a look at her, Tan Jizhi felt relieved that she hadn’t suffered too much hardship or been treated harshly by the Dingdu Dukedom; he then tugged Shu Manlin along as he said to them, "Thank you very mu...413. The Cost of War

413. The Cost of War

The battle was finally over. Although the Flying Hawk Pass, which had just witnessed a fierce fight, still carried a faint smell of blood, it had started to regain its former peaceful atmosphere. On the streets and at the city gates, there were no longer people going about their daily business as usual. The soldiers of the Mohist army silently cleaned up the battlefield and washed away the bloodstains on the streets. Some of this blood belonged to their comrades-in-arms while some belonged to their enemies. Mixed together, it was impossible to distinguish whose blood it was, but both sides had paid a heavy price.

In the early morning, Ye Li led Qin Feng, Zhuo Jing and Wei Lin out of the Flying Hawk Pass and up a nearby hillside. When they arrived, there were already quite a few people waiting there. Most of them bore wounds, some rather severe. Each person's face was heavy with solemnity. This was where more than one thousand Qilins lay in eternal rest. As soon as Ye Li arrived, over a hundred Qilins immediately stood up straight and bowed together, shouting, "Greetings to the Lady Consort."

Ye Li nodded solemnly and said, "No need for formalities."

"Thank you, Lady Consort, for personally coming to pay respects at our brothers' funeral," a middle-aged man with an aged face stepped forward and bowed deeply to Ye Li. He was the team leader of the only surviving Qilin squad that had guarded the Flying Hawk Pass this time around. Although Ye Li could not remember all the members' names, she recognized most of these small unit leaders. Many of them were outstanding individuals from the first batch of trained Qilins and some even learned skills directly under her guidance. Ye Li remembered his name was Li Yu. Unlike the talented South Tang Emperor Li Houzhu who shared his name, this man was completely different. Even when facing comrades-in-arms, he rarely spoke up. It was indeed hard for him to step forward and speak with Ye Li.

A faint bitter smile appeared at Ye Li's lips as she said, "They were all my students; how could I not come I... am truly sorry."

The previously taciturn man’s eyes immediately reddened as he looked at Ye Li, his voice choking up a bit when he said, "No, it is unrelated to the Lady Consort. As soldiers… we consider being wrapped in horsehide after death a great fortune. It's just that we…" Looking around, compared to the once well-organized and remarkable Qilins, these over one hundred wounded soldiers now appeared rather listless and mournful. These men who had never faltered even amidst thousands of troops were now staring at the neat rows of graves before them with reddened eyes. In those graves lay their comrades-in-arms whom they had fought alongside through life and death. Perhaps just two days ago, they had gathered together to chat and laugh, talking about their families, wives and children, and futures; yet now they were separated by life and death.

Ye Li sighed softly as she walked to the small empty space at the front of this cemetery. She bowed three times in solemn respect, then said loudly, "Offering libation!"

Hearing her words, Qin Feng and Wei Lin stepped forward one after another, carrying wine jars toward the graves ahead. They sprinkled some watered-down wine on each grave, followed by the Qilin soldiers who watched them and did likewise.

A low, mournful sound of a zither echoed from the open space in front. Everyone turned to see Ye Li sitting on the ground with a simple dark-wooden zither placed on her knees. She plucked at the strings as mournful sounds slowly flowed out between her fingers. The music was ancient and solemn, imbued with melancholy and tragedy. This was the soul-summoning melody.

Ye Li's piano skills were not extraordinary, and there wasn't even a trace of sadness on her face. However, the melody that flowed from her fingertips allowed everyone to clearly sense the faint sorrow and regret. Yes, it was not pain but regret—regret for being unable to do better, and more so, regret over the deaths of these outstanding warriors in such a manner.

Suddenly, the music changed, gradually becoming more passionate, as if every string on the zither resonated with everyone's heart. It made people involuntarily reminisce about their past. The pride and joy of joining Qilin, countless arduous trainings, the camaraderie through life and death, and the grandeur of going to war together.

"A true man should know that his country's grace is heavy; dying on the battlefield is a noble end!" someone shouted loudly. "Brothers... have a safe journey!"

"To your health!" Everyone raised their wine jars and drank them up, looking at each grave. Amidst the music, countless tears mixed with alcohol flowed down, wetting the land where so many heroes rested. Brothers… go well… stay safe on your way!

When the tune ended, Ye Li stood up and casually placed the black zither on the ground beside her. Looking at the tearful warriors before her, she said solemnly, "Li Yu!"

The middle-aged commander named Li Yu stepped forward respectfully, saying, "Here!"

