News of this soon reached Wang Heng.
Enraged, Wang Heng went to the city gates and, seeing Zhu Jianyu still shouting, grabbed an arrow and aimed it at him.
Zhou Quan, quick as lightning, swung his spear and blocked the arrow.
Seeing Wang Heng arrive, Zhu Jianyu finally got to the point. "Wang Heng, stop dreaming. To tell you the truth, Zhu Meng has already fled Jizhou with his men and will no longer concern himself with you. You have been abandoned by him."
This was precisely what Wang Heng feared. He knew that if this news leaked, the army's morale would instantly collapse.
Thinking of this, Wang Heng drew his sword with a clang and shouted, "Archers, archers, shoot him to death!"
With the general's order, the soldiers had no choice but to obey. Soon, a volley of arrows rained down from the city walls.
Seeing this, Zhou Quan pulled Zhu Jianyu and retreated. The two then circled around from the south gate to the west gate.
After shouting at the west gate for a long time, Wang Heng still ordered his men to fire arrows.
Next, they went to the north and east gates. In one morning, they circled all four gates. Watching Wang Heng's furious expression on the city walls, Zhu Jianyu and Zhou Quan couldn't help but smile.
"Brother Zhou, let's go back and rest. We'll come again this afternoon."
Zhu Jianyu left, but an unusual atmosphere began to pervade Qingniu County.
At noon, after the soldiers finished their lunch, they gathered in small groups, all talking about Zhu Jianyu.
"Look at General Zhu, living it up outside. It's truly enviable."
"Hush, you little fool, are you tired of living to say such things?"
"Heh, what's there to be afraid of? It's not like only I think this way. I wish I could run outside too. Who knows when this endless guarding will end?"
"Exactly, exactly. Zhu Meng has fled to Jizhou, and we'll die here sooner or later."
"Hush, Zhu Jianyu said that. Who knows if it's true or not?"
"Think about it. We have three hundred thousand troops, and the Crown Prince only has a hundred thousand. We've been surrounded for so many days, and there's been no movement outside. Where else could he have gone if not fled?"
"Alright, alright, keep your voices down so others don't hear. This is a matter of life and death. Let's just talk about it amongst ourselves."
"Brother, you're older, you decide. What do you think? Shouldn't we start thinking about our own way out?"
"Enough, everyone stop talking. Listen to my plan. Tonight, after it gets dark, while we're on guard duty, we'll descend the city wall with ropes and surrender. Remember, don't tell anyone else. Absolutely no noise, or we'll all die."
Soon, the guards on the city walls made their choices. Many had already begun planning to sneak out and surrender that night.
Meanwhile, in the county yamen, Wang Heng was also in a dilemma. Zhu Jianyu had revealed the truth, and he knew that the army's morale would inevitably waver. It was uncertain how long they could hold out.
After much thought, Wang Heng decided to go for broke. He would lead his troops to break out tonight. As long as they could breach the defense line and escape, he would head to Jizhou to find Zhu Meng.
However, could such a large-scale troop movement be kept secret from Xiao Jingyun's spies in the city?
After a period of contemplation, Wang Heng decided to lead only his five thousand most elite troops. The rest would have to fend for themselves.
He chose the north gate as the breakthrough point, as it was closer to Jizhou.
At this time, on Qingniu Mountain.
Liu Rumei, Princess Zhaoning, Chen Xiaobei, and others walked continuously until noon, reaching the Mountain God Temple.
During lunch, Princess Zhaoning ate a few mouthfuls before leaning to the side and falling asleep.
Seeing this, Liu Rumei was very understanding. After all, she was from a wealthy family and had not endured hardship. Walking for one night had already become too much for her.
Chen Xiaobei, seeing this, suggested, "Miss Liu, why don't we leave the young maids to protect the Princess? We can go down the mountain first. It's not dangerous from here anymore."
Liu Rumei, however, shook her head. "No. She is the Princess, and I was ordered by the Crown Prince to protect her safety. What would it look like if I abandoned her and left?"
"Why don't you go down the mountain first? I'll accompany the Princess as we walk down slowly."
Alright, with things as they were, Chen Xiaobei didn't persuade further. After lunch and a brief rest, he gathered the villagers and urged them to hurry down the mountain. Since all the supplies had been moved to the Mountain God Temple, it would take several trips to carry them down. Therefore, it wasn't time to rest yet.
Watching the villagers carrying dozens of pounds of supplies down the mountain, Liu Rumei felt a pang of emotion.
While it was said that "people die for wealth, birds die for food," a rather cold and heartless saying, wasn't reality just like that? These villagers toiled tirelessly for nothing more than a meal.
She, who had a comfortable life, could naturally not comprehend their hardship.
Chen Xiaobei and the villagers, on the other hand, were extremely excited. Everyone had returned safely, and they had brought back so many supplies.
Dried meat, dried fish, fine wine, delicacies, and various preserved vegetables they had never seen before, what would be called pickles in later generations, were treasures at that time.
Before dark, they returned to Hetou Village. The villagers let out cheers of joy upon seeing their return.
Cui Hongyu and Huang Ying, one on each side, grabbed Chen Xiaobei's arms and inquired about his well-being. Shen Ziyan, seeing this scene from a distance, shook her head helplessly and stopped her footsteps.
They were a family now. There was no need for her to express her concern. It was better to leave.
Just as she took a few steps, someone called her from behind.
"Sister Ziyan, why are you leaving?"
Turning her head, she saw Chen Qiao'er standing behind her, waving to her.
"Qiao'er, was that you calling me?"
Chen Qiao'er nodded. "Yes, yes, Sister. Come to my house for dinner tonight. Sister-in-law has stewed fish."
As they were speaking, Cui Hongyu also came over and waved to Shen Ziyan. "Yes, Miss Ziyan, Xiaobei is back. Let's eat together and liven things up." Su Dan Novel Network.
Now, in front of Huang Ying, Cui Hongyu tried to avoid using the word "husband" and instead referred to him as Xiaobei or Brother Xiaobei.
Huang Ying clearly paid close attention to this detail and invited Shen Ziyan. "Yes, Sister Ziyan, Brother Xiaobei is back. Let's have a meal together. By the way, Sister Hongyu stewed fish. Don't you love fish the most?"
Facing the repeated invitations from everyone, Shen Ziyan had no choice but to agree.
The group sat together, eating fish and listening to Chen Xiaobei recount his experiences on the mountain. When he mentioned going to exchange the villagers, Huang Ying's eyes widened in worry, and her fists unconsciously clenched.
"Oh, Brother Xiaobei, you shouldn't have gone. You don't know martial arts. Next time you go into the mountains, I must go with you."
After speaking, she looked up at Shen Ziyan. "Sister Ziyan, you go too. With the two of us, we can definitely protect your safety."
Chen Xiaobei sighed helplessly. "You two are the teachers I hired, not bodyguards. Don't get it wrong."
"But you are my husband," Huang Ying replied subconsciously.