Jinghong Tower

Chapter 365 Abandoned City
If an ordinary person is verbally insulted by someone, he or she will either curse back in person or behind the person's back. If one is sensitive, he or she may get so angry that he or she will be bedridden for a few days.

However, Jing Laosan is not an ordinary person. He is a person who has been troubled by his life experience since he was a child.

Although he lived better than the Crown Prince in the Duke's Mansion and Duke Ding wanted to hold him in the palm of his hand, it was different.

For most of his life, he felt inferior because he had a mother who was a slave.

After he grew up, he finally learned about his life experience from Duke Dingguo.

His biological mother was not only not humble, but also nobler than any other woman in the world.

His biological mother is the second daughter of the former Crown Prince Zhao Wang Zhou Dong, Princess Huishan!
Of course, at the same time, he also knew another thing.

He was born to Princess Huishan, but his father was neither Princess Huishan's groom, nor Duke Dingguo, nor Liu Shanhe. He even suspected that his biological father was a guard who escorted Princess Huishan to marry far away!
At that moment, Jing Laosan would rather his biological mother was the concubine of Duke Dingguo!

He would rather be the illegitimate son of Duke Dingguo.

Unfortunately, he is not.

He Ran observed his words and expressions and guessed that Jing Lao San actually knew his own background for a long time, and that this guy was very inferior.

He Ran had met four of the royal family's hidden gems.

One is Zhou Cangyue, whose grandmother is Zhou Chi’s sister Zhou Ying.

The other is King Xiao Zhao Zhou Jian. Regardless of whether he really has royal blood or not, He Ran said he has it, so he has it.

Another one is He Pan, whose biological mother is most likely also Princess Huishan.

The next one is Jing Lao San in front of us. He is the only one who grew up in luxury and was well protected since childhood.

But now it seems that he is the one with the most abnormal psychology.

He Ran saw the disgust that flashed across Jing Lao San's eyes.

Who does he hate?
He definitely doesn't hate himself, he just hates his biological mother.

Does Jing Laosan think that his embarrassing life experience was all caused by his biological mother?
He Ran complained about Duke Dingguo in her heart. Did he know that Jing Lao San was not actually proud of Hui Shan as his biological mother?

He Ran softened her voice and said, "If you have any grievances, just speak them out. If you keep them in your heart, you will get sick."

Jing Lao San glanced at her and said in a cold voice: "None of your business."

He Ran suddenly asked, "If Princess Huishan was still alive, what would you do?"

Jing Lao San was startled: "Is this true or false?"

He Ran: "Will you recognize her?"

Jing Lao San: "Why should I recognize her? She is promiscuous, lewd and shameless. Why should I recognize her?"

He Ran felt a little regretful. It was a pity that Duke Dingguo was not there, otherwise she might have had a second stroke, which would have saved her a lot of energy.

He Ran stood up and left, and behind her came the crazy roar of Jing Lao San.

He Ran couldn't help but look back, and the scene before her broadened her horizons.

Jing Laosan was gnawing at the cage, looking like a mad beast.

At this moment, He Ran could be sure that Jing Laosan's madness was definitely not caused by Zhou Cangyue.

This Jing Laosan was not normal at all.

The next morning, just after five o'clock in the morning, the Ran army attacked the city again.

This time, it's different from usual.

In the past, the Ran army would send people to challenge, which is also a common pattern on the battlefield.

But today, it is no longer a person who comes to challenge us, but a cannon.

On this beautiful morning, the Ran army fired three happy cannon shots, bombarding the city gate!
This was not the first time that the Ran army fired at the city gate.

The reason why the enemy failed to break through yesterday was not because the artillery fire was not strong enough, but because the Ran army knew when to stop and sounded the retreat.

And today, the Ran army is clearly determined to win.

The heavy city gate was shattered into pieces, and Yangzhou City opened its gates amid the artillery fire.

He Xiulong laughed loudly and looked up to the sky: "All soldiers, follow me into the city!"

The sound of the Ran army's horses' hooves reached thousands of households. Some people were trembling with fear, while others were overjoyed and wished they could leave their homes right now.

They were happy, not because they supported the Ran army, but because this battle was going to be longer than they had imagined. They were not well prepared and were now out of food. If they did not leave, they would starve to death.

The imperial army was still resisting, but it was already at the end of its strength. Thousands of troops poured into Yangzhou city and stopped in front of the government office.

In front of the government office, Ding Wu stood there in his official robe.

He Xiulong sat upright on her horse, looking down at him condescendingly.

Seeing the arrogant female general in front of him, Ding Wu felt a little embarrassed.

He only fought one battle after coming to Yangzhou, and that was when he was defeated by He Xiulong, and it was a terrible defeat.

