Chapter 204 – The Desolate Liangzhou (Part Four)
After leaving the house of the Storm Listening Pavilion agent, Ye Beizhi surveyed his surroundings and decided to continue on his path toward the city wall.
Even though messenger hawks were fast, a round trip to and from the capital would still take two days. This meant that no matter how well-informed Ye Fan’s intelligence was, any news he delivered would be at least two days old.
Thus, Ye Beizhi wanted to see if he could find any updates himself.
As he approached the city gate, the oppressive atmosphere became palpable. The gates had been firmly shut, and from a distance, he could see armored soldiers standing atop the walls as their commanding officers hurried back and forth.
When Ye Beizhi attempted to move closer, a squad of patrolling soldiers noticed him. The squad leader stepped forward and blocked his way, saying, "No one is allowed to leave the city. Civilians cannot proceed any further."
Seeing how strict the defenses were, Ye Beizhi decided not to press further.
So he nodded, turned around, and began walking back. He had barely taken a couple of steps when he heard someone loudly shout from outside the city gates...
"Open the gates now!"
***
Three days earlier, in Songqing City.
Songqing was not a particularly large city, but its strategic location as the gateway to Liangzhou made it a critical military stronghold.