Free Web NovelChapter 2325: Chapter 2300: Consensus
The military doctor could only find a piece of cloth to temporarily cover General Guo, sighing as he went to check on the nearby still-unknown fate of Junior General Guo.
This father and son duo really had a stroke of bad luck, how did they both end up in trouble?
Bai Shan and Manbao stood at the crossroads, looking towards the city gate, where the battle shouts were still earth-shattering.
After a brief silence, Manbao asked, "What time was it then?"
Bai Shan replied, "Just past the hour of the ox." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
It’s the time when people are in their deepest sleep.
Manbao: "Three hours have passed, and still no victor has been decided?"
Bai Shan sighed, "It’s not that easy. I don’t even expect Junior General Meng to quell the chaos; just bringing back enough people will suffice."
Only then would they have the ability to resist the chaotic troops.
While they were thinking, the faint sound of battle cries seemed to disappear, making them exchange a glance and about to send someone to see, when suddenly a rider swiftly returned, "Junior General Meng rescued General Li. There are numerous wounded in the camp, they’ll be sent immediately, be ready at once."
The messenger informed the entire camp.
Bai Shan stopped the messenger who was about to return and asked, "The battle is over?"
"The chaotic troops have retreated into the city, and the city gate has closed." After a pause, he continued, "Junior General Meng went in and out three times, bringing out everyone trapped inside that could be rescued."
Those who couldn’t be rescued either died or had no choice but to surrender.
Being isolated in the city, surrendering is not such a shameful thing, they can be brought back to the camp later. They’ve done this often, it’s not a big deal.
Bai Shan let him go, exchanged a glance with Manbao, then turned to start arranging the medical tent, as all the soldiers and guards began to busy themselves.
Bai Shan assigned people to fetch water, gather firewood, prepare to boil water for cooking, and provide hot water needed for cleaning the wounded soldiers.
Now within the medical tent General Guo lay, clearly no one could be allowed inside, so a new medical tent had to be set up. If there were too many wounded soldiers, provide aid directly outside.
So medicines became important. Manbao had checked their pharmacy yesterday and had a rough impression of their current drugs, thus she deliberated and wrote two prescriptions, one for a hemostatic decoction and one to sustain life.
Zhou Liru dragged Liu Huan to fetch the medicine, it was time to start boiling them.
Just as they finished preparations, General Li returned with a large troop, dragging a bunch of wounded soldiers behind.
Upon reaching the camp, everyone started pulling wounded soldiers down from horses and carts. Bai Shan immediately led the guards to rush over, directing "This one’s seriously injured, send them directly to medical tent number two, this one stays outside, this one goes to medical tent number two..."
The guards followed orders, carrying each to their designated place.
The military doctor led his assistants, and Manbao also called some people to follow orders, while Zhou Liru instructed Liu Huan and Bai Erlang to follow orders.
They had no choice, she wasn’t very skilled yet and needed help from skilled hands.
Three teams of three started bustling around.
General Li opened his mouth, trying to find someone to question, but couldn’t. He frowned and started towards the central medical tent.
Assistant General Nie, tasked with guarding the medical tent, stopped him, looking at him with a troubled expression.
Fortunately, Bai Shan quickly arrived and entered with General Li.
General Li, seeing the lifeless General Guo on the bed, felt a great sorrow and a bit of fear, "News of the general’s misfortune..."
"Only within this medical tent."
General Li quietly exhaled, then solemnly examined Bai Shan, saying after some time, "Thank you, Young Master Bai, for your assistance."
Bai Shan replied, "The general is too polite. Under the circumstances, there is no perfect solution. Even if Bai Shan was just a scholar appointed by the Ministry of Rites, in such a situation anyone would have heavy responsibilities."
He paused and added, "Before your return, I instructed the messenger to pursue the Chief Steward for reinforcement."
General Li’s spirit lifted, asking, "Was it the messenger sent by General Han to request Imperial Doctor Zhou?"
"Yes."
General Li exhaled, "Good, then as long as we can hold on for a few days, the Chief Steward should be able to return." freeweɓnøvel.com
Bai Shan asked, "What are our casualties this time, how many days can the remaining troops last?"
General Li sighed, "When we charged into the city gate, we were ambushed. Fortunately, the general was quick, ordering us to retreat immediately, but regrettably, he and the junior general fell behind..."
There was no other way. Although General Guo had his flaws, he always led by example in battle, not only pushing himself to the forefront but also dragging his son with him, so when the front line turned rear, he and Junior General Guo were the first to confront the danger.
While General Li sighed, Bai Shan had already weighed the pros and cons in his mind. He solemnly bowed to General Li, "It will be up to General Li and Junior General Meng next. We need to hold on for at least five days, even light cavalry reinforcements will take time."
General Li could only nod, now it was left to him.
Bai Shan then inquired, "What about General Zhao and Junior General Meng?"
"Junior General Meng is providing battlefield cleanup and counting the wounded, as for General Zhao..."
General Li shook his head, "He fell into the city, we saw him take two saber blows, we couldn’t retrieve him."
That likely meant he perished.
Bai Shan remained silent for a moment.
The two discussed defense matters, "The primary concern is cutting off their communication; the situation in Wang City must not be spread. Stopping it for a few days buys us time."
General Li knows this is to prevent rebellion in the other five cities. If that happens, their and the main army’s retreat would be cut off.
General Li also stayed, immediately discussing in the medical tent, drawing with his sword on the ground, pointing and saying, "These two routes are manageable, we should be able to hold them, but there’s traces of Turkic involvement in the rebellion, evidently the rebels inside the city have connected with the Turkic army, if they pass through here we can’t stop them."
Bai Shan thought seriously about the map’s location, saying, "Will they have to take a detour?"
"Yes, the journey will be a bit longer."
"Then send someone to notify each city to close their gates and maintain vigilance, saying once General Guo recovers, he will reorganize troops to reclaim Wang City, instructing other cities to remain calm."
General Li thought for a moment, knowing there was no other option.
The two finally came out of the medical tent, General Li looking calmly at his personal guards, saying, "The general just woke briefly and fell back asleep, do not disturb the general with military matters for now."
The guards agreed and turned to pass the order.
Then General Li dispatched his own personnel to replace Bai Shan’s, having his guards watch the medical tent.
Assistant General Nie couldn’t help but glance at Bai Shan.
Bai Shan nodded, instructing Assistant General Nie to take his people away, leaving only two behind, Bai Shan’s reasoning being, "Junior General Guo just had a blood transfusion, these two soldiers and Imperial Doctor Zhou have learned some medical knowledge, they can stay and care."
The two soldiers, initially bewildered, upon seeing General Li looking over, immediately straightened their backs, indicating their understanding, even though they didn’t.
General Li had no doubts, nodded, and left them behind.
Their objective was the same: ensuring that news of General Guo’s demise absolutely does not get out.
