Deputy General Zhang shook his head: "I didn't take action because I was concerned about the safety of the people. There are no other difficulties. I am confident that I can attack the city. I have fought with General An in many battles in the past, and I am confident that I can defeat a city wall stronger than this one."
Just here, the soldiers outside gave a long announcement.
After he came in, he said breathlessly: "Report to the prince, report to General Zhang, the enemy has begun to pour water on the city wall..."
Dongfang Jin and Lieutenant General Zhang looked at each other and they both understood that the enemy was preparing to reinforce the city walls.
If it really turns into ice, they won't be able to break in.
"Come here, prepare rockets immediately." Dongfang Jin said coldly, "Before the water freezes, attack them by surprise. Fight first, and then discuss other matters."
Lieutenant General Zhang did not dare to delay and went out immediately. Dongfang Jin asked his confidants to guard An Zhongtao and not allow anyone to approach.
He was armed and went into battle. As soon as the troops formed their battle array, drums sounded on the city wall of Tai'an. Dongfang Jin urged his horse forward, and the archers behind him followed closely. He gave an order and rockets rained down. In an instant, the city wall was in chaos. The soldiers who were watering the soldiers were shot before they had time to escape. Their buckets of water fell under the city wall and broke into pieces. There was water on the city wall, which was extinguished as soon as the rockets fell, but there was no water on the city wall. Someone's arrow skills were so accurate that he actually shot the opponent's flag. The fire started, and soon the flag turned to ashes. Dongfang Jin sneered. He didn't know who this leader was, and he was actually watering the soldiers in broad daylight. If he did this at night, they would definitely have no way to deal with it.
Lieutenant General Zhang and all the soldiers had been holding back their anger for countless days, which suddenly erupted. The shouts of killing shook the sky, scaring the arrogant and provocative Leitai people on the city wall. After a burst of rockets, Dongfang Jin ordered the ladder team to go up, and everyone started to attack the city with ladders. The Leitai people obviously did not expect that the Dongze army would arrive and attack the city without stopping, and in a hurry, it was too late to capture the civilians who were usually taken as hostages. The defenders were only concerned with throwing things and pouring tung oil under the city. The oil burned when it came into contact with fire, and some of Dongfang Jin's soldiers turned into firemen, and some threw burning things on the top of the city. There were screams and scolding, and the smell of flesh filled the nose. In an instant, both the enemy and us had casualties, and it was very tragic. Dongfang Jin didn't care, he jumped off his horse and rushed straight to the top of the city.
Lieutenant General Zhang was scared out of his wits when he saw the prince's desperate fighting style, but it was useless for him to lose his soul now, he had to protect the prince first, so he also rushed over and protected the prince. The two of them were extremely skilled in martial arts and light skills, so they could fight ten against one. The prince's secret guards also came up to protect him at this moment, and each of them was a top master. Some of the soldiers who were pouring tung oil down did not have time to do it and were hit by darts. As a result, tung oil spilled all over the battlements, and fire broke out instantly. Those of Lei Taiguo's men also suffered a bad end. Soon, Dongfang Jin saw that the city wall had turned into a wall of fire, so he sounded the retreat.
Although they did not win this battle, it dealt a heavy blow to Lei Taiguo's morale. They did not expect that they did not gain any advantage and were almost defeated by Dongze. That young general was really risking his life and his siege was terrifying.
Each side dealt with their burned soldiers. To prevent them from pouring water on the city walls at night, Dongfang Jin sent people to dig trenches in front of the battle line. Archers prepared at night and rockets were ready. As long as they saw someone on the city walls, they would shoot arrows. The archers brought by Dongfang Jin were all from the martial arts world, and each of them had excellent archery skills. Therefore, that night, the defenders on the wall of Tai'an did not dare to show their heads.
When they returned to the barracks, An Zhongtao had already woken up, but the poison in his body had not yet been cleared, and he was still weak. He heard about Dongfang Jin's battle and nodded, "Well done. The Leitai people were so overwhelmed by the victory that they thought our Dongze army was as vulnerable as the Tai'an garrison. They probably thought that we were cowards for not going out to fight these days."
"The general has been poisoned this time and will die soon. Qingran is very worried about you. I am writing a letter now. Do you have any words to take back to the mansion?" Dongfang Jin was most worried about An Qingran. He was worried about her safety and that she was overthinking. Therefore, he sent someone to send a letter back as soon as he crossed the border. Now that An Zhongtao has woken up, of course he has to send the message back.
"Just tell them that I'm healthy now and don't have to worry. This battle will be over soon." An Zhongtao was full of confidence, but he was careless and fell into the trap. Now Dongfang Jin comes to help, how could he not keep his promise?
*********
An Qingran received a letter from Dongfang Jin, telling her that he had arrived safely at the border. A few hours later, she received a second letter, telling her that her father's poison had been cured, and that he would take good care of General An and asked her to wait for her triumphant return at home.
After reading the two letters, An Qingran heaved a sigh of relief: "Ren Dong, send a message to Madam immediately and tell her that everything is fine at the border. If it's quick, maybe the army can return to the capital by the end of the first month."
That was the date set by An Zhongtao and Dongfang Jin.
