Chapter 189: Chaos in Xiaocheng (Twenty-Nine) [Two-in-One]
Bang!
An object flew towards him and hit him squarely on the forehead.
The bearded man was also stubborn; he didn't flinch or dodge the blow, and his gaze remained fixed on the old general sitting at the head of the table.
Blood flowing from the wound on his forehead blurred his vision. An unnamed rage surged in his chest and burst forth from his mouth.
"She's not a spy!"
The atmosphere inside the main tent was extremely tense.
All the soldiers could feel the chilling aura emanating from the old general. The bearded man couldn't understand the old general's intentions for a moment, but as bystanders, they knew the old general was cleaning up his son's mess. Unfortunately, the son didn't appreciate it.
Emmm...
The young man was more inclined to believe that his sworn brother was foolish.
Given the size of my sworn brother's brain, he probably wouldn't have thought of this.
Thinking of this, the young man's gaze towards his sworn brother became more mocking, and he even felt a touch of sympathy for his sworn father. All his sons were such "filial" eldest sons; truly—
What goes around comes around!
The young man lowered his eyes, concealing the slight ripples in them.
Old General: "Do you understand what you're saying?"
The bearded man, with his neck stiffened, insisted on standing up to his father, determined to prove himself rather than risk his reputation.
“I know! She is the daughter of my son’s maternal uncle. Her identity and family background are impeccable. The so-called spy is all a frame-up!”
The old general's eyes darkened.
The atmosphere inside the main tent was even colder than before.
The two remained locked in a stalemate for a few more moments. Suddenly, the old general raised his hand and waved it. His trusted confidant understood and went out for a while.
A moment later, he brought in a bowl and placed it in front of the bearded man. The bearded man looked down and saw that the soup in the bowl was murky, with a few drops of oil floating on top, and two pieces of meat with a strange sour smell sinking beneath the oil. He was only confused for a moment before he immediately realized what it was, and his face contorted violently.
He shouted sternly, "Get out! Move it!"
The old general still wore that kind and benevolent face, but his words sent chills down the spines of everyone present. He coldly said, "You said 'get out'? Your old man isn't dead yet, it's not your place to say that word to him. Pry his mouth open and shove it in!"
The confidant sighed inwardly and did as instructed.
He had followed the old general for many years, serving as a member of his personal guard since childhood, a confidant closer than anyone else. Few in the world knew better than him the ruthlessness and brutality beneath the old general's kind exterior. If this son didn't know his place, he'd really be dead!
The bearded man struggled: "I won't eat it, what can you do to me?"
The old general was also decisive; he drew his sword from his waist and threw it to the ground in front of him with a thud, which served as his final ultimatum.
Bearded man: "..."
He looked at the old general in disbelief.
Although he often complained that the old man favored the young man, secretly speculated that the young man was the bastard child of the old man and some barbaric girl, and complained about being treated unfairly... he knew one thing in his heart—
Despite his favoritism, this father treated his sons leniently and never really laid a hand on them. His strictness was limited to words; even when he did physically punish or scold them, it wasn't too severe.
Which martial artist didn't grow up covered in injuries?
Those beatings and scoldings were nothing compared to what they were really like.
At this moment, she actually harbored murderous intent towards him...
You are presented with two choices, but you can only choose one!
The bearded man looked down, then up at his cold and indifferent old father, and finally, his fingers trembling, reached for the bowl in his confidant's hand. Seeing this, the confidant breathed a sigh of relief.
He reached out and pulled the knife out, holding it far away, as if afraid the bearded man might do something rash. But clearly, he didn't know enough about the old general's son.
The young man was not surprised by his sworn brother's choice.
This sworn brother of mine is, at heart, a person who is afraid of death and clings to life.
He argued with the old general earlier because he was sure the general wouldn't really kill his son. Even if he was just talking back, he would at most get a beating or be confined to his quarters. He's thick-skinned and not afraid!
Who would have thought that the old general would act out of character and catch him off guard!
With his eyes closed and a steely resolve, the bearded man endured excruciating nausea and ate the two pieces of meat, then drank the broth under the old general's watchful gaze. The salty, fishy taste lingered on his taste buds, his throat spasmed several times, and the intense nausea brought tears to his eyes.
The old general finally let him go: "Get down and sit down."
The bearded man staggered to his feet, his face deathly pale, and sat back down in his seat. His ears were ringing, and he hadn't paid any attention to what the person next to him was saying. When he came to his senses again, there was an unfamiliar figure in the tent, and the old general treated this person with great respect.
The bearded man looked up and glanced at him.
My hands and feet immediately turned ice cold.
This person... he had met him once.
He is said to be a staff member of Zheng Zhi, nicknamed "King of Pigs".
