Chapter 32: The Heroine's Highlight - Next Chapter's Play
Everyone fell silent. The white-haired Master Shen remained calm, stroking his beard. "Alright, hurry and prepare accommodations. Grand Scholar Qin and his envoys have arrived in Yunzhou. From now on, just follow Grand Scholar Qin's instructions."
The two kneeling men were suddenly terrified, their expressions changed drastically, and their fingertips trembled.
Xu Xu glanced up at Qin Daoji, whose gaze was sharp, then quickly kowtowed and retreated, hurriedly tidying up her lodgings.
After accommodations were arranged, the officials quickly took over the mess, running around, setting up camps, distributing porridge to the people, and revitalizing the city.
Qin Song was put to rest at the yamen for a day. The next morning, Master Shen took her out on an inspection tour.
The chaotic scene on the deserted streets gradually returned to order, and soldiers were stationed at various checkpoints. The government offices reopened to handle their affairs.
The refugees who had been hiding outside the city returned to the city one after another after hearing that the Zhenbei Army had returned to guard the border. The city gradually regained its human presence. The people, who were pale, thin, and dressed in rags, still had fear in their eyes and were wary of outsiders, which showed the devastation of this dilapidated city.
"Qin Daoji is a smart man, and you are a smart child. You have learned the classics very well, but the disaster in Yunzhou City is a great calamity for the Great Yu and a disaster for the people. Stepping on this land is the best opportunity for you to study and understand the way you have learned, so that you can realize the direction of your heart."
Master Shen was advanced in years, his shoulders and back were thin, yet he stood tall and handsome, his steps were neither hurried nor slow, and his voice was neither hurried nor slow, displaying the demeanor of a scholar.
Wearing a veiled hat and followed by maids and guards, Qin Song walked down the desolate street, her heart heavy. It was as if she was being pushed onto a completely different path from the one she had taken before arriving here.
"Master, can intelligence and hard work alone achieve what one desires? And where can I apply what I have learned?"
Qin Song guessed that Qin Daoji had something on her mind, but she didn't know what he wanted her to do. She was a girl, that was an indisputable fact, and she could fight for it with all her might, but she didn't understand what her father wanted her to fight for.
Master Shen paused, gazing at the gray sky, and pondered for a moment. "Qin Daoji will tell you about this sooner or later."
The two arrived at the soup kitchen in the south of the city.
There is no surplus grain in the city. All the grain in every household, including the city's granaries and the crops of the farmers, has been looted. The grain currently being distributed for porridge is all from the grain that Qin Daoji and others brought from the capital.
Two porridge and soup stalls were set up in the south and two in the north of the city.
"The surplus grain we brought was used to provide relief to these soup kitchens, and it was only enough to feed the people in the city for at most ten days. The Vice Minister of Revenue and the Junior Chamberlain have already gone south to procure grain. Right now, grain is the biggest problem in Yunzhou City. If the grain is not delivered soon, the 100,000 Zhenbei Army will also go hungry."
Master Shen's brows gradually furrowed. After leading Qin Song on a tour of the granary, he went to the city defense camp. The camp tents were newly set up, and Tao Yao and two adjutants were guarding the city defense camp.
Upon seeing Qin Song arrive, Tao Yao, whose leg injury had fully recovered, shone brightly like the sun. She led Qin Song around the city defense camp, saying, "There are only three thousand infantrymen here, mainly responsible for the safety of Yunzhou City. They will obey Lord Qin's orders. My brother has set up camp five hundred miles outside the city with one hundred thousand elite troops. This time, we will not only defend Yunzhou, but we will also take back Danzhou."
Although Tao Yao wore soldier's armor, she did not actually have the status of a general, nor was she even a deputy; she was just an ordinary soldier. However, she did not care about her status at all and only wished she could immediately go into battle to kill the enemy.
Qin Song looked at her and said, "Ayao, you are so kind."
Tao Yao's eyes lit up, and she patted Qin Song on the shoulder: "Ah Song has good taste! By the way, I heard Lord Qin say this morning that once things are stable in the north, he'll have my brother teach you riding and archery. You know, with my skill level, I really can't teach you anything, but my brother is very good. With his guidance, you'll be better than me sooner or later!"
