Two days later, with a huge boom north of Yumen Pass in the Gobi Desert, Da Xia's gunpowder was successfully developed.
Before long, large numbers of palm-sized black iron clumps called "Hongtian Thunder" were brought to various battlefields.
The battle situation quickly reversed from a stalemate to a one-sided victory after rounds of deafening explosions. The Xiongnu Tartars were blown upside down by horses. Da Xia’s soldiers took the opportunity to rush up and hack around, inflicting countless casualties on the Xiongnu Tartars, who discarded their armors.
The frightened Tartars could only flee westward in panic. Da Xia’s soldiers closely chased them with deep hatred.
Whenever catching up, there would be crazy bombings, followed by frenzied hacking. They kept killing until the Xiongnu Tartars were so scared that they wailed tragically, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.
Da Xia’s soldiers chased them seven hundred miles out until the logistics could not keep up, and then they stopped.
The generals looked around and said, Oh, this place is familiar! It was the land of the Central Plains during the previous dynasty. Now that we have chased them here, it works out perfectly to take it back!
The Xiongnu marched over domineeringly with 210,000 troops, but less than 30,000 remnants fled back. After this battle, their vitality was greatly injured, and they did not dare to invade the border again for at least ten years.
Plus the continuous heavy snow in the grasslands killed countless cattle and sheep. To avoid Da Xia’s people coming back for revenge, the Xiongnu tribes, including the King's court, had to move west for hundreds of miles against the wind and snow, freezing many more people to death on the way.
This great battle was later historically known as the "Great Victory at Yumen Pass". It was also Da Xia’s greatest victory in fighting the Xiongnu in the hundred years since its founding, taking back the grasslands seven hundred miles west of Yumen Pass.
Da Xia was elated across the country.
After the defense swap, the troops returned triumphantly. The emperor rewarded them for their merits.
Among the rewarded people, Jiang Yuqing was conferred as Princess Linghui of Su Prefecture for her outstanding contributions, with five counties as her fief.
Her achievements included leading the medical team to save countless soldiers, beheading the Xiongnu prince and general, and donating money and supplies to the border troops endlessly.
Her father, Jiang Wenyuan, had never asked the court for a penny since taking office as the prefect of Su Prefecture. Relying solely on himself, he raised a large amount of money to build roads and water conservancy projects and grow high-yielding crops suitable for Su Prefecture.
During the war, he also actively led the people of Su Prefecture to find ways to coordinate logistics and transport grain and materials for the border troops while greatly supporting them. When the Tartars were about to invade, he even went up the city wall with his children to reassure the people.
The war lasted nearly three months. Except for those killed by the Tartars, none of Su Prefecture's people fled. This was an outstanding achievement.
Therefore, he was conferred as Duke Jiang.
The Jianghu sect Bianque Valley also donated medicine and people during this campaign, using superb medical skills to treat many injured soldiers, making outstanding contributions.
The emperor conferred it as “Heavenly Doctor Valley”, and its master, Doctor Qiu, was honored by the emperor as “Sage Doctor” who could see the emperor without kneeling! Such glory was rare!
However, no matter how generous the emperor's rewards were, they could not offset the pain in the hearts of Jiang's family and Doctor Qiu. Jiang Yuqing had been in a coma for four months since the great battle a year ago.
Outside the window, the pink roses have bloomed all over the wall. Lu carefully wiped her daughter's face and said softly, "Dear, spring has come. Look how beautiful the roses outside are in full bloom. I have asked people to turn over all the land in the house and plant many vegetables you love to eat.
His Majesty also rewarded our family with 10,000 mu of land. You love farming the most, don't you? Your father said half of the 10,000 mu would be planted with corn and the other half with potatoes. What do you think?"
Jiang Yuqing on the bed still lay quietly as if asleep.
Shortly after, Jiang Wenyuan returned from the yamen and asked Lu, "How's our dear today?"
Lu squeezed out a reluctant smile, "Good, still so quiet."
Jiang Wenyuan saw a silver hair in his wife's temples and felt distressed. He hugged his wife and said, "It's so nice seeing our daughter like this. Many people have voluntarily lit a long-life lamp for her at home. She will get better!"
This comforted his wife and himself as well.
"Let's go out and eat! Let our dear sleep well! She is too tired and more sleep will be good for her!" The couple walked out hand in hand. The moment the door closed, no one saw the person on the bed hook her two fingers inward.
The next day was a rest day. The sunshine was great and the breeze was gentle. The yard was filled with fragrant floral scents and elegance.
Doctor Qiu said that more sun exposure would benefit little sister's recovery. The teenager had the recliner moved out and placed in the flower-filled yard, carried his sister out to bask in the sun and smell the floral fragrance all over the yard.
He took out the travel notes his sister liked and read them to her word for word. Baixiaojiu and Xiaoshiyi lay beside her quietly guarding her, as if everything was so beautiful.
Suddenly rapid footsteps came from outside.
Jiang Yuquan looked up and saw his father respectfully leading over a teenager about his age.
Recognizing the boy’s face, Jiang Yuquan was quite surprised. He quickly knelt down and paid his respects, "Jiang Yuquan pays respect to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Jing Yan bent down to help him up, "No need for formalities. I came specifically to see Qingqing."
