Chapter 1346 Embarrassment
Chapter 1346 Embarrassment
Chengda Muyugen hurried down from the city wall and looked at the restless streets in doubt and surprise.
Almost in an instant, the soldiers who were resting at the foot of the city wall and on the streets stood up and looked around.
Most people were confused and had no idea what was happening.
No, to be precise, I don’t know nothing at all.
They understood the situation Jicheng was in, but most people were accustomed to obeying the orders of those who had been commanding them for a long time. They fought, ate, and rested numbly and had neither the time nor the energy to think about anything else.
At this time, external force is needed to break their numb habits and wake them up, and the unrest in the city plays this role.
Muyu Gen rushed to the street with a few personal soldiers.
"Sit back! Sit back!" He pushed away several soldiers who were looking up and shouted harshly.
"Sit back! We still have to go up to the city in the second half of the night." The personal soldiers smashed down on his head with their scabbards, their attitude even more brutal than Mu Yugen's.
The soldiers fled in panic, hiding in the corners.
However, after Mu Yugen left, they stood up again and looked forward like possessed, as if something terrible was about to happen.
Shi Cong was also awakened.
He was sleeping in the soldier's cave with all his clothes on. After many days of fighting, he was already exhausted, but the physical fatigue was only secondary, and the mental exhaustion was the fundamental reason for his emaciated appearance.
You want to surrender, but you are worried about being blamed by the world. You can't get over that hurdle in your heart. Isn't that a dilemma?
As soon as he stood up, he saw his personal soldiers running towards him and whispering something.
Shi Cong's expression did not change at all, he just sat down on the ground weakly.
Should have thought of this day earlier, right?
The Liang army was coming in large numbers, with troops divided into many routes, and the Tuoba and Yuwen cavalry were coming in large numbers. This was already known, but before that, we still hoped that we could hold out, that the tribesmen who had hastily retreated eastward could stop these enemies on the grassland, that they could defeat the enemy with fewer troops, and that they could at least delay for some time...
Hope is now gone.
Facts have proved that the Liang people are still capable of fighting, advancing from the north and south, attacking from both sides. The war has come to this point today, Jicheng has not been broken, but the foundation of Murong Xianbei is threatened. It has to be said to be a huge irony.
The Shi family's troops slowly gathered together.
No one spoke, but everyone looked at Shi Cong silently. This was a silent urging - in fact, they understood everything in their hearts.
Shi Cong gave a bitter smile and said, "Is there no way out?"
"My lord, what do you mean by no way out?" Someone said in a deep voice, "Why not open the city? In the area of the west gate, besides us Shi's soldiers, there are only the three hundred servants. Seeing their distraught appearance, it is obvious that there is no way to stop them. As for the soldiers on the tower, it's okay. Just guard the gate. By the time they react, the Liang soldiers will have entered the city."
"Sir, stop fighting." Someone else advised, "A month ago we had more than a thousand men, but now we have only six hundred, and nearly half of them are dead or wounded. If we continue fighting, no one will survive."
"My dear, the Liang soldiers outside are determined. Back then, Sima Yi besieged Xiangping for more than a month in heavy rain, attacking repeatedly, and the Liang soldiers also besieged for more than a month without retreating. How can such tenacity be compared with a mob? In May, some people said that the Liang soldiers could not stand the siege for half a month and wanted to retreat. It's ridiculous to think about it. I think they can afford to fight for another three months."
"My dear..." more and more people advised.
Seeing the Shi family army acting like this, the servants of the wealthy families outside all realized that something was wrong. The smart ones had already slipped away, while the rest had complicated expressions and were a little at a loss.
After a long silence, Shi Cong sighed and said, "Alas, I finally did such a rebellious thing."
After saying this, he covered his face with his sleeves and went back into the soldier hiding cave.
The guards chased him in, and came out after a moment, saying, "Cut the noose, lower the drawbridge, and open the city gate."
Everyone's expression brightened up and they all followed the order.
******
There was chaos in Prince Yan's mansion.
On the street across the wall, the sound of crisp horse hooves could be heard.
Batches of horses were pulled out of the stables. The Xianbei cavalry ignored the rule that horses were not allowed to ride freely in the city, and gathered in large numbers at the call of their respective leaders.
Murong Huang ran to the back house first and explained the situation.
Duan was relatively calm. Although there were tears in her eyes and her face was pale, she did not say a word. She forced herself to remain calm and urged everyone to change into ordinary clothes and prepare to escape.
Gao and Gongsun cried and were slapped in the face by her.
The second woman was quite conscious. She quickly wiped her tears and changed into maid's clothes.
Duan also called out her daughter-in-law Ke Zhuhun, her husband's sister, daughter and other female relatives, and ordered them to change their clothes.
The girls were all frightened, but under Duan's stern gaze, they all changed their clothes tremblingly.
Several carriages had been prepared in the courtyard. Duan pulled Gao, Gongsun, Ke Zhuhun, her younger sister-in-law Murong, and her daughter Murong into a carriage.
On the other side, Murong Huang had already brought Murong Zun, Murong Ke, Murong Ba and others.
The three men even carried swords and bows, ready for battle.
As for their younger brothers and sisters, they fled in a carriage.
After everything was ready, the door slammed open.
At this time, the streets were becoming increasingly chaotic. Some people were shouting, some were crying, some were yelling angrily, and so on.
