Chapter 248 What is that light?
Seeing Mei Dai leading the Xiliang cavalry, Shen Yuexi excitedly stepped forward, grabbed the reins of the warhorse and said:
"Sister Mei, I didn't expect you to come."
Mei Dai jumped off the horse and hugged her with open arms: "Sister, it's great to meet you here. Is Xiao Zhuo also in the city?"
"Sister Mei, we need soldiers right now. The Second Prince's army in the south of the city will attack here tomorrow morning," Shen Yuexi and Mei Dai walked towards the city gate together. "You've come at the perfect time. Come on, let's go find my husband."
Since they parted ways in Longsheng Town and met again today, Shen Yuexi had a lot to say to Mei Dai. But time was running out, so she had to put everything aside for now.
The two walked side by side into the city, and Xiao Zhuo had already arrived on horseback.
Mei Dai took off her mask, stepped forward, and greeted Xiao Zhuo with a military salute, saying, "Mei Dai from Xiliang, greetings, sir."
Her words had two meanings. The first was that she came on behalf of the Xiliang Mei family. The second was that she was originally the concubine of Emperor Yongde. Now she called herself by her name to clearly tell Xiao Zhuo that she had no connection with Emperor Yongde anymore.
Seeing Mei Dai's elegant and graceful manners, and even the way she saluted looked heroic, Shen Yuexi couldn't help but feel itchy in her heart, so she clasped her hands together and imitated her.
Xiao Zhuo's eyes flickered between Mei Dai and Shen Yuexi, and he nodded slightly: "Is this the last remaining army of Xiliang?"
Shen Yuexi was puzzled. Didn't the Xiliang army have 30,000 soldiers in Nanping?
She was about to ask when Mei Dai replied, "Young Master, you are very perceptive. I admire you. There are three thousand cavalrymen here, all under your command."
"Okay, Yuexi, you and Meidai, go to the top of the city wall to find Feng Zhang and wait for orders. I've already told Feng Zhang the details."
A soldier came over with a horse, and Xiao Zhuo jumped on it and galloped towards the south of the city.
Shen Yuexi watched Xiao Zhuo leave and said to Mei Dai, "Sister Mei, why did my husband say that this was Xiliang's last army? Don't you have 30,000 men?"
Mei Dai whispered, "Sister, I don't know how to lead an army in battle. These 3,000 cavalrymen are the last of the Mei family's army."
"Ah, was it Xiao Beiheng who hit me?"
Mei Dai lowered her head with a hint of guilt. "It was King Doma of the Western Rong. I fought him five times, and all 30,000 of my men were wiped out. He pursued us relentlessly, and we fled eastward, with only these cavalrymen escaping."
"It's this guy again." Shen Yuexi recalled being surrounded by King Thomas's army at the Bull Run River. "One day we'll have to settle accounts with him."
The two climbed up the south wall, and Mei Dai continued, "We couldn't find food along the way. Horses can eat grass, but people can't. I remembered my brother mentioned this city, so I brought the cavalry here to borrow some food. I didn't expect to meet you here."
"So that's how it is. Sister Mei, look," Shen Yuexi leaned on the battlement of the city wall and pointed to the south, "the culprit who looted all the food and grass on the road is right there."
"The Second Prince's army?" Mei Dai stepped forward and looked across. "Although he has been assisting the emperor for four years, he has never led an army in battle. There is no way he can be a match for you, young master."
Shen Yuexi was leaning on the battlement and looking down. It was pitch black below, and she could only hear the dense sound of footsteps and horse hooves passing through the city gate. It must be Xiao Zhuo leading his troops to set off.
Remembering Xiao Zhuo's instructions, she quickly found Feng Zhang and asked, "What did your husband tell you?"
"The Lord said that the Second Prince's army was a cobbled-together mess. If their leader, the Second Prince, is captured, the army will inevitably fall into chaos. The Lord told us to light torches and raise white flags on the city walls to lure the Second Prince out to watch. He then took the opportunity to charge in."
After listening to Feng Zhang's explanation, Shen Yuexi realized that Xiao Zhuo's old problem had come back again.
