Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chapter 566 We fight to the death for our lord!
"Hey, hey~ wait for me!"

Just then, Garuno, who was frantically eating oyster omelets, looked up and saw Chen Jie and the others leaving. He immediately shouted in alarm and rushed over at top speed.

He quickly rushed up to Chen Jie and asked, "My lord, where are you going?"

Chen Jie glanced at Garuno and said, "Garuno, you've come at the right time. After these few ships of goods are sold, you will go with Fang Qi to transport the silver back to Conch Island as reserve funds. You don't need to worry about anything else."

"Ah, if my lord is in trouble, I can also share your burden."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "I appreciate your kind intentions, but there's no need for you to go to such lengths."

After saying that, Chen Jie said, "Remember not to cause trouble. Those people in the Punishment Hall won't go easy on you just because of your status."

As they spoke, Chen Jie and his group went directly to the Divine Dragon Sect's shipyard, where fast horses had been prepared for them. While Chen Jie and his group were unpacking their horses, Zhang Cuishan arrived and asked Chen Jie, "Brother Chen, do you need my help with the matters in Huangzhou Prefecture?"

Chen Jie said, "No need for now. Thank you, Cuishan. You should hurry back to the mountain too, the world is about to descend into chaos."

After saying this, Chen Jie turned and mounted his horse, then looked at Zhang Dingbian and Du Xiong, who were also ready, and said, "Let's go!"

After saying that, the group immediately spurred their horses and headed straight for Huangzhou Prefecture.

To reach Huangzhou Prefecture from Fujian, it was a journey of nearly two thousand li. The route involved passing through Jiangxi and finally reaching Hubei. Moreover, the entire route was through malaria-ridden areas, making the journey difficult and the group traveled a long and arduous one.

Three fast horses died on the way, and finally they arrived at Jiujiang Prefecture. It was not far from Huangzhou Prefecture. However, once they arrived, Chen Jie clearly felt a different atmosphere of war.

The entire Jiujiang Prefecture was under martial law. When Chen Jie and his group arrived, they happened to see the White Deer Army garrison commander of Jiujiang Prefecture. Chen Jie recognized the man; he was none other than Huo Bi Ma, Wang Baobao's deputy general.

At this time, Huobi Ma was the garrison commander of Jiujiang Prefecture, guarding the Jiujiang waterway. After Chen Jie found out that it was him, he immediately went to his door.

At this moment, Huobi Ma was pacing anxiously in the main hall of Jiujiang Prefecture. Huangzhou Prefecture was in dire need of help, and his princess was still trapped inside. However, as the garrison commander of Jiujiang, he could not send troops to rescue her. He was really having a headache.

Huo Bima was so worried that he kept scratching his head. If anything happened to the princess, neither the old prince nor the young prince would spare him. Thinking about this, Huo Bima stomped his feet.

But he really couldn't leave Jiujiang Prefecture. As the junction of Jiangxi, Wuhan and Anhui prefectures, Jiujiang Prefecture was extremely important, guarding the Yangtze River waterway. If Jiujiang fell, the entire Jiangnan region would be in a passive position. Therefore, Huobima couldn't leave easily.

Thinking this, Huo Bima looked at the battle report from Huangzhou Prefecture and became even more anxious. Princess, can you hold on? Also, isn't that Chen Jiu Si very troublesome?

Why is he nowhere to be seen at such a crucial moment, while a group of women are left to maintain his dignity?

Thinking of this, Huobima sighed deeply. He wondered how things were going in Fuyang. The old prince was clearly losing ground in the battle against Boluo.

As Huo Bima thought about it, she felt more uncomfortable than ever before, and she had never been so passive as she was today.

Just then, a soldier outside reported: "General, there is a man outside who calls himself Chen Jiu Si and requests an audience."

"What's the point of asking to see me now? I won't see you!"

Huo Bima was in a fit of rage and had no desire to see Chen Jiu Si; things were already extremely urgent.

"and many more!"

Just as Huobima refused the request to see him, he suddenly raised his hand and looked at the soldier who came to deliver the order, saying, "What did you just say was the name of this person who requested an audience?"

"Reporting to Sir Chen Jiusi."

"Chen Jiu Si!"

