Chapter 268
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Chapter 268: The Imperial Physician’s Bitterness
First, a lightning assault on East Frontier City, then a cunning night raid to capture Songhe City.
It had been quite a demanding day.
After arranging everything and having his troops take over Songhe City’s defenses and patrol duties, Luo Ji, exhausted from the day, went to bed early.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, Songhe City, now under a new master, was surprisingly quiet.
The ordinary citizens within the city were in a state where they simply dared not go outside, which conveniently saved Luo Ji some trouble.
He wasn’t in a hurry to make the next move.
He had two current plans, first, to let his army rest for a day or two to recover their state, and second, to transport all the resources from East Frontier City and Songhe City back to his own territory.
However, since they were border cities, no idiot would stockpile large amounts of precious resources in their warehouses.
As such, after a thorough search, Luo Ji remained expressionless throughout.
Time quietly passed.
News of East Frontier City and Songhe City falling one after another within a day spread like wildfire.
Luo Ji had played a part in this, and he deliberately allowed it.
Since the information couldn’t be kept secret for long anyway, he might as well make good use of it to disrupt the enemy’s morale and strike at their spirit.
Luo Ji’s move was undoubtedly effective.
At this moment, Zhou Dongnan, sitting on his dragon throne, listened to the report from the messenger soldier, his expression so grim it almost seemed to drip water.
“East Frontier City and Songhe City, actually breached consecutively in one day?”
“Are Zhang Xijun and Liu Hu eating sh*t?!”
“Tell them both to get over here and see me!!”
Zhou Dongnan was clearly enraged, smashing the medicinal bowl beside him into pieces on the spot!
The splashing fragments directly cut the messenger soldier’s cheek, but the soldier dared not move.
Then, he braced himself and spoke.
“Your Majesty, General Zhen Dong and General Hu have already died at the enemy’s hands…”
Those simple words struck Zhou Dongnan like lightning.
He staggered, almost falling to the ground, scaring the two concubines beside him who quickly helped him up, one on each side.
“You, what did you say?”
“Say it again!”
“Zhang Xijun and Liu Hu are dead?!”
Zhou Dongnan’s face was filled with disbelief.
According to his original assumption, Zhang Xijun and Liu Hu, seeing the fierce enemy, would have deemed East Frontier City and Songhe City indefensible and thus abandoned the cities, escaping with their remaining forces.
After all, he had witnessed the destructive power of Luo Ji’s siege weapons, and they were indeed formidable.
But he never imagined that Zhang Xijun and Liu Hu were already dead.
In other words, that Luo Ji had forcibly taken two of his cities within a single day?
“Impossible! According to time estimates, surveying the terrain and assembling an army all take time.”
“By the time the enemy army pressured them, it would have been close to evening at the earliest.”
“Considering both time and soldier stamina, it’s impossible to continuously assault and take two cities!”
Thinking of this, Zhou Dongnan’s gaze fell back on the messenger soldier.
“If they are alive, I want to see them. If they are dead, I want to see their bodies. Since you said that Zhang Xijun and Liu Hu are dead, then where are their bodies? Where are their bodies?!”
“B-both generals’ bodies were hung on the walls of Songhe City. Among them, General Hu’s body…”
“Liu Hu, what happened to Liu Hu’s body?”
Zhou Dongnan’s face had already turned pale.
Leaning against his dragon throne with the help of the two concubines, he forced himself to ask.
“General Hu’s body was cleaved in half from head to toe.”
As he spoke, the soldier even gestured on his forehead with his hand.
“He died a truly gruesome death…”
After hearing this, Zhou Dongnan felt his brain go blank amidst a violent roar, and then his eyes went dark.
He collapsed directly on the dragon chair, losing consciousness, and causing a commotion…
“Imperial Physician! Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!”
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty has fainted again!!”
On the other side, the Imperial Physician, having received the summons, felt his heart violently twitch.
His tone was full of tears.
“Wh-why has he fainted again?”
The Imperial Physician, who usually maintained his health meticulously, had genuinely almost suffered a heart attack recently.
Originally, being an Imperial Physician in the palace was a relaxed job.
Zhou Dongnan, being a martial general by birth, rarely fell seriously ill.
Usually, it was just some consorts or palace maids suffering from minor ailments that he would treat.
The most important task was merely prescribing a few aphrodisiacs for their Emperor.
Who would have thought that after a recent military campaign, Zhou Dongnan returned not only seriously wounded, gravely ill, and unconscious, but also spat out a mouthful of blood!
This scared the old Imperial Physician so much he almost fainted along with him.
After finally managing to revive him, the Emperor had barely woken up when he somehow fainted again.
And now, this was the third time!
The Imperial Physician, counting on his fingers, was trembling all over.
Their Emperor’s body was already weak after his serious illness.
How could he withstand continuous shocks like this, leading him to faint from anger?
At this rate, he would eventually die of anger.
However, as the Imperial Physician, if he saved the Emperor, he would naturally live.
But if the Emperor were to die like this, would he, the Imperial Physician who failed to save him, still live?
Clearly, he would also die!
But whether it was heaven taking pity on his old bones, or if Zhou Dongnan himself had a tough life, he finally regained consciousness in the evening.
Slowly recovering consciousness, Zhou Dongnan effectively jolted awake.
Then, his attempt to force himself to sit up from the bed made the old Imperial Physician beside him shed tears.
“Your Majesty! You mustn’t, you mustn’t! You must rest quietly now…”
The old Imperial Physician felt bitter.
What evil spell had befallen their Emperor?
He always took care of his body, even asking for several tonics after a night of making people, yet now he seemed determined to torment himself to death.
Normally, Zhou Dongnan might have been touched by the old Imperial Physician’s tearful, loyal appearance, but now…
“Rest quietly? If I rest any more, my damned empire will be gone!!”
Zhou Dongnan, whose emotions was at breaking point, kicked away the old Imperial Physician who had lunged at him.
Fortunately, he was still weak from his illness, so the kick had little force, and the old Imperial Physician merely fell symbolically without any serious injury.
Zhou Dongnan had no time to deal with him.
He shouted loudly at the guards outside.
“Someone! Go summon all civil and military officials for a discussion!!”
