It’s the 30th day of the summer month. The team is only a few miles away from the imperial capital, and its members already exceed ten thousand people.
Shuiyun woke up before the sky became clear. In fact, she could hardly fall asleep last night. She walked out of her tent and looked up at the stars that were gradually fading. There were only thin clouds like silk yarn floating in the sky in the night sky.
, meaning that the new day will still be sunny. This is probably a good sign, but I don’t know who it is, she thought.
She walked further, turned around, and looked at the camp behind her.
They looked messy and varied in size. The largest ones numbered more than a thousand, while the smaller ones numbered only a few hundred. Most of the people responsible for the night watch were members of the "Tubu". They were drowsy at this time and raised their hands to slap each other from time to time.
yawn.
Shui Yun had no intention of blaming those people. They were businessmen and logistics personnel, not well-trained soldiers. The same was not true of the rest of the people. Only a few of the more than 10,000 people in front of him had received simple weapons and cotton armor. More
With her bare hands, she lacked a complete organization, including officers and supervisory teams. Even the sergeants guarding the border could not display their combat effectiveness, let alone her tribe and the people who joined in the fun.
This was the idea of the "Pale" leader, and she could understand the purpose - whether they were asking for war with the alliance, or to clean up the evil spirits around the king, these people were just civilians, not rebels who intended to subvert the empire. For the ruler himself
, killing people who come to 'petition' will inevitably become an indelible stain; if they are allowed to enter the imperial capital, or even rush into the palace hall, the king's prestige will also plummet.
Shuiyun only prayed that the golden emperor would choose the latter, otherwise even if the empire was shaken, it would be meaningless to her. This indeed seemed a bit ridiculous. She promoted the cruelty and stupidity of the other party, but hoped that he would actually be kind enough.
She took another look at the sky that was beginning to turn white, walked back to the front camp, and opened the tent belonging to the leader of the soil tribe.
Wei Feng was awake as she expected, wearing his usual brown robe, and was flipping through a history book that seemed to be an empire. The "King of Earth" could draw energy from the earth, so he hardly needed sleep. He closed the book and took a photo.
He patted the felt beside him and motioned Shuiyun to come and sit there.
"Are you worried?" After she complied, Wei Feng said without looking at her, "Although I may not be able to help."
It was already so obvious. Shuiyun lowered his head and did not answer the question directly. "How much food do we still have?"
"About five days now." The man replied, "When they leave the imperial capital, I will ask Dobu to provide enough food until they return to their hometown." He folded his hands on the low table in front of him, "This is our
Original duty."
"I understand." She responded hoarsely, biting a piece of hair in her mouth, and was silent for a while, "If the defenders of the Imperial Capital fight back, what are you going to do?"
Wei Feng glanced at her with no hesitation in his eyes.
"I swear to kill all the evil spirits in the world, but I have never taken a human life." He slightly tightened his hands on the table, "I don't want to make an exception unless I have to."
The man exhaled and his voice softened slightly, "If fighting is inevitable." He looked at the camp outside the door, "I will give priority to ensuring their safety."
That's what this man has always insisted on. It seems a bit rigid, even naive, but Shuiyun doesn't dislike it. Maybe because... her ideal is the same.
She raised her hands and placed them lightly on Wei Feng's hands, feeling a little warmth and solidity.
"Thank you." She said softly, then stood up, "Me too."
…
The last few miles of the journey were still peaceful. As noon approached, the end of the journey was already within reach.
"We're here." Wei Feng's voice came from outside the car, bringing her back to reality with her eyes closed in deep thought.
Shuiyun responded. She signaled the coachman to stop the carriage, then opened the door, stepped onto the ground silently, and looked at the scenery in the distance.
A high wall made of huge bluestones lay across the front. Hundreds of years of time have carved history on it, but it has not been eroded by the weather. Just like the huge country in front of her - after more than ten generations of emperors' rule, it still cannot be seen.
There are some signs of decline.
Maybe that was just superficial, she thought.
Too long of comfort will inevitably bring about changes, and decay is beginning to spread from within. The seeds of uneasiness have long been planted, and what she brings now is the beginning of the empire's instability.
The city gate in the distance was closed tightly. The guards guarding the city lined up above the city wall, pointing their heavily strung crossbows at the team behind her - but that was all. As the city-state in the center of the empire, Xin'an City except
The guards and royal guards who maintain law and order no longer have regular troops on weekdays. As an imperial capital with a population of hundreds of thousands, if more than a thousand guards are dispersed to various city gates, they will be as worthless as splashes in the ocean.
In fact, since it was built two hundred and forty years ago, this imperial capital has never been involved in a war. Unlike the fortresses located on the border, its thick outer walls do not have moats, urns and turrets, and are more likely to be used simply to declare martial law.
Because of this, the golden emperor must have chosen to stick to the inner city and give up the difficult-to-defend outer city.
She turned around, looked at the gathering crowd behind her, and recited the incantation in a low voice. The instructions were quickly conveyed everywhere, and a huge team of tens of thousands of "people" slowly gathered more than a thousand feet away from the city wall.
Stop slowly.
Shuiyun clasped her hands on her chest again - there was a square metal box hanging around her neck with a simple cloth strap. It didn't look like an ordinary pendant. She closed her eyes and prayed softly, as if it could bring good luck.
generally.
After a while, she opened her eyes and her expression had returned to calm. "Frost Team!"
More than a dozen people came to her. Most of them were women, wearing simple white robes and scarves. They did not have any visible weapons in their hands. But anyone who knew something about the "Pale Hand" would never despise this.
A team.
They are the elites of the "Fog Ministry", and each one of them is an outstanding alchemist. Although most of their daily duties are to detect intelligence, Shuiyun is convinced that even the outstanding assassins trained by the "Shadow Ministry" will not be able to compete in equal numbers.
outperform them.
"Everything is going according to plan." Shuiyun whispered, "Our mission is to break through the outer city. As for the inner city, others will be responsible for handling it."
The alchemists in white nodded in agreement. They chanted incantations and gradually disappeared from Shuiyun's sight. Then she turned her head and looked at Wei Feng beside her.
"I am responsible for opening the city gate." The leader of the Tube said solemnly, "I leave it to you to defend the city."
Shuiyun nodded wordlessly and watched the man squat down and press his palms to the ground. The ground rippled and swallowed him up silently.