Return to the Mountains
The oxcart was slow and it took a while to get here, and sick people couldn't stand the hassle.
But when Zhao Sheng turned his head and took a look, he found that the suspicious people he had just noticed were now visible, and the city gate was about forty or fifty meters away.
He stopped the person coming and said, "No, the city gate is under normal inspection. Once we confirm it is safe, it will be opened again. It won't take too long."
The man who came over had just jogged all the way and his face was still covered in sweat. "My father can't wait. I found a clinic in the city and they said they couldn't treat him. I finally found a barefoot doctor in a village outside who said he could treat the disease. The old man fainted several times this morning and hasn't woken up yet. If we can get out of the city sooner, he can still live."
The man held Zhao Sheng's hand, and it was obvious that he looked very anxious.
The soldier beside him also said: "Let them go first, it won't take a while."
At this time, the people who were passing by the city gate heard the sound of a dispute here, and in a few words they heard the whole story.
Most people thought that Zhao Sheng was worrying too much. How could he really run into bandits in broad daylight?
It is always difficult to attract attention unless it happens to you. Everyone stood up and told Zhao Sheng that it was good to want to fulfill his duties, but he also had to look at the current situation. This was a matter of life and death.
As for those who were further away, seeing that something seemed to be happening at the city gate, they also curiously came over to see what was going on. In a short period of time, quite a few people came.
Zhao Sheng looked embarrassed and resolutely decided to stick to his own opinion, but the son of the sick old father was holding his arm. The man was very strong and it was difficult for him to break free for a while.
As the situation went back and forth, some of the people who had been suspicious before had already approached the city gate and were looking over here with wide eyes.
Zhao Sheng finally managed to get out an arm and said, "Wait a moment, it's a routine check."
The visitor was very cooperative. He gave his name and hometown, and also said which family in the city he was going to look for his relatives. He did carry a box with him as a gift.
A man carrying farm tools in the crowd spoke up, "Old Wang lives in the same alley as me. He has difficulty walking and rarely goes out. His nephew came to visit at a time like this. What's there to be suspicious about?"
The farmer just wanted to go out of the city to get something and would be back soon. He didn't want to be stopped outside. After all, there were cases where the city gates were closed for most of the day before.
Others in similar situations were also unwilling to wait, and inevitably became impatient with Zhao Sheng's stubbornness. They began to speak without thinking, "I think there's a reward, so they're just trying to take credit for catching the guy. They don't care if they catch the wrong guy or not."
"You..." Zhao Sheng was not good at speaking and his face turned red with anger. Defending the city was their duty and there was no reward. It was just for the sake of the people in the city, but they still had to suffer such misunderstanding.
The other soldiers were also losing their footing. Wouldn't slandering him also bring criticism upon all the guards on the city walls? One of the older soldiers retorted, "Stop talking nonsense and get back to your work. If catching bandits really made money, I don't think many of you would be able to stand firm."
"No matter what, he's thinking about everyone. Since this is just a misunderstanding, can we let the one who's treating the sick leave the city first?"
The man who was stopped by Zhao Sheng finally spoke: "Those officials, can I go in? My mother told me before she left that I must go to my uncle's house early to serve him. In the past, I was often away from home, and I missed many opportunities to fulfill my filial duties."
Zhao Sheng was helpless. He originally wanted to stop them again, but seeing that the city gate was getting crowded and a riot would be difficult to resolve, he had no choice but to let them go.
"Brother Cheng, I was watching from up there just now, and these people are indeed suspicious."
The soldier called Brother Cheng was the same elderly soldier who had just spoken. He lowered his voice and explained, "But we haven't found anything yet, have we? The people have been complaining about the inconveniences they've faced recently, so let's not start a fight with them. So, once the old man leaves the city, we'll temporarily close the gate and then thoroughly question the people behind him."
This was the only way for now. Seeing that the ox cart was moving slowly, Zhao Sheng jogged over as fast as he could to help.
"Thank you, General." The man wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although he didn't say anything else, he looked more impatient than before. He even fell down because he stepped on a stone on the road.
"It's okay," Zhao Sheng straightened the tilted ox cart and nodded to his youngest son who was pulling the cart on the other side. "You and my younger brother are both out. Is there anyone else at home?"
"They are resting at home. My father has been ill these days and the whole family has been busy. We decided not to let them go out with us. The world is in turmoil lately, so leaving the city is a last resort."
It was not easy either. Zhao Sheng glanced at the old man lying on the car floor. Most of his face was covered by a cloth. Although some white hair was exposed, his face was basically invisible.
But he then noticed the hand hanging by his side. There were no rough lines on it. It looked like he was not old, but rather like a young man.
Zhao Sheng frowned and began to realize that something was wrong.
