inspire-indiana Chapter 235: The Fall of the Border Town
Chapter 235: The Fall of the Border Town
"Woo!"
At dusk, animal horns sounded and Beimang's attack began again.
During these ten days, the people of Beimang were divided into two groups, attacking the city day and night in turns, tirelessly.
On the other hand, the soldiers and civilians in the city had no sleep day or night, and the food in the city had been exhausted. They were sleepy, hungry and tired. They were exhausted by the relentless attacks of the Beimang people and only relied on their strong willpower to persevere.
"Hold on!"
The Marquis of Zhenbei swung his sword to chop down another wave of enemies attacking the city wall, and shouted loudly to those around him.
"what!"
With a roar filled with endless grief and unwillingness, the Marquis of Zhenbei, covered in blood, swung his sword, the blade of which had been bent long ago, towards the enemy.
On the city wall, the fighting continued.
I don't know how long it took before the sky in the east gradually brightened and the sounds of fighting began to subside. After a desperate fight, they finally resisted another round of siege by the Beimang people.
Exhausted, the Zhenbei Marquis' legs trembled as he collapsed to the ground with a thud. Corpses lay everywhere, both those of the Beimang people and those of the Daqi army and civilians. The city was devastated, with almost no one standing on the walls.
At this moment, news came from the south.
"My Lord! Good news! Reinforcements have arrived."
Marquis Zhenbei struggled to get up.
The south city gate was wide open, and an elite cavalry was entering the city. Judging from the flags, they were reinforcements from Liangzhou.
"Great!"
Marquis Zhenbei stepped forward to greet him.
They finally received reinforcements and the border town was finally saved.
The leader was none other than Zhao Dayong, the Liangzhou garrison commander. He dismounted with a bang, and supported the staggering Zhenbei Marquis, saying,
"Your Majesty, you have worked hard. Don't worry, I have brought reinforcements. Your Majesty, rest assured to recover from your injuries. I will take over the defense of the border city."
After saying that, he waved his hand and two people came to help the Marquis of Zhenbei back to the government office to rest and bandage his wounds.
In this battle, the border town defenders were almost completely wiped out, but fortunately they held on and waited for reinforcements at the last moment. The remaining hundreds of soldiers finally felt relieved and rested peacefully in the government office.
In the afternoon, the lieutenant general of the Zhenbei Marquis rushed in covered in blood, and shouted at the Zhenbei Marquis who had fallen asleep on the table:
"My Lord! The city gate has been breached!"
"What? What happened? Where's General Zhao?"
The Marquis of Zhenbei suddenly woke up, only to see the lieutenant general spit out a mouthful of blood and fall to the ground with a thud.
Behind him, a group of Liangzhou soldiers escorted a man who slowly walked in. The man was wrapped tightly in a black cloak, which covered his entire face, leaving only his chin exposed. In his hand, he clutched a bloody longsword.
It was he who hacked the lieutenant general to death from behind.
"Who is coming?"
The Marquis of Zhenbei grabbed the big knife beside him and asked sternly.
The man slowly took off his cloak, revealing a handsome but sinister face.
"Marquis Zhenbei, how are you?"
"Prince Jing? Haven't you already..."
The court's official report clearly stated that Prince Jing was dead. So who was the person before him? In a moment, the Marquis of Zhenbei thought of the key point:
"You faked your death!"
Prince Jing curled his lips, clapped his hands a few times, and said approvingly:
"The Marquis of Zhenbei is indeed a renowned general of the Great Qi State. His mind works with great speed. It is not in vain that I have come all this way to recruit you personally."
Prince Jing wants to march his troops south to seize the throne by force, so he needs capable ministers and generals under his command, and Marquis Zhenbei is a rare one.
The fact that the Marquis of Zhenbei was able to hold out for so many days despite the Beimang people's repeated attacks day and night for more than ten days is enough to prove his ability.
Prince Jing was really reluctant to see such a talent die.
