Chapter 57: Siege "Why...why?"

In the armory, the brothers in the mountain stronghold kept bringing down hammers.

"Everyone, hurry up and get ready! All the weapons in the capital have been stolen by that bastard Prince Duan. We're using them as backup. We can't bring shame to Miss Zhou!"

Inside the forging room, everyone was full of fighting spirit and the atmosphere was heated.

The situation in Shangjing City is now critical. They stay in the forge all night. When they are tired, they find a cleaner place in the forge to take a nap. When they wake up, they continue forging without stopping.

The breakfast was a simple steamed bun and water. The steamed bun was delivered early in the morning by the soldiers and was a little dry and hard due to being baked in the fire.

The white water in the cup was illuminated by the fire and turned red. The brothers in the village wiped their bodies with their dark hands, picked up the stone-like steamed buns, chewed them hard for a few times, and swallowed them raw with the white water.

"It tastes so bad, like eating a lump of iron." Someone muttered, then picked up the hammer again. "Keep hammering! We'll win!"

The steel block and the hammer collided violently, and sweat blurred his eyes. He wiped it off and continued to hammer.

The flames bursting out of the forge melted into the metal, flashing different lights. The people in the forge heard the roaring explosions in the sky and looked towards the city gate with concern.

"The soldiers are fighting at the city gate, including Miss Zhou. We can't fall behind!"

"Yes, everyone, work hard!"

The people in the forging room kept encouraging each other. The two of them smiled at each other, rubbed their extremely sore waists, and lowered their heads to continue forging.

Someone could barely hold the hammer; his palms felt sore.

The person next to him noticed it and asked with a worried look on his face, "Do you want to rest for a while?"

"No need, I'll just slow down a bit. Everyone is working hard, and I can't fall behind."

"Then you should pay more attention."

The soldiers shuttled between the forging tables, collecting the forged long swords and packing them into boxes.

"Hurry! Send these boxes to the city gate, and the rest to the warehouse for storage."

Each person had a clear division of labor, and everyone's faces were flushed, perhaps from anxiety or the heat of the fire. There were unknown water stains on the ground, and it was unclear whether they were sweat or condensation from forging.

Even so, no one stopped what they were doing.

Outside the forging room, the sky was slightly gloomy, with low-lying dark clouds, but a few beams of sunlight shone through the clouds, dazzling and inappropriate, as if they had cut a hole in the sky.

Fu Chang turned sideways to look at Prince Duan and said excitedly, "Your Highness, the sunlight is glaring, perfect for attacking the city."

Prince Duan was overjoyed: "Great, this is God helping me!"

On the city wall not far away, Zhou Tinglan, who received the news, hurried over. She was wearing black and gold armor and stood behind the soldiers. She looked very heroic.

"Prince Duan, how dare you come?"

I didn’t expect Prince Duan to come so quickly. Did he get any news?

Prince Duan's eyes were filled with disdain and mockery. He laughed and said, "Why wouldn't I dare? Why can't I see General Xie? Could it be that he is truly bedridden and unable to get up?"

Fu Chang echoed, "I think your Highness is absolutely right. Otherwise, how else can we explain the current situation?"

Prince Duan raised his hand to stop Fuchang from speaking. He shook his head in disapproval and said, "Fuchang, what you said is wrong. I only mentioned a possibility, and you responded so quickly."

He paused for a moment, then sneered, "Of course, how did General Xie die paralyzed in bed? I think there's another possibility. General Xie was a coward, deserting the battlefield and hiding in bed in fear, refusing to get up!"

The rebel soldiers burst into laughter when they heard Prince Duan's words.

Fu Chang shouted angrily: "Silence!"

He turned to Prince Duan and praised him, "Your Highness is so majestic! How can a villain like you be compared to him?"

Zhou Tinglan clenched his fists. How could they tease him like this?

The poison in Xie Zechuan's body had just been eliminated and his body was weak, so she did not allow him to come. It seemed that Prince Duan's spies in Shangjing City spread the news very quickly.

