bayedsolid Chapter 457 A sign of great misfortune
Chapter 457 A sign of great misfortune
Miaomiao looked up at the flock of birds.
He stood there, dumbfounded.
She was startled by herself; had she really summoned these birds?
I still can't quite believe it.
To verify, she picked up the bamboo flute again and started playing.
Just like before, blow the whistle while silently reciting what you hope for.
In an instant, the flock of birds rushed toward the soldiers as if they didn't care about their lives.
Peel their faces, hands, heads...
Like chicks pecking at rice, it pecked at the group of people, making them scream and run away in terror.
They all thought it was a ghost, that going out was bad luck, and ran away.
The people, however, thought it was a deity descending to earth and bowed down in worship.
"Let's go, stop looking, we have important things to do." Lu Qingyao was only surprised for a moment before she regained her composure.
With one arm around his daughter and the other holding the reins, he rode away.
Xiuxiu and Xier weren't too surprised, mainly because they were used to it.
Wherever Miaomiao is, especially when she is in danger, strange things always happen, but she always manages to escape unscathed.
Packs of wolves, flocks of birds, weasels, and even flocks of sheep will run home on their own.
Strange things like this have always been common.
Xiuxiu, on the contrary, thought it was normal.
Xi'er was used to following her young master everywhere.
The young princess was not only beautiful, but her behavior and speech were also different from other children.
They especially attracted small animals, birds flying in the sky, and fish in the pond. They fed them at home and even in the palace.
Every time the birds see her, they come over as if they've seen a family member.
She's really used to it.
I am no longer surprised when I see strange and unusual things.
Jiang Ziyan looked up and glanced at it, then quickly spurred his horse and rode away.
He was so afraid of birds pooping on him that he ran faster than a rabbit.
He knew from a young age that Miao Miao was different. Sometimes she could foresee the future and knew many things she had never heard of before. She would also lie to others and say that it was her second brother who told her, using him as a cover.
I often saw her holding the little red bird and talking to it, and the little red bird would respond to her.
It looked like two people were communicating.
It's as if they can understand each other's speech.
The little red bird was no ordinary bird either. When its older brother and younger sister were kidnapped, it actually led the way and found their mother.
He remembered that Miaomiao and the little red bird appeared together.
When her mother first saw her, she thought her younger sister had come back to life. For a while, she treated her as her fifth younger sister.
Moreover, the bizarre things that happened to her were unheard of.
Although these were all superstitious and supernatural tales, the whole family wasn't surprised at all.
It seems that this is how Miaomiao should be.
Regardless of whether she is his biological sister or not, and no matter how different she is from others, she is still his family, and someone he wants to protect for the rest of his life.
Miao Miao looked up at her mother, then turned her head to look at her second brother and Aunt Xiuxiu.
They weren't surprised or curious at all.
Weird.
Both the common people and the rebels were intimidated.
They weren't even curious.
Am I being too sensitive?
……
unconsciously.
Miao Miao had already arrived outside the Duke's Mansion.
As expected, the Duke's mansion was surrounded by the rebels, who dared not get too close and kept a watchful eye from a distance.
The rebels all held their swords and dared not make any rash moves.
Those who rashly climbed the ladder to enter had already been impaled by spears, scalded by boiling oil and hot water.
Moreover, there seemed to be quite a few people inside the courtyard, and there were mechanisms and traps set up.
No one wants to die needlessly without a foolproof plan.
What do they gain by following Prince Chen?
All they want is a bright future and a life of wealth and glory.
I don't want to fail before I even get started, and end up doing all the work for someone else.
"Boss, how about we burn down the Duke's mansion? There are only a few women and children. I don't believe they can escape to the heavens or the earth. A fire will force them out."
"No, the prince said they are all very useful. None of them can die or be injured. They must be kept alive."
"But just surrounding them like this isn't a solution..."
"Bring a battering ram and attack through the main gate. If you can't break through within half an hour, you'll all come back with your heads." The leader of the rebels gave the death order.
If it were any other family, they would just burn it down or injure people, as long as they were left alive.
But this is the Mu family, the maternal family of the current Empress Dowager.
Prince Chen's pretext is to "purge the court of corrupt officials," so he still has some reservations. Things in the royal family are unpredictable; what if the grandfather and grandson end up getting along well?
On the contrary, they are caught in the middle, disliked by both sides.
It became a stepping stone.
We shouldn't go too far; we should wait and see.
Not far from the Duke's Mansion.
Xiuxiu leaped onto the roof in one swift motion.
I wanted to see what was happening at the mansion, but it was too far away, and there were no tall buildings nearby, so I couldn't see anything.
Afraid of alerting the enemy, I didn't dare get too close.
Then he jumped down again: "Sister, there are too many of them. We probably can't win with just a few of us. Is there any way?"
"Hmm, that's a bit much." Lu Qingyao lowered her eyes in thought.
