The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 108 Canyon
Looking down from the towering Twelve Cities, there is only a dizzying sea of trees. Withered vines are all over the rocks, towering cypresses rise from the ground, and lush green pines block out the moon and the sun. The deep canyon is dominated by this old forest. If it is not the middle of the night, you can't tell the past or the present.

The cool dusk cast a faint light, and flocks of awakened bats flew by.

The Bian army marched lightly. In order to make the fighting in the forest quick and swift, all the heavy objects were removed. The vanguards Tianxing, Changzhi, Tingzi, and Bashan only wore hoods and leather armor. At this moment, they held daggers in their mouths, swords on their backs, and kerosene jars in their hands, and walked briskly in the forest and snow.

Swish! There were a large number of royal troops hiding in the forest, and arrows flew out.

"Woo." The horn echoed in the snowy night, tearing through the angry wind in the layers of blizzard, announcing the start of a new round of tug-of-war. Zhu Wen's fat body rode on the iron-clad horse, and the armor plates all over his body clanged. Staring at the mouth of the valley, his phoenix eyes under his raised eyebrows revealed cunning: "The emperor is in the forbidden ditch. Go in and catch him, flatten the ravine, and you can enter Chang'an tomorrow afternoon."

The remaining troops of the Long Sword Master Wang Zhongshi, as well as the foreign soldiers sitting at the entrance of the canyon, were somewhat dejected. Upon hearing the order, the Long Sword Masters stood up first, and then all the Bian Army followed suit and stood up with their swords. The Ya Army leaders shouted at the top of their lungs to boost morale: "Burn the forest, burn the forest! Burn the camp, burn the camp! Bloody battle, bloody battle! Go through the sea of trees, the saint is hiding inside! Capture him alive! Punish his concubines! The entire Sanfu is waiting to be killed and robbed! The king and my people share the wealth, if you want to be happy, follow us!"

All the warriors roared and clamored.

"Tear down Li Shimin's dilapidated temple!"

"Kill the Saint!"

"Eat his wife and daughter!"

"Slaughter Chang'an, trample all the nobles on the streets! Bloodbath the Daming Palace!!!"

The gorge was in complete chaos. No matter if they were Yajun or anyone else, they were all blown into a ball, laughing and screaming in the wind and snow. There were figures everywhere. As their eyes turned red, the beasts outside the ditch began to eat people! The Cai army from Chen, Xu, Ru, Guang, and Shenzhou screamed and rushed into the forest. The captured Shaanxi people ran around without a head, but they bumped into the warriors who were almost out of control everywhere. Some were hacked to death, and some were dragged into the dense forest by their hair. There was even a woman with blood gushing out of her crotch who was poured a bucket of grease on her head by the laughing sergeant.

The young men were given wooden sticks and ordered to charge forward. The rest were stuffed with charcoal powder, sulfur, and pine needles according to their weight, height, and size. The trees on the outer edge of the canyon had all been cut down, and there were Bian troops in every gap.

These people also quarreled among themselves. Often before a certain battalion had finished marching, another group of frenzied warriors would rush up to shout and urge them to leave. Or simply drive them away. It was always a group fight. The loser would be furious and move to another gap, while the winner would stay here and use more vicious means to drive away the men and women until they were driven away by other troops. In less than an hour, the Du Ya troops of Tianxing, Changzhi, Tingzi, Bashan, Changjian and more than 20,000 Cai troops all poured into Linhai.

"Report, Liu Xi, the military commander of Yingwu City, was killed in battle!"

"Report, Feixian Captain Fan Cun was killed!"

The forest had turned into a raging sea of fire. The Bian army kept throwing out kerosene jars, which hit the snow and hung on the trees, followed by a swarm of rockets. Old men and women, howling like evil spirits, were set on fire and turned into firemen, stumbling into the depths. Young men and women held wooden spears and fought barefoot. The defenders on the beacon towers on both sides of the canyon lit torches, poured scalding gold juice, boiling oil and water, and threw stones. Occasionally, the stench fell on the friendly troops, causing the warriors to curse to the sky.

