Liu Zhen and the others were merely waiting in the rear, unable to do anything, and felt the night was agonizingly long. But Liu Yuan and the others on the front line had no sense of the passing time at all.

When the war drums ceased and all fell silent, Liu Yuan raised his head from the numb slaughter, only to find the sky was already turning pale. A line of gold emerged from the clouds, soon draping the earth in a splendid, rosy glow.

Liu Yuan leaned against the city wall, looking down. The night of slaughter had left his hands stiff and numb. Below the walls, the scene was desolate; the Qin army had been utterly routed. These soldiers, mostly composed of convicts and slaves, were no less fierce than regular Qin soldiers when they fought. In fact, because they had been promised all sorts of benefits before setting out, they fought with even more ferocity than the regular troops. If it weren't for the excellent pre-battle mobilization that united all of Yangdi, Liu Yuan truly couldn't guarantee that his side wouldn't have collapsed and been defeated in the latter half of the night.

Of course, those temporarily recruited Qin soldiers also had a weakness. They had not received formal training, and their combat reflexes on the battlefield were far inferior to well-trained regular soldiers. On Liu Yuan's side, however, they had been preparing for this inevitable battle for a long time.

Throughout the previous night, the Qin army first laid siege to the city, and later, close-quarters combat became unavoidable. Both sides suffered casualties, but in the end, Liu Yuan still won the battle with fewer troops than the Qin army.

The top of the city wall was littered with corpses, both Liu Yuan's soldiers and those of the Qin army. Some bodies were even piled on top of each other. Blood flowed from chest plates, staining large patches of the ground around them. The faces of the dead were long unrecognizable; friend could only be distinguished from foe by their attire.

Military strategy dictates: the best tactic is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege a city.

In other words, besieging a city is considered a last resort, the worst of strategies. Unless the besieging party has an absolute advantage in numbers, they would never needlessly sacrifice their troops on it.

Liu Yuan had never read the Art of War, but he did not lack rich practical experience. After last night's battle, he clearly realized that these twenty thousand-some Qin soldiers were likely just sent by Zhang Han to test the waters. Zhang Han never intended to focus his main efforts on Yingchuan Commandery; his targets had always been Xingyang and Chen Commandery. Taking Yangdi would be for the best, of course, but it didn't matter if he couldn't. In any case, these twenty thousand Qin soldiers were a temporarily assembled force, not part of the Qin dynasty's regular army. Even if they were completely wiped out, Zhang Han wouldn't feel the slightest bit of regret.

That was why he sent Dong Yi over, and not the more elite Wang Li.

Having figured this out, Liu Yuan's heart was mostly put at ease. Now he needed to pray that Xingyang could hold out for as long as possible, as this would mean more time for Yingchuan Commandery.

He walked toward the city wall. Along the way, many soldiers were cleaning the battlefield. The corpses had to be dragged away for cremation, the families of the dead had to be compensated, and the wounded had to be sent for proper care. It was also thanks to the rumors spread by Song Xie's men that Yangdi was unprecedentedly united. The medicine shops and clinics throughout the city had stayed open all night, helping to settle the wounded.

An Zheng hurried over. He was also wearing armor, but since he didn't have to be on the front lines, he lacked the stench of blood. The joy on his face was unconcealable. "Big Brother, we've captured Dong Yi alive. How should we deal with him?"

Liu Yuan patted his shoulder. "Lock him up for now. Don't mistreat him; this man will be of great use!"

An Zheng nodded. Just as he was about to say something, Liu Yuan's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a hiding figure. His face immediately darkened, and he roared, "Liu Nan, you get over here!"

Discovered!

Liu Nan cursed his bad luck and shuffled over reluctantly, giving his father an ingratiating smile.

He was also wearing armor, but it clearly didn't fit well. There was a cut on his thigh that had been hastily bandaged to stop the bleeding. He wore no helmet, so his topknot was disheveled, and he was clutching a bow in his hand.

