Chapter 73: Sacrificing oneself to protect the city, the duty of the monarch and his subjects
Xiao Qinggu was in a dilemma.
Using the Empty City Strategy to stall for time, who would do it? How? With Liu Mengyao, could they really pull off a narrow victory?
How do you lure the enemy deep into your city and blow it up? How do you blow it up? Who will stay behind to ignite the fire barrel cannon?
Shang Yuwan grabbed the edge of the sand table and tightened his fingertips, "I'll go."
"I'll go and buy time, you guys take your people and leave."
Xiao Qinggu was stunned.
Xiao Qingxu's voice suddenly increased: "No!"
He coughed excitedly and said intermittently: "No! You absolutely can't!"
"Anyone...cough cough cough, anyone can do it, I can cough cough cough...but you can't!"
"I have made up my mind. No need to persuade me anymore." Shang Yuwan looked at him calmly with an indifferent tone.
Xiao Qingxu walked quickly to her and grabbed Shang Yuwan's wrist without hesitation.
She saw the eager and implicit pleading in Xiao Qingxu's eyes, and the trembling in his wrist also caused ripples in her heart.
Shang Yuwan understood in an instant how deeply this man loved her, but she could not be shaken in the slightest.
Luzhou City was in danger, and the lives of all the people depended on them. She had no time to think deeply about Xiao Qingxu's true feelings for her.
At this moment, love between young men and women is nothing more than an ant at her feet. She can see it, but cannot linger on it for too long.
"If I were less fortunate, I would ask the host and the princess to live well..."
Xiao Qingxu's grip became stronger and stronger, and the edge of Shang Yuwan's wrist began to turn red.
He was afraid! He couldn't bear it a second time! He couldn't accept her body lying in his arms again!
"I said, you can't go!"
Shang Yuwan felt a wave of pain in her wrist, but her expression remained unchanged and she had no intention of struggling.
She looked at Xiao Qinggu, whose eyes were gradually reddening.
"Please also help the Shang family, Your Highness."
The two looked at each other. A cool breeze blew Xiao Qinggu's hair, but her eyes became brighter and more determined.
"No."
Shang Yuwan was startled, his pupils gradually shrank, as if he realized something.
"Princess......"
Xiao Qinggu made up his mind and smiled at Shang Yuwan.
Her words were powerful and could not be refused.
"When it comes to dragging people away, no one is more suitable than this princess."
"I am the princess of Dayu."
——
Lu Heying, Bai Xiaoye, Cheng Yishui and Song Pingsheng escorted the people out of Luzhou City as quickly as possible, allowing everyone to escape to a safer place overnight.
Lu Heying saw that only half of the people were left, but they had a few of them to take care of them. After thinking about it, he decided to turn around and look for Ji Suxian.
His junior sister couldn't find Liu Niang and Xiao Tao in the crowd, and heard the news that there were people in the city who were asking for help. She was stunned for a moment, and then seemed to think of something. She cursed, "It's really Lao Liu," and took the guests to search everywhere, determined to catch the people and torture them to death with the most cruel poison.
But time is running out, and it is still unknown what kind of order Xiao Qingxu will issue. Some of the guests followed the officers and soldiers and Song Pingsheng and others to escort the people away. There are not enough people in the city, and Lu Heying can't let her linger outside.
"Junior sister!"
Lu Heying had just met Ji Suxian when Ji Suxian happened to find Xiaotao, whose face was red and whose consciousness was blurred, in a water tank near the south of the city.
Xiao Tao was tied tightly with rough hemp ropes and her mouth was blocked with a piece of rag. If it weren't for her subconscious desire to survive that made her whimper continuously, Ji Suxian really wouldn't have been able to find her.
The lid on her head was opened, and Xiao Tao was held in Ji Suxian's arms. After the rag was taken out of her mouth, she burst into tears, and her little face became as wet as her body.
"Mother doesn't want me anymore! Mother lied to me! Why! Why!"
"I, I..." Xiao Tao cried breathlessly, "Mingming, I am also your mother's child, why did you only save my brother, why only my brother!"
"I listened to you and lied to my sister who was good to me, and my brother who was good to me. Xiaotao became a bad person. Why did you abandon her even though she was obviously obedient?"
Ji Suxian and Lu Heying's faces darkened.
The child felt as hot as a burning charcoal in Ji Suxian's arms. He didn't say anything. He first took Xiaotao's pulse and then gave her a few injections to ease the condition.
Xiao Tao was soaked in the water for too long and could not hold on any longer. She tilted her head, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Ji Suxian handed the unconscious Xiaotao to Lu Heying and asked him to take her home and boil a bowl of the latest medicinal soup she had developed to feed her.
