He gently crushed the wax ball, revealing a ball of paper inside. He slowly unfolded it, revealing tiny handwriting on it. The strokes were a little messy, but it was still recognizable as Li Gan's:
"We have arrived safely at Yingtai. If the situation becomes urgent, you can follow Shisuo to surrender."
Yingtai is a small town in the northeast of the capital. Its location is very critical because it has an outlet to the sea.
The northern barbarians may not necessarily occupy Yingtai. They came from Qingzhou, which is the wrong direction.
Besides, Yingtai is not so easy to bully.
The people of Yingtai are tough by nature. Almost every family has a dock and a steel knife. Even the poor fishermen living near the sea have paulownia boats that can go out to sea at any time and shiny harpoons.
The northern barbarians are better at bullying the unarmed and docile people like sheep.
There is a tunnel in the capital that leads to Yingtai.
It hasn't been used for many years, so it might be difficult to navigate inside.
Xia Daohua felt relieved.
She came to this time and space and made few friends.
Most of the people she thought were her lifelong friends drifted apart and often backstabbed her, which made her feel disheartened.
On the contrary, Li Gan, who had been treated as a customer from the beginning, had never encountered any problems.
Feeling relieved, Xia Daohua was in the mood to enjoy tea and snacks.
This place makes good dim sum and the tea is also pretty good.
Xia Daohua hadn't finished her pot of tea when she heard a commotion in the street.
It turned out that it was the Northern Barbarian Army that broke through the Thorn Pass!
The teahouse lobby, which was originally quiet with most people just talking in low voices, suddenly became noisy.
Even the guests in the private room where Xia Daohua was staying opened their windows or doors to try to figure out what was going on. Xia Daohua also opened her door and sat near it, drinking tea and listening to the noise outside.
Messengers rushed through the streets, spreading the terrifying news along the way:
"Urgent news! Urgent news! The northern barbarians are attacking, and Thorn Pass has fallen!"
"Urgent news! Urgent news! The northern barbarians are attacking, and Thorn Pass has fallen!"
The sound of horses' hooves became louder and louder as they faded away.
Each sound was more terrifying than the last, like a huge drumstick hitting a drum, striking hard on people's hearts. Every sound made people's hearts tremble violently.
Is the capital city really going to be surrounded?
Those who couldn't help but run out to find out the news soon came back with new information - it turned out that the northern barbarian army had taken a long way without anyone noticing, abandoned Jiaxiang Ridge, did not attack Ping'an County, but went straight to Jingji Pass!
The shabby place of Jingzhi Pass has been closed for many years and is almost deserted. Even if the old, weak, sick, disabled, women and children are included, there are less than a thousand soldiers guarding the pass.
People in the teahouse
The Northern Barbarian Army chose Thorn Pass as a breakthrough point, which was somewhat unexpected, but also very much in line with Xiao Lubuhua's style - Xia Daohua firmly believed that Xiao Lubuhua must have had a hand in this.
Otherwise, the Northern Barbarian Army had just suffered a setback in Qingzhou City, so it was understandable that they bypassed Ping'an County, and it was reasonable to abandon Jiaxiang Ridge, but they chose Jingzhi Pass, a corner that even people in the capital couldn't remember. I'm afraid they must have had an insider to do it!
And besides Xiao Lubuhua, is there anyone else who is behind this?
…
The teahouse was noisy for a while. Some customers hurriedly paid their bills and left to go home to discuss whether to flee. Some prominent figures also stood up and left to find out the news.
Thinking of the bloody legends about the northern barbarians, as citizens of the capital, everyone was somewhat panicked.
I was fine, though I was a little worried. After all, life was hard and I didn't have much. If I really had to flee, I could just take food and money with me.
On the contrary, those with abundant wealth were the most panicked. They hurriedly began to pack their bags and sort out their gold, silver and valuables. Some families with many concubines had to make decisions about which concubines to keep and which to take with them.
However, their efforts were in vain - just as the messenger entered the city, the guards at the four gates had already pulled up the drawbridge over the moat, closed the city gates, and locked them.
Without orders from higher authorities, this city gate will never be opened again.
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