The exhausted mind of the Zhenbei Marquis was also working rapidly. Prince Jing had faked his death and left the capital, only to appear in the northern border thousands of miles away.
The border town was attacked by Beimang without any warning. The border town he had defended for fifteen days was breached when the reinforcements from Liangzhou arrived?
In a moment, he had figured everything out.
"You want to rebel!"
The Marquis of Zhenbei pointed his broadsword at Prince Jing, and the wounds on his body that had just been bandaged opened up, and blood seeped out and instantly soaked the white cloth on his body.
He groaned and covered his chest with one hand.
"Somebody come!"
The Marquis of Zhenbei roared, but there was no sound outside the house. His heart sank to the bottom.
Prince Jing can come in so brazenly, the soldiers outside are probably in great danger.
"Zhao Dayong of Liangzhou is your man! You colluded with Beimang to lead the enemy into the pass. You want to occupy the northern border and establish yourself as king!"
"No, no no!"
Prince Jing stretched out a finger and shook it.
"What's the point of mentioning the tiny Northern Territory? I want the world of Daqi! And this was supposed to be mine!"
"If you choose to pledge your allegiance to me, I will appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the Armies of the Nation, commanding the troops of the Northern Territory. When the King ascends the throne in the future, you will be recognized as a founding hero! I will grant you the title of Duke, a hereditary title, and eternal respect."
"So, for the throne, you're willing to plunge the North into war and devastate countless lives? Do you know that the people of Beimang are extremely ambitious? You're inviting a wolf into your house!"
The Marquis of Zhenbei really couldn't believe that the prince of Daqi in front of him would do such a stupid thing for his own selfish desires.
"Letting a wolf into the house? How do you know you're not just driving the wolf into the house and devouring the tiger?"
Prince Jing looked crazy.
He offered thirty-six cities and thousands of miles of northern territory as bait, and Tuoba Hong lent him two hundred thousand soldiers. When Beimang and Daqi were both defeated, it would be his chance to reap the benefits.
"Moreover,"
Prince Jing fixed his cold eyes on Marquis Zhenbei, his voice cold and ruthless, "This isn't the first time we've worked together."
The Marquis of Zhenbei was shocked, and he almost couldn't lift the sword in his hand. The past ten years ago surged back like a surging wave.
That night, the eldest prince's mansion was engulfed in flames.
He and Duke Qing led troops to surround the eldest prince's mansion. If they saw anyone rushing out of the fire, they would kill them without mercy.
That night, swords flashed and blood flowed like a river.
"Back then, you and the Duke of Qing forged an imperial edict to murder the Crown Prince. I was deceived by you and committed such a crime. For so many years, I have lived in regret and pain. Those 137 souls have come to me day and night to seek my life. Although I am a soldier, I am a coward. For the sake of the lives of the people in the Marquisate, I chose to remain silent about what happened. Even General Pei asked me repeatedly, I never uttered a single word."
The Marquis of Zhenbei showed a look of shame on his face. The heavy burden of the past made him so painful that he could not breathe. He supported his body on the hilt of the knife and gasped for breath.
"But you've drifted further and further away from me," Prince Jing said ruthlessly. "If you hadn't been so disloyal and gradually stopped obeying my orders, I wouldn't have had to kill everyone in the border town today. If you were like Zhao Dayong and swore your allegiance to me until death, I could give you another chance."
"Chance? What a joke!"
The Prince of Zhenbei suddenly straightened his back.
"Back then, the events involved a party dispute, which could have been reversed. But now, it's a national feud! Prince Jing, you let wolves into your home and slaughtered the people of Daqi. You're even more disgusting than the maggots in the gutter! I was blind to serve you back then. Now, it's not too late to mend the situation."
"Today, I, the Marquis, will execute you, this disloyal and unrighteous villain, for the one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians who died in vain in Border Town, and for the 137 souls who died in vain in the First Prince's Palace!"