"I told you to stay in the residence and look after your younger siblings, yet you dared to sneak out!" Liu Yuan's face grew stern. The scene last night was too chaotic to deal with him, so now it was time to settle the score.

"The day Third Uncle left the city to see off Young Master Wei, I wanted to go too, but Father, you wouldn't allow it. This time, in defending Yangdi against the enemy, all who are able must contribute. As the Governor's son, I should naturally lead by example. I even shot and killed several Qin soldiers last night!" Liu Nan argued, unconvinced.

To be fair, Liu Nan's performance this time was indeed quite good. It was his first time on the battlefield seeing blood, and by all rights, he should have had a hard time adjusting. Yet, he had already achieved a score of killing seven men. If he were not Liu Yuan's son, Liu Yuan would have definitely clapped him on the shoulder in praise, perhaps even promoting him beyond the usual rules.

But he was the Liu family's eldest son.

Liu Yuan himself disliked studying, but he didn't want his son to dislike it as well. In this era, martial prowess was certainly commendable, but if the Liu family wanted to prosper, they couldn't just think about being mere warriors. Although Liu Yuan was currently just the Governor of Yingchuan Commandery, the unfolding situation of the world forced him to think further and more broadly. Moreover, with this battle won, if there were no mishaps, Liu Nan would certainly follow in Liu Yuan's footsteps in the future. But in that case, being merely outstanding in martial arts would instead become a shortcoming.

Seeing that the situation was turning sour, An Zheng hurried over to mediate. "Ah Nan is also concerned for Yangdi. A tiger father will not beget a dog son. For him to be so brave and outstanding, his fame will surely spread far and wide in days to come. Big Brother should be gratified!"

He then gave Liu Nan a meaningful look. "Hurry back and change your clothes, and re-bandage your wound!"

Liu Nan understood and turned to slip away, but was unexpectedly grabbed by Liu Yuan.

"Come back with me! Otherwise, who knows where you'll run off to next!"

Seeing his escape had failed, Liu Nan hung his head, dejected.

Remembering what An Zheng had just said about being "brave and outstanding" and his "fame spreading far and wide," Liu Yuan couldn't help but sigh. If he could, he would rather his eldest daughter's cleverness had been born into his eldest son.

The war was over, and everything had finally come to a close.

The entire city of Yangdi was in a phase of post-war cleanup and rest, but everyone's face was filled with excitement. It had only been twenty or thirty years since the Qin dynasty's unification, and as a former territory of the Han State, many people felt no sense of belonging to the Qin. All the people of Yangdi believed this battle was fought entirely to avoid being sent to Mount Li to build the mausoleum, so they had given their unstinting support. Now that they were able to repel the Qin army, everyone was overjoyed and felt honored, as if they themselves had won the battle, even though they hadn't fought on the front lines.

One could imagine that from this day forward, Liu Yuan's reputation would spread far and wide. His power in Yingchuan Commandery would also become more stable. Barring any surprises, Liu Yuan, Song Xie, and the others could next consider the matter of expanding outwards.

Liu Yuan hadn't informed the Liu family in advance that he was returning. By the time he arrived at the entrance of the Governor's residence with Liu Nan in tow, Madam Zhang and the others had only just received the news and were rushing out to greet them.

"What is this for?" Liu Yuan asked, referring to a horse-drawn carriage parked at the entrance.

Madam Zhang didn't think much of it and replied, "Husband, you told me to make preparations early, so I readied this carriage first. I didn't expect such a great victory, so I haven't had time to put the things away yet!"

Carriages of this era generally didn't have enclosed compartments and were only suitable for wartime use. Ox-carts had enclosed compartments, but they were obviously not suitable for fleeing. Therefore, Madam Zhang had someone hitch the horses to the compartment of an ox-cart and park it at the entrance, just in case.

Liu Yuan was displeased upon hearing this. What did she mean, she hadn't expected to win?

