"Open the door!"
"Let us in!"
The soldiers retreated into the city, and the sluice gates closed. The people the soldiers had driven out surged back like a black tide, pounding against the gates. The soldiers on the towers shouted, "Retreat! Retreat! Those who have received their travel expenses may set off. Head east, and do not linger!"
However, these Yong'an people left their homeland and fled famine until they arrived at the nearest imperial city. The gates of the imperial city were closed to them. If they wanted to survive, they had to bypass the imperial city and take a longer route to the city further east.
But the journey to this point had been fraught with danger and hardship, with countless casualties. How could anyone have the energy to continue? Even if everyone was given some money, water, and rations, how many days could they last on the road?
They were all covered in dust and dirt. Some were dragging pots and pans, some were carrying babies, and some were carrying stretchers. Some were supported, some were lying down, unable to move any further. They sat in groups on the ground in front of the city wall. The young men still had the energy to rage, pounding on the city gates and shouting, "You can't do this! You're trying to kill us!"
"We are all from Xianle, why are you killing us all like this?"
A man shouted until his voice was hoarse: "Just kick us out, I won't go in, but let my wife and children stay, okay?!"
Like an ant trying to shake a tree, the city gate did not move at all.
Xie Lian stood atop the city wall. His white robes fluttering in the wind, he climbed over the parapet and looked down. Outside the imperial city, all he could see were the slowly moving heads of people, a dense, black mass, much like the swarms of ants he had seen when he played in the imperial gardens as a child.
At that time, out of curiosity, he looked at it a few more times and stretched out a finger, wanting to poke it secretly. Immediately, a palace servant shouted, "Your Highness, this thing is terribly dirty, don't touch it, don't touch it!" She hurried over with her skirt lifted up and crushed the ants to death with a few kicks.
When ants are alive, there's nothing much to see except that they're densely packed together. When they're stepped on to death and turn into nothing more than a puddle of mud, there's nothing to see either.
Inside the imperial city, thousands of houses were ablaze with lights and filled with music. A wall separated two completely different worlds.
It wouldn't have been enough to bar the newcomers from Yong'an from entering, but even those already inside were being driven out. Though cold and hard, Xie Lian probably understood that this was because, over the past few months, there had been increasing friction and trouble between the people of the Imperial City and Yong'an. Leaving a group of these men in the city was a matter of concern, as they feared a potential internal conflict and potential chaos.
However, he felt that there was one point that was still open to discussion. He said absentmindedly, "Why should women and children be evacuated as well? Some of the people inside can't walk far."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing stood behind him. Mu Qing said, "If we're going to retreat, we have to retreat together. The problem isn't the lack of people, but the inequality. We can't treat them differently, otherwise it will inevitably irritate people. Why can they stay, but I can't?"
Feng Xin said: "You think too much."
Mu Qing said calmly, "Some people will think that way. Besides, if their wives and children don't leave, those men won't be willing to leave too far. They will come back sooner or later. Leaving them in the city means leaving trouble for the future."
These Yong'an people refused to leave, and the soldiers in the tower were unable to leave either. They all said, "Humph, let's just wait like this!"
Since His Majesty has issued the order, do you think that just sitting here and wasting time will be enough? If it can take a day or two, can it also take a month or two, or even a year or two?
The soldiers and civilians of the imperial city all shared this sentiment. Some Yong'an residents, desperately resigned to their fate, decided to take a gamble and continue their journey eastward, but these numbers were few. Most sat anxiously at the city gates, hoping the imperial city would open and let them in, or at least give them a place to rest and recuperate before continuing their journey. More new Yong'an residents arrived, and though they were deeply disappointed to see the gates closed, seeing so many people guarding them, they joined the larger group, eagerly waiting and expectant.
After three or four days, more and more people gathered at the city gate, and tens of thousands of people had almost set up camp there, creating a spectacular spectacle. They relied on the water and dry food distributed by the king to barely survive, but they were almost at their limit.