His injuries have not healed yet.

"I am Ding Wu, under the order of Duke Dingguo, and I am here to negotiate with General He."

He Xiulong was stunned for a moment, then she laughed: "In other words, Duke Dingguo abandoned the city and fled, abandoning his army?"

Ding Wu straightened his back and said, "The Duke is seriously ill and should have returned to Nanjing to recuperate long ago."

He Xiulong smiled contemptuously: "What benefit did he promise you to let you die for him? And you are qualified to negotiate with this general?"

Ding Wu gritted his teeth. Duke Dingguo had not promised him any benefits. This opportunity was something he had fought for himself.

"I am a defeated general under the general. In the general's opinion, I am indeed not qualified to negotiate. However, as long as I am an official, I must serve the court. As long as I am still alive, I am a minister of the dynasty."

He Xiulong shouted loudly: "Capture Ding Wu!"

Two soldiers came forward and tied Ding Wu's hands behind his back. Ding Wu shouted: "Confucius said to sacrifice one's benevolence, Mencius said to pursue righteousness. Only when one has fulfilled one's righteousness can one achieve benevolence."

He Xiulong snorted coldly: "You are a military general, what Confucius and Mencius are you talking about? You want to be a literary prime minister who will leave a loyal heart in history, then this general will help you. Come, let General Ding circle the city and let everyone in the world know that General Ding will not serve two masters and only wants to die."

Ding Wu was stunned. How could this woman be so ruthless?

No one expected that Duke Dingguo would secretly leave before the fall of Yangzhou City.

At this moment, he betrayed the emperor whom he had betrayed long ago, betrayed the people in the city, betrayed the 100,000-strong army, and also betrayed his beloved Jing Lao San.

As for Ding Wu, he voluntarily stayed here. As for the purpose of his staying, He Xiulong didn't think of it, but He Ran did.

Ding Wu wanted to surrender. He knew his own strengths and weaknesses. He was not Fu Yansheng. If he surrendered as a defeated general, he would definitely not be taken seriously, and he would not be able to surpass Feng Zan.

That's why he showed up as a peace envoy to let the world know his loyalty and courage. He Xiulong fulfilled his reputation of loyalty and had Ding Wu tied up and marched around the city.

Not everyone in Yangzhou City stayed at home. For example, the scholars were jumping around for as many days as Duke Dingguo came.

Sit quietly today, cry tomorrow, new ideas emerge in endlessly.

Ding Wu was paraded through the streets as a warning to the public. Before the parade was over, a scholar wrote an angry poem about him.

Of course, if Ding Wu and He Xiulong were swapped genders, the situation would be different.

Although He Xiulong is very famous, in the eyes of these people, she is just a woman.

He Xiulong conquered cities and plundered territories in the north. She captured more cities than Feng Zan and Lu Zhen combined, and she was a well-deserved brave general.

However, there are differences between the north and the south. There are many aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River. The aristocratic families value rules and etiquette. In their view, women learn to read and write only to better support their husbands and raise their children. Even if they are the daughters of aristocratic families, their poems can only be circulated among their boudoirs.

It was also a war, but when Feng Zan and Lu Zhen won, these scholars could only beat their chests and cry loudly. But when He Xiulong conquered Yangzhou City, these scholars felt as if their ancestors' graves had been dug up.

In their opinion, this was more unbearable than letting Zhou Cangyue, a beggar, occupy Tongcheng.

Although Zhou Cangyue is of humble status, he is still a man after all.

And He Xiulong, even with the halo around her, is just a humble woman.

As the city of Yangzhou opened up, these articles spread everywhere.

In these articles, He Xiulong was described as a woman who relied on men to get to the top.

The reason why she was able to win the battle was that she had a group of beautiful female spies under her command who specialized in seducing the enemy.

Often the day before a battle, He Xiulong would have these beauties seduce the opponent, making him so weak in the knees that he would be completely defenseless in the next day's battle.

He Xiulong also used her sex appeal to gain popularity.

Feng Xieying, Nie Chen and others under He Ran were all He Xiulong's lovers.

Because of them, He Xiulong was able to be promoted again and again, and trample on those generals who were stronger than her in both ability and resources.

For example, Lu Zhen.

Lu Zhen was born into a family of generals. His grandfather was the Marquis of Wu'an, who was personally conferred the title by Emperor Taizu. His father and uncle also made great military achievements. Lu Zhen had a profound family background in military learning and had frequent victories in the Ran army. However, until now, Lu Zhen was inferior to He Xiulong.

There is also He Dali. He and He Xiulong both come from Qingcang Mountain. He Dali is also known as He Ran's personal guard. He Dali's shadow can be seen in every battle that He Ran personally participates in.

But in the end, He Dali was also suppressed by He Xiulong.