Moreover, when he had told Madam Zhang to pack things up early, he had indeed intended to send them away if the situation turned sour. But now, seeing Madam Zhang's reaction, it seemed as if she had made thorough preparations long ago, ready to abandon him and flee alone at a moment's notice.

The human heart is just so contradictory. Now that Liu Yuan had won the battle, he naturally found this carriage extremely unsightly. And along with it, Madam Zhang's words sounded inauspicious no matter how he heard them.

Liu Yuan's shrewdness had grown much deeper now. Though his mind went through these twists and turns, not a hint of it showed on his face.

Madam Zhang, however, did not sense his mood and said cheerfully, "Now that we've won, the whole residence must celebrate properly! Why don't we hold a banquet to announce the good news to all of Yingchuan Commandery!"

"We'll see," Liu Yuan said noncommittally, dragging Liu Nan inside with large strides.

Madam Zhang was still baffled. Walking behind, she quietly asked Liu Zhen, "Why does your father seem so unhappy?"

Liu Zhen couldn't figure out Liu Yuan's thoughts either. Although it seemed he had just been unhappy about the carriage, she couldn't be sure, so she could only say she didn't know.

As for the unlucky Liu Nan, he was naturally put in confinement by his foul-tempered father for half a month.

Unlike the news of victory from Yangdi, an unexpected development occurred in Xingyang.

Historically, Dong Yi and Sima Xin had assisted Zhang Han in fighting Wu Guang for Xingyang. Now, history had changed. Xingyang was occupied by Wu Guang ahead of time, while Dong Yi had led his troops alone to attack Yingchuan and was even captured alive. On Zhang Han's side, only Sima Xin remained. This should have been a great advantage for the rebel army. In reality, however, the heavens still helped Zhang Han. Just before Zhang Han's army attacked Xingyang, internal strife broke out in the city. To seize leadership of Xingyang, Tian Zang killed Wu Guang under the pretext of an order from Chen Sheng. Then, without sending a single soldier to fight, he directly surrendered to the Qin court and opened the city gates to personally welcome Zhang Han's army inside.

The laughable and tragic thing was that Tian Zang, who had surrendered to the Qin army, was soon killed by Zhang Han on some pretext. Xingyang thus fell into the hands of the Qin army. History had come full circle, as if returning to its starting point.

After recapturing Xingyang, Zhang Han regrouped briefly and then, without stopping, rushed toward the final destination of the Qin army's campaign to suppress the rebellion: Chen County.

This news was all brought back by Xu Zhongfang.

After escorting Wei Bao to Xingyang, his heart was with the situation in Yangdi, and he rushed back without a moment's delay. Halfway there, he heard that Xingyang had already fallen. Unlike Tian Zang, after Wu Guang's death, Wei Bao took on the heavy responsibility of resisting the Qin army in a time of crisis. He led the rebel soldiers who were unwilling to surrender with Tian Zang in a fight to the death against the Qin army. Due to the overwhelming disparity in strength between the two sides, this fated-to-be-tragic defensive battle did not have a good outcome like the one in Yangdi. By the time Xu Zhongfang got the news, Wei Bao had already died in battle within the city of Xingyang.

As for Madam Bo, in a chaotic world, a woman's life was as worthless as straw. No one would care about what became of her.

And in Yangdi, Liu Yuan finally welcomed those who had come to seek refuge with him.

Although Yingchuan Commandery had been known for its outstanding people and spiritual land since ancient times, after Liu Yuan became Governor, even if there were talented individuals, they all went to join Chen Sheng, Xiang Liang, and others. In terms of usable and trustworthy people, including his two sworn brothers An Zheng and Xu Zhongfang, Liu Yuan currently had only a handful under his command, a number that could be called pitifully small.

However, after Zhang Han's army marched straight for Chen County, this situation changed.