Qin Song smiled outwardly, but inwardly he was thinking about something else: Qin Daoji's chessboard seemed to be gradually becoming clearer.
Back at the yamen, Qin Daoji had been busy for a day and a night. Qin Song poured him a cup of tea and advised him to take a rest, but Qin Daoji waved his hand and said, "If we don't clean up this mess in Yunzhou City, things will change drastically."
Qin Daoji looked gloomy and dejected. Qin Song glanced at the dossier in his hand, but before he could speak, a minor official rushed in from outside the door in a panic: "My lord."
"What is it?"
Qin Daoji had received countless headache-inducing messages today and was already used to the flustered expressions of the minor officials.
The clerk hurriedly reported: "The northern barbarians have attacked again. General Tao has captured General Chen Peizhi, who was mixed in with the northern barbarian army."
Qin Daoji didn't even look up. "Bring him back."
The minor official cautiously replied, "General Tao... has already executed him on the spot."
Qin Daoji finally looked up from the case file and, seeing the clerk still in shock, asked, "How was he killed?"
"The spear pierced through the barrel."
"Bring back the body, behead it and display it to the public. Take all of Chen Peizhi's soldiers back to the city for backup deployment." Qin Daoji handed a memorial from his desk to the clerk. "And send this back to the capital and give it to Censor Lu of the Censorate."
"Yes." The clerk was a civil official who had never seen such a scene before. Seeing Qin Daoji's calmness, he finally calmed down, accepted the memorial, and quickly turned and left.
Qin Song, who had witnessed the whole thing, couldn't help but ask, "Did Chen Peizhi collude with the Northern Barbarian army, conceal military intelligence, and raise bandits to enhance his own power?"
Qin Daoji rubbed his temples and sighed deeply. "Not only that, Chen Peizhi was able to intercept officials' secret letters. His influence has already reached the central government. The disaster in Yunzhou was no accident. The Great Yu is in grave danger."
Qin Daoji worked tirelessly day and night at his desk, and before he could discuss Chen Peizhi with Qin Song in detail, he received a message from Li Yu requesting a grain loan, so he went out.
In the afternoon, Master Shen examined Qin Song's policy essays and then took several case files from Qin Daoji's desk and handed them to her, asking her to read them and then discuss her insights with him.
Having received the task, Qin Song held a candle and began to peruse the several volumes of documents, doing so for several days in a row.
Winters in the north are very cold. That night, ice formed both inside and outside the house. It started snowing heavily in the middle of the night. She was woken up by the cold in the middle of the night and opened her eyes to find a tall figure sitting by the bed.
If Qin Song weren't usually so easily startled, he would have screamed in fright at that figure.
With Yun Qian not around, Qin Song was used to sleeping alone, but she was afraid of the dark, so an oil lamp was kept lit in the room all night.
Qin Song sat up, still wrapped in the blanket. "When did you arrive?"
"Just arrived."
Tao Qingyang wasn't wearing a mask, and his handsome face appeared even more alluring in the dim firelight.
He responded in a low voice, shaking the snowflakes off his shoulders. The cold air seemed to seep into Qin Song's blankets from him, making her shiver.
Tao Qingyang subconsciously moved to the foot of the bed. "Sorry, you're cold."
Qin Song shook his head. "Why are you here instead of in the military camp?"
Tao Qing raised her icy hands, breathed on them, then rubbed her hands, which were red from the cold, and said with a smile, "It's cold. Come to Sister A-Song's room to get some shelter from the wind."
Qin Song kicked him hard.
"Hiss, ah..." He immediately bent over and clutched his stomach, his face turning deathly pale.
Qin Song immediately sat up, pulled his hands out from under the covers, and asked anxiously, "What happened to you? Are you hurt?"
Tao Qingyang suddenly straightened up again. His face was still pale, but there was a smile on his lips and a hint of excitement in his eyes that had not yet faded. His eyes were shrouded in a misty fog that seemed to be filled with tears, making it difficult to see clearly.
