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Following Lu Chen were Lei Kai, Lu Qing, and others. After a day of fierce fighting, they had finally regrouped.
Upon seeing the tragic death of Luo Yi, they all lowered their heads, feeling the solemn atmosphere within the General's Tent.
"Luo Yi was a fine general, a talent among commanders, ranked among the top five of the Loyalty and Righteousness Sixteen Men. It's a pity; let us give him a proper burial," Lu Chen said to Lei Kai and the others nearby.
Lei Kai and Lu Qing nodded in agreement. In battles between armies, casualties are inevitable; however, it is rare for a commanding general to die. They had encountered such a situation now, and Luo Yi deserved a grand burial.
Subsequently, Lu Chen dispatched people in over ten directions to pursue the officers of the Loyalty Army, defeating them one by one. Those who surrendered were gathered up and would later be assigned to defend other cities.
Meanwhile, Old Mu had already led three thousand troops to Naan Province the night before the battle began to support Nan'an City.
At this moment, General Bao's ten thousand troops should have already taken Nan'an City. However, it was an empty city with no strategic value; they could occupy it at will.
Yet, if General Bao had any sense, he would realize that he and his men had fallen into a trap. He found himself in a dilemma: advancing further held no meaning, while retreating would only lead him back to Lu Chen's forces that had already triumphed and were now free to engage.
Indeed, just as General Bao was still contemplating his decision, an army of about five to six thousand appeared from the provinces near Naan'an, led by none other than Sun Zizhao.
Sun Zizhao had personally taken to the battlefield. The reason Lu Chen had kept him from the front lines was both for his safety and to achieve the element of surprise, ready to support Naan'an at any moment.
Now that Sun Zizhao was on the battlefield himself, his soldiers were all high-spirited and filled with killing intent, ready to take on five enemies at once.
However, Sun Zizhao did not rush into battle because his forces were not as numerous as General Bao's; he could not afford to act recklessly.
He was waiting for an opportunity—a chance for a decisive strike—something that was typical of Lu Chen's strategies.
Sure enough, within moments, Old Mu led three thousand Cavalry charging in with thunderous hooves, swiftly reaching the rear of General Bao's ten thousand troops. At this point, General Bao found himself surrounded and demoralized, lacking any strength to resist.
General Bao knew clearly that this battle could not be fought; if it were, it would mean death for his side. Upon seeing the troops from Qinghe City being mobilized, General Bao had already guessed the outcome, but he could not understand why the Loyalty Army had collapsed.
As for Luo Yi's fate, given Luo Yi's character, General Bao could almost imagine what would happen.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. General Bao issued a significant order: to surrender and officially switch allegiance to the Han Dynasty.
When General Bao sent someone to deliver the surrender document, Sun Zizhao was overjoyed. He had expected a great battle, but unexpectedly, without shedding blood, he captured General Bao and his army of ten thousand.
It seemed that Lu Chen truly had foresight. In the Secret Letter he sent, Lu Chen instructed Sun Zizhao to delay the outbreak of war at all costs—first to wait for reinforcements and second to minimize casualties until General Bao surrendered on his own.
The facts proved Lu Chen right; General Bao indeed surrendered, much to everyone's delight. If it weren't for Lu Chen's instructions in the Secret Letter, Sun Zizhao would have likely engaged in a fierce battle with General Bao, resulting in mutual destruction where reinforcements would have been of little help.
Over at Qinghe City, the flames of war had already extinguished. Lu Chen sent people to clean up the battlefield and immediately compiled casualty figures and assessed various losses.
First, on the side of Qinghe City's main forces, over ten thousand personnel had fallen in battle, with thousands of warhorses lost and more than ten thousand lightly and severely injured.
Some sections of the city walls had been toppled, farmland trampled, and various losses totaled over several hundred thousand taels of silver.
This massive battle caused Qinghe City to operate abnormally for over a dozen or twenty days; shops closed down, and it was estimated that it would take at least another ten years for Qinghe City to return to pre-war levels. This illustrates the devastation of war.
Such an outcome left everyone feeling melancholy. The combined losses from several major battles amounted to millions of taels of silver—an amount that money could not compensate for—demonstrating how brutal warfare truly is.
Not long after, Lu Chen returned home alone, accompanied only by Yue Shaoting and two servants responsible for his daily needs. The others were dismissed and returned to their original posts.
Lian Dashuang and Old Mu also parted ways to conduct their training, assisting Sun Zizhao in drilling troops and studying military strategy.
As for the tens of thousands of soldiers, they were naturally integrated into the original forces of Lu Chen, which allowed for the death toll of Lu Chen's troops to be erased. It was as if a battle had been fought, yet the number of personnel remained largely unchanged.