Judging from the sheer number of these rebels, it's easy to see that Prince Chen invested heavily in capturing Old Madam Mu and Princess Jing.
They were fully prepared.
Once the door is breached, who knows how long the inside can hold out?
Lu Qingyao looked back at the people she had brought; there weren't many who could fight.
The disparity in strength between the two sides is too great; it is extremely difficult for the outnumbered to win.
Judging from these soldiers, they must have all come from the battlefield. They were very quick and efficient, even including the twenty-odd bandits she had recruited.
It's really too difficult to defeat them.
A head-on confrontation won't work.
"Sister, to catch the thief, you must first catch the leader. I'll go and kill the leader." Xiuxiu rubbed her hands together, ready to go and fight.
Let's take down a few first, then sneak in.
Lu Qingyao shook her head: "They are all rebels, they have no morality to speak of. If one leader dies, another will be elected immediately. They might even take extreme measures to seize credit and disregard the lives of the people in the Mu family."
"Then...then let's go get reinforcements?"
"Where are we going to get them? Those three thousand elite troops were all taken away by Prince Jing and Mu Yunji. They're probably all in the palace right now. The officials are probably busy arresting bandits who managed to sneak into the city in the chaos." In this situation, we can only rely on ourselves.
Before King Jing left, he must have left someone for the Queen and Old Lady Mu.
As for how much was left and how long it can last, that remains unknown.
Madam Mu has been through many ups and downs, so she should be able to handle it. Lu Qingyao is more worried about Princess Jing, who has just finished her postpartum confinement and whose baby is so small. She can't afford to be frightened.
If all else fails, we'll have to fight for it and buy ourselves as much time as possible.
Lu Qingyao walked up to Xiuxiu and said, "Let's gather the brothers over here."
"Okay, sister."
Lu Qingyao looked at Liu Yun beside her and said, "Summon all of Miao Miao's bodyguards."
Princess Yuqing had arranged guards for her daughter, which she knew, but she didn't know how many there were or how skilled they were.
Liu Yun whistled, from the street corner, the rooftop, and the teahouse not far away.
Fifteen or sixteen people emerged instantly, both men and women, around the same age as Liu Yun. They approached Miao Miao and bowed, asking, "What are your orders, Princess?"
Miaomiao opened her mouth: "Get...get up."
She thought there would be at most three or five, but she didn't expect there to be so many. She had only seen one or two occasionally, and they were all young women.
Did the princess give her her personal guards?
Lu Qingyao was stunned; there were so many.
That's good, now our chances of winning are much higher.
Without saying much, he quickly arranged for them to search around the Mu residence to see if there were any gaps or openings that would allow them to sneak in.
Miaomiao also released the little red bird to follow.
While waiting for Aunt Xiuxiu, the rebels launched another attack, some shooting arrows inside, others carrying battering rams to ram the gate.
No, even if we can't win, we have to stall for time.
Unlike the scattered soldiers on the street, these are organized and disciplined elite troops, and there are many of them. Summoning a flock of birds to attack them would probably result in mutual destruction.
Birds' lives matter too.
Birds also have fatal weaknesses: they are afraid of water, fire, and sharp weapons.
We need to change our tactics.
Why not send them a blast with bird droppings first, to disrupt their morale and dampen their spirits?
If someone gets bird pooped on their head, they'd definitely say it's bad luck and they're doomed.
This shows that in people's minds, this is associated with luck. For example, stepping in dog poop is said to be a stroke of good luck.
Bird droppings on your head are considered unlucky.
If you get rained on by bird droppings, you're definitely having a really bad day and extremely bad luck.
The ancients believed in these things the most.
It would be seen as a warning from heaven, an ominous sign from the sky, or something unlucky.
Especially in war, morale is of utmost importance.
Once drenched by this rain of bird droppings, the army's morale collapsed, their fighting spirit was shattered, and they were defeated.
Such a plot to usurp the throne requires even more popular support and legitimacy; otherwise, those who rebelled in history would not have needed to use the emperor to command the princes and coerce the emperor into writing an abdication edict.
They simply killed the old emperor and took his place.
Of course, there are some who want to be tyrants.
But most people still want to leave a good reputation for themselves, so even if there is no imperial edict, they will make one up.
What we need is a consensus among the people.
If strange phenomena frequently occur during a rebellion, they might break the enemy's defenses even more than if the enemy were attacked head-on.
The ancients believed in these things, and there were benefits to that belief.
Any celestial phenomenon or strange occurrence can be associated with ghosts and gods.
Miao Miao played her bamboo flute again.
They were blowing very hard.
He kept changing the tune, playing it in a very sad way.
Suddenly, a cold wind swept in, and something resembling dark clouds appeared on the horizon, a dark and oppressive mass.
"Dumb...dumb..."
As the sound grew closer, blackbirds circled overhead, blotting out most of the sunlight.
The atmosphere became eerie and chilly.
