amaotonovel Chapter 649 Big Killer
Chapter 649 Big Killer
Zhou Xiyin, who was fast asleep, was awakened by the commotion outside the city. She jumped out of bed and muttered in her sleep, "The gates of Yingtian Prefecture cannot be breached."
Putting aside her other identities, she is, after all, a citizen of the Wu Kingdom, and with the country facing a crisis, she is naturally worried and anxious.
"Sister-in-law, it's chilly in the morning, you can't get out of bed, you should sleep a little longer."
Seeing that Zhou Xiyin was about to reach the edge of the city wall, Lin Xiaomei covered her with the blanket again...
"My lords, if you do not take action now, Xiyin will have no choice but to die!" Zhou Xiyin threatened.
She knew she couldn't directly command these three thousand crossbowmen, so she had to use their lives as leverage.
The opponent was very receptive to this tactic and immediately perked up, unleashing a barrage of arrows.
The power of a crossbow is worlds apart from that of a regular bow and arrow.
Even though the experts from Lotus Palace led the charge, they dared not underestimate them, and in the end, more than ten of them were lost.
The situation was even worse for the private army of Ningguo Prefecture, with hundreds of soldiers dying violently.
But they were numerous and charged forward as if their lives didn't matter.
In military campaigns, morale is of utmost importance, and it is essential to strike while the iron is hot.
To boost morale, the Lord of Ningguo City promised many benefits, but also issued a death order: anyone who retreated even a step would be killed without mercy!
The loss of a few hundred men was insignificant to them; at this rate of casualties, it would take a hundred volleys of arrows to wipe them all out.
However, given the speed at which Ningguo Prefecture's private army advances, they will only have time for five more waves of arrows at most.
"This humble general begs Your Majesty to return to the palace for refuge!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, the Left Commander of the Thousand Armies knelt on the ground and pleaded.
The city gates were clearly beyond defense. Once the enemy stormed the city walls, their first priority would be to capture the king alive.
There's no need to fight this battle; we should just raise the white flag and surrender.
"How can I hand over the land conquered by my ancestors? I will live and die with Yingtian Prefecture!" the king said sternly, clearly not wanting to be a deserter.
A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good cook, and a king who doesn't want to expand his territory isn't a good tailor.
Once upon a time, even a king harbored a dream of conquering the world, so how could he fear the death before him?
"Father, I request to go into battle and perish with the enemy!" Xia Linglong said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
As the crown prince, he had a responsibility to share the king's worries.
Not only him, but Xia Linglong also put on military uniform, eager to rush out and fight the enemy to the death.
The king first sighed, then shook his head and said, "It is your father who failed to protect you."
Although she felt guilty, she still agreed to Xia Linglong's request.
If we continue to sit and wait for death, the city gates will be breached sooner or later.
They need a wave of suicide soldiers, at least enough to hold off the enemy for a while and give the crossbowmen enough opportunities to deal damage.
“I’ll go with Brother Wang!” Xia Linglong said resolutely.
Xia Linglong hesitated for a long time. As the only prince of the Wu Kingdom, he had a responsibility to protect his sister's safety.
But now the country is in danger of destruction; when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.
If the enemy cannot be repelled, even if Xia Linglong hides inside the city gate, she will eventually be captured.
Rather than be humiliated by the enemy, it is better to fight them to the death.
“Alright! With our brother and sister working together, we can overcome anything!” Xia Linglong nodded.
The king had little objection to this; if the crown prince could charge into battle, why couldn't the princess?
If it weren't for the need to command the army, he would have even personally taken to the front lines.
"Oh no! The princess is going to take the field herself!" someone whispered furtively inside the city gate.
"Before leaving, the dean repeatedly emphasized that the lord must not be allowed to come into danger." The group muttered to themselves as they ran.
The news quickly spread throughout Huiwen Academy, and most people were somewhat panicked.
They were, after all, scholars, and lacked the youthful vigor of soldiers.
"The princess is the dean's woman. If anything happens to her, how will we explain it to the dean? Damn it, let's fight them!" Honest and simple Niu Hanhan picked up a brick and was about to rush towards the city gate.
They rescued Xia Linglong because she was Lin Ping's woman, not because she was a princess.
In the eyes of the students at Huiwen Academy, Lin Ping is the most important person.
"Hey, you silly cow, what are you doing?" Xu Congcong asked loudly.
"Let's get him!" Niu Hanhan replied angrily.
Honest people don't mean they don't have a temper; if you cross their bottom line, they often unleash unparalleled energy.
"How many people can you take down with your bricklaying skills? Didn't the dean say that extraordinary measures should be used in extraordinary times?" Xu Congcong reminded him.
Niu Hanhan thought this made sense, so he forcefully smashed the brick he was carrying...
The situation outside the city gate was already quite dire; the enemy's vanguard was less than 300 meters from the gate.
The Ningguo Prefecture's private army charged forward like they were on drugs.
"Open the city gates!" Xia Linglong personally selected three thousand cavalrymen, ready to fight the enemy to the death.
Little did he know that these three thousand men were no match for the enemy. Not to mention the tens of thousands of troops of Ningguo Prefecture, the thousand experts of Lotus Palace alone could wipe them all out.
The soldiers guarding the city looked at each other, not daring to disobey the crown prince's orders, and could only slowly open the city gates.
"Want to fight to the death? That's just overestimating yourself!" The Lord of Ningguo City was overjoyed, waiting for the guards at the city gate to rush out and die.
A cold smile appeared on Lü Yan's face. Based on his understanding of the imperial court, there was no particularly powerful army in Yingtian Prefecture that could cause any trouble.
"Wait a minute..." Xu Congcong shouted in a drawn-out tone.
The voice was quite loud. Xia Linglong glanced back and didn't recognize it.
The soldiers guarding the city were even less likely to obey Xu Congcong's orders and continue to keep the city gates wide open.
“Your Highness, I am Xu Congcong!” he shouted.
"Who is Xu Congcong?" Xia Linglong scratched his head, looking at the other man's scholarly attire with displeasure: "Useless scholar, get lost!"
The Kingdom of Wu is now in its golden age, and literature is flourishing.
This is both a good thing and a bad thing.
An increase in the number of scholars can improve the overall quality of the Wu Kingdom, preventing the prevalence of vulgar insults from commoners.
But this trend stifled the development of the army. No one was willing to go to the front lines to fight the enemy. Wasn't it more comfortable to stay at home and indulge in literature? Wouldn't it be better to invite a few fellow poets to enjoy tea together? Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to invite a few like-minded friends to visit a brothel together?
Xia Linglong deeply abhorred this situation, yet he couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the literati, but deep down he didn't think highly of these Confucian scholars.
Therefore, Xu Congcong's obstruction enraged him.
Under Xia Linglong's reprimand, Xu Congcong was terrified. The other party was the Crown Prince, a natural-born king.
If it were anyone else, they might have been driven away by the shouts, but Xu Congcong was different; he often faced Lin Ping's gaze.
"I am a student of Huiwen Academy, a disciple personally taught by the Dean. I have come here to present this peerless weapon. I hope Your Highness will remain calm."
Xu Congcong was shrewd; in crucial moments, Lin Ping's name still came in handy.