Her eyes were filled with anger: "Prince Duan, please don't be too arrogant. Traitors and traitors have always had a bad ending!"

"A good ending? This time, I will defy the will of Heaven and achieve a good ending!"

Prince Duan quickly drew the sword from his waist, pointing the tip of the blade directly at Shangjing City: "Attack!"

Fu Chang obeyed and waved his hand, "Get your trebuchets ready!"

Some soldiers were delivering messages on horseback in the army.

The stone was loaded onto the slingshot, and Fu Chang gave the order: "Throw!"

The loading holster was ejected, and numerous stones fell on the walls of Shangjing City like meteors.

“Ah—uh—”

The soldiers on the city wall groaned in pain.

Zhou Tinglan was anxious. She shouted, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

The sound of a charge horn was heard in the distance.

"Attack! Kill—"

"rush!"

When Prince Duan finally fell, the rebel soldiers raised their swords and rushed forward.

Zhou Tinglan ordered his soldiers: "Archers, prepare!"

"Ah--" The rebel soldiers' feet dropped and they let out shrill screams. When they sank into the mud, the sharp barbs pierced their bodies.

The rebel general who was following behind stopped in his tracks and shouted, "Build a ladder! Build a ladder quickly!"

The wooden ladder was put up, but some soldiers were still unstable and fell down.

The blood dyed the soil red.

Seeing the rebels about to cross the moat, Zhou Tinglan hurriedly ordered, "Archers, fire rockets instead!"

"yes."

Several rockets shot towards the rebel soldiers like meteors, flames ignited, and the rebel soldiers screamed one after another. They rolled into the moat in pain and died.

Flames shot up into the sky from the moat, forming a flowing fiery snake around the city walls, devouring everything within.

Prince Duan shouted, "Put the ladders in a row and get on the carriage!"

The rebel soldiers lined up in several rows. They lifted up the ladders and rushed forward desperately. The ladders were placed on the moat, and the giant crossbows suddenly shot towards the wall of Shangjing City and penetrated deeply.

The ladder was turned upside down, and the rebel soldiers climbed directly onto the city wall along the direction of the ladder.

"Kill them down! Stones, throw stones! They're coming up!"

There was chaos on the city wall. Stones were thrown forward and smashed directly down on the wall. The rebel soldiers on the ladders were hit by the falling rocks and rolled down.

Zhou Tinglan took advantage of the chaos to ask the soldiers beside him: "What is the current situation in the palace?"

I don’t know what’s going on in the palace. If Your Majesty is controlled by Prince Duan’s spies, the capital city will be in danger!

"There is no unusual movement in the palace right now."

Zhou Tinglan breathed a sigh of relief. "Tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to have a thorough investigation of the palace to see if there are any people bribed by Prince Duan. Make sure His Majesty is safe. And report the current situation to His Royal Highness."

"Yes, I will send someone back to the palace to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"ASAP!"

The rebel general placed two wooden boards on the moat, and drove over with a car running over the boards. The cloud bridge was directly placed on the city wall, and the rebel soldiers rushed up the city wall along the cloud ladder.

"Knock them down!"

There was chaos on the city wall. Soldiers from both sides drew their swords and started fighting each other. The blades were pressed against their chests, pushing them off the wall. They fell and died on the spot with their skin torn and flesh exposed.

Zhou Tinglan swung her knife to dodge a person. She stared at Lin Chen, pondered for a moment, and an idea flashed through her mind.

She shouted to the crossbowmen, "Aim the crossbows at the chariot with fire, and attack from the side with ropes. Tie heavy stones to the other end and throw them at the wall to bring it down!"

The structure of the car is the same as a small building. The fire burned some of its fixings, and gravity caused it to tilt, so it should be feasible.

“It worked.”

The huge chariot was unable to bear the weight and was finally pulled down by the soldiers. The rebel soldiers around the chariot fled in all directions.

"Report—your Highness, the chariot was shot through by a flaming crossbow and burned."

Prince Duan's eyes were cold: "How many casualties were there?"