Ye Li looked at him and said in a serious tone, "From now on, you are the deputy commander of Qilin. This queen commands you to lead Qilin back for restoration. Once everyone has recovered from their injuries, return immediately to Li City. Within one year, this queen wants to see an intact Qilin. Can you... do it"

Li Yu was stunned for a moment as he met Ye Li's determined and clear gaze, quickly responding loudly, "I accept the order! I assure you, within one year… I will definitely give the Queen an intact Qilin!" This command truly startled Li Yu. The importance of the deputy commander position in Qilin was extraordinary in terms of both status and rank. Even Xu Qingfeng, a third son of the Xu family and a close relative to the Princess Ding, who had been part of Qilin for years with exceptional abilities and tenacity on the battlefield, was only one of the twelve squad commanders under Qilin.

As if reading Li Yu's thoughts, Ye Li said coolly, "Those who have left were your brothers. This queen hopes that you can personally fill in their positions."

"I accept the order!" Li Yu shouted loudly with even more enthusiasm in his tone this time.

Ye Li nodded and said, "Everyone's wounds are still not healed yet, so all of you should rest early."

"Yes, we will take our leave now," Li Yu responded respectfully as he turned around to lead over a hundred Qilin soldiers back to Flying Hawk Pass.

"Your Highness Consort, we should go back now," Zhao Jing said softly.

Ye Li shook her head and replied, "I still want to stay a bit longer." Ye Li sat down on the ground again, casually placing the black-wood zither on her lap. She played it without following any particular melody; she would start and stop at random intervals. In this desolate cemetery filled with white gravestones, such actions only added to the heartache.

Standing atop a high ridge overlooking the Qilin tomb area were Mo Xiuyao and Han Mingyue side by side. Looking obliquely across, they could just see the serene face of the woman in plain clothes sitting amidst the white graves.

Observing the snow-white-haired Mo Xiuyao beside her, Han Mingyue said, "If you're concerned about her, why not go over to check on her"

Mo Xiuyao shot him a sideways glance and replied coolly, “I have my own measure.”

Han Mingyue smiled but remained silent. By now he could only envy Mo Xiuyao for having such good judgment. From a rational standpoint, it was indeed not Mo Xiuyao’s fault this time; however, from an emotional perspective, anyone would likely want to slap him regardless of who they were. Yet Ye Li had never uttered a single word blaming Mo Xiuyao throughout the entire incident. Whether she genuinely understood or tolerated everything about Mo Xiuyao, it was undoubtedly a great fortune for Mo Xiuyao. Likewise, perhaps because of having such a Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao hadn’t become even more extreme.

Despite not having much interaction with Mo Xiuyao in these years, Han Mingyue still kept a close eye on him. After all, besides his only blood brother, no one else was as important to Han Mingyue as Mo Xiuyao was. These few years, several times Han Mingyue had sensed that Mo Xiuyao was losing control, yet each time he managed to regain composure right before the brink of it all. Clearly, this must have been related to Ye Li in a significant way.

For instance, last night when Leng Huai brought up the matter regarding Western Ling’s captured soldiers, Han Mingyue sensed that Mo Xiuyao had already harbored murderous intent. But he promptly and perfectly controlled it within an instant. Then, he calmly instructed Leng Huai on how to handle these captives as though Prince Ding was truly compassionate with a broad-minded heart. Who knew Mo Xiuyao had never been one to treat enemies kindly, but at the time, Ye Li was the only person present who could affect his emotions. Hence Han Mingyue now somewhat understood why Feng Zhirao was so concerned about the relationship between Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li. If Mo Xiuyao were a sword with unparalleled sharpness, then Ye Li would be its scabbard; if he were an exceptional steed, she would be its reins. Neither could do without the other.

Han Mingyue chuckled silently to himself as he said, "Xiuyao, you’ve outgrown your capricious stage. People’s tolerance isn’t meant for you to squander recklessly. At least… pay a toast at the grave of every Qilin soldier; these are troops personally trained by Your Highness Consort—unique soldiers unlike any we have known. I feel that Your Highness Consort holds different emotions toward the Qilins. This time, in pursuit of your plan, half the Qilins were sacrificed. If someone destroyed half of Prince Ding’s mansion, would you be happy"

Mo Xiuyao remained silent for a long while before he suddenly said sternly, "I hate the Qilin!"

Han Mingyue was taken aback and pondered for a moment before he couldn't help but laugh. “Are you saying you hate the Qilins or that Your Highness Consort treats them differently from others After all, Your Highness Consort is no ordinary woman; I believe you should have figured this out long ago. Go over there… don’t say you hate the Qilin. They are the best and most admirable warriors. Don't tell me you haven’t felt regret.”

