bookcurios Chapter 120 Hostage Exchange
Chapter 120 Hostage Exchange
In fact, he knew better than anyone that Mr. Xuan Su had gone to the southeast with General Feng to seek reinforcements, and it would take at least three days for the large group of troops to arrive.
Although the battle today temporarily repelled Changsun Di with the power of artillery shells, this was just a stopgap measure and did not shake his foundation at all! You know, Changsun Di is said to have 300,000 soldiers! Even if the actual number is not that much, there must be at least 200,000, right?
As for Kyoto, the garrison near Kyoto plus the Imperial Guards only numbered about 100,000 at most. Such a huge disparity in military strength was really worrying!
Chang Sun Di is a veteran of the battlefield and a brave general. He has been through hundreds of battles and is very experienced. He is definitely not an ordinary person. If he is careless, he may fall into an irreversible situation and lose everything! Facing such a powerful and cunning opponent, he must be cautious and deal with it carefully. Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous...
Mu Yunxiao couldn't take this risk. Because these shells were made overnight and there were only a few of them. If the enemy held out for another quarter of an hour, they would attack.
After Changsun Di led the army to withdraw, he ordered the entire army to retreat ten miles and set up camp. Then, he urgently summoned his generals to hold a military meeting to discuss the next battle plan.
"The artillery that appeared on the battlefield today is so powerful that it is difficult for flesh and blood to resist it!" said a lieutenant general with lingering fear.
"Yes, General, who could have made such sealing wax? If it keeps on firing for a while, we'll all be reduced to ashes. We have to send people to the city to find out the truth, and it'd be best if we could come up with a way to deal with these artillery pieces!" Another deputy general also echoed.
…………
Everyone started discussing the matter.
After careful consideration and planning, it was finally decided to send a group of smart and capable spies to infiltrate Kyoto City to collect intelligence, and then act accordingly after obtaining detailed information.
For three days afterwards, Changsun Di's army remained motionless and showed no signs of attacking. Seeing this, Mu Yunxiao did not dare to take it lightly, wondering what tricks the enemy might have. He immediately issued an order requiring all troops to remain highly alert, strengthen their defenses, and guard against sudden attacks by the enemy.
At the same time, Mu Yunxiao also knew the importance of preparing for a rainy day, and urged the soldiers to speed up the production of artillery shells and other military supplies in case of emergency. For a while, the craftsmen in the tent were busy and enthusiastic, and the scene was very busy.
On the third night, when everything was quiet, the palace suddenly burst into flames and thick smoke, and people fled in panic. In the chaos, someone saw the queen being rescued by two men in black, and they rushed straight to the west gate. The imperial guards hurriedly chased after them, but when they caught up with a shop near the west gate, they were surprised to find that the queen and the two men in black had disappeared out of thin air!
The head of the imperial guards did not dare to neglect the matter and immediately sent his men to report the matter to the emperor and organized a carpet search around the shop. The emperor was extremely anxious after hearing the news and rushed to the scene without stopping.
A quarter of an hour later, Mu Yunxiao arrived at the scene of the accident in a hurry. He scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes and soon noticed the big pot in the shop. After a careful inspection, he found that there was a secret passage leading to the outside of the city hidden under the pot. This secret passage was obviously just dug, and there were still traces of fresh soil at the entrance.
Mu Yunxiao's heart sank, and he thought to himself: "Not good! If the Queen escapes, the situation will be even more difficult to control." So, he made a prompt decision and personally led a team of elite soldiers into the secret passage to give chase.
Fortunately, the tunnel was too narrow and seemed to be built in a hurry. Not long after the Queen and her group stepped out of the tunnel, Mu Yunxiao and others quickly caught up with them, successfully intercepted them and brought them back to the city.
"After all, I was slow in action and held everyone back!" the queen sighed.
The queen was intercepted and laughed when she saw the emperor: "Zhao Tingyu, your death has come. Although you have captured me, your favorite seventh princess has been kidnapped in advance. My father will soon find out that you don’t have many soldiers and artillery shells, and he will capture the city soon. By then, none of you can escape, hahahaha..."
The laughter was as harsh and unpleasant as a night owl, and it was like the roar of an evil spirit from the depths of hell, making people shudder. It reached the emperor's ears.
