C56

Looking at the City Gate Officer who had fainted due to drugs, Fat Cui took out a cigarette pouch from the side. He lit up the cigarette and took a puff. The low level smoke made him cough for a long time before calming down. The room was now completely dark, with only wisps of smoke flickering along with his movements.

Fat Cui sat silently. He was very clear that no matter what would happen in the future, the betrayal of Mo Qiu would never be forgotten. Even if it was really as Chen Chu had said, they were able to create a world with their Moqiu, so what? He was just an outsider, he would never gain the deepest trust. During this time, he was very clear about the weight of the other people and how much he weighed.

Chen Chu was the adopted son of the Fire Phoenix Empire's crown prince back then, and was in cahoots with the current Emperor of the Fire Phoenix Empire. He was also the personal guard of the former principal of the Fire Phoenix Empire, and was a descendant of a very large family in itself.

Although Qu Feizhi's family wasn't that prominent, he was still the capable general of the Phoenix City Pass Master.

Although strong man was simple and honest, he was an officer of the Wulian Border Army who was known as the strongest fighting force in a single battle. Being sent to assist the Xiu'er was also a top tier loyalty and ability.

What did he count for? It was just a third class officer from the Tiger Roar City. If one were to look at the ranks, the most they would see was probably the same as the captain from the Red Camp. Combat power? That was a joke! Fat Cui was very clear about his own abilities. Forget about those few people just now, even if it was a normal Wulian Border Army warrior or Red Camp Knight, he definitely wouldn't be able to beat them.

Then why did he have to surrender?

Fat Cui let out a heavy sigh in his heart.

If he hadn't been able to surrender, would he have been able to survive? Would his brothers be able to survive? Forget about her, so what if it was the Xu Keding from before? He was one of the top five generals in the entire Ninth Tiger King! Wasn't he also dropping to protect the thousands of soldiers under his command?

Fat Cui exhaled a huge cloud of smoke, as if he was spitting out all of his worries together. He had always felt that the battle between the two countries was a matter for the upper echelons, but in the end, only the common people would suffer. He watched the white rice being served, saw the lively young man walk onto the battlefield, and then saw the corpses being carried back one by one. He didn't know if it was his own ashes being delivered into the hands of relatives that were crying, and saying that he wasn't afraid was fake.

He believed that everyone was afraid of death. If he had the chance and ability, he was willing to protect more people's lives, and hoped that they would not die. This time, he agreed to come as a spy in Tiger Running City in hopes of reducing the damage on both sides by allowing Fire Phoenix Army to smoothly take over the city. He had seen the actions of Fire Phoenix Army assaulting a Tiger Roar City but not slaughtering a city or killing anyone. He felt that this result was not bad. And even if their Fire Phoenix Army were to fail, with the strength of those people, it would be hard to massacre more than a thousand people in a few villages.

Thinking about it, the Fat Cui laughed bitterly. She was still a common person, always thinking of ways to live, always finding excuses for herself. He could not understand the actions of Xiu'er and the rest who risked their lives to kill their way into Mo Qiu, nor could he understand the actions of the villagers who were slaughtered after desperately resisting. He only wished to live, since there was only hope.

The noise from outside the window sounded like it was already the wee hours of the morning.

The Fat Cui knocked away the tobacco in his pipe, then found a rope to tie the City Gate Officer up. Only then did he sneak out the door and ran along the city wall towards the medical camp. Many people thought that the medical camp was unlucky and did not like coming, and since the Xiu'er was assigned to this side, it naturally became their gathering place.

When Fat Cui arrived, the others had already arrived. Xiu'er asked: Is City Gate Officer done?

Fat Cui nodded his head. "That medicine should be enough for him to sleep until daybreak. I have tied it up for him again.

Xiu'er looked at him but did not say anything. She waved at everyone and ordered, "Follow the plan."

"Yes sir!" The dozen people replied in a low voice before dispersing.

