Chapter 1454
Siege, Plague Outbreak in the Capital City
Chapter 1454 Siege, Plague Outbreak in the Capital City
Aunt Qin wiped away non-existent cold sweat: "Mother-in-law, please speak more carefully next time, so that I don't worry about my nephew's safety while he's away."
If a ten-year-old were to bury objects in hopes of gaining double the intelligence, wouldn't they be sold off and still kowtow in gratitude?
Qin Xiaomi said, "My older brother is quite capable. He is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and he can also outwit others. He also has an honest, sincere, and handsome face. As long as he is not being targeted and framed, my brother will definitely be well-liked wherever he goes."
After hearing this, Grandma Qin looked at Qin Xiaomi with an even more determined and unwavering gaze: "Our Xiaomi is right. Da Dao is just that kind of young man, so lovable."
Dangdang Dangdang!
"Keep a close eye on the sky, and be on high alert to prevent the enemy from releasing poison sacs under the cover of night!"
Such shouts could be heard every fifteen minutes in various parts of the mountain and city, continuing from nightfall to dawn without stopping.
But to the surprise of the entire city, the enemy army remained completely still, as if they were dead, without making a sound all night.
The only noise was the enemy's war drums, but they were not the sound of an attack; they were just drums used for assemblies, shift changes, and watch countdowns.
As dawn broke, past mid-morning, knock knock knock!
"Good news! Good news! No enemy troops have deployed poison sacs inside the city. The Wei people can open the gates and go out to live as usual!"
The ward officials, patrolling civilians/village militia, and patrolling soldiers guarding the city's security shouted these words after inspecting the situation within the city.
Half an hour later, Wei Min dared to open the door and come out to check his own yard and the area within a ten-meter radius outside the door. He then went to visit his neighbors and asked them questions.
"Did you hear any unusual noises of things falling at night? Did any poison cysts fall from your roof?"
"No, no, my family took turns keeping watch last night. We didn't hear any of these noises. There were no venomous cysts in the yard or on the roof. We even climbed up the roof on a ladder to check!"
"Oh dear, I haven't seen my roof yet, I'll go back and take a look!"
Upon hearing this, the neighbor's face turned green, and he hurriedly shouted at the old neighbor's retreating figure, "If you have any after you've read it, let us know so the neighbors can rest assured!"
Fortunately, no toxic cysts fell from the roof of the unreliable neighbor's house.
Dangdang Dangdang!
The Wei patrolmen shouted again: "The enemy did not poison us last night! But this is probably a tactic to demoralize them. All Wei citizens must not let their guard down! Keep a close eye on the sky and be on guard against the enemy using poison capsules or birds to poison us!"
They kept shouting this all morning, fearing that the Wei people would become complacent and that the enemy would poison them tonight.
……
The drums on all four city walls resounded loudly, signaling General Chu to summon the other gate guards to the east gate tower for a meeting.
After meeting, General Chu, Vice Commissioner Jiang, Vice Commissioner Ping, Prefect Qu, Deputy General Lang, Prince Ye, and the Qi Envoy all agreed that "the enemy's actions are not normal."
It wasn't about the enemy not poisoning the enemy last night, but rather...
"The poisoning site was in an uproar all night, with singing, dancing, eating, drinking, and even doing *that*... Three princes have died, and they still have the leisure to do *that*, it's clearly a pre-execution celebration." General Chu's face was grim as he pointed at the poisoning site, saying, "This batch of enemy soldiers are already death row inmates... Tens of thousands of them, the atrocities they're about to commit must be enormous, we must be extremely careful!"
Everyone nodded, and Jiang Qianshi and the others reported again: "The enemy forces on the west side of the city are not making such a fuss... It seems that the enemy forces still choose to break through from the east side."
This is good news... If the enemy forces at each of the four city gates select 10,000 men to act as suicide soldiers and poison the enemy, then their defense against poison will be extremely difficult.
"Jiang Qianshi, you must also keep a close eye on the enemy troops near your respective city gates, and see if they show any signs of selecting suicide soldiers to attack the city... Just because they don't have any today doesn't mean they won't have any tomorrow. Keep a close watch at all times," General Chu instructed.
"Yes!" Jiang Qianshi, Ping Qianshi, and Qu Tongzhi responded.