Zhang Han's army advanced with overwhelming momentum. Many prominent families near Chen County, worried about being caught in the flames of war and unwilling to submit to the Qin army, had already fled with their entire households when Zhang Han led his troops straight toward Chen County. Many of them went to the land of Wei to seek refuge with the King of Wei, and many others went to Wuzhong to find Xiang Liang. Because of the victory in the defensive battle of Yangdi, some also turned their sights to Yingchuan.

The Guo Family was one of them.

The area of Chen County belonged to the State of Chen during the Spring and Autumn period. The ancestors of the Guo family were once princes of the State of Chen who later changed their surname to Guo for some reason. The family had thrived in Chen County for hundreds of years and was quite prestigious. This time, Guo Shu decided to flee to Yingchuan with his entire clan, and more than a hundred people were willing to come with him.

This Guo Shu was a ruthless man: he either did nothing or did it to the best of his ability. To show his sincerity, he donated more than half of the Guo clan's property to Liu Yuan. Setting aside the land properties that couldn't be taken, there were also ten full carts of coins and treasures. These were all good things for purchasing grain, fodder, and equipment. To repay them, and also to show his high regard for talented people, Governor Liu personally brought men to the city gate to express a warm welcome to the Guo clan's arrival. He also held a banquet for them and had An Zheng arrange residences for the Guo clan members.

In short, the Guo family set an outstanding example for the talented people and families who intended to pledge allegiance to Liu Yuan. And Liu Yuan was happy to return the favor, giving the Guo family the highest standard of reception and displaying them as a model.

After the Guo family, sure enough, many people came to Yangdi one after another. Among them was no shortage of talent with outstanding insight who could serve as advisors. After the battle of Yangdi, Liu Yuan gained three more capable men under his command: one was Meng Xing, who had gone against the crowd to support Liu Yuan in defending the city; the second was Dong Yi, who was captured by Liu Yuan and then switched his allegiance; and the third was the Guo clan's patriarch, Guo Shu. This man had come with his entire clan, not only offering his family's wealth but also possessing considerable strategic wisdom. Liu Yuan was naturally happy to employ him.

As a regional hegemon with land, grain, and people, Governor Liu could finally begin his new journey.

Liu Zhen wanted to learn archery recently.

There was no other reason. As her father's enterprise developed further, the situation in Yangdi was likely to repeat itself. Liu Zhen felt her physical fitness was simply too poor; she didn't even have an advantage when it came to running away. After thinking it over, archery was one of the Six Arts of a gentleman. It could train her eyesight and arm strength, and it was relatively refined. Never mind Liu Yuan, even Madam Zhang and Madam Han would surely not object. Thus, the Liu family's eldest son was conscripted by her.

Hearing his younger sister wanted to learn archery, Liu Nan, who had just finished his confinement, widened his eyes as large as bronze bells and squeezed out a bitter-melon face. "Ah Zhen, Father already praises you for being good at studying in front of me all the time. If you even learn archery, how can I still have the face to appear before him?"

Liu Zhen rolled her eyes at him. "I just want to learn to strengthen my body. It's not like I want to achieve the level of piercing a willow leaf from a hundred paces like you. If you won't teach me, I'll just find someone else. I hear Ah Ci is also extremely skilled at archery."

Hearing her mention Ji Ci, Liu Nan quickly surrendered. "I'll teach you! I'll teach you, alright!"

After Yangdi was secured, Ji Ci had rushed home. Liu Nan had been ordered by Liu Yuan to escort him back, only to witness Ji Ci being put into confinement by the Ji Family on the spot to reflect on his mistakes. Liu Nan himself, however, was politely sent away. Ji Ci's grandfather and father were very polite to Liu Nan—now that Liu Yuan's status was different, and Liu Nan was the Liu family's eldest son, they didn't dare to be impolite. Liu Nan's reactions were slow enough, but even he could sense the alienation and resentment hidden beneath their politeness.

This discovery made Liu Nan quite unhappy. He had also tried to plead for Ji Ci, but Liu Nan was an outsider, after all. Never mind that he was only the Governor's son; even if Liu Yuan came personally, he couldn't interfere in the Ji Family's domestic affairs.

