Chapter 274: Stirring up a hornet's nest
Song Zhen stopped the feather fan in his hand and stared at Xiao Beiheng in surprise.
Xiao Beiheng had been smiling just now, but when he saw the letter, his eyes widened, as if he had seen something terrifying. Even the hand holding the letter began to tremble slightly.
What did Xiao Zhuo write in the letter that could cause such a big reaction from Xiao Beiheng?
He was wondering when Xiao Beiheng's eyes slowly turned to him. When their eyes met, a strange look flashed in Xiao Beiheng's eyes, and his hand moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Song Zhen was startled and leaned back: "Your Highness?"
He could feel that Xiao Beiheng's gaze was full of aggression and murderous intent.
Killing him would be as easy as killing a chicken for Xiao Beiheng; he wouldn't be able to escape. Could it be that Xiao Zhuo was using some kind of sowing discord or other scheme to get rid of him through Xiao Beiheng?
He wanted to explain out loud, but he didn't know what was in the letter, so he didn't know where to start.
Both of them looked terrified and remained silent.
After a while, Xiao Beiheng suddenly avoided his gaze, forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, Military Advisor. Xiao Zhuo... he... he actually dared to insult me. This prince is so angry that he can't bear it."
Although he spoke stutteringly, Song Zhen was relieved because it turned out to have nothing to do with him.
Xiao Zhuo wrote to insult Xiao Beiheng, no wonder Xiao Beiheng instantly wanted to kill him. The result scared him.
His eyes fell on another letter on the table. The words "King of Qi" were written on the envelope, and it was addressed to the King of Qi.
Xiao Zhuo cursed people and even wrote two letters. Was he cursing the King of Qi and his son separately?
He raised his eyes, and saw Xiao Beiheng had already placed the letter in his hand on the candle and lit it. The letter in his right hand was still burning, and he picked up the letter on the table with his left hand and also placed it on the candle to light it.
"Your Highness, isn't this letter addressed to the King of Qi?" Song Zhen asked.
Xiao Beiheng did not respond, staring at the burning letter in his hand.
He stared at the ashes for a long time until both pieces of paper were reduced to ashes. He then turned to look at Song Zhen and said with a smile, "The letter to my father is naturally insulting. My father is injured and bedridden now. It would be very bad if he saw it."
Song Zhen nodded in agreement.
Xiao Beiheng had been so enraged by the contents of the letter that he was shaking and wanted to kill someone. The words in the letter to the King of Qi must have been extremely harsh. Xiao Beiheng's refusal to show the letter to Xiao Ming was also an act of filial piety.
Xiao Beiheng called the messenger into the tent and said, "Order the three armies to attack the city immediately. Whoever takes Xiao Zhuo's head will be made a marquis."
Song Zhen was surprised and stood up and asked, "Why did His Royal Highness suddenly want to attack the city?"
He had previously suggested surrounding the city without attacking, and Xiao Beiheng had agreed to it. Why did he suddenly change his mind?
"How can I tolerate Xiao Zhuo insulting my father and son?" Xiao Beiheng sneered and said to the soldiers, "Also, pass the order to all the generals: anyone who leaves the city, regardless of gender, age or status, will be executed immediately."
Song Zhen was stunned.
Does this mean that even Xiao Zhuo's messengers must be killed? Could Xiao Zhuo's insults actually make Xiao Beiheng so angry?
"Your Highness, Xiao Zhuo is short of food and supplies right now. We can win by just besieging them for a few days." He tried his best to persuade them. "This city is extremely well-built. If we force an attack, our army will suffer heavy casualties."
Before he could finish his words, Xiao Beiheng interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "I have made up my mind, and there is no need for you to persuade me. I will lead the army to attack the city myself."
After saying that, Xiao Beiheng walked out of the tent, leaving Song Zhen standing alone in the tent.
He really couldn't understand why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ignored the good strategy and instead chose to force an attack on the city. This was clearly a move that would not be worth the cost.
Not only him, Shen Yuexi also couldn't figure it out.
Shen Yuexi had always felt that Xiao Beiheng was capricious, having experienced this many times before. And now, Xiao Beiheng had demonstrated his capriciousness once again.
She stood on the city wall, looking at the Qi army surging like a tide below, the shouting and killing sounds made her eardrums hurt.
This attack was completely different from the feint. It reminded her of the battle when the Xirong people climbed onto the Ice City by stepping on the corpses of their companions.
The battle had been going on for two hours, and the sun was about to set.
