Fearless to Serve the Country, First to Die in Duty
（28）
After he sent the plastic tripod away, he could not hide his excitement. He walked back to the hall in a disorderly manner and walked around the hall excitedly and impulsively, muttering,"Finally, this day has come. Ah, if only King Wen was still alive.”She walked over and over again." Thirty years, this long life, how short it feels to me at this moment, ah!”He let out a long sigh." I'm in a very good mood right now. My old bones are still lucky enough to see this day. Heavens, heavens…" He strolled to the front of the hall and looked at the starless night sky." There are no stars in the sky. There are unpredictable winds and clouds in the sky. If Lu Shang was here, he would have known long ago.”He looked at Deer Terrace in the distance, where the lights were flashing. Suddenly, he thought of something and shouted," Yu Sheng!”After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but call out again," Yu Sheng!"”There was an anxious tone in his voice. After a few times, Yu Sheng didn't answer. Just as he was wondering, a servant came in and replied that Yu Sheng had not returned from his trip and asked what the master had ordered. Hou Ban turned around and glanced at his servant. He then remembered that in the evening, the ministers of the Shang Dynasty had gathered on the Deer Terrace with the sound of bells and drums and thunderous cheers. He sent Yu Sheng to inquire about the news and quickly asked,""Yu Sheng hasn't returned yet?"
"Yes, Master." the attendant replied.
Hou Ban said,"When you see Yu Sheng come back, tell him to come to see me quickly."”The attendant left.
Hou Ban looked at the night sky again. When a Martial King's army was at the gates of Shangdu, a little bit of information could bring great value. Hou Ban continued to walk. His footsteps echoed in the hall, excited, powerful, and deep. His thoughts returned to the problem he was considering. King Wu was about to start a decisive battle. Thirty years of hard work and preparation had been waiting for this day to come. It must be that the news that was sent back this time had attracted the attention of the Martial King, which was why he had taken such a major military action. However, after counting with his fingers, he couldn't help but feel doubtful. Hou Ban felt that it had only been a month since the latest news was sent to Shangdu. If the Martial King had only advanced after receiving the news, he would not have crossed the Yellow River and arrived at Tunshui so quickly. He thought, could it be that the plastic Li was playing some tricks to test my true strength? However, on second thought, judging from Jiao Li's sincere expression, it did not seem like that was the case. It was also possible that the Martial King had really taken action. Hou Ban thought as he paced. Sometimes, he would even stroke his beard to his mouth and let the air from his mouth blow it forward. He looked at his beard and saw that it was already gray. In the dark hall, the lack of light made it even grayer. " Although I'm old, I've waited for this day," he thought." King Wen passed away too early, leaving this grand undertaking to King Wu. King Wu is also known as the Holy Lord. He inherited the will of his father and finally took this crucial step." Following the path opened up by the older generation, the later generation could rush further. Ah, I have finally done my part and shed sweat to open up the road to the east. Hou Ban felt his blood boiling and filled with energy. It would be even better if he could charge into battle and make another contribution. When one was old, it was still a problem worth worrying about whether they could be competent for fighting on the battlefield. It would be great if his son and son-in-law could follow the army to kill the enemy and make contributions. However, he did not know that King Wu did not summon his marquis-like son and son-in-law who were stationed in the west. He was still happily imagining that he had already made great contributions. If his son and son-in-law went to the battlefield to make contributions, then the family's contributions would add up to become a big family. From a vagrant to a big family, and in the future, it would expand into a big family, passed down from generation to generation. All of this started from him. When future generations worship their ancestors, they will definitely remember me. At this moment, Hou Ban's face broke into a smile, forgetting that he was still in Shangdu, in a dangerous situation.
At this moment, Yu Sheng ran into the hall and reported while panting,""Old Master, King Zhou of Shang is celebrating on Deer Terrace. The Shang army has won a great victory in the Eastern Expedition to the Huai Yi.”As he spoke, he looked at Hou Ban. He felt that the Marquis's current behavior was a little strange, and he was puzzled.
After a moment of silence, Hou Ban suddenly realized something and asked,"What did you say? Say it again."
Yu Sheng repeated.
"Ah!" Upon hearing this news, Hou Ban finally came back to his senses. He was shocked and couldn't help but sigh."Oh no, you know what? The Martial King had already mobilized his army to attack Shang City. If the Martial King did not rush back to Shangdu before the main force of the Shang army returned to the capital, things would be bad. Then it would be difficult to achieve the great cause of King Wen. Aiya, once the Shang army returned to court, the Shang Capital's strength was strong, and with the opportunity of victory, their morale was high. It'll be difficult for us."
