Chapter 246 Ultimatum
"Huh!"
Even though there was a blazing bonfire in front of her, Shen Yuexi still sneezed loudly.
She was wrapped in a large woolen blanket, her hair sticking to her cheeks, the ends of which were still dripping. Around the fire sat several toothless old ladies and a middle-aged woman, all looking at her with the kind of caring eyes they would give to a child. From time to time, they would smile and whisper to each other in Xirong dialect, but no one could tell what they were saying.
What bad luck! I could already see the city wall of Langya Pass, but how could I fall into the water?
The boat was so close to the shore at that time, and she thought she could easily jump ashore. But when she pushed the boat with her feet, she jumped out ten centimeters... in front of so many people who were waiting to greet her... and splashed into the water.
No wonder when they saw her pretending to jump, everyone on the shore started shaking their hands and shouting in panic.
Unfortunately, she couldn't understand Xirong language.
She couldn't communicate with those old ladies anyway, so she said to Xiao Zhuo angrily, "This is all your fault. You saw me fall and didn't even help me up."
Xiao Zhuo was roasting a leg of lamb over the bonfire and said with a smile, "I was just stopping the boat at that time, so I didn't know you..."
"Don't make excuses, don't make excuses," Shen Yuexi rubbed her itchy nose with the back of her hand angrily, "It's all your fault!"
Although the man rescued her immediately, the responsibility was his.
Xiao Zhuo raised one hand in surrender, and with his right hand, he sliced off a large piece of meat from the hot roasted lamb leg, placed it on a plate, and handed it to him:
"I apologize."
Shen Yuexi smiled and took the plate: "This is good enough, give me two more slices."
I've been eating fish for two days now. Although grilled fish is delicious, it gets boring if I eat too much. I can finally change my taste on land.
The lamb is roasted until golden brown, the skin is crispy, and the aroma is fragrant. When you chew it in your mouth, you will feel satisfied instantly.
She was feasting when she heard the clatter of warhorses' hooves and the bleating of sheep in the distance. Dozens of warhorses, scattering a herd of cotton-like lambs on the road, raced along the winding road, passing through the shadows cast by the numerous tents, followed by a carriage.
After seeing the person's face clearly, Shen Yuexi put down the plate and jumped up happily: "It's Qiang Lin!"
She thought that Qiang Lin could not escort Chen Lan as fast as she and Xiao Zhuo, but she didn't expect them to arrive first.
Qiang Lin came closer, stopped his mount and jumped off. He first saluted the middle-aged woman and said a few words in Xirong language. The middle-aged woman smiled and nodded, and signaled to Shen Yuexi with her eyes.
"Master, it's great that you can return safely." Qiang Lin faced Shen Yuexi again and knelt on one knee to salute.
"We are all fine. This is..." Shen Yuexi looked at the middle-aged woman.
"My mother sent someone into the city to inform us that our benefactor had returned, but it was inconvenient to move..." Qiang Lin glanced at Shen Yuexi's wet hair, "I immediately left the city to welcome him."
Shen Yuexi blushed and said, "It's nothing serious, I just accidentally fell into the water."
After bidding farewell to everyone, Xiao Zhuo and Qiang Lin rode horses, while Shen Yuexi came to the front of the carriage.
The car door opened, and Yang Cong leaned forward to grab the door handle, revealing his dark face and bright eyes. "Madam, please get in the car quickly. I'm getting impatient."
"Yang Cong is here too." Shen Yuexi got into the car happily. It felt so good to be home.
She got in the car and Yang Cong handed her a handkerchief. "Madam, wipe your hair. You're all wet. Although it's spring plowing season, the weather isn't warm yet. Don't catch a cold."
"Hey, I wanted to jump from the boat to the shore," Shen Yuexi took the handkerchief and wiped her hair, "but I fell into the water."
"Madam, how can you jump directly? Either ask the boatman to hook the stakes on the shore, or wait for someone to build a springboard for you," Yang Cong laughed. "If you jump directly, the boat will move backwards and you won't be able to jump far."
"Got it," Shen Yuexi put down the handkerchief in a feigned anger, "You dare to laugh at me, wait and see how I deal with you."
