Chapter 624 Untitled
Qilu, Licheng

The Tongren Inn, which used to be a bustling business with a constant stream of guests, was now not only deserted, but was also blocked by hundreds of fully armed Qi soldiers...

Unless you have special permission, these Qi army soldiers will not allow you to enter the inn at all. They have received orders to kill anyone who dares to trespass into the inn!

In addition to such strict security on the periphery, there is also a sentry every three steps and every five steps inside the inn. They do their best to prevent accidents from happening!
The reason why Tongren Inn has undergone such a huge change is entirely because of an assassination that took place here more than half a month ago!

At this time, in a room deep inside the inn, an old doctor with white hair and beard, with the help of three apprentices, was examining the wounds of a young man sitting on the bed in front of him. The young man was pale at this time, and his whole body could not hide the feeling of sickness and weakness. There was a thick layer of gauze wrapped around his vital part of the chest, telling what horror he had experienced.

Standing next to the young man and the old doctor was a middle-aged man in an official robe. He was staring at the young man and the old doctor meticulously, with his eyes constantly moving towards the young man, as if he wanted to see some secret from the young man.

After about a cup of tea, the old doctor checked the young man's wound, applied a layer of medicine again, and then said to the young man with a smile:
“Sir Su, your injury is basically safe, but you must continue to recuperate well. Remember not to drink alcohol or eat spicy food. I will leave you some medicines for internal and external use. Remember to take the medicines and change the dressings on time…”

After hearing the doctor's instructions, Su Yi finally felt relieved. She bowed deeply to the old doctor in front of her and said sincerely:

"Thank you very much for saving my life, Doctor Yu. I will definitely repay you in the future!"

"Master Su, you are too kind. I am a doctor and it is my duty to treat illnesses and save lives!"

Yu Rui stroked his white beard and said with a smile. He was the most famous trauma doctor in Qi and Lu. Due to his old age, he no longer went out to practice medicine and the affairs of the clinic were handed over to several apprentices. But more than half a month ago, he was personally invited by the government to treat the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Department from Youyan.

When he first arrived, even though he was experienced, he was still shocked by Su Yi's injuries. He was stabbed thirteen times and his life was hanging by a thread. Fortunately, he arrived quickly and except for the most dangerous one on the chest, the other twelve stabs were not fatal. Finally, with his full efforts, he finally saved Director Su from the hands of the King of Hell.

Listening to the conversation between Yu Rui and Su Yi, the official standing behind them coughed lightly. Seeing that this man was experienced, Yu Rui immediately took his apprentice and said goodbye and left very tactfully. Although he did not know the inside story, his decades of experience told him that this matter must be of great importance and it was not something that a doctor like him could get involved in. As a doctor, it was enough for him to cure diseases and save lives, and he had no interest in other things at all...

After Yu Rui left, Su Yi smiled coldly and said:

"Lord Liu, if my guess is correct, our army should have taken over Ji and Yu by now, right?"

Although Su Yi said this very calmly, when it came out of Liu Hui's mouth, it was full of pride and sarcasm. However, facing Su Yi's sarcasm, he had no way to retort, because Su Yi was telling the truth. The Fengwu Army had indeed taken over Hebei and Henan.

Feeling the anger in Liu Hui's eyes, Su Yi snorted with disdain, and then said lightly:
"If you want to make peace, you must have an attitude of seeking peace. Don't think of yourself as a boss. No one will spoil you!"

Su Yi's sharp words undoubtedly made Liu Hui even more furious. He looked at Su Yi and said bitterly:
"Mr. Su, don't be so arrogant! You are in Licheng now, not in your Yijing, so don't be too presumptuous!"

As soon as these words came out, Su Yi's face immediately showed a disdainful smile. He stood up and walked in front of Liu Hui and said with a smile:
"I've died once, so what am I afraid of?"

At this point he raised his finger and pointed at Liu Hui's face and said disdainfully:
"I'm going to be unbridled today! You bitch, do you have the guts to kill me?"

"Liu Hui, don't disbelieve me. If I, Su Yi, die in Licheng today, your whole family will be buried with me!"

