Chapter 136 Red Blood Army (1) Seeing her staring intently, Yan Cui said: "This dream catcher bell is a magic of my clan." "Clan?" Shi Xuanying was a little curious, but seeing that he had no intention of discussing further and had other things to do at the moment, she stopped asking. "Dream." On the straight road, horse hooves raised dust. Under the scorching sun, a group of cavalry came galloping, turned at a fork in the road not far away, crossed a narrow mountain road, and arrived at a valley. Surrounded by shallow streams is a Metasequoia forest that towers straight into the sky. The group dismounted at the water's edge to rest briefly. "General." The guard wiped the sweat and dirt off his face, "I feel like this assignment is a bit unusual." Another guard said, "Yes, why do we have to leave the four lieutenants and the Red Blood Army in Shengjing? The Xu Kingdom is coming aggressively. If we fight together, won't we be able to retreat faster?"
Xiao Hongfan squatted down by the water and washed his face with water: "Your Majesty is worried that the Red Blood Army will become the second Xiao Family Army." "Alas!" The guards sighed. Being able to fight has become a crime. Xiao Hongfan looked towards the Metasequoia forest not far away and suddenly smiled and said, "What do you think of this place?" The guard was stunned and looked towards the woods not far away. "I've made up my mind. When the time is right, I will resign and retire here." Xiao Hongfan suddenly lowered his eyelids to cover his eyes. "All the soldiers of the Xiao family were trapped and died in the northwest. They died in humiliation. Others are worried that we will become the soldiers of the Xiao family, but I am more worried." The guards were silent for a moment. Seven years ago, the State of Qu was besieged by the Three Kingdoms. The northwest suffered from the worst drought in a hundred years. There was no rain for more than six months. Then the plague spread. The surviving people fled south to escape the famine. Even the rebels in the northwest split into several forces and fled separately. At that time, the northern part of the Great Chen Kingdom was also suffering from severe disasters and was unable to take care of itself. The imperial reinforcements had already been withdrawn. The Northwest Army had just fought several major battles and had many wounded, so they wrote a letter to the emperor requesting that the wounded be allowed to retreat to the rear to recuperate. Emperor Qu was being forced by all the civil and military officials in the court to write a confession of guilt. When he saw the memorial from the Northwest Army, he immediately vented his anger on them. Not only did he not agree to it, he also scolded them severely. However, the imperial edict did not reach the Northwest Army. At that time, the northwest was in chaos, with refugees and bandits everywhere. The imperial edict was lost along the way. The postman did not dare to go back to report, so he faked his death and became a bandit. The Northwestern general waited for a long time without receiving a response. Seeing his brothers who had fought together for him dying one by one, he decided to transfer the wounded to the south. It was three months later before the news reached the court. At that time, the Northwest Army had been out of food for more than a month and had to kill even their war horses to survive. However, the imperial court sent a message saying that food and fodder were on the way, but the road was full of rampant bandits and would take some time to arrive. The Northwest Army was not only short of food, they were also short of water, so they wrote a letter to explain the reasons and the pros and cons and requested to retreat. It hadn't rained for more than half a year. At first we could barely get by relying on well water, but in the last month or so even the well water had completely dried up. Xiao Hongfan was in the southwest, and sending water to help was just a drop in the bucket. The Xiao family army in the northwest was forced to drink horse urine and horse blood. In the ninth month, there were less than 10,000 people left in the northwest army.
The generals of the Northwest Army had no choice but to lead their men south along the border to seek a glimmer of hope. However, on the fourteenth day of their journey south, it suddenly rained. They were ecstatic in the rain, opening their cracked lips to eagerly catch the raindrops. Thousands of royal cavalry guards appeared from nowhere, shouting to kill the rebels. How could the soldiers, who had been exhausted by nine months of drought, resist these energetic elite troops? Furthermore, when they first discovered that the other party was the Qu State Guard, they did not resist at the first moment, but tried to reveal their identities, thus losing the initiative. The Xiao family army, which had never been defeated in protecting the State of Qu, was chopped off like melons and vegetables, and all of them died in the heavy rain that they had finally waited for. When Xiao Hongfan received the news and rushed over, he saw only debris all over the ground and a broken flag stained with blood. She held up a big banner with the word "Xiao" written on it, her eyes bloodshot. When the imperial edict from Emperor Qu accusing her of colluding with the rebels reached the Southwestern Army, she took up the commander's flag and led 30,000 men in direct rebellion. From then on, there was no Quguo Xiaojia Army, only the Red Blood Army. Fragments of memory flashed quickly in the dream. Even though Master Xuanying had seen life and death all too often, she couldn't help but sigh. "General, this forest is too wet, and your old legs and feet may not be able to bear it," asked the guard. Xiao Hongfan's face, marred by a scar, softened. "There is a very beautiful valley behind the Metasequoia forest. You will know if you go there. It is too early to think about these things now. I don't know when the time will come." After a quick wash and rest, the group got on their horses again. The guard couldn't help but ask, "What's the timing?" "Peace in the world." Xiao Hongfan rode his horse, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of rapid horse hooves. Wu Cao forced her to fight for women's interests. It's not that she didn't do it, but she was not so radical. The emperor and some court officials are afraid of the Red Blood Army. If she uses tough measures to force them to give in, it will only be a temporary relief! If they never understand the importance of holding power, the benefits they gain from relying on one or two people will eventually disappear with that person's downfall. By then, not only will they all be liquidated afterwards, but it will also bring disaster to countless women in the world, blocking all their ways out. Xiao Hongfan couldn't imagine how fierce the backlash would be after being forced. Can one person save the world? No, not to mention that she was just a military general, even if she became emperor, she could only save the situation temporarily. Sometimes, when Xiao Hongfan stood in the imperial palace, she was the only female official there, and she couldn't help feeling that "I feel very lonely". She was considered an "alien" by other officials and a "traitor" by those radical women. What Xiao Hongfan saw was not the noble ladies who voluntarily gave up their rights to go back to take care of their husbands and children, but women all over the world. No, not just women... Mist rose in the dream, and when it dispersed, Shi Xuanying saw several familiar faces.