The princess regretted it.

Chapter 240 Yu State Surrenders

For today's battle, Zhong Chuzhou's men split into four groups. Mu En led the main force to engage the enemy head-on, while Chen Hu and Zhan Yu quietly circled the left valley to the rear of the enemy, cutting off their retreat. Mu Zixuan led another group to infiltrate the enemy camp, heading straight for the previously scouted enemy forage camp. Zhong Chuzhou's smaller group took advantage of the chaos caused by Mu En's attack, disguised as enemy soldiers, and infiltrated the enemy camp, seeking an opportunity to capture the enemy commander, Yu Liao.

For a moment, the battlefield was filled with shouts and cries of killing, and amidst the rising dust, the Zhenbei Army soldiers, like tigers descending from the mountains, led by Mu En, Zhong Chuzhou, Mu Zixuan, and other Zhenbei generals, launched a fierce attack on the Yu army with overwhelming force. They coordinated with each other, executing tactics with expert skill. Their weapons gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and every swing of their weapons drew a spray of blood.

The Yu army, having suffered a series of defeats, was already demoralized, like a frightened bird. Facing the Zhenbei Army's attacks from all sides, they fought valiantly, but ultimately were powerless. Terror and despair filled the soldiers' eyes. Their once neat formation was quickly shattered, and the fleeing soldiers, discarding their armor and weapons, fled in complete disarray. They tried to retreat to their camp, but their routes were blocked, their food supplies burned, and they had no will to resist.

This battle ultimately ended in victory, once again thanks to the Zhenbei Army's overwhelming attack. The trumpets of victory resounded resoundingly across the northern border. The Yu State had already lost several cities in a row, and each defeat was like a hammer, hammering down on their morale. By this point, their morale had been completely broken, their fighting spirit completely extinguished.

Watching his side suffer another crushing defeat on the battlefield, and with Zhong Chuzhou's sword now across his neck, Yu Liao's face paled, his eyes filled with dejection. He knew he was utterly defeated. In desperation, he lowered his spear and surrendered.

When this news reached the Jin camp, the Zhenbei Army erupted in cheers. They had weathered countless hardships and dangers, fighting bloody battles in this icy northern borderland. Now, finally, they had achieved such a victory. How could they not be ecstatic? Zhong Chuzhou, Mu Zixuan, and the others, watching the cheering soldiers, also smiled with satisfaction.

The Wu family father and son who had come with Zhong Chuzhou were in a very different situation from Zhong Chuzhou and Mu Zixuan's current situation. Originally, they had delivered the food and fodder in time, and if the mission was successfully completed, they could return to the capital to report to the emperor and receive their rewards.

But now, one of them was injured, the other disabled. They had been lucky enough to have Zhong Chuzhou and the others accompany them on the journey to the military camp. Mu En had said he would arrange for someone to take them back, but Wu Anshuo was worried. He already knew who had robbed them of their food along the way. He was afraid they wouldn't make it back to Beijing alive. He was also worried that the journey would worsen his own injuries, so it would be better for him to rest for a while and then find a suitable opportunity to return to Beijing.

Wu Anshuo's injuries were indeed serious, and he did not receive timely and effective treatment after the injury. At this moment, he could only lie powerlessly on the bed. His once upright body was now trapped on this small bed. Whether he could stand up and walk again was still an unknown.

In fact, if he had followed Zhong Chuzhou's instructions and stayed in the town along the way, and received proper treatment sooner rather than later, his situation would have been better. At least he could have relied on his own recovery ability to get back on his feet. Although his movements might have been slightly slower than before, he wouldn't be paralyzed in bed like he is now, relying on others to take care of all the trivialities of life, such as eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating.

However, the root of all this was Wu Changfeng's initial concerns and calculations. He refused to allow his father to stay in the town midway, which resulted in his father's injury being delayed. Furthermore, the jolting and shaking of the carriage during the journey undoubtedly exacerbated Wu Anshuo's injuries, making them even more serious.

They were able to make it to the Northern Frontier Camp thanks to the healing remedies Zhong Chuzhou and his companions had brought along along the way. After all, if Wu Anshuo had truly died along the way, it would have caused even more trouble. Not to mention that they were traveling under imperial orders, it would have inevitably sparked unnecessary disputes and suspicions within the group, affecting the overall atmosphere and subsequent arrangements. Zhong Chuzhou had to keep him around.

In fact, the condition of Wu Changfeng's leg injury is not optimistic now. When he was dragged all the way to the Zhenbei Army camp, his leg, which had only suffered some external injuries, had not received timely and effective treatment after the injury, and the wound had become festered and deteriorated to an extremely serious level.

Arriving at the barracks, the military doctor frowned upon seeing the festering wound. Desperate, he resorted to the most direct, yet brutal, treatment. He first cut away the necrotic flesh, the excruciating pain causing him to roar in agony.

The pain of scraping the bones was the most excruciating. As the military doctor scraped back and forth across his leg bones, removing the rotting flesh and debris clinging to them, Wu Changfeng felt as if thousands of needles were pricking his leg bones simultaneously. The pain made his vision black out and cold sweat poured down his face. He fainted from the pain, but the intense pain brought him back to life after a brief coma, only to faint again from the unbearable pain. This repeated ordeal took a toll on his body and mind. After the arduous cleaning, the military doctor began the follow-up treatment and bandaging.