Chapter 41: Forgetting Selfishness (8)

The most tragic thing in the world is to witness the destruction of civilization with one’s own eyes.
Xu Yuan tightened his clothes and, trembling, drew the sword he never took out of its sheath. Since he could not prevent civilization from being destroyed, he would perish with it!
“Brothers, take up your swords and fight for the Tang Dynasty!”
With a loud cry, Xu Yuan ignored the soldiers’ warnings and headed straight for Yuliang Road. His steps were firm and resolute, as devout as those of a saint performing a sacrifice.
He clearly saw the battle between Tang soldiers and rebels on Yuliang Road—they pushed and shoved, slashing and stabbing at each other, until finally they clung to one another in fury and tumbled down from the city walls, turning to dust.
A Hu soldier slashed off a Tang man’s arm, only to have his head cut off by a Tang soldier behind him.
On the battlefield, you never know who stands behind you, nor what will happen next.
Xu Yuan watched this vivid scene calmly until he too became part of it.
He was a Tang man—though a scholar, he was still a Tang man!
Tang men would not back down in the face of foreign invaders; they would not flee from their attacks!
For the first time in his life, Xu Yuan raised his sword and aimed it at the rebels!
A Khitan soldier, seeing a scholar in flowing robes charging toward his death, laughed and swung his sword at him. But due to underestimating his opponent, he slipped and fell backward. Xu Yuan seized the opportunity and swung his sword without hesitation, cutting through the Khitan soldier’s throat.
He had killed someone—Xu Yuan had killed someone! Killing was so simple, haha…
Watching the blood gush from the wound, Xu Yuan felt an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
He had killed a rebel! He had actually killed a rebel!
This joy could not be described in words—it was the joy of a Tang man fulfilling his duty!
“Brothers, follow Lord Xu and fight the enemies! It’s time to serve the Tang Dynasty loyally!”
“Kill! For the Tang Dynasty! For the Tang Dynasty!”
Xu Yuan’s act of killing rebels shocked the Tang soldiers on the city walls. Seeing a scholar without any military training slay enemies, their faces turned red to the roots of their necks. After all, how could they possibly compete with a frail scholar?
“Fight to the death! Fight them!”
“Kill! For the Tang Dynasty!”
The Tang army, which was on the verge of collapse, suddenly gained immense strength. The soldiers rushed forward to engage the rebels on the city walls in close combat.

Stabs, slashes, cuts, and thrusts—the soldiers used every trick in their arsenal to drive the rebels who had climbed onto the city walls back to Yuliang Road.
“Brothers, we have nowhere left to retreat. We shall face fate together with Suiyang!”
Xu Yuan pointed his sword at the sky and cried out passionately…
A autumn rain arrived in the middle of the night, extinguishing the scattered torches inside and outside Suiyang City.
The air was filled with the sweet, metallic smell of blood. Just a dozen days earlier, Xu Yuan would have been disgusted and vomited, but now he could breathe freely and even enjoy the scent of slaughter.
Not even he expected that he could, with less than two hundred weak and old soldiers, drive the rebels back from the city walls once again. Yuliang Road might provide a path to the city walls, but it certainly couldn’t replace the rebels in taking that most difficult step.
They were afraid—of course they were!
As long as they stayed trapped inside the city, they would eventually capture Suiyang, so launching an early attack was a risk. Even with a chance of victory, there was still risk, and naturally, they would have their doubts.
The rain washed the bloodstains from his sword clean. Xu Yuan gently stroked the back of his sword and let out a long sigh.
He had once seen his sword only as an ornament, never imagining that one day he would use it to kill. But now it seemed that killing with a sword was indeed much more satisfying than studying the classics.
“Lord Xu, what are you thinking?”
A Tang soldier around sixteen or seventeen years old, dragging his injured leg, came to Xu Yuan’s side and asked in a deep voice.
He had been wounded in the thigh during a fight with a Xi warrior. The blade had grazed the inner side of his thigh; if it had moved half an inch further, his life would have been at risk. So, this injury could be considered fortunate in misfortune.
Xu Yuan sheathed his sword and said softly, “I’m thinking about what the rebels will do after we die and Suiyang falls.”
He wasn’t worried that the rebels would massacre the city out of revenge, because there were no civilians left in Suiyang except for the soldiers. Once the rebels killed all the defenders, the entire city would become an empty fortress.
What worried Xu Yuan was whether the rebels would head straight south.
After all, the Tang court relied solely on taxes from Huainan and Shu. If the rebels seized those regions, the court’s situation would become extremely precarious. Even capturing Chang’an wouldn’t help much.
And if the rebels didn’t head south, it could only mean they were being held back. But right now, who in the vicinity of Suiyang could possibly stop the rebels?

