Zhurou

When the man came in front of him, he didn't even salute, but hurriedly shouted: "Your Highness!"

Half a foot away, he did not forget to lower his voice. He opened and closed his mouth without knowing what he was saying. Halfway through his words, he seemed to wake up and hurriedly took a few steps forward and said hurriedly. : "Your Highness, the catapult attack is too fierce and there are not enough troops in the city. If we insist on holding on, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for long..."

He paused, and in such a panic, he still did not forget to look at Zhao Mingzhi's face. However, in the dark night, for fear that the firelight would attract stones, the followers had already extinguished the torches, and it was really difficult to judge with only a little candlelight.

"Your Highness..." The man only hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said again, "In the current situation, I dare not make the decision, but I don't know what your Highness's advice is?"

Amidst the roaring stones, the other party's voice was muffled intermittently, but Zhao Mingzhi had already heard the meaning behind his words, and without any intention of evading, he said straightforwardly: "General, please make your own decision, don't worry."

Seeing the hesitant look on the face of the person opposite him, looking at what was going on in the city from time to time, but carefully looking at himself from the other side, Zhao Mingzhi knew what this person was thinking, and added loudly: "I have no duty, and I have no duty to come here today. The rest of the meaning is that since the imperial court has selected a general to guard this gate, it has entrusted this place to everyone, and the general is asked to do his own thing."

She spoke without hesitation twice, and her posture was very upright. When the general saw this and looked at the current situation, he knew that he could no longer delay. He was cruel and without hesitation, he turned around and told the soldiers behind him.Not long after, drums started to sound from behind, and the defenders on the city wall hurriedly chose a way down. However, before they had gone far, they were blocked by large and small stones falling from the sky.

Zhao Mingzhi and his party were hiding in a corner, and saw the general hurriedly ordering the soldiers to come over and clear the way for him. The person who was called just responded, and before he even had time to actually get out of the line, he was hit back again by the stone above his head.

There was a panic on the city wall. There were more new soldiers than veterans. Everyone might not even be able to protect their own lives. Everyone would just panic, so how could they defend the city.

"Your Majesty... Your Highness! In the city, in the city... will there be reinforcements coming?"

Hearing a thumping sound in his ears, Zhao Mingzhi glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a young palace man blocking his side.

Not only were the opponent's teeth chattering, but his left knee was originally knocked against the city wall, as if he wanted to use it, but because his legs and hands were shaking, he couldn't rely on him several times and fell away. .

The palace man's face was mushy, and his tears and makeup were mixed together, looking frightened and embarrassed.

Zhao Mingzhi seemed to see himself in the past.

But she couldn't offer comfort.

There were not enough troops in the city to guard each gate. The remaining troops in Lu Xianzhang's hands were all used up early. In the afternoon, the people were mobilized to help. Old women and children all contributed, so how could any reinforcements be produced?
What's more, with the situation on top of the city, what can more reinforcements do?
Not to mention anything else, the defenders can't even hide under the city wall, so who do they expect to come up from below?So what if we come up?
Can a body of flesh and blood really resist the boulder?
But the mantis arm is just a car.

"If there are no reinforcements and the city gate is broken this time, are you afraid?" Zhao Mingzhi asked in a low voice.

The man in the palace might have known that the danger was in danger, and just wanted some comfort. He might not believe it in his heart, and it could also be used to deceive himself. How could he have expected that he would hear such a question from Zhao Mingzhi, and he was so frightened that he I forgot to suck the snot from my nose, and forgot to wipe my tears. I just collapsed on the ground, my knees could no longer support me, my mouth was open, and dirty liquid almost flowed down the corners of my mouth.

Zhao Mingzhi stretched out his hand and wiped the wet stains on her face with his sleeves. He leaned close to her and raised her body up while whispering: "If you have a chance, you should try to survive. If there is really no other way, I have no choice but to have you accompany me."

After she said this, the people in the palace opposite were dumbfounded.

He didn't know if he really understood the hidden meaning, but he seemed to be no longer panicked, and his eyes had regained some composure. He put his hands on one side of the city wall, stood up against it, and used his backhand to block Zhao Mingzhi, with his back to her. He said: "His Royal Highness is hiding, there are stones being thrown outside!"

Zhao Mingzhi was suddenly startled.

Previously, there were constant sounds of stone throwing and screaming, and even if you shouted in your ears, you might not be able to distinguish them, but now the two of them are facing each other, so softly, you can actually hear them clearly.

After careful identification, it was indeed not an illusion. The number of falling rocks outside had decreased a lot.

Almost at this moment, someone on the city wall suddenly shouted: "Yellow flag!! There is a yellow flag!!! It's reinforcements!!!"

