Chapter 1517
The Final Battle: Everything in Nature Has a Use [2]
Chapter 1517 The Final Battle: Everything in Nature Has a Use [2]
One sentence provoked public outrage.
The Wei people angrily accused her: "You are Qin Dongjia? Do you even speak human language? The enemy army is an elite force, while we are just powerless commoners. You want us to fight the enemy? You are just encouraging us to die. How can you be so vicious?!"
"Poisonous woman, poisonous woman, a poisonous woman who incites the whole city to die!"
"What are you so arrogant about? Just because you made a weapon, you think you can look down on everyone? Believe me, we'll swarm you and tear you to pieces!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Dalang loosened his grip on the bow and arrow, and whoosh—the long arrow pierced the air, striking at one of the Wei men who had uttered those words.
The force was so great that it sent the man staggering back several steps, knocking down the two people behind him.
"Ahhh, murder! The poisonous woman from the Qin family has killed someone! Help!" the man who had been shot screamed, but he quickly became too frightened to utter another sound.
"Imperial Guards, seize this traitor who slanders the meritorious officials of the dynasty! Anyone who dares to obstruct us will be punished even more severely and executed on the spot!" It was the Prince of Ye who spoke.
The King of Ye also stood on the high platform, looking down at the tens of thousands of Wei people on the main road of Mushan Gate, and shouted: "All Wei people may speak freely in the face of the important matter of protecting the country and the city, but they must not attack or insult meritorious officials, otherwise they will be executed according to wartime military law!"
Qi Tianshi took a deep breath and shouted the words three times in his highly recognizable voice... Instantly, the majesty of the imperial court was established, and the people fell silent, no longer daring to make a fuss.
Even the man who had been shot by an arrow dared not struggle or cry out anymore, letting the imperial guards drag him away... They even treated his arrow wound, but asked if they could be gentler, as he was in excruciating pain.
"Master Qin, what should we do?" Xue Shiwu had lost several family members and was on the verge of collapse. Therefore, he felt no fear, only a desire for a clear answer: "In such a predicament, what should we, ordinary citizens of Wei, do? What can we do?"
“We are no match for the enemy. We don’t want to be slaughtered by them, and we don’t want to be powerless to stop our loved ones and people from being harmed. So we want to die sooner, is that not allowed?”
These words resonated with many people from Wei, who asked in response, "Yes, we won't harm anyone, we'll just take our whole families to die, is that not allowed?!"
“When the city was first besieged, some people led the women of their clans to jump into the pond beforehand. But the King of Ye said that we should not commit suicide in advance, otherwise we would be sinners if we won! But now the situation is very clear. There is no way to survive. There are hundreds of thousands of infected people in the city and 300,000 infected enemy soldiers attacking the city. 300,000 infected enemy soldiers! They don’t want us to live!”
"In a situation where certain death is inevitable, can't we at least commit suicide to preserve our family's honor?!"
"It has nothing to do with reputation. We just want to die easily, not be captured and tortured to death!"
Wei Min's words were quite reasonable. Even those close to the Qin family, such as Si Pei, Xue Mingyi, Jia Xiang, Xue Dongjia, Li Dongjia, and Master Weng, as well as the Prince of Ye, Lord Yan, and Qi Tianshi, thought that Wei Min was right.
All eyes turned to Qin Xiaomi, eager to see how she would respond.
Qin Xiaomi met their gazes and said clearly, "When all hope was lost, your whole family's act of taking your own lives to protect your family from being harmed by the enemy was not wrong!"
"But why should we sacrifice ourselves and benefit the enemy?!"
“There is another way that is better than suicide, and that is…” She scanned the crowd and shouted out, word by word: “Open the city gates, fight our way out, and fight the enemy to the death!”
A collective gasp filled the air as everyone gasped in shock: "What...what does this mean?"
Qin Xiaomi explained, "Since we're all going to die anyway, why don't we die on the battlefield? Even if it takes twenty men to kill one enemy soldier, a million of us can still wipe out fifty thousand enemy soldiers!"