Jiang Yuquan said, "Thank you for Your Highness's care!" Then he moved aside.
Jing Yan saw the quiet girl lying on the recliner with closed eyes, pale complexion without a tinge of red, and no vitality. Even the usually bright red lotus on her forehead had become dull and lusterless.
He turned around and asked Jiang Wenyuan, "May I speak with Qingqing alone?"
Jiang Wenyuan hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, taking his son out.
Jing Yan pulled over a small stool and sat next to Jiang Yuqing, holding her icy hand, "Qingqing, I'm your brother Jing Yan. I came from the capital to see you. Wake up and take a look at me!
I heard a lot about you in the capital. Qingqing, you are really amazing.
General Wei Qing said he knew the gunpowder formula was also secretly given by you, because he saw the letter you wrote to your parents, and the handwriting was exactly the same as that on the gunpowder formula.
He said you were the smartest and best young lady he had ever seen. I'm so proud of you!
It's just that you were too silly to trade your life for those Tartars’ lives! Qingqing, it wasn't worth it..." Jing Yan's eyes reddened.
A pink butterfly fluttered over and hovered elegantly on her forehead.
Jing Yan smiled again and said, "Qingqing, spring in Su Prefecture is truly beautiful. We recovered vast grasslands outside Yumen Pass. If you wake up, I'll take you to race horses out there.
I promised to teach you horseback riding before. Here I am, so don't break your promise, okay? You can also raise many horses, cattle and sheep there."
He chatted endlessly with her until the scorching sun forced Lu to take Jiang Yuqing back indoors. Only then did he stop talking.
Since that day, Jing Yan settled down in the prefect’s compound as an old acquaintance’s son, with his room next to Jiang Yuquan’s.
He had wanted to live next to Jiang Yuqing’s, but how could Jiang Wenyuan allow that?
In fact, he had been guarding against this young man to prevent him from taking his daughter away someday so that he would have nowhere to cry.
Fortunately, Jing Yan knew his place well enough, feeling it was good to live next to Jiang Yuquan. After all, he could still see Qingqing every day in this courtyard and talk to her.
On nice days when Jiang’s family was not home, he could even hug her out to the garden for a walk and smell the floral scents. Sometimes he would also accompany Jiang Wenyuan out to the countryside to inspect, just like when he was in Qingzhou accompanying his uncle inspecting the countryside.
He ended up staying for over a month.
Jiang Wenyuan could no longer tolerate it, nor could the emperor, who wrote repeatedly urging him to return to the capital. Roaring, "You said you were going to see your little daughter-in-law, and I allowed it. But you can't just keep living there and not come back!
Have you forgotten that you are still the Crown Prince, my successor? What does it mean for you to keep living at your father-in-law's and farm with him? Those who know you're the Crown Prince wouldn't understand, and those who don't would mistake you for a son-in-law of the family. Come back quickly and get back to work!"
Jing Yan had no choice but to pack up and prepare to return to the capital.
The day before his departure, he held Jiang Yuqing's hand sorrowfully: “Yuqing, are you still unwilling to wake up? I will depart for the capital tomorrow, I still want to talk to you again, hear you call me brother!"
As he spoke, he lowered his head, his throat choked up a little.
With great effort, a hoarse voice softly rang out: “Brother!” Jing Yan thought he was just missing her too much and was hearing things. When he raised his head, he collided right into Jiang Yuqing's weak but smiling eyes.
“Yuqing, you woke up. You finally woke up! Jing Yan was overjoyed with tears!" Then he shouted loudly: “Yuqing woke up, Yuqing woke up!”
When the Jiang family heard the news, they rushed in like crazy. Lu carefully held her daughter in her arms, tears flowing like rain, crying inconsolably: “Dear, mother’s heart, you finally woke up. If you didn't wake up for a while longer, mother wouldn't have wanted to live either.”
With red eyes, Jiang Wenyuan rubbed his daughter's head and choked back tears: “My dear has returned.”
Because of Jiang Yuqing's awakening, Su Prefecture yamen was elated. Lu directly ordered that everyone be given an extra month's salary.
When Doctor Qiu and Lu Yi at home heard that Jiang Yuqing had woken up, they immediately left behind the hall full of students and ran home.
After Doctor Qiu returned home and diagnosed her pulse to confirm she was completely fine, he finally relaxed. Then he held Jiang Yuqing and cried.
As he wiped away tears, the old man scolded: “Wretched girl, you nearly scared me to death. I’m so old already, I can’t take anymore scares from you. Five whole months, you slept five whole months. I was nervous and anxious for half a year, you ungrateful child.....”
“I'm sorry, Master, I was wrong, there won't be a next time."
The old man said: “What? You still think there'll be a next time.....”
“No, there won't be a next time,” Jiang Yuqing quickly apologized.
This time, it was her own fault. Having burdened her master at such an old age with this kind of suffering, Jiang Yuqing felt very ashamed and could only do her best to comfort him.
After the old man calmed down emotionally, Lu Yi briskly opened up his fan and shook it while striking what he thought was a very stylish pose. He hooked the corner of his mouth and said, “Little junior sister, welcome back to the land of the living!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he received a fierce slap from Doctor Qiu: “You little brat, do you even know what you’re saying?”
“......”
That hit the spot!