The enemy, though seemingly oblivious to the situation, temporarily set it aside and the generals began discussing other matters: "How many iron-barreled vehicles can we build today? After the artisans improve them, how much will the range increase? Will we be able to bombard the enemy's retreating camp?"
"Prince Ye, please go and urge him. Master Qin is a man of family ties; if you can get results, we can't!"
Let Dalang, the fiancé, urge him? Don't be ridiculous. Qin Dongjia is clearly ignoring Dalang. I feel sorry for Dalang.
“Prince Ye can bring your father-in-law and mother-in-law, or if all else fails, carry your son to urge him.”
Da Bao'er: I'm only a month old, and you're already treating me like this? Aren't you afraid I'll catch the rat plague and be sent to the next reincarnation?
Boom boom boom!
"Reporting to General Chu, there's movement at the enemy's poisoning position!" The sentry tower soldiers shouted, reporting the latest military intelligence they had seen: "Enemy suicide soldiers have been put into large wooden cages and locked up! We don't know what's inside, but they're covered with red cloth!"
What bad luck! The enemy army actually likes red just like our Great Wei.
"I'll check again, and then report back!" General Chu replied.
Jiang Qianshi and his men also hurriedly looked toward the poisoning site.
"Report! There's something in the wooden cage, and it's quite fierce. After the enemy went in, the big cage shook violently for a while!" the sentry shouted again.
Damn it, the enemy was definitely preparing a big surprise.
Because of this unexpected turn of events, after the meeting, Vice Commissioner Jiang and his men would run to the East Gate Tower every hour to inquire about the latest situation of the wooden cages.
"Tens of thousands of enemy soldiers were locked in wooden cages in batches for an hour each... Those who were in the cages stayed on the right side to set up camp, but they did not attack the city; they just ate, drank, and had fun."
As they were talking, a soldier came up to the city wall and reported: "General Chu, Commander Jiang, Physician Xun, and Lan Hu from the mountains said that the enemy may be spreading a rat plague... In the pits of Azu Village in the mountains, there are wooden cages like these, which are filled with rats carrying the rat plague!"
Wait, no, the enemy's poisonous old man isn't that normal. The people he keeps in these wooden cages are infected patients whose jaws and necks are swollen and festering, and who are about to die.
It is a severe case of infection.
The soldier continued, "Commander Jiang said that the enemy is probably creating plague viruses nearby in order to infect the people in the city and destroy the capital city without a fight. We Wei people must be prepared to fight to the death."
Without the Heavenly Shield protecting the entire capital city, it was inevitable that the rat plague would break out in the city.
With no way out, we can only prepare to perish together with the enemy.
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire East Gate Tower fell silent.
The news also reached the small house inside the city wall. When the King of Ye and his men heard it, they were not very shocked, but only had a sense of certainty that "it has finally arrived."
"First, suppress the matter of the poisoning site and don't let the Wei people in the city know... I will write a personal letter to tell my father-in-law's family about this news and ask Mushan to speed up the production of iron cylinder carts and combined gunpowder packs." The Prince of Ye picked up his pen and wrote down the military situation here.
Qi Tianshi also ordered the death squad eunuchs to train the students of the village martial arts school... In short, if they couldn't live, they should fight to the death in a fierce and exhilarating battle!
The entire capital city was bustling with activity.
However, the atmosphere inside the city was very good, because everyone felt that after killing three enemy princes in one day, the enemy army was so frightened that they retreated ten miles and dared not attack the city easily again. Everyone saw the hope of victory.
But the enemy's atrocities continued unabated.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Wuxing in the Great Wei Dynasty, at noon on the nineteenth day of the ninth month, the enemy army, with nearly a million troops, officially marched into the territory of the capital city.
On the 20th, the vanguard army led by the fourth prince swept through the suburbs of the city, but encountered resistance from the east, resulting in a day of infighting.
On the 21st, the enemy released poisonous sacs in an attempt to spread the plague through the capital city. However, they were met with fierce resistance from the Wei army and were also attacked by firearms. Three princes were killed in one day, and the poisoning was forced to stop.
On the 22nd, the enemy began occupying positions along the moat of the eastern city and using human bodies to raise rats to spread the plague.
On the morning of the 25th...
"Reporting to General Chu, over a hundred enemy soldiers have fallen ill!"