He wanted to charge into the camp and kill the general alone.
As the saying goes, if you keep walking by the river, you will get your shoes wet. It may be okay once, it may be okay twice, but it is impossible to be okay every time.
However, the disparity in military strength meant they had to eliminate the enemy's commander first. Xiao Zhuo had told her before that many of his strategies were forced upon him.
Mei Dai said from the side, "Young Master, you want to lure the Second Prince out and then kill him. The risk is too high. If you fail, we will all be in great trouble."
"I know that too. It's such a headache." Shen Yuexi answered as her eyes swept across the city wall.
Feng Zhang was arranging people on the city wall to hurriedly prepare white flags and torches.
Looking past the crowd, Shen Yuexi saw the cannon placed on the city wall. Her eyes lit up and she shouted, "Feng Zhang, wait a minute."
Everyone came to the cannon, and Shen Yuexi patted the cannon: "Have you used this cannon before?"
"Yes, there were so many cannons..." Feng Zhang said, scratching his head. "What were they?"
"Cannonballs."
"Yes, yes, I've fired more than ten rounds. This thing is incredibly powerful. Boom..."
"Don't describe it for now," Shen Yuexi reached out to stop Feng Zhang, "If we can lure the Second Prince out, can you hit him with this cannon?"
"Madam, the Second Prince is in Xiaogang Village," Feng Zhang shook his head repeatedly. "The cannon can't reach that far."
"It's okay, I have a solution," Shen Yuexi urged Feng Zhang, "Hurry up and load the shells in."
Before she could turn around, Feng Zhang's legs were so weak that he almost collapsed to the ground. "Madam, you asked me to use a cannon to attack the prince... I really don't dare. He's the prince."
"Oh, really," Shen Yuexi pulled over the white flag and wrote three crooked big words on it with a brush, "Go to hell."
Mei Dai covered her mouth and laughed: "Sister, you are really smart."
"Come here, raise the white flag," Shen Yuexi ordered everyone to raise the white flag.
Next, she taught Mei Dai how to fire the cannon: "Sister Mei, after the match is lit, quickly cover your ears and run to me."
While he was teaching, there was a commotion in Xiaogang Village to the south. A lot of flames burst out from the village entrance facing the south city wall. They stopped at the village entrance for a while and then slowly moved over.
"Madam, I'll do it." Feng Zhang stood up with a determined heart and asked Mei Dai for the torch. "Tell me who is the Second Prince."
Mei Dai said, "The Second Prince isn't walking in the front. Look at the man in the middle of the team, surrounded by many people. He's wearing gorgeous armor, and there are two long feathers on his helmet. That's the Second Prince."
"Okay, help me adjust the muzzle," Feng Zhang instructed the people around him, "They're almost there."
The cannons on the city wall slowly turned silently, adjusting their direction.
At the north entrance of Xiaogang Village, a large group of generals and soldiers escorted the second prince out of the village, walking forward in a noisy manner.
These soldiers were originally local forces of Defei's mother's family. They were not regular soldiers at all and had no military discipline.
"Who of you can tell me what is written on the white flag?" asked the second prince.
"I can't see it clearly either, but it looks like a three-character curse," said a general. "The middle character looks like 'die,' but it doesn't quite look like it. It's mainly because the handwriting is so bad..."
The Second Prince asked, "Isn't raising the white flag a sign of surrender? Why are you cursing at me? Isn't that contradictory?"
The general said, "Let's go around the big pit ahead and get a closer look. If they dare to provoke us, we'll breach the city walls and kill them all."
The Second Prince nodded repeatedly, "That's how it should be. These unruly people... can't even bear to give them a little food."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a bright light flashing on the city wall in the distance.
"Did you all see that?" The Second Prince stood at the edge of the pit, raised his hand and pointed at the direction where the light had just appeared. "What was that light? It disappeared in a flash."
"I saw it too," one of the generals replied. "It's brighter than a torch. I wonder what it is."
"Yes, yes, it's bigger than a torch." Another general echoed.
As everyone was talking, a sharp whistling sound that they had never heard before was heard in the air.
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