Chapter 809: Proud and Unyielding, Show My Great Xia’s Might! (2)

After a long search for an identity, this was what they chose for her?

She never had high hopes for these dog games anyway.

Si Fuqing was lost in thought when the tent flap was lifted.

A general walked in.

“Strategist!” Seeing her sit up, his face lit up with joy. “The strategist is alive! The medicine from the Miracle Doctor Alliance worked!”

Si Fuqing, still disoriented about her whereabouts, paused briefly. “Miracle Doctor Alliance?”

“Is the strategist still unwell?” the general asked worriedly. “Several doctors from the Miracle Doctor Alliance had concluded that you only a breath left, but to our surprise, you pulled through. The marshal came by to check on you earlier. Seeing you still asleep, he didn’t disturb you.”

“He said that if you woke up, you should definitely go see him. The marshal has important matters to discuss with you.”

Si Fuqing tested her strength. Although she felt weak, it wasn’t enough to stop her from walking.

She stood up slowly. “I will go at once.”

The general was pleased. “The marshal will be very happy to see that you are well. The strategist truly has remarkable luck to have survived such grievous injuries.”

Following him out of the tent, Si Fuqing observed her surroundings and contemplated.

The Great Xia Dynasty, with its two thousand years of history, had many soldiers, and countless valiant warriors had led troops into battle.

But only one could bear the title of the Grand Marshal.

JIANG Haiping.

The loyal and heroic JIANG Haiping.

The last time she saw him was in the imperial capital, Yong’an.

It seemed that this time she had arrived at the battlefield in Northern State.

Soon, Si Fuqing followed the general into the main tent.

JIANG Haiping, clad in armor, was bent over a desk, writing something.

Upon hearing footsteps, he looked up and personally came forward to welcome Si Fuqing into the tent. “I’m relieved that the strategist is still with us. I was deeply worried.”

From her conversation with the general, Si Fuqing understood that the strategist she was now portraying had previously been severely injured by the barbarians.

JIANG Haiping had immediately called on doctors from the Miracle Doctor Alliance to treat her, disregarding his own sword wounds.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t save the original strategist, and she had arrived just in time.

Si Fuqing clasped her hands in respect. “I will never forget the marshal’s great kindness.”

“There’s no need for such words. It’s my duty to protect all of you.” JIANG Haiping laughed heartily, then his expression turned serious. “You should have rested more, but time is pressing. I need you to handle the situation with the people of Yanmen.”

Si Fuqing’s expression grew solemn.

This was the famous Battle of Yanmen in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The barbarians had gathered an army of 300,000 to march south, intending to reclaim Yanmen, which had been recovered by the Great Xia.

With other regions also embroiled in warfare, Yanmen stood isolated and without aid.

In this battle, the JIANG family army suffered 48,000 casualties, and JIANG Haiping never returned.

Had she really arrived four years later?

Wouldn’t that mean Emperor Yin was already eighteen?

“I must stop the barbarian army of 300,000 here,” JIANG Haiping said calmly. “Not a single one must set foot in Yanmen.”

Si Fuqing’s throat tightened. “What do you need me to do, Marshal?”

“Apart from the city’s civilians, there is one more matter. I have a daughter named Zhaoyue,” Jiang Haiping said, touching his beard with a smile. “I haven’t seen her in a long time. Please, if I fall in battle, take these things back to Yong’an and give them to her for me.”

He pointed to a box on the desk.

Inside were various trinkets, from long-life locks for children to hairpins and jade hairpieces for young women.

Si Fuqing could tell at a glance that these weren’t collected in just a few days.

JIANG Haiping had been gathering these little by little throughout his years of campaigning.

He had intended to personally see his daughter married.

But he wouldn’t get the chance.

And he didn’t know that in the future, JIANG Zhaoyue would die fighting on the same battlefield as him.

Even Sang Yanqing and Qu Lingyun had thought that taking on the role in “The Nation’s Heroine” was a risky move for her, one that could ruin her reputation if it went wrong.