The man's voice was sharp and almost rose into the air. Before the tone fell, someone shouted "Long live" wildly. However, not long after the "Long live" sound came out, the speaker felt as if someone had strangled his throat and was frozen for a moment.

Zhao Mingzhi stood up in surprise, held his hands on the city wall and looked into the distance. He saw that Di soldiers were scattered and spread out, and the firelight was dense. Since they were too far away, from here, they looked like bright ants.

However, beyond the bright ants, almost at the end of the vision, a cluster of bright lights seemed to emerge from the horizon and shuttled among the ants. The fire was meandering, and I don’t know how many torches were lit, making it look very strong.

And right at the head, leading the way were two huge bright yellow flags. Behind the fans were yellow umbrellas and yellow fans. The flags and fans were moving in the wind. Under the umbrellas was a tall chariot, with an incombustible flame on the chariot. What it is, it is so bright that the objects reflected in it are like the sun in the sky in the dark night.

Although they were far apart, the object was held too high, the reflection was too bright, and the size should be very large, so people could barely see it.

——It is a portrait of Zhang Ming with a yellow background.

The man in the portrait wears a crown plate on his head, a crown and a pendant hanging in front of his face, holds a gui in both hands, wears black clothes, orange clothes, and purple-red kneecaps, sitting on a big chair.

No matter how lifelike the portrait was and how it was illuminated by light, it was too far away and on the city wall, Zhao Mingzhi naturally couldn't see the details clearly. But dressed like that, he could still vaguely recognize the person's clothes without having to look closely.

Before Zhao Mingzhi could say anything, a palace attendant from Caizhou beside him shouted: "Your Majesty! It's your Majesty's royal appearance!!"

The man blurted out, his voice trembling a little.

As soon as this person finished speaking, someone caught up with him and shouted, "It's the statue of the Holy Face sent by Caizhou!"

When the soldiers on the left and right heard this, everyone got excited and started shouting. Suddenly, the entire city wall became agitated. Countless people stood up from their hiding places and looked at the holy face on the chariot opposite, regardless of the flying rocks on their heads.

"Caizhou? Are reinforcements from Caizhou coming?"

someone else cried.

Amidst the noise, no one had the intention to care about anything else.No matter how far apart they were, the emperor's face still made them look at each other. Although he was just a child, he couldn't see clearly due to the shackles on his crown. However, he was also in the middle of this battlefield, and he actually gained some majesty by himself.

The people around him were excited and making noises. What's more, they almost rushed down to the city, almost ready to meet the Holy Scaffold. Their appearance was completely different from before.

And in the corner, someone who had started to organize the people to pull out the eight-oxen crossbow seemed to be adjusting the angle to prepare the arrow.

Everyone was so happy, but Zhao Mingzhi's heart was even more silent.

Her heartbeat was very slow, one after another, but her heart was almost beating, and she was not relaxed at all. She couldn't help but look around the city wall with her eyes. Sure enough, she saw a person standing on a high place not far away, holding a hand in his hand. Without a torch, the original facial features and expressions were revealed even when illuminated by the fire in front.It was the deputy general who responded to him just now.

I don't know if the torch was too far away, which made the other party look very gloomy. At this time, he used his hands and feet to wave at the people behind him, telling them not to show their heads blindly and to be careful to hide. He also urged people to drag the bed crossbow and eight cow crossbow. Go back to where you started.

Not only was this person acting like this, but as far as Zhao Mingzhi could see, there were also a few people arranging soldiers to dodge the flying stones to avoid greater casualties, and urging everyone not to look at the holy face on the opposite side.

But doing this would inevitably cause many soldiers to object and become agitated.

This person said: "Since the emperor's holy face is sent from Caizhou, how can we not shout long live and do our best to welcome it?"

The one said: "I have been alive for 37 years, and this is the first time I can see the emperor's face. If I don't see it now, I may not be alive to see it in the future!"

Someone said: "Since the emperor's portrait can be sent in from outside, there will definitely be reinforcements later. Perhaps with the combined efforts of the inner city and outer city, the capital can be saved. I am just about to keep an eye on the situation below the city so that I can help, how can I still do it now?" Hiding??”

Hearing everyone's words, he went to look at the imperial statue that had come inexplicably under the city wall. Zhao Mingzhi was not at all happy, but felt weird. He couldn't help but lean out a little and take a closer look at the imperial statue.

Although it was too far away to see clearly the facial features of the person in the portrait, it was not difficult to recognize that he was the real Emperor just from the way he was dressed.

But on the premise that there was no movement among the countless Di soldiers, how could Caizhou break through the thieves and just send the imperial statue to the city?

