Chapter 1142 Charcoal Fire
Meanwhile, behind the 100,000-strong army, a tent was quickly erected as a temporary shelter.
Xiao Yuansui sat upright in the tent, the tent doors wide open, allowing him to see his own army formation directly in front of him. However, due to the great distance, Hulao Pass in the distance was almost invisible, with only scouts moving back and forth to report military intelligence.
A soldier came to report: "General, the gates of Hulao Pass are tightly closed, and they refuse to fight."
"oh?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yuansui raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze instinctively turning to his back—of course, he couldn't see that a wooden board had been erected in the center of this temporary central command tent as a makeshift screen, with a map of the area hanging on it. But he wasn't looking at the map; he wanted to see how Shang Ruyi behind the tent would react.
Of course, it's also invisible.
But he still managed to catch a faint sound of rapid breathing, which made him feel a little better.
But he immediately regained his composure and asked, "What's going on on the city wall?"
The soldier immediately said, "Some of our men crossed the Si River and saw Yuwen Ye and Shen Tu Tai on the city wall, but they were just looking in our direction and didn't react at all."
At this moment, one of the generals inside the tent immediately laughed and said, "I think it's not that they didn't react, it's that they were too scared to react!"
Upon hearing this, the others laughed and said, "That's right."
"With our army of over 100,000, let alone a small place like Hulao Pass, we could even raze Tong Pass and their entire city of Chang'an to the ground!"
"General, let's send out our troops!"
In fact, not only were these generals overjoyed, but even the generals who had opposed sending troops today breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Hulao Pass refused to fight. They all showed happy expressions. It was unclear whether this emotion spread from the central command tent or from the soldiers who were laughing heartily as they watched Hulao Pass close its gates. In any case, everyone felt extremely happy.
Among them, the one most eager to make a move was Shi Yutao.
Seeing the crowd's high spirits, he subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to say something to Xiao Yuansui, but before he could speak, Xiao Yuansui seemed to have anticipated that he would volunteer for battle, his eyes darkening, effectively silencing him.
Shi Yutao held his breath and retreated.
He was well aware of his current status in the army. He used to be able to stand next to Shi Yuxin and be among the top ranks, but now he was ranked last among the generals. This was not only because he had suffered several defeats in succession, but also because the captured generals had the lowest prestige in the army.
How could he possibly have the audacity to lead troops?
But he was still uneasy. He said softly, "General, while morale is high, shouldn't we cross the Si River?"
Hearing him speak again, Xiao Yuansui frowned slightly and said calmly, "Of course we have to go, but not with a large army crossing the Si River."
After saying that, he instructed the soldier, "You, gather another group of men to cross the river and go to Hulao Pass to challenge them to battle. Say whatever you want, as offensively as possible." He paused, glanced back, and then said, "Remember, fighting is a man's business, it has nothing to do with women. Just curse the man surnamed Yuwen."
"yes!"
The soldier accepted the order and turned to leave.
As soon as he left, Shi Yutao, who remained in the tent, frowned, as if he wanted to say something with some unease. But before he could speak, Hua Ziying, who was standing next to him, reached out and pressed him down, saying in a deep voice, "General Shi may be inside Hulao Pass, but Princess Qin is on our side. Do you think Yuwen Ye would really dare to do anything?"
"..."
"He arrested your sister simply because she's very capable."
Hearing the first part, Shi Yutao breathed a sigh of relief, but the last sentence felt like a needle pricking his heart.
Regardless of the differing opinions within the main tent, the other group of soldiers quickly crossed the Sishui River and began to hurl insults at Hulao Pass. Generally speaking, those who engage in shouting and cursing use the most vulgar and hurtful language possible. In addition, the soldiers they brought were a bunch of scoundrels, so their mouths were naturally not clean. Soon, the soldiers on the city wall were all filled with anger, especially Xue Lin. Although he was not standing on the city wall, but just leaning against the other side of the city wall, he could no longer hold back.
He turned to leave the city tower, but after taking only two steps, a figure blocked his way.
It is Shen Wuzheng.
He asked, "What are you going to do?"
Xue Lin gritted his teeth: "Get out, and fuck him!"