"It seems that Sister A-Song still cares about me." He smiled in a frivolous manner, as if nothing was wrong.
Qin Song kicked him again, but with less force. "Let's get down to business."
His smile widened, and his breathing became more rapid.
"The snowstorm is too severe. I learned that Lord Qin has not yet returned from his journey south, so I came back to the yamen to check. Judging from the weather, it will probably be difficult to travel tomorrow due to the accumulated snow. The army is short of food, and the war in the north is urgent. I have transferred twenty elite soldiers back for your command."
Qin Song hid his hands under the covers again. "How's the situation in the north? What will happen if the supplies don't arrive soon?"
Tao Qing glanced up at the dark window and said, "Chen Peizhi gave the topographical map of Yunzhou to the Northern Barbarians, and we have been stuck in a passive position ever since."
He shrugged again, pulled the blanket up for Qin Song, and then stood up. "Don't worry, I will never lose again. Wait for my triumphant return."
The window opened and closed, the cold wind still lingered in the room, and the tall young man in red had disappeared.
It was too cold, so Qin Song wrapped the blanket tighter around himself and lay down again.
When she woke up the next day, the maids came into the room to help her get up, and they kept making a lot of noise.
Shen Xing picked up a jade flute at the foot of the bed: "Miss, this jade flute is so beautiful."
Jiang Yue noticed a patch of crimson: "Oh dear, how come there's blood on the corner of the blanket, Miss?"
Qin Song immediately realized that the bloodstain was from the spot where he had kicked Tao Qing in the stomach last night while she was wrapped in a blanket.
The oil lamp had been burning all night in the room, and the strong smell of kerosene made her not notice the bloodstains on Tao Qingyang.
She glanced at the jade flute again. What was the rush? She'd even forgotten to take the flute with her.
Thinking of this, she immediately opened the window. Outside, everything was covered in white, and the snow was almost piled up to the windowsill.
A row of armored soldiers stood at the entrance, shoveling snow in an orderly and quiet manner. Had they not slept all night?
Qin Song felt a slight ripple in his heart and felt a deep respect for them.
He asked them, "Is your general wounded?"
The soldier closest to her replied, "Before Chen Peizhi died, he ambushed the general, stabbing him in the abdomen. The general went into the city last night to have his dressing changed."
Qin Song froze, his hand still gripping the windowsill. Hearing what Tao Qingyang had said last night, the war situation was not optimistic. If the commander-in-chief were to be injured again, it would be a double whammy.
As Qin Song was thinking, Jiang Yue's sorrowful voice came from behind her again: "Miss, the porridge is even thinner."
Jiang Yue went to the kitchen to get breakfast, only to be told that the remaining food was running out and that eating porridge for three meals a day would only last for two days at most.
Qin Song was immediately alarmed, not because she was hungry, but because the whole city was counting on the little bit of food they had brought to barely maintain their strength.
With the frost and snow today, everyone needs more energy to replenish their strength. If there's no rice in the porridge, who knows what kind of trouble might occur.
Qin Song could only hope that Li Yu and the others would quickly transport the grain back.
Unfortunately, before the good news arrived, the bad news came first.
Tao Yao rode up and told Qin Song, "Heavy snow has blocked the mountains in the south, and an avalanche has occurred. The team that went to pick up the grain has been blocked at the foot of the mountain. I don't know the situation. The city defense army will go out of the city to rescue them immediately. There are still 500 city defense soldiers in the north camp, which will be dispatched by Deputy General Tang. The city will be left to A Song and Master Shen for now."
After Tao Yao brought back the message, she rode away.
But when she woke up early in the morning, a yamen runner came to report that the teacher had caught a cold and had been taken to the clinic for treatment. Qin Song had no choice but to cheer up and wait at the yamen, trying her best to handle everything she could.
But bad news kept coming in one after another.
Master Shen fell seriously ill. The clinic said that Master Shen's illness was not a cold, but a serious disease.
A month ago, a severe disease broke out in the city, and everyone thought it was over, but unexpectedly it has returned.
Master Shen was old and frail, and his illness struck fiercely. He soon began coughing up blood and could no longer get out of bed. Qin Song wanted to take care of him, but was stopped outside by the people at the clinic.
