Lu Weigui knew that when the Princess Consort deigned to ask for his opinion, it was out of respect. If she had made up her mind and given him orders, he would have had to comply based on his position. After all, this Princess Consort was no ordinary person—she was Prince Zhongshun’s wife, and Ji Zeyu, who was currently leading the army to attack the city, was Prince Zhongshun’s sworn brother.
“The Princess Consort truly honors this humble official.” Lu Weigui sighed. “This humble official has run out of ideas. In my opinion, breaking out while there’s chaos outside would be good, but the government office is heavily guarded on all sides. It won’t be easy to break through, and if we suffer casualties, wouldn’t that be letting our brothers down?”
Qin Yining thought to herself that Lu Weigui had said everything she was thinking. The difficulties were all laid out before them, plainly visible.
But Qin Yining immediately understood Lu Weigui’s thinking and couldn’t help but smile and shake her head. Those who had grown old in officialdom naturally acted with such caution—it was inevitable. Qin Yining didn’t want to make things difficult for others, so she said, “There are many people outside. Right now, Lu Heng doesn’t want to use thunderous methods, so we’re temporarily safe. We don’t know how Duke Dingguo’s siege is going. If Lu Heng flies into a rage and kills us to vent his anger, or wants to capture us as hostages, do you think our manpower could match so many people outside?”
Lu Weigui shook his head and sighed, “Exactly. Not to mention anything else—if they use fire, we’ll all suffocate in here. Princess Consort, do you mean we should take a gamble?”
Qin Yining said, “There’s no other way at the moment.”
Everyone’s expressions became grave, fearing the present danger and the unknown future.
But they also understood that if they didn’t fight for their lives, they would probably perish here.
Qin Yining observed everyone and, seeing that they had all calmed down to think about the path ahead, slowly said, “We don’t need to have our brothers risk their lives—I don’t want to sacrifice anyone. Let’s listen carefully to the sounds outside. When the battle becomes intense, we might find an opportunity to break out.”
Lu Weigui agreed, “The Princess Consort speaks truly. When the battle situation outside the city becomes most tense, Lu Heng might dispatch reinforcements, and the defenses here would naturally relax.”
Hearing this, the constables all nodded as if they could already see hope.
Qin Yining hesitated, fearing that everyone might underestimate the enemy due to wrong judgments and get injured or killed. She had to say, “It might not necessarily be so. If we escape, Lu Heng would be attacked from both front and rear—it would be like his backyard catching fire. That kind of person, when focused on external matters, would certainly ensure there are no other hidden dangers.”
With this said, Lu Weigui also felt he had been thinking too naively about the problem.
“But this way, wouldn’t trying to escape be like reaching for the sky?” A constable, deeply discouraged, couldn’t help but speak up.
Qin Yining said, “Everyone needn’t be nervous. Whether we can break out or not doesn’t matter—at worst, we can defend this place to the death. I will never let everyone go to their deaths in vain.”
Everyone nodded, but how many actually believed Qin Yining’s words was unknown. In everyone’s minds, people of such noble birth as the Princess Consort wouldn’t value the lives of their subordinates. When necessary, they would all be sent to die as cannon fodder.
Qin Yining knew that empty words weren’t enough to win others’ trust, and she didn’t force everyone to believe her, so she didn’t explain further.
Everyone dispersed, returning to their positions to guard against Lu Heng’s people attacking at any moment.
Qin Yining’s group returned to the side room in the outer courtyard that Lu Weigui had arranged for them to rest temporarily.
Throughout the day, sounds frequently came from the city. The originally small county town couldn’t help but let them hear the shouts of battle. Moreover, believing Lu Heng’s words, the common people feared that the court’s forces had come to massacre the city, so they voluntarily went to help defend it. With each family sending several people, and with swords and arrows being blind on the battlefield, when Ji Zeyu ordered the city attack, flying stones and stray arrows inadvertently injured some civilians. How could the families in the city who received news of their children’s deaths remain calm?
The entire Huichuan County was shrouded in the terror of war.
Yet the rebel soldiers Lu Heng had stationed outside the government office still stubbornly held their ground.
Jingzhe tried several times to cautiously go out and scout, but even with his exceptional martial skills, he couldn’t escape everyone’s eyes under such tight security with guards every two steps and sentries every ten.
“Are we really left with no choice but to force our way out?” Lu Weigui asked incredulously upon learning the results.
A gloomy atmosphere pervaded the courtyard.
Even though the constables and bailiffs took turns resting, their highly strung nerves still left everyone exhausted. They wanted to survive, but now they were trapped here like lambs awaiting slaughter. Food would run out sooner or later, and Lu Heng would sooner or later lose patience and order a full assault. In such circumstances, waiting was torture, wearing them down mentally and physically. Some with weaker endurance even thought it would be better if the enemy attacked now—they could fight to the death and be done with it, rather than waiting like this for a blade to fall on their heads.
Qin Yining would also walk around the government office and, seeing everyone in a state of anxiety and fear with a depressed atmosphere and no fighting spirit, couldn’t help but worry.
