Chapter 21: Hell on Earth
Song Yuzhu was stunned. Why was this kid so reckless? What if he was discovered by the enemy?
I have to help him, I must help him! But how?
Song Yuzhu hated that he had studied medicine instead of military tactics in his previous life, and his weak body was of no help! Just when he was extremely anxious, a sudden inspiration came to him - make a feint to the east and attack in the west!
Zhao Xiao swam to the other side by diving. The most dangerous time was when he went ashore. The city was strictly guarded and no corner would be left open for him to enter.
If the Qing army pretends to withdraw, the enemy may relax their vigilance, and Zhao Xiao will have the opportunity to sneak into the city and lower the drawbridge!
Song Yuzhu hurried to Xu Bing's tent to ask for a meeting. As a military advisor, he had the right to command on the spot.
Soon a soldier told him to come in.
Xu Bing's accounting office was next to Yang Yuanqing's main account, but it was much smaller. He was reading a book with his clothes on.
"Doctor Xiao Song, I wonder what brings you here so late at night?"
Song Yuzhu bowed quickly and said, "I beg you to withdraw the troops immediately!"
Xu Bing asked in surprise: "Disband the camp?"
Song Yuzhu swallowed his saliva and said, "That's right. Now the two armies are facing each other and the enemy is well-defended. It is very difficult to sneak into the city, and lowering the drawbridge is even more difficult! If we pretend to withdraw, the enemy will definitely relax their vigilance, and a sneak attack will be easier."
Song Yuzhu was afraid that he would disagree, so she continued, "There are not many people in the army who can swim. If Captain Zhao dies, it will be even more difficult to launch a surprise attack. We can also attack the city head-on. I think the losses must be very heavy..."
Xu Bing put down the book and quickly stood up to inform his subordinates: "Go and report to the left and right generals, and tell them that we are going to withdraw our troops."
*
Zhao Xiao had already sneaked to the vicinity of the city gate, but the city tower was heavily guarded and he could not climb out of the water. Even if he did, he would still be shot.
Just when they were in despair, they suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from the other side of the river, and the people on the city wall were also attracted.
"Has the enemy withdrawn?" a guard on the city wall asked in a low voice.
"They must have withdrawn. They have moved all their tents."
The guard stretched himself and said, "Great! Maybe I can get some sleep in the second half of the night. I'm so exhausted these past few days!"
No one noticed that a figure came out of the water and quietly climbed up the city wall.
*
A sharp whistle pierced the night sky, frightening Prince Qing so much that he sat up from his bed. "What happened? Was the camp attacked?!"
Xu Bing hurried in and said, "Your Majesty! The drawbridge has been lowered. Shall we attack the city now?!"
Yang Yuanqing pushed the beauty beside him away, got off the bed with a bellyband hanging around his neck, and shouted excitedly: "Attack! Attack the city immediately, and let us enter Xuzhou to have a good time! Capture Yang Yuanqi alive, and I will hang him on the city wall and dry him until he becomes a dried man!"
Xu Bing frowned upon hearing this and risked being fed to the bear to persuade him: "Your Majesty, not only can you not bully the common people, you can't kill the Four Kings even if you see them."
Yang Yuanqing glared at him: "Why?! He killed my brother, and I can't take revenge. How can this be justified in the world!"
Xu Bing said: "He assassinated King Jing in secret. Although everyone knows that he was the one who did it, there is no evidence to prove that he was the one who killed him. Now you are attacking him in the open. Once you kill him, the other princes will probably attack you together!"
Yang Yuanqing spat, "Bah, damn it, does this mean I have to support the fourth brother even if I catch him?"
"Those who accomplish great things do not care about small details. Now that the eldest prince has rebelled, I'm sure the other princes have already started to make preparations. If we kill the four princes at this time, I'm afraid we will become the target of public criticism."
Yang Yuanqing thought for a moment, and suddenly said with a wicked smile: "It's okay if I don't kill him. Then I'll tie him next to my Tuantuan and scare him to death!" Tuantuan refers to the two black bears he raised.
Xu Bing had nothing to say but to hope that the Four Kings would run faster and not be caught by Yang Yuanqing, otherwise their fate might be worse than death.
*
The army entered the city, with the baggage carts following last. Song Yuzhu anxiously asked people about Zhao Xiao's whereabouts.
"Captain Zhao? I just heard that the prince called him over. He's in the spotlight today! Not only was he rewarded with a thousand taels of silver, but he was also promoted to the rank of captain of a thousand households. The prince is going to give him two beauties!"
Song Yuzhu was really happy for him. He got both money and an official position. His risk was not in vain! This brat finally got his reward after all the hardship!
Originally, Yang Yuanqing promised Xu Bing that he would not touch the local people when he entered the city, but he suddenly changed his mind after entering the city. The humiliation he suffered outside the city in the past few days made his already violent temper even more ferocious, and he actually ordered all the soldiers to enjoy themselves in the city!
More than 20,000 soldiers, half of whom turned into evil spirits, broke into civilians' homes, kidnapped women and children, and committed violence in the streets, doing things worse than animals! In an instant, Xuzhou City turned into a living hell.
Song Yuzhu saw with her own eyes that two soldiers were still talking about going home after the battle, and the next moment they rushed into a nearby house with a hideous grin, pulled out a little girl who was not yet an adult, ripped her clothes off and tried to commit beastly acts!
The girl's parents ran out of the house, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for mercy. Even though their heads were broken, the soldiers remained indifferent. The father mustered up the courage to rush forward to stop them, but the soldier chopped off his arm with a knife, and the woman was dragged to the woodshed next door by another person...
