Zhurou

Although the soldier did not deliberately lower his voice, everyone on the city wall was shouting and shouting. It was really noisy. Few people paid attention to this place. There were only a few people who were close, but they all had something to do. No matter how shocked they were, He didn't dare to pry too much and went to attend to the errands at hand.

Zhao Mingzhi didn't pay much attention. He only took some time to tie up the sleeves and skirt corners, and then helped the person next to him to pour another bucket of tung oil.

She started first, and naturally none of the guards following her could retreat, so they all stepped forward to help.

A lot of tung oil fell down on the city wall. As the soldiers raised flags and drums sounded, there were prepared soldiers who came forward holding torches, and some holding rockets. After each lit them, they threw them straight down the city wall. go.

The sporadic fire starter had just touched the tung oil on the ground. In an instant, the fire started, making the already dark city wall glow red and extremely bright.

Not to mention that countless soldiers below who were supposed to climb the city fell from the ladders and goose carts, rolling all over the ground and letting out bursts of screams. Even the guards standing on the city wall were hit by the heat and black smoke, covering their eyes and were so smoked. Unable to stand still, I had to retreat in a hurry.

Seeing that Di Bing's offensive was finally repelled here, the guards on the city wall finally had a space to take a breather, and had no time to take care of the rest. Some were leaning on the city wall, and some fell to the ground.

At this moment, someone raised their head. Some people pointed their heads from far and near, but one after another. Countless people looked towards a section of the city wall——

Some people are far away and only see a black dot, and they can't even confirm whether it is really that black dot.

Some people are close enough to see everything, but once they see the situation clearly, even if they are still talking, they suddenly stop talking. Some people even open their mouths wide and stare, with their hands raised in the air. I forgot to wipe the sweat and dirt.

Where everyone looked, there was a person standing supporting the wall, it was Zhao Mingzhi.

In order to facilitate her exertion, her sleeves and skirt were tied tightly. At this time, her hair was half-down, like a bun, not a bun. She didn't even use a hairpin. There was only a cloth belt. Maybe she had moved too much just now, and there were a few strands of black hair. Disperse.

Like countless people around her, she could be described as in a state of embarrassment, but for some reason, gray and black dust flew up on her face. When she wiped it casually with her backhand, half of her face became dirty, while the other half of her skin became more crystal clear like jade. Under the light of the fire, his back was straight and his expression was calm, neither panic nor fear, as if he was not sitting on the city wall that was about to be breached at any time, but sitting in his own hall, just taking a short rest.

Zhao Mingzhi's appearance made many guards immediately let out their last breath again.

Someone looked at him from a distance and sighed unconsciously: "What a precious gold..."

After only saying this for a while, everyone on the left and right started to look at him. After a long while, someone said again: "I am not afraid of death even if I am noble..."

Another person next to me said: "The last time the princess went up to the city wall to lay bricks, she was in front of me and she boasted that I was not afraid of death."

"Why are you praising you? I just stood aside and lifted the sledgehammer, and she looked at me clearly when she said it!"

There is still a raging fire under the city, and there are countless attacking soldiers not far away. These many soldiers on the city wall have been holding on for a day. They were exhausted physically and mentally, but they were jokingly arguing with each other. There are also generals and the current princess in the city. Above the head, morale was boosted.

The keen general noticed the change in the atmosphere and quickly took the opportunity to replace the guards and clear the battlefield.

On the other side, before Zhao Mingzhi had time to ask any more questions, two people were already running towards the house behind him in a hurry.

The two of them bowed without hesitation, and the first one opened his mouth to say: "The government office in Kyoto has something to report, and is looking for His Highness everywhere. I also ask His Highness to return to the palace early. There is something urgent to report..."

General Pi on the side also hurriedly echoed: "The offensive of the Di soldiers below the city has temporarily retreated, and the city gate is about to be replaced. Your Highness, don't worry, we will defend the city gate even to the death!"

He captured a few people on the left and right, and after calling them by name, he assigned them: "Be careful, escort the princess back to the palace quickly!"

Zhao Mingzhi stopped making excuses and turned around to go downstairs. After walking a few steps, he saw that the sentry house in front of him was not the same as when he came up. He didn't know when the place had been cleared. There was not a single soldier inside, but there was a Huangmen, Digital Palace. People stood there, each holding a basin and a mirror.