After Lu Chen returned to Fishing Sun, Sun Zizhao hosted a banquet in his honor, filled with immense joy. He knew that Lu Chen was a brilliant strategist, but upon hearing the reports of victory, he realized he had underestimated Lu Chen.
At the banquet, besides Lu Chen, Sun Zizhao, and Yue Shaoting, there were several senior members from the Sun Family, all elderly men, as well as Yue Shaoting's father. They had recovered well during these days and thus attended the feast.
During the banquet, Sun Zizhao praised Lu Chen and showered him with rewards, but did not bestow any titles.
"Brother Chen, you have achieved great merit once again. I don't know how to express my gratitude to you. What I can offer you is anything except for titles and ranks. In the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, near Fengcuilou, there is a mansion; in the center of Yuyang City, another mansion; twenty beautiful women; a thousand bolts of silk; and one hundred thousand taels of silver. How does that sound? If you feel it is insufficient, I will immediately have a few uncles discuss it and come back to meet your needs."
Sun Zizhao was extremely generous—two mansions: one in Yuyang City and another in the capital near Fengcuilou, which is a prime location worth at least seventy to eighty thousand taels each.
Just in Yuyang City alone, the mansion was valued at fifty thousand taels. Additionally, he rewarded Lu Chen with one hundred thousand taels of silver, a thousand bolts of silk, and twenty beautiful women to serve him.
Moreover, Sun Zizhao had made it clear that if Lu Chen found this insufficient, he would have several uncles discuss it and do their utmost to meet Lu Chen's demands—of course, this was aside from any official titles or ranks.
At this moment, Sun Zizhao was merely a prince and could not offer too many official titles or positions; he could only provide financial rewards.
The elderly men sitting next to Sun Zizhao were his uncles. They all appeared to be merchants and looked like shrewd individuals. When Sun Zizhao spoke, they nodded in agreement.
Lu Chen's recent victory had already caused a stir among the higher-ups of the Sun Family. They specifically sent people to verify the situation and bring rewards; naturally, the latter was the main focus.
Sun Zizhao's words made Yue Shaoting and her father gaze intently at Lu Chen with eager eyes, each having their own thoughts.
Lu Chen took a deep breath. His face showed no expression as he contemplated for a long time without speaking. Everyone assumed he was considering what would be appropriate to request.
However, in the next moment, Lu Chen spoke, and his words shocked everyone, as they had never expected this.
Lu Chen blinked and said, "Han Dynasty, please listen to me. I have reached a point where I regard external possessions as worthless. What is there left to hope for? Therefore, I feel there is no need for these rewards. If the Han Dynasty insists on granting them, then please convert the house and the silk, along with that hundred thousand taels of silver, into loose coins to be given as compensation to the families of the martyrs or used to reward those soldiers who fought bravely at the front lines."
Lu Chen knew that the Sun Family had plenty of money and would not care about such things. However, even if he were poor, there would not be many opportunities to use money in the future; those houses and beautiful women were the same.
"Ah, Brother Chen, don't be so polite with me. If you think those soldiers have worked hard and shed blood, I can immediately arrange for my family to issue a written agreement to allocate a batch of Silver Coins to double the compensation. You need not worry about that. But the rewards I give you are my intention; if you refuse again, it will seem like I am dissatisfied with you," Sun Zizhao said frankly.
"Han Dynasty, I dare not; I do not mean that. Please listen to me," Lu Chen cupped his hands and spoke with utmost seriousness.
Lu Chen continued, "Han Dynasty, I traveled from Fishing Sun to Qinghe City and back again. Along the way, I saw many displaced people—beggars or homeless wanderers—and some farmlands suffering from pest damage. It is good that the Han Dynasty wants to double the compensation for the families of martyrs, but if you insist on giving me my share, please convert it into Silver Coins and distribute it to those beggars, wanderers, and disaster victims. I have no use for those houses and money."
Lu Chen's words were heartfelt and sincere; even Sun Zizhao and several elders from the Sun Family were moved.
Sun Zizhao took a deep breath, his expression heavy as he said, "I apologize, Brother Chen. I did not realize that under our governance there are still so many people and issues. It is my negligence; I have not understood the people's sentiments and only stayed inside my house reading books, thinking that this would suffice for my responsibilities. You have taught me a lesson; I sincerely thank you, Brother Chen. You are my mirror; I will take you as my example."
With that, Sun Zizhao raised a large cup of wine in front of him and drank it all in one go.
Then Sun Zizhao added, "Uncles, let’s do as Brother Chen suggested: double the compensation for the families of martyrs and also take care of all the wanderers and disaster victims under our jurisdiction. We will accept anyone willing to join the army."
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