Of course, let alone Feng Zan.
These articles are like dog urine mushrooms after rain, and there are more and more of them.

They belittled and slandered He Xiulong, but on the contrary, they praised Ding Wu as a brave fighter who was loyal to the emperor and patriotic.

In this round of verbal criticism, two people were pushed to the opposite side, one was He Xiulong and the other was Ding Wu.

However, Duke Dingguo, who abandoned the city and fled, was perfectly invisible.

He Xiulong didn't care about it at all and she didn't even look at it.

He Ran, however, did mind it. If He Xiulong had not been promoted by her personally against all odds, she would have really believed it.

It’s all bullshit to say that Feng Xieying and Nie Chen were seduced by He Xiulong!

It would have been fine if Nie Chen came late, but let's talk about Feng Xieying. Back then, He Xiulong was only sixteen years old, and He Ran asked her to lead the troops. Feng Xieying ran all the way to stop her and nagged for two hours just to make He Ran change her mind. According to Feng Xieying's opinion, He Xiulong should be sent to Li Jinxiu to study for at least ten or eight years.

The more He Ran thought about it, the angrier she became. And there was Li Jinxiu. When that group of people praised Lu Zhen for his good family background, they mentioned his grandfather and father, but didn't mention a word about Li Jinxiu, whose military exploits far surpassed those of the entire Lu family.

He Ran thought about it, wrote a letter to He Yamin and Zhong Yi in the capital, and then asked He Xiulong to continue to recover the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou.

Interestingly, He Xiulong lived in the government office. It was said that when Duke Dingguo lived here, those scholars went to sit in silence outside the government office every day. Now that He Xiulong has taken over, there are articles slandering He Xiulong flying everywhere, but no one dares to cause trouble outside the government office.

In this regard, He Ran and He Xiulong quickly reached a consensus.

We have to beat you again, beat you hard!

At this moment, Lu Zhen's letter arrived. This letter was not for He Ran, but for He Xiulong.

Lu Zhen also saw those rumor-mongering articles outside. It was Jiang Tao who showed them to him.

Jiang Tao: "You are done, you are really done, He Xiulong knows that you are jealous of her."

Lu Zhen: "I didn't, I really didn't."

To be honest, he was a little bit unconvinced of Feng Zan. After all, Feng Zan was born a bandit. A son of a noble family like Lu Zhen would be more or less proud. Unless he fought a few battles with Feng Zan, he would not be convinced.

But Lu Zhen never had any objection to He Xiulong.

why?
Because he was taught by Li Jinxiu, he knew from a young age that women can be no worse than men when they are powerful, such as his grandmother Li Jinxiu, He Jinghong, and He Ran.

Others only see that he has always been suppressed by He Xiulong, but they don’t know that this is a very normal thing for Lu Zhen.

The same goes for Jiang Tao.

They all have a very powerful grandmother in their family.

Jiang Tao patted his chest and said, "Thank God, I was ignored. I was scared to death. Otherwise, the next time we meet, you won't be the only one beaten up by He Xiulong."

Lu Zhen: Why should I be beaten up by He Xiulong?

Jiang Tao: "When I was in Qingcang Mountain, I heard about an incident. When He Xiulong was still in the elite battalion, she encountered a leopard during field training. She tore the leopard to pieces with her bare hands. Do you think she would tear you to pieces too?"

Lu Zhen: I am so unlucky. I am sitting at home and yet something unexpected happens!

So Lu Zhen wrote a letter to He Xiulong with great caution. Worried that it was not sincere enough, Lu Zhen asked his scholars to polish it before sending it to Yangzhou.

He Ran saw He Xiulong smiling while reading the letter and asked, "What's wrong?"

He Xiulong smiled and said, "Lu Zhen said he would treat me to a meal in Jinling and also said he would give me one of his manors in Fengtai. He is really generous."

He Ran also smiled: "If he gives it to you, you should accept it. Wu'an Marquis's Mansion is rich, and he has a lot of money."

There is no poor military general. Even when He Ran was at her poorest, she never let the generals under her suffer from poverty.

He Xiulong said, "He Dali has no money, right?"

He Ran: "I have awarded him several houses. You can ask him for one."

He Xiulong was overjoyed and decided to find an opportunity to threaten He Dali so that He Dali would willingly compensate her with a house.

Three days later, He Xiulong led his troops directly to Zhenjiang Prefecture.

At the same time, Lu Zhen and Jiang Tao headed towards Suzhou, Feng Zan captured Muyang, and Zhou Cangyue was in Tongcheng at this time. He originally wanted to go back, but at this time, he received information sent by his brothers from the Beggar Gang.

His sister Ran is not in Xuzhou, and has been away from Xuzhou for many days!