Huo Bima was startled and immediately said, "Please come quickly!"

"No, I'd rather go see him myself!"

At this moment, Huobi Ma spoke up and rushed out the door. As soon as he arrived, he saw three people standing at the door. He didn't recognize two of them, but he knew the one in the middle very well.

"My lord, you've finally arrived!"

Huo Bima saw that Chen Jie addressed him as "Prince Consort," which was not a problem, since Chen Jie was Zhao Ya's husband, and from Zhao Ya's perspective, he was indeed "Prince Consort."

At this moment, Huo Bima looked at Chen Jie and said, "Lord Prince Consort, where have you been? I was so worried about you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Huobi Ma, you're looking for me?"

Huo Bima said, "It wasn't me who came to find you, but you know about the great battle in Huangzhou Prefecture."

Chen Jie said, "I know, I heard about it, so I rushed over immediately."

Upon hearing this, Huobima said, "We've been talking inside, and now the situation is even more complicated..."

Soon, Huobima led Chen Jie directly into the house and told him just how chaotic the battle of Huangzhou Prefecture had become. What the merchant Lao Liu had said was only the tip of the iceberg; there was actually much more to it.

As a military commander, Huo Bima certainly knew far more details than a businessman.

Soon, Huobima recounted the events. It turned out that the war was indeed caused by the imperial court's feeling that Huangzhou Prefecture had become too powerful, and they were preparing to send a large army to suppress it. The first wave of troops was led by Boluotemur, the commander of the Baoxiang Army, who led 10,000 Baoxiang soldiers and 50,000 miscellaneous soldiers to attack Huangzhou Prefecture.

The situation was critical, so the princess went to Prince Ruyang and threatened to kill herself. The prince felt sorry for the princess and agreed to mediate. He led 30,000 White Deer Army soldiers to Fuyang to wait for Bolotemur. Prince Ruyang originally planned to explain Chen Jie's situation and promise to keep an eye on Chen Jie for the court so that he would not cause any trouble.

Unexpectedly, Boluo was not buying it at all and insisted on destroying Huangzhou Prefecture. The Prince of Ruyang refused, and the two fought back and forth, setting up a battleground right in Fuyang.

While fighting broke out in Fuyang, Li Siqi led his army to attack Xiangyang in Hubei. However, Peng Yingyu led her troops directly into the Hubei border and confronted Li Siqi's Canglang Army at Baihe.

At this time, it seemed that the Zoroastrian Church in the north also intended to send troops to aid Hubei, but...

At this point, Huobima said, "It seems there was a rebellion within the sect. Little Mingwang firmly disagreed with the rescue, and in the end, he even brought out Han Shantong's memorial tablet. In the end, the entire Zoroastrian sect never left Bright Peak."

Chen Jie fell silent after hearing this.

Then Huobima said, "Besides these overt forces, there are actually some smaller forces that also want to take the opportunity to carve up Huangzhou Prefecture. Huangzhou Prefecture has become a piece of fat meat in the eyes of the world."

"And some smaller factions?"

Chen Jie frowned slightly, just then he heard Huo Bima say, "For example, Chen Youding in the south and Ming Yuzhen in Sichuan are both restless and may launch an attack at any time."

"It can be said that the whole world is in chaos."

As Huo Bima spoke, Chen Jie paused for a moment before asking, "What about Zhu Chongba?"

"Zhu Chongba has not made any move, and we don't know what he's thinking."

Chen Jie frowned slightly and said, "Well, I know the general situation. So what's the current situation in Huangzhou Prefecture?"

"Here's the battle report, take a look."

Huo Bima handed the battle report on the table directly to Chen Jie.

Chen Jie glanced at it, and his expression immediately turned serious. The battle report stated...

Huangzhou Prefecture repelled the attack of Xu Shouhui's anti-bandit coalition yesterday, but Ni Wenjun was injured by Zhao Pusheng and Xu Shouhui. Zhao Ya and Chen Xiaohu fought against the leaders of Mount Tai and Mount Heng of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance and were both injured.

The allied forces besieged the city with 100,000 troops, while only about 50,000 defenders remained in Huangzhou Prefecture.

The entire military situation is extremely precarious, and according to rumors, the Allied forces are even beating drums and gongs today, preparing a grand welcoming ceremony as if they were welcoming some important figure.

