rustle…
The drizzle washed the woods and fields, and puddles formed on the muddy roads. Raindrops fell on the water, creating ripples. Suddenly, there was a sound of "哗" (splashing) water, splashing with mud, and horses' hooves stirred up the mud and rushed over.
In the leaden rain curtain, several riders galloped wildly in the rain, following the muddy road trampled by countless footsteps, heading towards Hegu County. Over a hundred miles was only half an hour for the soldiers who were good at riding horses and the monks.
Master and disciple Chen Fu and Chen Jing caught up with the 20,000 men led by Cao Shouren, dismounted their horses, and walked to the rear. People around them shouted and horses neighed, and the conscripted laborers were carrying weapons and siege equipment in batches.
Arriving at the center of the army, Chen Jing looked at the long array of troops, with spears and lances standing in rows, casting a chilling shadow. He glanced at the city wall, wanting to say something but stopping himself. However, the old man next to him rode forward and spoke first.
"This city is determined to fight to the death, so let's fulfill their wish, General Cao! Pass the order."
A general named Cao Shouren rode on a dark blue horse, stroking his restless warhorse, his eyes fixed on the city more than thirty feet ahead. On the long city walls, the soldiers defending the city had put up shields, and behind the shields many figures could be seen running back and forth, and their shouts could be faintly heard.
It turned out that this dark and strong man was just the head of the palace guards in the Chen Dynasty. He was trusted by the late Emperor Chen Shubao. He brought back the imperial concubine and the prince who came back from visiting their relatives and gained some capital for advancement. Unfortunately, he met a bad time, and overnight, his homeland was gone.
Afterwards, he opened the palace gate to surrender, gritted his teeth and started all over again. With his superb martial arts, he finally gained a little capital and became a small officer in Wantong County. He originally thought that this was the greatest achievement he had in his life.
Unexpectedly, the emperor of the Chen Dynasty came back again, holding mysterious magic in his hands. During those days, he couldn't sleep all night. He sat up and looked at the bronze mirror. There were some white marks between his thick beard and hair. He clenched his fist and finally slammed it on the table with a bang. He picked up the sword hanging on the wall, put on armor, and led his trusted men to attack the city gate at night...
'People live in a hurry for decades, so they should not have any regrets. They can be buried in the ground, even if they die on the battlefield!'
His eyes swept across the distant city wall, he withdrew his hand that was stroking the warhorse's mane, and slowly grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist. In front of him, he saw that the soldiers attacking the city were already ready, with crowds of people, ladders lying above the heads of the crowd, and countless feet taking steps, marching forward in unison.
Flags fluttered, under the banners of "Cao" and "Chen", above the restless war horses, Cao Shouren drew out the blade bit by bit, and the snow-white and cold blade slowly rose from his hand facing the raindrops.
"Send the order!"
At a certain moment, the sword slashed down.
A majestic voice resounded throughout the formation: "—Attack the city!!"
The messenger knight spurred his horse to gallop and passed down the order along the various phalanxes. On both sides of the central army, the soldiers on the carriages heard the messenger's shout, waved their arms and beat the war drums.
Boom!
Boom!
The sound of drums continued, and after passing the city wall where countless figures were running, there was a wet blue brick street. Pedestrians walked hurriedly with panicked looks on their faces. Shops drove away customers and quickly closed their doors. The man who stuck his head out took a look and was pulled in by his wife behind him, who slammed the door and bolted it.
The situation was tense and every household began to close their doors and windows, and it was almost impossible to see anyone on the streets.
At Zhou's residence, raindrops dripped from the eaves, the light in the study flickered, and the old man who was writing a letter heard vaguely a sound and stopped writing.
At the door, a servant was stumbling across the corridor, but was stopped by the old servant in charge. The servant stood by the door, pointing outside, breathlessly.
"Master, something serious has happened. Someone is calling from outside."
The old servant who stopped the servant looked worriedly at Zhou Zhen in the study. The latter did not look very good. He pursed his lips tightly and remained silent, and his long beard was shaking slightly.
After a while, the old man put down his brush, placed it beside the inkstone, stood up, glanced at the volumes of books and bamboo slips neatly stacked on the bookshelf in the room, picked up the pear wood stick leaning against the side, and walked out of the room.
"Master, what are you doing?!"
The old servant followed behind, shouted, and waved his other hand to the servant who was standing there in a daze. The latter reacted and ran towards the backyard.
Zhou Zhen ignored the servant's shouting and walked to the front yard. The sound coming from afar became clearer and clearer. As a former Grand Secretary of the Denglong Pavilion of the Chen Dynasty, he could still distinguish the sound of war drums.
“… They kept claiming to be from the Chen Dynasty, but they started the war without authorization. How many people from the Chen Dynasty died directly or indirectly at their hands.”
He slammed the cane in his hand heavily on the ground.
“You are not a human being!!”
Then he asked the old servant to prepare the carriage, and sent someone to inform the scholars in the city. His old wife came from the backyard to stop him, but was pushed away by the old man.
Zhou Zhen climbed onto the carriage and struggled to stand upright. His beard was stretched out in anger and trembled at his lips.
"What Lord Shuhua dared to do, I dare to do too. The nine provinces of the world are finally at peace. How can we let these ants and insects destroy it!!!"
Someone rushed out of the courtyard and tried to stop the carriage, but the old woman stopped him with her hand. She watched the carriage drive away before slowly putting her hand down, taking a breath, straightening her back, and smilingly scolding with red eyes, "Old thing."
He turned around and waved his cane at the servants and maids around him.
"Why are you looking so sad? Your master is doing the right thing! You should be happy! Smile!"
The street leading to the West City.
The carriage drove through the wet long street. Zhou Zhen listened to the sound of war drums coming from the front. He lifted the curtain and looked at the street scene. It was empty. From time to time, soldiers on horseback passed by. When they saw the carriage, they stopped to check it. When they saw the old man sitting in the carriage, they let it go.
"Master, we're here... We're here."
The coachman's trembling voice was heard outside, and the carriage stopped fifty feet away from the west city gate. The old man lifted the curtain and came down with the help of the coachman, leaning on his crutches.
"Walk!"
Zhou Zhen glanced at the city gate where the soldiers were gathering, and walked slowly towards it step by step. After forty or fifty steps, he began to pant. The county governor at that city gate was organizing the people to carry the equipment and stones for defending the city. When he saw the old man walking slowly towards him, he naturally recognized him.
"Hey, Master Zhou, why are you here?!"
The old man nodded at him and said, "I'm here to see what the rebels who are harming the people look like!" Then he walked past the county magistrate and onto the city wall.
The soldiers passing by stopped and saw an old man in casual clothes coming up with panic on their faces, and they were stunned for a moment.
"An old man... who is he?"
"Hey, isn't this Mr. Zhou? He is a close friend of Mr. Shu Hua."
"Really? I've heard of it, but I didn't expect to see the real person today."
"I've heard of it, too. It seems that Lu Lang from Qixia Mountain was also his student."
On the city wall, the old man walked past the group of soldiers who were talking in low voices, came behind the shield-bearing soldier, patted him on the shoulder, and looked through the gap at the lead-blue rain curtain outside.
Amid the sound of drums, several phalanxes were slowly advancing, and ladders were slowly being erected. The archers defending the city also drew their arrows at this time, and amid the shouts of their generals, the arrows made a loud noise and were raised high into the sky.
The old man immersed himself in this atmosphere of metal and iron for a moment, looking down at the dark army advancing outside. His long beard shook out, and his voice, no longer powerful, roared loudly in this moment of silence.
"You, traitors—"