Chapter 76: Closing the Capital Gates; Survival of Yong’an Barred (Part 2)
TW: Violence
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"OPEN THE GATES!"
"LET US IN!"
The soldiers backed into the fortress city and pushed shut the thousand tonned gate. The people that were expelled by the soldiers outside came rushing back towards it like black water tide, slapping on the doors. On top of the towers the soldiers roared, "BACK AWAY! LEAVE! TAKE YOUR TRAVEL EXPENSES AND GO, EASTWARD, DON'T STICK AROUND!"
However, the Yong'an refugees had turned their backs to their hometowns, fled their lands, and arrived already to the one capital that was closest in distance. The gates to the royal capital closed on them, but if they wanted to survive, they must go around the fortress city and walk a even farther distance, to the cities further east.
Yet the journey to the royal capital was already arduous and rough, crossing through thousands of obstacles, many were already wounded or dead, so how could they have any more energy to continue on? Even if they were all given travel expenses, rations and water, how many more days could they hang on on the road?
Each of their faces were ashen, some dragging their household goods, some carried babies on their backs, some holding stretchers. They held each other up, some lying on the ground, unable to move anymore, and others simply sat. Fields and fields of them remained before the fortress walls. Some younger men still had the energy to be enraged, banging on the doors yelling, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU'RE GONNA KILL US!"
"WE'RE ALL CITIZENS OF XIAN LE, YOU CAN'T JUST KILL US OFF LIKE THIS!"
One of the men yelled until his voice was hoarse, "You can kick us out, it doesn't matter I won't stay, but can you at least take my wife and my children? Please?!!"
They were like ants crawling on a tree; the fortress city gates remained unmoved.
Xie Lian stood on top of the tower. His white robes fluttering in the wind, and he crossed the parapet to watch below. Outside the royal capital, there were endless heads, black and squirming, dense and tightly knit, very much like swarms of ants he used to see when he played in the royal gardens in his younger years.
Back then, out of curiosity, he looked closer and extended a finger wanting to poke at them secretly, but there was immediately an attendant who cried out, "Your Highness! Those things are dirty, you can't touch! Don't touch!" and with her dress lifted, she ran over hurriedly and squished all the ants under her foot.
When those ants were alive, other than a dense swarm there wasn't much to look at, and after having been squished into something less than mud-piles, there wasn't anything left to look at.
Yet within the royal capital walls, lights filled millions of homes, sounds of music wafting in the air. This one fortress wall separated two completely different worlds.
Nevermind that the Yong'an refugees who arrived after were kept out, even the ones that were already settled within were expelled. Although harsh, Xie Lian could somewhat understand this was because there were more and more friction between the Yong'an refugees and the royal capital residents in the recent months. To keep such men inside the city walls, there could very well be collusion inside and out, causing havoc.
However, just one thing he felt still had room for negotiation, and he spoke out loud absentmindedly, "Why must the women and the vulnerable be expelled too? There are some who couldn't walk much further."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing were waiting on him just behind. Mu Qing replied, "If they must be expelled, then they must all be expelled. Everyone must be treated equally; there mustn't be any favouritism, lest people be provoked: How come they could stay and not me?"
"You think so much." Feng Xin commented.
Mu Qing said flatly, "There are very well people who would think like this. Besides, if the wives and children remain, then the men wouldn't want to go too far either. They would return sooner or later. Keeping people in the city is keeping future problems."
Those Yong'an refugees refused to leave, so the soldiers on the towers couldn't leave either. "Humph! Suit yourselves!"
Since the king made the command, did they think just sitting there loitering would do anything? They could loiter for one or two days, but hardly a month or two, or a year or two?
The soldiers and residents of the royal capital all believed in this. Some of the Yong'an refugees hopelessly accepted their fate, and decided to gamble traveling eastward. But such numbers were few. Most still sat stubbornly by the fortress gates, hoping the royal capital would open their doors to them, at the very least give them somewhere to rest before journeying onwards. When new refugees arrived, although disappointed in seeing the closed city gates, when they saw so many still keeping watch, they joined the masses.
Thus, after several days, there were more and more gathered outside the city gates, almost a million people had settled and built temporary shelters, forming a impressive and curious sight. They used the rations and water given by the king to hold on, but they were almost at their limits too.
This limit was crossed on the fifth day.