Shen Wuzheng looked up at the sky before saying, "Have you forgotten His Highness Prince Qin's orders? Do you want to be punished by military law? Or do you want to leave and never come back?"
Xue Lin gritted his teeth and said angrily, "But their insults were so awful!"
Shen Wuzheng frowned. Just then, he heard a few curses from outside. They had been cursing Yuwen Ye’s grandfather and then his father. The emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty was being insulted as if he were less than a beast. The soldiers on the city wall were not satisfied and started cursing back at them.
Xue Lin said, "Military Advisor Shen, if we let them keep cursing like this, we won't be able to fight the war."
Shen Wuzheng remained silent. He was not a military general, but he had read military books and fought in several battles. He knew how important morale was when marching and fighting. He understood Yuwen Ye's purpose in refusing to fight, but the soldiers' feelings could not be resolved simply by understanding. If even the emperor and the Prince of Qin were insulted like this and could not fight back, they would gradually feel that their masters were incompetent and useless. Once such a mentality appeared, how could they fight the battle?
Moreover, the enemy has an army of over 100,000!
If you are outnumbered and morale is low, then it will be really difficult.
Just as he remained silent, a tall figure suddenly walked past him with a gust of wind, stepped onto the city wall, and snatched a bow from a guard: "Give it to me!"
Upon closer inspection, it was Shen Tu Tai!
Shen Wuzheng immediately said, "General Shentu!"
But before he could finish speaking, Shen Tu Tai had already skillfully drawn his bow and aimed at the soldier who was leading the cursing below. With a whoosh, the arrow flew over and pierced the man's ear.
A scream rang out, and the man, clutching his bleeding ear, fell off the horse.
Upon seeing this, the soldiers on the city wall cheered.
The man who had fallen from his horse was immediately helped up by his brothers around him. The group retreated in a panic, but stopped after going a short distance and continued to jump up and down, shouting and cursing at the city wall: "Coward, bastard, you don't dare to come out, do you? Grandpa's here, keep shooting!"
"If they dared, would they still be hiding inside with their necks hunched over?"
"Hahahaha, you spineless coward!"
Hearing the arrogant shouts and curses, Shen Tu Tai stood on the city wall, his hand gripping the bow and arrow tightly, his teeth grinding together.
These people were clearly prepared, and they ran just out of range, making it difficult for arrows to hit them again. Moreover, this group came here to shout insults, and even if they were hit by arrows, they would not retreat. That was their capital to go back and collect their reward. Now, a group of people were shouting insults in unison, and their voices were clearly heard inside Hulao Pass. The soldiers inside the city gate were all so angry that they gritted their teeth, but they were helpless.
"damn it……"
Shen Tu Tai could only grit his teeth and curse in a low voice.
At this moment, Shen Wuzheng walked to his side, looked at the arrogant soldiers, and then looked at the 100,000-strong army on the other side of the Sishui River. Half an hour had passed since they lined up in the morning. The ranks were still relatively orderly, but they were not as solid and steady as before. There were faint signs of them swaying.
Standing for half an hour is tiring for one person, but for 100,000 people to stand for half an hour, it's not just ordinary tiredness.
only--
Shen Tu Tai asked, "How much longer do we have to wait?"
Shen Wuzheng looked up at the sky. The sun was getting high in the sky. Although they were only wearing a single layer of clothing under their armor, they still felt a bit hot. So he said, "It's rare to have such good weather today. The sun is strong. It won't be long."
As he spoke, he reached out and patted the muscular arm beneath the armor, saying, "Wait a little longer."
His voice, his entire aura, and even the hand that lightly patted his shoulder all exuded an unusual, cool, and calm aura. Sensing this aura, Shen Tu Tai finally calmed down. He glanced at Shen Wu Zheng and suddenly felt that he was somewhat ridiculous for knowing what he should do but being unable to suppress his anger. So he chuckled and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh."
Shen Wuzheng said, "General Shentu, you are being too polite."
Shen Tu Tai glanced at him again: "I thought you would lose your temper because of the princess, but it turns out we were the ones who were too impulsive."
Shen Wuzheng let out a heavy sigh—he did not deny that he was furious a few days ago because of Shang Ruyi's arrest. Not only was he not calm, but he also disliked Yuwen Ye. His words were always sarcastic, as if he wished he could fight him again to vent his anger.
