The Cangzhou provincial governor stood in the courtyard. When he saw several figures walking out of the hall, his legs went soft, and he collapsed to the ground.
"General Wei, General Chen, Duke, Princess …"
He finally realized where that ominous premonition in his heart these past few days came from.
They fought back, they fought back again!
The provincial governor's manor was already in chaos. Those rebels rushed in … No, they didn't seem like rebels. They were organized and disciplined. They didn't smash or rob. They only controlled the bailiffs and officials of the provincial governor's manor. There were only several dozen bailiffs in the provincial governor's manor. In front of these several hundred people, they didn't have the slightest ability to resist. Very soon, the noisy provincial governor's manor calmed down.
A long time had passed, but there was still no movement from the two thousand soldiers responsible for the security of the provincial governor's manor.
The Cangzhou provincial governor raised his head and looked outside. The place where the flames were soaring into the sky was the direction of the barracks.
The only explanation was that when the provincial governor's manor was attacked, they were also attacked, and they couldn't even protect themselves.
That deafening thunder and flames made him involuntarily recall the tragic scene of corpses strewn all over the Thorns Ridge that night. His entire body trembled like a sieve.
Everyone in the provincial governor's manor gathered in one place. Chen Qing walked over and waved his hand, saying, "Take them away first."
Attacking the Provincial Governor's manor was not difficult at all. The people guarding the gates were their own people, and they had long since familiarized themselves with the terrain and defenses inside. The strong citizens lying in ambush around the Provincial Governor's manor could catch them off guard in an instant.
Wei Liang walked to the entrance of the manor and asked in a loud voice, "How is the situation outside the city?"
In the distance, General Fan laughed heartily as he dismounted from his horse and said, "There's Heavenly Punishment, divine weapons, and two captains on our side. Furthermore, there's a surprise attack, working together from the inside and outside. If we still can't win this kind of battle, I, Old Fan, will cut off my own head and let you sit on it!"
He strode in front of Yangliuqing, knelt on one knee, and said loudly, "Reporting to Your Highness, I have captured all of Cangzhou's two thousand soldiers. Our side has suffered twenty-three casualties, no serious injuries, and no deaths!"
In a battle of this level, it was already a miracle that only twenty or so people were lightly injured. However, considering the circumstances of the ambush, the difference in equipment, and the fact that two of the four lieutenants had defected, the first thing they did when they attacked was to take down the general and the other two lieutenants. As a result, the Cangzhou garrison had no one to command them and was in a mess. This result was nothing to brag about.
The thunder and fire outside the city had long since stopped, but within Cangzhou City, almost no one was sleeping.
Be it the commoners or the gentry, all of them had closed their doors. Through the cracks of their doors, they looked at the troops hurrying through the streets. Their faces were filled with worry and panic.
They had been rooted in Cangzhou for many years. How could they not know what this represented? They had seen this scene too many times.
Someone had broken through the city gates and occupied the provincial governor's office. Cangzhou was going to change again!
After daybreak tomorrow, this Cangzhou would no longer be the Cangzhou of today.
They didn't know who had broken through the city, and they didn't know how those people would treat the commoners in Cangzhou City. They didn't even know what their future would be …
But there was one thing that was beyond doubt.
Tonight, no one in Cangzhou City would be able to sleep peacefully.
Wei Liang, Chen Qing, Fan Qiao and the others also didn't sleep for the entire night. They were busy dealing with the aftermath and harvesting the fruits of victory. Once they completely took over Cangzhou, there were even more things that needed to be done.
Governing Cangzhou, expanding the troops, repairing the city walls, defending against enemies that could appear at any time …
Taking over Cangzhou City was only the first small step of their great undertaking.
…
The sky had just brightened when some commoners who hadn't slept for the entire night saw through the cracks of their doors that some people were putting up something on the streets. What made them curious was that among these people, there were actually people that they knew from the streets.
Seeing these people walking back and forth, someone finally couldn't bear it anymore and opened a small crack in the door of his house. He shouted at the person who was putting up a notice at the end of the street, "Hey, Zhang Dapao, what are you doing? You still dare to go out at this time? Do you want to die?"
A man pasted the notice at the end of the street and then jumped up and patted it with all his might. After patting it firmly, he turned his head and looked at the man. He said in astonishment, "Why do I want to die? I'm just putting up a notice. It's not like I'm blocking anyone or hindering anyone. It's not illegal …"
"What notice are you putting up?" The man opened the door wider and asked doubtfully, "Aren't you afraid that the people who entered the city yesterday would capture you? Last night, I saw from the window that they even captured the Provincial Governor!"
The man called Zhang Dapao grinned and said, "Capture me? Hehe, you don't know who was the one who tied the rope on the Provincial Governor's body yesterday!"
