Chapter 93 Jiang Chengzi (Part 2)

There was a flickering fire on the city wall. Wei Dechang grabbed a Hu soldier by the neck and stabbed him through the chest with a knife. Seeing another Hu soldier climbing up from the left, he drew his knife, but saw a man in a frost-white robe with a long scarf covering his face. He took three or two steps forward with a sword and cut the enemy's neck.

"Mr. Ni!"

Wei Dechang was shocked.

His powerful shout made Qin Jixun, Yang Tianzhe and others turn around immediately. They all saw the young man who had been in a coma a few days ago but was now holding a sword and fighting hard against the enemy.

Seeing such a scene, everyone, from generals and military officers to soldiers defending the city, were shocked.

With a lump in his throat, Qin Jixun wiped the blood off his face and shouted, "My good men of Da Qi! Kill these damn barbarians for me!"

"kill!"

The war drums beat louder and louder. The defenders regained their morale and suppressed the panic caused by the enemy's approach. The soldiers holding the crossbows kept shooting sharp arrows. The monks in the temple also stood firm beside the catapults, dodging the fireballs thrown by the enemy, and commanded the soldiers to throw stones at the enemy who climbed up the city wall.

Yelu Zhen was among thousands of soldiers, glancing coldly at the battle situation on the city wall. The warriors he sent out, armed with iron arrows shot by crossbows, climbed up the city wall as densely as ants.

The people above were hit by rocks, or shot through the chest by arrows, or hacked to death by those damn Qi people, but the people below did not hesitate at all, and continued to climb up like wild beasts.

This is the warrior he raised, who is not afraid of danger or death.

"Yang Tianzhe!"

The flames of war had made the walls of the city almost transparent. Yelu Zhen stared at the man on the wall. He had never seen this man before, but his scouts had. "What exactly are you dissatisfied with my Danqiu Royal Court? You can just tell me. It's hard for you to change from a civil servant of the Nanyan tribe to a military commander with a sword. You are a talented person after all. If the Nanyan tribe fails you in surrendering to it, then you might as well come to my Changbo tribe. Our Prince Changbo will never treat you unfairly."

Yang Tianzhe stabbed a Hu soldier in the abdomen, took a few steps forward and pushed him against the city wall, then drew his knife and looked down, "I surrendered to the Danqiu royal court because I was confused for a moment. After many years in your Danqiu, I have seen through the nature of you barbarians. I, Yang Tianzhe, will never go the wrong way again!"

“Hahahahahahaha…”

Upon hearing this, Yelu Zhen laughed up to the sky, "Yang Tianzhe, have you forgotten who killed your father Yang Ming? Miao Tianning chopped off your father's head, causing you to almost be executed by slow slicing together with that General Yujie... How come you can swallow your anger and continue to serve in the same court with Miao Tianning?"

Almost at the moment when Yelu Zhen finished speaking, Xu Hexue raised his wrist and killed several Hu soldiers who climbed over the city wall. He took a few steps forward and lowered his eyes to stare at the Hu man who was riding on a horse, wearing a general's armor and had curly braids in his hair among the dark mass of Hu soldiers below.

Yelu Zhen, didn't he know that Miao Tianning was dead?

Yang Tianzhe was also stunned for a moment. A Hu soldier rushed over, and Wei Dechang stepped forward in time, kicked him away, and then swung his knife to chop him down. Blood flowed out. He turned around and said, "Brother Yang, what are you daydreaming about?!"

"The Yongzhou garrison has only a few soldiers, while I have nearly 100,000 troops! I wonder how many days you can hold out! Yang Tianzhe, I am willing to give you a chance. If you are willing to bring your people and surrender again, I will ask my Prince Changbo to promote you and make you the highest-ranking Qi person in my Changbo tribe!"

This bloody battle lasted until noon of the fourth day. The war drums had stopped, black smoke was lingering, and the remaining flames burned the flagpole. A flag fell and was quickly swallowed by the flames.

The Hu people retreated temporarily. Qin Jixun, Wei Dechang and Yang Tianzhe were all exhausted. They leaned on the city wall, their faces covered with blood and ash stains.

"Mr. Ni, are you okay?" Qin Jixun panted, raised his eyes and looked at the young man who was standing by the city wall and looking down.

Even after spending a long time together, Qin Jixun still felt that this person was extremely mysterious.

He clearly had a weak body, but sometimes, Qin Jixun felt that his body was stronger than anyone else's.

"I'm fine,"

Xu Hexue retracted his gaze and looked at the three of them, "Do you three still remember what Yelu Zhen said about Miao Tianning?"

"he,"

Yang Tianzhe held his injured arm and said in a hoarse voice, "It's as if he didn't even know Miao Tianning was dead."

