GSY Chapter40

Li Jingchuo was only about 25 or 26 years old, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He was dressed in armor and had a sword on his waist. He saluted Yuan Zheng, then clasped his fists to Cen Yelan and said, “General Cen.”

 

Cen Yelan’s face turned even paler when he heard Cen Yi and Yan Le bump into each other. He looked at Li Jingchuo and forced a smile. “Feng Ning, why are you here?”

 

Li Jingchuo, courtesy name Feng Ning, was affiliated with the Hedong Army.

 

When Cen Yelan and Si Handou were dealing with each other in the early years, Li Jingchuo followed Si Handou. At that time, he was still a lieutenant under the command. He was young and energetic. When he came to the northern border, he had few rivals in the training ground with his men. He was very brave. Later, he provoked Cen Yelan and was thrown off the ring by Cen Yelan, and they became friends.

 

Li Jingchuo said, “This is a long story. Let the military physicians check Your Highness and the General’s injuries first.”

 

Yuan Zheng looked at Li Jingchuo and heard him say, “When I came here, I was worried about the intense battle situation and the shortage of military physicians, so I brought a few military physicians with me.”

 

Cen Yelan said, “Thank you.” He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “My big brother…”

 

Li Jingchuo said, “I have sent scouts to investigate and saw only a few scattered corpses of the two armies on the road, but no large army. I think the Marquis has led the Hu people far away. I have sent people to continue tracking along the footprints, and I believe there will be news soon.”

 

Cen Yelan was silent for a moment. “Thank you, Feng Ning.”

 

Li Jingchuo smiled, looking quite youthful and handsome, and said, “General, it’s too formal for you to say this to me. Fortunately, the General is fine; otherwise, I don’t know how to explain to Little Divine Physician Su.”

 

“Chenzhao?”

 

Li Jingchuo said, “When the little physician learned that the General was trapped in Beicang Pass, he sent a letter to me. However, Hedong lost Heshan Prefecture, and I was ordered to recover Heshan Prefecture. During this period, many things happened, and I only arrived today.”

 

Yuan Zheng suddenly asked, “Where is Si Shaoying?”

 

Li Jingchuo hesitated for a moment and said, “In fact, Hedong received two urgent letters from Your Highness, but General Si is ill in bed. General Si led the army to drive out the Hu people, and later he was injured and fell into a coma…”

 

Yuan Zheng said indifferently, “Then is he dead?”

 

Li Jingchuo said awkwardly, “General Si is unconscious, and there is no one in charge of Hedong… The Hedong army entering the northern border is a big deal. If there is no imperial decree from His Majesty, it is equivalent to treason. Even if there is an oral order from Your Highness, we dare not act on our own.”

 

Yuan Zheng laughed in anger, “Coma, what a coma! He was not in a coma earlier or later, so why was he in a coma at that time?”

 

Cen Yelan called out, “Yuan Zheng.”

 

Yuan Zheng stopped talking, stared at Li Jingchuo for a few seconds, and then looked away.

 

Cen Yelan said, “Feng Ning, send someone to the mountain to help me find someone.”

 

Li Jingchuo looked at Cen Yelan in confusion. Cen Yelan said, “Mo’er left the city with them. Big Brother won’t take him to the battlefield. Please help me find him.”

 

Fang Jing said, “Young Master Cen is on the mountain with his nanny.”

 

Li Jingchuo said, “I understand. I’ll arrange it right away.”

 

Cen Yelan was seriously injured. When the military physician undressed him, he found that half of his body was injured by the explosion, and his legs were also injured. The wounds were hideous and horrible.

 

Li Jingchuo got a carriage from nowhere, and the army set off to return to Hanzhou.

 

Yuan Zheng watched and said nothing. He had never heard of Li Jingchuo, but as soon as he met him, he could see that this person was meticulous and rough but had a refined mind. He’s a talented general.

 

Cen Yelan had already fallen asleep. Yuan Zheng asked Fang Jing, “How did you know we were here?”