The plan was actually very simple, that is, the Fat Cui would bring people to guard the grain depot while the Xiu'er would attack the city gate alone. The reason why they were assigned this way was because although the Xiu'er had exceptional abilities, she was, after all, alone. With such a large granary and all the cattle and sheep inside the fence, as long as one person managed to set a fire to them, their efforts would have been in vain. Rather than making the Xiu'er tired from running, it would be better for her to use her power on the city gates. With her strong personal strength, attacking the city gates from the inside would not be too difficult. As for the Fat Cui's group of more than ten people, they were more suitable to defend the granary. They would take care of each other and support each other, giving the Xiu'er a much stronger job to do than letting him do all the work by herself. And more than half of the Wulian Border Army soldiers amongst them could definitely ensure that the individual military capability would not be at a disadvantage.

The Fat Cui's side went as smoothly as planned. Just as the three finishes sounded out, a dozen people barged into the grain depot, seized the grain depot and occupied the barn. It took them less than a quarter of an hour to finish the battle. After that, they changed into the garrison's clothes, picked up the garrison's weapons, and began to pretend to patrol. From now on, they would have to wait for the arrival of the army outside the city. If the enemy troops still didn't come in, they weren't sure if they could get past the patrolling password. At that time, this mission would completely fail and this group of people would fall into extreme danger.

Whether or not the troops outside the city could enter smoothly depended on the Xiu'er.

Xiu'er took the initiative to request him to attack the city gates alone. In addition to self-confidence, she also had responsibilities. Although she was a commander in chief of an army, in reality, many things that happened during the battle were handled by Chen Chu, Qu Feizhi and strong man. It was mainly because she did not understand these things too well. Xiu'er had thought that her own ability could help her in many things, but when she reached the Moqiu, she realized that there were many things that were not what she had thought. There was no need to talk about anything else, just letting these eighteen hundred people eat their fill was a big problem.

If they wanted to fight, they would fight; if they wanted to run, they would run. With Wushuang's mobility and battle prowess, she could let them be calm and at ease in front of most of their enemies. However, once he got hungry, these things would become troublesome.

You can learn how to march and form formations. Riding together, you can learn it. You can learn how to set up your camp and choose your location. But most importantly, there was no place to learn how to get food. The Imperial Military Academy's teaching materials will not tell you what to do if you meet a villager's resistance when you go to the village to rob food, nor will they tell you how to boost the soldiers' morale after they ran out of food. Nor will they tell you how to convince the cavalry to kill their warhorses to overcome the crisis. All of this was knowledge and experience that she could gain through brutal battles and long term living in the army camp. And to Xiu'er, this was exactly what she lacked the most.

No one looked down on her now because she was a girl, but no one would ask her for advice about marching and fighting. Xiu'er had once been troubled, but she quickly understood that it was useless to think about it now. Everyone was in a dangerous place, survival was the first priority, they could not ruin this party just because of their willfulness and short temper. Since Chen Chu and the others were strong, he wanted them to continue to display their strengths. As for him, he wanted them to show his strengths as well.

With this mentality, the Xiu'er set off.

She had a small bamboo basket on her arm and a handkerchief on her head as she hurried towards the city gate. Tiger Running City were four, two, small, and six gates. Right now, only this one was still open, so naturally the guards were the most important.

Just as Xiu'er was about a dozen or so meters away from the city gates, she was stopped.

Three soldiers appeared in front of her. The leader's face was gloomy as he asked, "Little girl, it's so late. What are you doing here?"

Xiu'er lowered her head to look at the ground, and replied with a timid voice. I'm the Huan girl of the medical school. Me, my mom is still outside the city and hasn't eaten for an entire day. Me wants to send her a bun. "

The leader of the soldiers looked Xiu'er up and down. The girl was dressed in a white shirt with a white handkerchief wrapped around her head. He then removed the bamboo basket covering her arm, revealing a water sac and two buns inside, looking flawless.