Suspiciousness gradually arose in her heart, and she looked at the door again, and saw a person standing there, a familiar palace maid, so she stopped approaching and asked from a distance of several feet: "The enemy's offensive has not stopped, and it is very dangerous here. You were sent by someone, and what are you doing here?"

The palace man came forward to greet him. When he was asked by Zhao Mingzhi, he was unexpected. He did not answer immediately. He hesitated a few words, turned his head to look not far behind him, and then turned his head back to think. His face was very hesitant. .

At this time, the two people behind were already holding trays in their hands and moving forward, with unknown things stacked on them.

Zhao Mingzhi took a closer look and saw a pair of shoes. They were covered with dirt, as if they had rolled out of some quagmire. No one had washed them and they had been left to dry. They were so dirty that no one could see them.

In addition to the cloth shoes, there is also a set of coarse cloth clothes, which are not only dirty, but also tattered.

Her eyesight was very good, and she could even see clearly the few crude patches on it, and even the stitches were done very perfunctorily.

"What is that?" Zhao Mingzhi stopped and asked.

But the palace man still didn't answer, and looked at the many guards on the city wall in front of him. He looked like he couldn't answer, walked towards Zhao Mingzhi with his hands tied, and whispered: "Your Highness, several generals have written letters one after another. Di Bing's offensive is too tight. I'm just afraid that I might be unprepared for a moment... The princess has a body of thousands of dollars, so why not change her clothes first to avoid encountering something along the way that will be difficult to deal with."

Zhao Mingzhi understood immediately, but couldn't help but frown.

When the palace man saw this, he was at a loss. When he looked up again, he saw that the soldiers behind him were not too close, but for some reason, many of them were looking here. Not only that, they were all staring at the tray. Wearing clothes and shoes, they started whispering to each other, and the atmosphere was very strange.

She didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. She wanted to urge her, but she didn't dare to make any decisions, so she could only say: "Your Highness, why don't you change your clothes first..."

Zhao Mingzhi pondered for a while, but did not answer. He just stretched out his hand towards the person with the tray opposite and said in a harmonious voice: "Bring it to me."

This statement made everyone in the palace hesitate.

One of them reminded in a low voice: "There is a screen in the room. Your Highness is not as good as..."

Zhao Mingzhi said: "It doesn't matter."

As he spoke, he nodded to the other side.Since she gave the order, the people below naturally responded and quickly brought the things over.

Previously, the palace attendant was standing aside, specifically standing sideways next to Zhao Mingzhi, as if he wanted to block the view of outsiders, but he wanted to help pick up the cloth shoes. Unexpectedly, he was half a minute too slow, and when his hand reached halfway, he saw it on the tray. Already empty.

The man subconsciously followed the movement to look, but when he turned his head, he saw Zhao Mingzhi turning around and throwing the object in his hand. Two black shadows fell on the top of the city not far away with the sound of wind.

Her mind buzzed, and she saw orange fire dancing in the half-dark night. It was the fire source used by the guards to light the arrows and fuses in their hands. It was blown by the wind at this time. Among them, a few pieces of inconspicuous clothes were sitting on the flames, burning at the sight of fire, burning very happily. There were also two dirty cloth shoes, although they burned slower, they were already burning from the corners.

Hearing the exclamations of his companions, he saw someone trying to save him, but it was obviously too late, so he had to stand still. The man turned around stupidly, and saw that under the firelight, the face of the current princess was half-dark. His expression was usually calm, but a little more cold than usual.

"Silk cloth is not easy to come by. It is a pity that every stitch and thread is made." Zhao Mingzhi stared at the clothes and shoes for a while and then sighed, then went to see the maids and said, "I know you are wholeheartedly protecting me——"

She paused, then raised her head and looked at the purple-black sky again, saying: "It's just like what I said before, I also have something to protect - the top of this city wall, the countless soldiers above it, the young and old in the city - if I change If they lose their clothes and shoes, who will put them on?"

Zhao Mingzhi's voice was not loud. After finishing his words, he did not care about the public square at this moment. He only raised his hand to loosen the hair tie on his head and handed it to the palace people beside him. At this moment, he finally moved forward. As he walked, he asked : "Is there ready water in there?"

The other party took it blankly, and it took him a while to react. He quickly followed up and hurriedly went to dress Zhao Mingzhi, tie up his hair, clean his face and wash his hands.

When many soldiers, generals and guards saw Zhao Mingzhi throwing his clothes into the flames, they couldn't help but get agitated. Although they couldn't see clearly or hear clearly, many smart people had already guessed a little bit. , and someone even sneered in a low voice: "After hitting the south wall, the person named Zhao has learned how to win people's hearts."