The fire spread rapidly and the terrifying roar was approaching quickly.

"Cut down trees, cut out a clearing three hundred steps away!" A large group of disheveled soldiers fled back in a panic, shouting. Strong men and women, holding axes, sweating profusely, cut down the isolation belt under the command of the officers.

"It's urgent! I ask you to go back to the village!" Zhazhu slapped the burnt clothes and grabbed the saint's arm to force him. A group of soldiers also surrounded the saint, ready to use force.

"I have not yet examined where the imperial carriage will go from now on!" Everyone around him was gasping for breath. The saint pushed away the dirty hands that were trying to grab him, his eyes bloodshot: "Go back to the village? Where can I go back if the village cannot be defended? Since Tongguan has been lost, where can I escape to? If death is inevitable, this is my tomb, fuck the village." His chest rose and fell violently, hot air was gushing out of his nose, he tightly grasped the other's shoulders, and stared at the generals: "If the pass falls, you will kill me, don't let me fall into Zhu Wen's hands and be humiliated."

Tears as big as beans rolled down the face of the iron-clad Turkic man opposite: "I can only protect the saint, how can I hurt the saint!"

"Why are you so noisy, Saint? The Bian army hasn't even reached the village yet, and you're already saying discouraging words?" Yin Shouzhi's eyes were bloodshot, and he threw his helmet to the ground, shouting angrily, "Even if I die, I will protect you!"

"Let's die together!" a junior officer shouted, "What's the point of wasting a worthless life? God won't take it away."

"..."

The saint patted their shoulders and said softly, "I have such sons, and my life is not in vain... I have been a coward for twenty years. Tian Lingzi whipped me in public, and I endured the humiliation. Chen Jingxuan took my concubine, and I didn't say a word. The rebels coveted He's family, and I pretended to be dead. Yang Fugong slapped me and killed my uncle, and I gritted my teeth in secret. Ximen Zhongsui mocked and insulted me, and I swallowed the spit in his face, and I had to give him a grand funeral in the future... Now think about it, I endured it all, wasn't it just hoping to live like a man? When I am alive, I eat from nine tripods, and when I die, I will be cooked in five tripods... It's just life! Once Tongguan is lost, there will be no way out. Rather than living in disgrace, it is better to die with everyone. Kill, kill."

The canyon is a place where you can be defeated and die but there is no escape.

The saint looked around at the generals and soldiers, and slowly drew his sword in front of him: "Look at the white blades falling like snow, and why would we care about honors when we die? You all... try your best!"

……

In the forest, corpses had piled up on the snowy ground where the Bian army passed. In front of them, groups of captured men and women were set ablaze with pine needles and sulfur, and then rushed out. In the snow, the fires everywhere reflected charred skeletons and young men who were killed on the ground. The king's army had consumed too much energy and arrows from these people, and had to fight and retreat under the cover of the old trees.

Seeing this, soldiers from Chen, Xu, Ru, Guang, and Shen states drove the men and women away even faster. If they delayed for a moment, they would be hit on the head with swords and fists, and even strong men could not withstand it.

Most of the tortured and numbed men and women were indifferent to the violence. They had been eating bland food for several days and were wearing thin clothes or even naked. With only one breath left, they had no energy to struggle. Kill them if you want to kill them, beat them if you want to beat them. The elderly did not even wait for threats, and often died silently after standing in the wind and snow for a while. The piled-up bodies were frozen into ice sculptures.

There were many siege weapons being transported in the forest. There were crossbows, pointed pulleys, flying ladders, bird nests, and iron hooks. The people who pulled the horses were also captured from the two states of Shaanxi and Guo, both strong men and women, who died along the way and were covered with snow. From time to time, the king's army sent out elite teams to fight back and burn, and fought with the Ya army. The two sides were so angry that they threw away their swords and spears, and rolled on the ground holding each other, digging their eyeballs, kicking their crotches, and biting their ears.