Mo Xiuyao, as Prince Ding, was known in his generation for being a peerless sword; he naturally preferred all elite soldiers and how could he dislike these top-notch troops like the Qilin Honestly speaking, Mo Xiuyao had underestimated the combat prowess of the Qilin before this incident. In fact, he never imagined Ye Li would deploy them to guard Feihong Pass. Compared with hundreds of thousands of troops, a thousand-strong group was too small in numbers no matter how elite they were. Initially, Mo Xiuyao thought Feihong Pass was doomed to be completely wiped out but unexpectedly it was this force that had not been counted upon back then that saved the whole garrison.

After another long silence, Mo Xiuyao finally walked toward Ye Li’s direction.

"Xiu Yao." Behind him, Han Mingyue suddenly spoke.

Mou Xiyao turned around and glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement. Han Mingyue said, "Are we still brothers"

Mou Xiyao nodded slightly and leaped towards Ye Li's direction with a light step.

Seeing someone rush off hurriedly, Han Mingyue couldn't help but chuckle softly. Who could have imagined that the very same Mou Xiyao who was once everyone’s dream in countless springtime閨閣dreams, carefree and unbound by tender feelings, would now find himself in such a worried state of mind. Thinking about himself, he raised his gaze towards the distant horizon, an elegant smile with a calm and serene expression blooming on his lips.

Mou Xiyao alighted lightly behind Ye Li like a swift crane, without making any sound at all. Qin Feng and others looked at Mou Xiyao and silently retreated. Mou Xiyao gazed at the seated Ye Li, approaching her quietly and seating himself beside her in the same manner.

"Xiu Yao" Ye Li paused from playing the zither with a puzzled expression and asked: "Didn't you say Feng San and others still have matters to discuss with you Why are you here then" Mou Xiyao smiled faintly and replied, "Now that the war is over, even the biggest matters can wait for a while, right"

Ye Li nodded with a smile. Apart from Mu Songshen and Nan Hou leading the troops in the south to battle against Western Ling, Mou Family Army had already returned to peace under Mou Xiyao's command. After pondering for a moment, Ye Li said, "Arrangements for the families of fallen soldiers and those severely wounded..."

Mou Xiyao held her cool hand in his palm and replied, "Leave these matters to Qingchen. You don’t need to worry about it, I promise every soldier who fell in battle will be properly settled by their subordinates. The same goes for the Qilin troops."

Ye Li nodded with a smile; she wasn't concerned about the Qilin soldiers. They had an extremely well-established system including compensation and support measures for casualties, so it would suffice to follow regulations. However, Mou Family Army's other units involved thousands of lives, making proper handling quite challenging.

Seeing Ye Li’s concern, Mou Xiyao firmly assured her, "I will instruct all the generals to take responsibility for their soldiers' funeral arrangements." Hearing Mou Xiyao’s serious assurance, Ye Li smiled gently and said, "Of course I trust you, no need to be so solemn. It was just a casual remark."

Mou Xiyao smiled without speaking. Ah Li's heart was too soft; she thought of too many things. However, Mou Xiyao knew her thoughts were not driven by supposed kindness or noble virtues but rather because she believed it should be done that way. Ye Li had many ideas quite out of sync with the people of this era. For instance, she believed men should respect women and soldiers should protect civilians; these beliefs weren’t wrong but seemed absurd to the people of this time. Yet perhaps he loved Ah Li just for her unique perspective. Mou Xiyao knew about her extraordinary experiences and felt she must have been happier in her previous world than here, so he wanted to give her everything to make her even more joyful.

Moxiu Yao took the blackwood zither from Ye Li and gently plucked it on his knee. Moxiu Yao's skill in playing the zither was actually better than Ye Li's. He still played "The Soul Summoning Song." In his hands, however, the melody had more vigor and a sense of profound melancholy that shook one to their core. Ye Li listened dazedly to him play and finally couldn't hold back her tears.

After finishing the song, Moxiu Yao let go of the blackwood zither in his hand and pulled her into his embrace. "Cry then, Ah Li... I'm sorry, it's all my fault..." Ye Li leaned against Moxiu Yao's chest and finally cried out.

Moxiu Yao gently patted her back, with half-lowered eyes filled with tenderness and care.

The moment they returned to the General's Manor, they were greeted by the almost-mad Third Young Master Feng. Seeing them walk hand in hand, Feng Zhirao rushed over regardless of propriety and grabbed Moxiu Yao's collar, shouting: "Prince Ding! Where have you run off to! Do you still care about Prince Ding Manor Are you going to deal with those official documents in the study or not! More importantly, it was you who called us over saying there were things to handle, but now you've disappeared without a trace, what are you trying to do!" The Third Young Master Feng had been pushed to his limits and no longer cared about propriety. He shouted at Moxiu Yao.

Feng Zhirao's sudden outburst really frightened Ye Li and Moxiu Yao for a moment. Moxiu Yao quickly recovered, calmly brushing away the hand that held onto his collar and said: "Young Master Feng, tell me what happened."