After Liu Nan returned, he kept this episode to himself and didn't tell Liu Zhen about Ji Ci being punished, for fear of hurting his sister's feelings.

To be honest, Liu Zhen's learning ability was very strong, but that did not include the martial arts.

It couldn't be said that Liu Nan wasn't teaching conscientiously, nor that Liu Zhen wasn't studying diligently. But after several days, she had only just barely mastered the correct posture for drawing the bow. As for her arrows, forget hitting the target; it was good enough if they even grazed the edge of it.

Liu Nan, who was cooped up in the residence every day teaching his sister archery, was about to fall ill from boredom. Because of his father's orders, he didn't dare to keep running over to Xu Zhongfang's County Commandant residence, but he would absolutely not open a bamboo slip to memorize any classics. It just so happened that some friends invited him out, and he agreed without a second thought. To avoid being scolded by his father, he brought Liu Zhen along with him.

Although Liu Nan was not successful in his studies, he had always been popular, a trait he seemed to have inherited from his father, Liu Yuan. On the night of Yangdi's defense, he had blended in with the soldiers, carrying his bow, and no one knew his identity. But in just one short night, he had already hit it off with many of them. So much so that later, after everyone learned his identity, they even went to Liu Yuan to praise this son of his profusely.

These few friends were also made after Liu Nan came to Yangdi. There were sons of Liu Yuan's subordinates, some from prominent families, and even sons of merchants and ferry guards. For people of such vastly different statuses to gather together, it was a credit to Liu Nan that he could make them coexist peacefully. This had to be called a skill of his.

In just a short time, Yangdi had returned to its former prosperity. Carriages and horses filled the roads, and people came and went. Liu Zhen followed Liu Nan to a tavern that was two stories high.

The scale of this tavern should be considered very large in the city of Yangdi. After Liu Zhen entered, she discovered that it not only had a main hall and private rooms, but each private room was also spacious enough to offer guests a considerable number of recreational activities. It was already similar to a modern entertainment venue.

Liu Zhen's appearance did not cause a stir. In this era, it was not a strange sight for women to go out, not to mention she could still be considered a little girl. At most, Liu Zhen's cute appearance made the young men look at her a few more times.

However, everyone knew she was the Governor's daughter and very tactfully maintained a certain degree of politeness.

Liu Nan was careless. As soon as he arrived, he began laughing and joking with his friends, forgetting to introduce Liu Zhen. This led to a situation where others knew Liu Zhen, but Liu Zhen did not know them.

She didn't mind. She found a clean low table to sit at and joined the others in a game of pitch-pot.

The group of youths loved to play and even set rules for the game. There were twelve arrows per round, and the loser would have to accept a punishment. The content of the punishment could be decided by the winner.

After hearing the rules, everyone was full of excitement, and Liu Zhen was no exception. This brought out a rare curiosity in her, and she watched with wide eyes as the youth sitting opposite her pinched a bamboo arrow and tossed it toward the bronze pot.

This was the first time she had participated in a public activity with her peers. Well, come to think of it, these people were actually her elder brother's peers.

The first youth to play pitch-pot hit the mark with eight of his twelve arrows. This was already a rather impressive score. The crowd cheered one after another, and Liu Zhen joined in. One had to know this was not the pitch-pot game played by ladies from noble families. Because everyone present was a youth, the bronze pot was at least five meters away from the low table by visual estimation. The difficulty was almost comparable to a carnival game where customers toss plastic rings to hook toys. Liu Zhen was very worried she would end up in last place.

Just then, a voice sounded by her ear, "When you throw, raise your wrist slightly. Use the strength of your wrist, but not your elbow. This might give you a higher chance of hitting the mark."

Liu Zhen was startled. She turned her head to see a youth grinning at her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Guo Zhi." The other person winked at her. "The son of Guo Shu."