Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside Chapter 1717: Jubilant Celebration

"King Tuogude, don’t keep a long face. The matter’s settled, we ought to be happy." After Tie He dropped this line that could piss Tuogude to death, he discussed some details with him, and only an hour later did Tuogude finally leave.

Soon after Tuogude left, the sound of ox-horns rose outside the royal tent.

Moo—moo—moo!

The sound was deep and lingering, spreading through half the camp. Hearing it, the Da Rong soldiers all rushed toward the royal tent.

When the crowd had more or less gathered, Azimo personally announced: "Heavenly Khan Order: three days from now we strike camp and return to Da Rong to celebrate the Witch God Festival together. With the Witch God’s protection, the Da Rong Army will surely enjoy eternal fortune and peace!"

The rotten mess had already been thrown to Tuogude; Tie He just wanted to set out as soon as possible, lest the Rong soldiers mutiny.

The Da Rong soldiers, after hearing this, couldn’t believe their ears. They stared blankly for quite a while. Only after Azimo read the Heavenly Khan Order again did they finally react, bursting into deafening cheers: "Hoo, hoo, hoo, Heavenly Khan Order, we can go back to Da Rong to spend the Witch God Festival!"

"Heavenly Khan Order, we can go back to Da Rong to spend the Witch God Festival!"

"Heavenly Khan Order, we can go back to Da Rong to spend the Witch God Festival!"

The Rong soldiers were wildly jubilant, running and shouting nonstop. In less than three quarters of an hour, the news that the Heavenly Khan was taking everyone back to Da Rong for the Witch God Festival had spread through the entire camp.

Even the Rong soldiers over in the Insect Disease Camp knew.

Those warriors infected with rotworms, on hearing it, wept tears of joy: "We can go back, we can finally go back!"

As long as they returned to Da Rong and received the Witch God’s protection, their illness would be cured.

But they were thinking too much. Tie He would never take them back to Da Rong, and Tuogude would not allow them to keep living and let rotworm disease spread through the camp. What awaited them was a quicker death.

Once the news that they could return to Da Rong got out, the whole Daokou Gully boiled over. The warriors didn’t even want to stand sentry anymore, singing and dancing within the camp, drinking and feasting.

The rowdiest were the warriors of King Alman’s tribe. They got roaring drunk and ran to the Female Slave Camp to torment the women they’d seized from Great Chu. They made such a mess that dozens of women miscarried due to pregnancy, then bled out and died.

The Rong soldiers turned a blind eye, continuing to seek pleasure. Some even complained: "The Bastard Chu female slaves look good, but it’s a pity they’re too weak, can’t take being fucked. We barely did anything and they couldn’t handle it. No wonder the ancestors set a rule that children born of Bastard Chu women aren’t allowed into Rong Territory, so their weak bodies don’t ruin the seed of our Da Rong warriors."

...

The commotion in the Rong camp at Daokou Gully was too loud, and Lang Troop Commander quickly reported it to Great General Xu.

Great General Xu was a clever one. From last year till now, he had clashed with Rong soldiers several times and knew their temper well. Hearing this, his eyes lit up: "Sounds like Tie He can’t hold out anymore and is going to pull back into Rong Territory."

"Really?!" Lang Troop Commander was just as excited, his eyes reddening: "If this pack of beasts can leave, that truly is God’s blessing upon Great Chu."

On the surface it looked like they’d driven the Rong people into flight, but from last year to now, Great Chu Soldiers had suffered terribly. Though they boasted of an army of hundreds of thousands, the troops under his command now numbered fewer than four hundred thousand; almost two hundred thousand had been killed.

If the Rong people didn’t leave soon, even with poisonous insects blocking them, Great Chu would still be teetering on the brink.

Xu You was stirred too, pacing back and forth inside the Central Army Main Tent. After a short while, he calmed himself and said: "Keep scouting. See whether that Rong bandit Heavenly Khan truly intends to withdraw his troops."

The Rong bandits valued the Witch God Festival highly. That shabby festival of theirs was nearly upon them. For the camp to be so jubilant, it must be because they were pulling back into Rong Territory to celebrate.

"Yes!" Lang Troop Commander left and went to scout in person.

Three days later, Lang Troop Commander finally brought word that the Rong bandit Heavenly Khan had worshiped the Witch God and was leading his troops back to Da Rong.

Great General Xu and the other commanders, on hearing this news, all burst out cheering.

Vice General Ma slapped the table: "This pack of beasts is finally leaving!"

From last year to this year, this pack of beasts had slaughtered their soldiers till they were nearly wiped out.

