Chapter 245: Loyalty Collapses

He shouted hoarsely: "The Prince of Zhenbei is dead! The Prince is gone! The Xiongnu have broken Lin City!"

"What?" The guards were shocked. If this were true, then the people of the northern frontier would suffer if the Xiongnu went south!

At this moment, there were many people at the city gate, and after hearing this, they exploded.

"Quickly report to the County Magistrate, prepare as soon as possible!" The man on the horse shouted again, then turned the horse's head and ran toward the next city.

The guards stood in place, murmuring helplessly: "The Prince of Zhenbei is dead! The Xiongnu are coming to kill!"

Then, thinking of what the man said, the guards couldn't care about anything else and ran toward the County Government in a panic, still shouting: "The Xiongnu are coming! The Prince is dead!"

"What are they shouting?" The cloth shop owner walked out of the shop, still holding the newly arrived cloth.

The butcher's knife fell on the chopping board with a "clatter". He couldn't care about picking it up and rushed out of the meat shop in a few steps.

"What did that person just shout?"

A person who came over from the city gate had a pale face, his lips trembling: "They said, said the Prince is dead, and the Xiongnu are coming."

"Nonsense!" The butcher roared, "How could the Prince die? The Xiongnu can't even pass Lin City!"

More and more people gathered around, discussing in a jumble, and panic began to spread.

And the County Magistrate of Shuo Fang County, who learned the news, was

The defender knelt on the ground, his legs weak: "I don't know! Judging by his appearance, he should have come from the front line!"

"Quick! Someone, go and scout for news from the front line!" The Prefect could not set his mind at ease; just listening to others left him feeling uncertain, and this matter had to be verified personally.

"I will send someone to check immediately!"

The Prefect decided to go all the way and continued to issue orders: "Pass my order, seal the city immediately to prevent a Xiongnu invasion!"

Even so, the Prefect still felt uneasy and hurried off to consult with the generals in the city.

The Prefect had basically confirmed the authenticity of the news in his heart; after all, here in Beijiang, who would dare to spread such a rumor if the Prince of the North were not dead?

And with the act of sealing Shuo Fang City, the common people completely believed the fact that the Prince of the North had died miserably at the hands of the Xiongnu.

The man on horseback continued to gallop, and if he encountered commoners or defenders who questioned him closely, he would 'choke up' and tell the 'truth'.

The Prince fell into an ambush, nearly thirty thousand Zhenbei Army troops were wiped out, the Prince's head was personally cut off by the Xiongnu Chanyu and hung on a flagpole to be shown to the public, and the Xiongnu were feeding on the bodies of the Zhenbei Army and might head south to occupy Beijiang.

"Impossible!" A defender grabbed the man by the lapels, "The Prince is a master of military strategy, how could he fall into an ambush?"

"It is... true... The Xiongnu are cunning, the Prince, he... woo woo..."

Soon this news spread throughout the entire Shuo Fang Jun, and for the common people, this was no different from the sky collapsing!

People gathered spontaneously, attempting to discuss the situation, and the whispering was interspersed with the sobbing of women.

"Everyone, don't panic, the Imperial Court will surely send troops..."

"The Imperial Court?" Someone in the crowd sneered, "When has the Imperial Court ever cared about the lives of us people in Beijiang?"

"My uncle is a member of a merchant caravan; the Imperial Court ordered the blockade of Guansongling, not letting a single grain of food enter Beijiang! If there is no food, how could there be reinforcements?"

These words immediately drew a chorus of agreement! The matter of Guansongling had long ceased to be a secret, and many people understood why the Imperial Court had taken this action!

The people of Beijiang knew clearly that they were the subjects forgotten by the Imperial Court.

Over these years, taxes had not been reduced by a single cent, yet at the critical moment, they were left to die.

"If the Prince is really gone, what are we going to do?" a woman asked, choking back sobs; her husband had died under the Xiongnu blades, leaving her to struggle through life with a son and daughter.

No one could answer this question, and panic was gradually fermenting.

Some families had already begun to pack their valuables, preparing to flee south as soon as dawn broke; even if life was harder, it was better than being captured by the Xiongnu to be raped or made into slaves.

Facing these requests from the people to leave, the Prefect did not stop them; the city gates were opened a crack, allowing only exit and no entry!

But not all the people could resolutely choose to leave; were there not enough people who died on the road of fleeing?

Rumors began to spread everywhere, and the man on horseback was indeed a member of the Ming Army, under the command of Wang Hou.

This scene was not happening only in Shuo Fang Jun; the entire Beijiang began to fall into a state of massive panic.

And the matter of the Guansongling blockade was completely exposed, leaving the people furious; their loyalty and trust in Da Qian crumbled at this moment.

Compared to the panic outside, Guangwu Jun appeared much calmer.

Under the arrangements of Feng Chunsheng, the people of Guangwu Jun also learned the tragic news of the Prince of the North's death, and many even wept for him, feeling dejected and heartbroken.

At the same time, the Ming Army within Guangwu Jun also stood up sternly to declare that they would never let the Xiongnu set foot in Guangwu Jun, swearing to fight the Xiongnu to the end.

This move naturally put everyone's mind at ease, and they all silently prayed for the folks at Yangguangzhai.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye; at this moment, Lin City was deathly silent, and all the Zhenbei Army soldiers were like walking corpses, with not a hint of vitality visible on their faces.

Wei Xikang lay in the main camp, his face deathly pale and his eye sockets sunken; if not for the occasional rise and fall of his chest, the Vice General would have even begun to mourn his death.

These days, he had to be responsible for the city defense and patrols, and at night he had to take care of Wei Xikang, fearing that the Crown Prince would seek to end his own life.

Wei Xikang had barely survived the high fever, but the psychological blow that followed left him dispirited, lying on the couch and not knowing what he was thinking about all day long.

And for these two days, the Xiongnu had been the same as before, using the Prince of the North's head to make merry every day; the Vice General saw the Zhenbei Army's transition from initial anger to current numbness.

Such a transformation meant that the Zhenbei Army had completely lost its military soul and its fighting spirit.

It is no exaggeration to say that if the Xiongnu were to invade at this moment, the Vice General did not know how they could possibly resist, and how much combat power could these soldiers, who were like walking corpses, exert?

According to reports from personal guards, since last night, scouts had been arriving continuously from within Beijiang, and the Vice General knew that the news of the Prince of the North's death could no longer be hidden.

Those Prefects would know sooner or later, so it was better to let them understand clearly so they could make preparations in advance to resist the Xiongnu.

As for the Zhenbei Army...

They probably wouldn't survive the next Xiongnu assault!

The Vice General knelt on one knee toward Wei Xikang: "Your Highness, let me send personal guards to escort you out of Lin City!"

He himself would die in Lin City even if it meant death, but the Crown Prince still had a chance to escape.

Upon hearing this, Wei Xikang shook his head calmly: "... I... leave Lin City... where else can I go?"

His second brother would not let him go, and Beijiang would also be occupied by the Xiongnu; it was laughable that the once infinitely glorious Crown Prince of Da Qian had ended up with nowhere to run.