Burning grain and fodder
General Wei's death undoubtedly dealt the final blow to the morale of the soldiers. On this vast land, with a dying general, where should the soldiers go? The Emperor had already given the answer.
However, everyone's admiration for Wu Qi vanished the moment the enemy revealed their cannons.
The soldiers were at a loss, and the people of the city were filled with panic. They packed their belongings and fled overnight. No one believed that Wu Qi could defend Lanbing City. They left Lanbing City with only the hope of survival in their hearts.
The common people fled, and even some soldiers in the army deserted.
Wu Qi looked at the dozen or so people kneeling on the ground. They had taken off their armor and put on ordinary clothes, looking like civilians, but their straight spines revealed that they were soldiers.
Now they're not soldiers, they're deserters.
Wu Qi said, "Military law enforcement will be applied."
"On what grounds are you administering military law to us?"
"With General Wei dead, who can defend Lanbing City? We just don't want to die, what's wrong with that! Do you dare say you're not a deserter? Are you saying that if the enemy's artillery is right in front of you, you won't run away?!"
"What do you know about military law?! Let us go."
Compared to their hysteria, Wu Qi remained remarkably calm. She too had been injured that day, a piece of flesh torn from her leg, and the pain was excruciating. Ignoring the pain, she simply glanced at them calmly and repeated, "Military law enforcement."
As soon as they finished speaking, Lin Kuo and Ning Xunxu drew their swords and slit the throats of those people.
Blood flowed from their bodies, spreading into a small sea of blood, and the room was filled with a lingering stench of blood. Yi Shen stood to the side, squatted down, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away the blood splattered on Wu Qi's hand.
Looking down, Wu Qi's dress was already stained red by the wound on his leg.
Wu Qi said, "Display it to the public."
The bodies of those people were dragged to the military camp and displayed to the public.
Lin Kuo said worriedly, "Now... if the enemy attacks, I'm afraid we won't be able to defend the city."
Ning Xunxu agreed, "We can't hold out with just our cannons."
Song Yinxing glanced at Wu Qi and said, "Alright, shut up."
Now, whether it's comfort or encouragement, it's all pressure for Wu Qi. This pressure is like a mountain, making it hard for her to breathe. With General Wei's sudden death, all the affairs of the army, big and small, have fallen on her shoulders. Whether she's tired or not is secondary; these soldiers' repeated desertions not only disrupt morale but also greatly reduce the chances of winning the defense of the city.
Yi Shen wiped Wu Qi's hand clean. She got up, picked up a sword, and went out.
Upon seeing this, everyone hurriedly followed her.
From the moment General Wei passed away, a continuous snow began to fall, as if mourning the death of a great general. The snow covered layer upon layer of blood, and the training platform was also covered with a white blanket of snow. Wu Qi stepped on it with his sword, leaving a trail of footprints.
When everyone tried to follow her upstairs, Yi Shen stopped them.
"You must not follow me when I go up to the training platform," he said.
The snow fell heavier and heavier. The soldiers looked up at the woman on the training platform, intending to leave after hearing her finish speaking. However, before she could even speak, blood was drawn.
Wu Qi raised his hand, showing his palm to everyone, and drew his sword across it. The movement was swift and decisive, without any hesitation, and even if others tried to stop him, they couldn't.
Silence.
Blood dripped from the sword and onto the ground, melting a small patch of snow. Wu Qi's clothes were also stained with a lot of blood, some from the wounds on his legs, and some from the blood splattered when he dealt with the deserters.
Her face and hands were clean before, but now her hands were not clean either.
The wound remained unbandaged for a long time, and the bleeding continued to increase.
Wu Qi said, "I can bleed, I can die, the enemy's cannons can bombard me, I dare not gamble on whether the city can be defended, but I will never die at this moment."
"I, Wu Qi, hereby swear—"
"As long as I live, you will not die, and the city will not fall; if I die, I will pray to the gods to protect my people and ensure their eternal peace."
He Qi stood below the stage, gazing at Wu Qi for a long time. Suddenly, she recalled how Wu Qi had taught them how to operate the Cannon Scale earlier, without holding back a single detail, teaching them everything about it. At that time, He Qi had inappropriately thought that Wu Qi was "entrusting her orphan" to someone. Now, seeing the blood on Wu Qi's body, He Qi understood—she seemed to have known all along that she wouldn't survive, which was why she had so gently explained the Cannon Scale to them.
In that case, even if she dies, Paolin will still exist.
"Will she die?" He Qi asked Yi Shen.
"perhaps."
"She's dead. What would you do? Go with her?"
Yi Shen shook his head.
He Qi said, "Why? You love her so much, and she loves you so much. If she dies, wouldn't you even dare to commit suicide for love?"
Yi Shen said, "She wouldn't want me to do that."
"Then what are you going to do? Just watch her die on the battlefield?"
Yi Shen said, "She won't die here."
The blood that Wu Qi shed that day seemed not only to drip onto the ground and melt the snow, but also to flow into the hearts of all the soldiers, melting away their prejudices and discontent, and igniting their hearts to defend the city and serve their country.
Inside the room, Yi Shen applied medicine to Wu Qi's leg wound and then changed the dressing on a wound on her palm. After doing this, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, warming his palms and placing them on her lower abdomen to warm it, gently massaging it.
Wu Qi was raised with great care by her parents since childhood, and she never experienced pain during her period. However, on the day she made the vow, her period had just started, and she not only bled from her hands but also caught a chill. That night, she was in so much pain that her face turned pale and she broke out in a cold sweat.