Looking at the time on the letter, Chen Jie felt extremely anxious. The letter was sent by carrier pigeon. Although Jiujiang was not far from Huangzhou Prefecture, it still took a carrier pigeon an hour to fly such a short distance.

Judging from the timing, Xu Shouhui and his men are probably already preparing to attack Huangzhou Prefecture, and the war may have already begun.

Having figured all this out, Chen Jie's eyes reddened. He turned to Zhang Dingbian and Du Xiong and said, "You two can continue your journey slowly behind me. I'll head back to Huangzhou Prefecture first."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dingbian and Du Xiong knew that they were relatively slow and might not be able to catch up if they rode back at their current speed. Therefore, they did not dare to delay Chen Jie's time and said, "My lord, please go."

"Ok!"

Chen Jie simply said "hmm," and the next moment he disappeared from the spot. Seeing this, Huo Bima was stunned and looked at Zhang Dingbian and the others, asking, "Where did he go?"

Du Xiong said, "The method of shifting heaven and earth has been abandoned."

That's right. Chen Jie immediately used the fastest way to travel, the Qiankun Shift Technique. Based on the martial arts field, the Qiankun Shift Technique can shrink the distance to an inch. One step can cover a distance of tens of meters. Then take the second step, and so on. If the speed is fast enough, even birds cannot keep up with their speed.

Moreover, with the Qiankun Shifting Technique, Chen Jie can reach Huangzhou Prefecture at top speed. Hopefully, it's not too late!

Yun Jin, Wan'er, Ya Ya, wait for me, wait for me!

Chen Jie cried out in his heart, for some reason feeling an ominous sense of foreboding.

Faster, faster, even faster!

Chen Jie spared no effort in using his martial arts qi, circulating all of it, and in an instant, Chen Jie's speed reached its peak.

……

The setting sun, like blood, splashed onto the blue brick city walls of Huangzhou Prefecture, turning that majestic barrier into a blood-soaked rag.

The two characters "Huangzhou" on the west gate tower had long been riddled with holes by the rain of arrows, and the edges of the wooden plaque were charred and curled, traces of the rockets that burned it last night.

The moat at the foot of the city wall was stained with murky, blood-red water. Broken spears, tattered armor, and half a soldier's face, swollen from being soaked in water, splashed against the city bricks with dull thuds.

Everything was so dilapidated, a testament to the brutal battle of yesterday.
Dark red blood seeped from the cracks in the city wall bricks, making it sticky and uncomfortable to walk on.

Corpses, severed limbs, and broken arms were everywhere; this place was a living hell.

Yesterday, the third line of defense was breached. The outer city gate was smashed by a siege cart. The broken half of the gate is still hanging there at an angle, with the copper nails pried open and scattered. On the hinge is a severed arm of someone unknown, who is still holding a broken longsword.

It looked quite tragic. At this moment, an army hurriedly walked down the street. Every soldier in this army was covered in blood, but their eyes were bright. On the armor of these soldiers, there was a white tiger head engraved. This was the White Tiger Army, the most elite force in Huangzhou Prefecture.

The leader was a general whose body was covered in a bloodthirsty aura; his face, which was not very old, was full of vicissitudes.

But those eyes gave people a very calming feeling.

At this moment, a group of soldiers rushed over, and the leading general clasped his hands in a fist and said to the general who was covered in blood and evil aura, "Tiger Commander, we have taken men to investigate."

"Only the first gate of the West City was breached; the second and third gates remained intact."

"In addition, the No. 3 gunpowder depot in the northeast corner was blown up, and a small section of the city wall was also blown open. However, people have been sent to dump the rammed earth and pour cement to compact it."

"Another problem is that we don't have enough rolling logs and stones for defending the city..."

"Well, I see."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaohu nodded slightly and then said, "Send engineers to immediately repair the west gate and the northeast corner of the city wall. As for rolling logs and stones, we don't have enough."

"You immediately send people to the homes of the people near the city wall and tell them that their houses are going to be demolished, and the demolition compensation will be doubled."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the leading general immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and turned to leave. At this moment, Chen Xiaohu suddenly spoke up: "Chen Shi!"

"Tiger General".