The Ningling forces have already sent out their last three thousand cavalry, leaving almost no troops available. As for Linhuai, although Helan Jinming has nearly ten thousand elite soldiers, he is a cowardly and self-serving man. This is evident from his outright refusal when Nan Jiyun asked him for help. He wouldn’t even send troops before Suiyang fell—how could he possibly lead an army into battle once Suiyang was captured?

Xu Yuan shook his head and forced a bitter smile. After much thought, he realized that even the mighty Tang Dynasty couldn’t find a single person capable of saving its people from disaster.

Was this heaven mocking the Tang Dynasty?

“I’ve heard, I’ve heard that good deeds bring rewards. You gentlemen are good people, so surely you’ll be rewarded,” said the Tang soldier with a simple smile, trying to comfort Xu Yuan.

“Good deeds bring rewards?” Xu Yuan was slightly surprised before shaking his head with a bitter laugh. “If that were true, Suiyang wouldn’t be in such a mess.”

Perhaps it was all fate… just fate!

Linghu Chao stared at the Tang military flags still flying on the dark gray city walls, his expression turning grim.

Damn it!

He had sent tens of thousands of soldiers to attack the city from all sides yet still couldn’t take Suiyang—it would be a laughingstock if anyone found out!

Who exactly was Zhang Xun? Not only could he get his soldiers to fight to the death for him, but he had also turned his own general, Li Huaizhong, against him. Following Li Huaizhong into Suiyang to defend it were over a thousand soldiers recruited from Xingyang, Dongdu, and other places.

Though those over a thousand soldiers were a drop in the ocean compared to his hundred thousand troops, every extra person in Suiyang meant it was one step further away from capturing the city. Zhang Xun was like a stinky, hard stone in a latrine—expecting him to surrender willingly was pure fantasy. With these extra troops, if he wanted to take Suiyang within three days, he had to go all in!

But if he did that, he would surely appear weak and at a disadvantage in front of Yin Ziqi. If it weren’t for being forced by that scoundrel to make such a military promise, he wouldn’t be in such a predicament!

That guy clearly disliked him and wanted to take advantage of the situation to punish him. He knew full well that Zhang Xun was a tough opponent yet forced him to make a promise to attack the city. If he captured the city but suffered heavy losses, he wouldn’t achieve much. If he failed to capture it on time, that scoundrel could execute him in public!

Sigh, after this battle, he must go to Luoyang and accuse Yin Ziqi of abusing military power and seeking personal revenge!

But for now, he had to deal with the situation of failing to take Suiyang despite repeated attacks.

“Someone, convey this general’s order: have all soldiers bring crossbows to the north gate, and dispatch three battalions of elite warriors to use battering rams to attack the other three gates with full force. We must capture Suiyang before nightfall tonight; otherwise, you’ll bring your heads here!” Linghu Chao ordered coldly, shaking his sleeves in anger.
The messenger shuddered at his words, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately bowed to Linghu Chao and left to carry out the order.
Crossbows were rare even throughout the entire Great Yan, with only a dozen or so available. Since Suiyang had not been captured after repeated attacks, Yin Ziqi had repeatedly petitioned the emperor of Great Yan for support, prompting the emperor to send generals with these five crossbows to Suiyang.
In fact, these crossbows had just arrived yesterday.
With such advantages yet still unable to take Suiyang, the Great Yan army had to rely on the power of crossbows to attack the city. It was no wonder the messenger showed disdain.
Using such methods, even if Suiyang were captured, not only would Linghu Chao gain no glory, but the military merits of his soldiers and officers who fought bravely would also be greatly diminished.
But at this moment, Linghu Chao couldn’t care less about such things. With a military order on his shoulders, all he could think about was capturing Suiyang as quickly as possible, by any means necessary!