The clamor passed, and night fell. The darkness on the horizon gradually approached, rolling and surging. It eroded the wooden bones bit by bit, until the entire city was swallowed up and merged with the wilderness.
The night wind blew past, carrying with it a foul smell. It was the smell of rotting corpses.
Every day, people would starve to death in inconspicuous corners of the city. In the hot weather, the corpses would swell after a day or two, emitting a nauseating stench that permeated the air of the city.
Vultures circled in the night sky, ready to swoop down at any time to enjoy a sumptuous meal. The people looked hopelessly at the empty dining table, ignoring the vultures circling overhead. Their eyes were completely numb.
This White City had already decayed.
Dog barks could be heard from time to time in the pitch-black alleyway, indicating that a fierce battle was taking place there.
Perhaps it was only a piece of hard bread that they were fighting over.
After a while, the dog's barking abruptly stopped. It was obvious that the dog was "too insensible" and had been killed.
"It's a sumptuous dinner."
The rumors during the day sped up the restlessness and unrest of the people in the city. Even when night fell, the people still found it difficult to sleep. They asked each other for information and sought a way out.
The desperate people were already prepared to break through the city gates.
At this time, another rumor spread among the commoners, causing them to shudder with fear.
"Did you hear? The guard at the west gate was convinced by his family. Tomorrow morning, he will quietly open the gates and let his family out of the city. "The person who said this suppressed his voice.
"Really? Then we can also follow them out. "The people who received the news could not suppress their excitement.
"Let's prepare early. Tomorrow will be crowded, and the guard won't dare to keep the gates open. This is our only chance to escape. We can't miss it."
"Understood. I'll go pack up and guard near the city gates overnight."
"Okay, see you at the city gates."
Similar conversations were constantly taking place in the city.
Thus, an undercurrent was quietly taking shape. It would gather into a vast ocean that would destroy everything.
… …
The secret agents of the Black Snake Guards in the city received the news and felt that something was wrong. They reported the information to the outside of the city overnight. With their professional sense of smell, they could smell a conspiracy from far away.
When Di Qing received the report, he did not have time to rest and went to the tent to discuss business that very night.
"Generals, how do you think we should deal with this change?" Although Di Qing was the commanding general, he never acted arbitrarily. Instead, he asked for the opinions of the generals first.
As the deputy general, Lu Bu sat on the first seat on the left. Being from the Imperial Guards, he was naturally one level higher than the other generals. He said sternly, "If the information is true, we might as well take this opportunity to charge into the city."
The long standoff between the two armies had already made Lu Bu a little dissatisfied, and the way the two armies were fighting made him unhappy.
"That's inappropriate." The one who spoke was a division commander of the Somali army. "If the city gates were to be opened, the area around the city gates would definitely be filled with commoners. If the army charged in, they would probably be trapped in the sea of people, unable to break free. Wouldn't it be terrible if the enemy set up an ambush near the city gate? "
Lu Bu looked at the division commander with disdain and said proudly, "Others might not be able to charge in, but the Imperial Guards definitely can. Who cares if it's an ambush or not, just kill it. "
These words were truly domineering.
Lu Bu's Third Regiment of the Imperial Guards was given the name 'Dragonblood Cavalry' by His Majesty. It was an elite cavalry unit that was not any weaker than the Tiger Leopard Cavalry. It was not rash for him to boast like this.
With the ferocity of the Dragonblood Cavalry, they indeed had the confidence to charge into the city.
Once they held the west gate, the Bone Wood Fortress would definitely be broken, and they would definitely win this battle.
The division commander's face turned red from Lu Bu's words, but he couldn't find any words to retort.
Even Di Qing was a little tempted for a moment. The long standoff between the two armies would consume a terrifying amount of rations. The rations in Somalia could not be plundered endlessly.
If they were forced into a corner and plundered too much, the commoners would also rebel.
"This battle cannot be dragged on any longer."
But Di Qing was a cautious person, and the division commander's words were not without reason. Based on his intuition, Di Qing felt that the events that had happened in the Bone Wood Fortress were too strange. It reeked of a conspiracy.
It was not appropriate to enter the city rashly.
His Majesty had entrusted 200,000 soldiers to him, and Di Qing did not dare to make any mistakes. But to reject Lu Bu's suggestion like this was a little inappropriate, and it made Di Qing feel a little awkward.
Fortunately, there were some commanders in the Somali army who could guess that the commander did not agree to Lu Bu's suggestion. It was just that they could not say it out loud, and it would not give Lu Bu face.
At this time, it was their subordinates who had to step forward to help. "General's words are not without reason. The Dragonblood Cavalry's battle prowess is unparalleled, and they can charge into the city."
Hearing this, Lu Bu was secretly delighted, and he could not hide the expression on his face.
"But there's one point. This will cause a large number of commoners to die, and it will easily cause chaos in the city. His Majesty ordered us to attack the city, and he wants a complete city, not a city that has lost the people's support. Thus, I think that we need to be cautious about charging into the city gates, "the division commander said in a tactful manner.
