Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1082 I Will Definitely Wait Until He Comes
Will die for love but not for country?

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi raised his eyebrows: "You mean, in my eyes, my country is not as important as my lover?"

Lu Xiao said: "That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"What I mean is that even if your country is destroyed and your family is ruined, you will not lose hope. You will definitely find ways to support the country and save the country from collapse. People in every dynasty have done these things before."

Shang Ruyi raised her eyebrows again. Although she tried her best not to show her emotions, her raised eyebrows still betrayed the joy in her heart at that moment.

Lu Xiao added: "But there is one thing that no one has ever done since ancient times."

Shang Ruyi asked: "What?"

Lu Xiao said: "Resurrection from the dead."

"..."

"So I say, you are a person who will die for love, but not for your country."

"..."

Shang Ruyi didn't say anything else, and the joy and satisfaction between her brows gradually faded. Wo Xue, who was standing beside her, looked at her with a calm yet slightly gloomy expression, and held his breath, not daring to speak.

Just as they fell into a deep silence, they heard footsteps nearby.

Shang Ruyi turned around and saw that it was Jiang Kesheng and Gao Feng who went up the mountain.

The two men were wearing armor, but it was covered with blood, dirt, and dust. They were handsome and tall, but now their hair was disheveled and their faces were covered with dust, like wild men crawling out of a cave. The two men came forward and saluted Shang Ruyi, and then reported the numbers that Shang Ruyi had sent them to count to her.

Shang Ruyi listened, his brows gradually furrowed: "So, there are less than... a hundred people left now."

"Yes."

Gao Feng said in a deep voice: "Besides, we have already cut down all the trees around here. There is no shelter on the top of the mountain. The soldiers are also at the end of their strength. Princess——"

Having said this, he seemed to be afraid to continue.

Jiang Kesheng said in a deep voice: "Princess, there will be only one more battle. If we don't withdraw, not only will Huyang Valley be lost, but we won't be able to stay either."

Shang Ruyi's brows were twisted into a knot.

This team of more than 300 heavy cavalrymen was carefully selected by her, and she spent her own money - the most important dowry for a woman, from martial arts to weapons, from armor to war horses, she cultivated them bit by bit. In fact, she spent more than she did on Yuanzi, and she was more reliable than her son. In such a team, every loss of one person was like a knife cutting her heart, and now, after the first expedition, there were less than a hundred people left...

She just felt like her heart was being pulled and it hurt so much that she could hardly breathe.

Wo Xue, who was standing by, saw her livid face and hurried forward to gently rub her back to help her breathe. This time Shang Ruyi did not refuse. After a long while, she managed to suppress the piercing pain. After a long sigh, she raised her head and looked at Gao Jiang and the others: "Remember these people. When you go back, provide good care for their families."

Jiang Kesheng said: "Don't worry, Princess, I will."

Shang Ruyi nodded.

Gao Feng said again: "Princess, should we retreat now?" Shang Ruyi did not speak immediately, but turned her head to look into the distance. Jiang Kesheng and Gao Feng also looked in the direction she was looking. Countless green smoke was coming out of the enemy camp in the distance. It was obvious that they were making fire and cooking. However, in the past few days, especially when they were not preparing to attack and were just resting, the cooking times in the camp were staggered, and it was rare for so much green smoke to be coming out at the same time.

Seeing this, Jiang Kesheng murmured, "We can't retreat for the time being."

Gao Feng also nodded slightly, looked up at the sky, and then said: "They will definitely launch another attack in the evening. Princess -"

Shang Ruyi said to the two of them, "Pass the order down. After everyone finishes eating, except for those on patrol, everyone else should rest quickly."

"Yes."

After saying this, the two men went downstairs.

Lv Xiao, who was sitting on the side, was a little confused after hearing what they said. She glanced at the gradually dispersing green smoke in the distance and said, "Do you still want to fight? You have less than a hundred men left. Can you survive tonight like this? Why don't you retreat?"

Shang Ruyi said solemnly: "Evacuation also requires knowledge."

"what?"

"We don't have the advantage in numbers, and we are in Huyang Valley. The enemy is already preparing to launch an attack. If we withdraw now, we will completely give up the geographical advantage of Huyang Valley. The enemy's tens of thousands of troops will attack us immediately. By that time, let alone survive tonight, I'm afraid we will die somewhere without knowing it."

Lu Xiao opened her eyes slightly, her eyes half filled with fear and half with a hint of admiration and surprise.

She said: "You...are really a daughter of a general."

Although she knew that Shang Ruyi often followed Yuwen Ye to fight and had played an important role in the Battle of Xingluo Cang, this time, she almost led the troops alone. Three hundred people resisted the attack of 80,000 enemy troops. She was able to judge the intention and time of the enemy's troops only from the cooking smoke, and also grasp the method of evacuation. This kind of ability is something that ordinary generals, let alone the delicate princess, could not do.

Shang Ruyi smiled bitterly: "Actually, my father didn't teach me much, but I have spent a lot of time on the battlefield in the past few years. If I hadn't read more, learned more, and thought more, I would not be alive today."

Lu Xiao looked at her with a complicated expression, but didn't say anything. After a moment of silence, she said, "By the way, didn't you send a message to Tongguan before, asking them to send reinforcements? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Speaking of this, Shang Ruyi's expression became even gloomier.

Wo Xue, who had been silent, said softly, "Tongguan garrison commander Chu Zhengfei is a subordinate of Wushan Jungong."

Lu Xiao immediately frowned.

Before, she was brought back to Chang'an by Shang Ruyi and others and lived in the Shen family. Although she rarely went out, she was not deaf to the storms outside. She also knew about some struggles in the court. For example, the Duke of Wushan was an assistant to the prince and was competing with the people on the side of the King of Qin. Since the commander of Tongguan was his subordinate, at this time, I am afraid that the other party would find ways to delay the arrival of reinforcements.

Seeing Lu Xiao's solemn expression and even Wo Xue's face showing a look of loss, Shang Ruyi calmed down instead. He turned back to look at the green smoke rising into the sky in the distance and said slowly: "Now, there is also Hulao Pass."

Wo Xue immediately asked, "Princess, are you saying that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin will come to rescue us?"

"..."

"But Hulao Pass is hundreds of miles away from here. Even if His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin really comes, can we wait until then?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I will definitely wait until he comes."