"Master." This time, it was Yu Sheng's turn.
Hou Ban clapped his hands and looked at Yu Sheng with wide eyes,""Yu Sheng, do you remember the news we asked Song Li to send back a few days ago? After King Wu learned of this, he immediately sent troops to the east. The army had already crossed the Yellow River and the vanguard had reached Tuna Water. The Shang envoy Jiao Li had already received the battle agreement from King Wu and returned to the court to report. He had just come to inform them. Sigh. The return of the Shang army is the greatest misfortune for our army. And the Martial King still doesn't know?" Hou Ban sighed and rubbed his fists together." It's the will of heaven. It's the will of heaven." What should we do?" He began to pace again. This time, his footsteps were fast and heavy, making the hall thudding.
Yu Sheng finally understood what the Marquis meant. Although he was excited, he felt that something big was about to happen. He stood there in a daze, his eyes following Hou's figure. The atmosphere in the hall was solemn and tense. The footsteps that sounded like they were waiting for someone to hear them beat against their hearts, making them anxious.
A servant walked into the hall and was immediately affected by the tense atmosphere. After hesitating for a moment, he still greeted softly,"Master, dinner…" Before he could finish his sentence, Hou Ban, who was pacing around, suddenly turned around and waved his hand impatiently." Eat later."”As he spoke, he glared at the attendant and continued to pace. The servant did not understand what had happened and turned to look at Yu Sheng for help.
Yu Sheng paused and said to Hou Ban,"Lord, let's eat dinner first."”
"If I say wait, then wait." Hou Ban was hot-tempered. As he spoke, he stood in front of the hall and faced the dark night sky as if he was looking for a guiding star, but the night sky was dark. The attendant turned around and was about to leave. Hou suddenly turned around and said,"No, we'll eat soon." Yu Sheng, go eat. There are important things to do later. At this juncture, we can only do this."
Hou Ban hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of rice and stopped eating.
Yu Sheng looked at Hou Ban with concern.
Hou Ban said to Yu Sheng,"You must eat your fill." After eating, you have to hurry to deliver a letter to the Martial King. The city gates were already closed. We'll secretly climb down from the city wall. Traveling at night was very dangerous, so he couldn't care so much now. He should quickly send this news to the Martial King so that he could make early preparations. Otherwise, things would be bad.”
Hearing this, Yu Sheng immediately put down the food he was eating and said,""Old Master, we should hurry up.”
"There's no need to be in such a hurry for the time being. You'd better eat slowly. Only when you're full will you have the strength and legs. If they climbed over the wall, they would not be able to bring the carriage out. The rest of the journey would depend on these two legs. Moreover, the sky had just turned dark, and the soldiers guarding the city were not sleepy yet.”
"I can't eat anymore. Old Master had instructed. Let's make some preparations for our journey." Yu Sheng urged him instead.
When Hou Ban failed to persuade him to eat, he said,"That's good. It's always good to prepare early."”
Hou Ban and Yu Sheng took a few personal attendants and quietly came to the inner city wall in the dark. A servant was carrying a large bundle of rope on his shoulder. This was a temporary connection of the reins used to harness the horses. Hou Ban followed behind Yu Sheng, followed by his attendants. Yu Sheng carefully moved forward while observing the movement on the city wall.
It was quiet all around. The cold of early spring had driven all the bugs away. Only the breeze gently caressed them with cold air.
Yu Sheng turned around and whispered,"Marquis, I'll climb up from here first."”
"Alright, be careful." Be careful not to make any noise."
With Hou Ban's permission, Yu Sheng gently tiptoed and climbed up a row of steps on the city wall.
Hou Ban watched nervously from below.
It was so dark that he couldn't see his fingers. Yu Sheng climbed close to the top of the city wall and was about to step onto it. When Yu Sheng took the first step, he tripped over something before he could take the second step. His entire body staggered forward. With a bang, a guard who was fighting woke up.
The guard quickly grabbed the weapon lying on the ground and shouted,"Who's there?”
When Yu Sheng fell forward, he saw a group of black shadows in front of him. It was a guard. When the guard shouted, before the guard soul could figure out the situation, Yu Sheng took advantage of the momentum of the attack and pounced on the guard. His hands grabbed the guard's throat like lightning and tightly squeezed it, not allowing the guard to shout a second time. The guard moved for a while but was stopped by Yu Sheng's strong hands.
