On the city tower, the alarm bell rang, and the fire pots placed every few meters on the city wall lit up like dragons holding pearls, brightening the night as if it were day.
The defenders rushed out of the city like a swarm of locusts, climbing the city tower in a frenzy.
A dozen or so skilled climbers with eagle claws rushed down to open the city gate, but they found it difficult to advance.
There were few who could climb the wall with ropes, so Chu Chengji and Lin Yao personally cleared the way.
With the support of Wang Biao and Zhao Kui, two powerful generals, they fought their way to the bottom of the city gate.
Chu Chengji and Lin Yao provided cover while Zhao Kui and Wang Biao worked together to open the heavy city gate.
The reinforcements outside shouted and charged in, joining the fight with the defenders inside the city.
The number of defenders on the city tower was limited, and they were quickly overwhelmed by this unidentified army.
The remaining defenders of Qingzhou City, led by Wen Xun, formed up inside the city gate to meet the enemy.
Surprisingly, their leader was a Confucian scholar in a scholar’s robe.
The scholar shouted, “Who are these petty people who dare to invade our land of Qingzhou?”
Lin Yao, observing from afar, whispered to Chu Chengji, “It seems that there is really no one left in Qingzhou City. A scholar has taken up the job of a general.”
These few remaining troops blocking the way numbered only a thousand or so. With a command, they could easily rout the enemy.
Chu Chengji looked at the thin scholar standing alone in front of the formation, with a complex expression in his eyes.
This scholar, named Song Heqing, was a close friend of the Duke of Qin.
He used to work in the Imperial Censorate.
It can be said that he had a part in the smooth marriage between the former Crown Prince and the Qin family’s daughter.
Song Heqing was known for his strict integrity, bordering on being rigid.
He was disdainful of making friends with others.
He had impeached officials of all sizes in the court for their wrongdoings.
During the reign of Emperor Chu Yang, when the emperor neglected state affairs and focused on alchemy in search of immortality, Song Heqing’s impeachment documents even scolded the emperor mercilessly.
Emperor Chu Yang was furious and wanted to execute him, but the Duke of Qin, even at the risk of offending the emperor, insisted on saving Song Heqing’s life.
Thus, he was demoted to be a county magistrate under Qingzhou.
When the former Crown Prince proposed to marry the Qin family’s daughter again, and the eldest daughter of the Qin family could still refuse with the excuse of an existing engagement, the former Crown Prince, in order to force Qin Zheng to marry into the Eastern Palace, proposed to marry the younger daughter of the Qin family.
When the Duke of Qin refused again, it was undoubtedly a sign of disrespect to the imperial family, once again offending the emperor, which led to the regrettable incident of the Crown Prince’s consort marrying into the Eastern Palace.
Song Heqing was temporarily appointed as the governor of Qingzhou after the previous governor’s death.
Chu Chengji instructed the others behind him, “Wait here, I will go forward and negotiate with him.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Yao immediately realized that the other party might be an old acquaintance of Chu Chengji from the Chu Kingdom.
Chu Chengji rode forward alone, both sides tensed their bows, and the burning torches stretched his shadow long.
His face, like a crown jade, flickered in the firelight.
Song Heqing squinted at the lone negotiator approaching, his old and thin figure standing tall like a pine tree.
Today, he had gathered hundreds of remaining soldiers with the determination to die in battle.
The enemy outnumbered them, yet they chose to negotiate instead of attacking, which surprised him.
But no matter what the other side’s intentions were, as long as the lives of the people of Qingzhou were safe, he was willing to die without regret.
As Chu Chengji approached, Song Heqing saw his face clearly. In his eyes, filled with years of experience and worldly understanding, a glimmer of murky tears appeared.
Chu Chengji dismounted and bowed to Song Heqing, “Master Song.”
There was a time when Song Heqing was also frustrated and resentful, especially when the Crown Prince’s actions were absurd.
But after the fall of the Chu Kingdom and the self-destruction of the Chu Emperor, when he saw Chu Chengji again, all he felt was deep sorrow. “Your Highness...”
Chu Chengji said, “The invasion of foreign tribes, internal turmoil, the country in ruins, and the people in misery. The one sitting on the throne today is not a wise ruler. I intend to restore the country, protect the people, and although Master Song only taught me for half a day, you are still my teacher. I do not wish to meet you on the battlefield. If Master Song is willing to serve Great Chu, I offer you a seat of honor.”
With these words that touched on both emotion and reason, every word struck at Song Heqing’s heart.
He was already shedding tears.
If the situation were not turbulent and the people under his rule were not suffering, he would have long followed his friends’ example and died with a clear conscience.
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Song Heqing lifted his official robe and knelt down, his back, as straight as a pine tree, finally bowed down. “I am willing to follow Your Highness to the death!”
The hundreds of officials and soldiers behind Song Heqing also put away their weapons and shouted in unison, “We are willing to follow the Crown Prince to restore Great Chu!”
