20demayo Chapter 999 Encountering Remnants of the Army!
Chapter 999 Encountering Remnants of the Army!
Upon hearing Cui Jiazi's words, the crowd fell into an even deeper silence.
But this time, a rising tide of heat was brewing within the silence.
A moment later, a timid voice rang out from the back of the crowd:
"I...I'm willing to go."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a little girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, with freckles on her face, shyly raising her hand, but with an unusually firm look in her eyes.
Upon seeing this, a glint of light flashed in Wang Sanchun's eyes.
This little girl is an orphan who lost all her relatives during the pandemic.
Immediately afterwards, an elderly woman with gray hair, a kind face, and pockmarks on her face stepped forward and spoke in Mandarin with a heavy Qiongzhou accent:
"The Duke of Dingguo and the soldiers are good people; they saved my child... I want to do my part too!"
"Count me in!" a burly middle-aged man shouted in a deep voice.
He was the city's blacksmith, and also someone the Qing army had pulled back from the brink of death.
The blacksmith looked at the others and said, "All you men of Qiongzhou, respond! The two women are already ahead of us; don't let the Duke look down on us!"
"I go!"
"I am coming too!"
"And I!"
Like a spark igniting a prairie fire, one, two, ten, a hundred...
More and more people raised their hands and stood up.
They may be ragged, poor and untalented, or ugly, but at this moment, their will has coalesced into an incredibly pure force.
It stems from the deepest goodness of humanity, from gratitude awakened by a helping hand extended in dire straits, and from a sense of responsibility born from overcoming the fear of death!
In an instant, followers flocked to him!
Looking at the hundreds of vibrant faces below the stage, Wang Sanchun subconsciously turned away, not wanting anyone to see the reddened eyes of this ruthless general who had killed countless people.
He simply waved his hand forcefully and said in a hoarse voice, "Good! Well done!"
He then looked at the solemn-looking physician beside him and said, "I'm entrusting the people to you. I only ask one thing of you: you must treat them well."
The physician bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Duke Dingguo, these righteous men will be personally led by the Imperial Physician Hua."
Wang Sanchun nodded, looked at the crowd of people, and said, "Make preparations, we will depart immediately. You do not need to worry about your families, I will take special care of them!"
Everyone readily agreed: "Yes!"
. . . . . .
Ma Zhong led fifty elite soldiers to investigate various villages in the inland areas of Qiongzhou.
The search lasted for three days, with no results found each day.
Qiongzhou was already remote, and there weren't many families that could raise cattle. With such a major disaster and food shortages, many cattle farmers slaughtered their cattle for meat.
They didn't encounter a single sick cow, but instead met many sick people.
Some dying patients, upon seeing Ma Zhong and others, grasped at straws and rushed forward to ask for help.
Ma Zhong felt a pang of heartache, but he remembered Hua Chang'an's instructions and dared not have any contact with them.
They could only ruthlessly ride away, leaving behind a trail of wailing.
That afternoon, they arrived at a village located in a remote valley.
The village was eerily quiet; not even a bird could be heard, and the deathly stillness was unsettling.
"My lord, this village... something feels off." The deputy cautiously surveyed his surroundings, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "It's too quiet, not even a stray dog."
Ma Zhong squinted as he scanned the empty houses, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
"We still need to go in and take a look, just in case there are cows," Ma Zhong said. "Tell the brothers to keep their eyes peeled, and if they see anyone, hide first; if they can't hide, shoot!"
The men immediately perked up; half of them picked up flintlock pistols, while the other half drew their crossbows, and they cautiously stepped into the village.
The scene in the village was chilling; most of the houses were intact, but the doors were wide open.
On some open spaces in front of the houses, there were still traces of vomit that had turned black and dried, and a faint stench of decay permeated the air.
Clearly, the epidemic broke out extremely rapidly here; the villagers either all died or all fled.
"Separate groups and thoroughly check each house!" Ma Zhong suppressed his discomfort and gave the order in a deep voice.
The soldiers formed groups of three, back to back, and began their search.
However, shortly after they entered the village, something unexpected happened.
Whoosh whoosh—
Several sharp, piercing sounds of arrows piercing the air suddenly rang out.
More than a dozen crude bamboo arrows and crossbow bolts were shot out from behind several rooftops and windows.
"There's an ambush! Protect the Marquis!" the deputy shouted.
The soldiers reacted quickly, immediately raising their light shields and rapidly moving towards Ma Zhong, forming a tight defensive circle.
Fortunately, the arrows were not very powerful or accurate, and only two soldiers suffered minor cuts and bruises.
"Damn it! Which bastard shot me from behind?!" Ma Zhong was both shocked and furious. He drew his sword and glared in the direction from which the arrow had come.
Then, thirty or forty 'people' staggered out of those dilapidated houses.
They were all emaciated and covered in tattered armor plates, but they carried a variety of weapons, including machetes, pitchforks, and even sharpened bamboo poles.
Even more alarming, many of them had pustules on their exposed skin or were covered with newly scabbed scars.
They are remnants of the Southern Army!
Moreover, they were a group of wounded soldiers who had already been infected with smallpox and were in the flare-up stage!
One of the men, who looked like the leader, also had ruptured pustules on his face, oozing yellow fluid. Despite being infected, he was incredibly ferocious, roaring as he led the charge.
"It's Qing Gou! Kill them! We're all going to die anyway, let's take them down with us!"
Ma Zhong's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ordered, "They're infected! Don't let them get close!"
He had already realized the danger. His brothers weren't afraid to fight the rebels with knives and guns. But these remaining soldiers were clearly infected with smallpox—a walking plague!
If they pounce on you and you get covered in their pus and saliva, the consequences are unimaginable.
"Form ranks! Open fire! Don't let them get close!" Ma Zhong shouted urgently.
The soldiers were also terrified and pulled the triggers one after another.
bang bang bang-
The flintlock muskets spat out tongues of fire, and crossbow bolts shot out.
After a volley of fire, the remaining soldiers at the front fell in droves.
However, these remaining soldiers were already in despair and had even gone mad.
Driven by the idea of mutual destruction, they continued to charge forward regardless of casualties.
Moreover, more figures appeared in the woods outside the village, all surging towards the village.
The remaining soldiers gathered in greater numbers, starting with only a few dozen, but in just a few breaths they rose to several hundred, surrounding the entire village.
They charged frantically at the circular formation, and the line began to falter.
Several times, sick soldiers almost broke through the Qing army's firepower, but they were all stopped by the soldiers who fought desperately, and the situation became critical for a time.