General Chen Shi clasped his hands in a fist salute. Chen Xiaohu glanced at him and asked, "How many men are left in your hundred-man squad?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi said, "There are still fifty-six people."

Chen Xiaohu sighed and said, "Alas, we've lost more than half of them. These are all old brothers we brought from Mianshui."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi said, "Tiger Commander, there's no need for that. We brothers have already agreed that if we die in this battle, we will serve our lord again in eighteen years. If we survive, we will not forget to hold a memorial service for our old brothers in the future."

"Don't worry, our 100-man team can still fight!"

Seeing Chen Shi like this, Chen Xiaohu sighed and said, "Well done, well done, you are all great."

After saying that, Chen Xiaohu stepped forward and straightened Chen Shi's collar, saying, "Don't die. I'm still waiting for you guys to come back safely so we can have a good drink together."

"Don't worry, Tiger Commander, I won't die. These bastards want to kill me? They don't have the teeth."

Chen Xiaohu patted Chen Shi on the shoulder with a smile, then turned around with a hint of reluctance in his eyes. Chen Gou and Chen Tun, who were with Chen Xiaohu, said, "Brother Hu, the men won't let us down."

Hearing this, Chen Xiaohu's eyes reddened as he said, "In this battle, nearly a third of our old brothers who came from Mianshui died. These are all our fellow villagers and clansmen. Now that so many have died on the battlefield, how am I supposed to explain this to Brother Jiu Si when he comes back?"

"Cough cough..."

As he spoke, Chen Xiaohu suddenly coughed, and with each cough, a mouthful of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Brother Tiger."

Chen Gou and Chen Tun looked at Chen Xiaohu nervously. Chen Xiaohu then looked up and said, "It's nothing."

He took out a pill from his pocket, swallowed it, and said, "Let's go, we need to patrol again to make sure there are no problems in the city. By the way, what about those thieves who tried to open the city gates in the chaos yesterday?"

"Oh, those are some old families from Huangzhou Prefecture. They are unhappy that we have occupied Huangzhou Prefecture and that we have made the people rich while they have suffered losses. So they are preparing to defect to the enemy."

"A bunch of ungrateful wolves!"

Chen Xiaohu shouted angrily, then looked at Chen Gou and said, "Kill them all. In times of great chaos, these black sheep must be killed to prevent future troubles."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaohu said, "Let's go. We still need to inspect other areas and give the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird armies some time to rest. The enemy will probably attack the city again soon."

Upon hearing this, Chen Gou and Chen Tun immediately agreed and followed the group to patrol the city again. When the patrol was almost over, Chen Xiaohu led his men to the temporary command camp.

At this moment, Zhao Ya was seen sitting in the position of commander-in-chief of the three armies inside the camp.

With Commander Chen Jie absent, Chen Xiaohu was capable of leading independently, but Zhao Ya's military talent was even better.

Therefore, Chen Xiaohu voluntarily stepped down, allowing Zhao Ya to become the commander-in-chief of the three armies in this defensive battle.

At this moment, on the sand table in the military camp, Zhao Ya was discussing with the commanders of the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird armies.

The commanders of the Azure Dragon Army, Jin Yanzi and the Vermilion Bird Army, Shi Gengming, were standing there, looking at the map Zhao Ya was directing.

At this moment, Zhao Ya was wearing a golden battle armor, with a red battle robe underneath, and a large red cloak draped over her body.

With a sword hanging at his waist, he stood there exuding a military air of heroism.

At this moment, Chen Xiaohu entered the tent, clasped his hands in greeting to Zhao Ya, and said, "Commander."

Upon seeing Chen Xiaohu, Zhao Ya immediately said, "Commander Hu, you've worked hard."

Shi Gengming and Jin Yanzi, who were standing to the side, also clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Tiger Commander."

Chen Xiaohu looked at the two and said, "It's no trouble, Commander. I have patrolled the whole city. The west gate was destroyed and part of the east wall collapsed, but I have already cleared it."

"In addition, we don't have enough logs and stones. I can only try to have the soldiers talk to the people around the city wall and see if we can demolish their houses and provide logs and stones. I will give them double the compensation for the demolition."

"Yes, Tiger General is right. Even though we're at war, we can't let the people suffer."

