resistance
Inside the Xuzhou Imperial Palace, Helian Chong smashed a teacup on the table with a single blow.
"Useless!" He stared at the words "Linzi has been besieged for a long time without success" on the military report, veins bulging on his forehead. "Three thousand elite troops can't defeat a bunch of rabble?"
The scout, kneeling on the ground, trembled: "For some reason, the militia inside the city hasn't lacked food or supplies for over a month, their arrows are plentiful, and the city walls have been fortified..."
Helian Chong sneered, his armor clanging as he rose: "All soldiers, take stock of your forces. We'll depart for Linzi tomorrow. I, the commander, will personally go and meet them."
The air in Su Jing's bedchamber was thick with the scent of medicine, and the curtains were drawn low. When Helian Chong pushed open the door, he saw a thin figure on the bed, coughing intermittently.
"Not dead yet?" Helian Chong frowned and used his scabbard to lift a corner of the bed curtains.
Su Jing curled up in the brocade quilt, her face ashen, coughing up a mouthful of blood as she covered her mouth with a handkerchief.
Helian Chong took a half-step back in disgust, turned to the doctor, and demanded, "When will I be better?"
The doctor's forehead was covered in sweat: "This plague keeps recurring... I'm afraid..." Logically speaking, Su Jing should have passed the critical period, but for some reason, his condition is not improving.
"Fine." Helian Chong waved his hand impatiently. "We'll depart with the army tomorrow." He glanced at Su Jing, who was barely breathing behind the curtain. "If you're going to die, die on the road."
It has been more than four months since this guy was kidnapped. The Southern Soviet Union has only sent people to deliver more than 800,000 taels of silver, making excuses that the national treasury is empty and begging for more time... During this period, there has been an outbreak of plague and a militia uprising, and Helian Chong's patience is gradually running out.
"What bad luck!" Helian Chong snorted coldly and strode away from Su Jing's bedchamber.
It's such a waste of money to raise him, no wonder even the emperor of Southern Sudan doesn't like him!
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Su Jing slowly wiped the blood from his lips. A chilly spring breeze carried the bugle call of troops being mobilized from the barracks outside the window, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
“Your Highness,” Chu Yiran said softly, standing by the bedside, “it seems that Uncle Shen has not disappointed you.”
“This Shen Ji…” Su Jing sneered, “is indeed a qualified businessman.”
——
As dusk settled, the campfires of the Northern Qi army camp stretched out like a starry river outside Linzi City. The clinking of wine cups echoed from Helian Chong's central command tent, and the generals' boisterous laughter reverberated throughout the camp; even now, no one took this militia seriously.
Helian Chong's army took ten days to reach the outskirts of Linzi. Along the way, they indulged in leisure and entertainment. He even boasted that he would "recapture three cities in three days." He commanded 30,000 of the most elite soldiers in Northern Qi, so recapture of Linzi would be a piece of cake.
Inside the tent, Su Jing's sickly appearance vanished. He traced a map with his fingertip, stopping at the location of the supply camp: "Aran, I've been telling you to endure this all along, but this time, you don't have to."
Chu Yiran curled the corners of his lips: "Your Highness, rest assured, the secret letter has been delivered into the city. Tonight at midnight, the garrison commander of Linzi will open the city gates for us."
As the third watchman's clapper sounded, flames suddenly shot up ten feet high from the supply depot. Fueled by the wind, the fire engulfed half the camp in the blink of an eye. Amid the chaos, two black horses charged out, riding the flames.
"Stop them!"
Helian Chong's roar was drowned out by the chaotic sounds around him. The figures of Chu Yiran and Su Jing were particularly dazzling in the firelight. Chu Yiran shot an arrow with a backhand, severing the banner rope of the pursuers, and the Northern Qi army flag collapsed with a crash.
Enraged, Helian Chong mounted his horse and chased after them. He raised his hand and whistled, and Su Jing and Chu Yiran's horses knelt down and stopped moving.
"Oh no!" Chu Yiran exclaimed anxiously, sweating profusely. "The wild horses of Northern Qi are all trained!"
Without a second thought, Su Jing grabbed Chu Yiran's arm and sprinted forward: "Run forward, don't look back!"
"Fire arrows—!" Helian Chong shouted the order, and a deluge of arrows rained down from behind.
Chu Yiran and Su Jing used the stolen longswords to defend themselves and cleave through the oncoming rain of arrows.
Seeing this, Helian Chong stopped his horse, took out his longbow and aimed at Su Jing. Just as he was about to shoot, his gaze sharpened and suddenly turned to Chu Yiran beside him.
Helian Chong was three years old when he learned to draw a bow, and he never missed a shot.
"Whoosh—"
The sound of something cutting through the air tore through the night sky. Helian Chong's wolf-tooth arrow gleamed coldly in the moonlight, aiming straight for Chu Yiran's back.
