CHAPTER 496: CHAPTER 425: XUE XIAN, HAS ARRIVED!_2

How to inspire their fighting spirit?

Just as her mood was becoming increasingly heavy, heavy footsteps came from the front. She looked up and saw Yu Wenye walking in from outside.

After arriving at the official office, he only left Shang Ruyi there, then went with Yin Changyue, Song Yu, and others to the barracks to count the remaining troops. They also tied up and locked away Ma Xu. Busy with this for half a day, it was almost 5 PM.

As soon as she saw him, Wo Xue immediately lowered her head.

Yu Wenye smelled the medicine scent, only glanced sideways, did not say much, and walked into the room in large strides. Shang Ruyi, seeing him drenched in sweat, hurriedly poured a cup of water and handed it to him, also personally took a fan to cool him down.

Yu Wenye drank the water in the cup in one gulp, then sighed lightly.

Shang Ruyi sat down beside him, fanning him gently and softly said, "What’s the situation?"

Yu Wenye held the cup in his hand and said, "After counting, there are still 14,751 people left in the city. Together with the over fifty thousand I brought from Daxing City, adding my own, it’s less than eighty thousand."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi furrowed her brows slightly.

She added, "What about the enemy’s casualties, are there any numbers?"

Yu Wenye shook his head, "Ma Xu fled back in a hurry, leaving even his own troops behind, so how could he calculate the enemy’s casualties. However, I estimated, the enemy’s losses at most will not exceed twenty thousand."

"Twenty thousand...?"

Shang Ruyi said with a frown, "That is to say, even though Xue Xian’s forces have not yet arrived entirely, we still face a hundred thousand right now."

Yu Wenye nodded.

With less than eighty thousand troops, one part has just been through a major defeat, their morale shattered, while another part is demoralized, almost entirely without the will to fight, whereas the other side has just won a great victory. And Xue Xian’s army has just built a Capital to intimidate the enemy. Moreover, he has more than tens of thousands of soldiers soon to arrive.

This is almost a battle destined to be lost.

Shang Ruyi’s heartbeat became heavy, but her hand still slowly fanned Yu Wenye.

The cool wind dispelled much of Yu Wenye’s heat. He looked up at his wife’s downcast eyes and suddenly said, "Do you want to say something?"

"Hmm?"

Shang Ruyi looked up at him – she hadn’t said anything.

Yu Wenye said, "Since earlier on the city wall, you’ve had this look about wanting to speak but held back. What do you want to say? You can say it now."

"..."

So he had been watching all along.

Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, looked at him again, then softly said, "I wanted to tell you, in the future—if you ever face such situations, try not to do such things, can you?"

"Such things?"

Yu Wenye slightly furrowed his brow, but immediately understood and looked at her, "Are you talking about building a Capital with corpses?"

Shang Ruyi nodded.

Yu Wenye was silent for a while before he said, "Why?"

Shang Ruyi said, "I know, such a Capital can maximumly intimidate the enemy, break their spirits, and disintegrate their will, but it is truly too cruel. If it spreads, no matter what enemies you face in the future, they will surely fight you to the death with all their might. At that time, you will face even greater pressure, and victory will be more difficult. And—"

"And what?"

"And the dead, whether enemy or ally, are ultimately human beings."

"..."

"Perhaps one day, if, father, and you all can achieve—Da Ye," when she spoke these two words, Shang Ruyi’s voice subconsciously trembled slightly, and Yu Wenye’s steady eyes flashed a gleam, but he said nothing. Shang Ruyi concealed her moment of palpitating, then continued, "Then these people are ultimately all your citizens. Citizens who can hold a plot of land, pay a tax."

"..."

"The rampant killing of innocents before you wears out the people’s hearts, and more so, consumes your future."

"..."

"What I said may be far-fetched, but I still—"

"I understand,"

Her words were not finished when she heard Yu Wenye’s heavy statement interrupting her, Shang Ruyi looked at him in surprise, only to see Yu Wenye put down the cup heated in his hand, with a grave look in his eyes, "I understand your point."

"..."

"I originally—didn’t like such things either. It’s just that, those from Dingchuan Military Town have all experienced the most brutal part of the war during the establishment of the Da Ye Dynasty. For them, survival is more important than anything, so their tactics are all aimed at crushing the enemy and inflicting maximum damage on the enemy. They like to do things this way."