Hearing this, Lu Bu's expression froze. This fierce general was not afraid of the heavens or the earth, but he was afraid of his Majesty. If he really ruined his Majesty's plans, Lu Bu would not be able to bear the consequences.
"This …"
The other party used the Majesty's name to pressure him, but Lu Bu could not refute, and his face was full of indignation.
Di Qing glanced at the regiment commander with praise, causing him to shiver in his heart, and he was secretly excited.
After appeasing his subordinates, Di Qing turned to Lu Bu and said with a smile, "How about this, General, prepare 3,000 elite cavalrymen, and we will make a decision tomorrow based on the situation. What do you think?"
Lu Bu was not someone who did not know what was good for him, and he could only nod his head in agreement. Furthermore, Lu Bu was not 100% confident of charging into the city gates, and so he did not insist.
Up to this point, they still could not come up with a solution.
Di Qing, however, had already made up his mind. "How about this, we clear an opening in the west overnight, and guide the commoners out of the city to the rear of the army. Then, we will set up a few large porridge stalls at the rear and provide hot porridge for free. This way, the commoners will not act recklessly. "
Other than the east side of Mugu Citadel, which faced the sea, the other three sides were surrounded by the Great Xia army. The central army camp was set up in the west, and it corresponded with the Atlantic Fleet in the east.
If the commoners wanted to leave the city, they would have to pass through the Great Xia camp. Therefore, they had to make preparations in advance. If the commoners were allowed to rush out in a chaotic manner, only God knew what would happen.
To the hungry commoners, hot porridge was the best "bait" to guide the commoners to the designated location of the army so that they would not be in a mess.
It had to be said that the starting point of Di Qing's idea was good.
It was just that some things were often beyond people's expectations and caught them unprepared.
"This is a good idea!"
The other generals nodded in agreement.
Di Qing's expression suddenly turned solemn, and he said, "Letting the commoners out of the city is one thing, but we can't be careless. We can't let the King of Somalia blend in with the commoners and sneak out of the city."
During the war in Morocco, the King of Morocco blended in with the commoners and escaped to neighboring Algeria. He even established a kingdom in exile, which brought a lot of trouble to the imperial court.
The repercussions were still ongoing.
Di Qing naturally could not repeat the same mistakes in this battle. If he let the King of Somalia escape again, he was afraid that he would be laughed at by the other generals.
"Since we have opened an opening, we have to set up checkpoints and interrogate the commoners one by one to prevent suspicious people from blending into the crowd and fishing in troubled waters," Di Qing instructed.
"Yes!"
After the military meeting ended, the barracks began to move.
For the army that brought along a large number of craftsmen, doing these things was not very tiring. The only troublesome thing was that they had to clear away some barracks overnight.
When a large army was stationed, it was very easy for the soldiers to get nervous.
Often, the slightest movement could cause a commotion in the barracks, let alone moving the barracks overnight. If it wasn't for the well-trained Great Xia army, Di Qing would not have dared to do this.
Even so, they were busy until the latter half of the night before it came to an end.
On the fourth day of the eighth lunar month, at the west gate of Mugu City.
The sky had just brightened, and thousands of commoners had already gathered near the west gate.
The commoners were not stupid. Before the gate opened, they did not casually appear on the streets near the gate. Instead, they hid in the houses nearby.
They were worried that the generals guarding the city would not dare to let them pass after seeing so many people.
The quiet streets seemed to be empty, but in fact, countless pairs of eyes were silently watching them, especially the city gate, which was the focus of the entire city.
If eyes could really focus, then the city gate would probably be lit.
The Mugu City faced the sea, and there was a thin mist every morning. The thin mist rose up and down the quiet streets. It was hazy and well concealed the people hiding in the houses.
Every house was crowded with people, and even the beams were full of people.
In order to get out of the city, many people squatted on the beams for the whole night and did not dare to sleep. Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the family of the generals guarding the city gate.
Until seven in the morning, the streets were still empty.
"Why are they not here yet? Could the news be fake?" Some people began to worry. After all, it was only a rumor.
Some people began to pray. "No, they will definitely come."
That family had become the hope of the entire city.
Just as the crowd was feeling anxious and uneasy, the sound of a wheelbarrow colliding with the stone pavement could be heard in the quiet street. The squeaking sound was rather eye-catching in the empty street.
The crowd was startled and looked out through the crack in the door.
Sure enough, they saw a group of people pushing a wheelbarrow with their luggage and quietly heading towards the west gate.
"It's them!"
"They are here!"
"They are really here!"
The crowd quickly spread the news while suppressing the excitement in their hearts. Some people were so nervous that they could not even speak, and their throats were tight.
They looked at that family as if they were looking at God.
Everyone was ready, waiting for the moment the city gate opened. They would rush out of the city gate as fast as they could, escape from this suffocating purgatory on earth.
The mist began to slowly dissipate.
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