The man opened the door wider and asked doubtfully, "What does this have to do with you? Could it be that you were the one who tied the rope?"
"To tell you the truth, the rope on the Provincial Governor's body yesterday … was tied by a brother beside me!"
Zhang Dapao said with some regret, "Sigh, if I wasn't busy tying up another dog official yesterday, this good thing would have fallen on my head …"
"What do you mean?" The man walked out of the house and looked at Zhang Dapao. He asked in astonishment, "Could it be that you also participated in the rebellion? Who was the one who fought their way in last night?"
"What rebellion!" Zhang Dapao waved his hand and said unhappily, "Let me tell you, the one who rebelled was the current dog emperor. He killed my father and big brother. We followed Her Highness to quell the rebellion. If you don't know anything, don't talk nonsense!"
"What did you say?" The man was stunned and asked, "You said that the one who fought their way in last night was Her Highness? Princess Duan Rong is back?"
Zhang Dapao nodded and said, "That's right. Otherwise, why would I put up this thing early in the morning when I had nothing to do?"
The man looked at the notice and asked, "What does it say?"
"I don't know what it says …" Zhang Dapao scratched his head and said, "But I heard that Her Highness wants to recruit people to repair the city walls. Meals will be provided and money will be provided. If they follow Her Highness to quell the rebellion, participate in the revolution, and make contributions, they will be given land when they return!"
While the man was stunned, Zhang Dapao stuffed a stack of notices into his hands and said, "Don't just stand there. If you have nothing to do, help me put up these. I'll treat you to lunch at noon …"
At this moment, in the streets and alleys of Cangzhou City, someone held a large paper tube in his hand and walked through the streets, shouting all the way.
"Recruiting, recruiting! Repairing the city walls at the south gate. Ten copper coins a day. Wages will be paid daily. Two meals will be provided. Those who are interested can go to the government office to sign up. The number of people is limited. First come, first served …"
"Recruiting, recruiting, Her Highness is recruiting. Join the army today, get your pay tomorrow, and you will be given land in the future!"
…
The commoners hid in their homes. They couldn't see the notice, but they could understand the human language.
They were shocked. The one who fought their way into the city last night was Princess Duan Rong?
Her Highness was back?
Everyone said that the person with the mandate of heaven was coming. Could it be Her Highness?
Yes, it must be. When Princess Duan Rong was born, she was protected by a phoenix. Even the stars in the sky said that she didn't have an ordinary life. She was blessed by God — wasn't this the person with the mandate of heaven?
They didn't believe in the government or anyone else, but they believed in the princess.
They prayed to the stars and the moon every day, hoping for this day. They hoped that Her Highness would come back to save them …
An old man pushed open the door and walked to the street. He stopped a soldier who was holding a paper tube and asked with a trembling voice, "Is Her Highness back?"
The soldier nodded.
The old man sat on the ground and cried, "Her Highness is back. We've been waiting for Her Highness to come back!"
More and more commoners walked out of their homes and onto the streets. They looked at the notices in the city and looked at each other in confirmation.
The whole city was in an uproar at this moment.
The whole city was jubilant!
"Her Highness is back. Her Highness is finally back. Our bitter days are coming to an end! "
"It turns out that Her Highness is the person with the mandate of heaven. It turns out that the person with the mandate of heaven is Her Highness!"
"I want to join the army. I want to follow Her Highness to conquer the world. Even God said that Her Highness is the life of an emperor. She will definitely succeed!"
"I still have an old mother at home. I can't follow Her Highness. I plan to sign up to build the city wall and make the wall thicker so that no one can break in!"
…
Overnight, the Cangzhou Provincial Governor's Mansion had been changed into the Princess' Mansion, which was also the temporary command center of the Revolutionary Army.
In front of the Princess' Mansion, the commoners of Cangzhou gathered.
An old lady with a hunched body carried a basket and said, "Sir, I'm not going to see Her Highness. This old lady doesn't dare to disturb Her Highness. This basket of eggs was laid by the old hen at home. Please help me to bring them in. This old lady has no strength to build the city wall or fight. This is a small gift for the soldiers to nourish their bodies …"
A strong man carried half a bag of pork on his back and put it on the steps of the door. He said, "This meat is for the soldiers. I won't sell meat in the future. I will join the army tomorrow!"
"These few bolts of cloth are for the soldiers to make clothes …"
"These two fishes were just caught yesterday. I can't take out anything else. This is a small gift …"
…
The crowd consciously moved forward bit by bit. People said one or two words, or simply said nothing. They put down the things and turned to leave.
"The people's hearts and destiny …" Li Yi and Miss.Liu sat side by side on the roof. He patted her thigh and pointed to the crowd below. He sighed and said, "Do you see? This is the real person with the mandate of heaven …"
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