"This disease is contagious. The more people get sick, the more burden we have. Miss Qin, you'd better not come and cause trouble."
Qin Song could not see the Master and was even regarded as a burden.
She wisely returned to the government office and tried her best to calm the public. She dispatched her guards to urgently isolate people with symptoms.
The heavy snow blocked the roads to the south for a day and a night, but the roads were still not cleared. The people were suffering from hunger and cold, and a serious disease was raging. The people's emotions had reached a breaking point.
The following night, the starving people, huddled together from the cold, surrounded the government office, crying, "We can't take it anymore, there must be food here."
"Open the granary and release the grain, gentlemen! We are starving to death!"
The yamen runners outside the gate stopped the visitors. "Gentlemen, the yamen is out of food. The food brought by Lord Qin and his party ran out the day before yesterday."
"I don't believe it. There's no food. Why aren't you hungry?"
The constables were more resentful than anyone else. They were hungry too, so hungry that they were almost too weak to hold their weapons. They were just doing their duty.
As negotiations continued, the number of starving people gathered grew larger and larger, and there were signs that they were about to cause trouble. It was only thanks to the elite soldiers that Tao Qingyang had left for Qin Song that they were able to hold them back and prevent them from storming into the government office.
A group of people squatted dejectedly outside the government office, like stray dogs.
The heavy snow stopped last night, but the temperature was extremely low. The surrounding snow was almost frozen into ice crystals. Hunger and cold caused more and more people to fall ill.
However, no news of grain arriving in the city ever came.
Just when we were at our wits' end, a scout reported: "The northern barbarian enemy forces have launched a surprise attack from the west!"
The atmosphere inside and outside the yamen was tense. The old, weak, women and children were terrified and their faces turned ashen. Qin Song, however, felt that his opportunity had come. The northern barbarians could not have come empty-handed. They must have brought provisions and supplies. Wasn't this a gift of grain?
She sent someone to find Deputy General Tang of the city defense battalion, intending to mobilize the soldiers of the city defense battalion to defend against the enemy. Unexpectedly, the disease came from the city defense army. Most of the city defense soldiers fell into a coma. She could not take all the remaining people with her. She had to leave some people to guard the city gate.
There was no other way; it was too late to seek help from Tao Qingyang at the Northern Army camp. Qin Song gritted his teeth, took the twenty soldiers left behind by Tao Qingyang, and mobilized the people:
"Gentlemen, we have received a military report. A Northern Barbarian army is approaching Yunzhou City from the west. The Zhenbei Army is currently exhausted from resisting the main force of the Northern Barbarians in the north. We can only deal with this rat army in the west on our own."
After he finished speaking, the people, who were so hungry that their vision was blurred, were too weak to respond.
Qin Song's hands were clasped tightly together inside her cloak. She was too weak from hunger, but she could only suppress her nervousness and continue to persuade them, "I am Qin Song, the daughter of Grand Scholar Qin. Please believe me. The northern barbarians have horses and have brought provisions. As long as we take them back, we will have something to eat. The road to the west is dangerous. They have taken a long detour. We have a good chance to ambush them first."
Everyone looked sickly, and their expressions didn't show much emotion.
Qin Songxin also raised the issue. Although she had no chance of winning, she had studied the terrain of Yunzhou and many files of the government. If she could seize the initiative, she would still have a slight chance of winning without fighting. If she missed the opportunity, she would only be able to fight a bitter battle.
Finally, someone spoke up.
"Come on, aren't our lives valuable too? Does a mere woman think she can order us around?"
“We’re not stupid enough to follow you to our deaths. We’d rather stay in the city and live a little longer.”
It's a dissenting voice.
Qin Song took a closer look at the two men. They were still wearing armor, but the style was slightly different from that of Tao Qingyang's men.
She remembered that these were Chen Peizhi's subordinates left behind by her father, originally intended as backup, but now they were disrupting morale within the army.
Seeing that things were not going well, she had no choice but to first gather a group of supporters.
"Give me the key to the dungeon."
