Inside the government office of Hongliu City, Garrison Commander Luo Jinan looked at the person sitting to the side with a gloomy expression: "General Pang, with two thousand soldiers and my garrison's six hundred soldiers, can we defend Hongliu City?"
"Lord Luo, whether we can hold out or not, do we have a choice? I advise you not to overthink it. Anyway, haven't your wife and several legitimate sons and grandsons already been quietly sent away?" General Pang Li replied with a sneer.
After he led his troops into the city, the spies he had placed in the city had already reported these things to him.
In the garrison commander's residence, there were only Lord Luo's few unfavored concubines and his illegitimate sons and daughters.
As the garrison commander of a city, if he and his family fled when the enemy army was at the gates, the imperial court would punish him regardless of whether the battle was won or lost.
Therefore, some family members must always be left behind to cover up the truth.
"General Pang, please don't mock me. My son is also defending the city," Luo Jinan replied calmly.
That was his second son, born of the legitimate wife.
The father and son remained in the city, only sending off their elderly and frail parents, wife, children, and young grandchildren, which was understandable.
The reason the second son was initially assigned to the garrison was that he was just a lazy bum who would take a nominal position in the garrison, collect the court's salary, and coast along.
With the Fengliang Kingdom's army at the city gates, the second son might even be able to gain merit for defending the city.
Moreover, even if Red Willow City couldn't be defended, he had already arranged for people to escort him and his second son to safety.
Anyway, I've already made two preparations, so there's no chance of anything going wrong!
"My lord, my lord, something terrible has happened!" Someone rushed in from outside the government office.
"Useless thing, what's the panic? What's wrong? Speak slowly." Luo Jinan felt no unease at the moment, but he felt that his subordinates' panic made him lose face in front of General Pang.
He was a garrison commander, and he and General Pang were both officials of the second rank. They were not in a superior-subordinate relationship. If General Pang had not led his troops into the city, then he, the garrison commander, would have been the leader of the city.
But once the troops entered the city, General Pang took command of Red Willow City.
Therefore, if it were truly an enemy attack on the city, the person who came to report it should be someone from the military camp, especially since there was no sound of an attack.
"My lord, the second young master... he's been killed in action," the man stammered in a panic.
If you die at the hands of the enemy on the battlefield, you should be considered to have died in battle!
The garrison commander is concerned about his image; I don't think I used that phrase incorrectly!
"What, what did you say? What do you mean the Second Young Master died in battle?" Luo Jinan was a little confused.
The troops of Fengliang Kingdom were only surrounding the city; there was no battle, so how could there be any talk of casualties? If there had been a battle, it wouldn't have been the second son's turn to go into battle.
At this moment, General Pang, who was standing to the side, was also completely confused. He was killed in action?
At this moment, his subordinate came in: "Reporting to the general, Young Master Luo is indeed gone. He stood on the city wall and verbally provoked the enemy, and even stood on the battlements and made provocative gestures. As a result, he angered the enemy, was shot by an arrow, and fell off the city wall. I believe he is no longer breathing."
Upon hearing this, Luo Jinan realized the seriousness of the matter. As the father, he knew his second son's character all too well.
He was indeed capable of such behavior, but he had also climbed the city wall half an hour earlier to observe the distance between the enemy's location and the city wall. No matter how good his archery skills were, he couldn't possibly hit the second brother.
"My son is still under that city wall? Haven't you gone to rescue him?" Luo Jinan stood up unsteadily and shouted at his men and General Pang's men.
General Pang's subordinates remained silent, while the garrison soldiers responded tremblingly, "Reporting to your Excellency, it was you and General Pang who gave the order. Without your combined command, no one is allowed to open the city gates."
Upon hearing this, Luo Jinan stepped forward and kicked one of his men to the ground, shouting, "So you just let my son lie under the city wall and wait to die?"
Those who were kicked down didn't dare to speak up or beg for mercy; they just covered their heads and resignedly lay on the ground.
Now there's no question of being wronged or aggrieved. I was assigned to serve and protect the Second Young Master, and regardless of whether he brought it upon himself, the fact remains that he's dead.
"General Pang, I am going to rescue my son and open the city gates. You won't object, will you?" Luo Jinan asked General Luo, forcing back his grief.
"Lord Luo wants to rescue his son, and as a father myself, I naturally understand your feelings at this moment. How could I object? I will go with you, after all, we must be vigilant against the enemy taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack while the city gates are open." After saying this, General Pang also stood up.
At this moment, Luo Jinan could no longer care about the gloating look on the general's face. No matter how disappointing his son was, he was still his legitimate son. How could he not feel sorry for him and not care?
The group hurriedly left the government office and headed straight for the city gate. The city was crowded with soldiers and officers, and the people in the city were so frightened that they rushed home. No one noticed that on the rooftops along the street, a sparrow was flying here and there, stopping here and there.
"General, something terrible has happened!" Before they even reached the city gate, a lieutenant ran towards them, shouting with a pale face.
"You damned fool, what's the panic?" General Pang roared angrily, his face dark.
The lieutenant knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and didn't dare to raise his head. His voice was distorted as he reported, "Reporting to the general, the commander's flag on the city wall has been shot down by enemy arrows."
"What? The commander's flag was shot down?" Pang Huaixing staggered upon hearing this.
Luo Jinan, who was rushing to save his son, overheard the conversation behind him and thought to himself, "Well, yeah, you've got your comeuppance now. Now it's your turn to panic, isn't it? Let's see if you can still laugh!"
As they approached the city gate, Luo Jinan and his men could clearly sense the panicked expressions of the soldiers resting on both sides of the street.
This is because they panicked and were terrified when they learned that the commander's flag had been shot down by the enemy!
Before retreating into the city, they received an urgent report from scouts that the three powerful weapons that General Ye had brought had been destroyed by the enemy, and that the army had been almost completely annihilated. Therefore, Pang Huaixing immediately ordered the remaining two thousand soldiers to retreat into the city at top speed.
After entering the city, the soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief, never expecting that their commander's flag would be in danger. For them, this was a sign of impending defeat!
"Quickly fetch the spare command flag," Pang Huaixing ordered, trying to calm himself down.
The lieutenant immediately obeyed the order and ran out to fetch the spare commander's flag.
Meanwhile, Garrison Commander Naluo arrived at the city gate a few steps ahead of General Pang. Without even going up the city wall to check on his son's condition, he ordered his men to go out of the city and bring his son in.
The soldiers guarding the city quickly checked with the people on the city wall to confirm that there were no soldiers from Fengliang Kingdom in the vicinity of the city gate. Only then did they work together to lift the bolt off the city gate and open it just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Outside Huazhou City, Murong Jing, on horseback, watched the people entering and leaving the city gates as usual, and finally breathed a sigh of relief...
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