 

Fang Jing turned his head and looked around. Suddenly, there was a sound of flapping wings in the sky. Yuan Zheng looked in the direction of the sound and saw a gyrfalcon hovering in the sky. It was General Xiao Cen.

 

Fang Jing said, “It was it that led us to the path.”

 

At that time, they were dispersed by the Hu army and were hesitating whether to return to Beicang Pass or Hanzhou. Fang Jing wanted to return to Beicang, but the others were unwilling to do so. They said, What could they do if they went back? Maybe Beicang Pass had been breached by the Hu people already, and they would be committing suicide if they went back.

 

Fang Jing looked grim with a heavy heart. He was Yuan Zheng’s study partner and grew up with him. Their friendship was far beyond comparison. Moreover, if Yuan Zheng got into trouble, the emperor would definitely hold him accountable, and he couldn’t deny being involved.

 

Suddenly, a sharp whistle came from the sky. Fang Jing looked up suddenly and saw a gyrfalcon perched on the treetop, with its head held high and its eyes staring straight at them. Fang Jing’s heart skipped a beat, and before he could say anything, he saw the gyrfalcon spread its wings and flew away. Fang Jing made a prompt decision and said, Get on your horses and go.

 

The men were stunned and asked, ‘Where are we going?’

 

Fang Jing had already mounted his horse and said, ‘To find His Highness.’

 

One of them angrily said, ‘Are you crazy? If we go back, we will die!’

 

Fang Jing coldly said, ‘We left His Highness behind today. Do you think we can survive if we go back? Even if we die, we have to die in the North today; otherwise, our relatives will be implicated.’

 

The several people were silent, but Fang Jing ignored them and left directly.

 

Who knew that before they reached Beicang Pass, they ran into Li Jingchuo?

 

Yuan Zheng was riding on his horse, squinting his eyes at the gyrfalcon and whistling with his fingers close to his lips. The gyrfalcon flapped its wings and swooped down, landing steadily on Yuan Zheng’s shoulder.

 

Yuan Zheng had an injury on his shoulder, and when something suddenly pressed down on him, he took a breath but failed to shake it off. He tilted his head to look at the gyrfalcon with a small wooden sign hanging around its neck and laughed softly, “I even thought you were gone.”

 

The gyrfalcon folded its wings, looking quite arrogant and spiritual.

 

Yuan Zheng said, “Follow me from now on.”

 

The battle was too chaotic, and he had no time to pay attention to the gyrfalcon. He vaguely saw it circling on the battlefield, or a crossbow arrow was shot at it. The gyrfalcon was agile, and although it was tamed, it still had its wildness and sharpness. When it swooped down, its sharp claws and beak could almost destroy a person’s eyeballs, so Yuan Zheng ignored it. Later, it disappeared, and Yuan Zheng thought that the gyrfalcon had flown away, feeling a little disappointed, but he didn’t expect it to bring Fang Jing and the others back.

 

Yuan Zheng reached out and touched the gyrfalcon’s feathers, then asked Fang Jing, “What kind of person is Li Jingchuo?”

 

Fang Jing said, “Most of the generals above the fifth rank in the frontier army come from aristocratic families, such as the Cen family and the Si family. This man is different. He was born into a humble family and climbed up step by step through military merit.”

 

Yuan Zheng nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t say anything, but Fang Jing felt a little uneasy and said, “Ah Zheng…”

 

“Ah Zheng, sorry.” Fang Jing whispered, “I—”

 

Yuan Zheng interrupted him, “It’s fine, going back to Beicang Pass is my business, you guys don’t need to, and there’s no need for you to accompany me either.”

 

Fang Jing was stunned for a moment. Yuan Zheng looked at him and said, “Fang Jing, I am very happy that you can come back today.”

 

Fang Jing looked at him in a daze. Yuan Zheng smiled at him and raised his hand to touch his shoulder. Fang Jing felt relieved, but suddenly he felt a little annoyed and ashamed.

 

Accompanied by the Hedong Army, they rode at full speed to prevent any accidents without stopping for very long and returned to Hanzhou smoothly without encountering any obstacles along the way.