Then, I saw the man who was carrying farm tools and was about to leave the city hurried back. "Where is the nephew of Old Wang? I just remembered that I have some things to pack up at home, so I asked that young man to help me."
The farmer glanced ahead and asked, "Shouldn't he go that way to get to our lane? Why did he turn?"
Oh no! Many images flashed through Zhao Sheng's mind. He realized that the unusual things he encountered today might have been premeditated. He lifted the veil of the man on the ox cart and saw the face of a middle-aged man underneath.
At this moment, when the thing covering the face was removed, a pair of narrow eyes suddenly opened, revealing a sharp cold light.
Seeing people about to stand up, Zhao Sheng quickly kicked the ox cart over, then ran towards the city gate and shouted, "Close the city gate quickly!"
The guards at the gate finally reacted, but those who had tried to sneak into the city had already succeeded. Many people who had entered the city gate saw that they had been exposed and took out the weapons hidden in their sleeves.
When the people around saw this, they fled in all directions. The street, which was bustling just a moment ago, suddenly became noisy with screams everywhere.
Even though the bandits who broke into the city were wearing ordinary people's clothes, they were still easy to recognize by looking at their movements. Zhao Sheng saw that there were still people approaching from outside the city, and at this time he had already run to the city gate.
"Brother Cheng, come with me!" There are many innocent people in the city, and the first thing to do is to stop countless thieves from breaking in again.
The soldiers guarding the city walls were already fighting with others. Zhao Sheng used all his strength, and together with everyone, the city gate was finally slowly closing.
At the last moment before his eyes closed, a man who broke into the room swung a dagger at him. Zhao Sheng dodged carelessly and was cut squarely on the right eye.
"Don't worry about me, close the door first." He endured the pain. At first, he just felt that his eyes were soaked in blood, which flowed over most of his face. Later, one of his eyes gradually became unable to see clearly.
As for the blood that flowed out, I could feel it was warm at first, but as my strength was used up, even the pain disappeared. I only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the heavy door latch locked tightly.
Old Cheng supported half of his body and said, "We need to find a doctor to treat you quickly."
Zhao Sheng shook his head and covered his eyes. Seeing the soldiers still fighting in the distance, he simply tore a long strip of cloth from his clothes and hastily wrapped up the wound: "There's no way we can leave now until the people are taken care of."
After the melee, the group of thieves who broke into the city were finally eliminated, and it was confirmed that they were not the unexpected bandits, but a small vanguard of the enemy army.
Lancheng is not at the center of the battle, and it can even be said that it is far away from the center. However, due to its special terrain, if you occupy this place, you can use the connected mountains as a natural cover and gain the upper hand in the subsequent battles.
Even disguising himself as an ordinary citizen to enter the city and pretending to be a patient were plans made several days in advance.
Fortunately, it was discovered by Zhao Sheng. Although there were considerable casualties, it did not cause a major disaster in the end.
All the enemy forces have been completely controlled, but the hero in this incident was not so lucky.
Zhao Sheng became blind due to an injury to his right eye. If it had been treated properly, he could have barely returned to normal life even if his vision was affected.
However, he did not receive timely medical treatment after being injured, and the muscles around the wound were pulled when fighting with others, causing secondary damage. The wound in his eye socket was contaminated and showed no signs of healing.
In the end, the infection worsened and he was beyond recovery. He passed away after many days of treatment, becoming the only person on the guard team to die in the turmoil.
It was originally a sad thing, and no one remembered it after a long time. But now a monster that steals people's eyes has appeared in Lancheng, so it's no wonder that others want to link the two together.
Aunt Wu was an eyewitness to the incident. She was setting up a stall on the street when it happened and saw the whole thing.
She was in her early twenties at the time and was even more curious about what Zhao Sheng was thinking before he died.
Should he be glad that he did not make a mistake and protected the people of Lancheng, or should he feel that it was not worth it for himself that so many people, whether intentional or unintentional, tried to stop him, causing him to lose an eye and then his life.
Aunt Wu sighed, "I just thought, if someone had stood by Zhao Sheng and closed the city gate earlier, perhaps everything that happened later wouldn't have happened."
Ding Can didn't expect things to turn out like this. To be fair, Aunt Wu was just a bystander. No matter how much responsibility was sought, it couldn't be attributed to her.
"Then do you know if those people who died were related to what happened back then?"
Aunt Wu shook her head. "I don't know those people, but I heard they weren't particularly young. If they had experienced the invasion of the city by foreign enemies, that's possible."
"So you're burning paper to honor Zhao Sheng. Are you suspecting it was his ghost who did it? But it happened a long time ago."
"No," Aunt Wu paused, "We all know Zhao Sheng is a good man. If he really was, why would he have waited until now? He should have acted out when he died in vain. He's just remembering the past and trying to accumulate merit."
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