If Yi Shen hadn't suddenly woken up, her heart pounding, worried about Wu Qi, and gotten up to come over, she would have had to endure the entire night.
"Does it still hurt?" Yi Shen asked.
Wu Qi nestled in his arms, draped in a thick fox fur coat, holding the plum blossom hand warmer in one hand and fiddling with Yi Shen's veil in the other, saying, "It doesn't hurt anymore. I only hurt that one night."
"It was already very painful overnight."
Wu Qi agreed, "It really hurts."
The pain felt like a thoroughbred horse tearing its belly apart from its body. Thinking of that pain, Wu Qi snuggled closer to Yi Shen, just like that night, and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Before Wu Qi could say anything more, Yi Shen said, "No."
Wu Qi said, "I haven't said anything yet!"
Yi Shen said, "I'll go burn the grain and fodder."
Wu Qi lifted Yi Shen's veil in bewilderment and asked, "How did you know I was going to burn the enemy's supplies?"
That night, Wu Qi's leg injury hadn't healed, she had a cut on her palm, and her lower abdomen was aching. Seeing that she was in a lot of pain, Yi Shen had no choice but to use acupuncture. Fortunately, he had some basic knowledge of acupuncture, which helped relieve Wu Qi's pain.
Wu Qi finally felt some relief from the pain and curled up in Yi Shen's arms to fall asleep.
Fearing that her wounds would worsen, Yi Shen placed her on the bed, wrapped her in a blanket, and then fetched medicine to apply to her wounds.
She slept restlessly, muttering, "The grain and fodder are on fire."
“You haven’t fully recovered yet. If you want to burn the grain supplies, I’ll go,” Yi Shen said.
"That won't do. I don't just want to burn the grain and fodder."
"We also want to know exactly how many cannons the enemy has."
Wu Qi said, "Is this what I said that night?"
Yi Shen said, "No."
"Then, a telepathic connection?" Wu Qi asked with a smile.
"Okay. Tomorrow night, I'll go and burn the grain supplies."
Wu Qi frowned. Yi Shen kissed the corner of her mouth, as if afraid she wouldn't allow him to burn the grain. He kissed her all the way up from her lips to her eyes before stopping. He said, "Wait for me to come back."
Wu Qi grabbed his arm and said, "Don't go alone."
Yi Shen said, "Would Lin Kuo and Ning Xunxu like to come along too?"
Wu Qi nodded, agreeing to the matter. The two chatted for a while about the situation in the army, and then Wu Qi fell asleep in Yi Shen's arms.
She hasn't been sleeping well these past few days. Every time she lies down in bed, she thinks of how General Wei died. She really did her best, and it's not her fault that she couldn't save General Wei. But even when she's asleep, she keeps dreaming about how General Wei died that day.
Knowing she couldn't sleep well, Yi Shen stayed by her side every night. Occasionally, like tonight, Wu Qi would fall asleep in his arms while talking. He would hold Wu Qi like that until she was sound asleep before putting her on the bed.
Even when placed on the bed, Wu Qi couldn't sleep soundly.
Yi Shen took Wu Qi's hand and gently kissed it. When he saw that she was showing signs of falling into a nightmare, he would pull her into his arms, coax and kiss her until she fell asleep again, and then wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
After repeating this process five or six times, Wu Qi was finally able to sleep soundly until dawn.
As dawn broke, Yi Shen kissed Wu Qi's forehead and got up to leave. Wu Qi now held considerable prestige in the army, and it was inconvenient for anyone to discover that he was by her side every night. Therefore, he often came quietly and left just as day was breaking.
Lin Kuo and Ning Xunxu were waiting for him in the courtyard. When he came out, Lin Kuo said, "Little Qi didn't sleep well again?"
Yi Shen nodded.
Ning Xunxu said with dissatisfaction, "There are so many generals in the court, yet they made Sister Xiaoqi this lousy general. She has to make all the decisions, which not only keeps her up at night, but now that the city has fallen, she has to bear the infamy for all eternity. It's true that sons take after fathers; fearing that their achievements will overshadow the emperor, they resort to underhanded methods! They deserve to die!"
Lin Kuo sighed, "Zhiyun can't sleep well either. She has nightmares every night and wakes up in fright every now and then. I don't know when this war will end. I was looking forward to taking Zhiyun to travel around next spring."
Yi Shen said, "Tonight, we will burn the grain and fodder."
Lin Kuo pointed to the three of them and said, "Shall the three of us go?"
Ning Xunxu tentatively asked, "Did Sister Xiaoqi agree?"
Yi Shen nodded.
That night, the three of them sneaked into the enemy camp under cover of darkness. After waiting for about an hour, they seized the opportunity and set fire to the supplies three times. Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, the three then went to the place where the cannons were placed.
There were five locks on the door, which Yi Shen cleaved open with a single sword strike.
The three stepped inside, counted the remaining twenty-four cannon scales, and then had an idea. They originally wanted to blow up these twenty-four cannon scales, but the enemy was already coming this way. If they wanted to escape unscathed, they could not possibly blow up all the cannon scales. So they each picked one and blew up the control cabinet of the cannon scale.
Before leaving, Ning Xunxu left a note.
—Your grandpa set off a firecracker as a firework.
The enemy soldiers were furious after picking up the note and ordered it to be captured, but the three culprits had already escaped using their light-footed skills. If there was any real loss, then there was; for example, Yi Shen's veil fell into the raging fire and burned.
Wu Qi opened his arms and embraced the victorious Yi Shen, and heard him whisper, "Sleep well tonight."
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