Chapter 58: A New Era
"Bang!" The cold iron collided again. It was the countless time they fought. The two men had been fighting from early morning to noon. The sun was scorching overhead, and their clothes were soaked with sweat and blood.
Ye Qing panted and looked at the energetic young general opposite him. He was too young. If he were ten years younger, he would definitely be able to fight him for another 300 rounds.
He looked down at the knife in his hand. The blade had rolled up and was covered with cuts. He had been slashed twice on his back by the opponent, and blood was flowing down. The high-intensity fighting made him feel no pain, but his overdrawn physical strength reminded him that he was almost at his limit.
Zhao Xiao was not much better than him. His hands were shaking as he held the knife. His left arm was severely cut, the wound was so deep that the bone was visible. He wrapped it with cloth and did not bother to bandage it.
Zhao Xiao licked his cracked lips and said, "Come again, General Ye!"
Ye Qing wiped the sweat off his face and said, "Go!" It seems that the two of them will fight to the death today!
Zhao Xiao ducked to avoid the attack and chopped back at the horse. This man was indeed as General Xu said, a rare loyal and good general who would rather die on the battlefield than surrender. What a pity.
Ye Qing leaned forward to avoid the blade, but the horse couldn't, and a long cut was made on its butt.
The horse neighed loudly in pain and kicked forward, throwing Ye Qing off the horse.
"General!" Veins bulged on Lieutenant General Zheng's forehead. He tightly grasped the spear in his hand, wishing he could rush up and fight with him immediately.
Ye Qing yelled, "Don't move! Lao Zheng, have you forgotten what I told you?!"
Zheng Da'an wanted to grit his teeth. Those bastards in the imperial court had forced them to such a point. Even if they surrendered, he would kill them all!
Zhao Xiao didn't take advantage of him, he jumped off the horse and said: "Come on, continue!"
Ye Qing looked at him with complicated eyes. If the two of them were generals together, they would probably become good friends. What a pity...
The knife flashed, and Zhao Xiao's great endurance made Ye Qing unable to defend himself, and the two of them swung their knives at the same time.
Zhao Xiao's knife chopped at Ye Qing's neck, but Ye Qing's knife avoided Zhao Xiao's neck and finally landed on his chest. Blood gushed out, and Zhao Xiao quickly put away the knife and supported Ye Qing's fallen body.
"General!!!" Sheng Jun couldn't control the commotion. Zheng Da'an, with tears on his face, suppressed the others tightly, telling them not to fight. This was the general's order and he had to do it!
Ye Qing said vaguely: "General Zhao...don't...don't kill my soldiers."
Zhao Xiao said with red eyes: "Okay, I promise you."
Ye Qing smiled, his eyes gradually blurred: "I really...really want to...try the taste of radish...stewed with meat..." After saying that, he died.
Zhao Xiao clenched his fists and pounded them on the ground, tears falling uncontrollably. Such a strong man couldn't even have a bowl of meat to eat before he died!
Zheng Daan rode over and said, "Give the general back to us."
Zhao Xiao picked up Ye Qing's body and placed him on the horse.
Lao Zheng wiped his tears and choked up, "The general asked us to surrender you, I obeyed him, but I will not obey you!"
Zhao Xiao pressed his injured arm and said, "I'm at your service anytime!"
"Just wait, I will go with you to kill all the bastards in the imperial court, and then I will compete with you!" After saying that, he returned to the Sheng army with Ye Qing's body.
Zhao Xiao watched as the Sheng army was first in uproar, then in chaos, and finally gradually calmed down. The soldiers laid down their weapons and finally surrendered.
He grinned, then his eyes went dark and he lost consciousness completely.
*
In the military camp, Song Yuzhu was performing surgery on Zhao Xiao with a stern face. Looking at his body covered with scars, her heart was broken with pain.
The knife wound on his left arm was the most serious, damaging his tendons and veins. Even if he could heal it, he would probably suffer from sequelae in the future!
Time passed little by little, the sky gradually darkened, and more than ten candles were lit in the tent, making it brightly lit.
Outside, Xu Dingkun was walking back and forth. Deputy General Du Chong came over to ask, "How is the general?"
"He's still inside. His injuries are too severe. The prince has to bandage him personally." Xu Dingkun didn't know Song Yuzhu's ability and was worried to death. However, Song Yuzhu had instructed before he went in that no one was allowed to go in without his order.
Bai Yizhou also rushed over and asked, "How is the general?"
They both shook their heads at the same time: "I don't know."
Xu Dingkun said: "Why don't we ask the military doctor to come over and take a look? Don't delay!"
Bai Yizhou said: "Don't worry, everything will be fine with the prince here." He had seen Song Yuzhu's methods of curing diseases and saving lives before, and ordinary doctors could not compare with him.
After waiting for another half an hour, the guard in charge of assisting came out of the tent.
The three of them hurriedly grabbed him and asked, "What happened?"
"Your Excellency, we have to wait a little longer. The prince has just finished treating the general's arm."
Zhao Xiao was lying on a flat bed, looking pale due to excessive blood loss. His injured left arm had been sutured, and Song Yuzhu was treating the wound on his chest.
The guard brought boiling hot water and Song Yuzhu threw the used scissors and tweezers into it for disinfection.
After treating the wound, he sprinkled medicine on it and bandaged it, then took out the antibiotics that he had kept before and poured them into Zhao Xiao's mouth without reservation.
Song Yuzhu said tiredly: "Let the people outside come in."
"yes."
The guards pulled aside the curtain, and Xu Dingkun and his men hurried in: "Is the general okay?"
Song Yuzhu nodded: "Has the Sheng army surrendered?"
Bai Yizhou said: "They surrendered, but the other side's deputy generals did not want to join us. They said that after we entered Shangjing, they would retire."
