Chapter 133: Anger

 

With no obstacles left, the artillery fired more enthusiastically, and the gunners even began singing off-key songs. Each time they volleyed, the soldiers laughed and joked without a care; whenever the city wall shook, they would shout, “It’s collapsing, it’s collapsing…”

Finally, after more than ten consecutive volleys, a section of the city wall shook violently a few times, and the formation on the wall completely shattered and disappeared. The massive stones that made up the wall began to loosen, and the wall started to undulate like waves!

The thunder of the cannons terrified countless soldiers from Luliang County, many of whom were trembling and hiding behind the parapets, curling up like shrimp. The cannon is referred to as the god of war, and one of the crucial aspects is its psychological impact and brilliance; facing cannon fire, there is no one who isn’t afraid!

With another volley, a thirty-meter section of the wall collapsed with a deafening crash, sending dust soaring into the sky.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the Anyang side suddenly stopped firing!

What was happening? Everyone in Luliang County and Nanliang Prefecture was puzzled. It seemed that Anyang had only intended to collapse a section of the wall?

Beichen Yuqing flew up into the sky again, “Zhao Guoshan, do not stubbornly resist any longer. I give you one last chance to surrender with your hands bound.

We will return tomorrow morning. Remember, this is your last chance. If you still stubbornly resist tomorrow morning, do not blame us for being merciless.

Moreover, to the citizens within Nanliang Prefecture, the city wall has been breached. If you do not wish to be buried alongside the traitor Zhao Guoshan, hurry and leave. Likewise, this is your last chance. Tomorrow’s battle will be a city massacre!”

A city massacre! A city massacre! A city massacre…

The resounding voice spread out, and with the ten-zhang-long breach in the city wall, it finally drove the citizens of Nanliang Prefecture into a frenzy—just moments ago, the cannon fire that had breached the wall had also delivered the shock of death! It turned out that war was so brutal; they needed to flee quickly!

In an instant, countless citizens surged out of the breach like water breaching a dam. The governor, Zhao Guoshan, wanted to send people to stop them, but it was futile! Compared to last night, the current city wall of Nanliang Prefecture had collapsed, the elite lost; it could no longer prevent the citizens from escaping.

Beichen Yuqing slowly descended, preparing to lead the army in retreat.

Suddenly, a horse-drawn carriage came rushing from a distance; it was the returning crown prince and the second prince, Xia Shu. Upon seeing the soldiers from Anyang, the crown prince immediately flew out of the carriage in a fit of rage, disregarding his status, and flew towards Beichen Yuqing. He opened his mouth with gritted teeth, his voice chilling: “Beichen Yuqing! You in Anyang dare to be untrustworthy and humiliate me! Do you not see me, the crown prince, in your eyes?!”

Beichen Yuqing frowned slightly. Is this something a crown prince should say? Even if he had something to say, it should be done privately. In front of so many people, it really is—how improper!

But the crown prince was truly furious at that moment, flying straight in front of Beichen Yuqing, glaring with anger.

Beichen Yuqing finally had to let out a small sigh, “Your Highness, we have not been untrustworthy.”

“You…” Xia Shu pointed at Beichen Yuqing, unable to articulate a response, but he was trembling with anger; the people from Anyang were too wicked, speaking nonsense with their eyes wide open.

Beichen Yuqing sighed again and slowly said, “Your Highness, do you know what the letter said?”

Xia Shu was suddenly at a loss for words. How could he admit to knowing? If he acknowledged knowing the contents of the letter, it would be tantamount to telling others that he was “guarding the treasury while stealing from it.” Helping someone deliver a message but secretly opening it himself would make him the subject of ridicule.

After a moment of hesitation, Xia Shu finally spoke, “Li Xian promised me in front of me that he would calm things down.”

Beichen Yuqing continued to shake his head. “Your Highness, there is a premise for calming things down. Zhongshan County and Luliang County must make up for the debts and go to the capital to pay respects! However, the governor of Luliang County, Zhao Guoshan, refuses to budge!

His Majesty bestowed Li Xian with the honor of Eastern Commander, and we must uphold His Majesty’s trust! I hope you can forgive our helplessness.”

Beichen Yuqing’s words meant—We are loyal to His Majesty, not you, the crown prince! Therefore, we do not recognize anything Zhao Guoshan and you have done regarding apologies or compensations!

The crown prince trembled with rage; for the first time, someone told him to his face—this crown prince is useless!

“Very well! I remember this!” After saying this, the crown prince turned south without even entering the city, too embarrassed to show his face; he was completely powerless in this matter! But the boiling anger was burning away at the crown prince’s rationality.

Beichen Yuqing watched the crown prince’s carriage recede into the distance and then looked at Zhao Guoshan on the city wall, whose expression was dark and somewhat twisted, continuing to command the soldiers to retreat.

At that moment, Yan Zhengqing leaned towards Beichen Yuqing, “Beichen, now that we are retreating, we haven’t achieved maximum effectiveness. If we can fire a few cannons at the defending soldiers, the effect will undoubtedly be better!”

Beichen Yuqing smiled bitterly, “Do you think I want to retreat? That bastard Liu Leigang shot all the shells!”

“What? No shells left? What should we do?” Yan Zhengqing suddenly panicked. Although he had previously commanded well, he felt somewhat inexperienced when faced with new things like cannons and motor vehicles.

Beichen Yuqing, however, was not anxious. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We’ll let Liu Leigang take some people to the seaside to collect supplies later. It’s over two hundred miles from here to the seaside, or about a hundred kilometers. Based on the current speed of the vehicles, even if the roads aren’t great, four hours will be enough for a round trip.”

“Seaside? What about the three ironclad ships?” Yan Zhengqing immediately reacted.

Beichen Yuqing felt a sense of pride. “Old Yan, in the future, the form of war will inevitably change. Right now, it’s still a combination of land and sea. Once the technology of Floating Cloud Island matures, along with what the young master mentioned about flying machines and airplanes, the mode of warfare will become even more complex. You need to broaden your perspective.”

Yan Zhengqing was slightly provoked by Beichen Yuqing’s proud demeanor and fell silent, choosing instead to comfort the elite soldiers who were shivering from the cold.

As the team continued on, someone suddenly chased after them from behind. “General Beichen, wait! I have something to say!”

Beichen Yuqing signaled for the team to keep moving and brought a few personal guards to a halt.

The person rushed to within ten zhang of Beichen Yuqing and finally paused to catch his breath. “General Beichen, my name is Wang Jingde. I’m from Anyang and I run a small business called Qingquan Trading Company.

Here’s the situation: The day before yesterday, Zhao Guoshan, the governor of Luliang County, fell for the poisonous scheme of Wen Cheng, Li Yuanming. He captured the thirteen most esteemed Anyang merchants and their trading party members from the South Liang Mansion, attempting to coerce them into accusing Anyang of wrongdoing, thus provoking the determination of the people to resist at all costs.

However, yesterday morning, the thirteen merchants chose death over submission. Guo Guibang personally executed three of them, including Zhang Yunhai, and ordered the rest to be killed! Not a single one was left alive!”

What! Beichen Yuqing’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot! “You tell me everything that happened, step by step, and don’t leave out a single detail.”

Beside him, Yan Zhengqing also paused, listening intently.

Wang Jingde hurriedly replied, “General Beichen, I only know part of it. But there are many more merchants from Anyang; you can gather everyone together to discuss this matter.”

That was a good suggestion. Beichen Yuqing immediately instructed his guards to head forward and urgently call for the merchants from Anyang.

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