Immediately after the death of the master

Ji Qingshuang came after hearing the news. She was still the same as in the past, with silver armor and black hair, without makeup. I knew the current situation through her slightly anxious speaking speed.

I don't know who gave the master the news. The master learned that Ji Sanqing, who was carrying out a secret mission, passed through Wancheng, and would rest here for one night before continuing to Beijing.The master immediately gave up attacking half of the city, marched hurriedly in the middle of the night, and surrounded Wancheng overnight.Since then, it has been the seventh day that Wancheng has cut off water, food and support.

When Ji Qingshuang said this, I couldn't help asking the question.

"Wait, since Wancheng has been surrounded, why not attack it? Aren't we in a hurry, why is the master willing to fight him?"

"On the one hand, Fu Jin wants to wait for the three armies to join, and on the other hand...Ji Sanqing kidnapped the old prince's little son..."

Listening to Ji Qingshuang's words, I didn't recover for a while, and I was stunned for several seconds before realizing it belatedly.

"Wait... the old prince has a son?!"

I have calculated thousands of times, but I have not counted this. It is said that the old prince is not a eunuch. Aren’t all the concubines in his palace are decorations? Why—— he will have a son?

"I also just found out." Ji Qingshuang was obviously troubled by the sudden appearance of the son, "This child has been secretly raised by the old prince. No one knows except Fu Jin and the old prince's confidants. If it wasn't for Ji Sanqing Sneaking into Youzhou quietly and robbing people out, Xiao Shizi's identity will not be exposed so early."

Of course it won't be exposed so early. Judging from the attitude of the old prince and the master towards this son, unless the master succeeds in seizing the throne, this son will probably not be exposed to the public for the rest of his life.

Who would have thought that Xiao Shizi's identity was revealed so early, and what's more, it was revealed by Ji Sanqing's stupidity.

I took a deep breath and guessed based on the current situation:

"So, Ji Sanqing threatened the master with the life of the young prince?"

"That's right, Ji Sanqing said, let them leave safely, without harming the people in the city, and they won't take the life of the young prince." Ji Qingshuang nodded.

Obviously, based on the master's attention to the old prince, he would never let the young prince fall into the hands of the prince... oh no, it's in the hands of the new emperor's party.

"Then what is the master's reaction?" I continued to ask.

"Fu Jin was furious. He ordered to hand over the complete little prince and the head of the traitor Ji Sanqing, otherwise the city would be massacred." Ji Qingshuang frowned and walked hurriedly.

I followed her closely, sighing.

"Dead end."

Yes, it is a dead end.The master will not let Xiao Shizi go with Ji Sanqing, and the Wancheng side will not hand over Ji Sanqing either. If both parties do not make concessions, this situation will be unsolvable.

But from my point of view, disagreement is also a good thing.Now the master is taking Xiao Shizi's life into consideration, so he won't do anything for the time being. Therefore, the Wancheng side only needs to defend the city well. As long as they can last for a month and a half, until the arrival of the central army, the master has to retreat. Sanqing can retreat completely.

As for Xiao Shizi?

The master cares about him very much, but in my eyes, what is he, even Ji Sanqing's little finger can't compare to him.His life and death have nothing to do with me, it's better to die, so that the brat can have one less potential competitor.

Seeing that I breathed a sigh of relief, Ji Qingshuang was not stupid, so she could guess what I was thinking, so she directly poured a basin of cold water on my head.

"Li Nianen, don't be too happy too early. If it is really a problem that can be solved by sticking to it, I will not call you back."

Before I could finish my breath, I was choked back by Ji Qingshuang's words.

"So, don't you just guard a city? What's so difficult about it?"

I replied impatiently, before the words fell, I realized the key point——

"food!"

Ji Qingshuang and I said in unison, and Ji Qingshuang, who understood the situation, immediately continued.

"The food in the city can't last long now. Some time ago, Xun Kuang, the governor of Yizhou, collected grain at a high price, and the merchants in the city sold it. The prefect of Wancheng used his power for personal gain, and secretly bought the stored grain in the city without authorization. His abacus was well calculated, thinking that just in time for the autumn harvest, he would buy some grain at a low price, and quietly replenish the granary. The money that came and went, naturally fell into the personal pocket of the eunuch. Among them, who would want to..."

Ji Qingshuang didn't say any more about the following words, but we all know it.No one expected that, by mistake, the master surrounded Wancheng, which was in short supply of food.

"Even so," I was still puzzled, "it stands to reason that the people in the city have the habit of storing rice in rice vats, relying on the rice in the rice vat, even if they lack fresh fruits and vegetables, it will not be a problem to last for half a month."