"This demolition compensation?"

Zhao Ya looked up at Hu Weiyong, who had just woken up from a nap on the other side. At this moment, Hu Weiyong said, "Our Ministry of Revenue will report the full amount. Madam, and several generals, you don't need to worry about money and food."

"Our lord has taken precautions and built many granaries in our Huangzhou Prefecture. We have enough food to fight for another year, so there is no need to worry."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Shi Gengming said, "Last night we discovered that someone was preparing to open the city gates and surrender to the enemy. I also found that someone was trying to poison several wells in our city. We must double our efforts in this regard."

Hu Weiyong said, "These are actually minor issues. The main problem is that our casualties are too high, and I'm afraid our city's reserves of medicine will not be enough to support the upcoming continuous battles."

"Medicine for wounds, this?"

Zhao Ya frowned. After all, if there were no medicine available, these wounded and sick people would become seriously ill and eventually die, which would be a huge blow to the entire Huangzhou Prefecture.

But then a voice came from outside.

"There is no need for you to worry."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked outside in surprise, only to see two people rushing in. Everyone recognized them.

The leader was Bai Wenjing, the president of Huangzhou Medical University and the dean of the Medical Research Institute, Chen Jiu Si's master, also known as Old Master Bai.

Standing behind Bai Wenjing was another remarkable figure from Huangzhou Prefecture, Tao Guangyi, the director of the Huangzhou Prefecture Ministry of Works' Scientific Research Institute, who later became known as the "Flying Man" Wanhu.

This person is skilled in firearms.

Just then, the two arrived, followed by Bai Wenjing who said, "You mentioned earlier that you lacked medicine. Yesterday, I took my students to the wounded soldiers' camp. Most of them had superficial wounds, so as long as we prevent infection, it should be fine. Fortunately, our medical school has started small-scale production of penicillin, which can ensure that the wounded soldiers do not die from their injuries."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. Penicillin was something only the higher-ups in Huangzhou Prefecture knew about. It was an idea proposed by Lord Chen Jiu Si, who used a microscope made from a high-powered lens developed by the Scientific Research Institute to see bacteria for the first time in the world.

Then, under the lord's guidance, they discovered that the moldy fruit contained something that could inhibit these viruses, which they called penicillin.

Then came clinical trials, research and development, and finally, small-scale mass production was possible.

This prompted Bai Wenjing to rush over. At this moment, Bai Wenjing said, "However, penicillin cannot be produced on a large scale at present, and there may be a shortage. Therefore, our medical team has decided to take a two-pronged approach: continue to use the original medicine for treating sprains and bruises on one side, and use penicillin on the other side. I have calculated that it should be barely enough."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya said, "With Master Bai's help, we were able to save many soldiers."

Bai Wenjing said, "Alas... they are all our own sons from Huangzhou Prefecture. It would be painful for me to see any of them die. If we can save one, we should save one."

Bai Wenjing said, glancing outside the city: "That damned Xu Shouhui, we're all family, why does he have to kill us?"

Hearing this, Zhao Ya remained silent, while Chen Xiaohu said, "That Xu Shouhui was never a good person to begin with. He only dared to act arrogantly when Brother Jiu Si was away. When Brother Jiu Si was here, how could he dare to be so presumptuous?"

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

At this moment, Zhao Ya saw Tao Guangyi who had come with Bai Wenjing. Although she had little contact with him, she had heard Chen Jie say that he was a great talent, and that he alone could rival an army.

Zhao Ya initially didn't believe it, but Chen Jie was so certain that she couldn't refute it.

At this moment, she looked at Tao Guangyi and asked, "Dean Tao, what brings you here?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Guangyi said, "I came here to deliver this item to you all."

As he spoke, Tao Guangyi reached out, and a short wooden stick appeared in his hand, except that the head of the stick was bound with an iron band.

Chen Xiaohu looked at it, reached out and took it, saying, "Dean Tao, what time is it? What use is this laundry mallet to us?"

After saying that, Chen Xiaohu knocked on the door.

Upon seeing this, Tao Guangyi said, "This thing is not a club; it is called a hand grenade, developed based on a concept provided by our lord!"

"A grenade?"

(End of this chapter)