Chapter 373: Power
Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At dawn, the Qi soldiers cursed outside. Seeing that no one was paying attention, they launched a large-scale attack. The Qi soldiers rushed down the city wall like crazy. Densely packed crossbow bolts shot toward the city wall. A large number of Qi soldiers carried ladders and rushed toward the city wall. The Great Yong soldiers drew their bows and shot arrows, fighting back with all their might.
Ji Xiang brought more than a dozen prefecture soldiers to the city wall and picked up a bamboo stick to throw at the Qi soldiers on the ladder. The bamboo tip pierced the neck of a Qi soldier. Seeing this, the other prefecture soldiers also mustered their courage and picked up the bamboo stick to throw at the Qi soldiers on the ladder.
On the west city wall, a Qi soldier climbed up the chopping hole and slashed at the soldiers on the city wall. Ji Xiang watched as the Qi soldiers continuously climbed up and took out two earthen bombs from his pocket. He blew on the fire and lit the fuse together. He threw them at the Qi soldiers who were rushing up below. Boom, boom! The soldiers who were fighting only heard two deafening bangs and saw the Qi soldiers below being blasted into pieces. Dark red blood splattered on the faces of the Qi soldiers who were standing at the side.
Seeing this, Deputy General Shen had an idea. He raised his arm and shouted, “The heavens sent lightning and fire to punish the Qi soldiers. The heavens sent lightning and fire to punish the Qi soldiers!”
“The heavens have sent thunder and fire to punish the Qi soldiers!” The soldiers on the city wall raised their weapons and shouted. The Qi army camp began to withdraw. The aggressive Qi soldiers retreated dejectedly.
Only then did Deputy General Shen ask General Yun Can on the city wall, “Brother Yun, did you notice what caused the loud sound? I think it looks like the Heaven Shaking Thunder used by martial artists, but I know that the power and sound of the Heaven Shaking Thunder are not that loud.”
General Yun Shen was also shocked by the two loud bangs. When he heard Deputy General Shen’s question, he shook his head in confusion. “I was busy killing the enemy and didn’t pay attention to the surrounding situation. Go and ask the people watching from the city tower if they found anything.”
Deputy General Shen looked at the Qi soldiers retreating toward the military camp. “Forget it. We’ll go after it’s over to prevent the Qi soldiers from attacking again. ”
In the Qi military camp, the thin Crown Prince Qi looked at Yang Huaiyi with a dark expression. “General Yang, what were those two loud sounds just now?”
Yang Huaiyi bowed and said, “Your Highness, I’m not sure either. It sounds like the Heaven Shaking Thunder used by those martial artists, but it’s not that powerful.”
“Grand General Yang, please quickly send someone to investigate.” Crown
Prince Qi looked at Yang Huaiyi with a mocking expression. “Grand General Yang, I remember that you said that you had already planned everything with the Wei family. Then who leaked the news? Before the battle, the Wei family was wiped out by Great Yong. Even the soldiers who went to Mount Spindle to launch a sneak attack were buried in a sea of fire. How did Great Yong know such a secret? I think there’s an 80% chance that someone leaked the news.
Otherwise, how could Great Yong know in advance?”
The other soldiers looked at Yang Huaiyi, who was bowing, and lowered their heads in indignation. Some thought to themselves that the Crown Prince’s words were shaking the morale of the army! Some thought that the Crown Prince was right! Who leaked such a secret? Also, the loud bang just now had torn everyone apart. What was going on? Who would dare to go into battle to kill the enemy again?
Ji Xiang was also scared silly by the power of the bombs. After going down the
city wall, he pulled Ruyi to the cellar. “Ruyi, Madam is right. We have to put these things away. You didn’t see it!”
Ruyi nodded and said, “You still have some ignition in your pocket! If it explodes, you’ll be minced meat.”
“The same goes for you. Keep the cellar locked,” said Ji Xiang. The living example was there, making them both more cautious.
On the foggy October morning, Li Yu led the horse along a rugged winding path and avoided the Qi soldiers transporting the food. Walking on the path, she saw frost hanging on the withered grass along the way. Birds jumped and chirped on the treetops in the forest. In the morning, the air people in the forest seemed to be immersed in natural oxygen.
At noon, the sky was still gloomy. Li Yu looked at the sky and prayed in her heart that it would not rain. Otherwise, she would have worked for nothing. She walked to a big tree and tied the horse to the side. She climbed onto a big tree branch and sat on it. After taking out dry food to eat, she took out the letter she had found on the Qi soldier. Li Yu looked at it for a long time but could not understand what was written. She thought that it might be a secret letter. She could only go back and hand it to Chu Sihai and the others to study.
Li Yu sat on the tree and leaned against the branch for a while before coming down from above to continue traveling. She arrived at the forest in Tian Family Village before dark. Standing in the forest, she saw that there were 30 to 40 simple tents like yurts on the open flat ground. There were also dozens of haystacks piled high. It seemed that they were all piled with grass. There was a soldier standing in every few tents. There were much fewer people on duty.
Li Yu looked at the Qi soldiers circling the periphery. There were probably more than 2,000 people standing guard. There were three soldiers standing in a position in the watchtower in front of the wooden door. There were also civilians busy in the trench outside the tent and Qi soldiers standing around with spears.
Li Yu began to consider what method to use to burn all the provisions and supplies. If she acted alone, she would sneak in after dark and pour kerosene on the tent to take out each military camp before lighting it up. Now that she was going to attack with Yan Niang, she wondered if Yun Yi and Yan Niang knew that she had arrived so quickly. It seemed that she could only inform them after dark.
After Li Yu thought about it, she led the horse deep into the forest and tied it to a tree. After eating the dry food, she found some mud and smeared it on her face. She found a big tree and climbed up to start recuperating. She planned to take action at midnight.
The sky gradually darkened. Yun Yi pulled Yan Niang out of the ditch and whispered to her, “I received news that you’re to receive the magistrate’s wife and cooperate with her to burn the rations. I’ll find a servant to transport the rations to the military camp in Yang Village tomorrow morning. The magistrate’s wife will arrive at the Tian Family Village tomorrow night at the earliest. Before midnight, you have to sneak into the forest in the south and hear two short cries and one long cry of the turtledove. That’s the magistrate’s wife.”
Yan Niang took note of Yun Yi’s words and glanced at him. “Look, you’re quite eloquent! ”
Yun Yi didn’t even look at Yan Niang as he strode toward the dining room.
Yan Niang chased after him and went to eat something that looked like pig food with Yun Yi. When she came out, she said to Yun Yi in a low voice, “Damn it, it’s even worse than pig food. There’s also a rotten smell. It must be leftovers from those people.”
Yun Yi glanced at her and turned to leave. Yan Niang stopped talking and went with Yun Yi to the tent where the migrants of the Qi military camp were staying. They saw that it was filled with exhausted migrants lying everywhere. The tent smelled disgustingly of feet and sweat.
Yan Niang lay down against the tent. Yun Yi lay beside her to separate her from the others. After the two of them lay down, they slowly fell asleep..