Those past five days, Xie Lian had divided each day into three: one third devoted to the followers at the Temple of the Crown Prince, one third for moving water and creating rain, and one third for caring for the Yong'an citizens outside the city walls. Even with Feng Xin and Mu Qing helping, sometimes Xie Lian felt the weight of those responsibilities. The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. That day, it just so happened to be a time when he wasn't guarding outside the city walls, under the scorching sun, there was suddenly a wail outside the gates.
The wailing came from a couple holding their child in their arms. Many came forward to see, "What's wrong with the child?" "Hungry or thirsty?" And soon, a shout, "Everyone come share some water here! This child's not looking too good!"
That woman sobbed as she fed water to her red faced child, but all the water was thrown back up. The father said, "I don't know what's going on, He's sick. A doctor! We need a doctor!"
Carrying his son, he ran to the gates and started slapping the doors, "OPEN UP! HELP! SOMEONE'S DYING! MY SON'S DYING!"
Naturally the soldiers within didn't dare to open the gates. Whether if someone was actually dying, there were hundreds of thousands outside. If they opened up there'd be no closing the gates, so instead they reported to the officers higher up. The weather was hot, and the heat was making the soldiers standing watch the past days cranky. They said apathetically, "Give him some water and food." Thus, they used a rope, hung some water and food and lowered it down.
"Thank you, thank you my lords and brothers, but we don't want water and food. Can you help us find a doctor?" That man said.
This made things difficult. They couldn't let him in to find a doctor and they certainly couldn't lower a doctor down the city walls. Who knows what those starving refugees would do once the doctor got outside. Thus, those high ranking officers replied, "Nevermind. Ignore them, they can't die. If they ask again then tell them the message has been sent through to request a response from the king."
The king had been deeply troubled by the Yong'an matters and easily angered the past many days, and naturally no one really dared bother him with such a small thing. The soldiers responded accordingly and that man, feeling relieved, thanked them profusely, thanked his majesty, and knelt to kowtow multiple times. Yet, hours upon hours passed, shadows under the scorching sun moved from one end to the other, but the asked-for doctor still hadn't appeared, and the temperature of that child in their arms was growing hotter.
The arms of that couple holding their child were trembling, and that man was covered in cold sweat, mumbling, "Will anyone come? Will anyone open the gates?"
Finally, they couldn't wait any longer, and yelled to the towers, "Officers! My apologies, but I want to ask... Where's the doctor?"
A soldier responded, "We're waiting for a formal response from the king. Wait for a while longer."
Some citizens couldn't sit still anymore: "They said that four hours ago, so why hasn't anyone come yet?"
The soldiers heeded their superiors' command and ignored them after responding. The crowd under the fortress walls was furious, forlorn, and distressed. They surrounded the child and started wondering in doubt, "Did they actually pass on the message to his majesty? They're not lying to us, are they?"
The father of that child couldn't wait any longer, and hardened his heart, tied the child to his back and turned to his wife to say a few last words. That woman removed a protection charm from around her neck and put it around her husband's neck. That man ran towards the city wall, and started to try and scale it.
The city wall was smooth, built to make climbing difficult, and after grabbing at it a few times, he still couldn't climb up.The rest of the men called out, "Let me help you!" And they pushed him up. A crowd of ten something men, stacked themselves into a human pyramid, and helped deliver him higher upon the wall. There, that man managed to grab on to the rope that was used to lower water and food, and he continued to climb. At the bottom, hundreds of thousands watched anxiously, not daring to cheer for him, scared they might be discovered.
The soldiers on top of the towers had been standing watch for many days and the Yong'an refugees hadn't start anything, so they were fairly lax in their watch. It wasn't until that man had reached halfway did they notice with a start someone pressing close onto the wall. They shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! NO CLIMBING! CLIMBERS WILL BE KILLED WITHOUT MERCY! DO YOU HEAR ME? CLIMBERS WILL BE KILLED WITHOUT MERCY!"
Under their threat, that man also shouted back, "I DON'T HAVE ANY ILL INTENTIONS! I JUST WANT TO BRING MY CHILD TO THE DOCTORS, I WON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE!" He continued scaling the wall as he shouted. One of the superior officers was just having his meal, and hearing of this he became outraged. If that man was to scale the wall safely and set an example, wouldn't many more Yong'an refugees attempt the same? He must be stopped! Thus, he strode out, and shouted down the parapet, "DON'T YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE? GO BACK DOWN THIS INSTANT! IF YOU DON'T YOU'LL BE SORRY!"
Yet that man had already reached high on the wall, past half way, and just one more push he'd be able to reach the top, so naturally he didn't stop. That superior officer never had anyone disobey him like this, his words were law. Whoever disobeyed was easy enough to take care of though. He approached the parapet, pulled his sword and struck, and that rope snapped into two.
