mtlumby2d Chapter 132 Great Victory
Chapter 132 Great Victory
The soldiers in front could see that Monta was alright, but when he fell, they were stunned, and a large number of soldiers rushed towards Monta's direction.
So some soldiers advanced, while the vast majority obeyed orders to retreat, and these people tacitly abandoned Shen Li.
It wasn't that they didn't want to kill Shen Li to gain merit, but they simply couldn't fight back. If they continued to drag it out, they would be bloodied by the cavalry of the Great Zhao.
Shen Li hadn't expected such a turn of events. She rushed forward, grabbed a horse, and charged back towards where Monta had fallen, closing the distance step by step.
"The commander is alright!" The soldiers of Daliang cheered.
Monta was indeed only slightly injured, and he immediately got up, mounted his horse, and prepared to give orders.
However, as soon as he mounted his horse, he saw that the distance between him and Shen Li had greatly shortened, to less than twenty meters. He could even see the excitement in Shen Li's eyes.
"call!"
The spiked club whistled through the air as it slammed down on him.
"General, be careful!"
"boom!"
The spiked club struck Monta squarely in the chest, shattering his sternum and piercing his internal organs with its sharp spikes.
Monta never dreamed he would die so miserably. Before today, he was a general commanding 800,000 troops, but with just one counterattack, he had no chance of turning the tide.
To die at the hands of a maidservant is the greatest humiliation imaginable.
"Kill her! We must kill this girl to avenge the commander!" Monta's personal guard deputy shouted angrily. "Lin Wan'er, the Great Liang will never let you go!"
Shen Li blinked several times. Should she not have impersonated someone else?
Lin Wan'er, who had just returned from the flank with her cavalry, was speechless.
Shen Li breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was safe.
Lin Wan'er had seen Shen Li so often, so dignified and composed, that she had never seen her covered in blood like this before. She couldn't even tell if Shen Li was injured.
With Monta dead, the entire Liang army collapsed. Lin Xiao led his army to take over the position, while Xiao Qi and Lin Ao, with cavalry and musketeers, pursued the remaining Liang forces to the outskirts of the Liang border city.
Lin Wan'er and Shen Li were sent back to the General's Mansion in Yuebei Pass by Lin Xiao's arrangement. The reason was simple: they were both injured.
Even with her divine power, Shen Li is still not a god. Although the assassination lasted only a short time, every move she made was with her full strength, which was extremely difficult for her body, which had only recently recovered from its previous lack of food intake, to withstand.
She threw down her gun when she saw Lin Wan'er, and she didn't know how she got back. When she woke up again, she found two bullet holes from a musket on her arm, which were still bleeding even though they were wrapped in gauze.
"Did it actually hit me?" Shen Li gasped as she stood up, her features almost scrunched up.
"Miss, please don't get up by yourself. Let me help you." Lian Qiao rushed forward upon hearing the gasp.
"It hurts." Shen Li frowned. "Has any medicine been applied?"
"I've already been there. Doctor Zou just left. He said it's just a superficial injury and nothing to worry about," Lian Qiao reassured her.
"Does a superficial wound hurt this much?" Shen Li asked, somewhat incredulous.
She had been served by others since childhood, and had never been to any dangerous place. She had never even experienced childbirth, which is a common experience for most women. Even when she was imprisoned, she had never been tortured. She was completely unaware that external injuries could be so painful.
"Miss, you've suffered so much," Lian Qiao said with heartache. "This servant will go and ask the divine physician if he has any pain-relieving medicine."
"Go quickly." Shen Li leaned against the bed, only then realizing how difficult the battlefield was.
"Miss, have some water." Peony brought over some water.
Shen Li drank some water to adjust her temperature before asking, "How is the war going?"
"Daliang has been defeated, and our army has won a great victory." Peony said excitedly, "Miss Lin has made a great contribution this time, beheading the enemy's commander."
"What about casualties?" She had no energy to get involved in who got credit.
"Our casualties were very small, but I don't know the specifics. I only know that the general was not injured, and only you and Miss Lin were sent back to the General's Mansion from the front."
"What's wrong with her?" Shen Li asked.
"She was shot in the shoulder, but it didn't hit any vital organs. She's recuperating in the courtyard next to yours." Peony replied, "Sister Lianqiao sent me to check on her. Miss Lin has already woken up and is fine."
"I don't think it's anything serious," Shen Li said weakly after asking around. "Help me lie down."
This time, she wasn't pretending to be weak; she was genuinely struggling to cope.
"Yes, I will send someone to inform Miss Lin immediately. Miss Lin has been waiting for you to wake up."
"Go ahead." Shen Li didn't really want to talk.
The maid from the Peony Sect had just left when Shen Li soon heard several people enter her courtyard, and then she went into the house alone.
"Miss Lin," Peony greeted.
Shen Li opened her eyes in confusion, but did not move.
"You may leave now. I want to speak with your young lady alone." Lin Wan'er's voice was cool, but her tone was calm and polite.
"Yes." After seeing Shen Li on the bed nod, Peony went out and closed the door to the outer room to keep out the cold outside.
Shen Li saw Lin Wan'er appear in front of the bed, her arm in a white sling, her face normal.
"Aren't you in pain?" Shen Li asked, puzzled.
How come, even though they are both injured, I don't even dare to move, while Lin Wan'er can already walk around on her own?
