This earthquake came suddenly and stretched for a hundred miles, engulfing the armies of both Daheng and Western Xia.
The surrounding screams and cries for help came along with the boulders rolling down, the guards and Dong Ling Guards, as well as many, many ordinary soldiers rushing towards Gu Yuanbai.
Those who hadn't been affected barely stood still, their guts and livers trembling, "Protect His Holiness!!!"
"Your Holiness!"
Gu Yuanbai was being held by Xue Yuan.
All the voices began to fade away, and all that could be heard around the ears was the sound of one deep, deep breath.
Soldiers caught in crevasses, soldiers underneath flying boulders, soldiers buried in snow and suffocating.
Each one was the brainchild of Gu Yuanbai.
His eyes gradually roiled with red, yet he knew that the most important thing at this time was to make sure he was going to live.
More and more people ran towards Gu Yuanbai, hissing, "His Holiness is here!!!"
They crossed the crack, only to be blocked by boulders. Crossing over the rocks, another side collapsed. The imperial guards and the elites of the Dong Lingwei were grimacing, just wanting to reach His Majesty's side quickly.
But it's hard for them to defend themselves.
Gu Yuanbai raised his eyes to the distance, the sky had become overcast, the granary had collapsed and the grain was crushed under the rubble.
Xue Yuan's breathing grew heavier.
Luckily there are no snowy mountains here.
"You can't die, Xue Yuan," Gu Yuanbai's mind was stifled as he kept murmuring, "Neither you nor I can die."
Xue Yuanyao's footsteps flew, and even while holding Gu Yuanbai, he didn't drop a step. The falling man behind him was gritting his teeth as he screamed, "Xue Jiuyao, protect His Holiness!"
Without them having to say it, Xue Yuan would do it. Just like at this moment, his arm was already taut as hard stone, glowing with the blood red of using all his strength.
No one can snatch someone from his arms.
Mountains crumbled and dust flew. Among the nightmares he had previously had, Gu Yuanbai was lost in such a scene.
And today, the dream became reality.
Xue Yuan's teeth tightened, "I'm not dying, much less letting you die."
The city gates collapsed, and the soldiers guarding them had become corpses under the boulders. Xue Yuan changed his path, but within seconds, he heard a muffled sound, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly sank. Xue Yuan's body twisted and turned hard to avoid the abyss-like crack, but his balance was unsteady and he fell to the ground.
Gu Yuanbai's pupils suddenly tightened as he was brought down on top of the yellow sand and snow.
Mud walls collapsed and fell from the sky!
As the wall grew closer, Xue Yuan abruptly lunged forward, completely covering Gu Yuanbai under his body.
With a loud thud, the mud wall fell to his side, instantly collapsing on the two men.
Xue Yuan let out a muffled grunt, and his arms braced at his sides snapped loose as he pressed heavily on Gu Yuanbai's body.
Gu Yuanbai stroked Xue Yuan's face with trembling hands, his voice shaking in the dusty darkness, "Xue Yuan, how are you?"
Xue Yuanyao's fingers moved a few times, the smell of blood froth was thick, Gu Yuanbai's breathing stuttered, his brain nearly blank, "Xue Jiuyao, you can't die."
"...... Cough," Xue Yuan's voice rang out vaguely, "Not yet, dead."
Coarse voice, a mouth Gu Yuanbai smelled the heavy smell of blood, Gu Yuanbai hastily tugged his lips, barely rationally anxious to explore Xue Yuan's nasal cavity, rough breathing and thick sticky blood stained a hand.
Xue Yuan is injured.
Gu Yuanbai forced himself to calm down, he wanted to go and see where Xue Yuan was injured, but the weight on his body prevented him from moving, and even made it difficult for him to start breathing. There was another loud bang, and the debris followed and pressed down, Xue Yuan's entire body had smashed into Gu Yuanbai's body.
Gu Yuanbai's throat filled with blood.
He gritted his teeth, swallowed the taste of blood, and called out to Xue Yuan in a low voice, the air was thin, and Xue Yuan, who was able to answer just now, was now not even uttering a sound. Gu Yuanbai's voice was more urgent than his, trembling, "Xue Jiuyao--!"
Xue Yuan coughed violently.
At a time like this, these coughs sounded like heavenly music to Gu Yuanbai's ears. Gu Yuanbai's eyes suddenly moistened as he whispered, "Don't die."