The two of them would surely be able to capture the city in more than a month. However, they would have to spend New Year's Eve at the border, and this New Year's Eve was destined to be a night of longing.
An Qingran was also not at all careless. She arranged for people to decorate the East Palace inside and out, and placed two pots of flowers and plants shipped from the south in the house. She smelled the fragrance of the flowers and imagined that when the plum blossoms bloomed again, she would be able to wait for Dongfang Jin to return. Her mood became joyful.
There were no more than a hundred pots of flowers and plants shipped in. Except for the emperor and the empress dowager, the other concubines received different amounts according to their ranks. Concubine Shu got five pots, Concubine Xian got four pots, and the other concubines got three pots. Logically, An Qingran should have gotten at least three pots, but if she didn't like these two pots of flowers very much, she wouldn't have placed any of them.
The Queen Mother was truly happy to see that the flowers and plants were so fond of each other, and she also had a good face towards An Qingran: "How are you doing recently? The prince has gone to the border, you don't have to worry too much. Jin'er has always been strategic, and I am optimistic about him."
An Qingran smiled: "Thank you, Queen Mother."
"Call me Grandmother."
"Grandmother, how are you feeling recently?" An Qingran was reluctant to respond to the social invitation, but had to sit down.
The Queen Mother sighed, "You are just too thin. Look, you don't have much flesh on your body. It will be difficult for you to have a baby with such a body. The imperial physician will come to take your pulse and check on you to see if you need any treatment. I hope you can give birth to a big fat boy for me."
An Qingran hurriedly said, "Grandmother, there's no need to take my pulse. I'm a medical student myself, and I know better than anyone else what's wrong with my body..."
"Who said that? It's probably because those involved are the most confused." As the empress dowager was speaking, Imperial Doctor Zhang walked in.
An Qingran stood up and asked to leave.
The Empress Dowager refused and asked her to sit down and let Doctor Zhang take her pulse first.
An Qingran's heart began to beat wildly. If the imperial physician diagnosed her pulse, then her pregnancy would no longer be concealed. The person she was most wary of was the person in front of her, so how could she let him be the first to know the news?
Doctor Zhang came forward, knelt respectfully at the feet of the Crown Prince's wife, and took out the pulse pillow. If An Qingran refused again, the Queen Mother would definitely suspect her. What should she do?
Her left hand was already on the pulse pillow, and Doctor Zhang's fingers had already touched the silk handkerchief on her wrist. The Queen Mother looked at her and said, "Look, you are also a doctor, why are you so nervous? Are you hiding something from me?"
The Queen Mother was thinking that maybe the Crown Princess really had some problem and couldn't have children, otherwise why had there been no news for more than a year?
An Qingran clenched his right fist in his sleeve and tapped his waist. The blood channel jumped, and Doctor Zhang frowned. After a while, he said, "My Queen Mother, the Crown Princess' pulse is stable and there is nothing unusual. Thanks to the Queen Mother, the Crown Princess is in good health."
An Qingran smiled and nodded.
The Queen Mother also nodded and smiled: "That's good, then you can give me a great-grandson soon. When the prince comes back, I will ask the emperor to give him less work. He is still young. Although state affairs are important, heirs cannot be neglected..."
An Qingran didn't expect her to say it like that, and her face turned red.
The Queen Mother waved her hand and let her go.
After she left, the Queen Mother asked Doctor Zhang again: "Now tell me the truth, how is her health?"
Doctor Zhang had not expected the Queen Mother to be so sharp. While he was stunned, the Queen Mother said coldly: "Don't treat me as a blind man. The expression on your face can't be hidden from me. Tell me."
"Empress Dowager, I found that the Crown Princess' pulse was a little unusual, but I can't tell what's wrong. Maybe there is a problem with her heart pulse. If that's the case, the Crown Prince's body may not last too long... Maybe I made a wrong diagnosis, so I dare not say it out. I want to go back and check the medical books carefully, and it won't be too late to report to Your Majesty then." Doctor Zhang is very good at speaking.
The Queen Mother nodded slightly when she heard this: "Okay, go back and look up the medical books carefully. The Crown Princess' affairs must not be told to anyone, lest there be any chaos."
Doctor Zhang gave the assurance and then left.
The next day, some people in the palace said that the Crown Princess was ill and they didn't know how long she could live. There were also rumors that the poison in the Crown Prince might not have been cured and it could be contagious, and it was passed to the Crown Princess. No one knew whether the Crown Princess would infect others.
The secret sentries set up everywhere passed the news back at this moment. After hearing it, Rendong almost jumped up. She was hesitating whether to tell the Crown Princess this news.
This matter reached the ears of the Emperor. Emperor Yunqi was furious and captured the two palace maids who spread the news. No matter how much he questioned them, he could not find out who was behind the rumors. Because it was New Year's Day, they were not killed but simply locked up. However, the two palace maids died inexplicably in prison. It was said that they committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
Emperor Yunqi gritted his teeth in hatred as so many things happened right under his nose.
He suspected Concubine Shu and Concubine Xian, and he also had doubts for a moment about the Empress Dowager, but he was unwilling to believe it, so he couldn't help feeling depressed and started coughing.
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