"It's just a minor injury." Lin Wan'er looked at her and asked, "How are you?"
"It hurts," Shen Li said honestly.
Seeing her miserable state, Lin Wan'er couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Now you know what pain is. When you were charging into battle, you were so decisive, you didn't even consult me."
“I’m always decisive.” Seeing her serious expression, Shen Li continued, “Weren’t we the only other options back then? And I felt I could succeed.”
"So you used my name?"
“Taking the blame once is the same as taking it twice,” Shen Li blinked and said, “If the people of Kyoto knew that I was actually very good at fighting, they would all be on guard against me.”
"Do you know how great an achievement it is to kill the enemy commander single-handedly?" Lin Wan'er asked her. "It's enough to make a woman highly regarded and able to gain a foothold even in the army."
Shen Li was naturally aware of the significance of this matter.
"Since you're giving me this credit, I'll accept it." Lin Wan'er's eyes were sincere: "I'll remember this kindness."
She was already of marriageable age, and if she didn't have enough leverage, she would inevitably face an arranged marriage upon returning to the capital.
This credit was a timely help for her, so even if it was a fraudulent claim, she had to accept it.
Moreover, she believes that she will definitely be able to create her own achievements in the future.
"This matter is also in my interest, so let's not go through all this flirting. People who don't know better might think there's something going on between us."
Shen Li had been joking with a smile, but she quickly winced in pain.
Lin Wan'er looked at her in confusion: "It's just an external injury, how can it hurt that much?"
It's really hard to associate her with the fearsome killer she was in the military camp.
Shen Li looked resentful and puzzled. How could it not hurt? There was a hole punched in her arm!
"You rest, I'm leaving." Although Lin Wan'er couldn't understand it, she decided not to disturb her.
As Shen Li lay in bed, she began to think about Gu Chang'an. She felt that she couldn't be more fragile than this. Now that the battle was over, it was time to let her go back.
The Great Liang suffered heavy losses in this battle. Of the 800,000 troops that attacked the city, more than 200,000 were killed or wounded. The final battle wiped out their entire fortune.
This situation, coupled with the invasion of another Liang dynasty, made things even worse, leaving the Liang dynasty without any manpower to attack Da Zhao in the short term.
This time, it was the turn of the envoys from Daliang to prepare to go to the capital of Dazhao to discuss the terms of peace.
On the other hand, the people of Da Zhao were overjoyed. No one in the court or among the people, including Lin Xiao himself, had ever thought that they could win this battle. Just a month ago, they were facing a situation where they had no ammunition, food, or even winter clothing, and the city gates were on the verge of collapse.
At that time, his only choice was to abandon the defense of the pass and go out to meet the enemy. If it really came to that, the Great Zhao would inevitably suffer a crushing defeat.
Who would have thought that a few paintings would save Yuebei Pass? After that, they had money and manpower, and seized the opportunity to launch their first and only proactive attack.
Lin Xiao himself felt that this battle was miraculous. Even the biggest wars can be decided by just a few moments. Looking back on these moments, he really felt that he should be most grateful to Shen Li.
If she hadn't eliminated the traitor and delivered the painting and the final intelligence, the outcome of this battle would have been entirely different.
Perhaps his fate was completely opposite to Monta's.
Lin Xiao was aware of this, and the soldiers were also aware of it. Therefore, everyone in the General's Mansion had genuine respect for Shen Li.
Shen Li didn't care about this. She gradually learned that the Rongdi were preparing to send a delegation to Dazhao to apologize for the bandit incident, and that the Japanese were also apologizing for their previous looting of the people.
Both sides had prepared their troops, but now they were all smiling and wishing they could curse each other and swear to be friendly neighbors forever.
The governor of Cangzhou was about to arrive, and five days after the war ended, the return date was finally set, and they would set off three days later.
This time, they will bring back the troops from the three major camps in the capital, and the reward troops brought by the Ninth Prince Li Rui and Lin Wan'er will also return together.
“There’s no need to rush this time, and there are so many people, it’s really lively,” Peony said as she handed Shen Li a tangerine.
Shen Li sat on the couch, looking out at the snow through the window. The room was warm with a charcoal brazier burning inside, and her blanket was draped over Lian Qiao and Shao Yao's legs.
The three, master and servant, were talking in the room, mainly the peony chattering away like a lark.
"How can it still be snowing so heavily after the Lantern Festival?" Shen Li looked at the heavy snow outside and suddenly had an idea: "Let's go play in the snow later and pick a few plum blossoms to send to the neighbor's yard."
"How can that be? If Miss wants plum blossoms, the maids can go and pick them. Your injury has only healed a few days ago. Going out in this cold weather will cause frostbite." Lianqiao stopped her before Shaoyao could cheer.
Peony then belatedly nodded seriously: "Yes, it's only been five days. Doctor Zou said that the burns from gunpowder are different from others, and you need to rest for a month before you can go out."
"I'm almost fully recovered." Shen Li said, moving her arm without feeling any pain. "I'm different from others, have you forgotten?"
"You are physically strong, but it is still an external injury..."
"Don't worry, I don't feel that cold," Shen Li interrupted Lian Qiao.
Forsythia and peony were on the other side of the couch, wrapped tightly in their small blankets.
As expected, people can't be compared. Just two days ago, the young lady was in so much pain that she lost her appetite. They even thought she wouldn't be able to get out of bed for a month. Unexpectedly, she's recovered in just a few days.