When the emperor heard this, his face instantly became extremely gloomy, and sparks of anger flashed in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "I have always been very lenient to you. Even though you have committed so many mistakes, I still spared your life out of our old friendship, and I never used you as a hostage to threaten your father. But you are so ungrateful and repay kindness with enmity. You are simply a wolf without conscience!"
Before he finished speaking, the emperor turned around abruptly and gave an order to Mu Yunxiao beside him: "Immediately take this vicious woman to the top of the city wall. If Changsun Di dares to lead the army to attack the city, use her head to sacrifice to the military flag!" His voice was cold and resolute, without the slightest hesitation or mercy.
After giving his orders, the emperor resolutely turned away without even looking back, leaving the queen crying heart-wrenchingly and heartbroken behind him.
The news spread in the camp, and the soldiers knew that tomorrow would be a tough battle!
Because the seventh princess was in their hands, everyone was worried.
Sure enough, the next morning, Changsun Di led his men to the city and started shouting and cursing. This time, the soldiers in front were all using thick shields to block the front, which seemed to be newly made, much thicker than the original ones, making them like a copper wall and iron wall, as if this could block the bombardment of artillery shells.
Mu Yuanxiao still lined up the cannons on the city wall.
When Bai Xinyin heard the news, she quickly came with Mei Jiu and Qing Dai, and of course there was a bird flying above their heads.
When she arrived, the other party was negotiating with Mu Yunxiao to have the Seventh Princess and the Queen exchanged places.
This time, the queen was hung on the city wall, probably to prevent her from talking nonsense. A piece of black, smelly foot binding cloth was stuffed in her mouth. She closed her eyes and seemed to have fainted.
"Can you change the cloth for her?" Mei Jiu asked with a frown.
"Why? Girl, you feel sorry for her?" the soldier guarding her asked in confusion.
"That's not the case. I'm almost fainting from the odor. Where did the cloth come from that smells so bad?" Mei Jiu covered her nose.
"Oh, I took off my socks yesterday and didn't have time to wash them. How about I change into today's socks to block her way?" The soldier said as he was about to take off his socks.
"Oh wow, no..." The three people and the bird took a few steps back in fear, "That's good, that's good!"
Bai Xinyin thought, if I gave a pair of socks like yours to every person in the enemy camp, they would probably be defeated without even a fight. The stench is unbeatable!
The few of them moved further and further away from the queen.
Looking across, the seventh princess was also tied up and placed in a prison van.
"How could this unfortunate child be kidnapped?" Ah Dai saw it and confirmed it with his eyes wide open.
"What kind of thing is this palace built with? Anyone can come and go as they please. Let's tear it down!" Mei Jiu sighed, "Good people can't get in, but bad people can come and go as they please!"
"There's Tuxingsun in the opposing camp. What's wrong with that bastard? He digs holes all the time, and his digging skills are world-class." Ah rolled his eyes and looked at the sky.
Bai Xinyin listened to the two people's teasing without saying anything and walked straight towards Mu Yunxiao.
"Your Majesty, do you want to exchange hostages?" Bai Xinyin asked, "Is there any other way?"
"No." Mu Yunxiao also looked helpless. He ignored the constant shouting and cursing from the city. He was stalling for time to see if General Feng and his men could arrive as soon as possible. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be here today.
"Then let's change! Rescue Zhao Qing first." Bai Xinyin whispered to him.
"Okay!" Mu Yunxiao looked at Bai Xinyin, a hint of surprise flashed across his face, then he became calm again.
Mu Yunxiao said loudly to the lieutenant general who was muttering in the camp under the city wall: "Untie the princess and let her come over. I will release the deposed queen now!"
Both parties reached an agreement.
The hostages moved toward each other.
Just as Zhao Qing entered the city and closed the city gate, the queen also arrived at the enemy's military camp.
"Hahaha... tyrant, today is the day you die! Don't think I don't know about Kyoto..." Just as Chang Sun Di saw the queen walking towards him and opened his mouth to incite the troops by saying that Kyoto had few soldiers and artillery shells, lightning suddenly struck in the sky. With a "boom", a bolt of lightning struck towards him and the queen. The two of them were instantly struck so hard that only smoke came out of their mouths, and they became black people from outer space.
"Changsun Di was rebellious and defied Heaven's will. This is against Heaven's will and he has been struck to death by lightning. Why don't you quickly lay down your weapons and surrender? When?" A thunder-like sound spread throughout the enemy camp.