But history should not be forgotten.

This was why she took on the role in “The Nation’s Heroine.”

But the reality proved that any drama paled in comparison to the true history.

Looking at these items, not valuable but full of care, Si Fuqing felt a painful tightness in her chest. “Marshal, if you took another path, you could reunite with your daughter. She is only seven this year.”

“I will not change my path.” Jiang JIANG, hands clasped behind his back, looked out at the desert beyond the tent. His voice was calm. “I am first the marshal of Great Xia, then her father. I owe her, but I have no choice.”

On his shoulders rested the lives of billions in Northern State.

If he retreated, and the borderlands were breached by the barbarians, leading them south into the Central State, the consequences would be unimaginable, especially with the Mo family’s mechanical city yet to be completed.

Si Fuqing clenched her fingers. “Marshal, you can wait for the emperor, His Majesty will surely have a way, Marshal.”

“The emperor… The enemies His Majesty faces are even tougher. You might not know, but His Majesty was severely injured in a recent battle and still hasn’t stopped fighting.” JIANG Haiping sighed. “This time, the barbarians have split their forces, invading from both the west and north. There are rebels in the west, and His Majesty has to guard the west. How can His Majesty spare himself?”

Si Fuqing’s heart trembled.

Yes, the enemies Emperor Yin faced were even more formidable.

No one could guarantee victory in this battle, but they still charged ahead.

Because if they didn’t fight now, they would have to fight later.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she softly said, “Marshal, do you know that if you go, you will not return?”

JIANG Haiping was momentarily stunned, then suddenly burst into laughter, a wild and unrestrained laugh only a Grand Marshal could possess. “Then I shall not return!”

He grasped the silver spear beside him, full of pride. “Even if I am alone with this spear, I will not let them cross Yanmen!”

“Strategist, I leave the rest to you.” JIANG Haiping stood up abruptly and put on his helmet. “After this battle, the barbarians will be severely weakened and will not dare to act rashly for a year. I will buy time for His Majesty to quell the internal unrest.”

Si Fuqing followed him outside.

In the training ground, the 48,000 JIANG family soldiers were already assembled.

Each one was clad in armor, looking heroic and vigorous.

At a glance, Si Fuqing noticed some soldiers were already gray-haired, yet they still stood tall and proud.

They had guarded this place since their youth and had never returned to their homeland.

The drums sounded, signaling the pre-battle mobilization.

“Soldiers!” JIANG Haiping raised his sword high and shouted, “Although we are outnumbered, as citizens of Great Xia and members of the JIANG family army, we must not yield an inch of Great Xia’s land! We cannot surrender without a fight!”

“Today, the barbarians seek to invade our Northern State and breach Yanmen. Do you agree?!”

At these words, the Jiang family army’s eyes turned red.

“NO!”

Everyone knew that if Yanmen fell again, the barbarians would inflict unimaginable cruelty on the people of Northern State.

For the sake of their families, they could not retreat.

“Will you follow me into the barbarian land and leave no enemy standing?!” JIANG Haiping waved his hand. “Drive out the invaders and demonstrate the might of Great Xia!”

The morale soared.

The Jiang family soldiers looked at Jiang Haiping on his horse with blazing determination and fierce battle spirit in their eyes.

“We swear to follow the Marshal to death!”

“We swear to follow the Marshal to death!”

“We swear to follow the Marshal to death!”

Si Fuqing stood by, listening.

Though she had never experienced this part of history, her chest surged with boiling blood, an innate pride in her lineage that surged and overflowed at this moment.

Since ancient times, Great Xia had always believed that human determination could overcome the heavens.

If the heavens did not protect Great Xia, the people of Great Xia would protect themselves.

“Ha ha ha ha!” JIANG Haiping laughed heartily, his voice reverberating across the mountains and rivers. “Today, brothers, let us face death together, to preserve the 300-mile territory of Great Xia!”

Today, brothers, let us face death together, to preserve the 300-mile territory of Great Xia!