The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 558: life and death
Chapter 558: Life and Death
Dong Changlan clasped his fists and said, “Don’t worry, father, I will save myself the trouble!”
Dong Qingyue clenched his fists and gently placed them on the table, looking at Bai Qingyan and Dong Changlan: “Abao…from now on, the entire Dong family will do as the Bai family said, and fight to pacify the world and end the war! From your grandmother… to your cousin, we will fight the Bai family through fire and water, life and death!”
Bai Qingyan’s eyes were boiling with passion, and he said firmly: “We are all in this together, sharing weal and woe, and there is no need to be negative!”
“Dong Changlan will follow my cousin’s lead for the rest of his life!” Dong Changlan clasped his fists towards Bai Qingyan, “Changlan firmly believes that my cousin will be able to lead him to see the day when the seas are peaceful and the rivers are clear, and there is no war in the world! For this reason… Changlan is not afraid of life or death!”
The blood of the Dong family is still hot. Born in this chaotic world… who doesn’t want to end this war, who doesn’t want to see the day when the world is unified again? Who doesn’t want to leave a name in history, and be remembered for this unification achievement for eternity?
The Dong family acted according to the original plan in Dengzhou. Except for knowing in their hearts that the ghost-faced general of Nanrong was Ayu, everything else remained unchanged. This was to prepare for the event that Bai Qingyu was unable to completely control Nanrong, and to provide convenient support in case Bai Qingyu encountered any unexpected events.
On the night of August 24, some people from Dengzhou saw the city gates open and a baggage convoy leaving the city. The next day, there was a heated discussion in the city.
For three consecutive days, carriages and horses from the Dong residence left the city every night in the dead of night. There were rumors that Dong Qingyue received news that the Rongdi people were going to mobilize the entire country to attack the city, so they packed up the Dong residence’s valuables and fled, intending to abandon the city and escape.
Some people saw the danger and took action, gathering up the valuables in their homes and packing them into bags, so that they could flee in advance if the Rongdi people really attacked the city.
On the night of August 27, Dong Changmao, who was sent out of the city by Dong Qingyue to inquire about the military situation of the Southern Rong, rode his horse quickly into the city and headed straight for Dong’s Mansion.
Officials from Dengzhou City were summoned overnight, and Dong Qingyue informed them that Dong Changmao had learned that Nanrong would mobilize the entire country to attack Dengzhou City. This was exactly as Dong Qingyue had expected, so all the officials from Dengzhou believed it.
Dong Qingyue said frankly that the soldiers of Dengzhou Army had long been dissatisfied with the fact that the emperor had withheld food and wages to repair the palace. If they fought at this time… the morale of the Dengzhou Army was unstable and they might not be able to win. In order to prevent the people of Dengzhou from being slaughtered due to defeat, he proposed that before the arrival of the Southern Rong troops, the Dengzhou Army should first escort the officials’ families to evacuate, and then evacuate the people, leaving the Dengzhou Army and military officers to guard the city.
All the officials expressed their agreement. After all, who wouldn’t be afraid of the Southern Rong army breaking into the city and massacring Dengzhou… and implicate their own wives and children?
On the morning of August 28, some Dengzhou residents who woke up early saw that the alley where the officials of Dengzhou lived was in chaos from one end to the other. Horse-drawn carriages were parked in front of the doors of the wealthy families with vermilion lacquered red doors. Women from each family got on the carriages with their valuables in their arms, and other property was piled high on the carriages that were specially used to transport goods. The carriages were covered with oilcloth and tied with strong hemp ropes. Under the protection of the Dengzhou soldiers armed with swords, the families walked out of the city one after another.
When the officials’ families left like this, the people were in chaos. Some rolled up their sleeves and cursed, while others followed suit and hurried home to harness their carriages, pack up their belongings, and follow the officials’ families out of the city.