The rebel general bowed and replied, "Over a thousand people died, mainly from crashes, not counting the wounded."

Fu Chang said soothingly: "Your Highness, don't worry too much. Shangjing City is now just a dying resistance."

"You're right. Let the soldiers continue the attack, switch to battering rams, and help me break through the gates of Shangjing City!"

"yes!"

Zhou Tinglan watched the battering ram crash into the city gate: "Prince Duan still refuses to give up."

"Soldiers, defend the city gates with all your might! Don't let them break it down!"

After arranging the affairs in the palace, the prince hurried over: "What is the current situation?"

"The situation is very unfavorable to us. We must prepare for the worst. How is His Majesty doing?"

The Crown Prince's expression was solemn. He said in a deep voice, "After hearing the news from your soldiers, I have replaced the emperor's entourage with my own trusted aides. Everything will be fine."

He looked at the devastated scene outside the city and couldn't help but sigh, "On the way here, I saw people crying and shouting from their homes. They were all terrified that Shangjing would be captured by Prince Duan and slaughtered."

Zhou Tinglan was in a low mood. The most pitiful people in ancient wars were the ordinary people. They had neither the wealth of aristocratic families to change the tide of war and cling to the new rich, nor did they have guards to protect their safety.

How sad it is!

"Oh no! Oh no!" The soldiers' voices came from under the city wall, their voices filled with fear: "The city gate... the city gate is about to be breached."

Zhou Tinglan was shocked: "Quick! Throw kerosene down from the city wall and set it on fire!"

However, it was of no avail. The city gate was completely broken open and the battering ram rushed directly into Shangjing City.

Failed, she actually failed!

Zhou Tinglan looked at the scene in front of him helplessly. The prince lowered his head and rested his hands on a wooden pillar that was cracked in half.

"Can we survive?"

Not far away, Prince Duan rushed into Shangjing City with his cavalry. He headed straight for the palace, and his wild laughter reached the ears of every soldier.

Zhou Tinglan, the crown prince and others were taken into the palace one by one by the rebel soldiers.

In the main hall, the emperor was held at knifepoint by the rebel soldiers. He looked angrily at Prince Duan who was sitting in the position that once belonged to him.

"Prince Duan, do you know what you are doing?" he roared.

"Of course I know." Prince Duan replied nonchalantly, "Does this sound familiar to me?"

He seemed to recall something: "I remember now. Your Lord Rao, who was so loyal to you and willing to die by my sword, asked about it."

Prince Duan stared at the emperor and smiled contemptuously: "How could this prince not know? I have worked hard for many years, and this is exactly what I have been working for!"

"You! I have never treated you unfairly in all these years, yet you and your son have forced me to this point!"

"Unfair treatment? The throne originally belonged to me. It was the late emperor, that old man who has long since passed away, who was tactless and gave the throne to you. But now it's time to return to the orthodox way."

Prince Duan glanced at the people in the hall and asked suspiciously, "Why is General Xie not here?"

The rebel soldiers knelt and begged for mercy, their voices trembling: "We were unable to find General Xie."

"Waste!" He kicked the soldier.

Prince Duan turned to look at Zhou Tinglan and asked, "Did you hide General Xie?"

Zhou Tinglan gritted her teeth and turned her head away, unwilling to look at the thief in front of her.

"Okay, then you won't tell me." Prince Duan picked up his long sword and said, "Then die for me!"

Zhou Tinglan closed her eyes. Was she going to die? Her relationship with Xie Zechuan had not even ended yet and it was about to come to an incomplete end.

"Lan'er!"

She seemed to hear Xie Zechuan's voice. Was it a hallucination before death?

Zhou Tinglan was embraced in an extremely warm embrace. She opened her eyes drowsily and looked at the scene in front of her in disbelief.

There was a long knife stuck in Prince Duan's chest. He turned around and looked at the person holding the knife in shock. His lips moved, his voice was unclear, and a lot of blood spurted out of his mouth.

"W-why?"