Wu soldiers and finally found Commander Fang.

"I'm fine..." Fang La tried to raise a hand in greeting, but in the end he could only lower it helplessly.

Ling Tianhan waved a hand, and several of his personal attendants immediately went to support Commander Fang La. In this battle, Commander Fang La had held down a large number of enemy troops and rendered great service.

The soldiers pouring out of the city immediately joined the battle. Not far away, a small group of enemy soldiers faced off against the Qian army. Though surrounded, they still held their sabers pointed straight at the Qian soldiers.

"Lay down your weapons! Yuan Shiji has already been slain. Are you still going to resist to the bitter end?"

Ling Tianhan was just about to urge the enemy soldiers to surrender when warhorses thundered in, and a large contingent arrived across the mountain of corpses and sea of blood!

"Guo Youshan has already fled. By fighting to the death, you're only buying him time to escape. As he fled, did your great general spare a thought for you? Lay down your weapons, and the Qian army will not harm a hair on your heads." Commander Zha, who had just arrived, spoke passionately to the surrounded Wu soldiers.

"Is it worth dying far from home for a general like that?" Ling Tianhan added fuel to the fire.

"Those who surrender will be spared! Those who surrender will be spared! Those who surrender will be spared!" The Qian soldiers held their weapons and shouted, their cries shaking the heavens.

The surrounded Wu soldiers looked at one another. It would have been a lie to say they were not afraid of death. Even if they died, their deaths should count for something; throwing away their lives for this general was clearly not worth it. One man dropped his weapon and stood silently. The other Wu soldiers followed suit, their will to fight completely gone.

The Qian soldiers swarmed forward and escorted the Wu soldiers into the city.

"Commander Zha, where is the main army? Where is Deputy Commander Qin Shan?" Ling Tianhan and Fang La saw that he had brought only a small contingent of troops and horses and asked in puzzlement.

"Haha, don't worry, generals. The army is safe. Deputy Commander Qin is escorting the prisoners of war, while I brought 10,000 men to reinforce you. I didn't expect the fighting here to be over already." Chahar spoke heartily. They had won a great victory.

On learning that the army was safe and had taken more than 20,000 prisoners, the men all breathed easier. "Hahaha, this battle has shown the might of our Qian Kingdom. So what if the Wu Kingdom had an army of 200,000? They were still defeated here at Qixia City."

After a round of celebration, the men led their soldiers in clearing the battlefield. Ling Tianhan led the cavalry to search for the fleeing Wu soldiers, while Chahar went to assist Qin Shan in escorting the prisoners. Commander Fang La sent someone to deliver a message to Commander Lu. Commander Lu had led 30,000 soldiers to protect the common people. Now that the Wu army had been defeated, it was time for the people to return.

"Hahaha, this battle was a complete victory, all thanks to you generals. I will report the facts to the imperial capital. In addition, a banquet will be held at the city lord's residence tonight to entertain all the officers and soldiers."

"Thank you, Grand Commander!"

In the battle of Qixia City, some Wu soldiers escaped and more than 30,000 were captured; all the rest died in battle. The Qian army had also suffered heavy casualties. The reinforcements from Sunset City alone had lost nearly 10,000 men, even though they had launched a surprise attack.

Corpses, bones, and severed limbs littered the ground, staining the earth a dark red.

Sunset City

"Xiao Fan, we've brought so many bamboo baskets. Can we sell them all?" Chen Yunye pushed a wheelbarrow piled high with bamboo baskets and hampers of every kind.

"Who knows? Let's find a place and see. If we can't sell them, we'll figure something else out."

The two had set out for Sunset City before dawn, bringing the bamboo wares the villagers had woven over the past two days. Because it was so early, there were not many travelers on the road.

Less than a hundred meters from the city gate, they found a level spot, unloaded the cartful of bamboo wares, and laid them out one by one.

Since there were not many people passing by, neither of them bothered calling out to customers. They found a place to sit and chatted idly.

"Young man, how much are these bamboo baskets?" Before long, their first customer arrived: a middle-aged woman.

"Auntie, these were all woven by hand in our village. They're sturdy and long-lasting. We can talk about the price. Five copper coins for a basket will do."

"Five copper coins? That's not expensive. Young man, I'll take this one. Here's the money." The passing woman reached out and handed the money to Chen Yunye.

Ye Fan patted the dust off the bottom of the basket, then handed it to her once it was clean.

"Young man, you're quite good at doing business."

"Auntie, if it serves you well, please put in a good word for us brothers. We'll be setting up our stall here from now on."

"Mm-hmm, all right, young man. I'll be sure to spread the word for you. Next time I come to buy something else, you'd better give me a discount."

They had not been at the stall long before they made their first sale. Though it was not much money, the two brothers were very happy.

Meanwhile

"Father, where are we going to practice medicine in this wilderness? There isn't a soul in sight." Xiao Feng complained, his face as sour as a bitter melon. The main thing was that he was carrying all the medicine chests by himself.

"Keep walking. There's a place where people live not far ahead. Let's go take a look!" Xiao Changlin replied casually.

"Sigh, I wonder how Ye Fan and the others are doing," Xiao Feng muttered.

"Come on, we're all doing our part for the village! If we put in more effort now, we can live a good life in the future."

Xiao Feng nodded and followed his father onward.