The yamen guard Yang Shihou half hid behind a tree, observing the fastest way forward. A hundred steps in front of them, the fortress built with bluestone connecting the two sides of the canyon looked unprecedentedly tall. The snow-white walls were almost invisible in the wind and snow. Only the battlements with rows of torches lit at the top made people realize that this fortress was across the road, giving people a strong sense of oppression. The vast white snow plus the shouting on all sides made it so unreal.

At this moment, Yang Shihou saw the ancient city in front of him, just like the one he saw in Taiyuan. And he would lead these hundreds of good fighters to try to destroy the other side! Whatever, as long as he got close to the wall of the village and dug hard at the base of the city, and dug a few gaps that were big enough to store a lot of kerosene and coal, there would be hope of going down to the village.

……

"Dangdangdangdang..." The golden sound suppressed all the noise. The royal army, which had been fighting with the bandits in the forest, gradually poured into the stockade, preparing to enter the second phase of attack and defense.

The Bian army fought their way to the city wall with great difficulty.

Looking around again, the area was covered with messy debris. Some were not dead yet, just twitching slightly in the snow. The Bian army was doused by the boiling oil and water poured from the beacon towers on both sides. Their eyebrows were burned off, their eyes were glued together, and they were dancing and falling and crawling around. The bloody corpses in the corners were even more horrifying. Maybe I would be the next one.

Zhu Wen rode his horse across the blazing flames and stopped to observe the fortress.

He brought baggage, but it was far from complete. There were almost no heavy siege weapons such as artillery carts, carts, and wooden curtains, and the terrain made it difficult to use them. All he had were bows, crossbows, and arrowheads. Even if he mobilized craftsmen and civilians to cut wood day and night, he could only build some ladders. It would be impossible to take down the stronghold like this, even an ant could not, it could only be a moth's gamble. The only advantage was the large number of people, and the people captured from Shaanxi and Guo were low-born species that Zhu Wen did not need to show any sympathy to. He planned to use people to pile up the wall of the stronghold, and then his men could climb the mountain of corpses to kill their way to the stronghold, capture this tyrant, and drown this fortress that was choking him in a sea of blood!
Zhu Wen dismounted and cracked his whip: "Go, ask the saint to show up and have a talk."

After that, a group of Yamen soldiers carrying shields slowly approached the village wall and shouted, "General, pay your respects to the saint."

"You thief who stole the emperor's throne!" the soldiers on the upper floor cursed loudly.

"The thief who robbed the emperor!" the people of Bian responded.

"Go to the Forbidden Valley City!" Suddenly, the wall of the fortress was ablaze with fire, and a figure stood behind the middle battlement. The Bian army made a commotion, and they all looked up, wanting to see what the saint looked like. Jing Xiang frowned, "Is the king crazy? Is he calling out the saint to destroy morale?"

"Zhu Wen!" The saint looked down at the fat man between the big banners, and the minister Li Xi beside him pointed at him.

I'm sorry, I couldn't see his exact appearance, I could only see that he was fat.

Zhu Wen was not curious about the emperor's appearance. He danced for a while and then bowed down. "I heard that the Shatuo bandits Li Siyuan and others killed hundreds of officials Wei Zhen and Pei Zhu, hijacked the emperor's carriage, and forced the emperor to go north. So I led 100,000 people here to ask the emperor to return to the capital. I will handle the rest of the rebellion."

"The bandits did not even ask for permission to enter Tongguan, but immediately led their troops to attack. Do they intend to kill their master?" The emperor asked, "Even dogs know how to guard the house, but the bandits are just pigs and dogs, why are they so good at talking? They are so hypocritical and righteous, but in fact they are just evil animals. Humans and animals cannot talk to each other, so why not gather your troops immediately and fight me here?"

In fact, it's a beast! The soldiers laughed and pointed at the banner and shouted "Beast".