Murong Huang was dressed neatly, riding a horse, holding a long spear, and was surrounded by guards, and he went out first. Before leaving, he took a last look at the Prince of Yan's Mansion where he grew up, and couldn't help but burst into tears.
The Murong family's foundation has been passed to him, and it's over!
"Your Majesty!" A loud call came from the front.
Murong Huang looked carefully and found that it was Prime Minister Feng Yi.
He was accompanied by dozens of followers, some holding bows and swords, and some leading war horses.
Murong Huang calmed himself down and said, "Does the Prime Minister want to stop me?"
"No." Feng Yi's hair was disheveled, his clothes were stained with blood, and one of his shoes was missing. Hearing this, he cried, "I am willing to follow the king, even if I die nine times, I will not regret it."
Murong Huang's tears, which had just stopped, burst out again. He dismounted from his horse, held Feng Yi's hand, and said, "Things have come to this, and I still have the Prime Minister with me. What is there to hate?"
Feng Yi burst into tears.
"My king, hurry up." Qiu Liju appeared out of nowhere, followed by a group of cavalrymen. He glared at Feng Yi and said, "Can't we talk on the way? I see people in the west of the city are making a lot of noise. Maybe someone has rebelled. If we don't leave now, it will be too late."
Murong Huang regained consciousness, immediately mounted his horse, glanced to the west, and said, "Let's go!"
Feng Yi also jumped on his horse and followed Murong Huang without even caring about his family.
The streets became increasingly chaotic.
The Xianbei cavalry who were leading the way initially whipped the civilians or infantrymen who were blocking the road with horsewhips, but later they simply chopped with swords, stabbed with spears, and even shot with arrows, clearing a bloody path.
The soldier who was chopped to the ground was still alive, and cursed with all his strength: "Murong Huang, you will not die well!"
One soldier who was knocked to the side by a horse was so angry that he pulled the Xianbei cavalryman next to him off the horse. The knight who fell to the ground was angry and anxious, and wrestled with him.
Wang Bin of Sili had just packed his belongings and was heading out with his family when they ran into Murong Huang's fleeing group.
"Your Majesty, I——" Wang Bin was halfway through his words when he was stabbed up by a spear from the Xianbei cavalry who was leading the way. Then, with a "bang", his body was thrown to the ground.
When everyone in the Wang family saw this, their eyes turned red.
Wang Bin's three sons were as fierce as mad tigers. They drew their swords and started fighting with the Xianbei cavalry. In a short while, people and horses were thrown to the ground.
Lan Rong had just arrived at the street corner with several hundred riders. Seeing this, he immediately rushed over and hacked and killed all the Wang family members from behind. Then he dismounted himself, moved the bodies of the horses and men aside, and allowed the convoy to pass.
Murong Huang was so moved that he escorted the carriage of Prince Yan's Mansion eastward.
But just as he reached the street corner, he found that there were too many people fleeing. The carriages and horses of Sima Hanshou, Taipu Wang Yu, Changbo Song Gai and other officials had blocked most of the street.
At this time, Qiuliju stepped forward again, led the Xianbei cavalry who were as fierce as wolves and tigers to dismount, holding swords and spears, and chopped and stabbed anyone they saw. In a moment, the loyal ministers and filial sons of Yan State fell dead one after another, and the rest fled in panic. Carriages and horses overturned on the ground, and the crying of women and children was endless.
It was also at this time that a louder noise was heard outside the west gate of Jicheng.
Murong Huang subconsciously looked back and saw a crowd of people in the west, as if countless soldiers were entering the city.
"Your Majesty, the Liang soldiers seem to have entered the city." A guard said anxiously.
Murong Huang's expression was stern, and he didn't care about who let the Liang soldiers into the city, and immediately urged: "Hurry up."
Murong Zun found that his father seemed to be calling him, so he did not hesitate and called his two younger brothers Murong Ke and Murong Ba who were riding on horses to follow him quickly.
Murong Ba rode forward without hesitation.
Murong Ke hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and returned to a carriage, shouting, "Mother, are you there?"
"Tufu, is that you?" Gao's trembling voice was heard in the carriage.
"Mother, it's me." Murong Ke said, "Come out quickly, I'll take you away."
There was a sudden silence in the carriage.
Gao seemed to understand something and was about to stand up, but was grabbed by the arm by Ke Zhuhun, who was sitting next to her.
"Mother, come out quickly." Murong Ke looked at the chaotic west, then at the figures of his father and brother who were getting farther and farther away, and he became extremely anxious.
Gao started to cry and said, "Tufu, go away, run away quickly, your mother can't accompany you anymore."
But Zhu Hun looked at Gao intently and whispered in a neurotic tone: "Let's live together, let's die together."
Gao's face was covered with tears and she wanted to say something, but she was cowardly by nature and couldn't say anything.
Duan sighed and was about to speak when she heard the noise suddenly increase.
Murong Ke had just dismounted and was about to get into the carriage to invite his mother out, but he saw a chaotic group of fleeing soldiers rushing in from the west, knocking him to the ground, and his horse ran out neighing.
The guards protecting the carriage were scattered. Seeing this, the coachman shouted, jumped down and disappeared into the chaotic crowd.
Murong Ke stared at all this in a daze, feeling completely hopeless, and dropped his hands helplessly.
He would not run away. He wanted to stay with his mother even if he died.
(End of this chapter)