The leading soldier said in a deep voice, "You know the rules. Go back quickly."

"Big brother, please, let me out!" Xiu'er's voice had already become teary: "Me will be back after putting down the things, I'm begging you."

There was a trace of impatience in the soldier's voice as he said, "It's already considered lucky for you to be able to reach this place under the curfew of the city. Now, even if I want to capture you, I'll catch you!" Don't you know the rules? And sending food? As long as you dare to leave this city gate, the guards above can beat you to death with your handheld crossbow! Are you still not leaving?! "

"But, but my mother has been sick all day." "If it wasn't for someone coming in to send me a message, I wouldn't even know if my mother died." Xiu'er lowered her head and cried softly.

"Bastard!" If you don't leave now, then don't blame me for being a law-abiding person! " The leader of the soldiers raised his thick eyebrows, his right hand already reaching for the hilt of his saber.

Just as Xiu'er was about to make her move, a lazy voice came from the direction of the city gate: "Zhang Cheng, what happened?"

The soldier called Zhang Cheng answered helplessly, "Replying to Master Ma, it's a girl that wants to deliver food to her mother."

"Then why are you blabbering so much?" "If you don't want to leave, then go ahead." As he spoke, a skinny man with triangular eyes and a few soldiers slowly walked over. When he clearly saw the Xiu'er's appearance under the light, his two triangular eyes suddenly lit up. Whose girl was this? Is she pretty enough? "

"Reporting to my Lord, I, I am called Xiu'er, a girl from the medical camp, Huan Huan." Xiu'er lowered her head and replied softly.

"Don't lower your head, don't lower it, let me see." Elder Ma smiled as he walked in front of Xiu'er and pulled her chin. Zhang Cheng stood to the side, looking both embarrassed and furious, but he did not dare to say anything to stop them.

This person who was referred to as Master Ma was the younger brother-in-law of the city guards, Ma Sande. Because he was a trusted aide, Du Mingfa sent him to be in charge of the night watch of the city gate. It could be said that other than the City Gate Officer, he was the second in command of this entire area. Adding that to the relationship with Du Mingfa, he didn't even need to be afraid of his own direct superior.

Especially at night, Ma Sande felt like he was the emperor. After instructing the soldiers to stand guard, he hid himself in the gatehouse near the city gate. Chicken, duck, fish, and meat were all good wine and food. He treated this duty as a blessing. Due to their misgivings towards Du Mingfa, and the fact that he did not stir up any trouble, they pretended not to see it. In any case, they treated him as a fart, even if he was a little smelly, they would just let him go.

But in recent times, Ma Sande's hand had stretched out a little too long, and it was not clean either.

Previously, Du Mingfa was kind to them and set up more than ten tents outside the city gate to accommodate the refugees. Among them were a few elderly people who were waiting for their children and children to work in the city to save enough money to bring them into the city. However, the conditions for living in a tent could be imagined. Thus, the children in the city would find ways to send out some food and medicine.

The soldiers guarding the city gates were also raised by their parents. Although they didn't dare to close their eyes and let them leave, they still had to collect some money to send them something. This so-called running errands didn't have much money. Not to mention money, it didn't have much meaning to it. A bag of tobacco, a bottle of wine, even a chicken leg were all fine. It just meant, don't let the guys run away for nothing.

No one dared to do it in the daytime, as it was always at night. After nightfall, the laborers in the city sneaked out and stuffed some things into the guards' hands, and the soldiers were sent out. This was a secret that they had all agreed upon for a long time. No one felt it was wrong to do so, and no one complained about the level of the running money.

However, when Ma Sande came, the matter changed.

On the fourth day, he tied up the seven night shift soldiers who had been serving food and medicine during these three days. He whipped each of them twenty times in public, and then said that he was going to give them Castellan Mansion as punishment for the crime of colluding with the enemy!