Zhao Kui, sitting on his horse with a hammer, looked puzzled and asked Wang Biao, “What are they shouting over there? Something about a Crown Prince?”
They were too far away, and they couldn’t hear what Chu Chengji and Song Heqing were saying.
Wang Biao scratched his head, “How would I know?”
He looked to Lin Yao for help.
Lin Yao said, “The strategist is the former Crown Prince.”
There was a collective gasp from the surrounding soldiers.
Wang Biao almost bit his tongue, “The... the Crown Prince?”
Lin Yao knew it was time, raised his weapon, and shouted, “Follow the Crown Prince, restore Great Chu!”
Because of what he had just said, those in front knew what was going on.
They raised their weapons and joined in the shouting.
Those behind, seeing this, thought that they had been working for the Crown Prince all along, just hiding it well.
With no reason to rise up, they also raised their weapons and echoed the cry, creating a resounding call.
With the plan to take over Qingzhou City after its capture, Chu Chengji had already discussed with Lin Yao on the mountain.
With Song Heqing’s strong support and an extra thousand troops, taking over Qingzhou City was even smoother than expected.
That night, the flags of Great Chu were raised on the city tower of Qingzhou.
Many important matters needed to be dealt with that night, and Chu Chengji personally inspected the military defenses.
He strictly ordered the army entering the city not to disturb the people of Qingzhou.
Any violators would be dealt with by military law.
After running around with Chu Chengji all night, although he didn’t fight a tough battle, when Lin Yao returned to the Qingzhou Prefectural Government Office, he was still tired and his legs were sore.
He took off the hot cloth armor and put it aside.
After seeing Chu Chengji return, Lin Yao noticed he was about to write something with ink, and thought he had forgotten to take off his cloth armor.
He kindly reminded him, “Your Highness, if you’re hot, you can take off the cotton inside the armor.”
Chu Chengji just said, “I’m not hot.”
Lin Yao looked at the bead of sweat on his forehead suspiciously.
Wasn’t he hot?
Just as dawn broke, there was a knock on the cabin door. “Master, urgent news!”
Shen Yanzhi raised his head from the desk, and not far away, there was an empty wine jar lying on the ground.
The consequence of a hangover was a splitting headache, and his eyes were bloodshot.
He spoke hoarsely, “Come in.”
“Master, Qingzhou City has been lost.” Chen Qing’s face was grim.
Shen Yanzhi pressed his temple with his hand, his gaze suddenly sharp as a knife. “What?”
“Last night, the former Crown Prince led troops to capture Qingzhou City.”
A vein bulged on Shen Yanzhi’s forehead, his voice cold, “Wasn’t the former Crown Prince besieged at the foot of the two mountains? How did he get to Qingzhou City?”
“Our scouts found horseshoe prints at the foot of Langya Mountain, followed them, and found that someone had built a rope bridge between the two mountains. It seems that the bandits came down the mountain using the rope bridge.”
Shen Yanzhi’s mouth twitched with a thin smile, his whole body exuding a more terrifying sense of collapse. “What kind of scouts do we have? How could they not know about a rope bridge connecting the two mountains?”
Chen Qing lowered his head, “The scouts had investigated before. There is a Yuan River between the two mountains, at least fifty feet apart, with no bridges or rope bridges connecting them.”
This sudden appearance of a rope bridge was indeed unbelievable to Chen Qing.
Shen Yanzhi sneered, “Are you trying to say that the rope bridge appeared out of thin air?”
Chen Qing lowered his head even more, “I dare not.”
Shen Yanzhi quickly made a judgment on the current situation, “Leave a thousand troops to guard the entrance to the bandit’s den, and send another thousand to attack Langya Mountain from the rope bridge. If you find the Crown Prince’s consort, do not harm her. The rest, follow me to retake Qingzhou City!”
Of the thirty thousand troops sent to eliminate the bandits, twenty thousand had gone south, and the remaining ten thousand were being supported by the Qingzhou granary.
Shen Yanzhi had secretly stayed in Qingzhou, intending to hold out until the grain and grass on the mountain were exhausted, kill the former Crown Prince, and take Qin Zheng away.
He never expected such an unexpected event halfway through.
He simply didn’t believe that with eight thousand elite troops, he couldn’t defeat the ragtag bandits under the former Chu Crown Prince!
Langya Mountain.
Qin Zheng had returned late last night, but she was still concerned about what was happening in the village.
Her sleep was lighter than usual, and when she heard the nearby crowing of chickens, she woke up.
Upon getting up, she found that there were occasional “cooing” sounds coming from outside the window.
She walked over and opened the window to see a pigeon perched outside. It seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and there was a hint of dissatisfaction in its eyes.
After Qin Zheng took the letter from the pigeon’s foot, she sprinkled some crushed rice as usual before it flew away.
