Чистое сердце в нефритовом сосуде - Глава 94
The soldiers below charged relentlessly, but very few managed to scale the wall. And even those who did, what then? They too fell instantly to the enemy's blades. I glanced ahead and saw General Du and Shen Zexuan sitting motionless on their horses, watching wave after wave of soldiers fall. Was this ancient warfare? Using flesh and blood to withstand sharp blades and cold spears, exchanging the deaths of countless soldiers for a city, for the glorious achievements of a general, for the emperor's beautiful empire?
What exactly did those soldiers want? Even if they won, what would they gain? And among the people of the city, how many truly cared who ruled them? Has anyone asked the people, the soldiers, what they were thinking?
The number of corpses below the city walls grew ever higher, and the stench of blood filled the air. That land had long been soaked in countless drops of blood. Looking at the ever-rising pile of bodies, I wondered for a moment if they were using them to build a ramp to climb the towering city walls. Glancing at the soldiers in front of and behind me, I secretly calculated whether if all of them were piled up, they could reach the height of the city wall…
Just then, I heard a cheer from the ranks. I looked ahead and saw Cui Lang holding a powerful bow, an arrow piercing the air. Immediately, a banner on the city wall snapped its pole and fell down the wall. Looking to the side, there was another broken flagpole, which must have been shot down earlier. The cheers must have come from that.
Another cheer erupted from the ranks, even louder than before. The general on the city wall walked expressionlessly to the broken flagpole, deftly pulled out the broken pole, threw it off the city wall, and ordered his men to plant a new flag.
The distance from Cui Lang's position to the enemy's city wall was at least three hundred meters. Although this action had no real impact on the enemy, it greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers on this side. The soldiers shouted loudly and continued to surge towards the city wall like a tide.
I shook my head. Although Cui Lang was incredibly strong and skilled in martial arts, and although I understood the principle that "it is easy to find a thousand soldiers, but difficult to find a general," I still felt very uncomfortable watching those generals watch their soldiers charge into battle while they themselves just sat on their horses. I felt that all human lives are equal. If someone kills me, I can fight back, but I would never ask someone to risk their life for me.
The battle below the city walls remained fierce, everyone's eyes fixed intently on the position. The rain of arrows from the city walls was thinning, presumably because they were running out of arrows, and the morale of the soldiers below rose again. Was this really a matter of fighting head-on? I looked at the soldiers around me. If we really captured Yunzhou, how many of these men would be left? Yunzhou was only the first city we were trying to retake; what about the others?
At this moment, black smoke and red light suddenly appeared in Yunzhou City, and the soldiers on the city wall were slightly confused. General Du shouted, "It's done! Men, charge!" and led the surging crowd to rush towards the city wall a few hundred meters away. The city gate of Yunzhou slowly opened at this time, and the enemy troops who rushed out fought with the Iron Army. This time, it was a real hand-to-hand battle.
We stood at the back on horseback, not charging forward. We exchanged glances and gathered around Shen Haoyu. Shen Haoyu chuckled softly, "Is this their last resort?" Gazing at the raging fires within Yunzhou City, I ultimately couldn't utter a word.
The Iron Army won the battle with an overwhelming numerical advantage. After entering Yunzhou City, many soldiers were busy putting out fires, while many civilians huddled to the side and wept. They did not show any particular cheers for the Iron Army's victorious entry into the city.
A portion of the army was sent to pursue the fleeing enemy forces, while the rest were used to reorganize and clean up Yunzhou City, resettle the city's inhabitants, and then the main force was stationed in Yunzhou City again.
It was later learned that General Du had inadvertently discovered a secret passage in the deep mountains outside Yunzhou City that led to the city. After secretly sending people to investigate, he found that such a passage did exist. He then sent men through the passage to infiltrate Yunzhou City as inside agents to create chaos. He also led a large army to launch a fierce attack on the city to confuse the enemy and create more opportunities for the agents inside the city. Before the battle, another group of men entered the city through the secret passage to meet up with the army outside the city. With this inside-outside cooperation, the 100,000 enemy troops stationed in Yunzhou were reduced to less than 50,000, while 30,000 of the Iron Army were killed in action.
It turns out that those soldiers who attacked the city were not even the vanguard, but merely smokescreens used as expendable pawns.
After retaking Yunzhou, the secret passage outside the city was immediately filled in.
I don't know who devised this plan; thinking of Shen Haoyu's mocking laugh, he certainly didn't know either. And Shen Zexuan? Perhaps in their eyes, this is already quite good.
It is said that because of Chen Dan, the Xuan Ying army encountered little resistance from Jin Yan Pass to Yunzhou. Most cities merely made a show of surrendering to Xuan Ying, and the defending troops also defected. If they hadn't arrived in time, Bozhou might have also fallen into Xuan Ying's hands. Because of this, the fallen cities were not significantly damaged, but the Iron Army's attack burned Yunzhou to the ground. No wonder the city's inhabitants didn't have much affection for the Iron Army's arrival. Indeed, they could still live well under enemy control, but with their own army, their homes were completely destroyed.
The most embarrassing thing is that the original 30,000 garrison troops of Yunzhou City had surrendered to Xuan Ying. After Xuan Ying's defeat, they still chose to abandon Yunzhou and retreat to Qingzhou with Xuan Ying.
I couldn't help but wonder, after sacrificing tens of thousands of lives and losing the hearts of the people of Yunzhou, was this battle a victory or a defeat? Yet, I felt even more admiration for Chen Dan. Those people, whether commoners or soldiers, weren't loyal to Xuan Ying or You Jingchao; they simply trusted their great general. No wonder some wanted to eliminate him.
