Phi-Fic Chapter 182 Important Items
Chapter 182 Important Items
From the beginning of the war until mid-July of the fourth year of Xiangyuan, the White Tiger Army suffered defeat after defeat.
When the war broke out in early July, the people of the Thirteen States were more filled with resentment than fear. There were always people waving their fists on the streets and shouting "Kill all the barbarians and avenge my blood." Everyone had bloodshot eyes, eagerly hoping that the White Tiger Army could tear off a piece of flesh and blood from the barbarians.
Now that the news of consecutive defeats has spread, it is like pouring a bucket of cold water on one's head. Only the small piece of good news that "the barbarians have still not been able to break through Ningzhou" can still support half of the confidence.
At the same time, the people began to criticize the White Tiger Army. If the initial defeat could be explained as being caught off guard by the barbarians, then the subsequent defeats were simply beyond all reason.
The whole city was in turmoil and people were in panic.
White Tiger Army, commander-in-chief is marching in his camp.
Compared to the hustle and bustle outside where people were rushing to carry the wounded and sort out their weapons, the inside of the tent was eerily quiet. Qiao Juchong stood firmly in front of the sand table where the situation was not optimistic, while Chu Yunchuan, who had a gloomy face, was sitting on the ground at the door of the tent.
They are waiting for something that can bring them back to life.
In the past half month, the White Tiger Army had lost nearly 4,000 soldiers in battles both large and small. All the corpses looked the same, with their internal organs broken and their bones and flesh rotten, just like Chawacuo who was first infected with the Suhe poison in Weizhou.
With Yang Jinlang's testimony, Chu Yunchuan secretly prepared with Qiao Juchong long before the battle, and ordered the soldiers to strictly check all the food and water in the garrison, not leaving the barbarians any chance to poison. But on the battlefield, thousands of soldiers still died suddenly and strangely, and the source of the poison could not be found at all, as if the poison was drifting from the air and killed people as soon as they smelled it.
If it weren't for the Stonehenge, the barbarians would have invaded Wu County long ago. But so far, they still don't know how the barbarians poisoned them.
The White Tiger Army had never fought such a cowardly battle.
But Stonehenge was not created by gods after all, and it was a blessing that it could last for half a month. If Su He continued to torment Ningzhou, it would only be a matter of time before it fell.
No matter what, Ningzhou must not be lost.
Chu Yunchuan reached into his arms and stroked a letter inside. The rough texture under his fingertips calmed his anxious heart. This was a letter from Bai Zhi. There were eight simple words on the paper: Already reunited, very safe.
Suddenly, a long neigh of a horse was heard outside the tent, and Chu Yunchuan and Qiao Juchong looked towards the door at the same time.
Finally here.
The soldiers guarding outside had received the commander's order and immediately lifted the curtain for the newcomer. Chu Yunchuan was caught off guard when he saw the newcomer and was stunned: "Changfeng?"
The person who came was Changfeng.
Chang Feng's clothes were soaked with sweat. He didn't have time to rest. He took off his bag and said to Chu Yunchuan, "I'm worried about others sending me off."
The bag was heavy with Su He's antidote.
At this point, Chu Yunchuan had no time to feel guilty about tormenting Changfeng, and immediately said to Qiao Juchong: "General Qiao, please call the doctor quickly and give the antidote."
Qiao Juchong called the sergeant over and gave him orders, then asked Changfeng, "My dear brother, have the military supplies arrived?"
"General Qiao, the gold and food are still on the way, escorted by the secret guards. I am fast and I am here first." Changfeng turned to Chu Yunchuan and said, "Fang Zhiheng has something to tell Your Highness. I am afraid that the antidote may not be 100% effective. Please find another way to prepare for any eventuality."
"In the past few days, I have called many experts from Ningzhou to test the poison, and they all said that it was indeed Su He. If the antidote doesn't work, then we will be helpless against this poison in the short term." Chu Yunchuan sighed, "Changfeng, report to Fang Zhiheng and ask him to guard the rear and protect the people's daily lives."
Chang Feng shook his head: "Your Highness, just send the secret guards to deliver the letter. I will be useful here."
Chu Yunchuan frowned: "No, this is a border killing field, and there is also the Su He fierce poison. It is not enough to just be a martial arts master."
"Your Highness forgot that I went to the battlefield, but I didn't save anyone." Chang Feng said quietly, "Your Highness wants to avenge His Highness, and I also have my revenge to avenge."
His tone was neither salty nor bland, and only upon closer inspection could one see that his jaw was clenched tightly.
Chu Yunchuan has not forgotten what Changfeng said about going to the battlefield. That was the day he least wanted to recall.
On that day, King Xian Jing was beheaded by Gu Feng, Queen Xian Jing was burned to death by angry people, and the cities of the thirteen states were all destroyed. For him, it was the true destruction of his country and his family.
At that time, he was still a teenager and could only watch his hometown and parents destroyed.
"...Okay, the vengeance of the Thirteen States must be repaid tenfold by the barbarians."
This time, the same thing will never happen again.
Mid-July, ghosts run around everywhere.
The big stone formation firmly guarded a corner of the place where people could eat and sleep in peace, and Wu County also slowly stabilized from the initial panic, looting and killing. Unlike people in other places who were happy first and sad later, the people were sad first and happy later, and the ups and downs were even more intense.
In the ecstasy after sorrow, people are bound to be too open-minded.
The people on the street were no longer in a panic to flee Wu County. On the contrary, many young and middle-aged men and women blocked the gate of the county government office and shouted that they wanted to join the army and seek revenge.
Lord Sun was so annoyed that he could not even read the official documents, so he sent a few yamen runners to comfort these warriors from morning till night every day: "The White Tiger Army is an elite division, and each of them needs to train for a few years before they can go to the battlefield. Even if you join the army now, you will not be able to avenge yourself!"
It works, but not much.
Today happens to be the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and the brave men cannot join the army, so they put all their enthusiasm into commemorating the souls of the dead. They dug out the old paper money left over from the Thirteen States Rebellion, and burned it all at nightfall. They drank tea instead of wine, crying and wailing, to commemorate the soldiers who had died for their country since the war began.
They were about to follow the old custom and spill tea on the ground, but Bai Zhi, who happened to be passing by, saw them and hurriedly stepped forward to stop them: "There's not enough tea for the living! Just use your fingertips to sprinkle some on the ground! The gift is small, but the sentiment is great!"
The warriors looked at each other, and one of the younger guys was unwilling to do so: "Miss Bai, the White Tiger Army is fighting bloody battles at the front, why are they not worth a few bowls of tea?"
His sister behind him hit him and said, "How can you talk to Miss Bai like that? She came all the way from Weizhou to treat the soldiers' injuries. Does she owe us anything?"
"But she despises those who died on the battlefield!"
"You're still talking about it! Look at me, I'm going to beat you up!"
Bai Zhi: "..."
"Brothers and sisters, Miss Bai is right. The war has not been won yet. No matter what, we must put the living first!" A strong man with a beard waved his arms and shouted, "But just sprinkling a few drops of tea is not enough for the memorial. I think it would be better to drag out those barbarians captured a few days ago and chop them alive to commemorate the dead souls! At the same time, we should also pay tribute to Prince Jing who is in charge of Ningzhou!"
With one call, a hundred people responded. Several people immediately walked out of the crowd and went to escort the barbarians in a heroic and high-spirited manner.