"Adding to the number of enemies killed by the Wei army, after this desperate battle, we may be able to kill half of the enemy forces, reducing the burden of resisting the enemy on the cities behind us!"
"In this way, our deaths will be of great value!"
"This is a protracted war. The enemy will not only destroy the capital city. After they destroy the capital city, they will continue to advance into the heart of Wei. But if we fight to the death, we can decide whether the enemy will send a million troops into the heart of Wei, or only half a million or three hundred thousand troops!"
"A million enemy troops, and Great Wei cannot withstand them. But if it's three hundred thousand enemy troops, can't Great Wei still win?!"
These words were truly inspiring; even someone as desperate as Xue Shiwu felt a surge of fighting spirit. But…
"That sounds nice, but can we win? The enemy is so strong."
"That's right. The enemy is tall and strong, and they eat meat. They're not human at heart. How can we win a war against such inhuman creatures? Wouldn't that be just throwing our lives away?"
"No, why can't you understand? It's not about throwing your life away; it's about wearing down the enemy's forces!"
There were those who questioned it, and those who agreed with Qin Xiaomi.
Boom boom boom!
As the drums sounded, everyone instinctively fell silent.
but……
The sounds of running and hurrying came from all directions. Standing on the high platform, Qin Xiaomi could see groups of Wei people rushing towards them.
“They must have heard the news and rushed over. Xiaomi, there’s no need to worry. Continue. With Vice General Lang’s troops guarding the area, Wei Min won’t cause any major trouble.” Jiang Dalang stood below the high platform, protecting Qin Xiaomi.
Qin Xiaomi simply nodded. After the newly arrived Wei Min ran several meters closer to make sure they could hear her, she took a deep breath and replied, "Then, if you take your whole family and commit suicide, wouldn't that be considered a pointless death?!"
Ah this?
That actually counts.
"All people and things in this world go from birth to death..." Qin Xiaomi looked down at them, her eyes showing no disgust or despair, only a raging, inextinguishable fire: "All things in the world are born to die, but the remaining flames of all things can burn the sky. At this moment, in this situation, you and I are the remaining flames. When you and I merge together, we have the power to burn the sky!"
"So, do you want to take your families and commit suicide in a cowardly manner, or fight to the last breath and go out of the city to fight the enemy?!"
All things created by Heaven will eventually die, but the remaining flames of all things can burn the heavens.
The crowd fell silent, stunned by these words, until…
"Well said! I am willing to be one of the millions of martyrs to burn the enemy's false heaven and protect the heaven of my Great Wei!" Old Madam Guan shouted excitedly, her old eyes filled with tears. She quickly wiped away her tears and made sure her vision was clear so she could see Qin Xiaomi's figure clearly.
Your Majesty Emperor Taizong and Empress Wenci, I have chosen the right successor for Danjia. Please bless her. She must live, for she can fulfill the ambitions you two had when you established the Great Wei.
Deputy General Lang was also stirred by Qin Xiaomi's words, and he led his soldiers in shouting, "We are willing to fight to the last breath to kill the enemy!"
"Sister Qin is mighty! Our Si family will listen to Sister Qin!" Si Pei wanted to find a flag to wave and shout encouragement.
Startled by the shouts, Xue Shiwu blurted out, "I, Xue Shiwu, am willing to give my last ounce of strength to go out of the city and kill the enemy!"
"My family is also willing to go out of the city to fight the enemy; we will never die a cowardly death!"
"Yes, why should we kill ourselves to make room for the enemy? No, we must fight the enemy to the bitter end and never let them easily take the capital city!"
"Fight the enemy! Fight them to the death! We will never let them easily capture the capital city!"
"We have to fight the enemy before we die, otherwise future generations will laugh at us for not fighting the enemy and instead taking our whole families to commit suicide!"
"My Liu family values our reputation, so we must die with dignity! My Liu clan chooses to die in battle rather than sacrifice ourselves and give the enemy an easy victory!"