Chapter 436 Bai enters the mansion!

The repeated attacks of artillery fire and grenades caused as many as seven to eight hundred casualties among Lin Lei's men. However, what made Lin Lei even more depressed was that this feeling of powerlessness that the enemy could hit him but he could not had seriously affected the morale of the army. He looked around and saw that all the soldiers around him were dejected. They had already lost three points in momentum before they even fought the enemy with real swords and guns.

Seeing this scene, Lin Lei, who was originally full of confidence, suddenly felt a shadow in his heart, and an ominous premonition began to hang over him...

Even so, they had already reached this point, and there was absolutely no reason to retreat, so Lin Lei could only bite the bullet and yell at the soldiers around him:
"Brothers! Our army's success or failure depends on this! Follow me if you are not afraid of death!"

It has to be said that Lin Lei is a rare and powerful general who is valued by Wang Kangxin and leads this special force that decides the overall victory or defeat. Before he finished speaking, he took a shield from the hand of the personal soldier beside him, and then, holding a knife in one hand and a huge shield in the other, he led the personal soldiers to charge towards the Fengwu Army camp.

The soldiers under his command, who had been somewhat demoralized by the red cannons and grenades, were now encouraged to see that their general was so fearless of death. Immediately, their morale returned and they rushed forward as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Ye Dong in the northeast corner of the camp saw this scene through a telescope, and his expression became serious. Although he didn't know who Lin Lei was, seeing Lin Lei's attire and his aura that could command the support of hundreds of enemies, he could probably guess that he was an official...
As the saying goes, when shooting a man, shoot the horse first; when capturing a thief, capture the leader first, so Ye Dong pointed at Lin Lei and instructed his men:
"Tell the musketeers who killed this official! Reward him with 100 taels of silver and he will be promoted to a higher rank!"

"Yes!"

After receiving Ye Dong's order, the musketeers in the northeast corner of the camp began to aim and shoot in the direction of Lin Lei. However, the men around Lin Lei fought desperately to protect him. Moreover, as the enemy's charge deepened, the Japanese cannons they were equipped with also began to fight back. Although their equipment was not as good as that of the Fengwu Army, because of their numerical advantage, they were able to fight on equal terms with Ye Dong and his men for a while.

Lin Lei quickly reached the foot of the camp. He was already a little excited and wanted to climb up the ladder immediately, but the personal guards beside him stopped him quickly and did not let him take any risk.

"Sir, there are thousands of soldiers in the northeastern camp. They don't look like they have been lured away from their camp!" The people from Gongdu, who had suffered several blows and rushed to the camp, felt that something was wrong even though they were slow to react. They reported to Lin Lei:
Lin Lei was extremely serious about his subordinates' report. He could naturally feel that something was wrong. Their boss Wang Kangxin not only failed to deceive the other party, but also outsmarted them and was deceived by the other party. However, for the sake of military spirit and morale, he could not tell the truth at this moment. He could only give the order in a deep voice:
"We have no way to retreat. Either we rush in and kill all the Fengwu troops inside, or we die here! There is no other way to go. Brothers, let's fight to the death!"

"Yes!"

Feeling the determination in Lin Lei's words, his men were shocked and fought bravely.

Under the protection of shields held by his personal soldiers, Lin Lei began to organize his troops to attack the village. He ordered his men to use explosives, battering rams, and ladders to climb over... In short, he tried every possible way to open a gap in the village so that he could engage in close combat with the Fengwu Army and use the numerical advantage to defeat the Fengwu Army stationed in the northeast corner.

Under Lin Lei's crazy attack without caring about casualties, although the casualties of Ye Dong's soldiers were not heavy, the wooden village was unable to hold on, especially the places where there were gaps in the beginning, which were barely blocked by large wooden carts loaded with grain, but soon the gaps were broken out again.

"Kill! Zhou Gou can't hold on any longer!"

"Chop off their heads!"

Seeing that his soldiers had finally opened the gap, the anxious Lin Lei was overjoyed and personally led his men through the gap into the camp.

