Chapter 131 The Soul of the Ling Family
From the flames soaring into the sky in Tianji City, to the Weiyuan Army's artillery bombarding the city, and finally to the Weiyuan Army breaking through the city gates and entering Tianji City, it only took half an hour.
Emperor Xiao Xuan, whose armor was stained red with the blood of the barbarians, walked to the farthest part of Tianji City, surrounded by General Shen and his men.
This is the area that Madam Ling asked General Shen to keep an eye on, trying to prevent it from being hit by artillery fire.
Here now...
Emperor Xiao Xuan looked at everything before him, speechless.
One after another, children with terrified eyes were carried out of the secret passage by the soldiers.
They looked at the people in front of them, whose armor was covered in blood, and felt they were strangers.
These are not the foreigners who enslave them...
Could this be the Weiyuan Army that the elders were talking about, the ones who would rescue them and stop them from being beaten and scolded by the barbarians?
"Your Majesty, there are a total of one hundred and thirty-two children."
As with previous reports, each child's surname and lineage were embroidered in a hidden corner of their clothing.
"The first vanguard officer to arrive said in a low voice."
Emperor Xiao Xuan glanced at the children, then at the... corpses blocking the original secret passage.
With her hair gray, her face covered in whip marks and burns, and one leg crippled, Old Madam Ling sat peacefully on the ground.
She had a sharpened wooden stick strapped to one hand and a palm-sized dagger in the other.
Blood was everywhere, from the sharpened wooden stick to the dagger...
Linglong, who had been arranged to run away, and Ling Shuang, who was also covered in blood, knelt down in front of Old Madam Ling.
Both of them had tears streaming down their faces and could no longer cry out.
Ling Shuang's hands trembled as she touched Old Madam Ling's aged and scarred face. She couldn't utter a single word; she could only stand there with her mouth open, letting the tears flow...
Behind Madam Ling were the Ling family members who fought to the last against the foreigners, as well as other people from Dayu.
Everyone is doing their best to protect the children hidden in the secret passage.
They are buying the children a little more time...
They believed, they believed in the Weiyuan Army, they believed that Dayu would come to rescue the children.
As long as we persevere to the end, the descendants of the Weiyuan Army soldiers who died in Tianji City will surely be saved.
They waited until they arrived, but they could no longer see it...
...
Emperor Xiao Xuan didn't know what to say; many words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't utter them.
His eyes stung. Even though the Emperor of Dayu could remain calm despite having experienced so much, seeing this scene still caused him a sharp pain in his heart, as if he had been stabbed.
Old Madam Ling, along with all the women and children of her clan, sacrificed so much to protect the descendants of the soldiers who died protecting Tianji City...
He was whipped, humiliated and mocked by those foreigners, his leg was crippled, and he had to drag a manure cart all over the city to collect chamber pots...
The barbarian tribes have humiliated the Ling family for twenty-five years, and they want to completely destroy the Ling family, both physically and psychologically...
They failed to achieve their goal!
The Ling family is still the same Ling family!
For the sake of Dayu, for the sake of the children of Weiyuan Army, the Ling family did their utmost...
Emperor Xiao Xuan handed the knife in his hand to Prince Zhao beside him, took two steps forward, and bowed deeply three times to Madam Ling.
Upon seeing this, General Shen and the others behind him immediately knelt down on one knee.
Seeing that all the soldiers of Weiyuan Army had knelt down, the children suddenly burst into tears.
"Madam..."
"Auntie..."
"Grandma, where are you?"
...
"Your Majesty, the remains of Madam Ling and the rest of the Ling family have been dressed, and the remains of the Third and Fourth Madams, who were shot dead by the foreigners outside the city, have also been recovered."
The only one they couldn't find was Madam Ling's youngest daughter.
"She... must have taken her homemade gunpowder and blew up the foreign watchtower, leaving no trace of her body!" General Shen whispered to Emperor Xiao Xuan.
Since returning to his main tent, Emperor Xiao Xuan has barely uttered a word.
General Shen knew that the emperor, who had once fought alongside him on the battlefield, was deeply saddened and filled with regret.
If the Zhou king hadn't been sent to the north, would none of this have happened?
"Your Majesty, all the families of the fifty-two soldiers who guarded Tianji City had children left behind."
"Madam Ling... protected the descendants of these soldiers," General Shen continued.
Emperor Xiao Xuan then got up and paced around the tent twice.
"Guards, draft the imperial decree!" he suddenly ordered.
Soon, Vice Minister Lu from the Ministry of Rites, who had come with him, entered.
The first imperial edict was issued to the Ling family.
The title of Lady Ling was bestowed upon the Duke of Zhongguo, a hereditary title, with the fief of Tianji and the two cities of Tianju.
The original elite female troops of the Weiyuan Army were renamed the Ling Family Army.
The descendants of the original Tianji City soldiers, who had been protected by Madam Ling, were all incorporated into the Ling family army.
The news of the Ling family's unwavering loyalty must be relayed back to the capital, so that everyone in Dayu may understand the Ling family's righteousness...
This left those who had said that the Ling family's presence in Tianji City had delayed the Weiyuan Army's recapture of the city speechless...
As Vice Minister Lu drafted the imperial edict according to Emperor Xiao Xuan's wishes, his hands trembled.
Duke Zhongguo...
She was the first female duke in Dayu to have a fiefdom!
It was hereditary and could not be replaced—this was a privilege that even the princes and grandsons of the emperor had never received!
Vice Minister Lu didn't dare to utter a single word in rebuttal; all of this was rightfully the Ling family's!
If he dared to utter a single word of rebuttal, he might be beheaded on the emperor's orders immediately.
The first imperial edict was drafted very quickly.
Emperor Xiao Xuan glanced at it once and then stamped it with his official seal.
The second imperial edict was simple: he informed the people in the capital that he would not be returning for the time being.
"These barbarian bastards are rampant and have occupied our territory and humiliated our people. If we do not avenge this, we will not be human!"
In addition to reclaiming Tianji City and Tianju City.
The army will rest for three days, and then set off, surely razing the barbarian lands to the ground..."
...
Two imperial edicts were sent back to the capital.
Having already received the news, the Crown Prince immediately got to work with Prime Minister Lin and the people from the Six Ministries.
The original plan changed, and Emperor Xiao Xuan suddenly decided to take action against the foreign people, which involved many things.
The first issue is food supplies.
When an army sets out, the first thing it attacks is supplies.
The existing food supplies are definitely not enough, and the medicines and other supplies needed by the soldiers also need to be provided.
The Imperial Household's firearms workshop had received instructions from the Crown Prince three days prior and had been operating around the clock.
Meanwhile, the remarkable deeds of the old lady of the Ling family were being discussed in teahouses and restaurants throughout the capital.
He endured humiliation and hardship for twenty-five years, all to protect the descendants of the soldiers who guarded Tianji City...
What else could such a heroic act be but a great act of righteousness?
If the Ling family doesn't deserve the reward, then who does...?
...
Song Zhimian was also anxiously waiting for news in the capital.
The northern region has achieved a great victory; Lianqiao should be returning soon!
The Imperial Medical Academy staff said that the team of imperial physicians and female physicians who went to provide support has returned, but there is no specific information yet as to whether they will go again.
As Song Zhimian eagerly awaited her return, Lian Qiao finally came back with the people from the Imperial Hospital...
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