This limit is on the fifth day.
For the past five days, Xie Lian had divided his time every day into three parts: one for the followers of the Prince's Palace, one for arranging the transportation of water and rain, and one for watching over the people of Yong'an outside the city. Even with the help of Feng Xin and Mu Qing, he sometimes felt overwhelmed and unable to cope. One day, when he was not guarding the city, under the scorching sun, a scream suddenly rang out from the city gate.
The screaming ones were a couple holding a child. Everyone gathered around, asking, "What's wrong with the child?" "Is he hungry or thirsty?" After a moment, someone exclaimed, "Everyone, give him some water! The child looks terrible!"
The woman cried and gave the child, whose face was flushed, some water, but he vomited it all out. His father said, "I don't know what's wrong. He's sick. Doctor, we need a doctor!"
He rushed to the city gate with his son in his arms, banging on it and shouting, "Open the door, open the door, help! Someone is dying! My son is dying!"
The soldiers inside naturally didn't dare open the door. Regardless of whether someone was really dying or not, there were tens of thousands of people outside. Once the door was opened, there was no way they could close it again. They only dared to inform their superiors. The weather was hot, and the soldiers, who had been guarding for many days, were a little impatient. They said perfunctorily, "Give him some water and food." So they used a rope to hang some water and food down. The man said, "Thank you, thank you all, brothers and sisters, but we don't need water and food. Can you help us find a doctor?"
This was a real dilemma. They couldn't let him in to see a doctor, nor could they bring a doctor down to him. Who knew what these famished people, who had been hungry for four or five days, would do once they were outside? So, several generals said, "Forget it, forget it. Just ignore it. No one will die. If they ask again, just say we've reported it and asked His Majesty for instructions."
The king had been deeply troubled by Yong'an's affairs for days, frequently fuming, so naturally, no one dared to bother him over such a minor matter. Several soldiers responded accordingly, and the man, relieved, repeatedly thanked the king, kneeling and kowtowed. However, hour after hour passed, shadows shifting from side to side under the scorching sun. The doctor still hadn't appeared, and the child in her arms grew increasingly hot.
The couple's hands were shaking as they held the child. The man, sweating profusely, muttered, "Is anyone else coming? Will you open the door for me?"
He finally couldn't help himself and shouted to the top of the tower: "Generals, I'm sorry, I want to ask... Where is the doctor?"
The soldier replied, "We have gone to ask His Majesty for instructions. Please wait a little longer."
Some people below couldn't help but say, "He said he was leaving two hours ago, why hasn't he returned yet?"
The soldiers, following their superiors' instructions, replied and then ignored the question. The people below the wall were filled with anger, helplessness, and heartache. They surrounded the child and began to doubt: "Did they really inform the King? Were they lying to us?"
The child's father could no longer wait. He took the child and strapped him to his back, saying a few words to his wife. The woman took off an amulet from her neck and placed it around her husband's neck. The man ran to the city wall and tried to climb up.
The outer side of the city wall was extremely difficult to climb. He grabbed a few handfuls but couldn't get up. The other men said, "Let me help you!" and went over to help him. Dozens of people piled up like a pyramid and carried him to a height of about ten feet. At this point, the man could barely grab the rope used to hang water and food and continue climbing. Tens of thousands of people below looked at him nervously, not daring to cheer him up for fear of being discovered. The soldiers on the city wall had been guarding for a few days, and this group of Yong'an refugees didn't cause any major trouble, so it was inevitable that they relaxed a little. When the man climbed almost halfway up, they suddenly found a person clinging to the city wall, shouting, "What are you doing! No climbing the wall! Anyone who climbs the wall will be killed! Do you hear me? Anyone who climbs the wall will be killed!"