After saying that, she stretched out her hands to tickle Yang Cong.
Xiao Zhuo and Qiang Lin were riding horses in the front. Hearing the laughter coming from the carriage behind, Xiao Zhuo also curled up a smile.
Qiang Lin said, "Prince Zhao, I have some bad news. I saw that my master was very happy, so I didn't dare to tell him..."
Xiao Zhuo raised his eyebrows and said, "Just tell me what you want."
"The Second Prince of Dayan's army has already occupied Xiaogang Village and is now about to attack Langya Pass."
"The Second Prince's army is going to attack Langya Pass?" Xiao Zhuo pondered for a moment. "Is it for food and fodder?"
Qiang Lin's eyes showed surprise: "Prince Zhao just arrived, how did he know?"
Xiao Zhuo said slowly, "Food and fodder are the lifeblood of an army. The Second Prince's army was anxious to reach the capital, but they stopped midway to attack the Langya Pass. It could only be for food and fodder."
It turned out that when the Second Prince's army left Liangzhou, Xiao Beiheng had just taken over Xiao Kai's army and had yet to arrange for food and fodder supplies. Unlike Xiao Zhuo, the Second Prince had no experience leading troops. In his haste to reach the capital, he plundered villages and towns along the way. Many residents of other villages and towns fled to Xiaogang Village with their food supplies and took refuge within the city walls. Knowing the army was approaching, the residents of Xiaogang Village also transported all their food to the city.
The Second Prince learned that there was a large amount of food in the city at Langya Pass, enough to support the entire army, so he issued an ultimatum to the head of Xiaogang Village, demanding that all the food be handed over within three days. Otherwise, he would storm the city walls and kill all the people in the city.
The village head was at a loss. If he handed over the grain, the people who had fled from the west and the residents of Xiaogang Village would all starve to death.
If they resisted, the walls of Langya Pass were complete, but they lacked the troops to defend them. There were only the few hundred Iron-Faced Soldiers left by Xiao Zhuo, plus the two thousand troops left by Shen Yuexi, totaling less than three thousand men. The Second Prince's army, which had occupied Xiaogang Village, numbered forty thousand, more than ten times their number.
Today is the third day of the ultimatum. It's noon now, and there's still half a day left before the Second Prince's army attacks at dawn tomorrow.
"This is simply outrageous," Shen Yuexi slammed the table in anger after hearing the village head's statement. "He is the second prince, but he robs the people along the way. What's the difference between him and a bandit?"
Feng Zhang stood nearby, his legs shaking, and stammered, "Madam, if it is your humble opinion, we should just hand over the grain."
It was the first time he saw the scale of 40,000 troops since he came out of seclusion. He was almost scared to wet his pants and was despised by Yang Cong.
Yang Cong pushed him aside and said, "The Lord and the Mistress are back. What are you afraid of? Don't try to shake the morale of the army here."
Shen Yuexi said to the village head, "My husband has gone to prepare the army. You, the village heads, should stop burning incense and worshipping the gods in the city."
As soon as she entered the city, she smelled the aroma of incense everywhere. To those who didn't know, they might have thought they had arrived at some religious shrine. But a closer look revealed that the village head had moved the temple from Xiaogang Village Square into the city and enshrined two statues of gods there.
The village head opened his panda eyes wide and said, "Crown Princess, you forgot that this place is guarded by gods. We prayed for two days and two nights before the gods sent His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and you back. Let's pray for a few more days..."
Shen Yuexi was speechless.
These locals were convinced that there were spirits in this place, and as word spread, more and more people came here, and now there are more than 20,000 people in the city. If the number continues to grow, this place will become a real town rather than a village.
She didn't plan to explain to the old stubborn head of the village. She first went to visit her sister Chen Lan, and then climbed up the south city wall accompanied by Feng Zhang and Yang Cong, looking towards Xiaogang Village in the south.
Just as the village head had said, the entire Xiaogang Village had been occupied by the Second Prince's 40,000-man army. Banners and banners were densely scattered among the houses in Xiaogang Village, and soldiers in armor could be seen everywhere.
Without food and supplies, this army will probably not leave easily.
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