At this moment, the air seemed to freeze.

Of course, the guards on the city did not expect Dong Guangxiao to be so decisive, and the rebels below the city were even more stunned.

Dong Guangxiao's shooting of the cavalryman was equivalent to completely cutting off the path to negotiation.

This arrow also told the rebels that he would not compromise at all just because his family members became hostages.

"Kill them!"

Among the cavalrymen behind the swordsman, someone finally came to his senses and knew that there was no need to continue the conversation, so he shouted flatly.

After giving the order, the swordsmen no longer hesitated and cut down with their swords amidst the cries of the hostages.

A swordsman swung his sword to chop down a child who was less than ten years old in front of him. When he was in mid-air, he heard a "swish" sound and an arrow hit the swordsman's throat like lightning. The swordsman let out a muffled grunt.

Flip backwards.

On top of the city, Qin Xiao didn't know when he had a bow in his hand. With a cold face, he shot the swordsman with an arrow and shouted: "Stop them!"

The shooters at the top of the city reacted instantly.

They never dared to act rashly, not only because they did not receive Dong Guangxiao's order, but also because the hostages were right in front of the swordsman, so they were ready to throw the enemy away.

At this moment, Qin Xiao roared loudly, and the archers came to their senses. Although some archers were still unsure and did not dare to shoot arrows, there were still archers with extremely strong psychological quality who shot at the swordsmen at Qin Xiao's roar.

Got the arrow.

Dong Guangxiao was in despair, but Qin Xiao's reaction made him react instantly.

It is absolutely impossible to save all the relatives, but shooting random arrows and causing chaos may not allow some relatives to survive.

"Run!" Dong Guangxiao roared like a tiger: "Run this way!" As he spoke, he already had arrows in his hand and shot them out one after another.

The swordsmen chopped down with their swords, and several heads had already fallen to the ground, but suddenly a rain of arrows came from the top of the city. Some swordsmen were hit by arrows before their swords fell, and some people were frightened when they saw the arrows coming.

Not caring about killing anyone, he turned around and ran away.

However, the cavalrymen behind the swordsmen shouted loudly: "Kill them, kill them, don't retreat!" However, they waved their sabers and hacked to death the swordsmen who were fleeing in embarrassment.

Dozens of swordsmen were in chaos for a while. Some of them avoided the cavalry's sabers, while others swung their swords at the hostages.

Dong Guangxiao yelled at the top of the city, and the hostages all reacted. They knew that if they continued to kneel and do nothing, they would just be slaughtered. A few people reacted smartly, taking advantage of the chaos among the swordsmen, and got up and went to the base of the city wall.

As soon as these people moved, everyone else also ran forward. The swordsmen chased after them, and slashed several more people to death with their swords.

As soon as the hostages ran away, they put some distance between themselves and the swordsmen.

Seeing this, the archers on the city's head who were throwing rat-proof weapons did not hesitate to bend their bows and shoot arrows.

Qin Xiao had practiced archery hard at Baihu Camp. Although he couldn't pierce a poplar with a hundred steps, he was not weak at all. He shot arrows at the swordsmen one after another, blocking the swordsmen from chasing the hostages, but in the blink of an eye he was also

Killed several swordsmen.

Dong Guangxiao watched his relatives die under the butcher's knife of the rebels. In his grief, he was so angry that almost all his arrows were missed. In a moment, five or six people died under his arrows. He saw that the few cavalrymen were still there.

They waved their swords and forced the swordsmen to chase and chop down the hostages. They shot arrows at the cavalry. One cavalry was hit by an arrow and fell off his horse. When the other cavalry saw this, they were also horrified, turned their horses and retreated one after another.

There was chaos below the city. The cries and screams of the hostages and the shouts of the rebels were intertwined together, making it extremely miserable.

The red cloaked general in the distance watched everything happening below the city, but he did not act rashly or order the rebels to attack the city. It was as if he was watching a play. The eyes under the iron mask looked coldly at the top of the city, dead.

Staring at the immortal figure of Musk Moon.

The cavalry retreated, and the swordsmen were shot and killed one after another. The remaining swordsmen no longer had the courage to pursue and kill the hostages, so they turned around and ran away.

There were numerous corpses lying strewn across the city. In addition to the dozen or so family members of Dong Guangxiao who were hacked to death, half of the swordsmen were also shot to death under the city.

The hostages ran outside the city gate and beat the gate desperately, but the guards behind the gate did not receive Dong Guangxiao's order and did not dare to open the door.

When the rebels ran away like bereaved dogs, the sound of killing disappeared, leaving only the cries of the hostages outside the city gate.

"Hurry and open the city gate!" Gong Kui immediately ordered the soldiers behind him.

Dong Guangxiao said sternly: "No one can move!"

Gong Kui looked at the corpses under the city. Among the more than a dozen corpses of family members, most of them were old and young and women. Among them, two children died tragically under the knife of the rebels. Gong Kui clenched his fists, eyes spitting fire, and gritted his teeth.

He said: "Beasts, these traitors are all beasts inferior to pigs and dogs."

Dong Guangxiao looked at the red-cloaked general from a distance, his eyes almost splitting.

As the sun set, the general in red cloak slowly turned his horse's head, shook the horse's reins, and galloped away. A kind of cavalry behind him followed closely. Soon, the rebel team in the rear also withdrew. On the ground,

A vast emptiness.

"Open the city gate!" She Yue finally said.