There was also no sound of killing, and no sound of the two armies fighting. There was only the sound of the drums of the Di soldiers' attack, and the frequency of catapult throwing slowed down. It did not seem to be caused by external force, but rather it seemed to be done on their own initiative.

What is Di Bing's intention in doing this?
Hundreds of years have passed since the founding of the Zhao and Jin dynasties. Although the country's foundation was shaken, the people's hearts and minds were not completely lost. Sending this royal statue as a gift could boost morale. Why would the people of Di do such a thing that is not self-interested but specifically beneficial to the enemy?

unless--

Zhao Mingzhi's expression suddenly changed, and he turned around to summon the palace attendants beside him.

However, no matter how fast she reacted, she could not move faster than the city.

Almost at the same time as she leaned over, there was no obstruction to the chariot. Several horses were running and dragging it, and it was smooth sailing all the way. It had already moved forward for an unknown distance.

Not only did the Di soldiers not stop them, but they even came forward, front and rear, left and right, no matter near or far, they all came up high and raised their torches to point at the imperial chariot of the Emperor of Jin Dynasty in the center.

The imperial chariot was extremely high, and was illuminated by countless torches. At this moment, the south wind suddenly rose, and the imperial statue was not fixed properly and moved with the wind. Although the people in the city could not hear it, they knew what was coming. There was a roaring sound, and the emperor's face and clothes also changed due to the shaking of the portrait.

At this moment, the beating of the drums by Di soldiers stopped, and even the catapults stopped moving. People above and below the city all looked at the chariots and portraits among them.

In an instant, whistles pierced the sky, and many voices gathered together from all directions, shouting in unison——

"Come to see your little emperor!!"

Although his accent was stiff and his sentences were strange, he could still be understood by the guards on the city wall.

As if they were worried that the guards would not understand, the thieves under the city shouted and surrounded them.

In an instant, the chariots did not stop, the horses did not rest, and there were countless Di soldiers under the city, but they were all coming forward and backward, throwing torches and rockets at the imperial statue of the Emperor of Jin Dynasty.

When it was caught by the fire, there was a roar on the chariot, and several huge flames were instantly erupted, swallowing up the object that caused the fire. Together with other arrows and torches, the outermost layer of flames swept up the imperial statue.

Along with the fire, there were repeated shouts from Di Bing.

"Come to see your little emperor!"

"Come to see your little emperor!!"

"Come to see your little emperor!!!"

There were provocative whistles, laughter, and endless scorn and jeers.

From the light of the fire, the yellow flag, yellow fan, yellow umbrella, and the royal statue behind were illuminated. At this moment, everything including the flag, the fan, and the umbrella were all engulfed by the tongues of fire.

However, before the thief could finish shouting a few words, not only the royal chariot, but also the statue of the emperor who was raised highest and most illuminated by countless fires under the city wall had already started to move from the four sides and then from the middle. The background color turned into a truly bright yellow flame, then yellow with black in between. Finally, everything on the emperor's body, including the birds, clothes, knee-coverings, leather belts, crown quills, and crown plates, as well as the emperor's face that could not be seen clearly, were reduced to ashes.

If the momentum of the Jin army garrison on the city wall had been aroused by the statue of the emperor a hundred times a thousand times, at this moment, they were watching the emperor's royal appearance being destroyed by the thieves. In just a blink of an eye, it was like a fire that had just been ignited. The heavy rain and wind swept past, extinguishing it in an instant, without even a trace of heat.

Portraits have a special meaning for Jin people. They can almost be the incarnation of themselves, let alone the emperor's holy face.

He saw with his own eyes that the royal statue was destroyed in front of him. Although it looked like just a painting, the meaning behind it was not really just a painting.

With the emperor’s royal appearance, it’s like the emperor is with you.

What's more, just now countless people thought that the portrait would be delivered and reinforcements would naturally arrive. The capital did not become an isolated city. Hope had been raised. At its peak, it was all destroyed, and there was no chance of survival. The blow can be imagined.

For a moment, the city walls were filled with lamentations and curses, but the sounds were pitiful, rising and falling, and it was difficult to continue. More people would just stare at the flames that burned half of the wall, and no sound would be made. Don't talk about actions.

Zhao Mingzhi's hands and feet were numb when he saw it, and he turned around and shouted: "Where is the guard?!"

Her voice was loud enough, but before she could find anyone, let alone do anything to urge her, the sound of catapults sounded again under the city wall.

Accompanied by the black smoke, the soaring flames generated by the royal statue of the Emperor of Jin Dynasty, the royal chariot, and the imperial ceremonial guard, as well as the shouts, noises, and attacking drums of the Di soldiers under the city wall, I don't know how many Flying stones flew from low to high, large and small, and flew towards the city gate.