Song Yuzhu stood there in a daze, blood rushing backwards through her body, her hands shaking uncontrollably. The three perspectives she had built up over decades were completely shattered in an instant.
It was as if he was in a nightmare. Everywhere he looked, he saw a series of tragic scenes, which made him feel sick. He knelt on the ground and retched desperately, his throat hoarse from the sour and spicy gastric juice.
What's wrong with them? Are they crazy?
"Help...save me, save me." The girl lay on the ground and stretched out her hands to him desperately.
"No... We can't do this... Those children are not yet adults, and those women have already been promised to others!!! Let them go, let them go quickly..." Song Yuzhu shouted hoarsely, and rushed over to save them, but was kicked to the ground by the soldier.
The man didn't swing his knife at him because he saw the Qing military uniform he was wearing. He stared at him with bloodshot eyes and spat, saying, "Bah, if you want to play, go find someone else. Don't fucking fight with me!" Then he crawled on the girl's body and squirmed...
"Don't look." A familiar voice suddenly came from behind, and a warm palm covered Song Yuzhu's eyes.
Song Yuzhu grabbed his hand and begged: "Axiao, please, save her... Save them quickly..."
Seeing that there was no one around, Zhao Xiao drew out his short blade and pounced forward like a cheetah, cutting the throat of the man who was committing the beastly act without letting him make a sound. Then he killed another soldier as well.
She pulled up the dishevelled mother and daughter from the ground and said, "Hurry up and find a place to hide!" The mother gritted her teeth, carried her daughter on her back and ran to the straw pile behind the house.
Zhao Xiao was afraid that the two bodies would bring trouble to them, so he pulled out the two men's knives and chopped the bodies a few times, pretending to fight each other, and then pulled Song Yuzhu and ran towards the city wall. He couldn't save everyone, so he could only take Song Yuzhu away from this place.
Song Yuzhu was like a kite with a broken string, letting him pull her, tears streaming down her cheeks. He was the one who harmed these people... If it weren't for her plot, perhaps Prince Qing wouldn't have been able to attack the city in a short time, and they wouldn't have been hurt like this...
Finally, they ran to the top of the tower and Zhao Xiao placed Song Yuzhu on a lookout tower away from the wind. Seeing him shivering with his knees hugged and his chest aching slightly, he quickly took off his clothes and put them on him.
"Don't be afraid, Yuzhu, I have already asked King Qing for mercy, and you can go home tomorrow!"
Song Yuzhu raised her head, her teeth still chattering uncontrollably: "Go home?"
"Your Majesty promised me that you would be allowed to return as long as Xuzhou is conquered. I will have someone send you back to Jiangcheng County tomorrow morning."
Song Yuzhu wanted to go home, back to Jiangcheng County, back to the clinic, and continue to be an idle doctor...
But can he hide for a while, or forever? If it was Jiangcheng County that was captured today, and his mother was raped, what would he do then? He couldn't lift anything, and he didn't even have the ability to rush forward to take revenge! Could he just let others slaughter him?
No, can't go back!
At this moment, Song Yuzhu suddenly woke up. In this feudal dynasty, the imperial power was supreme and human life was worthless. Studying medicine could not save people in this era. Only those who had absolute power were qualified to change all this!
A crazy and bold idea took root in my mind...
"I can't leave."
"You can't help here if you stay, just go back and listen to my instructions!"
Song Yuzhu wiped her tears and stood up and said, "Zhao Xiao, do you plan to stay and work for Prince Qing forever?"
"Where else can I go if not here? There is no place for me in this world."
"Do you want to take control of your own destiny?"
Zhao Xiao licked his back teeth and said, "I dream about it!"
Song Yuzhu looked at him with a sharp gaze, with fire in her eyes: "Do you dare to do something big with me?"
"The world is in chaos now, and King Qing is tyrannical. How can we know that today's Xuzhou City will not be Jiangcheng County tomorrow? Instead of sitting and waiting for disaster to come, it is better to strike first, seize the world, and dominate your own destiny!"
"Ding!" There was a sudden sound in my head, and I saw a new line of words on the book: Mission 2, Seize the Military Power of King Qing, Mission Reward (?)
Zhao Xiao was stunned by his words. He looked at the thin boy and was speechless for a moment.
The cold wind messed up his hair, and his slender neck was so fragile that he could not even hold it. Song Yuzhu looked so weak in front of him that he could take his life with just one hand. But the burning light in his eyes was so bright that it made Zhao Xiao's heart surge.
Zhao Xiao licked his dry lips and said, "We have no soldiers and no money, how can we resist?"
Song Yuzhu pointed at the soldiers in the city and said, "Aren't the troops here ready? Just give me some time and I will definitely take them down!"
"It's impossible for Yang Yuanqing to hand over the military power to you."
Song Yuzhu raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "I can ask him to hand over the military power to you."
"You have made great contributions in this siege and have already appeared in front of King Qing. You have been promoted to the rank of captain of a thousand households. This is a great opportunity for you!"
"Besides Xu Bing, Yang Yuanqing only has the left and right generals around him. The left and right armies have been at odds for a long time. If we find an opportunity to sow discord and get rid of the two, it would be like cutting off both of his arms. Then the Qing army would no longer be a concern."
Song Yuzhu turned around and looked at the city: "I want the people of the world to no longer suffer from this misery, I want the wicked to get their comeuppance, and I want this cannibalistic court to be turned upside down! Are you willing to fight with me?"
Zhao Xiao looked at his back, and the resentment and grievance that had been accumulated in his heart for more than ten years burst out at this moment: "I am willing to sacrifice my life to accompany you!"
(End of this chapter)
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