Amid the noise, the emperor drew his bow and aimed his arrow at Zhu Wen's flag.

Concentrate your mind and gather your energy for a moment, and there will be a bang.

The arrow was so powerful that it easily pierced through the huge and ostentatious general's flag, like a slap in the face to Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen's old face suddenly turned black, and he squinted his eyes and looked at the saint, only to see that the other party gave him a middle finger. He didn't know what it meant, but he felt it was extremely provocative.

Damn you, Li Ye...

"Somebody come!"

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty!" Ten generals of the White Horse Army in the backyard, Shi Shucong, Jiang Xuanhui, the chief yamen commander, and Shi Taiji, the chief yamen commander of Bashan, who were close to Zhu Wen and good at archery, stood up at the right time.

"Shoot an arrow and aim at the saint." Zhu Wen stroked his beard and gave the order in a deep voice.

"This..." Shi Shucong and Jiang Xuanhui looked at each other.

They originally thought that the king was going to shoot the dragon flag as revenge, but who knew that he was actually going to shoot the emperor.

"What, you don't dare?" Zhu Wen turned around and looked at the two of them.

This sight frightened Shi and Jiang so much that they nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, sir."

They both feel so sad.

Are shooting high and shooting down, and shooting down and shooting high the same concept?

With the wind so strong, even if the two of them used all their strength, they might not be able to hit the dragon flag, let alone the emperor himself.

Besides, if the saint was shot dead, and the king faced nationwide condemnation in the future, would he sell them both to appease the anger of the people?
But he had to obey. Otherwise, he would be beheaded by the king before he could be used as a scapegoat.

The three of them each had their own ideas.

Jiang Xuanhui decided to just do it for once. He did his best to aim and exert himself to respond to the king's order, but in fact, he was a little crooked; Shi Shucong planned to try to shoot the general on the left hand side of the saint. Only Shi Tai, the general of Bashandu Ya, was excited and ready to complete the task resolutely. Killing the emperor, how many people in ancient and modern times have had this opportunity? If I succeed with one arrow, my name will go down in history! Even if it's a thousand years later, future generations will know in history books that it was me, Shi Tai, who killed the current saint!
Shi Tai took out his bow and quiver, drew out an arrow and put it on the string, then aimed at the saint who was talking to the general on the wall.

I, I, I, you dog-foot I!
I will shoot you tonight, capture Chang'an tomorrow, and then capture your wife He Yuqing and bring her to the military camp to be beaten day and night!
"Haha!" The soldiers around him cheered for Shi Tai. The generals looked at him as if he was a fool or as if he were disgusted.

Boom!
Shi Taiban knelt on the ground and shot the arrow with all his might. Everyone followed the arrow's trajectory and saw the long armor-piercing cone tearing through the cold, flying snow.

Zhu Wen's narrowed eyes flashed like lightning. The resentment and anger that had accumulated in his chest, the hardships and abuses he had encountered since the westward march, and the suppressed desire for the supreme position, all burst out at this moment with a violent shout: "The saint was killed by the Shatuo bandits! Robbing the village! Avenge the emperor!"

The roar shook the snowflakes, shook the Forbidden Valley City, and shook the Tongluo sky.

The Bian army was in a state of panic. The canyon that had just been like a silent film suddenly rang with all kinds of noises, with only one core revolving around it - the saint was killed, the emperor collapsed! The king's troops who were unaware of the truth could clearly be heard surging on the wall of the stockade, making a commotion, and they were all in a mess, swarming towards the battlement where the saint was standing.

Inside the city walls, all the officials could not help but tremble when they heard the clamor.

OMG!

Could it be that the saint was really killed?

At this moment they felt a sense of fear and panic as if the sky was falling.

No matter how bad the sage was, he was the only power core of the Chang'an regime and the backbone of these hundreds of thousands of warriors and subjects. If he suddenly passed away, the court, which was in a precarious situation, could not imagine what would happen.

　Writing a book is so tiring. What is a eunuch?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)