Chapter 234 Live First
The lieutenants who came in later had no idea what happened next and felt very awkward standing at the door.
They could not believe that General Xie, whom they respected, would betray them, and they could not believe that he had led the people who besieged the city.
The Queen looked at the expressions of the people at the door and gave a look, asking Xie Lang to explain himself.
Xie Long waved his hands lazily, motioning everyone to come over and sit down.
"That's where you were talking about before. Come over and continue reporting to the Empress."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and prepared to go to the city wall to take another look.
"Is that the prince who is still favored? Is he worth a month's worth of food and fodder?"
The queen closed her eyes, not knowing how to answer this question.
The emperor's favorite son was the eldest prince, but the eldest prince has been deposed.
The others, including Song Junyan, should all be under the emperor's consideration.
Seeing that she was slow to respond, Xie Lang sighed in understanding.
"I thought I could get some benefits from him."
The result was an unfavored prince, which was really disappointing.
"I had already been collecting food and fodder before I set out, but the journey was long and there were people from Chahar blocking the way. We couldn't open up the road, so even if we had food and fodder, we couldn't get it in."
So now they not only have to race against time, but also have to find a way to send news to the capital.
Xie Lang nodded, "Okay, you are good at these, Qi Yu and I will listen to you, and you can use these people as you like."
As he spoke, he strode out of the door. Chahar's deputy general was still attacking the city from time to time, so the main general had to be on the city wall.
The Queen looked at his back and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Finally, she raised her hand and gestured to everyone to sit down and talk while everyone was watching.
The most exciting old love and grudges have been watched, and how to arrange the follow-up and how to get out of the predicament and fight back are not something the two sisters can help with.
As soon as the discussion started, the two sisters quietly left.
"Sister, what do you think we should do if we really can't go back?"
"Then stay."
As long as you can survive, it doesn't matter where you are.
The two talked as they walked into the city. They had just entered the city today and didn't know much about the place.
I just went to the wounded soldiers camp and was frightened by Xie Lang's evil aura.
Now that the 'crisis' has been resolved, they can take advantage of the fact that the fighting is not too intense and look around the city.
The border wars have never stopped in recent years, and the land here is not fertile to begin with. The wars have affected the people so much that they don't even grow much crops.
Without food, people can’t eat enough. Not only the soldiers in the barracks, but also the people in the city are hungry.
As they traveled along the way, they saw that all the people were pale and thin and extremely unhealthy.
Lu Xinran looked at the people on the street, and her heart felt like it was crumpled and thrown on the ground, feeling sore and painful.
"When prosperity comes, the people suffer; when decline comes, the people suffer."
She thought of this sentence subconsciously.
If the emperor had not been suspicious and foolish, the border would not have been in such a state.
In the capital, he was thinking every day about how to balance state affairs and which concubine to favor, but he never thought that in another land, his people were still suffering from the war, not having enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear, having no place to live, and being displaced.
Lu Xinlan held her hand tightly and said, "Let's go see if we can help."
The Qiang army outside the city, which had not retreated, began to attack the city again. They had just entered an embroidery workshop and were about to help the embroiderers who were mending clothes when they were sent back to the queen by the guards who had been called.
"I just received news that Chahar has brought another 100,000 men to attack the city. There are a total of 200,000 men outside the city. Hanyu Pass... may not be able to be defended. You should stay in the general's mansion first. If the city is breached, you should find a way to escape."
After the queen gave these instructions, she immediately left with a group of lieutenants.
The roar of fighting had already echoed throughout the city, and the two sisters held each other's hands tightly.
When we came here, we knew the situation here was not optimistic, but we didn't expect it to be so serious.
The two of them sat in the empty study, and no one spoke at this moment.
The voice in my heart that had always been there and gone from time to time was completely quiet at this moment.
The sounds of fighting spread from the afternoon to the evening, and gradually became quieter as night fell.
From the window one could see flames reflected in the sky, and it seemed as if a huge fire had broken out both inside and outside the city walls.
In my mind, the system is anxiously trying to analyze the situation.
What if, what if the city gate is breached and the surroundings are completely blocked, you won’t be able to escape even if you want to.
"Host, you can't die. What will I do if you die?"
"No, I trust the Queen."
She not only believed in the queen, but also believed in the man who had gone to great lengths to rescue her from the palace.
If Xie Long had no choice, he would definitely not let the queen come here and die with them.
The man spoke harshly, but his heart was filled with thoughts of the queen.
As if to confirm his thoughts, the sounds of fighting outside gradually stopped near midnight.
Someone on the city wall was helping the injured soldiers down. The blood-soaked queen came down from the city wall and nodded slightly when she saw them. Then she turned around and went with Xie Lang to find a camp.
Song Junyan, who had disappeared for most of the day, followed behind them. His expression could not be seen in the firelight. After experiencing the baptism of war, his originally not impetuous aura had become completely restrained.
He was born in the capital and grew up in the imperial palace. The farthest place he had been to in all these years was the provincial capital adjacent to the capital.
I never knew the border was like this, and I never knew war was so cruel.
He looked past the two sisters and followed the Queen, following her without hesitation.
The siege continued over the next few days.
The casualties in the city increased, and the food and grass became less and less.
Even the daily food intake of Lu Xinran and her sister was reduced to almost the same level as that of the soldiers.
No one complained. It was a blessing to be alive in such a meat grinder-like war.
On the sixth day after they arrived at Hanyu Pass, the secret decree from the capital finally reached the empress.
Food and supplies are on the way, and a second batch of reinforcements is also on the way.
The emperor mobilized 50,000 troops to be stationed at Haishan Pass, and all the main generals guarding Haishan Pass were on their way.
If we only count the distance on foot, it will take at least seven or eight days to reach Hanyu Pass.
Having food and reinforcements was great news for them. Xie Lang finally breathed a sigh of relief after reading the secret decree.
"Is this also part of your calculations?"
The queen raised her eyebrows. After spending the past few days together, the initial dissatisfaction and awkwardness in her heart had dissipated, and she even started to joke with him while talking to him.
Xie Lang rubbed his temples for a while before he gave a naughty smile.
"I've said before that I don't want to die. If I don't want to die, I have to think of a way."
As long as he can still stand here and defend the city and still do his best, he thinks he is worthy of the dog emperor in the capital.
This is not his world, so why should he be so foolish as to bow down and work hard until his death?