The newly hired clerk was a former civil servant in the Imperial Household Department. He was meticulous in his work but lacked courage. In the current situation, he had no ideas of his own and could only follow Qin Song's arrangements, trembling as he handed the dungeon key to her.
Qin Song arrived at the dungeon and walked around the cells one by one.
There were more than ten earthen dungeons of various sizes, filled with over a hundred prisoners, all of whom had tattooed faces and naturally looked somewhat fierce.
The plates in front of the cells were still covered with black, coarse bread crumbs. Due to food shortages, these prisoners could only eat black bread boiled with water.
But it's a bit thicker than the plain rice soup that people usually eat.
"Listen carefully, the government office has run out of food. The entire Yunzhou is waiting for the government office to send food to help us. Even the people have been starving for days. If you want to eat, do as I say from now on."
Qin Song, dressed in a white fur coat, looked extremely out of place standing in the dark dungeon. His slender figure seemed like he could be easily crushed by the group of prisoners.
But she remained calm enough to meet the hungry gazes of the prisoners and say loudly, "From now on, be a real villain and follow me to rob food. Otherwise, I will throw you out now. Whether you eat prison food or starve to death, you can decide for yourselves."
The prisoners were stunned for a moment, then suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "We are willing, we will all listen to Miss."
Qin Song knew that these people were not inherently evil; they had deliberately committed crimes to avoid starvation and end up in jail.
Throwing them out was the greatest intimidation they could receive, and they naturally kowtowed and begged to be "taken in."
The prisoners surged onto the ground, startling the guards and civilians at the gate. Only when Qin Song emerged from among the prisoners did they recover from their initial shock of being "unleashed" and begin to watch Qin Song's every move.
Qin Song walked at the head of a group of prisoners and shouted, "If we win this battle, the grain we seize will be distributed to the brave warriors who fought. Those who do not fight will only have their porridge distributed to the old, weak, women and children tonight. The young and strong will be deprived of it. Anyone who tries to loot will be executed on the spot!"
Upon hearing this, those who had remained unmoved finally began to open their eyes.
Qin Song ignored the crowd and deliberately quickened his pace, arriving at the few warhorses outside the yamen.
She mounted the horse, and Jiangyue followed suit.
She couldn't ride a horse, but luckily Jiangyue was a skilled rider, so she was the only one who could carry her on horseback.
"Set off."
At her command, the sound of horses' hooves thumped several times, feigning a resolute stance.
"Wait." The procession hadn't gone far when a man in his thirties slowly stood up in front of the yamen. "Count me in. I used to be a hunter, and I know that area in the west well. But if I don't make it back, please take good care of my wife and daughter."
He glanced longingly at the mother and daughter on the ground, who were so hungry they were almost asleep.
Qin Song looked down at him. She dared not make any promises to him. There were too many refugees in the city. She could only ask the officials to take care of the elderly, women and children as much as possible, and could not give special care to any one person.
She was caught in a dilemma and did not respond for a moment.
Shen Xing, who was assigned to stay behind to clean up the mess, came to the mother and daughter's side and firmly replied, "Don't worry, warrior, I will take care of your wife and daughter."
This statement, like a Buddhist chant, stirred up many people to begin to waver.
However, at this moment, two of Chen Peizhi's former subordinates, who were dressed in armor but stood by and watched, remained restless:
"I must say, your Qin family really has the power to control everything. Even a woman in her boudoir wants to mobilize troops. I've been a soldier for so many years, and I've only ever recognized military tallies. This woman's behavior is nothing short of a conspiracy to rebel!"
"Hey, I think this matter needs to be reported. Is there anyone here who can read? In all these years of our dynasty, who has dared to arbitrarily exercise military power? I think she's gone too far—"
With a "thud," the spear slid through the air. Before the speaker could utter the last word, his throat was slit, his eyes widened, and he staggered to the ground.
The elite soldier riding alongside Qin Song swiftly sheathed his spear. Qin Song glanced coldly at the corpse on the ground, covering his hand that was gripping the saddle nervously. "Any more objections?"
Blood gushed out, staining large patches of white snow red. The dying people held their breath, looking at the young woman who was about to give the order.