"Let them do what they want. How do we place Ye Qing's body?"
"The Sheng army wants to take him back to Beiguan and bury him at the foot of the Qilian Mountains."
"Send someone to help with the funeral arrangements. General Ye's family must be treated well."
Bai Yizhou bowed his head and said, "Yes!"
Xu Dingkun asked: "Your Highness, now that we have defeated the Sheng army, when will we set off to the capital?"
Seeing that the kingdom was about to be taken into his hands, Xu Dingkun was even more anxious than him.
The news of Sheng's defeat and surrender would probably reach Shangjing soon. In order to avoid any more trouble, Song Yuzhu glanced at the unconscious Zhao Xiao and said, "Let's set off early tomorrow morning."
*
"No, it's bad! It's bad! General Ye died in battle and the army was defeated!" The little eunuch shouted at the top of his lungs!
In the harem, seven-year-old Yang Rui rode on Banban, pointing at the howling little eunuch and laughing.
The Queen Mother ran out of the palace upon hearing the noise: "What did you say?!"
"A report has been sent from the front line: General Ye was killed in battle, and the Sheng army was defeated..."
Qi only felt as if his ears were struck by a gong, buzzing, and he could hear no sound.
Taifu Feng Zhi was the first to enter the palace. He advised the empress dowager to take the emperor away first, cross the river to Goguryeo to seek refuge, and then find an opportunity to restore the country later.
Qi was so frightened that she could only hold her son and nod.
Feng Zhi quickly asked the palace servants to pack up their things and prepare the carriage to leave for the capital. He also notified the people in the mansion, packed up his valuables and took his family with him to flee together.
This was the first time the little emperor had left the palace since he was a child. He was surprised as he sat in the carriage. He thought he was going out for fun and lifted the curtain to look around.
Seeing someone selling candy figurines on the street, he grabbed Queen Mother Qi's hand and shouted, "Mother, I want this, I want this!"
Queen Dowager Qi hugged her son and cried.
Yang Rui was startled, thinking that he had made her angry, and he held her hand and whispered, "Mother, please stop crying. I don't want it anymore."
Qi wiped her tears with a handkerchief and told the eunuch accompanying her: "Go buy a few more for the emperor." She didn't know when she would be able to return, so she just thought of it as a reminder...
The palace guards escorted the emperor's carriage out of Shangjing and headed northeast.
When many ministers in the court heard the news, some of them cursed Ye Qing for being so mediocre that he couldn't even defeat the rebels. At the same time, they packed up their gold and silver and quickly ran away.
Some people gave up escaping and sat at home waiting for the Chengtian Army to enter the city. Tian Qiju was one of them. If the traitor dared to usurp the throne, he would not surrender even if he was killed!
On the way of escape, there were more and more carriages, and the group of young men from noble families in Beijing actually followed the emperor to escape!
The long convoy, which stretched as far as the eye could see, suddenly appeared in the barren mountains. The carriages were loaded with heavy gold and silver, and the ruts had pressed two deep grooves on the dirt road.
The roads in ancient times were mostly bumpy and uneven, and horse-drawn carriages were very bumpy when driving on them. These nobles had never traveled far, and some of them could not bear it after only half a day of walking.
The little emperor was very carsick and cried to go back to the palace. Three or four eunuchs surrounded him to comfort him but it was useless. In the afternoon, Yang Rui vomited several times and lost his energy. He lay in his companion's arms and groaned.
The imperial physician who was accompanying him was called in to take a look. The physician only prescribed some tranquilizing pills, which the little emperor fed to him. However, the little emperor vomited them out after a short while.
Queen Qi was heartbroken, but there was no other way. If they didn't escape, they would all die when the rebels entered the capital.
After running day and night for two days, Yang Rui became more and more ill, refused to take medicine or food, and had a high fever. On the third morning, Yang Rui's fever went away on its own, and he even asked for honey cakes.
The young eunuch happily brought the honey cake. Yang Rui ate two pieces. Suddenly his face turned pale, his breathing became rapid, and he violently vomited several mouthfuls of green soup. Then he died.
When Du Chong led the army to catch up, Emperor Shengwen, who was only seven years old, had already died, and the Empress Dowager Qi was also going mad while holding his body.
When the others saw the army, they were so frightened that they hid in the carriages and dared not move. They were all taken back to Shangjing.
*
Not all of the 170,000 troops entered the city, so Song Yuzhu sent Bai Yizhou to lead 30,000 troops back to Xuzhou to bring his parents and Xu Bing to Beijing.
Zheng Daan and Lieutenant General Chu were about to leave, and Song Yuzhu had a long talk with them all night. Even if they didn't do it for themselves, they had to think about the soldiers under their command.
These soldiers have fought for so many years, but in the end they have no money.
Now that the Sheng Dynasty has collapsed and we are about to live a good life, why not continue to work for him.
Song Yuzhu agreed that the surrendered soldiers would receive the same food, clothing and other expenses as the Chengtian Army, and would receive a monthly salary of two taels of silver. Even those who died on the battlefield would receive a pension.
After discussion, the two decided that they had to follow King Chengtian even for the sake of their dead brother.
Zhao Xiao woke up halfway. His injuries healed quickly, except for his left arm, which was injured too badly and he couldn't exert any strength yet.
This battle had a profound impact on him, especially Ye Qing's death. He would occasionally sit on his horse in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.
Seven days later, the army arrived in Shangjing.
It is the turn of spring and summer, with green willows, singing birds and fragrant flowers.
When Song Yuzhu's carriage passed through Zhengyang Gate and entered this ancient capital of three dynasties, the wheel of history rolled forward with unstoppable momentum.
Later historical records recorded that on the last day of May, King Chengtian opened a new era.
(End of this chapter)
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