Su Jing's pupils contracted sharply, and he shoved Chu Yiran away abruptly. The arrow pierced into Chu Yiran's right shoulder blade with a "thud".
"Your Highness!" Chu Yiran's eyes were bloodshot.
At that very moment, the gates of Linzi burst open with a deafening roar. Hundreds of strong bows were suddenly raised atop the city walls, and a rain of arrows swept through like locusts, scattering the pursuing Northern Qi cavalry into disarray. Helian Chong's warhorse reared up, but his personal guards desperately pulled on the reins.
Helian Chong gritted his teeth and ordered, "Retreat—!"
The Northern Qi army retreated in disarray amidst the flames. Helian Chong turned back, his scarlet cloak fluttering in the night wind: "Su Jing, you brat, I misjudged you today and fell for your trick. If I see you again, I will kill you!"
Su Jing clutched his bleeding shoulder, a cold smile creeping across his pale face: "Likewise." He bit his tongue to stay clear-headed and shouted back, "Helian Chong, next time we meet, let's see who emerges victorious!"
——
Upon entering Linzi City, Chu Yiran immediately had Shen Ji fetch a doctor. The old doctor looked at Su Jing's injuries and shook his head with a sigh: "The arrow wound has penetrated to the bone, and the meridians in his right hand have been severed. Even if the wound heals in the future, I'm afraid he will never be able to lift heavy objects with his right hand again."
Chu Yiran's eyes instantly reddened: "It's all my fault..."
"Luckily, Helian Chong doesn't know I'm left-handed..." Su Jing gasped in pain, but still managed to laugh.
Chu Yiran curled his lip: "Your Highness, you can still laugh!"
He took the silver hairpin from his bosom, his fingertips tracing the character "沉" (chen, meaning sinking) engraved on the end of the hairpin, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, return it to its rightful owner."
Su Jing took the hairpin with his left hand. The charcoal fire in the medicine stove crackled and popped, casting flickering light on Su Jing's pale face.
"Lower your head." His voice carried an unquestionable tone.
Chu Yiran lowered his head, puzzled, only to feel a cool sensation in his hair as the hairpin returned to his hair bun.
"Ah Ran, we escaped." Su Jing didn't say much, just chuckled, "From Northern Qi, from Helian Chong—I didn't break my promise, did I?" His tone carried an inexplicable pride.
Su Jing certainly kept his word. Spring came and autumn went, and the newly reclaimed farmland in Linzi City was covered with waves of rice. He personally formed a team of left-handed archers, using the special angle of their arrows to defeat the enemy. Soldiers and farmers took turns working, and in times of war they could defend the city with spears, while in times of peace they could cultivate the land with hoes.
Far to the south, what Chu Yiran didn't know was—
Princess Anning's hairpins were scattered on the jade steps of the Golden Palace every day. She knelt before the emperor, crying with her hair disheveled: "If my imperial brother does not save Aran, I will kill myself by crashing into this dragon pillar!" The emperor was so annoyed by her commotion that he had no choice but to allocate another 100,000 taels of silver, but before the envoy set off, he whispered to him: "Go slowly, wait until the Northern Qi has run out of patience before you talk to them."
Meanwhile, in his military tent on the border of Xuzhou, Chu Zhongling listened coldly to the envoy's reprimands every day: "General Chu has failed in his duty to educate his son, allowing the crown prince to sneak into Northern Qi alone, disrupting the morale of the army, and treating matters of national importance as child's play..."
His knuckles turned white from clenching his fist, but immediately after the envoy left, he summoned his confidants to inquire about Chu Yiran's whereabouts. Upon learning that Chu Yiran had followed Su Jing into Linzi, he cursed the "rebellious son" while turning away with tears in his eyes.
Chu Zhongling had no concubines and only one son, Chu Yiran. From a young age, he only knew to "serve the emperor with loyalty and assist in his grand plans," but he did not know why he had such a rebellious and unfilial son as Chu Yiran.
One of the couple wept in the imperial palace, while the other was furious at his lack of ambition on the border of Xuzhou. Both tossed and turned in bed, blaming themselves for neglecting to teach their son properly and spoiling him, who was so arrogant and ignorant.
Meanwhile, Chu Yiran was helping Su Jing defend the city with great enthusiasm, occasionally leading his troops out of the city to dampen the spirits of the Northern Qi soldiers.
Thus, the three cities of Linzi, which Helian Chong claimed would be captured in three days, were actually held by Su Jing for three years.
When Helian Chong's envoy arrived at the city gates with a letter of peace, Su Jingzheng drew his bow with his left hand and shot an arrow that broke the enemy's flagpole.
“Tell Helian Chong,” he plucked the bowstring, “that exchanging three cities of Luoyang for three cities of Linzi, in exchange for my safe return to Nansu, is a very good deal…”
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