"you·············"

Liu Hui was shaking with anger after hearing this. He was so angry that he wanted to order the soldiers around him to hack Su Yi to death. However, the remaining rationality in his heart told him that what Su Yi said was true. Just when he was in a dilemma, a man walked into the room quickly, acted as a peacemaker, pulled the two men apart and said:

"Everyone, if you have anything to say, please talk it over nicely! It's better to make friends than to dissolve enemies!"

Seeing Sun Jingan's appearance, Liu Hui breathed a sigh of relief, but he still said fiercely:

"Lord Sun, I will give you some face for now! Don't argue with this bold lunatic."

After saying this, Liu Hui turned and left. Liu Hui's little kindness naturally could not escape Su Yi's eyes. Still not satisfied, Su Yi said to Liu Hui's back:
"Master Liu, I, Su Yi, am right here. If you want my life one day, come and take it!"

Facing Su Yi's provocation, Liu Hui pretended not to hear and walked out of the inn. Su Yi felt extremely happy when he saw this scene. He, Su Yi, was a scholar and should not be as aggressive and aggressive as the thugs in the street, but he had been holding this anger for a long time!

This Liu Hui was Cao Changping's confidant and the one sent by Cao Changping to monitor him. During the more than half a month that he was recuperating in Tongren Inn, this Liu Hui always acted condescendingly and treated him like a prisoner. Except for the doctor Yu Rui who came for routine checks and dressing changes, and Zhi Ai, who delivered meals and emptied the toilet, Liu Hui never allowed him to contact anyone else.

Su Yi had wanted to confront Liu Hui about this a long time ago, but he was unsure of the timing. Now that he realized that the Fengwu Army had the upper hand on the battlefield and the Qi Army needed his help, Su Yi finally had the confidence to explode and vent his resentment...
Seeing Su Yi's happy expression, Sun Jingan patted Su Yi on the shoulder and said:

"Brother Su, please stop! Liu Hui is our commander's trusted and beloved general. Anyone who offends him in Qilu will suffer the consequences!"

Su Yi asked without hesitation after hearing this:
"Brother Sun, you are the brother-in-law of your Marshal Cao. Are you afraid of this bastard?"

Sun Jing'an said calmly without changing his expression:

"Others may not know about my brother-in-law, but don't you, brother Su?" Su Yi didn't say anything else after hearing what Sun Jingan said, but he had a new understanding of Sun Jingan's position in the Qi army.

Seeing that Su Yi was not talking, Sun Jingan glanced at the gauze on Su Yi's chest and asked with some concern:
"Brother Su, how are your injuries recovering?"

Su Yi heard this and said calmly:
"Dr. Yu's medical skills are superb. He saved my life!"

"That's good! If Doctor Yu is second to none in treating this sword injury, no one dares to claim to be first!" Sun Jingan clapped his hands and praised:

After saying this, Sun Jingan showed concern for Su Yi's health again, and asked his men to bring some supplements to Su Yi. After laying the groundwork, he changed the subject and said:
"Our Marshal Cao wants to see you tomorrow, brother!"

After saying this, Su Yi turned to look at Sun Jingan and asked:

"The Qi army suffered a disastrous defeat?"

"Brother Su, don't you know? Isn't your Fengwu Military Coordination Office known for being omnipresent?" Sun Jing'an did not answer but asked back:

Su Yi said somewhat depressedly:
“Liu Hui, that bastard, is almost locking me in a cage. What can I know…”

After getting Su Yi's answer, Sun Jingan said with some surprise:

"You don't know what's going on outside, how dare you do this to Liu Hui? You are the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Fengwu Army. You should know that Liu Hui is a famous cruel official, a ruthless character who kills people without blinking an eye!"

Su Yi shook her head and said:

"I really don't know what happened outside, but the situation outside has been going on for such a long time, so it should have come to an end. And if your Qi army had the upper hand, Zhao Hui would definitely have ridiculed me and would not have been so quiet!"

Listening to Su Yi's analysis, Sun Jingan was silent for a while and said:
"Your Fengwu Army has fought well recently. The battle under Yujing City destroyed the last hope of the Henan Army. The Gao family father and son

Already surrendered!"