However, the shout had alerted the guards on both sides. For a moment, a series of shouts sounded from the city wall, questioning each other. A guard not far from the left asked Yu Sheng loudly,""Hey, what happened?"
Yu Sheng quickly covered his mouth with his hand and replied angrily,"It's nothing." He squatted down and observed the movements on both sides.
Hou Ban, who was at the foot of the city wall, was very nervous when he heard the situation above. He quickly ordered the servants behind him to hide in the weeds in the low-lying land nearby. Everyone held their breaths and watched the movements on the city wall.
The surroundings were already reacting. The guard on the right also shouted and asked, attracting the attention of many guards. The guards on both sides of the city wall craned their necks to see what was happening below. Far away, a guard captain lit a lamp and carried it over to inspect the sentry posts one by one.
When Yu Sheng saw this, he knew that Yin couldn't hide anymore. While the guards were still questioning each other, he quietly walked back to the city and came to Hou Ban's side." Master, what should we do?"”
"Hide for a while.”Hou Ban consoled as he looked around at the surrounding objects.
The guards in the city were also alarmed. A group of guards came over from the bottom of the city wall with torches.
Hou Ban saw this and knew that it would be difficult to hide in this place once the guards approached. He had better take advantage of the distance and quickly move to another safe place. He pointed to a few houses nearby and said,"Hide there first." The group of people bent over and moved forward gently.
A servant accidentally stepped on a small puddle. The sound was especially loud in the night, and it alerted the guards nearby. The guards who were walking over stopped and turned to look.
Hou Ban knew that he had been discovered and said,"Quickly run over. Hurry up." The group of people started running, quickly crossing the low-lying land and turning into the street between the houses.
" There's someone over there." The guard noticed the noise and was observing carefully.”The guard leading the team shouted,"Chase, chase quickly," and led the team to chase quickly.
Hou Ban led the group around the sparse houses and quickly ran into the densely packed streets of the city. However, she was old and was panting.
Yu Sheng followed closely behind as if he was a guard. As he ran, he looked back at the situation behind him and urged his servants to follow closely.
The pursuers behind them chased after them without letting go. With the help of the light of the torches, they chased very quickly and let out waves of shouts. The guards on the city wall were called up and chased after them from different directions.
Hou Ban panted as he ran and said to Yu Sheng intermittently,""Yu Sheng, I can't run anymore. Think of a way to get out of here before they catch up to us. Also, in this chaotic situation, go over the city and send the news to the Martial King. Don't worry about me. They won't dare to do anything to me. Let me leave it to fate."
"No, Marquis, I want to protect you. I won't leave you." Yu Sheng said firmly.
"No, if we die together, who will deliver the letter? This is a matter of the big picture. Personal safety is nothing. The hope of delivering the letter depends on you alone. This was a military order. Listen, Yu Sheng, you are from Zhou Country. You have to think about the interests of Zhou Country and give up the idea of worrying about my personal safety. Hurry up, hurry up, otherwise, when the Shang soldiers surround us, we won't be able to escape.”Hou Ban stopped, panting while urging Yu Sheng to leave. Yu Sheng still wanted to defend himself, but Hou Ban pushed him and said in a tough tone,""This is an order. Go and execute it." He waved at the attendant, turned around, and ran into an alley. He deliberately stomped his feet loudly to attract the attention of the pursuers.
Yu Sheng called out,"Lord." With tears in her eyes, she turned around and ran into another alley. After running for a few steps, he hesitated for a moment and stopped. He turned around and hid in a doorway, observing the alley he ran into.
At this moment, Shang Zhuibing followed the alley that Hou Xiang had run into and heard the leading guard shouting as he followed,"Here, chase after them. Don't let them escape.”After a while, Shang Zhuifei's proud voice could be heard," Haha, they can't escape now.”
Hearing this, Yu Sheng guessed that the situation was not good, so he quietly turned back and followed behind the pursuers.