Some people even started cursing Dong Qingyue, saying that he was going to abandon the city and flee, completely disregarding the lives of the people.
When someone went to investigate at the Dong Mansion, they heard that the wealth was the first to be transported away, and that the female members of the Dong family were the first to leave Dengzhou. Now, among the female members, only old lady Dong has not left, and Dong Qingyue, Dong Changlan and Dong Changmao are still there.
That afternoon, after all the officials and their families had moved out of the city, Dong Qingyue stood on the bell and drum tower and beat the drum to gather the people in the city.
Seeing Dong Qingyue, the infuriated people no longer cared about any etiquette preparations and asked loudly: “Master Dong, I heard that the Rongdi are going to attack the city, and the officials and their families have been moved out of the city! Master Dong, are you going to abandon the people of Dengzhou?”
As soon as the man finished speaking, an elm carriage engraved with the Dong family emblem slowly stopped at the foot of the city gate tower, and Bai Qingyan helped Old Lady Dong out of the carriage.
Old Lady Dong leaned on an ebony cane and stood on the carriage. Her eyes were piercing and her voice was as loud as a bell. She said in a loud voice: “My Dong family has guarded the border city of Dengzhou in Jin State for generations. We have never abandoned the city or the people of Dengzhou. It has never happened before and it will never happen again in the future!”
Bai Qingyan helped Old Lady Dong get off the carriage. Old Lady Dong swept her sharp eyes over the people of Dengzhou who were gathered under the Drum Tower. She straightened her back, leaned on a shiny ebony cane in one hand, held Bai Qingyan’s hand with the other, and walked towards the Drum Tower.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Old Lady Dong, who was dressed in the gorgeous attire of a noble lady. Her hair was combed meticulously and her face was tense. She was old and the powder could no longer cover the wrinkles on her face. However, she stood straight, dignified and self-possessed. Her usual kind face was gone, and she was now filled with a decisiveness and murderous resolve.
Dong Qingyue personally walked down from the drum tower with his sons Dong Changlan and Dong Changmao to welcome Old Lady Dong, but Old Lady Dong waved her hand and stood in front of the people, saying loudly: “Starting as early as June… My son Dong Qingyue submitted more than a dozen memorials to the emperor, informing him that the Southern Rong might use all the country’s strength to attack our Dengzhou City this year, and asking the emperor to prepare and send troops to help. Not only did the emperor not agree, he withheld the Dengzhou army’s food and wages to use for repairing the palace!”
When the people heard the old but loud voice of Old Lady Dong, they slowly gathered in her direction.
“The emperor can abandon the people of Dengzhou, but the Dong family can’t! The Dengzhou army can’t! So my son has to pretend that the Dong family got the news and left the city first, and send the Dengzhou army out of the city first to set up tents and build a camp, so that the people of Dengzhou will have a place to stay after leaving the city, and they won’t become refugees!”
“If that’s the case, why did those officials run away with their families? Is the old lady trying to deceive ignorant people like us?” someone asked loudly.
Old Lady Dong looked in the direction of the person who spoke and said, “Because there are spies from the court among the officials in Dengzhou, the Dengzhou army was sent to escort the officials out of the city to prevent anyone from informing the emperor in advance. The emperor sent people to take away my son’s military power on the grounds that he was making a fuss and disturbing the people. No one is protecting the people of Dengzhou anymore! Only when those officials are moved out of Dengzhou and controlled, will my Dong family dare to speak frankly to the people!”
Old Lady Dong handed the cane in her hand to Bai Qingyan and took a step forward: “My fellow villagers, my Dong family has been protecting Dengzhou City for generations. Who can tell… has the Dong family ever abandoned the city and fled? Has there ever been a Dong who abandoned the people? The Dong family has been supported by the people of Dengzhou for generations, and has also protected the people of Dengzhou for generations!”
Keep rolling around and begging for monthly tickets! Bald author Jun, try your best… let’s see if you can finish the next chapter!