coobybook Chapter 504 Counterinsurgency
Chapter 504 Counterinsurgency
Shen Yanzhou held Shi Wanxia tightly, his fingers gripping her back as if afraid that she would stop moving if he let go.
The little girl was covered in blood, and the bamboo splinter stuck in her leg hadn't been completely removed. Blood dripped down her trouser leg, leaving a dark red trail on the stone slab of the tunnel.
He could feel her body growing colder and colder, her breath as light as a wisp of smoke, her eyelashes not even moving. His heart felt like it was being gripped by a burning hot hand, the pain so intense that his teeth trembled from biting.
"Your Highness, the armory is just ahead, guarded by several rebels!"
A soldier ran over to report, his voice urgent, his knife still dripping blood.
He had just dealt with the rebels at the side gate when he got a deep cut on his arm, but he didn't even bother to bandage it.
Shen Yanzhou's Adam's apple bobbed as he carefully handed Shi Wanxia to Wang Ying: "Keep an eye on her, don't let her get hurt again."
Wang Ying quickly took the person in her arms. The person in her arms was as light as a feather, and blood was still seeping from the chest. She didn't dare to hold on too tightly, and tears fell onto Shi Wanxia's clothes.
Lin Yiyu, leaning on his crutches, moved to the side, intending to help look after the wound, but as soon as he bent over, the abscess on his leg pulled at it, causing him to gasp.
He could only lean against the wall, staring intently at Shi Wanxia's pale face. His lips moved, but he couldn't even utter a single "It will be alright."
He was afraid that if he told the truth, even he himself wouldn't believe it.
Shen Yanzhou drew his sword, its blade gleaming coldly in the dim tunnel.
He charged ahead, and as soon as he rounded the corner, he saw three rebels guarding the armory entrance, holding torches and cursing: "It was so noisy outside just now, could someone have broken in?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Only we know about this tunnel. Who would dare to come?"
Before he finished speaking, Shen Yanzhou had already rushed forward, his sword blade slicing through the air and piercing the chest of the foremost rebel.
The remaining two rebels panicked and threw torches at his face. Shen Yanzhou dodged to the side, and with a flick of his wrist, he slashed the throat of another rebel with his sword.
The last rebel tried to run, but was tackled by the soldiers behind him, and a dagger pierced his back.
"Quick, move the powder keg outside and blow this place up!"
Shen Yanzhou was panting, blood dripping from his sword onto the ground, but he had no mind to wipe it away.
His mind was filled with images of Shi Wanxia. The look in her eyes when she said "let go" by the trap was like a needle, piercing his heart with pain.
The soldiers quickly got to work; the armory was piled high with bows and arrows, swords and spears, and a dozen or so barrels filled with gunpowder.
Two soldiers were carrying a barrel of gunpowder out of the house when they suddenly slipped and fell to the ground. The gunpowder spilled everywhere, and sparks from the torches ignited a string of flames!
"careful!"
Shen Yanzhou shouted and rushed over, kicking the torch away. He then quickly had someone cover the flames with a cloth.
He looked at the gunpowder on the ground, a cold sweat breaking out on his back—if it really exploded, none of the people in this tunnel, including Shi Wanxia, would survive.
After finally moving all the gunpowder barrels to the open space outside the granary, Shen Yanzhou had someone light the fuses, while he quickly ran back to the tunnel, picked up Shi Wanxia, and rushed out.
Just as they ran out of the granary, a loud "boom" came from behind them. The gunpowder barrels exploded, flames shot into the sky, the roof of the armory collapsed, and rubble and wood chips flew everywhere.
Shen Yanzhou shielded Shi Wanxia with his own body, blocking the flying pebbles.
He looked down at the person in his arms. Her brows furrowed, as if she had been shocked by the explosion, but she still didn't wake up.
He reached out and felt her pulse; it was so weak he could barely feel it. His heart sank. "Wanxia, wake up! The armory's blown up. We're safe now. Wake up..."
The soldier next to him quickly took out a signal flare, lit it, and the red signal flare shot into the night sky with a "whoosh," exploding into a dazzling flower in the dark night.
That was the signal they had agreed upon with Lin Yongnan, signifying their success.
In the military camp outside the city, Lin Yongnan was riding his warhorse, watching the rebels on the city wall push civilians in front of them as shields, while the soldiers held up their shields, caught in a dilemma.
Boulders kept falling from the city wall. A young soldier couldn't dodge and was hit in the leg by a boulder. He fell to the ground screaming. His comrade next to him tried to help him up, but was shot in the shoulder by an arrow.
"General, if this continues, our men can't hold out any longer!"
The lieutenant's eyes were red, and his voice choked with emotion, "The signal from the city hasn't come yet. His Highness the Crown Prince and the others... I hope nothing has happened to them."
Lin Yongnan gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white. He gazed in the direction of Chuzhou City, his heart pounding.
But he couldn't panic. He was the commander-in-chief. If he panicked, the soldiers would have even less confidence.
Just as he was about to order another charge, he saw a red signal flower explode in the night sky.
"It's a signal! His Highness the Crown Prince has succeeded!"
The soldiers cheered, and their morale soared.
Lin Yongnan's eyes lit up. He raised his sword and shouted at the city wall, "We've blown up the rebels' armory! Without weapons, they won't last long! People of Chuzhou, you are not cannon fodder! Resist with us, and you can live!"
The people on the city wall were stunned for a moment. An old man who had been forced by the rebels to shield them from arrows suddenly picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the rebels beside him: "I'll fight you to the death! You've killed my son, I don't want to live anymore!"
The old man's actions were like lighting a fuse, and the people on the city wall rose up in resistance—some snatched the rebels' knives, some threw stones, and some even jumped down with the rebels.
A young woman, who had been bullied by the rebels before, grabbed a broken arrow and plunged it into the arm of one of the rebels, shouting, "Give me back my child!"
"Siege!"
Lin Yongnan gave the order, and the soldiers, holding their shields, charged forward step by step.
The rebels on the city wall, having lost their supply from the armory, quickly ran out of arrows and could only throw stones. But the people behind them were resisting, and they couldn't possibly attend to them.
A soldier climbed the ladder and had just reached the city wall when a rebel swung his sword at him. The civilians nearby quickly pushed the rebel away, and the soldier seized the opportunity to stab the rebel in the chest with his sword.
"Quickly, lower the ladder so the people down below can come up!"
The people shouted and worked together to lower the ladder down, and more soldiers rushed up.
The battle grew increasingly fierce, and blood from the city walls flowed down the cracks in the bricks, dripping into the moat and turning the water even redder.
Lin Yongnan watched the people and soldiers fighting together on the city wall, but he felt little joy. He saw the old man who had been holding up the stone earlier being slashed in the back by a rebel soldier. When he fell to the ground, he was still clutching a stone tightly.
I saw that young woman, in order to protect a child, was kicked off the city wall by the rebels and fell into the moat, never to come back up.
This victory was won with the blood of civilians and soldiers.
Outside the granary, Shen Yanzhou was still holding Shi Wanxia, Wang Ying's eyes were red from crying, and Lin Yiyu leaned against a pillar, his leg wound bleeding again, but he still stared intently at Shi Wanxia, hoping she would open her eyes.