Xue Jiuyao can't die.
Gu Yuanbai's hand explored toward his waist, burrowing between the two men's tightly pressed clothes, and little by little he went to reach the cloth pouch at his own waist.
There is medicine in the cloth bag.
Gu Yuanbai thought he was calm, among the wrinkles of his clothes, as if he had become a mountain range, that cloth bag should be very close, but between the mountains, hidden in an unknown deep mountain.
Can't find it, can't touch it.
His fingers spasmed, but a drop of something warm fell onto his face, sliding down his face to his temples and pulling out a trail of blood.
Gu Yuanbai's heart clenched violently, his chest was so heavy that it was as if there was no oxygen left to breathe, he wanted to make fun of it and ask Xue Jiuyao if she was crying, but his voice tightened, "Xue Jiuyao."
No one answered.
"Xue Jiuyao," Gu Yuanbai let out a voice with difficulty, his breath weak, "Make a sound."
Xue Jiuyao is the male lead.
The pride of heaven.
It won't die. He won t die if Gu Yuanbai dies, Xue Jiuyao doesn t speak only because he fainted, Gu Yuanbai should more than likely think of a way to get out at this time, there can t be any rush, people are still saved, we have to hurry to save them.
The hand anxiously rubbed the cloth pouch in his shirt, when suddenly, "Your Holiness!"
The distant voice outside was suddenly near and far away, reaching beyond the collapse in an instant. Xue Yuan seemed to be awakened by the voice, his lips moved, his chi tone was weak, and he subconsciously called out, "Gu Convergence."
Gu Yuanbai swished, tears washing away those bloodstains on her face that belonged to Xue Jiuyao.
Him, "Uh-huh."
Voice with a tremor, Xue Yuan's heart ached, he lowered his voice, broken tone peaceful in the darkness of the night, words mixed with weakness, "Don't cry."
The guards began digging into the ruins, moving the outermost blocks of stone in a hurry. Soon, a glimmer of light gradually grew larger, and Gu Yuanbai blinked in discomfort as the guards knelt on the ground, their heads poking under the stone blocks.
After they saw Gu Yuanbai, their eyes instantly reddened, and they dug even harder at the stones, and soon, the stone blocks in front of Gu Yuanbai were cleaned up.
The tremors were gone, the earthquake should have passed, but there would still be aftershocks. Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan need to escape this ruin before the aftershocks.
The guards fought to reach out towards the saint, but Xue Yuan was still pressing a large piece of mud wall that could not be moved, and Xue Yuan, along with the mud wall, pressed down on Gu Yuanbai's body, so Gu Yuanbai could not move for a moment at all.
Gu Yuanbai's breathing was getting weaker and weaker.
Xue Yuan knew that there was no time.
If the things on him were removed first, Gu Yuanbai's body was weak, and he might be crushed to death in the process by Xue Yuan and these chunks of stone on Xue Yuan's body first.
His little emperor couldn't bear the weight.
Xue Yuan blinked, and a drop of blood from the corner of his eye landed on Gu Yuanbai's eyes. Gu Yuanbai subconsciously closed his eyes, Xue Yuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, his fingers exerted force, thick snow mixed with mud, sand, and blood pressed out from the cracks of his fingers, he swallowed the blood and looked to the guards, "You guys lift the stone, I'll hold it up, you, take the opportunity to drag His Holiness out."
The squire who met his eyes nodded with red eyes.
Xue Yuan looked down, and Gu Yuanbai's face, was already pale from the pressure.
The people around them surrounded the mud wall, bloodied and wounded hands bracing themselves against it, just waiting for the inside and outside to merge together to get His Holiness out.
Xue Yuan's spine tensed, and he had to push.
Gu Yuanbai's head and brain were deprived of oxygen, he subconsciously, "No ......"
Can't help it.
Xue Yuan took a deep breath, and his powerless arms braced themselves once again, blood sliding down his arms as his muscles bulged.
Got to get up, Xue Yuan. You got to hang in there.
Otherwise, little emperor, he's going to be crushed to death by you.
He'll suffocate.
Xue Yuan pushed harder, use more force. The mud wall made a horrible sound of creaking and friction, the people outside held their red faces and made efforts to move up the mud wall, Xue Yuan's arms gradually straightened out, the huge weight pressed down on his back, and little by little, the gap finally allowed Gu Yuanbai to have breathing space.