Fortunately, the generals were still somewhat sensible. Realizing that the people were not at peace, they summoned the people back together, whom they thought had been settled, and had the army help them rebuild their houses. This calmed the public resentment somewhat.
Yunzhou City was quite desolate. Several days had passed, and I could still faintly smell the burnt odor. The food was a step down from what I had eaten in Bozhou. I ate a few bites and then put down my chopsticks. Zinuo also stopped eating.
"What should we do?" I sighed and looked at Zinuo. The food at Shen Haoyu's place hasn't been very good these past few days, so I haven't even considered going there for a treat.
I took out the melon seeds that Shen Haoyu had bought in Ningzhou and sat outside the door to start eating them. Shen Haoyu also came out of the room and, seeing me sitting on the stone steps, squatted down as well: "Do you want to go out and take a look?"
"If Your Highness wants to go out, we will of course accompany you as guards. But if you ask for my opinion—I don't want to go out!" The whole of Yunzhou is lifeless, there's nothing to see or eat outside.
"I heard there's a restaurant in Yunzhou with really good food," Shen Haoyu tempted me, but I wasn't fooled: "That restaurant has already closed down."
When I go to a new place, asking about the local delicacies is something I never forget, as long as conditions permit. Last time I went to Pingcheng, due to special circumstances, I missed out on quite a few.
"The restaurant is closed, but I found one of its chefs." Shen Haoyu said with a smile, and I believed him then, because he hadn't been eating much these past few days, so he must have put in the effort to improve his diet.
We summoned a large group of guards and marched out the door in a grand procession. Zhao Ming led the way to a small shop and gestured for Shen Haoyu to come in. Shen Haoyu then led me, Zinuo, Song Zhixuan, Lin Zhao, Zhao Ming, and me inside, while the others remained outside.
Glancing at the simple tables and chairs inside, Shen Haoyu frowned: "Are you sure this is the place?"
Zhao Ming quickly replied, "This is indeed the place." Then he called out to the inside, "Could you please ask Master Tang to come out for a moment?"
But then the person inside said, "Sir, please write down what you would like to eat on a piece of paper first. I am currently unavailable."
Zhao Ming picked up a thin wooden board on the table, on which some dish names were written. Shen Haoyu ordered a few, and Zhao Ming wrote them down on the paper. After a while, an unremarkable old man with a goatee came out of the room. He was nothing like the fat, big-eared chefs I remembered.
Zhao Ming handed over the paper, and Chef Tang glanced at it and shook his head, saying, "Many dishes are unavailable now, so you'll have to order again, sir."
"Just make whatever dishes we can with the current ingredients!" Shen Haoyu said, sounding slightly annoyed. Chef Tang responded and went back into the kitchen. Soon, a delicious aroma wafted from inside, and I couldn't help but swallow.
One dish after another was served, their names unknown, but all looked and smelled delicious. Seeing our drooling faces, Shen Haoyu smiled and said, "Let's eat together." We often ate at the same table, so we sat down without ceremony, but Zhao Ming didn't dare and went outside by himself.
When the last dish was served, Shen Haoyu had to give another instruction: "Chef Tang, there are still quite a few people outside. Do you think you can make something for them as well?" Chef Tang then withdrew again.
Since we weren't at the same table as Shen Haoyu, when we went to invite Zhao Ming and the others in for dinner, they didn't refuse anymore. Tang's small restaurant was soon filled with our food.
After finishing his meal, Shen Haoyu asked Chef Tang how business was at his small shop. Chef Tang smiled and said, "How good can things be these days?"
When asked how much money he could earn each day, Mr. Tang said not much, just enough to pay for his wife's medical treatment. Mr. Tang's wife suffered from a condition similar to hemiplegia and was unable to move. His only son had to stay home to take care of his mother. After the restaurant closed, Mr. Tang had no choice but to rent this shop and return to his old trade to earn some money for medicine.
Shen Haoyu wanted Master Tang to come with him, offering him double the wages he currently earns at his shop, but Master Tang refused, saying that his son and wife were here, and he couldn't go anywhere else. Shen Haoyu had no choice but to give up, but before leaving, he still gave Master Tang a large ingot of silver.
"If I had known this would happen, I should have brought one less guard and instead brought a cook," Shen Haoyu said regretfully after leaving the house.
He really is a pampered young prince, yet he still comforted him, saying, "At least we can still patronize Master Tang's shop while we're in Yunzhou."
Shen Haoyu shook his head and said, "I won't come again."
I was initially surprised, but after a little thought, I gradually understood.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 79
Chapter word count: 4486 Update time: 09-08-24 13:39
After regrouping in Yunzhou, leaving 20,000 troops to garrison the city, the main army set off again towards Qingzhou. Yunzhou and Qingzhou are more than 300 li apart, making a day's journey impossible. The troops could only camp in the open and then devise a plan to capture Qingzhou. Without the support of strong city walls, the selection of a site for encampment became crucial, requiring both ease of attack and the ability to withstand enemy assaults.
I don't know how those generals assessed which location was suitable for setting up camp, but the next afternoon I saw people bustling about on a hilltop, and I had a vague feeling that something was amiss. Although I don't understand military strategy, I have read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and several famous battles in my textbook. I vaguely remember that in the lesson "The Loss of Jieting," Ma Su ignored Wang Ping's advice and insisted on setting up camp on a hilltop, resulting in the painful loss of Jieting.
Knowing that Song Zhixuan and the others had read military books, they asked the question that had been bothering them. Song Zhixuan smiled faintly and said, "Huai'en's concerns are not without reason. However, everything has two sides. Moreover, our army is now numerous, and the terrain here is high. If there is any unusual activity around us, it will be easy to see. It will not be easy to surround us."