She stood at the window for a while and couldn’t help but feel that the pigeon seemed rounder than before.
The letter was sent by Chu Chengji, saying that they had successfully taken Qingzhou City.
Qin Zheng’s heart, which had been hanging by a thread all night, finally returned to its original place.
Last night, fearing that something might happen, she had been thinking about how to strengthen the defense works on the back hill.
The cliffs were bare without any trees to cover them.
If they were attacked, their people could only hide in the woods for shelter, which was too passive.
Qin Zheng had people use bricks and stones burned when making tiles to build some simple shelters on the cliffs.
One could only say that being prepared in advance was indeed effective.
When there was a situation reported at the back hill, Qin Zheng hurriedly went there with Lin Zhao.
When they arrived at the back hill, they saw a black mass of officials and soldiers standing on the opposite cliff.
Behind the brick shelters built last night, there were two archers hidden behind each, with palm-sized openings just big enough to shoot arrows outward but small enough to avoid being hit by enemy arrows.
Having two archers hidden was mainly to cover for each other.
While one archer was reloading, the other could cover, preventing the attacking enemy from taking advantage.
Lin Zhao looked at the opposite cliff, her hand holding the sickle tightened a bit. “The government can still send so many people to attack the stronghold. I’m afraid there will be a fierce battle in Qingzhou City.”
There were fewer than a hundred young men and women left in the stronghold.
If the government troops attacked, it would be a crushing victory for them.
Qin Zheng was afraid she might act impulsively, so she analyzed the current situation for her, “The terrain of Liangyan Mountain is such that as long as we hold on, no matter how many government troops come, they won’t be able to do anything to us. Your brother and the others are probably just defending and not attacking. Now we have an abundance of food and grass. The government troops won’t be able to get supplies from Qingzhou City, and by then, they will be in disarray.”
Lin Zhao pounded the tree next to her, “Then let’s drag it out!”
The iron cable on the other side was cut off. When the officials and soldiers on the other side pushed several bed crossbows to the opposite cliff, Qin Zheng realized that it was not going to work.
They actually tied the rope to the arrow of the bed crossbow, and with the huge explosive force of the bed crossbow, they shot the arrow onto the cliff on this side, thus the rope reached this side, forming a simple rope bridge.
The officials and soldiers tied a rope around their waist and the other end to the thick rope that came over with the arrow.
They were climbing the thick rope slowly towards this side.
It was obvious that the officials and soldiers on the other side also understood the principle of the rope bridge and wanted to use this method to ferry across.
Lin Zhao, worried that they would really attack, was about to step forward with her knife, “I’ll go cut that rope!”
Qin Zheng stopped her, her tone firm, “They won’t make it.”
When she first sent the rope over with the bed crossbow, she did not directly shoot the arrow into the rock, but let the people of the Lu family cooperate and tie one end of the rope to the tree before ferrying the iron cable.
There was no other reason than that the rock on this cliff was sandstone.
If the arrow hit it, the rock would disintegrate, and if the rope was also subjected to gravity, the arrow would not be pulled out instantly.
Sure enough, as soon as Qin Zheng finished speaking, several pieces of sandstone fell from the cliff on this side, and the arrow embedded in the rock also fell into the cliff.
With the main cable loosened, the officials and soldiers climbing the main cable also fell down, and for a while, the entire cliff echoed with the screams of those officials and soldiers.
Falling from such a height into the swift Yuan River below, there was basically no chance of survival.
With a few people serving as experiments, the officials and soldiers on the opposite side knew that this method was not feasible and did not intend to use it again to attack.
This stalemate lasted for several days, with people watching over the back hill around the clock.
If there was any slight movement, it would be reported to Qin Zheng and Lin Zhao.
After Chu Chengji and Lin Yao left, Qin Zheng and Lin Zhao were almost in the same position in the stronghold as they were in their original positions.
Qin Zheng knew that they were in a stalemate on their side, and she was afraid that the situation with Chu Chengji and the remaining army besieging Qingzhou City was also in a stalemate.
Worried about any unforeseen circumstances, she proposed to Lin Zhao to teach the young women in the stronghold some self-defense moves. If things came to a head, they wouldn’t be helpless.
Lin Zhao readily agreed.
The young women in the stronghold understood the current situation and the constant awareness of the imminent danger of losing their lives, so they all learned very seriously.
Qin Zheng also practiced with them.
She didn’t expect to become very skilled, but staying fit and being able to protect oneself in danger seemed worthwhile.
Although she felt a bit sore in her back and waist from the excessive exercise in the first few days, she gradually got used to it.
She even began to appreciate the benefits of martial arts and often asked Lin Zhao to give her some personal instruction.
After teaching for a few days, Lin Zhao’s enthusiasm for being an instructor was ignited.
One day after finishing the practice with everyone, she eagerly asked Qin Zheng, “Sister Zheng, what do you think about me forming a women’s army in the future?”