The guards at the front reached out their hands in time and yanked the saint out of the dug out hole by tugging on the saint's shirt, the cold snowy air came out, the smell of blood was swept away, the dust billowed, but Gu Yuanbai's eyes widened.
He hurriedly went back to see Xue Yuan bracing his arm, not knowing whether it was blood or sweat, condensing into beads from the side of his face and dripping precipitously on top of the mud.
"Xue Yuan!!!"
Xue Yuan lost his strength and fell, with less support from him, the guards outside were caught off guard and were about to be brought down by the mud wall, and in Gu Yuanbai's eyes, those stone blocks and mud wall, almost smashed down on Xue Yuan's body again.
In the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow down.
Heartbeat almost stops, the sound of the wind blowing drums like thunder, Gu Yuanbai reaches out his hand, his arm lifting all too slowly.
How can you save Xue Jiuyao at such a slow speed?
No!
In a flash, a red shadow flashed in front of him, and a Thousand Mile Horse with brown and red fur ran by, poking its head in extremely quickly to bite Xue Yuan's shirt, taking him to run out from under the stones in an instant.
The next moment there was a loud boom and the mud wall fell to the ground.
Gu Yuanbai looked at Xue Yuan, who was pulled out of the pile of rocks by Hong Yun's tugging at his mouth, and his heart began to beat again as they lay on the ground, the guards gasping for air and shouting, "The saint is here! His Holiness is unharmed!"
Gu Yuanbai's arms and legs were too weak to get up to see how Xue Yuan was doing, but there were already guards running over, shouting, "General Xue is still awake, someone come!"
In the afterglow, the Imperial Doctor of the Imperial Hospital was stumbling with tears on his face under the protection of soldiers.
"Red Cloud, good job," Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes and grinned, "good job."
The Thousand Mile Horse hissed up to the sky and walked over to Gu Yuanbai's side, lowering its head to lick the traces of blood and tears on Gu Yuanbai's face.
"I thank you," Gu Yuanbai slowed down his strength and reluctantly raised his hand, touching Hong Yun's head and said seriously, "I thank you for saving Xue Jiroyao."
Gu Yuanbai is glad that he and Xue Jiuyao are still alive, because of the natural and man-made disasters. But the devastation everywhere, the broken walls, and let such happiness mixed with sadness.
The soldiers who were alive and able to move rushed in the direction of the Holy One. Their looks were bewildered, helplessly searching for a mastermind.
His Holiness is this backbone.
Gu Yuanbai knew that he had to stand up immediately to stabilize people's hearts and take the absolute advantage after the earthquake.
He finally touched Hong Yun's head, and the imperial physicians who were still alive trembled as they knelt in front of Gu Yuanbai, who said to them, "I am not injured."
Xue Yuan had protected him extremely well, and hadn't allowed him to suffer any harm except for that brief asphyxiation.
Gu Yuanbai pointed at Xue Yuan in silence, "Go see him."
He, on the other hand, sat in place and watched the imperial physician diagnose Xue Yuan.
Xue Yuan was surrounded by layer after layer of people, and Gu Yuanbai's side was also surrounded by people everywhere. He couldn't see Xue Yuan, and Xue Yuan couldn't see him.
Gu Yuanbai did not say anything until the imperial physician turned back to Gu Yuanbai and said "Your Majesty, don't worry", Gu Yuanbai only withdrew his eyes, slowly stood up in the middle of the bystanders' assistance.
As his eyes rolled back, he was greeted by a dirty face.
The looks on these faces were either scared or blank, with despair and blood circling around them. Everyone looked at Gu Yuanbai; these were Daheng's soldiers, people who had sold their lives for Gu Yuanbai.
"Generals," Gu Yuanbai coughed, holding back the pain in his voice, "feel the cloth pouch at your waist, are the life-saving medicines still in your possession there?"
The soldiers reached to their waists and said, unevenly, "In!"
"It's still on!"
"I am immensely fortunate that I prepared these cloth pouches and allowed you to bring them with you," Gu Yuanbai said word by word, "Those soldiers who died were your comrades, warriors of Daheng, they died in the natural disaster, and those of you who are alive, including me, can't just fall into trepidation for nothing! We have to take their wishes with us, to go and live with more perseverance, to return to the capital alive, to meet your loved ones and close friends alive!"
The soldiers clenched their hands, and already some of them were making sobbing noises.
