The wind and sand filled the sky as a group of people struggled on their journey.
"Young master, how much longer do you think it will be until we reach the prefectural city?" a servant-like figure asked Wu Hanlin.
"I don't know, but it's not far. If this sandstorm doesn't worsen, we should reach the prefectural city in another day or two. Cough, cough, cough." As Wu Hanlin spoke, a gust of wind blew, and he ended up with a mouthful of sand.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough." Wu Hanlin forcefully spat out the sand from his mouth, then looked at the long line beside him, his heart feeling a bit bitter.
Originally, the Wu family, being well-informed, had left Zhoukou County early and headed east.
However, on their way, they heard that troops had already entered Zhoukou County and might be able to protect their property. Many members of the Wu family were tempted, thinking about whether they should stay.
After all, so much property, to abandon it all at once was truly heartbreaking.
But after Wu Hanlin and Wu Caisheng discussed it, they decided to continue eastward. No amount of external possessions could compare to the lives of their entire family.
Therefore, Old Master Wu directly suppressed all objections, and the Wu family continued eastward.
But they hadn't gone far when they saw a large number of Western Army troops heading west. The Wu family, as well as many others, believed that this would surely drive the invaders out of the country, as the people of Wei had great trust in their own army.
This also made the Wu family hesitant. Although Wu Hanlin still wished to continue eastward and not linger here, he couldn't resist the majority who were unwilling to move on. In the end, the Wu family stopped on the road.
Many of the Wu family members were complaining that the decisions of Wu Hanlin and his son had caused the Wu family to lose an immeasurable amount of wealth. However, what happened next stunned everyone.
The Wei army had been defeated!
Not only defeated, but utterly routed!
The Wei army that had been confronting the enemy was almost annihilated. This news immediately caused panic among the people of Wei. Many spread rumors that the invading foreign tribes were protected by spirits and were impervious to weapons.
At this time, the people could no longer cling to their homeland. They fled with their families.
The Wu family also disregarded everything else and followed the crowd eastward. However, they didn't expect that soon after leaving, a storm broke out.
Many areas in the western border were sandy. Once a storm hit, it was easy to get lost. More importantly, the storm made it impossible for people and horses on the road to move.
However, the only good news was that because the Romans were unfamiliar with the terrain, they found it difficult to march in the storm. Most of them retreated into the cities they had occupied and ceased their attacks.
The people of Wei in the northwest, on the other hand, had lived there for many years and had considerable experience. They struggled desperately in the storm, making their way towards the eastern prefectural cities.
Wu Hanlin looked at the harsh environment around him and couldn't help but sigh. If all the Wu family members had supported his decision to continue the journey, they would have almost reached the prefectural city by now.
However, dwelling on these thoughts was useless. Wu Hanlin said to the servant beside him, "It's getting late. Go tell everyone to stop and rest for a while before we continue."
"Yes." The servant replied weakly.
After traveling for so long, the servant was also exhausted. The rest of the group slowly came to a halt, preparing to eat something and feed the camels and horses.
The sandstorm wasn't as strong now, but it wasn't enough to start a fire for cooking. They had been surviving on dry rations for so long.
Wu Hanlin, biting into a hard flatbread and taking a sip of water, looked at the sandstorm around him and couldn't help but lament:
"When will we ever arrive!"
...
"When will we ever arrive?"
Wei Lin, the Prefectural Assistant of Ningxia Prefecture, widened his eyes and asked the person in front of him, "Say that again! What? It will take a few more days!"
"It's been several days now, tell me, how many days has it been! Even if the Western Army crawled, they should have crossed by now. Is such a short distance so difficult to traverse?"
The clerk being questioned by Wei Lin was also full of bitterness and replied, "My lord, I asked them the same thing, but the people at the Protectorate said they had already dispatched a large army, but, but..."
The result was already obvious. A large army was dispatched in a hurry, but it suffered heavy losses and retreated, not even entering the prefectural city, but directly fleeing back to the Western Army's encampment.
Mentioning this made Wei Lin even angrier. He said, "They lost the battle and still have the audacity to speak of it. It's simply, it's simply, ... Hmph!"
Wei Lin wanted to curse them out, but considering the current situation and the fact that they still had to rely on the Western Army, he ultimately refrained from speaking.
Wei Lin asked with some doubt, "Have you seen General Sun Liren? Didn't he lead fifty thousand troops? How could they have been so badly defeated by the Romans?"
In fact, as an official of the western frontier, Wei Lin was well aware of the combat effectiveness of the Western Army. The Western Army was by no means a pushover. On the contrary, apart from issues of style and discipline, the Western Army could indeed be considered a strong army.
Could it be that these Romans were truly that powerful?
The clerk replied, "I did not see General Sun Liren when I went to the Protectorate, but according to several other generals, the reason for General Sun Liren's defeat was not that the enemy was too strong."
"It was because the enemy's numbers were too great, and they were fighting from a position of advantage. General Sun Liren was thus routed by the enemy."
Wei Lin frowned thoughtfully. He couldn't believe everything these generals said; they only chose words that were beneficial to them.
There were many defeated soldiers from the Western Army retreating from the front lines, and Wei Lin had obtained a lot of information from them.
The Romans had indeed deployed a considerable number of troops, but the main reason for the devastating defeat was that the Wei army had been ambushed by the Roman army.
It was likely that Sun Liren was too eager to repel the Roman army, which in turn gave the Romans an opportunity. The Romans found a weakness and directly routed them. Moreover, the Romans already had a numerical advantage and pursued them with heavy forces, leaving the Wei army with no chance to fight back.
Of course, for a commander, such a mistake was quite significant. They would likely face severe punishment afterward, so it was normal for them to conceal some details to lessen their responsibility.
Wei Lin roughly guessed the process, but it was of no use.
"Is there any news from the Prefectural Commandant?" Wei Lin asked.
"No news has been received yet," the clerk replied.
Wei Lin furrowed his brow tightly. Prefectural Commandant Zhang Hu had led most of the prefectural troops to the front lines, and their status was unknown. The scoundrels of the Western Army were only looking out for their own interests and were not truly willing to fight to the death.
In the prefectural city now, there were only a handful of yamen runners and less than two thousand prefectural troops. If the Romans were to attack the prefectural city, what would he use to resist them?
If it weren't for the sandstorm, the prefectural city might have already fallen.
Wei Lin felt as if a thousand-pound weight had fallen upon his shoulders, crushing him. Moreover, the Prefect was not here!
Wei Lin said powerlessly, "Where is the way out for Ningxia Prefecture? Forget it, this old man will share the fate of the prefectural city, thus fulfilling the path of righteousness through sacrifice."
"You have this thought? I am truly sorry for the official uniform you wear!"
A voice echoed through the hall.