Feng Zhirao sneered, "Tell you slowly I would like to tell you slowly too but I have to find someone first! Just after finishing a battle, there are so many matters unattended to. We put down our work and listen to your instructions as Prince Ding, but we can't even find you!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Li felt somewhat guilty. In the end, Moxiu Yao had run off just to look for her. She stepped forward and said softly to Feng Zhirao: "Young Master Feng, about today's matter..."

Feng Zhirao raised his hand, "Your Excellency, you don't need to speak up for him. Moreover... We don't dare blame Prince Ding either, right It's just an empty complaint, so please have the prince punish him."

It wasn’t surprising that Feng Zhirao wanted to vent his frustration; after all, the war had just ended and there were numerous matters to be attended to. The continuous year-long war had left everything outside Feihong Pass in a mess. Everyone was busier than before the end of the war. But the most important person who should have been handling these matters couldn't even be found; not only Moxiu Yao, but also Han Mingyue, who usually helped out, seemed to have disappeared as well. Feng Zhirao fumed at the empty study and piles of documents for a long time before finally letting it all out.

Everyone present looked up to Feng Zhirao with admiration; daring to shout at Prince Ding in public really required great courage.

Moxiu Yao, however, unexpectedly had an unusually good temper. He smiled and said: "Alright then, I understand. By tomorrow morning, everything will be dealt with."

Feng Zhirao raised his eyebrows, "By tomorrow morning

"Have any opinions" Mo Xiuyao asked.

"No." Feng Zhirao shook his head hurriedly. As long as Prince Ding was willing to do it, the efficiency would be quite impressive. How could Feng Zhirao have objections

After entering the study and sitting down, Feng Zhirao took a breath before asking, "Your Highness, what did you call us over in the morning" Just now, he had been so angry that his head was boiling hot. Now after drinking a cup of tea and calming down, Feng Zhirao realized he had acted somewhat impulsively. When addressing Mo Xiuyao, he was polite as usual.

Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li beside him and smiled, saying, "Nothing much. I just want to talk about the handling of casualties."

Feng Zhirao’s expression turned solemn when this topic came up. He took out a report from a pile of documents next to him and said in a serious tone, "Although we have not yet compiled the exact figures for almost a year of war, there is already data on casualties from this battle at Feihong Pass. The total number of soldiers stationed at Feihong Pass, including the Qilin troops, was 237,600. However, only 13,127 survived, with nineteen officers above the rank of captain and seven deputy commanders dying in battle."

Even Mo Xiuyao was speechless for a moment at such heavy casualties. Over these years, this level of fatality rate had only happened once before, during the tragic battle in Huifeng Valley over ten years ago when his family’s army suffered near-destruction. Moreover, those stationed at Feihong Pass were elite soldiers from the Mo Family Army and not newly recruited Chu soldiers. Just this one battle was already so devastating; it didn’t even include casualties from the previous half-year of fighting. Roughly estimating, since lifting the siege on Chang’an, over 600,000 to 700,000 elite soldiers in the Mo Family Army had been killed or wounded. The original number of elite troops was less than a million; now only two or three out of ten remained. Others were former Chu remnants, recently annexed hundreds of thousands of Chu troops by Mo Xiuyao, and new recruits from the northwest who joined the camp not long ago.

This war wasn’t mutual destruction, but both parties had paid a huge price. No wonder Mo Xiuyao no longer planned to continue attacking Chu and Western Liang.

Seeing these shocking numbers before their eyes, everyone fell silent. The atmosphere became much more solemn. After some contemplation, Mo Xiuyao said, "Phoenix Third, please have someone deliver my orders. Compensation for all fallen soldiers must be distributed completely without omission. Injured soldiers should also be properly accommodated. If there are any issues, they can come directly to me."

Feng Zhirao hesitated but still nodded in agreement. To accommodate so many dead and wounded soldiers would undoubtedly be a massive undertaking for Prince Ding’s mansion. But this was indeed their responsibility, the only thing they could do—let the deceased rest in peace.

Ye Li said, "All silver received from exchanging prisoners with Western Liang can be used here. If it isn’t enough, we can ask Han Mingxi to provide more; just let me know."

Feng Zhirao hurriedly thanked Ye Li. Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment before raising his eyebrows and saying, "Don’t worry, Lijing. We’ll have other income sources soon."

"Other income sources" Ye Li raised her eyebrows.

Mo Xiuyao coldly smiled and said, "Of course. There are still reparations from Northern Rong, Western Liang, and Chu to be claimed."he saw her.Ye Li smiled and said, "General hasn't rested either Thank you for your hard work. Is everything fine"Zhang Qilan sighed and said, "Fortunately, there's nothing wrong." He turned around and...