Even so, no matter how clearly he understood the underlying reasons and purposes, the man still did not let go of the stones in his hands. He knew that he was about to change the guard, but he still struggled to lift up the many large stones on the city wall one by one and clean them up with his colleagues. At the top of the city, there was not even a moment's rest.

As for the rest of the people, they rarely commented and mostly praised them. Occasionally, a few said some sarcastic words. They didn't need others to persuade them. They just sighed and said: "If you can do this, what else can you do?" , it’s hard to find fault anymore.”

But the general had another thought. When everyone met with each other, they naturally learned more details about the princess's actions to defend the city, so they had to remain silent.

Because I didn’t know how to evaluate it, and it wasn’t easy to evaluate it, it took a long time for someone to say, “I don’t know what’s going on in the south.”

The man raised his head, and soon a voice followed: "Which of you has any news about Caizhou? Will the DPRK move the capital?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone became quiet again. Even the person who had "nothing to fault" before had his face turned ugly. He grabbed the spear at his waist with both hands and sighed.

——No matter how powerful this princess dances here, no matter how thoughtful her actions are, she is still hiding in Caizhou today even if she says that she will go away. Who knows when, the imperial court will move the capital to the south.

All the things we are doing today are just for show to the world. Our hearts are sincere and our people are good, but what effect can they really have?
……

Not to mention how anxious Zhao Mingzhi was, he had to clean up his disheveled hair.

She washed her hands and face in this room, fixed her crown and tied her hair. When everything was ready, the defense outside was already in full swing.

Seeing the newly arrived soldiers carrying a stretcher and cleaning up the mess, Zhao Mingzhi, with his status, naturally couldn't just walk away. He had to offer condolences and gentle words of encouragement along the way.

It took less than half an hour to complete all these things.

She said goodbye to everyone and was about to walk down the city gate. Just when she turned around, she heard a sharp whistle suddenly sounded from behind. Before she could turn around, screams and warnings were heard. Someone shouted: "Di The thief is here again!"

Zhao Mingzhi's heart tightened, and he quickly turned around to look again. The area up close was the same as before, but in the distance it was a mass of darkness.

It was too dark to see the situation clearly, and I didn't know where these many people appeared again, but in the dark night, the familiar and frightening sound of heavy objects in the air sounded again and again.

"Catapult!!!!!!"

Someone shouted in panic.

In fact, there was no need to be reminded at all. The soldiers who had just changed their defenses had already reacted instantly and were hiding or leaning against the shelter.

Zhao Mingzhi only felt that there were people in front, back, left and right. They were all swarming up to protect him. Those with shields were blocking the outside, while the others were pushing him towards the city wall.

As she stumbled away, she heard constant clanking and crackling sounds, but they were the sounds of large and small rocks hitting the shields and city walls.

Only this time, before I had taken a few steps, just three or two feet ahead, a huge boulder fell from the sky, and landed on the ground with a "boom". Its force was too great, its momentum was too heavy, and it was smashed directly into one. In the deep pit that was cleared, countless pieces of gravel were thrown around, hitting the people in front who couldn't block it, causing many screams of pain and panic.

In the chaos, she was almost pushed towards the city wall.

It's only a few feet away, but there are countless large and small rocks nearby. Without raising your eyes, you can hear constant rumbling sounds all around.

Through the gap in the city wall, Zhao Mingzhi looked up and saw only a slight glimmer of light. However, in the half-dark night sky, he saw countless flying rocks in the distance, densely packed and overwhelming, many times more violent than in the evening.

She first suspected that the sky was too dark, making it easy for people to see the wrong things for a moment, but just by taking a breath, countless large and small rocks had already flown closer, just like locusts crossing the border, causing screams on the top of the city.

After resting for less than half an hour, the intensity of Di Bing's attack almost doubled without any warning. The guards on the city wall who were originally choosing a place to hide had no place to stand. If they were lucky enough, they were dragged to a corner by their comrades. , and more people had nowhere to escape and had to be exposed among the rocks in the sky.

There were screams and wails all around, and two palace attendants who were not hidden were injured by the gravel in unknown places. They howled and had their mouths covered by the people around them.

Zhao Mingzhi's throat tightened when he heard the sound. He followed the sound in the darkness and was about to look, when he saw a small firelight snaking towards him. The person in front of him was the general guarding the city.