Hou Ban ran along the alley, only making noise to attract the guards. He did not notice that he had run into a dead end alley. When he reached the end, he realized that there was no passage at the end of the alley. The road was blocked and the situation was critical. One of the servants stepped forward and said,"Master, we'll help you climb up the wall and over it." Come." He squatted at the foot of the wall. When the other attendants saw that the pursuers were approaching, they drew their sabers and turned around to block the pursuers. Hou Ban stepped on the servant's shoulder and used both hands to support himself against the wall. The attendant slowly stood up and lifted Hou Ban up. When he stood up straight, Hou Ban's hands still couldn't reach the top of the wall, so he grabbed at it anxiously. The attendant knew that Hou Ban couldn't reach it, so he stood on tiptoe to raise his seat further. However, he still could not reach the top of the wall. After a while, her tiptoed feet were so sore that she couldn't support it anymore. She unconsciously flattened her feet. After resting for a while, the attendant worked up his energy and tiptoed again. Hou Ban stepped on his shoulder and anxiously grabbed and crawled with his hands, thinking,'Could it be that the heavens have forsaken me?' Destroying me is a small matter. If the heavens do not help King Wu, then King Wen's great cause will be wasted.”
The pursuers had already arrived, and they began to fight with the guards. The sound of weapons clashing could be heard. It was a series of events.
"Master, are you ready? " One more time," the servant below shouted," one, two, three." He stood on his tiptoes as much as he could, and at the same time, he grabbed Hou Ban's heels with both hands and used the momentum to lift them up.
His outstretched hands touched the top of the wall, and he quickly grabbed the wall tightly. The attendant also raised his hands above his head and supported himself with Hou Ban's feet.
Just as Hou Ban was about to leap over the wall, the pursuers killed the attendant who intercepted them and rushed to the wall. One of the pursuers stabbed his knife into the back of the servant who was propping himself up. The attendant let out an "Aiyo" sound and leaned against the wall, falling limply.
Hou Ban lifted his left leg and was about to hook it onto the wall. As his right leg had lost its support, he did not use enough strength to lift his left leg to the appropriate height. In the end, his left leg did not step onto the wall. After kicking twice, it hung down again. Hou Ban's legs were suspended in the air. He didn't step on any support points. He relied on the strength of his hands to climb up the wall. His entire body was hanging. He was panting from the rush just now. Coupled with the fatigue from the tossing and kicking, he had exhausted all his strength and was gradually unable to hold on.
The pursuers had already gathered around them and stood in a circle. The torches were shining on the banners hanging on the wall. A Shang soldier walked over and grabbed Hou Ban's feet. Hou Ban fell to the ground with a thud.
Hou Ban raised his head and saw that he had been surrounded so tightly that not even water could pass through. There was no hope of escaping at all. At this time, he thought of how to delay time so that Yu Sheng could cross the city wall to deliver the letter. He slowly stood up and said to the leader of the pursuers,""Why are you chasing me? I'm not a thief.”
"Then why are you running around?"
"You guys were chasing me, so I started running in a daze. Aiya, you killed my guardian slaves.”Hou Ban turned around and blamed them.
"Cut the crap and bring him to see his superior.”A merchant soldier who had just arrived waved his torch and said. These pursuers were about to tie him up.
Hou Ban waved his hand and said angrily,"I'm a big merchant. I live in the capital, at the mouth of the mouth.”
Shang Bing looked at each other and said,"Go see your superior. Who will believe you?”
A group of people hugged Hou Ban as they walked out of this unlucky alley.
After crossing a few streets, they met a group of soldiers with torches in front of them. A centurion stood in front of them and asked loudly,"What are you doing?" A guard recognized the centurion as the commander of the palace guards and quickly replied,""We are guarding the city. We caught a suspicious old man and are about to take him to prison.”
The centurion walked up to him and looked at Hou Ban. He then asked the guard," Where was he captured?"”
"Sir, they are inside the city walls. This old man wanted to cross the wall with a few servants, but we found him. We chased after his servants. I caught him."
The centurion turned back to look at Hou Ban and guessed. He had been ordered by King Zhou of Shang to kill the centurions of the palace guards, but he had missed and met these people here. The person in front of him seemed to know him, but he didn't dare to make a direct conclusion. He asked,"What's your name?"
"My name is Hou Ban and I live in the capital. They caught me as a thief. It's all a misunderstanding." Hou Ban knew that the Shang Dynasty valued property and strictly arrested thieves, so he excused himself.
"You're Hou Ban?" the centurion asked again.”
"I am Hou Ban."
"You…" The centurion was still hesitating. At this moment, a commotion sounded, and another centurion walked out from the crowd.