Her imposing steed-like form made her appear exceptionally tall, and her ruthless and decisive actions, coupled with her unwavering conviction, ignited a glimmer of reliable hope in the hearts of the terrified crowd.
Compared to sitting and waiting to die, grabbing food offered a chance to survive, so people stood up one after another, and more than a hundred young and strong men joined the procession.
Shen Xing and Jiang Yue began to shed tears, and Qin Song's eyes also felt hot. She didn't have much of a chance of winning; these people might just die with her!
She didn't really want to go; she was afraid of dying. But instead of waiting to die here, she decided to take a gamble.
Qin Song ordered Jiang Yue to turn her horse around. Facing the crowd, she raised her head and said, "Warriors, Yunzhou City will remember your names. But we don't need so many soldiers for this mission. Three hundred soldiers will follow me. The rest of you will follow Commander Gao's orders, defend the city gates to the death, and protect every woman and child in the city! Anyone who disobeys orders will have their head cut off and hung on the city gates to show our military might."
Gao Qianhu was one of the twenty elite soldiers that Tao Qingyang left to Qin Song. As soon as Qin Song finished speaking, he was the first to kowtow and accept the order, and the others followed suit.
"Let's go!" The unorganized army, unlike anything ever seen before, set off in a grand procession amidst the attention of the masses.
·
Outside the city, the snow was extremely deep, almost reaching people's ankles. The volunteer grain-grabbing team "soldiers" trudged through the snow, following Qin Song and several other elite soldiers of the Zhenbei Army on their tall horses, heading northwest.
Based on the topographical map she had seen and the tiger hunters' directions, Qin Song changed her strategy when they approached a cedar forest.
She dismounted, leaving only two elite cavalrymen, and led all the horses southward. The others followed her on foot, weaving through the cedar forest and hiding deep within a grove of tall trees.
After concealing his tracks, Qin Song breathed a deep sigh of relief; thankfully, he made it in time.
With the snow still thick, even at night, the slightest trace of marching would be noticed. But under this grove of trees, the snow is not deep and the leaves at the top cover the ground, completely concealing any signs of their movement.
The horses that split into two groups and headed south across the wilderness left very clear footprints, which would surely attract the attention of the enemy.
Sure enough, the enemy's advance force followed the hoofprints and rushed south. The road to the south was a downhill section. Even if the enemy discovered the anomaly and turned back, they would be on the road, which would inevitably slow down their journey, giving them more time.
Qin Song and his men remained inactive.
When a scent of northern barbarians, less intense than the previous group, mixed with the aroma of food, wafted over, Qin Song knew the time had come.
"Everyone, get ready," Qin Song reminded them in advance.
Sure enough, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a small detachment of Northern Barbarian soldiers slowly arrived, pushing several carts full of grain.
Qin Song decisively gave the order, "Make your move."
The starving people, who had been hiding in the shadows, rushed out like hungry wolves.
Taking advantage of the surprise attack and their overwhelming numbers, they swiftly seized the soldiers' food supplies, slaughtered the entire grain transport team, and then, following Qin Song's orders, turned and ran without lingering.
Emerging from the cedar forest, they were exposed to the snow. Compared to before, they were carrying heavy loads, and after a "thrilling" fight, most of them were almost exhausted, slowing their pace considerably.
Sensing the commotion, the northern barbarians quickly launched a counterattack. Having just experienced the joy of their victory, this group of people who had never fought before thought that victory was in sight, but they did not expect that the sound of horses' hooves would be heard so soon.
With the city gate right in front of them, they pushed the grain carts and ran back as fast as they could.
But the snow was too thick. Qin Song struggled to lift her feet and take steps, constantly moving. The dry, cold air penetrated her lungs, causing a sharp pain in her chest. Her legs began to feel heavier and heavier, and she could barely walk anymore.
"Miss Qin, we can't stop, let's go!" Jiang Yue dragged Qin Song along, but Qin Song really had no strength left.
Jiang Yue noticed that she was walking slower and slower, so she simply rolled up her sleeves and said, "Miss Qin, bite me, drink my blood and eat my flesh, I'll do anything, just don't stop. If you die, we won't know who to rely on."