"Man-made disasters can be avoided, but heavenly disasters can be prevented," Gu Yuanbai pointed to the sky, his intense emotions causing his fingertips to tremble, "but such a heavenly disaster can't make me, Daheng, fold! We have medicine! We have grain! You guys turn your heads and look, what's underneath the stones of those granaries? It's enough rations to keep the natural disaster from being able to do anything to us!"
The soldiers turned their heads, and between the sores, the place of the granary had collapsed, but the blocks of stone could not crush the grain, and as long as the debris was cleared away, the grain was all still there.
Gu Yuanbai said, "We have more than that."
The soldiers looked back at His Holiness, and the eyes began to glow with a sense of wonder.
"We still have Daheng, and the unending, endless supply of food to the front line from the rear," Gu Yuanbai said forcefully, "I'm asking you if this is enough!"
The general in the middle of the crowd was the first to wave his arm and tearfully yell, "Enough!"
The soldiers were driven by this cry, and they began to wave their hands, and with one voice they also shouted again with their lives, "Enough! Enough!"
As he shouted, he was trembling and tears came out of his eyes.
Gu Yuanbai's eyes moistened once again, and he waited for the crowd to ease down before he threw his voice: "All generals, step forward!"
The generals stationed in the camp came out.
"The uninjured soldiers are under your command, divided into five parties of men and horses to act, one, follow the military doctor to the injured soldiers to save and bandage, two, go to clean up the ruins, as far as possible to save the people who were killed, three, dig out the grain and wells, go to the animal pens to inspect the living horses, cows, goats and other animals, "Gu Yuanbai,"" Fourth, write down the names and places of origin of the dead soldiers, find the corpses and then burn them to bury them, and the fire-heads will listen to the orders, and the water will have to be boiled and tumbled after the quake, so that they cannot be left to chance. Fifth, go to the ruins to find out what is still useful, as small as the soldiers pots and pans, as much as possible to the open space above."
The generals clasped their fists, "My lord will lead the way!"
One by one, the soldiers moved into action, and the military doctors and imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital were busy. Temporary relief tents were set up, the injured were brought into the tents one by one, and vehicles filled with medicinal herbs were the first to be identified, all of which were transported outside the tents.
The people come and go in a hurry but in an orderly manner, Gu Yuanbai sends off one general and ushers in another in his tent. The guards and the people of Dong Ling Wei have long been sent by him to investigate the situation of the two armies and the situation of the Western Xia garrison, when they came to return the news, they realized that the Western Xia rear there is still a team of more than 20,000 people ambushed in the broken wall, they originally wanted to lure the Daheng soldiers to go deeper but in the earthquake and avalanche in the death of a large number of casualties.
Northwest plains place, they ambush biased selection of a place broken cliffs above the ambush, can be said to be miserable on the miserable.
Earthquakes don't discriminate between enemy and friend, and the merciless natural disaster doesn't favor any one person. But at least, the Daheng soldiers had a cloth bag of medicine on them more than the Xixia people.
All they had to do was dodge it, and they would have one more hope of surviving.
Zhang Hucheng returned with his decimated army, and after seeing the saint, the fear in his heart finally settled, and his legs went limp, kneeling in front of the saint and weeping bitterly.
The generals who followed Zhang Hucheng back similarly knelt and howled.
One by one, the soldiers in the rear knelt down, blackening into a mass. Their cries shook the heavens, crying both for the dead and the fear in their hearts.
Gu Yuanbai looked at the dark sky and the miserable broken walls, tilted his head to force back tears, and then said, "All of you get up for me!"
"Have you all forgotten what I said to you?" Gu Yuanbai, "I want you to be in front of all foreign enemies! I want you to hold up your spine and be good sons of steel!"
"The natural disaster has stopped, are you all willing to admit defeat in front of the earth movement?" The starry fire in Gu Yuanbai's eyes was enough to start a prairie fire, "Stand up for me, who will win and who will lose is not yet known."
Two hours after the quake, the scouting army reported, "Your Majesty, the Western Xia Emperor Li Aung Yi is nowhere to be found."
Three hours after the quake, the Dong Ling Guards took advantage of the night to return, and they brought back a man with a face covered in blood. This person barely opened his eyes under the light, and after seeing Gu Yuanbai, he laughed bitterly and said, "I never thought that seeing you again would be under such a scene."