They threatened, and the man shouted, "I have no ill intentions! I just want to take my child to see a doctor, I won't do anything else!" He continued to climb while shouting. A general was eating, and when he heard this, he was extremely angry. If this man climbed up safely and set a precedent, wouldn't countless people in Yong'an follow suit? He must be stopped! So, he strode forward and shouted down from the wall, "Are you going to die? Get down now, or I will not let you go!"
The man had already climbed to a very high point, halfway up. With just one more push, he could reach the top, so he naturally refused to stop. The general always had the final say in the barracks; no one dared disobey his orders. For those who dared to disobey, it was easy. He reached the wall, drew his sword, and with one strike, the rope snapped.
The man, holding the broken rope, fell from mid-air. Amidst the screams of countless people, he landed heavily on the hard ground outside the city gate.
Xie Lian appeared at this time.
The man was lying on his back, carrying a child. With a thud, he was crushed into an exploding mass of flesh, a spray of blood stretching several feet. His neck was also broken, his eyes wide open. From his twisted neck slipped an amulet. In the center was the word "Xianle," embroidered with patterns in gold thread. It was the very amulet from the Crown Prince's Palace.
Just before he climbed up, this man and his wife had both held amulets and silently prayed for the Crown Prince's blessing. That was why Xie Lian heard their prayers and rushed here.
But he wasn't the hero of those legendary stories, always appearing just before the knife fell, sparing the victim in the nick of time. The woman didn't even have the courage to turn over her husband's body to see what had become of her son. She covered her face with her hands, screamed, and without even looking, ran forward, slamming her head against the wall. With a loud thud, she collapsed, motionless.
Right before Xie Lian’s eyes, three more corpses suddenly appeared beneath the walls of the imperial city!
He hadn't reacted yet, but the people outside the city gate could no longer bear it.
Someone started cursing, "They're all dead! A whole family of three! They're all dead! Look, this is the good general who worked for our king! Instead of saving us, he's pushing us to death!"
"If you don't let us in and don't send us out, what are we supposed to do? Three bloody lives are hanging over your heads!"
"They say everyone in Yong'an is leaving the Imperial City, but why aren't the wealthy leaving as well? People like us who have no money and no power deserve to die, right? I see through it!"
"I can't stand it anymore... I really can't stand it anymore. Every year, the taxes are collected, but where does the money go during disaster relief?"
"He would rather use the money to feed moths and build his son's temple than to help the victims. He only gives us a little water and dry food. What do you think we are? A tyrant, a tyrant!"
The soldiers on the city walls shouted to stop them, but the general, having seen it all, didn't take it seriously. However, the situation was already spiraling out of control. Thousands of angry hands pushed against the gates, while others rammed their heads and bodies directly. This time, it wasn't like an ant trying to shake a tree.
The city gate moved, and even the entire city wall was shaking slightly!
Xie Lian had never seen anything like this since he was born. The people he had met were all kind, harmonious, prosperous, and lovable. These people, with their distorted faces and wailing, transported him to a completely unfamiliar world, a terrifying experience. Even when he faced the most terrifying demons and evil spirits, he had never felt anything like this. At this moment, a roar echoed from above the city walls.
He turned around suddenly and saw a tall and thin figure pinching the general who cut the rope, causing the death of three people under the city wall. With a crisp "click", he twisted his neck.
The soldiers had no idea how this person suddenly appeared. They were horrified and surrounded him with swords in hand, shouting, "Who is he?!" "How did you get up here?!"
Xie Lian quickly noticed his hands, which were already bloody and mangled. This man had actually used his bare hands to cling to the nearly crackless wall and climb up. The figure turned around, and it was indeed Lang Ying!
Lang Ying, who was surrounded by soldiers, remained calm. He climbed over the parapet, threw the general's body down the city wall, and then stepped on the body, using it as a stepping stone to jump down.
The moment before he jumped, he looked straight at Xie Lian. But he was not looking at Xie Lian, but rather, he was looking through him and at the Imperial Palace located in the center of the Imperial City.
From this day on, Xianle Kingdom was in complete chaos.
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