Su Rong’s injury, of course, made it unsuitable for her to return to the battlefield, but the pressing matter at hand was how to resist the siege of Dawei.
Dawei had four remaining siege cannons, and these four alone were enough to give her a hard time, let alone the eight hundred thousand troops.
In yesterday’s battle, the loss to Dawei’s troops was not substantial, amounting to at most ten thousand, but Nanchu’s casualties were heavy. Su Rong didn’t know the exact numbers, but she guessed that around twenty to thirty thousand soldiers must have been left on the battlefield outside the city yesterday.
Half of these people were unable to get up and return to Heiya Pass due to Xie Yuan’s zither music.
Knowing yesterday’s precedent, Dawei today would certainly not be completely unprepared like yesterday, allowing Xie Yuan to mess up their minds with his zither music once again.
Su Rong shook her head, "I’m fine, let’s go!"
Fen Ling didn’t say anything more upon hearing this.
Ye Guixue sighed but didn’t say anything either, and the crowd hurried to the city gate together.
Just when they were halfway there, they heard the sound of fighting coming from the city wall, followed by the booming sound of cannons attacking the city.
The siege cannons were deafening, and the city gate was shaking violently.
"Not good, Dawei is indeed attacking the city." Zhang Yun’s face turned pale.
Su Rong also looked extremely upset.
The group spurred their horses forward and soon arrived at the city gate. They saw Xie Yuan standing on the city wall giving orders, and Ning Ze on the ground directing the soldiers to carry and use rolling thunder stones, kerosene, and other items.
Su Rong tightened her grip on the Broken Snow Sword, thinking about whether they, all injured as they were, could fight their way out.
Fen Ling gritted her teeth and said, "Sister, you go up the city wall and command with Master Xie. I will lead the men out and destroy the siege cannons at all costs."
Su Rong looked at Fen Ling.
Fen Ling was firm, "Sister, yesterday, the hidden guard named Si Chen sacrificed himself to buy us time. Although he died a heroic death, it ended up being a good strategy. As long as we can destroy these four siege cannons, even if Dawei has eight hundred thousand troops and attacks swiftly, they won’t be able to breach Heiya Pass within half a month. This would certainly give you enough time to wait for reinforcements."
"It’s not an option." Su Rong shook her head.
To sacrifice a man so heroically like yesterday was unavoidable. But today, if she had to let a group of people heroically go to their deaths, she could not stand by and watch indifferently.
"Sister, hundreds of hidden guards are nothing compared to the Southern Chu River and Mountains. We must consider what’s important here!" frustrated, Fen Ling pursued. "With the four siege cannons attacking like this, the city gate will certainly be knocked down and breached within half an hour. Then, we will be in trouble."
"Worst case scenario, we’ll withdraw from Heiya Pass," Su Rong said.
"That could lead to even more deaths," Fen Ling retorted immediately.
Su Rong fell silent.
Fen Ling turned to Ye Guixue, "Lord Ye, do you have any thoughts?"
Ye Guixue pursed his lips. He also thought that this was a desperate measure. Though cruel, it could indeed solve the pressing issue at hand. However, it was indeed too tragic. He said, "At least for now, it’s not the time yet. If it can’t be helped, we’ll resort to it."
After he finished speaking, he added, "Let’s go up the city wall first. Have people use siege engines to firmly block the city gate. Give it more support to hold on for a while longer."
Fen Ling closed her mouth.
Su Rong nodded and headed up to the city wall.
On the city wall, Xie Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, standing behind a crenel. Beside him were more than a dozen ancient zithers. Seeing Su Rong and the others coming up, Xie Yuan didn’t ask when Su Rong woke up or why she didn’t rest and recover but instead came to defend the city. After all, as a princess, it was her responsibility and her role to lead everyone. As long as she could stand up, she had to do it.
He said to Su Rong and the others, "You came at the right time. Hurry up and look over the musical scores. Have our soldiers drink a bowl of the heart-calming and mind-stabilizing medication that I asked someone to decoct yesterday. Then we will play the ’Soldier’s Lament’ that I composed together."
"Play together?" Zhang Yun was startled.
"Yes, when two people play, the music doesn’t reach far enough, nor is it powerful enough. But what about when several or even dozens of instruments play together?" Xie Yuan said, "Otherwise, we have no other choice."
Fen Ling brightened, "That’s a great idea, Master Xie."
Indeed, what if the power of the disturbing ’Soldier’s Lament’ was doubled or even tripled?
Su Rong also agreed, "Could we also destroy the siege cannons outside while we’re at it?"
"That’s hard to say. It depends on whether our people can withstand the ’Soldier’s Lament’."
Su Rong said to Fen Ling, "Gather the troops first. Don’t resort to drastic and cruel methods. Take the best weapons. Once our people feel they can resist, seize the opportunity to open the city gate and destroy the four siege cannons. I’ll go with you."
Fen Ling hesitated for a moment, "Sister, I’ll lead the men. You don’t need to join us. Your injuries are too severe and it’s not suitable for you to exert yourself swinging a sword to destroy the siege cannons. If you worsen your injuries and lose your life, even if we destroy the siege cannons in the end, it will be in vain."
Ye Guixue also said on the side, "I’ll go with Fen Ling and Yin Yue. It is indeed not suitable for the princess to take risks."
Su Rong looked at them, "You’re also injured."
"But my injuries are not as severe as yours," Ye Guixue said.
Xie Yuan said on the side, "Fine, we’ll go with Guixue’s plan. Leave Xiaoqi behind. You’re the princess. Do what you’re supposed to do. Don’t force yourself to do what you’re not supposed to do."
Su Rong had no choice but to agree, "Okay."
So, Xie Yuan, Su Rong, Zhang Yun, Jiang Zhu, and Zhang Mao made up a group of only five people.
"Does anyone else know music?" Zhang Yun asked.
Lan Zhi and Bi Qing stepped forward, looked at the score, and shook their heads together. Their expertise was in medicine, and although they had learned some music, the score was too difficult. They could neither memorize it in a short time nor play it without missing a note.
"Count me in." Shen Yi, with her pregnant belly, climbed onto the city wall.
The reason she was able to win the favor of the emperor of Daliang and become the precious imperial concubine favored above all others in the palace was not only due to her beauty. She was also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Su Rong nodded, "Alright, count my older sister in."
Shen Yi came over and studied the score with everyone. The medicine that Doctor Zhang gave her the day before to protect her fetus was very effective, and she was no longer in pain.
The sound of six zithers was already three times that of yesterday. But Xie Yuan didn’t think it was enough. Dawei’s people must have been prepared for yesterday’s music. There had to be enough deterrent force to breakthrough Dawei’s method of plugging their ears. He had to make them understand that blocking their ears was useless.
Who said a method can’t be used twice, or even three times?
Xie Yuan ordered, "Find more people. We need at least two more."
Those who knew music and could resist the music themselves were not numerous. In fact, Ye Guixue and Fen Ling could do it, but they needed to lead people to destroy the siege cannons. Zhou Gu could also do it, but he was now feverish and unconscious.
"I can, Master Xie, count me in." Ziye climbed onto the city wall. He had grown up with Zhou Gu and naturally learned not only martial arts to protect the young master, but also the six arts.
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