I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 164 North Gate

"Deputy General Xue can kneel for as long as he wants; I'll keep him company to the end."

"Young Miss!" Xue Qing looked up, wiped her face haphazardly with her arm, and quickly got up, saying, "This subordinate will get up now. Please get up quickly, Young Miss, be careful not to hurt your knees. The old general will be worried."

Tang Zhao stood up, found a chair and sat down, gesturing for Xue Qing to sit opposite him.

Xue Qing refused to sit, saying, "This humble servant will stand."

Alright, Tang Zhao didn't press the matter. "Tell me about what happened back then."

Back then, Xue Qing's arms trembled, and he knelt on the ground again with a thud, saying, "This humble servant is guilty."

"The north gate was opened by this humble servant."

At the door, Dr. Zhong kept his eyes tightly closed.

This time, Tang Zhao did not help Vice General Xue up again, but sat quietly in the chair and listened to him recount the whole story of the fall of Wuwei City in the thirtieth year of Kangzhi.

On June 16th of the 30th year of the Kangzhi reign, the Turks launched an attack on Dayu with an army of 200,000. The beacon fires at the watchtower were lit. Upon receiving the news, General Song immediately reorganized his troops. He personally led his troops to resist the enemy while sending messengers to the Wuwei Prefecture government, ordering them to seal the city gates.

Upon receiving the order, the Prefect of Wuwei immediately dispatched his yamen runners to deliver a message to the guards at the city gates of Wuwei. The four main city gates—east, west, south, and north—were simultaneously closed, and Wuwei City was instantly besieged.

The battle cries of the two countries could still be clearly heard by the people of Wuwei City from miles away, but no one was afraid. They believed that the Song family army would, as always, keep the Turks outside the border of Dayu.

“At that time, I was patrolling the city gate when Zhao Feng, the chief of the guards of the Protector General’s Mansion, came up to the city wall and said that he had a secret order from the old general that needed to be given to me privately.”

"This humble servant dared not neglect his duty and immediately found a secluded place to read the secret letter," Xue Qing said, then suddenly paused, as if unsure how to continue.

Tang Zhao, recalling Xue Qing's earlier words, said on his behalf, "The secret letter instructed you to open the city gates privately."

"Yes, I was very surprised when I received the secret letter, but it was stamped with the old general's personal seal," Xue Qing said, becoming more and more excited. "Although I didn't understand, the situation was so urgent that there was no time for me to verify it. I suspected that the old general had other plans, so I did as the secret letter suggested."

Fearing a leak of military secrets, Xue Qing personally went to the North Gate with Zhao Feng. After confirming that there was nothing amiss, he hesitated for a long time before finally ordering the gate to be opened.

The north gate suddenly opened. Xue Qing stood under the city wall, increasingly uneasy. Before he could figure it out, the once peaceful grassland suddenly rose up, and dozens of Turks covered in grass rushed toward the city gate under the torchlight.

"An ambush!" Xue Qing shouted. "Close the city gates immediately!"

The well-trained soldiers guarding the city lined up on both sides and worked together to push open the city gate.

A long sword suddenly plunged into the heart of the soldier who pushed open the door, and was pulled out in an instant.

Blood spurted out, and the soldier fell to the ground with his hands still in the posture of pushing the door open.

"Zhao Feng, what are you doing!" After watching three or four soldiers die under the blade, Xue Qing finally recovered from his shock, roared, drew his sword, and blocked the dripping blood from the long blade.

Zhao Feng said, word by word, "I am ordered to let the Turkic troops into the city."

Xue Qing stared wide-eyed in disbelief and roared, "Close the door! Close the door now!"

Hearing the noise from below, the guards on the city wall immediately went down and worked together with the surviving soldiers to close the gate.

The Turkic soldiers, draped in grass, rushed to the city gate, drew their long swords, and slashed fiercely at the heads of the Dayu soldiers.

Warm blood spurted from the neck, and the Turkic soldiers picked up the heads and piled them in the middle of the city gate to slow down its closing.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves approached, and Xue Qing, who was tightly entangled, tried his best to block Zhao Feng's attack while looking in the direction of the sound.

Countless Turkic warhorses galloped through the night, the Turkic Eagle Wolf King banner fluttering high in the night wind, with the Turkic prince, wielding a golden-ringed broadsword, leading the charge. The soldiers of Dayu descended the city walls to fight the Turkic troops, and a continuous stream of soldiers spontaneously marched out of Wuwei City to resist the enemy and slow the Turkic advance.

The north gate slowly closed again. The soldiers of Dayu who pushed the gate open had tears in their eyes and turned their heads away from looking at their deformed heads under the powerful pressure of the gate.

Just before the city gates were about to close, a large golden-ringed sword appeared out of nowhere, and with a single sweep, two heads fell to the ground.

The Turkic soldiers dismounted and used their bodies to block the city gate from closing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Turkic prince rode into the city first, and like the Grim Reaper, he brandished his golden sword and reaped the lives of the Dayu soldiers.

Seeing more and more Turks rushing into the north gate, Xue Qing was extremely anxious, but Zhao Feng kept her tied up with him.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the north gate, and the two gates slowly opened, gradually widening the space that was originally only wide enough for one person and one horse to pass through, until the north gate was completely open.

Xue Qing was shocked. A sudden, sharp pain shot through his chest. He looked down and saw that a long knife had pierced through his left chest, and blood was dripping from the tip of the knife like scattered pearls.

The long sword was suddenly drawn, and Xue Qing spat out blood. The sword fell from his hand, and Xue Qing's burly body crashed to the ground, his eyes stubbornly refusing to close.

As he completely lost consciousness, an apology drifted into his ears; he wondered if it was just his imagination.

After Xue Qing finished speaking, she couldn't help but burst into tears, "It's all my fault, I deserve to die, I deserve to die!"

Tang Zhao did not step forward to stop her, letting Xue Qing vent her emotions. However, the bulging veins on her hands gripping the chair armrests betrayed the overwhelming anger in her heart.

Tang Zhao suppressed his resentment and quickly integrated the information he knew into his mind. "System, who helped Emperor Pingyuan secretly contact the Turks?"

The system was silent.

"Don't tell me that it wasn't written there either."

[Host, this is against the rules]

"I'll trade my life points," Tang Zhao thought to himself. "You don't need to say your name, just answer yes or no."

[Ding! Transaction successful. Host's HP -100, current HP 320]

"Is it Duke Tang Zheng of Wei?"

【Yes】

Tang Zhao took a deep breath, detached his consciousness from his mind, and looked down at Xue Qing on the ground, who was crying like a three-year-old child. He felt utterly absurd.

Why is it that innocent people are consumed by guilt, while evildoers enjoy wealth and glory?

She was given a second life thanks to the original owner of the body. She was able to live with dignity and integrity in this strange world only because of the protection of the Song family. She owes the original owner and the Song family a debt of gratitude and should avenge them!
"Deputy General Xue," Tang Zhao squatted down and forcefully helped the curled-up man up, "Do you want revenge?"

Xue Qing nodded blankly.

"If you want to, then listen to the doctor and get well soon," Tang Zhao said, wiping away Xue Qing's tears with his sleeve. "Once you're better, we'll take revenge on our enemies together."

Xue Qing hurriedly said, "Miss, I am not ill."

“If you weren’t sick, you wouldn’t call me ‘Young Miss’,” Tang Zhao said, looking into Xue Qing’s eyes. “Song Qing’an is dead. He died the year Wuwei City fell.”

"I am Song Qing'an's daughter, Tang Zhao."