It’s not that Lin Jinghan didn’t send back any news, but Sikong Zhan was merging his clones when one of them had already died. The process was extremely dangerous and he couldn’t afford to be disturbed at all.
Therefore, Sikong Zhan blocked that part of the world, and Lin Jinghan was unable to pass on any news. After such a long period of no news, it was no wonder that the outside world speculated that they had died.
The atmosphere in Heqing City was depressing. The elderly, the weak, women and children had been sent away, and the remaining people were all mobilized as soldiers.
Three days later, at the hour of Mao, the sky was slightly bright and the Nanzhao army was neatly lined up under the city of Heqing.
Nanzhao had a full 50,000 soldiers and horses, with the infantry holding shields standing in the front, followed by archers, and then the cavalry...
The army led by Nanzhao was General Liang Chu, and accompanied by the military supervisor Prince Qi - the former third prince Murong Qi.
At this moment, the two stood side by side on the chariot, with relaxed smiles on their faces, and chatted from time to time.
When Nanzhao's army finally assembled and lined up, Liang Chu waved his hand, and immediately a messenger came to the front and shouted:
"Listen up, Jingnan troops up there! You have nowhere to go! You have one hour to open the gates and surrender. Otherwise, when the city falls, Heqing will be wiped out!"
As Liang Chu persuaded people to surrender, the people in the city began to waver.
Now, there are still tens of thousands of people in the city, and the Jingnan Army accounts for only one-tenth of them. The remaining 90% of the people have been suffering for so many days and are already anxious.
At this moment, when they heard that someone was willing to give them a chance to live, they did not immediately riot and force open the city gates to protect themselves. This was entirely because they were loyal to the Jingnan Palace and believed what Deputy Marshal Tang had told them - the prince would definitely come back to save them!
However, such belief alone is not enough, they also lack a greater reassurance.
All eyes turned to Sikong Ling and Tang Xun.
The two were standing under the city wall, with the enemy army approaching in front of them and their only remaining home behind them.
Sikong Ling held her belly and walked to the front of the crowd. She raised her chin slightly and looked at the group of anxious faces in front of her. For a moment, she didn't know how to start.
Tang Xun walked forward, took her hand, and gently stroked the back of her hand with his calloused fingers, giving her silent encouragement.
She felt much more at ease, met those expectant eyes, and spoke slowly:
"Just now, I was wondering, if we really open the city and surrender, how will the people of Nanzhao treat us Donglin people? Will they torture us, enslave us, or kill us on the spot? Are we going to live in such a humble way, relying on others every day, waiting for others to give us charity? I dare not think about it, and I dare not make this decision for everyone privately, leaving us at the mercy of others!"
She paused, looked up at the world, puffed out her belly slightly, and her eyes were filled with a determination she had never seen before.
"Jingnan is my home, the home of my future children, your home, and the home of your descendants! I will never allow Jingnan to become a vassal of another country, and I will never allow my people to become slaves of another country! I will never allow my children to be inferior to others from birth!"
Sikong Ling became more and more excited as he spoke, and finally raised his arms and shouted,
"Are you willing to follow me, take up your weapons, defend Jingnan, and drive those who offend Jingnan out of Donglin?"
"Defend Jingnan! Be ready to die!" Tang Xun held Sikong Ling's hand tightly and shouted loudly.
"Defend Jingnan! Be ready to die!"
"Defend Jingnan! Be ready to die!"
…
Everyone present, whether they were from the Jingnan Army or civilians, were filled with boundless fighting spirit.
Sikong Ling was infected by the atmosphere in the field and tears filled her eyes. It was not until the soldiers at the city gate came to report that Nanzhao was trying to surrender again and had issued an ultimatum that she stretched out her arms and pressed down hard.
The scene instantly became quiet, and everyone looked at Sikong Ling expectantly, looking at their new King of Jingnan.
clang!
Sikong Ling drew his sword, turned around and made a killing gesture towards the city gate, "For Jingnan, kill!"
"Kill!" Everyone raised their weapons. There were swords, spears, swords, halberds, sticks, bows and arrows, and even farm tools...
During these three days, Tang Xun had already led everyone to make sufficient preparations. Sharp arrows, kerosene, poison pills, and even stones and chili powder were thrown down from the city gate one after another. The soldiers of Nanzhao came with great momentum, but were blocked by the city gate and could never attack.
This offensive and defensive battle lasted for a whole day and night. The attackers from Nanzhao were repelled one after another, with heavy casualties. The Jingnan Army's defense supplies were rapidly depleted and were about to run out.
That night, the Beijiang army stationed in the camp in Donglin.
Furukawa arrived in a rage and rushed directly to the Queen Mother Rongyue who was personally commanding the battle, and grabbed her hand.
"Yue'er, why are you doing this? Didn't you say you were coming to Donglin on a diplomatic mission? Why did it turn into an attack on Jingnan? You even deliberately blocked the news from here, keeping me in the dark for so long! Yue'er, is it any good for you to target my disciple like this?"
Rong Yue stared at the man in front of her. She had deceived him and made him take charge of the Beijiang capital for her. Not only did she silence all those who knew about the situation, she also ordered people to replace the daily battle reports with letters she had written specifically to report her safety to him.
She thought he wouldn't find out, but unexpectedly, he still found out and came to her in person.
She closed her eyes and asked, "Achuan, do you believe me? If you do, go back to Changdu City now and guard Beijiang for me. If you don't believe me, then we..."
Rongyue tried hard not to show any cowardice, but the word "divorce" was stuck in her throat and she couldn't say it out loud.
Furukawa glanced at Rongyue's face and then at the "Three Kingdoms Cooperation Plan to Conquer Jingnan" on the table, and he was torn between his conscience and his desires.
Even if Rong Yue explained to him a little more, saying that she would never harm his disciple and that she had other reasons for sending troops, he would still believe her without hesitation.
But she didn't, not even a word of explanation.
He recalled every moment they had spent together since they got married, and finally nodded solemnly.
"I believe you!"
He pulled her into his arms, hugged her tightly for a while, then let her go and left without looking back.
Rongyue didn't say a word, just watched him leave quietly, the corners of her lips unconsciously raised.
She knew that he was going back to guard Beijiang for her so that she would not have any worries.
She gently stroked her belly and murmured, "Child, I will never allow anyone to control your life again. In this battle, we can only win, not lose!"
The next day, Queen Mother Bei Jiang sent a letter to the generals of Nanzhao and Xiqi stationed in Donglin, suggesting that the three countries cooperate to attack King Jingnan.
Liang Chu took the letter from Murong Qi and sneered:
"Right now, Nanzhao occupies the south, while Xiqi and Beijiang each occupy the west and north. The three kingdoms are marching independently, not interfering with each other, and have pushed the Jingnan army all the way to Heqing. Yesterday, we launched a general offensive, but they remained silent. Yet, today they are bringing up the idea of a coalition. I wonder what their plan is!"
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