When the new centurion saw Hou Ban, he shouted,"It's him. He's Hou Ban, a spy from Zhou Country. Quickly punish him on the spot.”As he spoke, he stabbed his saber at Hou Ban's chest.
Hou Ban was caught off guard and was stabbed in the chest. His body staggered and swayed. He pointed at the centurion and his lips moved. Before he could say a word, he slowly fell to the ground.
With a "bam" sound, another "Ah!" sounded.”The centurion was also stabbed in the chest. It turned out that Yu Sheng had followed Hou Ban for more than ten years. He was deeply grateful to the Marquis and was worried, so he followed him closely and waited for an opportunity to save Hou Ban. He had never had the chance to make a move. At this moment, he could not bear it anymore and burst out in anger. He jumped into the crowd and charged at the murderer. He used too much force, and even the knife pierced through his chest. He couldn't pull it out for a moment. Yu Sheng was quick-witted. He turned around and kicked the abdomen of another centurion. At the same time, he snatched the knife from the hand of a guard and swung it, knocking down a few people.
Shang Bing was shocked by the scene in front of him. Before he could see the situation clearly, a few more people fell down. After a while, the Shang soldiers came back to their senses and surrounded Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng had cut down more than ten people, so he had consumed too much of his physical strength. He began to pant a little. Seeing that the situation was turning for the worse, he took advantage of the fact that the Shang soldiers weren't surrounding him. He rushed to a street corner and finally escaped under the cover of the black curtain.
While Yu Sheng was killing Shang soldiers to avenge Hou Ban, the city started to stir. The torches lit up the night sky. King Zhou of Shang's order had already been passed down and was being carried out. The Shang soldiers started to move, knocking on the doors of every household, gathering the men to form up and go out. As long as they saw men, regardless of age, they would all rush together and gather in the square in front of the palace.
Even the slaves in Juntai Prison were released. Groups of slaves were driven to the square.
Yu Sheng ran forward and saw a group of Shang soldiers coming in front of him. He turned back and ran to the crossroad, turning left. Who knew that they would encounter another group of slave prisoners who were being escorted over. He hurriedly wanted to hide in an alley door, but it was already too late. A Shang soldier found him and shouted. He chased after him and grabbed Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng was about to fight back, but before he could raise his knife, he saw five more people running towards him. The group of Shang soldiers also came over to block this alley. Seeing this situation, Yu Sheng was in a difficult position. He didn't know what to do. Just as he was in a daze, the Shang soldier who grabbed him called out to his companion,"Come over quickly, there's another one."
A Shang soldier who had just caught up looked at Yu Sheng in confusion and said,""Covered in red blood, it looks like another sinful slave who just killed someone. Haha, you're lucky." He patted Yu Sheng's shoulder and said with a magnanimous look,""King Zhou of Shang has ordered that now that the Zhou army has arrived, our dynasty will pardon the prisoners in prison and form a team to kill the enemy. You're one of them." As he spoke, he grabbed the saber in Yu Sheng's hand and signaled the Shang soldiers to chase Yu Sheng into the group of prisoners with their hands tied.
Yu Sheng was also confused. He couldn't figure out what was happening in front of him. He was pushed and pushed into the walking team. At this moment, he was trying his best to recall what had happened that night. Gradually, he understood that an unfortunate thing had happened. Old Master Hou Ban had died in the line of duty for the cause of Zhou Country. He was also in a difficult situation. He was surrounded by slaves who had just been released from prison and were being rushed to the square in front of the palace. On both sides were Shang Dynasty soldiers escorting them, holding torches to illuminate the surroundings. According to the Shang soldier, he was going to kill the enemy to atone for his sins. Kill the enemy, kill the Zhou army. Ah, how ridiculous. Yu Sheng became excited. He could be sent to the battlefield, so he would definitely be able to meet the Martial King. He would think of a way to escape when he reached the front line. All fate was decided by the heavens. He was just doing things according to the will of the heavens. Yu Sheng began to gather his thoughts and carefully observed the slaves behind him. They were tied up by a long rope, their heads lowered as they moved forward listlessly. Looking at the escorting Shang soldiers, each of them was anxiously rushing, as if they were about to encounter a major event, their eyes revealing a nervous and uneasy expression. Yu Sheng silently calculated what to do next. He couldn't help but look up at the night sky. The light from the torch reflected the gray sky. At this moment, Shangdu City was filled with chaotic noises and continuous yells. Chaos, tension, and darkness. This scene was terrifying.
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