Chapter 695 A Dream of Youth 227
Enraged, the governor finally remembered to ask about the situation in the south of the city. The captain, pale-faced, said, "Governor, the south of the city is under fierce attack by the Zhou army. Please send reinforcements."
Another general stepped forward and said, "Governor, I believe that only by completely breaching the canal can we stop the Zhou army's advance."
An official stepped forward and refused outright, “No, the Empress Dowager said that we must wait for the Zhou army to regroup before we can completely defeat them by diverting the canal.”
Then he added, "If Fu Yao fails to capture the city after a long siege, he will surely request reinforcements. Even if he doesn't, now that they feel the situation is very favorable, other armies will definitely come to join them."
I've heard that Li Yu is the commander-in-chief, and he's not far from Lingzhou. He's leading 80,000 Zhou troops. If he hears that Fu Yao has attacked Lingzhou, he'll definitely lead his army over within three days. Then we can breach the canals and completely trap their 130,000 troops here.”
The governor lowered his eyes in deep thought, but ultimately agreed with the idea, "We must hold the east gate and prevent the Zhou army from advancing any further, and the same applies to the south gate..."
After discussing it with everyone, the governor realized that someone seemed to be missing today, so he asked, "Where is Magistrate Yan?"
Everyone looked at each other, completely bewildered. Only a minor official stepped forward, bowed, and replied, "Lord Yan is unwell and unable to come."
A general with a thick beard scoffed, "As expected, he can't rely on that guy from the Great Zhou to come over. It was Xi Li who appointed him, gave him a platform to display his talents, and pushed him to his current position. Now that the Great Zhou has attacked, he's become unwell."
"Hmph, I think he's not truly aligned with Western principles, otherwise he wouldn't have been so opposed to the 'water attack' method yesterday."
An old man couldn't help but speak up for Lord Yan, saying, "Lord Yan has always loved the people. He is just afraid that the people in this area will suffer after the Seven-Level Canal is breached."
"Silly accepted him, so naturally he is loyal to Silly. General Moro is exaggerating."
These civil officials all had a good impression of Yan Ling, because Yan Ling was indeed talented, and under his assistance in governance, Lingzhou City became more and more prosperous.
The people in the city also loved and respected him.
The governor waved his hand, still angry about Yan Ling's opposition to him yesterday. He had originally planned to send a physician to see him, but now he gave up on the idea.
Another day passed, and the southern part of the city remained unconquered. Chief Steward Fu grew increasingly anxious, while the western part of the city held a strategic position and was difficult to capture.
Now that they have occupied the east gate, the fear and courage of the Xili army have reached their peak under the order to kill anyone who retreats. The soldiers dare not retreat, so much so that they are unable to continue advancing.
Finally, the Grand Commander ordered the troops to begin moving, to camp on higher ground if possible, or else retreat and get as far away as possible.
"How much food do we have left? How many days can it last?"
The logistics officer wiped his sweat and hurriedly stepped forward to report the data.
Xie Ning didn't know about the food supplies, but she was running low on medicine. Whenever she had free time, she would lead people to dig for medicinal herbs. In winter, the amount of medicinal herbs that could be found was pitifully small, but she still tried her best to search for them.
Or buy from the local people.
But they didn't have any either, not only medicine but also food, because of the scorched-earth policy of Xili, they couldn't even leave behind a single grain of food.
There's a war going on outside, and they... are just waiting to die.
Xie Ning met their fearful, hateful, and numb gazes, pursed her lips, and wondered what she was thinking.
"Ah—" It's Du Xin!
Xie Ning led his men over and saw Du Xin pointing at the withered weeds on the side with a pale face. Then she turned her head and couldn't help but vomit.
It was a child's severed limbs.
Xie Ning lowered his eyes and said to the guard beside him, "Bury it."
War is always cruel.
However, sometimes it is not enough for one side to seek peace to end the war.
"Ya ya ya!"
Xie Ning was waiting for Du Xin outside with his men when a child suddenly appeared beside them. He was extremely thin, with wide eyes, and held a sharpened wooden stick in his hand, aiming it at Xie Ning.
He kept muttering something, which Xie Ning couldn't understand, but it was probably cursing, because the child's eyes were full of hatred and despair.
His hands were so thin that Xie Ning could break them with just two fingers. Before he could even reach Xie Ning with the wooden stick, he was stopped by the guards beside him.
His stick was knocked to the ground, and he then bit it with his teeth.
Perhaps due to lack of strength, only shallow teeth marks were left.
The guards lifted him up in no time. It took very little effort to subdue a seven or eight-year-old child, who was so thin from hunger.
Xie Ning handed the child the half-eaten steamed bun she hadn't finished that day, because she didn't have any extra food. Apart from the occasional prey that Snowball hunted, her three meals a day were always the same.
The reason I didn't finish the steamed bun was because I was too nauseous from overworking these past few days.
She had originally planned to go back and swallow it with water; here, no one would waste food, including her.
The child struggled, still staring at Xie Ning with hatred. He wanted to refuse Xie Ning's steamed bun, but he couldn't control his hunger and took a bite.
Even if I were poisoned to death, it would be better than the feeling of hunger.
"Woo woo~" Snowball rubbed against Xie Ning's leg, wanting Xie Ning to go catch rabbits with it.
"You need to find herbs. Go play by yourself."
Xie Ning glanced at the clock; it was getting late. "Never mind," she thought, "I should head back now."
She didn't bring any food, so she can't go too far.
The child, left to the side, huddled up and stared blankly as Xie Ning and the others rode away, a long-lost feeling of fullness assaulting his brain.
Why?
Why not kill him?
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