Chapter 217 Heavenly Punishment
The night is as black as ink.
The hills that lie between Hecheng and Maicheng are like the back of a sleeping giant beast, lying peacefully in the darkness.
The air was as hot and stuffy as a ball of solidifying amber, and there was not a breath of wind.
At this time of year, the birds that used to sing and cheer to welcome the dawn were now silent, with only sporadic, short, and sharp crows echoing across the sky and earth.
A fire dragon as long as the horizon suddenly emerged from the end of the valley, winding its way through the mountains and swimming towards the river.
"My Lord, it's going to rain soon. Should we stop and rest for a while before continuing?"
The tall general in armor respectfully asked for instructions from the gentleman sitting in the sedan chair.
The man nodded slightly: "After crossing the river, rest for an hour."
"Yes, my lord!"
The general immediately passed the order to the entire army.
After trekking for a whole night, the exhausted soldiers suddenly felt refreshed and their steps became lighter.
The river beach was very wide, enough to accommodate 20,000 of them to rest there.
When wading through the river that was less than knee-high, the soldiers couldn't help but stop and splash water on their heads, faces and necks to wash away the sweat and cool down.
The generals were also very hot, so they did not stop their soldiers. After tying their horses to the willow trees by the river, they also scooped up water to wash.
For a moment, the river was full of soldiers, like boiling dumplings.
The man called the Lord looked at this scene, frowned slightly, but said nothing.
The air was so hot and humid and the river water was so cool that even after washing clean, the soldiers were unwilling to go ashore.
Anyway, I will just sit and eat dry food when I get ashore, so I might as well find a rock in the river or sit in shallow water and eat while soaking in the water.
The extremely tired bodies suddenly relaxed, and some people even closed their eyes and fell asleep.
No one noticed that the river water was rising inch by inch.
Until the person lying on the shallows in the middle of the river took a nap and realized that his body was floating up.
Scream a warning immediately.
"The water's rising! Get ashore!"
The soldiers who had just fallen asleep opened their eyes drowsily and were stunned to find that the river water had suddenly risen a lot.
"How come the water is rising when the rain hasn't even started yet?"
"Is there even a need to ask? It must be raining upstream, so it should be raining here soon..."
Before he could finish his words, blue-white lightning as thick as a bucket suddenly streaked across the night sky.
"Boom—boom—"
Thunder exploded overhead.
The soldiers hurried to the shore.
Because the river water rose suddenly, wading became more difficult than before. Someone lost his balance and fell to his companion.
A large group of people fell down with a loud thud.
The men were quickly swept away by the rapid current.
"Help!"
Other soldiers rushed downstream to rescue people.
Unexpectedly, the riverbed downstream was not as flat as the riverbed where they had just stopped, but was full of gullies in the east and west.
Anyone who stepped into the ditch also fell into the water.
To prevent more people from falling into the water, they had to hold hands to rescue them.
While most of the soldiers were floundering in the water to rescue, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck a tall cedar tree standing on the flooded riverbank.
Lightning flashed everywhere.
The soldiers around the fir tree suddenly froze and fell down.
The soldiers who were a little further away from the cedar tree twisted and shook like puppets, and then fell into the river.
The soldiers who were farther away trembled all over when the lightning flashed, and felt a sharp pain as if thousands of needles pierced their bones. They defecated and urinated, and their legs and feet went limp and they fell into the water.
The soldiers who were not affected watched the scene in horror and forgot all actions.
A plump, round-faced soldier standing on the riverbank screamed, "Heavenly punishment! This is Heavenly punishment!"
In an instant, people were in chaos.
"Rebellion will bring retribution! This must be a warning from heaven!"
"I don't want to die, let me go home!"
"Turn around quickly! We can't go to Hecheng!"
The man called the Lord saw a flash of lightning and frightened these people so much that they threw away their armor and knelt down to kowtow. He angrily ordered the generals around him: "Set off immediately and head for Hecheng!"
A hint of hesitation appeared on the general's face.
"My lord, it's raining heavily and the road is difficult to walk on..."
"If they don't leave now, they'll all become deserters!"
The man flew into a rage.
"They were intimidated by a mere bolt of lightning. They are such a bunch of losers!"
Just as he finished speaking, another bolt of lightning struck another tree on the riverbank.
A large number of soldiers were electrocuted to death.
The remaining soldiers did not bother to save people and fled in panic.
Even if the generals wanted to gather men, no one would obey their orders.
In the endless rain, a group of well-trained elite soldiers were hiding in the jungle like hunters, hunting down the Chengtian Army soldiers who were fleeing in panic.
The man called the Lord's face suddenly changed when he heard the faint screams coming from the forest.
"withdraw!"
He got off the sedan chair, untied a horse tied to the riverside, jumped on it, spurred the horse to gallop, and in a flash he was wading across the river.
The generals who had just surrounded the sedan chair hurriedly took their confidants and chased after him.
When Admiral Xuan led the soldiers of the third battalion to the riverside, there was only a pile of baggage on the ground, and the rebel leader was nowhere to be found.
He sighed and lamented, "The thief leader actually escaped."
Ji Changqing had already sent Yan Chi and Zhu Ying to chase after him. Upon hearing this, he said, "It may not be possible to escape."
The clouds have stopped and the rain has stopped, and the east is already bright.
Admiral Xuan looked at the bodies of the rebels that filled the river and swallowed hard.
Such a terrible plan was actually thought up by Doctor Feng.
She can even use lightning for her own benefit. Could Doctor Feng be a fairy from heaven?
It seems that the Xuan family is not worthy of them.
It's really worrying.
The soldiers of the Third Battalion did not understand the reasoning. They only knew that Prime Minister Ji asked them to go to Yuehu Lake to dig a dam, and asked them to follow the command of Medical Officer Feng. They dug up more than a dozen trees, installed iron poles and wrapped iron wire on them, planted them by the river, and invited Lei Gong and Dian Mu to come down and strike down most of the rebels.
The way he looked at them was as if he were looking at gods.
"Master Ji and Doctor Feng must be the reincarnations of the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning."
"Aren't the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning working for them? They should be Wenquxing and Jiutian Xuannu."
"Maybe it's the Emperor and Empress of Heaven?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? They are uncle and sister-in-law, not husband and wife. Where did the Emperor and Empress come from..."
The news of the great victory spread to all parts of Hezhou like wings.
The people were overjoyed.
Pei Yunzhan was silent for a full quarter of an hour, then ordered Song Yan, "Bring me the Wancheng County Chronicles."
"Don't you find the county annals giving you a headache?"
"Shut up. Go quickly."
"good."
Ji Changqing also started as a county magistrate.
Pei Yunzhan looked at the bamboos that had just been planted in the flowerbed outside the window and thought.
He may not be able to reach Ji Changqing's level, but every inch of progress brings joy, doesn't it?
Qu Mingzhang had no such awareness at all.
When he heard the news of the rebels' defeat, his first reaction was: Who will be in charge of the remaining four counties?
Shouldn't he be in charge of both?
Suddenly I had a bad feeling.
A day later, he received instructions from Hecheng.
The good news is that he doesn't have to take charge of other counties as well.
Bad news, Ji Changqing asked him to temporarily take over as prefect and manage Hezhou.
Qu Mingzhang: “!&%#~”
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