"After you were assassinated by the assassin sent by Xu Zhaojie, our Qi army was forced to send troops to Ji and Yu. The battle between Ji and Yu had originally reached a stalemate. The Marshal's original idea was to occupy the cities in Ji and Yu and then slowly advance, and form a horn with the Yu army in Yujing City. However, with the fall of Yujing, this strategy was completely shattered. More than half of our elite troops were lost, and the casualties were very heavy!"

Although he was talking about the Qi army, Sun Jing'an's tone was very calm, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Although there was no certification but only testimony five days ago, Duan Yanfeng felt that his generals would not dare to lie to him on this matter, so after realizing that Yujing had been captured by the Fengwu Army and Yuan Song was leading the Fengwu Army’s most elite First Army to encircle them day and night, Duan Yanfeng made a prompt decision to break out under the cover of darkness and withdraw his soldiers back to Qi and Lu...
Although Duan Yanfeng had a precise deployment for the breakout and left behind some blocking troops, this could not change the gap between the Qi Army and the Fengwu Army. The reason why the Qi Army was able to withstand the Fengwu Army's fierce and torrential attacks was that it was built on the basis of fortifications. Under the protection of the camps and city walls, the Qi Army under Duan Yanfeng did cause a lot of trouble to the Fengwu Army!

However, once they were out of the protection of the camp and the city walls, the artillery of the Fengwu Army unleashed a powerful force. Coupled with the powerful mobility of the cavalry, the veteran Duan Yanfeng was forced to constantly cut off his arms to survive. In the end, he escaped back to Qi and Lu with the help of the Qi army.

However, when the original 30,000-man army returned, not only were there only 13,000 men left, but almost all of their baggage was lost. The 17,000 men who were lost were either captured by the Fengwu Army or completely annihilated. Even among the 13,000 men who returned, more than half were injured.

You must know that the 30,000 troops sent out were the elite troops of the Qi Army. In order to enable them to deal with the Fengwu Army, Cao Changping provided them with the few firearms he had. However, even so, they were still beaten so miserably, which undoubtedly made Cao Changping's heart bleed.

Although he was very reluctant to see the Fengwu Army annex Hebei and Henan, Cao Changping had to admit that it was a fait accompli that Hebei and Henan became the territory of the Fengwu Army and it was not something he could change. So seeing that he could not defeat the Fengwu Army, Cao Changping could only ask for peace with Ye Mingsheng, hoping that Ye Mingsheng would forgive his mistakes and not argue with him...

Because of this, Su Yi becomes particularly important at this critical juncture!

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Zhuo County, the governor's headquarters.

In the study, Ye Kui handed a report to Ye Mingsheng and said:

"Marshal, this is from the General Staff, an estimate of casualties in the Hebei-Henan campaign!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately put the memorial in his hand aside, took the report from Ye Kui and read it carefully. With the capture of Yujing and the defeat of the Qi army in Wuhe County, the war in Hebei and Henan could come to a temporary end. Ye Mingsheng asked the General Staff to count the casualties this time.

The Fengwu Army dispatched troops to Hebei and Henan this time, mobilizing Yuan Song's First Army, Guo Zhiping's Third Division, Peng Ce's Fourth Division, and Zhang Meng's Seventh Division, with a total force of more than 100,000. Together with the young and strong civilians who transported supplies, the total number exceeded 150,000. Therefore, counting the casualties of these people is a huge task that will take half a month or even longer to complete.

However, because Ye Mingsheng needed it urgently, in order to let the Finance Department prepare compensation for the dead and wounded soldiers, the General Staff gave Ye Mingsheng an estimate.

Ye Mingsheng opened the report and read the contents carefully. Although in the crucial Battle of Yujing, the Fengwu Army successfully forced the Gao father and son to land and avoided the huge casualties of the attack on Yujing, but in the previous Battle of Yecheng, the Fengwu Army suffered heavy casualties due to the forced siege. Later, in the battles with the Qi Army and the Anqing Army, although the Fengwu Army had the upper hand, it also suffered considerable casualties!
Therefore, although he had prepared himself mentally, Ye Mingsheng still felt heavy-hearted when he saw the shocking estimates in the report...

(End of this chapter)