Chapter 161 Jiang Yuan Returns

Chapter 161 Jiang Yuan Returns

In the past, when heroes vied for power, no one cared about the northern border army. The Chang family racked their brains to squeeze money out of them in order to raise military supplies. Now that the new dynasty has secured its rule, and they are paying taxes honestly, why should the border army still ask them to donate money and supplies?

Their money didn't grow on trees, you know!

Dissatisfied that Xie Wanniang had made a mistake, which made them look unreasonable, none of the wealthy households dared to speak ill of her in front of her, so as not to harm their own wallets.

Now that Xie Wanniang had some peace and quiet, she stopped being the troublemaker everyone wanted to be. She suppressed her worries and anxieties, quietly awaiting the final outcome of the war.

It is worth mentioning that although Xie Wanniang only sent things to Zijing Pass, the war was not concentrated in Zijing Pass alone.

In the north, northwest, and even northeast, foreign tribes took the opportunity to attack the defenses.

The border troops were under immense pressure, and some foreign tribes and bandits took advantage of the border troops' concentration on dealing with a large enemy force to sneak into the pass through small paths and dangerous areas that the main force could not pass.

Some of these infiltrators were responsible for working with their own people outside the pass, while others went to nearby villages and towns to burn, kill, and loot.

The northern border is vast, and the border troops cannot take care of every village and town. As a result, every few days, news such as "a certain village/town was robbed, so many people were killed or injured, and so much grain, silver, and women were lost" would quickly spread in the county town.

Of course, what followed was news of how many bandits or foreign tribes the border troops had eliminated, and how much grain, silver, and women they had seized.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. In about twenty days, the border troops repelled the large number of enemy troops that had come on strong.

While the three main armies, belonging to different ethnic groups, were all forced to retreat in disarray, the smaller groups of ethnic minorities and bandits who had not yet managed to escape were also surrounded by the border troops and quickly wiped out.

This was an unexpected and exhilarating victory, if one disregards the number of deaths and wounded among the border troops.

Thinking this, Xie Wanniang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

On such a joyous day of national celebration, only someone like her, who fantasizes about "repelling the enemy with zero casualties," and the families of the dead and wounded soldiers, would be unable to smile because so many people have died or been injured.

Even if others are equally sad, their feelings of joy will still prevail.

Taking a deep breath, Xie Wanniang silently turned around and went back to her bedroom so as not to disturb the others' joy in their victory.

The next day, Xie Wanniang got up early and took Haitang to a temple and a Taoist temple in the city.

She is not a person with any faith and has never prayed to gods or Buddhas for her own affairs. She came here this time because she wanted to do something for the fallen soldiers.

Having spent a large sum of money, Xie Wanniang finally felt a little better.

She took Haitang back to the clothing shop, picked up her charcoal pencil, and got back to work—she planned to open another herbal medicine shop and, while she was at it, buy a few barren mountains suitable for growing medicinal herbs.

The barren mountains didn't necessarily have to be bought around Yi County; their hometown and surrounding prefectures and counties were also within Xie Wanniang's consideration.

After all, every place has its own unique products, and this applies not only to fruits, vegetables, grains, and trees, but also to medicinal herbs.

This is a huge project, and Xie Wanniang can only proceed step by step.

She plans to prioritize purchasing several barren mountains near her hometown, firstly because they are far from the border and relatively safe, and secondly because they are close to the farmland she is buying, making it easier for her to manage them in the future.

The herbal medicine shop can save up some money and open a suitable place next summer or autumn.

After planning what to do next, Xie Wanniang, with Haitang's help, packed some clothes, jewelry, and daily necessities.

She planned to pack her things first, and then write a letter to Jiang Yuan when he had some free time, telling him that she planned to go back to her hometown.

To her surprise, Jiang Yuan suddenly returned to Yi County while she was preparing her things.

He was injured, not just a minor scrape that the two guards had described, but his entire left arm was in a sling. At first glance, you couldn't tell where the injury was, but you could tell that it was quite serious.

Furthermore, when he dismounted, he grimaced slightly as he landed, which made Xie Wanniang even more worried.

She rushed over, her eyes quickly scanning him up and down. "Where are you hurt? Have you cleaned and treated them properly?"

She had heard Hao Yu say before that in order to eliminate the enemy to the greatest extent possible, both sides would often use some disgusting and despicable tricks, but they were indeed very lethal, such as coating strange things on knives, guns and arrowheads.

If someone is injured by a weapon coated with something, and the wound is not cleaned thoroughly, even a person who initially suffered a minor injury could potentially die from later inflammation and suppuration.

When Xie Wanniang saw Jiang Yuan's appearance, she couldn't help but start thinking all sorts of things.

Jiang Yuan handed the reins to Atai. "It's nothing, just minor injuries. They were cleaned and treated properly after we came down from the battlefield, and there's no sign of redness, swelling, or ulceration."

Xie Wanniang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but then she couldn't help but worry that Jiang Yuan would only report good news and not bad.

She said, "I'll go call Uncle Hao and have him examine your wound carefully."

As she spoke, she rushed out of the yard like the wind to call Hao Yu and his wife.

Jiang Yuan: ......

Jiang Yuan withdrew his futilely outstretched hand, trying to keep the person from leaving, and cleared his throat. "Is there anything to eat? Get me something, I'm hungry."

Xiaomei nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, I'll go to the kitchen to get it for you right away."

As for Haitang, that girl had already run off with Xie Wanniang.

Xiao Yang looked up at Jiang Yuan with a worried expression, "Brother Yuan, are you really alright?"

Jiang Yuan nodded to her, "Don't worry, I won't joke around with my own body."

Xiao Yang breathed a sigh of relief, "Then you should take good care of your injury. Only when you're fully recovered can you support Sister Xie."

Jiang Yuan frowned slightly. "Has someone bullied her again?"

Xiao Yang nodded and started chattering about how Xie Wanniang had donated supplies to Zijingguan for free, but was then gossiped about behind her back by other wealthy families in the county.

Although she said that Xie Wanniang would quickly resolve the matter, Jiang Yuan still couldn't help but start thinking about how to teach these guys a lesson, not too bad, not too bad.

Xie Wanniang didn't suffer a loss because she was strong-willed and capable, not because those guys showed her mercy.

If they don't donate, and Xie Wanniang didn't ask them to donate, wouldn't it be better if they just kept quiet? Why do they have to interfere with how Xie Wanniang spends her own money?