"what are you up to?"
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Ji Suxian's face was like a storm, and the look in her eyes made one feel like glaring at someone.
"rest assured."
Ji Suxian's heart was filled with rage, but his face was as cold as ice in December, which made Lu Heying feel a little scared.
"I will not hold back, and I will protect myself."
Ji Suxian slowly turned her head and said, "You go and wait for the owner's order. I won't wait."
"I'm going to spread pesticides outside the city gate. It's March now, and snakes, rats, insects and ants should wake up and have a good meal."
Ji Suxian said harshly, "Even if you don't want to wake up, you must wake up. Even if You Koujun doesn't die, you must suffer a terrible pain."
Lu Heying frowned and pursed her lips, "Okay then."
He threw all the medicines that could attract snakes and rats to Ji Suxian, "Be careful, don't be impulsive."
If he could stop her for a while, it would be a while. Lu Heying did not object to Ji Suxian's idea.
Xiaotao's skin was abnormally hot, and Lu Heying felt it was a sign of an epidemic. She didn't dare to delay and turned around and ran away with the child in her arms.
Ji Suxian stood there without moving until he could no longer see his senior brother, then he spoke.
"Who among you is the best at finding traces?"
A guest said, "Me."
Ji Suxian's terrifying eyes fell on him, "You, follow me to find Liu Niang."
"And you, don't just sit there." She threw the medicine to the guests.
"Sprinkle these five miles outside the city. Don't worry about them getting wet. When the smell gets on the patrol troops, I'll have a great gift for them when they arrive at the gates."
"Let's get going without further delay."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Suxian and the others disappeared in a few breaths.
On the other side, Shang Yuwan disagreed with what Xiao Qinggu said and they started arguing with each other.
"Only if you survive can Baijialou survive!"
Xiao Qinggu refused to give in, "Then I'll write a letter and send it to Kyoto. When the emperor reads it, he won't make things difficult for you!"
"What about Dayu?!"
"I won't allow it!" Shang Yuwan's brows knitted together, furious. "You are the monarch I have decided to follow!"
"I will never let my monarch charge ahead and block me behind before he's fully grown!"
"Protecting the king is the duty of a subject!"
"...Protecting the people is also the duty of a king."
Xiao Qinggu's heart ached, and her eyes softened slightly, but she was determined. "No need to say more, just listen to me, I'll go!"
"Xiao Qinggu! This is not the time to be willful!" Shang Yuwan was so angry that her heart ached. "You go? What can you bring with you? Just based on your identity? Do you believe that the first person Luo Gui will kill is you!"
"Yes, because I'm a princess!"
Xiao Qinggu suppressed the bitterness in his eyes and cried louder and louder.
"It's because I'm a princess. If I go alone, that rotten-hearted bitch Luo Gui will have some concerns for the sake of our father, and we can save more people!"
Shang Yuwan's voice trembled, "What about you?"
Shang Yuwan’s martial arts skills are good, but she cannot guarantee that she can protect a living person like Xiao Qinggu in front of thousands of troops.
Xiao Qinggu finally couldn't help but sniff, "How dare you say that to me? When there's danger, aren't you always the first to rush in? Why don't you think about yourself?"
The two fell silent for a moment, and Xiao Qingxu finally got a chance to interrupt.
"They want to attack at night in the dark, but we can still fight back."
Shang Yuwan calmed down and turned around and said, "Let go of your hand first. It hurts so much that my wrist is about to break."
Xiao Qingxu: "......"
He silently released his hand and said, "I'm sorry."
Shang Yuwan rubbed his wrist and didn't ask any questions. "Tell me first, what did you think of just now?"
She was a little angry about what she had just said to Xiao Qinggu, and she didn't have time to think of other solutions for a while.
Although this man is physically weak, his brain is as agile as hers.
As soon as Shang Yuwan finished speaking, Lu Heying came over. He first glanced at Liu Mengyao and Zhu Hao who were waiting outside the door, then pushed the door open and walked in.
He didn't even bother knocking on the door, "Master, Master Shang, my junior sister has gone outside the city to spread the medicine."
Lu Heying knew Ji Suxian very well. She could remain calm and say she was going to spread the medicine even in such a rage. She must be planning something else behind the scenes.
How could Xiao Qingxu not know Ji Suxian's usual habits?
He nodded, picked up two small flags, inserted one into the slope of the mountain on the side of Luzhou City in the sand table, and placed the other on the roof of the gate tower of Luzhou City's city wall.
"The opportunity has arrived."
Shang Yuwan's eyes first fixed, and then they lit up.
"Who said we had to delay?!"
Her eyes met Xiao Qingxu's, and they both said in unison:
"To catch a thief, first catch the leader!"
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