Qin Song was shocked. She wasn't at the point of being able to eat people. She grabbed a handful of the cold, white snow on the ground, rubbed her face, and cheered herself up to continue walking forward.
Gradually, the sound of horses' hooves behind them turned into the outlines of a distant troop of soldiers.
It appeared to be just a small vanguard of the enemy, with only about twenty men, but each of them rode a fine warhorse and marched at an extremely fast speed.
No man can outrun a horse, especially in this snowy and difficult-to-traverse place.
But people can always unleash their unlimited potential when it comes to survival. The people who had managed to grab the food pushed it back home with their heads down. Their spirit of never wanting to go hungry again made them fearless, and they quickly left Qin Song far behind.
Qin Song drifted further and further away from them, with only Jiang Yue and the dozen or so elite soldiers that Tao Qingyang had assigned to protect her.
"Jiangyue, hurry up and run. If one person escapes, they will have one less guard." Qin Song pushed Jiangyue, but Jiangyue kept dragging her along.
Jiang Yue gasped for breath, "Miss, I can only stand up by supporting you. Don't make me run alone, I can't run anymore."
A profound sorrow welled up in Qin Song's heart. The enemy's blade drew ever closer, but she gradually lost her strength.
Will the first victims of the Northern barbarians' blades tonight be the two of them?
She didn't stop for a moment, and the sound of swords clashing behind her had already begun. Several elite soldiers protecting her were already engaged in close combat with those northern barbarians!
The ear-piercing sound of clashing weapons made Qin Song dizzy. The city gate was right in front of her, but she felt as if there was an insurmountable chasm in front of her. Why couldn't her legs move anymore?
The smell of blood grew stronger, and the force behind her, reminding her to be careful and constantly pushing her forward, diminished.
She had the option of ordering the soldiers to abandon her, but Tao Qingyang had given an ironclad order, so they had no choice but to protect her.
But selfishly speaking, she was against her will to ask them to abandon her. She was grateful that they stood by her side; she really couldn't bear the feeling of having no one behind her.
They could have escaped; if it weren't for her, if she had run faster, they wouldn't have ended up in such a terrible state. Qin Song's eyes welled up with tears, which uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks.
With a "thud," the first sound of someone falling to the ground rang out. The elite warriors who could have escaped with their lives became the first victims of the northern barbarians' blades tonight.
Qin Song couldn't help but turn around to look. She wanted to remember this person's face, the first person she had dragged down and caused to fall.
But as soon as she turned her head, warm liquid came towards her face, and a sticky feeling suddenly crept up her cheeks. Another elite soldier collapsed right in front of her.
Another one died.
At the same moment, another player fell to the ground on the left.
...
Qin Song's eyes stung with tears. He turned back to look at the city gate, but a great sense of relief welled up in his heart—it was wonderful that the gate had opened and grain was being brought into the city gate one after another.
It felt as if something had filled the void in her heart; this was what her heart truly longed for.
The elite troops behind us are a rare force for resistance. The city needs them to command and coordinate. It would be such a pity if they all died here!
Qin Song released Jiang Yue and pushed her toward an elite soldier beside him.
She was still several dozen feet away from the city gate, but she couldn't run any further. She was doomed. If she died sooner, the others would have a chance to survive.
She stopped and turned around.
The butcher's knife opposite her was raised into the air and came straight at her cheek. Qin Song closed her eyes in alarm.
Actually, she really didn't want to die.
"clang--"
The sound of weapons clashing rang out no more than five fingers' width in front of her, yet the pain did not subside.
Instead, a steady force around her waist supported her and gently pulled her back a large step.
Qin Song opened his eyes, and all he could see was the beautiful features of the person in front of him; the world around him seemed far away.
The fighting, the bloodshed, the hunger, and the cold all seemed insignificant.
Only one thought crossed her mind: she had finally found a way to survive.
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Author's Note: Next chapter is going to be a play!! A really long play! To get to the play as soon as possible, I made this chapter quite long!! But I really enjoyed writing this chapter~
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