When Ning Shu saw that He Lianying was perfectly fine and still on his horse, she was disappointed. However, it wasn’t surprising. If He Lianying had really died that easily, she’d definitely have to burn incense to thank her ancestors.
In the end, the Tartars didn’t succeed in their besiege attempt and were driven off. They fled in disarray like fish that had finally escaped the net.
He Lianying once again made a snatching motion towards Ning Shu, then kissed his fingers before turning away and riding off.
Ning Shu’s lips twitched. This was what she hated most about these Tartars. They would run if they couldn’t win, which made it so that a lot of energy was required to continue fighting them.
Ning Shu was very irritated. She drew the bow back and set another arrow towards He Lianying’s back.
“Princess, He Lianying’s full of craft and cunning. He’s fleeing on purpose. If Princess follows after him, you’ll fall into his trap since cavalries fight best on flat plains.” Duan Xinghui couldn’t stop himself from dissuading Ning Shu when he saw how unwilling she was to accept this outcome.
“With a failure like you as a precedent, there’s no way this princess would be dumb enough as to chase after them,” responded Ning Shu. Following that, she shouted, “Deal with the soldiers that have died in battle and record their names.”
Duan Xinghui: …
Duan Xinghui felt that his words of concern were always treated as words with hidden bad intentions. The way Princess Jiahui was always rubbing salt on his wound made him feel both angry and a little sad.
Princess Jiahui completely treated him like an enemy.
Actually, enemy wasn’t the right description. He currently had no power or status, so it was just that she never bothered to consider his feelings when she spoke.
As for Ning Shu, she was sad because only about half out of the original hundred women were left. People that were still alive just yesterday had now become cold corpses, and there weren’t even people to collect their corpses.
Ning Shu had Cai Sang bury them and record their names down. They were women, but they were also heros. They shouldn’t be deprived of their rightful honor just because they were women. They deserved to be recorded in history.
The women that survived had even more determined expressions. Even though their facial colors were very pale right now, their eyes were still filled with resolution.
During the following period of time, the Tartars continued to attack the city as if they didn’t know what it meant to be tired. Ning Shu could see anxiety on He Lianying’s face. It was probably due to the fact that his army was running out of provisions and due to the reason that every winter, North Mongolia relied solely on raiding to obtain supplies.
However, now they couldn’t even break through the city walls. He Lianying’s gaze was unreadable as he looked towards Ning Shu who was standing on the wall. This year, due to this princess being here, the soldiers were refusing to let them in even at the cost of their lives.
In the past, the guards would only put on a show of trying to defend the city for a while before admitting defeat and letting them in to loot the city. Thus, every year it had been a quick process to loot then return to North Mongolia.
Princess Jiahui, Li Xueshan. This woman…
Ning Shu also wasn’t enjoying this. She was starting to feel numb from the sight of countless soldiers being carried away. However, since many people had already died, it was all the more reason she couldn’t give up. If they compromised this time, then there would be a next time. If there was a next time, then wouldn’t all these people have died for nothing?
There was another even more important reason, and that was, if they lost, those loathsome Tartars would be able to invade their territory and loot everything. At that time, North Mongolia would definitely bring up a peace marriage again, and it would also cause Li Wen to be disappointed in her.
Hence, she had to persevere.
Around this time, because Duan Xinghui had done quite a bit of meritorious service, Shen Feng promoted him to right vanguard. This practially set him on equal footing with Ning Shu.
As expected of the world’s favorite, he was filled with good luck and was like a fish in water on the battlefield. How good was his luck? One time Ning Shu saw an arrow fly straight at him, yet the arrow ended up hitting the soldier next to him.
At that time, Ning Shu was made completely speechless. She also didn’t know what exactly Shen Feng liked about Duan Xinghui as to support him so much and promote him, who was originally just a soldier, to the third highest rank in the barracks.
As of now, Duan Xinghui had the rights to give commands on the battlefield so he stood next to Ning Shu. When He Lianying saw, he couldn’t help but be irritated.
Meanwhile, Ning Shu had been very emotionally wound up during this entire time. She would feel unbearable heartache every time a member of her female army got injured or killed. However, as time passed, there were less and less casualties.
These women gradually gained a valiant aura that was in no way inferior to that of men. These women who had survived were all very good seedlings.
He Lianying was once again driven to retreat. Before he retreated, he looked towards Ning Shu with savage excitement in his eyes. When Duan Xinghui who was standing next to Ning Shu saw this, his heart felt uncomfortable.