Divorced woman with child travels through time

"Don't panic! It seems to be one of our own." Shen Jian heard the commotion, rushed in, and dealt with him.

"That's good!" Qi Siliu tried to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but "Uh..." he pulled at his wound and couldn't help but cry out in pain.

Sure enough, a few breaths later, a commotion arose in the courtyard: "The Japanese have been defeated, we can go back now!"

"Oh wow, that's great!"

"Let's go! Let's go home!"

"Finally, we can go home!" The people excitedly packed their belongings, eager to leave immediately.

"Wait!" Lin Shuisheng said. "Don't get excited. Although the Japanese have been defeated, they are prone to wandering around. There might still be some Japanese running around. Let's wait until our people have finished clearing them out before we go back."

"No need, sir. I believe these Japanese have already fled. The Japanese suffered a great defeat, and these people dare not stay in Song territory anymore." Zhuang Qi was eager to go home. There were too many people in this place, and they didn't even give him a straw. He hadn't slept for a day and a night and really wanted to go home.

Lin Shuisheng glanced at him and said, "Very well, you two should be fine traveling together. But let me make this clear: if anything happens again, it will be none of our business."

"I know, we left on our own initiative, it has nothing to do with you, sir." Zhuang Qi bowed and said goodbye, then hurriedly pulled his family away.

With someone taking the lead, many more people left one after another.

Around noon, seeing that no one was coming back, everyone left, except for the Lian family's elderly with their children and Lin Shuisheng's group of about ten people.

Lin Shuisheng estimated that about two hours had passed since he received the news, and the battlefield should have been cleaned up long ago. Now they were clearing out the fleeing Japanese, which should be almost done. So he led his men to make a stretcher and carried Qi Siliu out of the forest, through the village and towards the county town.

Not long after they left the woods, they saw a pile of corpses on the road leading from the village to the main road. Zhuang Qi's entire family was there, their clothes and belongings stripped off, and even his concubine's jewelry was nowhere to be found. They must have been killed and robbed because they were dressed too ostentatiously.

"Ah!!!" What happened? Lin Shuisheng was shocked, his face extremely pale.

Shen Jian and the others ran over. "Brother Shuisheng, it was a Japanese sword that caused the injury. It must have been done by a Japanese!"

Shen Qing looked at the messy traces on the road. "This is an official road. I can't tell where they ran off to. Sigh, they're just unlucky!"

The other soldiers remained silent. This fat man was actually quite righteous. Although he couldn't endure hardship, he pitied the old and helped the weak. Even if there was nowhere to sleep, he was willing to accept the arrangement to sleep outside the courtyard, so as not to compete with the old people and women for a place.

"Sigh~" Lin Shuisheng sighed deeply, feeling regretful. If only this person had listened to him, at least he wouldn't have died such a tragic death here.

A group of people carried a person through the village and saw smoke rising from the chimneys of a few houses. It was a pity that this good life was ruined by the Japanese.

Walking along the official road for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lin Shuisheng and the others finally met up with the main group that had come to pick them up. He breathed a sigh of relief, handed Qi Siliu over to them, and then sent the Lian family elder into the city before going to rest.

On Cheng Niangzi's side, just as the sun rose, she also received news of the Japanese's crushing defeat.

Many villagers on the mountain wanted to go down, but Cheng Niangzi coldly refused. They had checked last night and there were at least a hundred people below the village. If they went down the mountain rashly, many of these unarmed villagers would be killed or injured.

With Madam Cheng's high prestige and Zheng Hai's strong support, the villagers dared not act recklessly and could only wait patiently. Little did they know that it was fortunate they listened to her advice, otherwise these hundreds of villagers might have perished.

As noon approached, Cheng Niangzi estimated that it was about time, so she notified the villagers that she would lead a group down the mountain first. If it was safe down the mountain, she would send a signal with fireworks so that Zheng Hai could lead the entire population down the mountain.

It must be said that Madam Cheng was extremely cautious, which saved the people from being injured or killed. When she came down the mountain, she happened to meet Caiyun and her men who came to clean up the village. The two hit it off immediately. With Madam Cheng's familiarity with the village, they killed all of the hundred or so Japanese in the village in less than half an hour.

The moment the fireworks went off, Zheng Hai's tense nerves finally relaxed; his heroine was safe.

The villagers were moved to tears upon returning home. If it weren't for Cheng Niangzi and the others, they would have likely met their demise. They quickly searched through their remaining belongings, wanting to give them to express their gratitude.

Cheng Niangzi was unaware that after meeting up with Caiyun, she left immediately, completely forgetting what she had said to Zheng Hai.

It wasn't until she finished cleaning and returned to the county town that she realized she hadn't said goodbye to anyone. Was that impolite? Oh well, she'd deal with it next time she ran into them on her next inspection.

The day after the battle, Huian County had returned to its usual tranquility, and Wang Erniu was fast asleep.

The miserable Wang Xiaoguang was extremely busy. He was tallying the casualties. General Wang had told him to hand it over to him at lunchtime because he had to go home in the afternoon.

Wang Erniu slept until noon. He had been busy until midnight yesterday and was exhausted.

He was having his meal when Wang Xiaoguang arrived on time to report.

"So? Tell me about it," Wang Erniu asked while eating.

"Second Brother, our casualties are not high. The Japanese do not seem to be elite troops or proper soldiers. Most of them are robbers and plunderers. We have suffered more than 3,000 casualties in total. Here is the list." Wang Xiaoguang put the booklet on the table.

"What did that woman confess yesterday? And what about those Han Chinese who speak Japanese? Did you find anything?"

"The woman said that the young man had arrived in Japan half a month ago and was awarded the title of General Miyata by their ruler, Emperor Buntoku, and thus led his troops to Song. The Han people said that this young general was a very good person and was very popular in Japan. They heard that this person was actually the illegitimate son of a Japanese man, not a Han Chinese."

Wang Erniu stopped picking up the meat, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. "What kind of nonsense is this!"

"Oh, right, the squad I sent out rescued a brother from the Qi Battalion. He should know the inside story, but he was badly injured. He had just woken up yesterday when he was brought here, but he passed out again. The doctor is still treating him," Wang Xiaoguang added.

"Okay, take a good look at him. Make sure he's cured. It doesn't matter how much it costs." Wang Erniu swept the food off the table and prepared to get up.

There were hurried footsteps outside.

"Report! General, an urgent report from the imperial court!" The messenger, his red clothes now stained gray, rushed in, covered in dust and scrambling.

Wang Erniu sighed. What a mess this is...

He strode forward and took the message. After quickly reading it, he said to the tense-looking Wang Xiaoguang, "The Liao people in the north have invaded. The court has ordered me to rush to their aid. I will be heading north soon. I'll be leaving this place to you from now on. Guard it well."

"This, Second Brother? How is this possible!" Wang Xiaoguang was so aggrieved that he was about to cry. How could this be? Sending the southernmost troops to support the northernmost battlefield? Was his general's life really that miserable?