Stones rained down from the top of the city walls, but the Qi army showed no intention of retreating. Soldiers were constantly falling from the ladders and into the crowd.
Xiao Zhuo sent two letters and felt like he had stirred up a hornet's nest.
Another thing that worried her was that Xiao Beiheng, while attacking, was sending troops to climb the mountains on both sides, seemingly intending to surround the entire city. Fortunately, Qiu Liming and another general personally led their troops to resist the Qi King's army from both sides.
"Husband, do you think they have read the letter?" Shen Yuexi asked Xiao Zhuo who was standing beside her.
Xiao Zhuo said, "The messenger said that he only returned to report after seeing Xiao Beiheng open the letter."
"Then why did he attack us?" Shen Yuexi was puzzled.
Xiao Zhuo shook his head. "He probably doesn't believe it."
"What about the King of Qi? Doesn't he believe it either?"
Just as Shen Yuexi was asking, there was a sudden sound of footsteps on the stairs. Feng Zhang ran up breathlessly and saw Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi and shouted, "My lord, my lord, Xiao Beiheng..."
He ran so fast that he held his knees and gasped for breath.
Shen Yuexi turned around and said, "Feng Zhang, don't be so flustered. What's going on?"
Feng Zhang took two breaths, stood up, ran to the railing of the tower, raised his hand and pointed in the distance, saying: "My lord, Xiao Beiheng... I saw him, he is personally directing the siege."
Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo both followed his gesture and saw several generals surrounding a figure behind the Qi Wang army's lines. Although they were quite far away and the twilight was dim, Shen Yuexi could tell it was Xiao Beiheng simply by feeling and impression.
"I also saw Xiao Beiheng, and then what?" she said to Feng Zhang.
Feng Zhang swallowed his saliva and said, "Xiao Beiheng's position is right within the range of the cannon."
Shen Yuexi exclaimed and looked at Xiao Zhuo.
Xiao Beiheng was currently leading his army in a fierce assault on the city. If they could eliminate Xiao Beiheng with a single cannon shot, the offensive would naturally collapse. But would Xiao Zhuo agree?
"My lord, I'm confident I can kill him with one cannon shot. Please give the order quickly," Feng Zhang rubbed his hands together. "If we delay any longer, he will be out of range of the cannon and out of reach."
He had already attacked the second prince before, so attacking the prince's son now was no big deal for him.
"You go down first." Xiao Zhuo turned his back to Feng Zhang and waved his hand.
Feng Zhang was stunned for a moment, then spread his hands and looked at Shen Yuexi: "Such a good opportunity, just one shot can end the battle... We have already suffered three to four thousand casualties."
Shen Yuexi sighed and said to Feng Zhang, "You've heard what your husband said. Go down first. You and Yang Cong, please be careful."
Feng Zhang was confused and had to go down from the city wall.
Shen Yuexi said: "Husband, I know you don't want to do this either. But if we continue to fight like this, more people will die. They also have brothers and sisters..."
"I know everything," Xiao Zhuo said without looking back, "but I really can't do it. Our food and grass won't last for a few days. If we can't do it, we should withdraw from the north of the city."
"Give up this city?" This time it was Shen Yuexi's turn to shake her head. "I built this city with my own hands. This is our home. I will never hand it over to anyone else!"
Xiao Zhuo turned around and looked at Shen Yuexi.
Shen Yuexi put her hands on her hips in anger and said, "You can let me go just by saying it. I won't agree to that."
This is the place she and Xiao Zhuo have run for a long time, and she has very deep feelings for it.
Just as he was getting angry, another general ran up and shouted to Xiao Zhuo in panic, "My lord, the enemy has already attacked the west wall!"
Unlike the generals who were panicking, Xiao Zhuo's expression remained calm and unwavering. He said to the generals, "Order General Li to lead the infantry to drive back the enemy troops on the city wall, and then send in more archers."
"Yes, sir." After receiving Xiao Zhuo's instructions, the panic on the general's face disappeared, and he turned around and walked down the city wall with confidence.
These soldiers and generals were recruited from Xiliang and lacked much battlefield experience. Their ability to hold their own against the elite Qi army was entirely due to Xiao Zhuo, the backbone of the army. Seeing Xiao Zhuo's calm expression and receiving his instructions filled them with confidence.
Just as Shen Yuexi was about to speak again, several more generals came forward to ask for orders. After receiving their orders one by one, the generals calmed down and left.
After Xiao Zhuo finished giving his instructions, he glanced at the tower: "Yue Xi?"
At some point, Shen Yuexi disappeared.
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