When the princess gave the order, Gong Kui ran to open the door himself without hesitation.

Dong Guangxiao threw the long bow in his hand to the soldiers beside him, turned around and took two steps, but he was shaky. Suddenly, with a "wow" sound, he spurted out a mouthful of blood. Someone immediately held him up, and everyone else changed their colors in shock.

Everyone can understand Dong Guangxiao's current mood.

Although Master Qin took action in time and rescued many hostages, Master Dong still had more than a dozen of his family members die in front of him.

If these people were not Dong Guangxiao's relatives, they would not have been taken hostage by the rebels, and perhaps they would not have ended up in such a miserable end.

Dong Guangxiao would certainly feel that the deaths of these relatives were all his personal responsibility.

Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot have both ends. Although Dong Guangxiao was loyal to the Tang Dynasty and the princess, because he caused misfortune to his tribe, Dong Guangxiao will inevitably feel sad and guilty for the rest of his life.

"Come here, take Mr. Dong down to rest." She Yue came over with a look of gratitude on her eyebrows: "I am personally guarding the city. You go back to the city to take a good rest. Qin Xiao and I are guarding here together.

After a pause, he said warmly: "Send someone to take good care of your relatives."

Dong Guangxiao steadied himself, with blood at the corner of his mouth, but he still held up his hands and said respectfully: "Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness. However, the rebel bandit leader has arrived and the situation is grim. At this time, a humble person must do his or her job well."

"Master Dong, the rebels are not ready to attack the city immediately." Qin Xiao came over, looked at Dong Guang Xiao and said: "Your relatives were frightened just now, and you need to comfort them yourself. What I mean is, you take them

After entering the city, settle down and have a good night's rest yourself. You have been awake day and night these days and have consumed too much energy. Guarding Shuning City would be impossible without you. The most critical moment will be when the rebels attack the city. Dong

Sir, recharge your batteries. Only when the knife is sharpened can it be invincible."

Dong Guangxiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said: "Then there is Mr. Lao Qin."

"Princess, you also need to have a good rest." Qin Xiao looked at She Yue: "Just leave it here to me."

She Yue thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "I will go down with Mr. Dong to meet his relatives in person."

Qin Xiao knew that She Yue wanted to comfort those relatives in person. At this time, She Yue came forward in person to show everyone her love and kindness. There was no harm in it, so she nodded.

It was dark at night, and there was a small temple in the west corner of Shuning City. There was not much incense on weekdays, and there were only a few monks in the temple.

In the courtyard of the temple, there are now more than a dozen corpses lined up in a row. Except for a few monks who are chanting sutras for salvation, a group of relatives are lying on the ground and weeping bitterly.

Dong Guangxiao knelt in front of everyone, his head wrapped in white cloth.

The bodies of family members who were massacred by the rebels were carried back to the city and, under Dong Guangxiao's instructions, sent directly to the temple.

There are no cemeteries in the city to bury, and Shuning City is under siege. No one knows when they will be able to leave the city. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the corpses will only rot if they are not disposed of in time.

Dong Guangxiao acted decisively and insisted on cremating the body directly in the temple despite the opposition of his relatives.

Although Dong Guangxiao is the magistrate of Shuning County, the Dong family is a big family in Suzhou. On normal days, it would really not be Dong Guangxiao's turn to decide on such a big event. But these are extraordinary times. Dong Guangxiao is already the pillar of the Dong family.

The decision was made and no one could object to it.

He was cremated overnight, not wanting to alarm anyone, and did not even explain to She Yue.

Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Dong Guangxiao turned his head and looked over, only to see a group of people walking in in an orderly manner. This group of people all had their heads wrapped in white cloth. The first few people were very old. Dong Guangxiao changed his face slightly, and immediately stood up and greeted him.

He stepped forward and cupped his hands: "Mr. Huang, Mr. Yang, what are you...!"

He naturally knew that these people were all prominent figures in Shuning County.

There are seven surnames in Jiangnan, there are wealthy families in Suzhou, and there are also local gentry in Shuning County.

The status of these squires may not be comparable to that of the wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River, but in Shuning County, they have extremely high prestige.

The people who suddenly appeared were not only several highly respected squires in Shuning County, but also respected literati.

They suddenly came wearing white scarves, which really surprised Dong Guangxiao.

"Mr. Dong, we all know the matter." The respected Mr. Huang looked solemn and said in an old voice: "Mr. Dong is loyal to the emperor and protects the country. He can shine the sun and the moon. We also understand that the group of rebels outside the city are deceiving the world and causing harm to the world.

People, killing innocent people indiscriminately, are worse than beasts. If these beasts are allowed to break through the city, the people of the whole city will be in disaster. We have sent people to inform the people in the city that if they stay out of the matter, they will just wait for those beasts to enter the city.

After that, I slaughtered my parents, wives and children. Even if it was not for the country but just to protect my family, I should still take up arms and fight to the death with the rebels outside the city."

"Master Huang...!" Dong Guangxiao took a step back and bowed deeply: "Dong, thank you all!"

"Master Dong is unparalleled in his loyalty and bravery, and the princess is now personally guarding the city." The elegant Mr. Yang said seriously: "And the incomparably brave Master Shaoqing, under your leadership, Shuning City will definitely be able to repel the rebels.

Safe and sound." But he bowed deeply to Dong Guangxiao: "Master Dong, the life and death of the people in this city are entrusted to you."

Everyone else also bowed deeply to Dong Guangxiao.

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Chapter completed!