“Princess Consort.” Lu Weigui took Qin Yining to a secluded corner and whispered, “Princess Consort, why don’t we organize people to force our way out now? What if we manage to escape? If this continues, I fear that before we successfully break through the encirclement, someone will surrender first.”
Qin Yining was also worried about this.
If someone surrendered when no one was paying attention and opened the government office’s main gate…
Such a situation was unthinkable.
“But trying to break out now really doesn’t have good odds of success, and I’m afraid brothers would sacrifice themselves for it.” Qin Yining was helpless. “If we sacrifice our brothers and still can’t escape, things will be even harder to handle afterward.”
Lu Weigui was so worried he nearly pulled his hair out. “This truly is a dilemma!”
Qin Yining sighed, “Indeed, it’s exactly a dilemma.”
She had come to destroy the Imperial Mausoleum, and though she hadn’t done it personally, she had achieved her goal and vented Pang Xiao’s anger. She just hadn’t expected Li Qitian to truly act according to the worst-case scenario she had previously imagined.
For the sake of the Imperial Mausoleum, he could disregard the lives of people suffering under the current famine and even raise troops for war. Did such a person deserve to be a ruler?
They couldn’t force their way out now—they could only wait for the right opportunity.
But before they could wait for a chance to break out, they heard many people on the other side of the wall discussing worriedly.
“How could this be! Originally we were defending quite well, and Duke Dingguo couldn’t do anything to our Huichuan County for the time being, but the Tatars have suddenly appeared!”
“Weren’t the Tatars all beaten into submission by Duke Dingguo? For them to suddenly arrive now, they must have planned this long ago.”
“Duke Dingguo can’t focus on attacking the city anymore—he’s devoted to dealing with the Tatars. That’s actually a good thing.”
“Good? What’s good about it! Do you have bean curd brains in your head? If the Tatars defeat Duke Dingguo, the next to face the Tatars directly will be us in Huichuan County. Tell me, how much ability do we have to resist the Tatars?”
At these words, the discussion outside the wall stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.
Hearing this, Qin Yining and the others couldn’t help but become nervous as well.
Back in the side room, Qin Yining paced back and forth with her hands behind her back.
How had the situation become so complex?
This was Huichuan County, not far from the capital. Although the previous dynasty had the saying about “the emperor guarding the country’s gates” and established the capital in the northern capital city, for so many years, there had never been a situation where Tatars invaded!
If Tatars appeared here, what about the cities north of Huichuan County—had they all fallen into Tatar hands?
If the Tatars broke through this place, they could march rapidly and reach the capital in less than a day, laying siege to the city!
Even if Li Qitian held the tiger tally, he couldn’t shrink distances—he couldn’t make the Huben Army, Longxiang Army, and Pingnan Army arrive in the blink of an eye!
Qin Yining didn’t care at all about Li Qitian’s throne—her heart ached for the common people!
If Tatar iron hooves truly trampled through, where would the people have any chance of survival? Years of continuous warfare, natural and man-made disasters were bad enough. With the famine still unresolved, if Tatars came to burn, kill, and pillage, forcing the people who had suffered so many setbacks to bow their heads and acknowledge foreigners as their masters—this was too…
In her anxiety, Qin Yining developed a fever blister at the corner of her mouth.
Not only was Qin Yining anxious—everyone inside and outside the government office walls was now unsettled. Even though they stood in different camps, they were all sons of Great Zhou—how could they bear to see their mountains and rivers shattered?
But they all had different identities and missions, so they could only stand in place and worry helplessly.
“Sir, why don’t we just break out! Even if we fight to the death, the brothers accept it! Just waiting here to die like this—whether killed by rebels or killed by Tatars—this is too torturous!”
“Yes, sir! Give the word, and we’ll all fight our way out immediately without the slightest hesitation!”
Lu Weigui was equally anxious. Though it was October, his nose and temples were covered with hot sweat, and his collar and shirt front were soaked with perspiration.
With so many people waiting for his order to act, he truly couldn’t bear such great pressure.
“Let’s discuss with Princess Consort Zhongshun before making a decision.” Lu Weigui wiped his face and said, “Princess Consort Zhongshun has noble status after all. Presumably she has unique insights. If nothing else, staying close to her makes survival more likely.”
“Good.” Many people agreed.
The secretary and local deputy magistrate exchanged glances, then both followed Lu Weigui toward Qin Yining’s room.
After hearing Lu Weigui’s purpose and seeing the anxious expressions of the constables he had brought, Qin Yining knew that people’s hearts couldn’t be calmed down easily this time.
She was also troubled by this matter. Trapped here, even if she had ten thousand methods, she couldn’t implement them!
Liao Zhibing, Jingzhe, and others guarded Qin Yining’s side, subtly sizing up the people before them.
No matter how tense the situation became, their primary task was still to protect the Princess Consort’s safety.
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, the deputy magistrate suddenly spoke up: “If the Tatars attack, there’s only one way for us to survive.”
Qin Yining and Lu Weigui simultaneously looked sharply at this person.
Lu Weigui said gravely, “What do you mean by that?”
The deputy magistrate said, “If even Duke Dingguo is defeated, what choice do we have besides surrender?”