With the snapped rope in hand, that man fell from mid air. In the midst of thousands screaming, he landed heavily on the hard ground before the city gates.
That was the moment Xie Lian arrived.
That man had fallen with his backside down, and on his back was his child. WHUMP and the child was crushed into a clump of ground meat, spraying blossoms of blood. That man's neck was broken, his eyes bulging, and around his twisted neck rolled a protection charm with the words 'Xian Le' written on it, embroidered with golden threads – it was the protection charm from the Temple of the Crown Prince.
The moment before he started to climb, that man and his wife both held that protection charm in their hands and silently prayed for the blessings of His Highness the Crown Prince, which was how Xie Lian heard their voices and rushed over.
Nevertheless, he was not a hero from any of those legends written in books, and could in no way appear right before the executioner dropped their axes, and save lives from under knives. That woman didn't even have the courage to flip her husband's dead body to check on the condition of her son; she covered her face and screamed, and without looking, dashed forward madly, and bashed her head against the wall. CRACK, and she dropped, her body limp.
Right before Xie Lian's eyes, in the flash of a second, three dead bodies piled before the city gates of the royal capital!
He hadn't had time to react before the crowd outside the city gates were riled up, unable to hold back any longer.
Someone yelled, 'DEAD! A FAMILY OF THREE, ALL DEAD! LOOK, THAT'S THE GOOD OL' OFFICER WORKING FOR HIS MAJESTY! HE WON'T SAVE US, BUT INSTEAD IS FORCING OUR DEATHS!"
"YOU WON'T LET US IN BUT YOU WON'T LET ANYONE OUT EITHER, WHAT SHOULD WE HAVE DONE? THREE BLOODY LIVES ARE NOW ON YOUR HANDS!"
"YOU SAID TO EXPEL ALL YONG'AN REFUGEES FROM THE ROYAL CAPITAL BUT HOW COME I DON'T SEE ANY OF THE RICH ONES EXPELLED? SO US THE POOR AND POWERLESS DESERVE TO DIE? I'VE SEEN THROUGH YOU!"
"I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE... I REALLY CAN'T. YEAR AFTER YEAR WE PAID OUR TAXES BUT NOW THERE'S A DISASTER WHERE DID ALL THAT MONEY GO?"
"RATHER THAN AIDING DISASTER VICTIMS DID ALL THE MONEY GO TO PARASITES AND BUILDING YOUR SON'S TEMPLES? JUST THIS BIT OF FOOD AND RATIONS TO SHUT US UP? WHAT DO YOU TAKE US FOR? USELESS KING! INCOMPETENT KING!"
The soldiers on top of the towers were yelling down at the crowd for them to stop, but that officer had seen much in his lifetime, and didn't take any of it seriously. Yet, the situation was slowly losing control. Thousands and hundreds of thousands pushed furiously against the gates, some even using their own heads or bodies to slam, and this time, it wasn't some mere ants on trees.
The gates moved; in fact, even the entire fortress wall and towers were slightly shaking!
Ever since Xie Lian was born, he had never witnessed a situation such as this. The people he met had all been kind, peaceful, happy, satisfied, and endearing. Those twisted faces, crying and screaming, forced him to enter a completely foreign world, and he couldn't help but feel cold in his bones. Even against the most horrifying ghosts and demons he had never felt this way. Just then, there was an angry roar from above.
He whipped his head around, and saw a tall and gaunt silhouette, choking that officer who had cut off the rope and caused the three deaths below the city walls. There was a loud and clear CRACK, and the neck was broken.
That band of soldiers had no idea how that man suddenly appeared; all were shocked and bewildered, and they rushed forward with their swords in hand to surround him, "WHO ARE YOU?!!" "HOW DID YOU GET UP HERE?!"
Xie Lian immediately noticed that man's hands: they were smeared with blood and ripped flesh. That man had scaled that crevice-less wall using his bare hands! When that figure turned around, it was indeed Lang Ying!
Lang Ying was calm and collected even when surrounded by soldiers. He crossed over the parapet, threw the corpse of that officer down, and he himself jumped off, stepping onto the corpse and using it as a stepping stone to break his fall.
That moment when he jumped, he looked straight at Xie Lian, but what he was looking at wasn't Xie Lian. Instead, he looked through him to gaze at the royal palace sitting right in the centre of the royal capital.
From that day onwards, the entire Kingdom of Xian Le was thrown into chaos.