Oh, the so-called "King of Pigs" is Zheng Qiao, who took a sow as his wife and piglets as his children. He was popularly known as the "King of Pigs," and because of his name, Zheng Qiao bestowed upon him the title of "King of Pigs."
Why are the King of Pigs' confidants here too?
In a flash of inspiration, he suddenly understood why the old man had suddenly forced him to admit that his beloved concubine was a spy. It was probably because of the existence of this confidant of the Pig King, and it was all an act for others to see. Instead of feeling warm or regretful for misunderstanding his father, he felt a surge of intense hatred and murderous intent, and his molars ground together with a creaking sound.
Why is this the case?
Because in his view, he was taking the blame for the barbarian.
The traitor who burned the supplies was brought by the barbarian; he's the real culprit! Yet, he only punished himself, omitting a word about the barbarian's mistake. After a moment's thought, he guessed that the old man couldn't bear to see the barbarian suffer, so he used his beloved concubine as scapegoat!
The thought of his beloved concubine's tragic death filled the bearded man with a burning hatred and murderous intent that bubbled and boiled like water.
However, no one present cared about his thoughts.
He didn't hear that the young man had received eighty lashes.
Military rods are also categorized, some for ordinary soldiers and others for martial arts experts. The latter are exceptionally powerful; three to five blows can kill an ordinary person, while thirty to fifty blows can leave a martial arts expert with a bloodied buttocks, unable to walk, let alone eighty blows!
The old general asked the young man, "Do you have any objections?"
The young man lowered his head and said respectfully in front of the advisors and messengers, "I have no objections; I leave the decision entirely to my father."
The advisor, knowing he couldn't be too harsh, smiled and said to the old general, "With a formidable enemy at hand, perhaps we should postpone the flogging for now, young general? We can do it after we take Xiaocheng..."
The old general gave his adopted son a meaningful look.
The young man rose and thanked the envoy for intercession.
To everyone's surprise, the person commanding the battle was not a seasoned general who had fought on the battlefield for many years, but a strategist sent by the King of Zhi. The young man secretly observed—this envoy did not look young, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, with some gray in his temples. He wore a dark-colored scholar's robe with patterns, a square scarf on his head, and an exquisite vermilion monogram hanging from his waist.
Aside from having a decent appearance and a refined demeanor, and looking better than the average person, there's nothing particularly special about him.
only--
The moment the young man's eyes met those of the advisor, he realized he was wrong. The man's eyes were terrifyingly black, devoid of any light, utterly lifeless. A single glance from him sent an indescribable chill down his spine, a truly chilling feeling.
According to the procedure, the next step is to discuss how to attack the city.
In the young man's view, Xiaocheng's defenses were weak and the garrison's defenses were haphazard. If he were to launch a full-scale attack on one gate, it could be breached in one or two hours. His own forces already outnumbered Xiaocheng's three or four times, and their supplies and provisions had been fully replenished with the arrival of reinforcements.
Take Xiaocheng?
Easy peasy!
However, the words of the advisor left the generals puzzled.
His suggestion was to surround the enemy without attacking!
The bearded man immediately couldn't sit still and voiced his doubts.
"Why is that? Our army has ample strength. Give me three hours, no, one hour. If I cannot break through Xiaocheng, I am willing to offer my head! How much food and fodder will be wasted by besieging without attacking?"
This is war, not child's play!
Don't you know that speed is of the essence in war?
If you can finish a task in one day, don't put it off until the next!
He also wanted to use this opportunity to make a name for himself, ideally by suppressing the barbarian and letting everyone see who was truly stronger. A martial artist isn't just about fighting; they also need intelligence.
In terms of intelligence and strategy, he is definitely no less capable than the barbarian!
The advisor replied, "We have our reasons."
The four words, spoken casually, left the bearded man speechless. He wanted to retort – the soldiers used in the battle were their own, not the advisors or envoys. The envoys might not care, but he did!
But he didn't dare. Anyone with a brain knows that the chief advisor who can sit firmly in the top position next to the King of Pigs must be a ruthless person!
The old general sighed and said, "I will follow the messenger's orders."
The advisor said, "There's more."
The old general asked, "What are your instructions, envoy?"
“Those people brought back were sent to Xiaocheng.”
The old general was taken aback.
He knew the "those people" his advisors were talking about. These people were all infected with the plague. They were captured from the plague-stricken villages by the order of the King of Pigs, who specifically instructed the old general to take them with him.
The old general was initially reluctant, jokingly asking, "Lead a group of people infected with the plague to the front lines?"
Before we even reached the front lines, one of our own men died of illness!
He must be crazy to do that!
But in the end, he couldn't resist the King of Pigs.
The current Prince of Zhi is no longer the learned, erudite, and highly regarded prince and a strong contender for the crown prince position. He is now sinister, suspicious, and tyrannical, with zero tolerance for betrayal, disobedience, and questioning.