“Impossible!”

This voice suddenly interrupted, Xu Hexue turned her head and saw Shen Tongchuan holding up the hem of his official uniform and walking up quickly. Shen Tongchuan was relieved to see that the four of them were still safe, and then said, "Master Ni, do you still remember the Yongzhou military report from sixteen years ago that I showed you before?"

Xu Hexue nodded.

"General Qin and Commander Wei should also know that it is clearly written that Commander Miao Tianning died at the hands of Yelu Zhen!"

Shen Tongchuan said.

Xu Hexue said in a clear voice, "But there is no reason for him to use this matter to deceive us. Commander Yang, when Miao Tianning died, did you see him being killed by the Hu people with your own eyes?"

"I……"

Yang Tianzhe coughed heavily a few times. "At that time, after Miao Tianning forced Yelu Zhen out of the city, he ordered the city gates to be closed. They were fighting a bloody battle with the Hu people outside. The people in the city only heard the sound of fighting and did not see the battle outside. Later, when the reinforcements arrived, the city gates were opened. Outside, there was already a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood."

"Who is the general of the reinforcements?"

"I remember it was Tan Guangwen."

Shen Tongchuan interrupted.

The current governor of Jianchi Prefecture was the general who was responsible for coordinating one of the two reinforcements of the Jing'an Army sixteen years ago—Tan Guangwen.

Xu Hexue tightened his grip on the sword.

"The military reports from the Nanyan tribe are all about the battles they participated in. Only in the Danqiu Royal Court are there reports from all the tribes."

Yang Tianzhe continued, "Danqiu was forced by the civil war and saw that Da Qi was on the rise, so he signed an alliance with the current emperor to temporarily stop the war. One of the terms in the alliance was that Da Qi wanted Danqiu to deal with the Hu generals who participated in the civil war and committed countless evil deeds in Qi, including Yelu Zhen. Therefore, he has been imprisoned in Changbo for the past 16 years and has not been reused."

The Danqiu Royal Court has now re-employed this person, which has clearly revealed its ambition.

Shen Tongchuan was filled with doubts, and felt cold sweat on his back. "But if Miao Tianning was not killed by Yelu Zhen, then who killed him?"

"Isn't Tan Guangwen coming?"

Xu Hexue raised his eyes and saw the undulating mountains in the distance, green and majestic. "Ask him."

As night fell, Yelu Zhen led his troops to attack the city again, and once again shouted to Yang Tianzhe that he would capture the city before the reinforcements from Qi arrived in Yongzhou. As long as Yang Tianzhe surrendered, he could, on behalf of Prince Changbo, forgive him for his past mistakes.

On the fifth day of defending the city, military officers of the Yongzhou army kept telling Qin Jixun that there were two traitors, Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da, in the rebel army, and there might be other spies hiding among them. They begged Qin Jixun to temporarily detain Yang Tianzhe and lock the rebel army in the city wall.

"You want us to enter the city, aren't you treating all of us as traitors? Our Commander Yang is willing to risk his life for Yongzhou, but you still want to force us!" Yang Tianzhe's deputy general Sun Yanli led a group of rebels to confront the Yongzhou army in the city, with swords drawn.

"Sun Yanli, stop it!"

Seeing that they were about to start fighting, Yang Tianzhe, who came after hearing the news, immediately shouted.

"Commander Yang, they are going too far!"

Sun Yanli's eyes were red and his voice sounded sad.

"General!" A military officer of the Yongzhou army saw Qin Jixun following closely and shouted, "Did you hear what Yelu Zhen said? If they are tempted and take advantage of our unpreparedness to join forces with Yelu Zhen, our Yongzhou will be finished!"

"If you really think so, you have fallen into Yelu Zhen's vicious plan! The Hu people are about to stop the war, and you are going to kill yourself. Do you think you can defend Yongzhou City in this way?"

Qin Jixun shouted angrily.

"I, Yang Tianzhe, have sworn that I will never go astray again in my life. How else do you want me to prove it?" Yang Tianzhe took off his helmet. His hair was disheveled and his face was covered with scratches. He walked towards them step by step. "I owe Yongzhou and Daqi. I am willing to pay them back with my life."

At this point, Yang Tianzhe felt an inexplicable surge of sadness in his heart. He didn't know how he could make the country that he had betrayed trust him again.

He looked at the soldiers in front of him and said, "But I want to fight on the battlefield."

He spoke from the bottom of his heart, but he didn't know how many people could truly believe it. There was a moment of silence here, and the soldiers of the rebel army all had sad looks on their faces. They had clearly stepped on the territory of Da Qi, but they were still filled with uneasiness.

"Yelü Zhen was not sincere in accepting the rebels."

