A child was running at full speed, clutching something in their hands. The sandstorm in the city raged on, stinging people's faces and making it hard to keep their eyes open.
The child ran faster and faster, as if about to merge with the sandstorm. Although the desolate city was almost deserted, the child ran without looking at the road.
"Watch out!"
Rong Xun noticed that the child was running straight towards them, and the object in the child's hand was clearly no good. It looked like a small ball, but as the child got closer, he realized it was actually a small explosive.
Rong Xun quickly grabbed Tang Youyou, turned around, and took several steps back. Then he led her to a place far away from the explosive.
"Quick! Stop that child!" Song Xumo shouted.
He recognized the child as the youngest daughter of the mayor of Fengdu City.
...
On the first day the army arrived, the mayor gathered most of the city's people to defend the city gate. They gathered all the children together and left them in the care of the elderly.
They propped up wooden stakes and everyone focused their strength on the stakes and the city gate, exerting all their might.
They were not only protecting Fengdu, where they had lived for centuries, but also defending their own world.
However, they were outnumbered.
Fengdu was a relatively small city with a medium-sized population, totaling less than eight thousand people. Excluding children, the elderly, and women, there were less than half left.
An hour passed, and the sound of the enemy ramming the city gate from the outside never stopped. In fact, it got more and more violent with each strike.
No matter how hard the unarmed civilians tried, they were no match for the well-equipped soldiers outside.
Seeing that the city gate was about to be breached, the mayor came up with a brilliant idea in a moment of desperation.
He told the townspeople to hold the city gate firmly while he gathered all the blacksmiths in the city to heat up molten iron.
They planned to weld the city gate shut, leaving no gaps from top to bottom.
This would buy them more time to resist.
If they could wait for reinforcements, that would be the best outcome.
"Mayor, when will the reinforcements arrive?" the townspeople asked him. His hair, which was already half-gray, had almost turned completely white in the past two days. His once-rosy complexion had now turned pale.
In fact, he knew very well that even if they waited until they died, no reinforcements would come to help them. From the very beginning, they had been fighting alone.
If it were the old Ming Dynasty, such a situation would never have been allowed to happen.
But now, he had completely lost hope in the Ming Dynasty.
It could be said that when the news of Emperor Rong's death spread throughout the city, his hope for the entire Ming Dynasty had been shattered.
They had lived on this land for generations, experiencing a century of wind and rain and witnessing the changes of dynasties. But since he could remember, everything that had happened on this land had only made him feel cold.
Finally, when he was in his forties, he met an emperor who was dedicated and cared about the people of the Ming Dynasty. Although he had never seen the emperor's glory with his own eyes, they were already very satisfied to be able to live such a peaceful life.
He had thought that this happy life would last for a long time, and he had even fantasized that the descendants of Fengdu City could pass the imperial examinations and obtain official positions in the court to share the emperor's worries.
But fantasies were just fantasies. This beautiful fantasy finally collapsed on the day they learned of the death of the Ming emperor.
But they still held on to a glimmer of hope, expecting that the next emperor would be a wise one. They didn't ask for someone as great as Emperor Rong, but they hoped that the new emperor would not let down the people.
But even this small hope was soon dashed.
Although the mayor was disappointed, he still comforted the townspeople, saying that perhaps there would be another emperor like the previous one in the future.
But they never expected that not only did they not wait for that day, but even their peaceful life would soon be broken.
The iron gate poured with molten iron was rammed again and again by the wooden stakes outside the city. Each sound shook everyone's hearts.
They knew that if this continued, even the strongest gate would be breached.
But at this moment, they had no other choice but to resist with their bodies. Even if they failed, they had no other option.
No one knew how long they had been resisting at the city gate, or even what day or night it was. They just stubbornly resisted until finally, the once-seamless iron gate was cracked by the impact.
Once there was a crack, the people outside would never give them a chance to close it again.
In less than half an incense stick's time, the originally strong iron gate was deformed and could no longer be closed.
In an instant, the soldiers outside swarmed in and rushed into the city.
The mayor had long anticipated this day and had prepared weapons in advance.
But Fengdu City was a land of fish and rice, and there were not many weapon-smithing shops. At this critical moment, the only things they could use as weapons were the hoes and shovels that every household had.
Each of them held their "weapons" and stubbornly fought against the invading army. But how could ordinary civilians, who were not good at fighting, possibly defeat the well-trained soldiers?
Soon, the once-clean streets of the city were instantly dyed blood-red.
The earth-shattering cries echoed in the empty sky.
The invaders looted and ransacked the city. Seven or eight out of ten shops in the city were smashed to pieces, and all the valuable things were taken.
When they saw a decent-looking woman, they would rape her on the spot.
The mayor was filled with grief and anger. He tightly held his iron sword and fought desperately against those scumbags, while secretly ordering people to protect the children and others hidden underground.
The mayor died.
He didn't die trying to save that woman. He died for the fate of Fengdu City.
After hearing Song Xumo's story, Tang Youyou's eyes became extremely moist.
She never expected that the most loyal and kind people would end up like this, and this land of fish and rice would be reduced to such a state. It was really a pity.
"Rong Xun."
Tang Youyou originally didn't want to get involved in Rong Jiangyu's war, but now she really couldn't just sit back and watch other innocent people suffer such cruel treatment.
They were innocent. What crime had they committed to deserve the painful consequences of war?
It was hard to say that Tang Youyou was completely blameless for the current situation.
If the story had developed according to the original plot, even if Tang Youyou had died, the Ming Dynasty would still have belonged to Rong Xun, and this country at the center of the divine land would have entered a prosperous era under his leadership.
But the story had changed from the very beginning. She didn't know if it was because of her, but there must be some connection for Rong Xun to fake his death and abdicate, and for him to give up his ambition to be emperor.