All of a sudden, everyone was dumbfounded. Although twenty lashes was already enough to beat a person half to death, he was in the wrong, so he could only admit his misfortune. But what was the crime of colluding with the enemy? A death sentence! A single blow to the head was good, no one dared to say no even if it meant death. Besides, we were all born in Sith, and many relatives and friends are in the city. How are we going to survive if we accuse them of colluding with the enemy?

Thus, the two captains and the few veterans pleaded for favors one after another. Only after hearing what had happened did Ma Sande finally give up on this idea. He told everyone that in the future, he would continue to help people deliver food and medicine. However, he had to go through his own paperwork. Without his own notes, he would dare to send food and medicine to people, and that would be colluding with the enemy!

Only now did the crowd come to their senses. This fellow was either strictly abiding to the edict or trying to fill his pockets. However, there was nothing he could do about it now. He had to protect his brother first. Money was just an external asset, so having less was not a problem.

From that day onwards, Ma Sande became the overlord of the city gates at night, refusing to accept anything like chicken, duck, or fish meat. As long as it was money, even though the money was not much, it would definitely be painful for the refugees who paid for their work in the city. If anyone dared to say no, pulling them into the house would result in a flurry of punches and kicks. In the end, they would just grab the items and tell the people to scram.

And most importantly, this person was extremely lustful. Most of the women who were able to take advantage of their work in the city were between the ages of fifteen and forty-five, and most of them were in their prime. It was enough for a man or an older woman to pay, and if he met a girl he was tempted to bring her into the house and "interrogate her." Zhang Chengsheng had seen with his own eyes at least four or five young girls in their prime coming out of Ma Sande's room, their clothes in disarray and crying, not to mention the ones he didn't see and didn't know.

When the people mentioned this, everyone was extremely furious. But now that there was a war, the decision to live or die was only made with a single sentence from the City Guard Du Mingfa. Who would dare to provoke Ma Sande? Therefore, the soldiers came to a tacit agreement that they would take a stroll outside when there was nothing to do. When they saw that the young lady wanted to send something out, they urged her to go back early to pull it down.

Zhang Sheng was against Xiu'er. Seeing how young and beautiful Xiu'er was, he knew that he would not be let off by Ma Sande. But he didn't expect that Ma Sande would actually come out and run into the Xiu'er directly. Seeing that this girl was about to fall into the palms of Ma Sande, Zhang Cheng was extremely annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.

At this moment, a shocking scene occurred.

Xiu'er, who had her chin pinched by Ma Sande, actually raised her head and looked at him obediently. Her tone even had a hint of submission, "As long as Master can get me to give Mother a bit of food, I — I — will agree to anything."

Ma Sande saw that this girl was really pretty, and her words were so 'sensible', he couldn't help smiling so much that even his back teeth were exposed. "Good, good, good. Good, good. I like a sensible girl like you." "Come, come and chat with this grandpa inside the house. After the conversation is over, send something over to your mother!"

With the Xiu'er half pushing and half pushing, Ma Sander walked into the gatehouse with his arm around her waist. Zhang Cheng looked at the two of them and spat on the ground.

However, before he could turn around, a groan came from the room's door. Immediately after, the door that had just been closed was pushed open and Ma Sande stumbled out. The voice he uttered even changed its tone, "Save, save me ~ ~"

Since they knew what Ma Sande wanted to do in the house, the soldiers usually stayed far away from him. Seeing him in such a sorry state, the soldiers ran over and surrounded him, asking, "Elder Ma, what happened to you?"

Ma Sande's face was covered in tears as he pointed to the space between his legs. He was on the verge of bursting into tears.

Just when the soldiers had gathered close to investigate what Ma Sande had done, the gatehouse's door suddenly burst open. Countless pieces of wood shavings flew out, and the soldiers who were caught unprepared were struck down by the force of the wooden shavings. In the midst of the chaos, a white shadow rushed out of the gatehouse and headed straight for the city gate.