Chapter 1426
Siege, Crushing the Capital City
Chapter 1426 Siege, Crushing the Capital City
"Someone, have Commander Bai arrange the latest powerful crossbows and catapults both outside and on the city walls to help Commander Jiang and his men break through and return to the city!" Deputy General Lang gave this order.
The latest crossbows and catapults were modified according to Jiang Dalang's blueprints, and their range was the longest in the world at that time.
If even with these arrangements, they still can't save Jiang Dalang and the others, then that's their fate.
"Yes, sir!" The guard received the order and immediately went to carry it out.
Deputy General Lang glanced at the area around the fifth watchtower one last time, then quickly turned around, ran down the city wall, and went to take care of General Liang.
When Old Man Xun saw him return, he comforted him: "Deputy General Lang, don't worry. People with severe illnesses are tough and won't die no matter what. Young Master Jiang will definitely be able to return to the city alive."
Deputy General Lang glanced at him, wanting to say, "No wonder Master Qin ordered you not to use supernatural powers or anything like that, or you'd be fined," but in the end he said, "Thank you for your kind words."
Seeing the way he looked at Jiang Dalang with such affection, Old Man Xun said rudely, "Is Deputy General Lang related to Young Master Jiang? Why are you so concerned about Young Master Jiang? The way you care about him is almost as much as Old Master Qin's."
Old Xun was being gossipy, and he was also trying to distract Deputy General Lang from thinking too much.
Deputy General Lang said, “During the Ningkang era and Your Majesty’s reign, our Great Wei lost a great deal of national strength, including talent… Don’t be fooled by how capable the Northwest Army is now; we are old, and our physical strength and mental capacity are failing. Only we ourselves know the feeling of being unable to exert our strength. Therefore, Your Majesty needs to cultivate a large number of new pillars for Great Wei.”
"In military matters, Dalang's abilities are the most outstanding... He can fight, manufacture weapons, command, allocate resources, coordinate and balance. His methods are so sophisticated that we don't need to bother teaching him at all."
"If something happens to Dalang, we'll have to find someone else to train, and there's a chance they might not be able to train him."
Old Xun listened attentively to Deputy General Lang's rambling, but inwardly he thought: So this is why Wei deserves to perish. In fact, it has already reached the point of destruction, and now it is just struggling.
But the old man was kind-hearted and didn't say such hurtful things. He just looked through the information about the rat plague sent from the West District and used hundreds of cases to deduce the changes in the rat plague.
After getting a general idea, the old man said, "Deputy General Lang, I have good news for you. The rat plague in the west of the city is not very bad; it's so weak that it doesn't seem like a plague at all."
Actually, it wasn't weak; it was just that the King of Ye offered more benefits, so the sick were willing to commit suicide to end the plague.
"Really?!" Deputy General Lang was delighted.
Master Xun nodded: "Yes, that's absolutely true... But even the same kind of germ can have different strengths. The rat plague that the spies planted in the west of the city this time is relatively weak, but that doesn't mean the enemy doesn't have stronger germs. So now we need to guard against the enemy advancing to a certain distance and then using long-range weapons to throw even more potent germs into the city."
"Whoosh!" Lieutenant General Lang exclaimed in surprise, standing up abruptly. "Are you saying that the enemy's next step is to launch a large-scale poisoning attack?!"
Old Xun nodded: "Of course, the enemy isn't stupid. Do you really think they can waste their troops to attack the capital city? If there's a source of plague, just poison it and wait for us to die of the disease... Hey, don't run away. After I tell you about the plague prevention measures, you can go and arrange things to prevent the enemy from poisoning us."
Deputy General Lang grabbed Old Man Xun's arm, forcing him to stop: "Please speak quickly, sir. The officers will write it down, and make several copies!"
"Yes!" All the soldiers in the room who could write took out paper and pen and acted as military officers, recording what Xun Lao had said about preventing the plague and preventing the enemy from poisoning the enemy.
The rat plague has been going on for a long time, and many plague prevention measures are readily available. Now, it's just a matter of adding four new measures that weren't there before, and it will be finished soon.