Seeing everyone so happy, Lang Troop Commander paused, then reported truthfully: "The Rong bandits have not fully withdrawn. They’ve left a large force in Daokou Gully—likely because they don’t want to give up the three occupied Prefecture cities."

Bam!

General Chen smashed a fist onto the training sand table, cursing: "This pack of beasts, I knew they wouldn’t really leave. They mean to come back and kill us again after they finish their festival."

General Chen had never forgotten last year’s bitter battle under Old Duke Xing’s command. The ten?plus thousand men under him had been slaughtered until barely more than a thousand remained, so he hated the Rong people deeply. At this moment he advised Xu You: "Great General Xu, the troops the Rong bandits left behind can’t be many. We have tens of thousands of men. If we drive the poisonous insects ahead of us and attack, we can seize those three Prefecture cities in one go!"

But Xu You disagreed, and asked him: "General Chen, you’re a veteran. Tell me, if we charge in and lose tens of thousands of soldiers to take back the cities, can we hold them? In the state our army is in, can we keep fighting large?scale battles?"

Huh?

General Chen was stumped.

The Rong bandits were ferocious. Even if they fought to the death and retook the cities, the Rong bandits could still send troops to besiege and seize them again.

But their own soldiers... Those from the south weren’t acclimated, didn’t fight well yet, and needed training. The Northwest men had been killed off so quickly they were almost extinct; among the new recruits there were boys as young as ten.

Kids that small being dragged onto the battlefield—just looking at it, he felt uneasy.

Xu You said: "We wait a few years. A few years from now, once we have developed an antidote that can kill poisonous insect disease, once Great Chu has recovered its strength and has enough supplies and manpower to sustain a major war, then we’ll fight our way back. That way we not only lessen casualties, we can also hold the cities."

What Xu You said made perfect sense. No war can be won just by soldiers howling and charging; it requires support from the entire court and the common people. And Great Chu right now truly cannot sustain a major war. It must rest and recover.

"The Great General is right. I was being stupid," General Chen said.

But he had no idea that Xu You’s refusal to attack now was actually for his own sake.

Emperor Jingyuan loved to kill the donkey once the millstone was turned; he could slaughter even the utterly loyal line of Duke Wei. If Xu You drove the Rong bandits out of Great Chu, then he’d be the next donkey to be killed once the work was done.

As long as the Rong bandits remained inside Chu Territory, Emperor Jingyuan would have to keep giving him power and supplies and let him live.

"Brother Xu, I heard the Rong bandits have withdrawn?!" General Dai, hearing the news, called Wu Mang to come with him and went straight to the main tent to ask Xu You.

Seeing Xu You nod, he broke into tears of joy: "Wuuu, wuuu, this is great, this is great, we finally won!"

Oh God, he could finally go back to the Ministry of War and serve as an Assistant Minister, living a normal life.

Wu Mang looked at Xu You, feeling a bit sour inside. This fellow Xu not only knew how to fight wars, even God favored him—the Rong bandits actually retreated on their own.

However...

"Xu You, the Rong bandits are in rout. This is the perfect time to retake the cities. Once that Rong bandit Heavenly Khan has left for a few days, we’ll send troops to attack Daokou Gully and take back the three Prefectures including Longshan Prefecture."

"Ah? Still fighting? We can’t fight anymore; if we keep fighting there’ll be nowhere left to bury the corpses." General Dai was scared to death. This campaign had killed far too many; he didn’t want to see soldiers dying in batches again—it was too terrifying.

Seeing General Dai afraid, Xu You was pleased, though his face stayed grave as he repeated to them what he’d said to General Chen.

Wu Mang frowned.

General Dai said: "Brother Xu is right, we mustn’t fight anymore; we should rest and recuperate!"

Wu Mang clearly wasn’t keen, but Xu You said: "You needn’t worry, sir. I will submit a memorial to the Emperor; whether we fight or not will be decided by the Emperor."

"Yes, yes, yes, we’ll follow the Emperor’s will." In order to avoid further war, General Dai became an echo.

Wu Mang had no choice but to agree for now.

The news of the Rong bandits’ withdrawal quickly spread through the camp. The Great Chu Soldiers were wildly jubilant, laughing and crying, singing rustic folk songs from their hometowns in celebration.

This good news spread like the wind, swiftly reaching all the Prefectures of the Northwest.

The people of each Prefecture, on hearing it, all went mad with joy, especially those in Long’an Prefecture and Xing’an Prefecture, who had suffered deeply under the Rong soldiers’ depredations. Hearing that the Rong bandits had withdrawn, the people poured into the streets to celebrate.