She Came to Heal, Stayed to Conquer

Song Yuanqing rode on his horse, his brows tightly furrowed, silently pondering in his heart, "Has the Turkic army already retreated? Or, has the battle not yet begun?"

The doubt in his heart urged him to quicken his pace, leading the army hastily toward the direction of the camp.

The guards at the camp’s entrance saw dust rising in the distance, and the flag prominently bore the character "Song," immediately understanding that the reinforcements from Xuzhou had arrived.

Several soldiers hurriedly moved the barricades at the camp’s entrance to welcome the army into the camp.

The defending general of Yong’an City, Li Gang, who heard the commotion, also rushed out, his face filled with smiles, bowing with clasped hands from afar.

He shouted loudly, "General Song, you’ve come such a long way, you have worked hard! You have worked hard!"

Song Yuanqing dismounted his horse, with Zhao Zun and twenty of his trusted aides following closely behind, standing neatly behind him.

Song Yuanqing surveyed the camp, noticing that the soldiers were either training or resting, showing no signs of the tension that accompanies a great battle.

His face immediately darkened, his gaze coldly directed at Li Gang, his tone full of questioning.

"General Li, since there is no battle, why did you request reinforcements from the court? Do you know how much manpower and resources were consumed in deploying troops from Xuzhou to here?"

Li Gang, intimidated by Song Yuanqing’s gaze, felt a bit guilty, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"There were battles, there were battles."

Li Gang repeatedly said, nudging his mouth towards Zhao Zun behind Song Yuanqing, then hurried to explain.

"General Song, you may not know, but indeed there were 200,000 Turkic troops approaching Yong’an City, and the situation was very urgent. It was the Emperor’s decree that ordered the King of Cangzhou to come help in the fight. The King of Cangzhou led the Vanguard Camp to launch a surprise attack on the Turkic army, catching them off guard, which scared them into retreating."

Upon hearing this, Song Yuanqing raised his eyebrows slightly, turning to look at Zhao Zun, his gaze inquisitive.

Zhao Zun nodded slightly, confirming that this was the case.

Yet, Song Yuanqing’s expression did not soften because of this, but instead became even gloomier.

He snorted coldly, his tone carrying a hint of anger: "Since the Turkic have already retreated, why did you not immediately inform the court to stop the deployment? Do you know that the long journey of the army leads to enormous grain and supplies consumption, and if wasted in vain, can you bear this responsibility?"

Li Gang, silenced by Song Yuanqing’s questioning, became speechless, sweat on his forehead increasing.

He stammered, "General Song, please calm down! After confirming the Turkic retreat, I did send an express report overnight, 800 miles to the court, requesting to halt the deployment. It’s just... just that it was still too late."

Song Yuanqing snorted coldly again, evidently not satisfied with Li Gang’s explanation.

His gaze was as sharp as a knife, piercing into the depths of Li Gang’s heart, his tone laced with a bit of mockery: "General Li, as a defending general, yet failing to handle such an important matter properly, it truly is disappointing!"

Li Gang was so overwhelmed by Song Yuanqing’s imposing presence that he couldn’t lift his head, nodding repeatedly in agreement, though feeling quite bitter inwardly.

He knew that the Song Family was one of the four great families, and Song Yuanqing was a high-ranking official in the court. This long journey to provide support, if mishandled, he might not escape punishment.

Just then, Zhao Zun’s trusted aide, Mr. Meng, suddenly spoke up.

He glanced at Li Gang, leaned towards Zhao Zun’s ear, seemingly speaking to Zhao Zun but his voice was just loud enough for Song Yuanqing to hear.

"Prince, after you carried out the surprise attack on the Turkic army that day, could it be they didn’t retreat, but instead took a detour to join forces with Ala and the Meng Country coalition, and then turned to attack Ling’an City? Could it be Ling’an City that requested reinforcements from the court?"

As soon as Mr. Meng finished speaking, Zhao Zun turned his head and glared at him, signaling him to keep quiet. Mr. Meng faltered and begrudgingly closed his mouth.

Though Mr. Meng’s words were mere speculation, Song Yuanqing’s eyes immediately lowered, seemingly pondering something.

A moment later, he looked at Li Gang and asked, "What about Ling’an City now?"

"The coalition at Ling’an City also retreated," Li Gang replied timidly. Thinking of how they’d come all this way for nothing, he also felt rather embarrassed.

Song Yuanqing glared at him fiercely: "I will definitely report this to His Majesty and write an impeachment against you. Hmph! Let’s go."

Li Gang decisively ordered with a wave of his hand.

At Song Yuanqing’s command, the 150,000-strong Xuzhou Army immediately mobilized.

The long queue had not fully entered the camp yet. Upon hearing the messenger’s orders, the entire troop, having not rested, immediately turned to leave, slowly moving out of the camp.

Song Yuanqing agilely mounted his horse, riding toward the front of the troop. As the leading general, he must march at the head of the troop to stabilize morale.