“Protect General Liang well, otherwise…” Deputy General Lang stopped speaking, gave his personal guards a solemn salute, pulled Old Man Xun up to the city wall, and told General Chu about Old Man Xun’s guess.
General Chu had anticipated that the enemy would resort to poisoning, but now that he was facing it, he couldn't help but feel distressed.
Indeed, when he first arrived in the capital city, he had a full head of black hair, but now strands of white hair are sprouting. "Pass down the order: all the city guards must cover their mouths, and cover the eye area of their masks with a small cloth two fingers wide to block any germs that may fly in from the catapults!"
"Notify all households near the city wall to prepare to relocate..."
The order was so bad that even hearing it made Old Man Xun feel sorry for the capital city... With a million-strong army and a plague, how could the capital city possibly survive?
“Deputy General Lang, someone must stay here to oversee things. Should you go to Wuyuan to see the Prince of Ye, or should I go?” If General Chu goes, Deputy General Lang can guard the city tower while also keeping an eye on General Liang’s houses inside the city walls.
You don't need to go, the King of Ye has come in person.
Clatter, clatter, clatter—the sound of horses' hooves echoed along the city wall's ramparts. Qi Tianshi shouted, "His Highness the Prince of Ye has arrived!"
The voice was loud and distinctive, like a refreshing drink, clearing the minds of the soldiers who were anxious about the battle.
"His Highness the Prince of Ye and the Qi Envoy have arrived to assist in the battle!"
"Greetings to the King of Ye, greetings to the Archangel Qi!"
The soldiers were quite excited.
"My lords, there's no need for such formalities... I thank you all for defending the city for the country. The Wei royal family and the millions of Wei people are deeply grateful." A few polite words were still necessary.
Sure enough, the soldiers were in much better spirits after hearing this, and they clasped their hands and said, "Your Highness, Prince Ye, you flatter us. We are the soldiers of Wei, and we are also the people of Wei. When foreign enemies invade, kill our compatriots, and seize our land, we should fight them with our lives!"
Old Xun said, "Stop talking nonsense: Quickly inform the King of Ye about the need to guard against the enemy dropping germs, and ask him and the government troops to make a decision."
"Eh." Deputy General Lang immediately informed the King of Ye of Elder Xun's guess.
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Ye made a decision: "Relocate them to the City God Temple, the Earth God Temple, the examination hall for the provincial examinations, and Wuyuan Garden in the center of the city. Force them to move. The imperial court will provide supplies. Those who refuse to move will be punished for the serious crime of aiding the enemy in spreading the plague!"
This isn't just about your personal life or death; it's about how your infection could spread the plague and harm other people and things. That's why the King of Ye is taking a very tough stance this time.
“What the King of Ye said is very true.” Qi’s envoy agreed and immediately urged the Chu general: “Please have the Chu general order the drums on the four city walls to be sounded so that the people around the city walls can move immediately.”
The Prince of Ye hurriedly added, "Please have General Alan send female soldiers to assist with the relocation, and tell the women of each household not to panic."
"Understood." General Chu immediately ordered the drums to be beaten.
dong dong dong, dong dong dong!
Soon, the large drums lined up along the ramparts of the four city walls were struck. A hundred drums sounded in unison, their roar echoing throughout the city. The drummers shouted, "By order of the new King of Ye, all families living near the city walls must quickly pack their belongings and move to..."
With a whoosh, outside the city, below, Commander Bai, Commander Tao, and others pushed out the new crossbow carts and new catapults.
Upon seeing this, the King of Ye inquired and learned that Jiang Dalang, Zhong Baihu, and Da Gan Qianhu had been trapped in battle, and the soldiers outside the city were preparing to use the latest ranged weapons to help them return to the city.
The King of Ye felt a heavy weight in his heart, but he tried his best to control his facial expression and not show a trace of fear... He was the backbone and had to face the enemy's breach of the city without fear, otherwise the Wei army and the villagers would lose even more confidence.
He looked up and gazed into the distance at the outskirts of the city, where the enemy troops were a dark mass.
Thump thump thump, thump thump thump!
The enemy's war drums thundered like muffled thunder in summer, rolling towards the capital city as if they intended to crush it.