Although he understood that the fault did not lie with Yuwen Ye.
But after a few days, especially after seeing Yuwen Ye break into Xiao Yuansui's camp at night with only a few people, causing chaos and returning with such serious injuries, his anger gradually subsided. It wasn't that Yuwen Ye failed to protect Shang Ruyi, but rather that as long as the world remained divided and there were still people who were their enemies, no one could guarantee Ruyi's safety.
So, he finally calmed down.
When he met Shen Tu Tai's gaze again, he said calmly, "Today is our only chance to save Ruyi—Princess Qin—alive. Every time someone acts irrationally, her chances of survival decrease. I have to bring her back alive."
Shen Tu Tai nodded slightly: "Don't worry."
Speaking of this, he remembered the worried Shan Tong'er when he asked Shang Ruyi on the city wall earlier, and looked around: "Sigh, where is Lao Jiu?"
Shen Wuzheng glanced around and indeed didn't see Shan Tong'er. Xue Lin stepped forward, glared angrily at the enemy soldiers who were still jumping up and down and cursing below the city wall, and said with lingering anger, "He just went down, it seems he went to find His Highness Prince Qin."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Tu Tai and Shen Wu Zheng exchanged a glance.
Meanwhile, inside the fortress on the other side, Shan Tong'er frowned as he walked toward Yuwen Ye's room. These past few days, he had been avoiding meeting Yuwen Ye alone, not because he was unwilling to forgive him. In the end, he had spent too little time with Shan Shiyu, while he had gone through life and death with Yuwen Ye many times, and their feelings for each other were much deeper. The reason he left was because he couldn't understand, but the reason he came back was very clear that he couldn't let go.
Not only could she not let go of Yuwen Ye, but she also couldn't let go of Shang Ruyi.
Now, with Shang Ruyi's life at stake, he felt that he should find out exactly what Prince Qin was planning, no matter what. He couldn't let the adults all act like they understood everything while keeping him completely in the dark.
However, just as he reached the door, he saw two soldiers retreating from Yuwen Ye's room with puzzled expressions, muttering something to each other.
Upon seeing Shan Tong'er, both of them immediately shut their mouths.
The kind boy asked, "What are you doing here?"
The two soldiers exchanged a glance, and one of them whispered, "His Highness the King of Qin sent us a basin of... charcoal."
The boy asked in confusion, "Charcoal fire?"
Although it had been raining for days and the weather had cooled down, it wasn't time to use charcoal yet. Besides, today was a rare good day, and he even felt a bit hot before noon. Yuwen Ye was strong and healthy and was not afraid of the cold, so why would he need charcoal at this time?
So he asked, "What does he need charcoal for?"
The two soldiers shook their heads: "We don't know either. His Highness forbade us to ask any more questions."
Shan Tong thought for a moment, then waved for the two to leave. He walked to the door, about to knock, when he suddenly heard a low, muffled groan from inside, like the growl of a wild beast: "Ugh—"
Immediately, a sizzling sound and a burnt smell filled the air.
What's wrong? !
Shan Tong'er thought something had happened and pushed open the door. The scene before him left him dumbfounded: "What, what are you doing!?"
He saw that in the center of the room was the charcoal brazier that the two soldiers had brought earlier, and the charcoal inside was burning brightly, making the whole room very hot. Yuwen Ye, who was sitting in front of the charcoal brazier, took off half of his clothes, grabbed a half-burnt piece of charcoal with one hand, and pressed the red-hot end hard against his wound.
The entire room was filled with the sweltering heat, the stench of blood, and the smell of burning flesh.
This is nothing short of scraping the bone and tearing the flesh!
Yuwen Ye had half a piece of clothing between his teeth to suppress his cries of pain. Even so, his eyes were bloodshot from the pain, as if he was about to faint at any moment.
Shan Tong'er was terrified and rushed forward, crying out, "Your Highness, what are you doing?!"
As he rushed in, a glimmer of light gradually returned to Yuwen Ye's bloodshot eyes. He coughed up his clothes, which were covered in sweat, and threw away the charcoal in his hand. He glanced at the charred wound, then gently raised his arm and rotated it, moving it freely.
"Um,"
He nodded: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com