Love Lock

Chapter 25 Farewell to Comrades
Zhao Zun vented his frustrations to Han Lei and Hua Tianyou.

Under Han Lei's persuasion and reassurance, Zhao Zun finally decided to relinquish his military power, return to the capital to receive his reward, and become a true carefree prince, living a leisurely life. Han Lei also stated that she would follow Zhao Zun wherever he went and would definitely support him wholeheartedly.

They weren't going back to Ling'an City. After completing the handover, Zhao Zun took Han Lei directly back to the capital, with only Pingchuan accompanying them.

Meanwhile, in Ling'an City, apart from the two spies and Zhao Zun's guards who were ambushed and killed, Xiao Zhengfei led the remaining eighty-odd guards directly from Ling'an City. The two sides met in Qingshui County and then returned to the capital together.

The Great Jing Dynasty had a total of seven prefectures and sixty-two counties. The seven prefectures were: Jizhou, Qingzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Xuzhou, Cangzhou, and Liangzhou.

Cangzhou occupies the entire northwest and due north. Apart from Yong'an City and Lin'an City, which are passes along the northern route, Cangzhou also has five counties. Qingshui County is the only way to Jingzhou, and once you pass through Jingzhou, you will be within the capital region.

The ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

After two days of handover, Zhao Zun had finished all his work and packed his bags to return to Beijing. The luggage consisted almost entirely of Zhao Zun and his team's belongings; Han Lei had packed all her own things into her spatial storage, traveling light.

Han Lei also stored the ambulance in her spatial storage. While Zhao Zun protected her in the military camp, she didn't want to attract unnecessary trouble outside.

Emperor Jing's decree displeased Hua Tianyou, who didn't want to stay and wanted to return to the capital with them. However, Zhao Zun disagreed, not wanting his own affairs to jeopardize Hua Tianyou's future.

After all, this was the norm for wealthy young men in the capital. As long as they earned some military merit in the army, they could easily make a name for themselves in the imperial court with their powerful family background.

Hua Tianyou wouldn't listen to his best friend, but Han Lei gave him a karaoke speaker with many downloaded songs and taught him how to use it. Overjoyed, he finally agreed to stay in the army to coast along and gain experience. At least with the karaoke speaker, his days in the army wouldn't be boring.

Their journey back to the capital consisted of only two carriages. Zhao Zun and Han Lei rode in one carriage, while the other was used to carry their luggage. Pingchuan and the recovered wounded soldiers all accompanied them on horseback.

When Han Lei asked Zhao Zun how to settle the wounded soldiers last time, Zhao Zun said that they would be temporarily placed in the supply camp.

Yesterday, Zhao Zun gave all the wounded soldiers to Han Lei, saying they would serve as her bodyguards and protect her from now on.

Han Lei was startled. She had hands and feet and modern weapons, so why did she need so many people to protect her?
Zhao Zun then told her that these people were already in a state of certain death, and their military records had already been reported to the court as battle casualties. In other words, these people were already recorded as dead in the court's records.

These men were his brothers who had risked their lives for him. Now that Cao Xiong had taken over as the garrison commander of Beiguan, if Han Lei did not leave with these wounded soldiers as her bodyguard, they would be treated as laborers under Cao Xiong, receiving neither military pay nor proper care.

Hearing Zhao Zun's words, Han Lei felt a pang of pain in her heart. Like Zhao Zun, they were heroes who guarded the border against foreign enemies, yet their fate was so wretched.

In modern times, in China, soldiers are the most beloved people, highly respected. But in this era that treats human life as worthless, they are merely pawns in the hands of imperial power. They are used when needed, and discarded like worn-out shoes when not.

Whether it's Zhao Zun or these ordinary wounded soldiers, their plight is truly heartbreaking!

Han Lei readily accepted them; there were over 140 people in total. Since they couldn't stay in the military camp anymore, they could follow her from now on! She had more than enough ability to make their lives better than they would have in the military camp.

She divided them into two teams, each with more than seventy people, with Tao Qing and Amao, whom she knew best, serving as team leaders.

Although she knew Zhao Zun would cover their salaries, she still exchanged some silver from the system's rewards. She gave each of them a ten-tael silver ingot to take home. She told them not to be discouraged, that life is a battlefield, and that as long as they followed her, their future would be brighter. The two wounded soldier squads immediately erupted in cheers, kneeling down to pledge their lives to Han Lei. Not only was Han Lei generous with the silver, but she had also saved their lives. From now on, how could they not wholeheartedly follow their new master?

In the wind and snow, at the entrance of the military camp, more than 140 wounded soldiers rode their warhorses in a long line.

Zhao Zun tightened Han Lei's cloak, took her hand, and was about to get into the carriage when a series of orderly footsteps came from behind, deafeningly loud.

Zhao Zun and Han Lei stopped what they were doing and turned to look. An endless line of soldiers was walking toward the gate of the military camp.

They stood in neat rows, their spirits unyielding, yet their sorrow at parting was palpable.

Today, Zhao Zun is returning to Beijing after resigning from his post, and he is quite saddened. Yesterday, he invited several of his generals to a drinking party, where they expressed their reluctance to part and their camaraderie. Han Lei did not disturb them and went to bed early. She knew that this gathering was of great significance to Zhao Zun; it was both a reunion and a farewell for his comrades.

Last night, they agreed not to see him off, and Zhao Zun quietly left. But they all came anyway.

Han Lei has also seen off her comrades who were retiring from the army, and she understands the preciousness of camaraderie in the war.

The scene of thousands of people seeing them off was so magnificent and moving. Although she hadn't spent much time with these soldiers, Han Lei couldn't help but tear up.

Even Hua Tianyou, a spoiled rich kid, was deeply moved by such touching camaraderie and secretly wiped away tears.

"Didn't we agree last night that we wouldn't see them off?" Zhao Zun shouted, releasing Han Lei's hand and walking towards the soldiers, his voice choked with emotion.

"Marshal, take care on your journey!" Ma Cheng, the garrison commander of Yong'an City, choked up and hugged Zhao Zun tightly with red eyes. It seemed that he had a thousand words to say, but he could only express them in this simple farewell.

"May the Marshal have a safe journey."

"Take care, Marshal!"

The soldiers shouted in unison.

As Zhao Zun looked at the soldiers who had come to see him off, tears welled up in his eyes. His gaze swept over each familiar face, and the days they had fought side by side flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. These were all soldiers he had once led; years of working together, years of life-and-death experiences—they had developed a deep bond, and the sadness of parting tore his heart apart.

At this moment, a commotion arose among the crowd, and several people squeezed out from among the soldiers. It was Cao Xiong, the newly appointed garrison marshal, who was walking out of the military camp with several guards clearing the way.

Cao Xiong was in his thirties, strong and muscular, with a face full of menacing features. He squeezed through the crowd, turned around, and roared at the soldiers who were seeing him off.

"Go back, go back. It's training time now, all of you get back to training."

Friends, let's send our monthly passes and my red envelopes too!