If there was one thing Yuan An soldiers were very good at, it was following orders, being patriotic, and formations. Yuan An soldiers were very disciplined. This was why Yuan An could succeed in many wars. After 3 hours, the soldiers finally returned to the camp and the gates closed again. Yeke Khan's head was brought to the centre of the camp and hung up for morale.
We had a big celebration that night, though sadly there wasn't any alcohol left. Still, winning a war without a single casualty (apart from some scouts) was a huge and unprecedented feat.
I sat at the large gathering area beside Lu Qing Yu, stuffing myself with the feast very ungracefully as I was praised for my "amazing" ideas all around. This night was short as the entire camp rang of happiness and joy. The next few days was the clean-up of the dead bodies around the camp. It would start to stink very badly soon if we didn't do something about it.
Out of spite, teams of soldiers piled the bodies roughly onto carriages and dumped them unceremoniously in the plain sight of the main Rouran settlement just out of the desert, then hastily sped away. At first, the Rourans were probably wondering why a bunch of Yuan An soldiers seemed to keep stopping there and going off. Unfortunately, after many hundreds of teams, they finally realised what they were dumping was very sinister.
To scare the Rouran, General Shui, very pleased that his army had finally killed Yeke Khan, even ordered the soldiers to quickly erect stakes and hung the dead bodies of the leaders on it. Only Yeke Khan's body was without a head. The rest of the bodies were simply piled in a heap. The soldiers all returned to the camp very cheerfully, full of gusto. Every war was a battle for them as they didn't know whether they would come back.
However, nearly everyone came back and didn't even have to fight personally. Of course they would be happy. After the clean up was done, Lu Qing Yu and the retinue we arrived in stayed in the camp a few more days to settle administrative matters, congratulate the soldiers and make sure everything was running smoothly, then I was allowed to return to the trading post. Due to the shock death of the fearsome and unbeatable Yeke Khan along with half of their army, the North West tribes were left without a proper leader and probably wouldn't come and cause trouble for some time again.
According to common knowledge, the first Khan only had 3 sons. Yeke Khan was the eldest. The second son had been injured in battle last war and was unfit to battle. The third son was only 15. Although women were permitted to fight, his daughters were not known to be skilled in warfare or partake in it.
I spent a further 3 months at the trading post finishing up work, saying goodbye to everyone, and consolidating what I would bring back to the capital. Finally, on my last day, I was shocked to see a group of Novgorod envoys waiting for me. They expressed again that they would like me to visit Novgorod and adorned me with another 2 chests of beautiful gifts.
It was the next day when we finally were able to go back to the capital. 2 months more of traveling for us, though it took a bit longer since we were able to not be rushing all the time. 2 months of staring out a carriage window and only really stopping to pee in bushes behind a crowd of men gave me a lot of time to think.
I would improve on my ideas in my idea notebook (which was still strapped to my waist). I also really started to think about what I wanted in life. It also got me thinking about what I wanted in life.
The title of noble concubine was very convenient for doing many things. But what if I ran away? I would probably be chased and killed. I could fake my own death but wouldn't be able to run my business any longer. I could always start a new business though.
I wonder if there were divorce laws. I should bring it up to Lu Qing Yu one day when he's in a good mood. We've been married 5 years and he hasn't touched me. Was I going to die an old miser? If I got divorced, perhaps I could marry someone else or be free to do what I wished.
As soon as I got back to the palace and handed in my paperwork from the trade post, I gave myself the rest of the day off and spent the next 3 days sleeping. Constantly sitting in a tent waiting for enemies to attack you and perching in an uncomfortable carriage was too exhausting. I even invited a female masseur to massage my sore and tired limbs. Once I felt better, I headed down to Luna Marche to see how everything was going and to meet the artisans who were based in the capital.