Suddenly, a calm voice was heard from the stone steps of the city wall. Almost everyone raised their heads and looked at the young man with his face covered by a long scarf.

"This is just a way for him to shake the morale of the army. He wants you to be suspicious of each other and harbor resentment," Xu Hexue leaned on the stone railing with one hand. "Although the army brought by Yelu Zhen from Changbo and the Juhan Pass garrison of Shi Monu have nearly 100,000 soldiers combined, they are so radical after the plague cattle incident, which shows that the plague has already ravaged their army. Therefore, Yelu Zhen has to do everything he can to disintegrate Yongzhou City before the reinforcements we are waiting for arrive."

Xu Hexue looked down at him, "If Yang Tianzhe really rebels again, he will die if he surrenders to Yelu Zhen with his rebel army. Everyone, let me ask you, who would dare to take in such a fickle person? Yelu Zhen is not a fool. Rather than raising a tiger to cause trouble, he will only kill Yang Tianzhe and massacre his rebel army. Their surrender is meaningless."

"With a powerful enemy at hand, I am willing to vouch for Yang Tianzhe. Please put aside your prejudices and fight against Yelu Zhen together."

These words almost laid out all the pros and cons in front of the soldiers of both sides. If the soldiers of Yongzhou Army could not let go of their prejudice against the rebels, the morale of the army would be shaken and it would be difficult to continue. If the rebels were afraid of death in battle and dared to place their hopes on Yelu Zhen, they would eventually die.

"I, Old Wei, am also willing to vouch for Brother Yang!" Wei Dechang said loudly, "I have been fighting with him these days. How could I not know what he is thinking? At such a critical moment, how can we lose our composure? Listen to Master Ni, whether it is the Yongzhou Army or the rebel army, they are all the sons of the Great Qi. We must defend the city and fight against Yelu Zhen together!"

"Fight Yelu Zhen together!"

The rebel army's deputy general, Sun Yanli, felt his throat tighten and he was the first to shout.

"Fight Yelu Zhen together!"

The shouts of the defenders shook the sky.

For the soldiers and civilians of Yongzhou City, time seemed to last so long in a long time. Xu Hexue and Qin Jixun tried their best to defend the city. Although there was a huge disparity in the strength of the two sides, they managed to survive the sixth day.

This was the price of blood. The defenders of Yongzhou were constantly being depleted, and people in the city were also infected with the plague. Ni Su, together with Tian the doctor, separated the soldiers and civilians who showed signs from other people, and comforted the people, personally prescribed medicine, and tried their best to treat them.

"Don't feed them porridge or rice, even if it's just a sip of the soup. Plague is a heat poison. Porridge and rice enter the stomach, and the turbid air returns to the heart, which promotes the heat poison of Yangming." Ni Su, wearing a veil, said to the women in charge of cooking for the patients, "Don't use brown sugar or white sugar either. It's best to use potato starch and mung beans. Wait until they no longer feel hot and cold, then you can use a little porridge and rice."

"Okay, we've got it all down," a lady nodded. As she was speaking, she saw Ni Su staggering a few steps. She immediately stepped forward to support her, "Miss Ni, what happened to you?"

The sky was getting dark. Qingqiong was in the tent, hugging his knees and staring blankly. Suddenly, the felt curtain was opened. He raised his head and saw several ladies helping the unconscious Ni Su back. He stood up and shouted anxiously, "Miss Ni!"

"What happened to her?"

Qingqiong waited for them to put Ni Su on the felt carpet, and he immediately pulled the quilt over her.

"Dr. Tian examined her and said she was too tired," Madam Zhong sat down and tucked in the corner of the quilt for Ni Su. "How can she be so busy? I haven't seen her rest at all in the past few days. She was just talking to someone when she suddenly fell down."

"Why is her face so red?"

Qingqiong was extremely anxious.

"You have a fever, probably because you caught a cold. Doctor Tian said it doesn't look like plague, so don't worry." Madam Zhong comforted him. She still remembered the last time she saw Qingqiong, his body was covered with frost and she didn't dare to talk to him much.

Madam Zhong brought some medicine and fed it to Ni Su, but she didn't wake up. Qingqiong sat by her side and watched until he could no longer hear the sound of the two sides fighting on the city wall.

The Hu people temporarily stopped attacking the city.

"Miss Ni, are you awake ?" Qingqiong saw Ni Su's eyelids tremble and she opened her eyes.

Ni Su was the first to hear his stomach growling. Her pale lips curved up and asked, "You didn't eat?"

"not yet……"

Qingqiong touched his belly.

"Go find Madam Zhong and ask her to give you some Hu Bing." Ni Su's voice was a little hoarse.

"I have to take care of you."