Fortunately, this advisor had a special ability that seemed to limit the plague's effects to certain individuals. Combined with the soldiers' proper precautions, the plague did not infect them.
The old general asked, "How should we get them into the city?"
All entrances and exits to Xiaocheng have been closed.
The aide replied, "Anything is fine."
The old general choked.
The advisor offered a cold suggestion that made the man frown deeply: "Or put them in catapults and throw them into the city. As long as they get into the city, it doesn't matter whether they're dead or alive."
The old general: "..."
The young man showed no outward reaction, but inwardly his eyes widened in horror. Judging from the advisor's words… were they planning to unleash a plague in Xiaocheng? To let the corpses of infected people spread the disease to others? To artificially create a plague?
He lowered his head and lowered his eyes.
The aide asked, "Is there a problem?"
The old general replied, "No."
At this moment, the bearded man asked, "Xiaocheng isn't a very big city, nor is it a small one. How long would it take for all the people in the city to die of the plague? Our army's food supplies simply can't last that long! If the envoy wants to turn Xiaocheng into a dead city, all he needs to do is break through the city gates and storm in. It would only take a day or two, or at most two or three days, to wipe them all out..."
He wanted to complain that the staff envoys were too slow.
If you don't understand warfare, don't give orders here. Let them handle the charging and fighting; what are you, a mere scholar, doing pointing fingers?
But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly lost his voice.
The bearded man quickly realized what was happening, his face turning ashen.
Silence!
The intense sense of humiliation made his eyes widen in anger!
He was a general who had made a name for himself at a young age and had been fighting for several years. Yet, he was silenced in his tent by an unknown scholar, which was tantamount to slapping him in the face in public!
His anger went unheard and ignored; even the old man agreed to the absurd suggestion of his advisor.
The aide added, "General, you have reminded me of something."
The young man's eyelids twitched violently.
The aide said expressionlessly, "Xiaocheng is neither too big nor too small. The people we brought are not enough."
The old general asked, "What does the envoy mean?"
The aide laughed and said, "I'd appreciate it if the old general could bring some men here."
The old general's heart skipped a beat.
"Your Excellency, this is probably..."
The aide chuckled and explained, “General, you misunderstand. When I said to arrest people, I didn’t mean your soldiers. They are all meritorious officials who have helped our lord expand our territory. We cannot sacrifice anyone but them; that would discourage the soldiers. What I meant was that you could send people to arrest some elderly and weak civilians. These people are not as healthy as young people and are very susceptible to disease…”
Emphasis should be placed on "the elderly and infirm" and "ordinary people".
The old general: "..."
I couldn't help but curse inwardly.
The young man sat at the lower end of the table, feeling increasingly chilled as he listened.
The advisor's words were clearly a threat.
Instead of arresting ordinary people, they used their own soldiers to make up the numbers.
Thinking of this, he secretly exhaled a breath of stale air.
If I had known the outside world was so corrupt, I should have stayed and defended my homeland. It would have been better to guard everyone's graves than to see these demons and monsters.
After a while, the young man was called upon by his staff.
The advisor smiled at him and asked, "How about entrusting this matter to the young general? It's also an opportunity to redeem yourself through merit."
youth:"……"
All he wants to do now is curse the entire family and clan of his staff!
"Yes, sir." Enduring his sworn brother's murderous, jealous gaze, he suppressed the urge to flip the table and kill him, and reluctantly accepted the "task."
————————
One bad news after another followed. When they heard that the rebels were reinforcing their troops, Gong Shuwu and his companion were devastated.
Last night's brief, meteor-like fire brought hope to Xiaocheng, but as soon as dawn broke, that faint hope was crushed by reality. The two had yet to find Lin Feng and Tu Rong, and the fall of Xiaocheng was imminent; the atmosphere was suffocating.
However, reality is far more surreal than imagination.
Chu Yao speculated that the rebels would attack the city in the afternoon or evening.
But as night fell, the rebel camp remained silent.
What are the rebels up to?
The garrison soldiers didn't care; all they knew was that they could barely survive another day, and their tense nerves were given a brief respite.
Little did they know that this was the calm before the storm.
With the moon high in the sky, the watchtower soldiers noticed that the rebel camp had finally made a move. They immediately sent a message down, and the soldiers on the city wall perked up, whether willingly or unwillingly, and prepared for the final battle with the determination to die!
(＞＜)
P.S.: "Nai Xiong" refers to the son of a wet nurse, brothers who grew up on the same breast, and their relationship is usually quite close. In ancient Chinese romance novels, the sons and daughters of wet nurses are generally either confidants or useful servants, and their stance is naturally biased towards the wet nurse.
(End of this chapter)
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