binnovel Chapter 185 The General Has Arrived?
Chapter 185 The General Has Arrived?
As Zhou Wei and the Princess traveled together, their hearts sank when they arrived at Wangjia Village.
The fields of Wangjia Village, which were originally covered with snow, are now covered with messy footprints left by wild beasts.
Some of the less sturdy houses even collapsed to the ground, suffering severe damage!
"Princess, Wangjia Village has also been afflicted!"
Zhou Wei pinched A Bao's ear, and A Bao immediately slowed down.
A giant black and white beast was walking through the village, but it didn't see a single villager.
They quickly searched several houses and found many corpses of civilians, some of which had been mutilated by wild beasts.
The eldest princess said with some heartache, "Along the way, we were led by Abao, following the scent of the beast tide, passing through several villages, all of which suffered heavy losses."
Zhou Wei sighed. The losses were not just heavy, but less than one in ten of the people were still alive!
The beast was already starving, and now it had gone mad, devouring and tearing apart anything that came into view.
These wild beasts in the mountains also have a keen sense of smell, and many people who had hidden themselves were found and torn to death by them.
The princess and Zhou Wei discovered many lone wild beasts in these villages.
Only after the two worked together to kill the surviving civilians did some of them crawl out from the nooks and crannies.
Upon seeing Abao, he was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and begged for mercy!
The group only breathed a sigh of relief when they discovered that Abao was sitting on his hind legs, engrossed in eating a large watermelon, and showed no intention of hurting anyone.
Then he started crying and wailing!
No more than ten people are still alive in the entire village.
After inquiring, the princess discovered that almost every village had people mentioning hearing the sound of horses' hooves and seeing someone galloping through the village on horseback.
But the weather was already cold, and it wasn't the planting season, so most people stayed at home. Therefore, they couldn't see clearly who was passing through the village.
“Princess, although the people did not see clearly who the beast tide was following, the sound of horses’ hooves has already said it all.”
The eldest princess nodded. There were only a few people present when the beast tide occurred.
That woodland was the private territory of the military officers, and no one else dared to enter without permission.
“This man is truly despicable. The beast tide was clearly heading towards the capital. If it had really reached the capital, the city walls would have been able to stop it,” Zhou Wei said angrily. “If we had sent the Five Cities Garrison out of the city to kill them, we would have been able to safely weather the beast tide. But instead, he led the beast tide to the southern suburbs. Isn’t he just afraid that the beast tide would appear and prove his immorality?”
"If such a vicious person continues to be the crown prince and becomes emperor in the future, the Great Zhou Dynasty will surely perish!"
The eldest princess was also extremely angry about this.
Despite being the heir apparent, the Crown Prince has no love for the people and his actions are extremely selfish!
"Unfortunately, these villages suffered heavy casualties, and none of the survivors saw the Crown Prince and his entourage."
Zhou Wei angrily punched A Bao on the head, stunning him who was happily eating melon seeds.
No, if you're angry, why are you hitting me?
"Don't glare at me. I didn't hit you hard. I can't exactly hit myself, can I?"
Abao was helpless. Zhou Wei was clearly being unreasonable, so it could only shut up and continue watching the show.
But as it was eating, its ears suddenly twitched, and it looked towards the distance.
Zhou Wei noticed that A Bao was acting strangely and asked, "What's wrong, A Bao?"
Abao threw all the watermelons into his mouth, gesturing for Zhou Wei and the Princess to come up!
He then led the two of them and ran all the way to the Wang family's residence.
Outside the courtyard, there were carcasses of wild beasts everywhere, and the pungent smell of blood filled the air, even staining the snow red.
The walls of the Wang family compound also bear scattered carcasses of tigers and leopards, which gives an idea of how fierce the battle must have been!
The eldest princess glanced at the walls of the royal residence, narrowed her eyes, and felt a sense of familiarity.
Zhou Wei, led by A Bao, searched the Wang family mansion.
They finally found the unconscious Wang the Rich Man inside the stove, which was piled with the corpses of ordinary people.
"Princess, there are still people alive here!"
The eldest princess rushed over upon hearing the commotion and immediately spotted the plump Wang the rich man.
"Wang...Dazhuang?"
Zhou Wei was stunned. The princess actually knew this person?
Under Zhou Wei's acupuncture treatment, Wang Caizhu slowly opened his eyes, his blurry vision first meeting that of the Princess.
The plump body trembled slightly, and he murmured, "General... General, is it you who has come to pick me up?"
The princess felt a slight tremor in her heart upon hearing that familiar voice.
Memories of fighting at Juxia Pass came flooding back.
It wasn't until Wang the rich man truly regained consciousness that he realized there were actually two women in front of him.
His gaze was fixed on the eldest princess, his expression showing shock, disappointment, and above all, uncertainty.
impossible!
The general is a man, how could he be a woman?
But he had seen the general remove his mask years ago, and he looked exactly like the woman in front of him!
Zhou Wei noticed that there was a somewhat subtle atmosphere between the Princess and the wealthy Wang.
He broke the silence by asking, "Uncle, did you see how the beast entered the village?"
Zhou Wei's words brought Wang Caizhu back to his senses, and he then gritted his teeth, his facial muscles trembling!
"Beasts! Those are three beasts!"
The eldest princess and Zhou Wei exchanged a glance, and Zhou Wei helped Wang the rich man up and sit down.
He reassured him, "Uncle, don't rush, tell me slowly."
Wang the rich man didn't look at Zhou Wei, but instead gripped the princess's sleeve tightly.
Snot and tears streamed down his face: "General, this is the second time I've lost my wife and children!"
“Back when I was in Juxia Pass, my wife, children and elderly parents all died. It was the general who took pity on me, removed me from the military, and gave me money to return home.”
"But this time, I have no family again, I have no family again..."
The portly, wealthy man, well past fifty, was crying like a child, and Zhou Wei couldn't help but feel heartbroken.
The princess did not correct the rich man's way of addressing her, but said, "Tell me carefully, and I will definitely get justice for you."
The fat landlord began to talk about taking in the three princes.
“That man was absolutely vicious. He not only stole the horses, but also opened the back door, letting wild beasts into the house, which resulted in all the people I took in being torn apart and killed.”
"After I was discharged from the military, I surrendered my weapons. My home only contained sticks and shovels, and the people only had hoes."
“These wild beasts in the mountains are too ferocious. They attacked us like madmen, and the people were no match for them.”
As Wang the rich man spoke, his eyes filled with tears, he turned back to look at the stove where he had just hidden.
"I am alive only because the people risked their lives and stood in front of the stove with their own flesh and blood, so that these beasts could not smell me."
Zhou Wei also glanced back at the people who had died for Wang the Rich.
They knew in their hearts that this plump, wealthy man must have done many good deeds in his daily life, which was why the people risked their lives to save him!
"Did you get a good look at those three people?" the princess asked.
Wang, the wealthy man, gritted his teeth and said, "I will never forget them, even if they turn to ashes!"
The princess stood up in anger. Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside. It turned out that Qian Tao and his men had arrived.
As soon as everyone entered the courtyard, they saw A Bao's huge body playing with a millstone on its head.
"Princess, we are late!"
The eldest princess waved her hand and said, "General Qian, send someone to protect this person. Zhou Wei and I still need to continue our pursuit south."
After saying that, he reached out and patted Wang the rich man on the shoulder, and whispered, "Dazhuang, wait for this general to come back."
Wang, the wealthy man, looked at the princess in shock, speechless for a long time.