Qingqiong shook his head. Just as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of a felt curtain being lifted. Suddenly, he turned around and saw Xu Hexue holding a glass lamp.

His robe was stained with blood, but apart from the blood, there was no trace of ash.

Qingqiong stood up suddenly and said, "I'm hungry. I'm going to eat some Hu Bing."

Almost before Ni Su could react, Qingqiong had already walked to the felt curtain, called out "General Xu", and then went out.

"Did Yelu really stop attacking the city?"

Ni Su watched him approach with a lantern.

"Um."

Xu Hexue put down the glass lamp and saw that her cheeks were abnormally red and her lips were very dry. He turned around to pour some water.

Ni Su just looked at his back.

He slowed down, his steps were really slow, and she knew that he was in pain all the time.

Xu Hexue said nothing, poured a bowl of hot water, and tried to help her stand up, but she stared at him intently. Xu Hexue felt uncomfortable for a moment. He lowered his eyes to look at his robe, which was the one she made for him. It was now stained with the blood of the Hu people. "It's a bit dirty."

He didn't know whether he should touch her again.

"Just wash it clean."

She said.

Xu Hexue raised his eyes and looked into her eyes.

Ni Su smiled at him, but couldn't help coughing, "Wait until I feel better, wait until you and General Qin have completely defended this Yongzhou City, I will help you wash."

Whether it's clothes or name.

Xu Hexue said nothing. He put his arms around her shoulders and lifted her up a little. He brought the bowl closer and watched her lower her head to drink the water.

Her dark light hair curled around her earlobes. Her face was fair and delicate, with a pair of drooping eyes and fine beads of sweat on the tip of her small nose.

She has lost a lot of weight.

"Ni Su."

He suddenly called.

"Um?"

She raised her eyes.

"If you ever return to Yunjing, I'll cook whatever you want to eat."

He said.

Ni Su was stunned for a moment, then said, "I want to eat the food from Que County. I'm actually not used to the food from Yunjing, and the same is true for the food from Yongzhou. Sometimes I dream about eating braised duck."

She laughed and said, "When I was little, I was craving for braised duck, and my brother would buy it for me."

She started coughing again. Xu Hexue put down the bowl and patted her back awkwardly. She calmed down and looked at him and said, "Why don't you come back to Que County with me?"

"With you here, I am not afraid of my second uncle. I don't know what has become of our clinic after it fell into his hands..." Ni Su's expression was a little lonely for a moment, but soon recovered. "If you come back with me, you will know how many delicious foods we have in Que County. Can you cook for me?"

Xu Hexue's throat tightened.

He almost said "hmm", but reason reminded him not to promise her something he couldn't do, not to deceive her and make her sad.

actually,

He was looking forward to everything she said.

He was looking forward to every word.

He didn't say anything, so Ni Su looked at him, "Don't you... want to?"

"think."

He didn't hesitate.

If you want to, why don't you say "OK"? Ni Su didn't ask. The tent was silent for a while. Outside, there were the sounds of doctors coming and going to treat the wounded. She suddenly said, "I feel very uncomfortable."

"Where does it hurt?"

There were slight ripples in Xu Hexue's overly cold eyes.

"If my fever doesn't subside, I'm very likely to go into a coma, have bleeding, or have convulsions," Ni Su said, fully demonstrating her expertise as a doctor. "If it gets worse, I might even die."

"I'll go find Doctor Tian."

Xu Hexue put one hand on the felt blanket and tried to stand up.

Ni Su suddenly held his hand. His back stiffened and the moment he turned around, she leaned over and put her arms around his narrow waist.

She was so calm, yet she lifted one of his hands and placed it on her forehead.

The overheated temperature filled his cold palms.

Suddenly, bright dust appeared, like fireworks, scattering and spreading, jumping for joy.

Ni Su looked at the flying dust and said, "Xu Ziling, I found something."

This moment,

Even though she didn't say what she had discovered, Xu Hexue noticed something from the way she looked at Yingchen. He felt that although he was fully dressed, he seemed to have nothing to hide in front of her.

"Ni Su..."

His lips trembled.

Want to take back your hand.

"I asked Qingqiong to deliver the lights. I haven't seen you for two days. Can you stay well?"

Ni Su tapped the back of his flexed hand with her fingers, "Does your knee hurt?"

Before Xu Hexue could answer, she continued to talk to herself, "Forget it, if I ask you anyway, you will say it doesn't hurt."

She couldn't figure out whether her forehead, which was covered by his palm, was so hot because of the cold wind or because of her worries.

Even though she hadn't seen him for only two days, she really missed him.

As soon as I saw him, I wanted to hug him.

"Are you unwilling to help me reduce the fever?"

Ni Su looked at him.

"no."