Lin Lei led hundreds of Gongdu soldiers and rushed in to greet them. There was a wave of arrows and projectiles. Dozens or hundreds of people fell down. Before Lin Lei could react, hundreds of swordsmen and axemen holding shields and spearmen surrounded them. These people were in groups and cooperated with each other very tacitly. The Gongdu soldiers fighting alone were no match at all. Often, two or three people fell before the other side could save a life...
Seeing that although his side had more people, they were simply no match for the enemy and were gradually pushed out of the camp, although Lin Lei was anxious, the two sides had already engaged in close combat, and he had no good solution at this time. He could only lead his personal soldiers to charge at the front of the battle line, trying to use his personal bravery to fight his way out and change the course of the battle!
Although Lin Lei was brave and fearless and dared to repay Wang Kangxin's appreciation with his life, unfortunately, times have changed. His approach might have created a miracle a few hundred years ago, but in this era, it seems extremely tragic!

Just as Lin Lei used a series of beautiful knife skills to kill three Fengwu Army soldiers, several Weiyuan guns were silently aimed at him. Just as Lin Lei rushed towards the next Fengwu Army soldier, ready to reap his life, he heard a burst of gunfire, and seven or eight bullets hit Lin Lei.

As a senior general of the new army in Gongdu, Lin Lei also had a full set of protection and wore well-made armor. The bullets hitting him were not enough to be fatal. However, what a coincidence, among these bullets, there was one that hit Lin Lei in the face...
Lin Lei is indeed a tough guy. Even though his head was blown up, his body still subconsciously struggled forward before falling down like a golden mountain or a jade pillar.

Seeing their commander being shot dead on the spot, the Gongdu soldiers who had entered the camp were immediately panicked and didn't know what to do. However, Ye Dong's side was in high spirits and shouted "Death to the bandit chieftain" and immediately drove all the Gongdu people who had lost their backbone out of the camp.

Although other generals tried desperately to stop the counterattack and charge back into the camp through the gap, the soldiers in the palace had no intention of fighting at this time and only wanted to escape and survive. Each of them hated their parents for not giving them two more legs.

The defeat in the northeast corner soon led to the full retreat of the Gongdu army. The Gongdu soldiers, who had already suffered heavy casualties and were unable to fight, now ran together when they saw you running.

Wang Kangxin, who was standing at the back, watched the defeat happening in front of him with great sorrow and grief, his whole body was shaking with anger. He was already holding on despite being infected with a serious illness, but at this moment he could not hold on any longer, and a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth. Then Wang Kangxin felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and he fainted on the ground amid the shouts of his trusted relatives around him...

Looking at the Gongdu army retreating like a tide from the observation deck, Yuan Song's dark complexion did not change, and he still looked very resolute. However, no one noticed that Yuan Song's tightly clenched hands loosened quietly at this moment. Obviously, his heart was not as calm as he appeared.

Xue Zhongyuan hurriedly ran to Yuan Song and asked, "Sir, the enemy is retreating. Should we go out of the camp and chase them?"

Facing Xue Zhongyuan's question, Yuan Song considered it for a moment, and instead of answering Xue Zhongyuan's question, he asked:
"What about the casualties our army just suffered?"

"The enemy attacked fiercely just now. My troops suffered 20 to 30 percent casualties. I don't know about the others, but they should be roughly the same as mine!" Xue Zhongyuan thought for a moment and replied:

Hearing this answer, Yuan Song felt a little solemn and said:
"The cavalry can take advantage of the situation to attack, but remember to stop while you are ahead and don't get entangled with the enemy any longer. The rest of you should stay in the village!"

"Yes!" Xue Zhongyuan took the order and left.

After dealing with things here, Yuan Song subconsciously looked towards the west. Although he couldn't see it with his eyes, Yuan Song knew there was a valley there...

It is inevitable that the morale of the army will be hit after such a great defeat today, and it will be impossible to organize threatening attacks in a short period of time, so at least today and the rest of the time will be safe.