It must be said that crows are very good at creating a terrifying atmosphere, especially with their eerie cawing and large flocks of crows.
Even Miao Miao's hair stood on end, and she got goosebumps all over her body.
It's fuzzy and crumbly.
Birds flew over the rebels' heads and circled, chirping hoarsely.
They also looked up curiously.
then……
"Swish swish swish..." A white rain began to fall.
The people who were staring in disbelief at the flock of birds suddenly started spitting on the ground.
"Pah... what is that?"
What followed was a barrage of curses.
A foul stench wafted over.
"Damn, this is really weird today, where did all these birds come from?"
"Dead bird, don't let me catch you, or I'll pluck your feathers and roast you."
"unlucky……"
"A crow...it's a crow..."
I heard crows and saw black crows circling overhead.
The soldiers panicked.
The crows actually defecated in front of them.
This must be the worst luck imaginable.
Everyone knows that the cawing of crows is an omen of misfortune; where crows gather, someone is bound to die, and they even defecate on their heads.
"A terrible omen... a terrible omen..."
Before he could finish speaking, the sharp blade slit the man's throat.
The leader of the rebels wiped the bird droppings off his face, his expression fierce. Pointing at the man lying in a pool of blood, he said to everyone, "Anyone who dares to say those words to me again will suffer the same fate as you."
The air froze instantly, and there was complete silence.
Although no one said it aloud, people were already starting to have doubts.
Everyone felt it was unlucky.
It's not a good start to start fighting amongst ourselves before the battle has even begun.
A large number of people began to doubt their choices.
Touching the sticky, smelly stuff on my head.
I'm starting to feel scared.
The leader of the rebels felt uneasy upon seeing this, but still maintained a fearless demeanor.
Pointing at the crowd, he said, "If anyone dares to utter another word, I'll stuff this bird poop into their mouth."
……
Miao Miao and her family watched the commotion from a short distance away.
Everyone thought the crow was quite magical; it not only disturbed the morale of the troops, almost causing them to fight amongst themselves, but also delayed their progress.
In Daliang, crows are considered unlucky.
The saying "love me, love my dog" means that people originally disliked the crows on the roof, but only because they liked the owner of the house did they stop avoiding them.
In reality, she is really not likable.
Miao Miao became more and more confident in her abilities, and it seemed like whatever she wanted would come true.
They blew even harder.
Everyone else stared blankly at the bird droppings raining down.
Gee!
The air smelled like bird droppings.
It smells bad, but it's pretty effective.
Seeing that those rebels weren't putting in much effort to ram the door anymore, they must still be harboring resentment.
Seeing this, Jiang Ziyan suddenly had an idea: "Mother, I have an idea."
"You said."
“If Prince Chen wants to take Old Madam Mu and Princess Jing hostage, then we’ll give him a taste of his own medicine. We’ll capture Prince Chen’s wives, concubines, and his own mother and use them to blackmail his men. These men are with Prince Chen, and their lives are in his hands. Naturally, they won’t dare to watch Prince Chen’s wives, concubines, and mother die. Of course, we won’t really let them die; we’ll just scare them.”
Jiang Ziyan was very confident that with the Prince of Chen's wives and concubines and Consort Chen in his hands, these people would not dare to make any rash moves even if they did not withdraw their troops.
If this drags on for a while, it will be enough time for Godfather and Prince Chen to resolve the palace crisis.
If Prince Chen is defeated, there's no point in these rebels surrounding him.
The Mu family will be safe.
Xiuxiu happened to return with her people and overheard Jiang Ziyan's words.
He reminded him, "Yan-ge'er, don't forget, Prince Chen is more than willing to divorce his princess, so why would he care whether she lives or dies?"
“The Prince of Chen is cold-blooded and ruthless. Even though his mother has been imprisoned in the Dali Temple, he remains unmoved and only thinks about usurping the throne. Is it really useful to arrest them?” Lu Qingyao looked at her son.
She had heard about this before.
I heard that the princess was chosen for Prince Chen by the Empress, but he always disliked her, and they had no children for several years after their marriage.
They probably wish she would die soon.
Jiang Ziyan disagreed: "Prince Chen is not always two-faced. Just because he doesn't care doesn't mean that those who follow him know that he doesn't care."
“That’s good. What Yan-ge’er said makes sense. Whether it’s useful or not, we’ll know once we catch him. I’ll go and catch his wives, concubines, and mother right now. You all wait.” Xiu-xiu gave Jiang Ziyan an approving look.
This kid is full of clever ideas; he's got a whole repertoire of ways to figure people out.
Lu Qingyao took the token out of her daughter's arms and handed it to Xiuxiu: "Go, Prince Chen's mother should be at Dali Temple. Take Miaomiao's token and see if you can bring her out."
"As for Prince Chen's residence, it should not be heavily guarded. If it is, it is very likely that it is guarding the families of the abducted officials."
"Yes, sister, I know what to do."
……