There was sadness in Ji Qingshuang's eyes, which was almost Buddha's compassion.

"Mandate of Heaven is sometimes so absurd and unreasonable." Ji Qingshuang said, "On the first day the city was besieged, the prefect confiscated all the food from the people in the city. Although the food confiscated was not much, it was indeed enough to support Wancheng The first half of the month is over, but unfortunately, the soldiers in the city rebelled three days ago. In order to surrender to our army, a group of more than a thousand soldiers burned the confiscated food before leaving..." Ji Qingshuang stopped and looked back into my eyes , Said to me word by word, "Now——it's the second day that the city has been out of food."

I can feel the blood in my veins getting colder.I was born in the poorest class, and I saw the dirtiest side of this country when I was a child. I know very well what kind of behavior we, the "priests of all things", will do when we are hungry.

"Why did that group of soldiers rebel? Did they ignore their wives and children?" As a fairly normal person, I couldn't understand all the crazy behaviors in this city.

"These soldiers are not from Wancheng, nor do they have wives and children. The prefect of Wancheng didn't want to pay the soldiers, so when the floods and droughts were rampant in the past few years, he forcibly bought two thousand male refugees to serve as soldiers. These people, named The defenders of Wancheng are nothing more than coolies. Over the past few years, only half of the [-] refugees survived. They wanted to take revenge on the city, and they had already turned their backs. We arrived just in time."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but think of my life in the blacksmith, and couldn't speak any more words.The disaster in Wancheng cannot be blamed on the innocent people, nor on this group of involuntary defenders. If you want to blame, you can only blame the Wancheng prefect and us rebels who killed thousands of knives.

Looking up, the scorching sun is in the sky and the sky is clear. It's a good weather.

Gazing at the blue sky, I asked the last question, which is also the one that concerns me the most.

"How many people... are there in the city..."

"Twenty thousand."

Ji Qingshuang's tone was heavier than mine.

What will happen to 2 people trapped in an isolated city without food?

I can foresee those crazy behaviors, and I can even foresee what kind of danger Ji Sanqing is in in that city that is about to fall into hell.

He closed his eyes and sighed secretly, and when he opened them again, there was only firmness in his eyes.

I know that time is waiting for me, I must seize every minute and every second.

"Take me to see the master, immediately!"

My tone to Ji Qingshuang was almost commanding, she nodded silently and hurried all the way.

Before entering the master's camp, I probed the master's bottom line.

"What is the attitude of the master now?"

"If you don't release Xiaoshizi, you can avoid talking about anything. If Xiaoshizi gets a little bit damaged, you will massacre the city."

"understood."

My voice disappeared behind the raised curtain.

The master's tent is as dark as ever.

The master, wearing a black robe, leaned over the desk, correcting military affairs.Long time no see, he has lost a lot of weight, his wheat-colored skin has become pale and thin, and under the light of the candle, blood vessels can even be vaguely seen.His lips are very pale, and there are dark circles on his face. Although his face is still beautiful, he is no longer the youth I remember riding on a strong horse with a high spirit.

There really wasn't even a trace of the master from seven years ago.

"Why did you come back alone?"

As soon as I finished writing, the master stared at me with deep black eyes.

I knelt on the ground with a plop, this is a great gift that should only be given to the emperor.Master is completely different from seven years ago, but my flattering tone is the same as before.

"Didn't you hear that the master is in a stalemate? The little one was worried about the master, and was so worried that he couldn't eat well or sleep well, so he hurried back to help the master out~"

The master tapped the table with his finger, and the candle flame trembled.

"No need," said the master, "don't worry about this matter, you can't afford it."

Pressing the palm on the ground with a little force, the gravel on the ground hurt my palm, I raised my head quietly, with a flattering smile on my face.

"Master, the little one also wants to have a chance to make meritorious deeds—" Seeing the master's handsome brows slightly frowned, I made a decisive decision and shouted bravely, "Three days! Master give me three days, and I will keep the little prince safe." Appear in front of the master without any worries."

The master narrowed his eyes slightly, the coercion from the uncertain superior made me almost breathless.

"Oh?" The master's voice could not hear any emotion, "Anyone can say big things."

I swallowed my saliva, and continued to put unequal weights on the balance.

"The small ones are willing to guarantee the head of the project."

The coercion is getting worse, I dare not continue to look directly at the master, I only dare to stare at the corner of his black robe mixed with gold thread.

The master sneered.

"You are a person who is afraid of death, and you will never take risks because of this kind of thing. I guess—" He tapped his fingers on the table, saying it was a guess, but in fact