The reason why Yuan Song only ordered the cavalry unit to pursue Chen Sheng instead of sending out the entire army was not only because there were heavy casualties on the front line, the soldiers were tired and exhausted and needed to be repaired, and they might be entangled by the enemy if they went out of the camp to pursue, but also because today was the third day!
Looking to the west, Yuan Song murmured in a low voice:

“Ma Zhongjun, I have already set up this big show for you, now it’s up to you!”

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Just as the battle in the palace was entering a critical moment, something not too small was taking place in the governor's mansion in Dongning.

A four-person sedan, accompanied by two maids, slowly entered the Governor's Mansion from the side door. After entering the Governor's Mansion, the sedan landed and Bai Yuanyuan got off. Looking at the simple and solemn Governor's Mansion in front of her, she felt very complicated. She had the joy of having her wish come true, but also a hint of something else...
In ancient feudal society, although wives and concubines were both partners, their status was very different. Marrying a wife required three letters and six betrothal gifts, as well as various complicated rituals, but taking a concubine was much simpler. There were no complicated ceremonies, no wedding procession, and the wife could not even enter the husband's house through the main door.

If when Ye Mingsheng married An Miaoyi, there were loud drums and gongs, huge crowds of people, and he deliberately created a huge momentum for fear that others would not know, then today when he took Bai Yuanyuan as a concubine, he was deliberately very low-key, and almost no one knew about it except the two of them. On the one hand, it was because he took a concubine, and on the other hand, it was because Bai Yuanyuan had been married to someone else and was a widow who had lost her husband.

With Ye Mingsheng's current dominance in Liaoyang, although he is not afraid of rumors, as a superior, he still has to pay attention to some positive influences!

Although she had been looking forward to today countless times and had imagined the current scene countless times in her heart and had made sufficient mental preparations, when she really looked at the deserted scene now, Bai Yuanyuan couldn't help but feel a trace of sadness in her heart. She couldn't control her emotions and couldn't help but shed two tears from the corners of her eyes...
Seeing this, the maid Xiaoci beside her asked with concern:
"lady···········"

Although she was in a bad mood, Bai Yuanyuan was a mature woman after all. She quickly adjusted her mood, patted Xiaoci's hand and said:
"I am happy in my heart. From today on, I can walk under the sunshine again!"

These words seemed to be spoken to Xiaoci, but for some reason they sounded more like what Bai Yuanyuan was saying to herself.

Seeing that the maids and attendants who were responsible for welcoming her had already arrived, Bai Yuanyuan wiped the tears from her face and said with a smile:

"Let's go! Let's go meet the eldest lady!"

After a cup of tea, Bai Yuanyuan came to a hall in the backyard. Looking at the young woman sitting on the chair with a smile on her face and a slightly bulging belly, Bai Yuanyuan knew that this person was Ye Mingsheng's wife An Miaoyi, which also made her feel a little surprised.

What surprised her was not An Miaoyi's beauty. An Miaoyi's beauty was known to the world, and Bai Yuanyuan had made sufficient mental preparation for it. After all, she was also a woman, and a beautiful woman, so she had some resistance to An Miaoyi's beauty.

What really surprised Bai Yuanyuan was that An Miaoyi was actually waiting for her in the hall!
You have to know that according to the rules of that era, the first thing a concubine has to do when she goes out is to serve tea to the wife. At this time, the wife will most likely show her power and intimidate the concubine who has just joined the family, so that she will know the rules and will not dare to act presumptuously. The most common method is to deliberately not show up and leave you alone to temper your temper...
This is what Bai Yuanyuan did to her concubine when she was the legal wife. She made the concubine kneel on the ground for an hour before she reluctantly showed up to drink the tea.

Although Bai Yuanyuan didn't understand An Miaoyi, she judged her by herself and thought that if she were An Miaoyi, she would set rules for herself as a concubine, just like An Miaoyi did back then. So Bai Yuanyuan had made preparations before coming, such as kneeling on the ground for an hour waiting for An Miaoyi, as well as some other possible humiliations inflicted by An Miaoyi.

But what she never expected was that An Miaoyi did not ask her to wait for her, but she took the initiative to wait for her. And looking at her smiling face, she seemed to welcome her arrival very much?

(End of this chapter)