Sunlight streamed through the window and spilled across the room, but the Great Chanyu Qu Zhao could not feel the slightest warmth. The note in his hand was nearly crushed between his fingers.
“Good. Very good indeed. Ha! The Jinyang Army… How very good of them!”
The note had been sent by Han Ning via carrier pigeon the previous day, informing him that Dan City had come under attack.
At the time, they still had no idea that both Dan City and Heichun had already fallen.
Meng Su’s brows were furrowed so tightly they looked capable of trapping flies. “Great Chanyu, given the Jinyang Army’s strength, the fall of Dan City is only a matter of time.”
He Xin’s expression was solemn. “Indeed. Fortunately, we sent reinforcements to Donghu Commandery a few days ago. As long as they can hold out for several days, they’ll be safe once the reinforcements arrive.”
Tie Yu shook his head. “I’m afraid they won’t make it in time.”
Most of the thirty thousand troops they had sent were infantrymen. Even traveling at full speed, it would take them ten days to reach Donghu Commandery from Wuqin.
Chang Gai pondered. “Dan City and Heichun have a considerable number of troops. It won’t be easy for the Jinyang Army to take them.”
“Don’t forget the Jinyang Army’s strength,” Meng Su said gravely.
Everyone fell silent, their hearts heavy.
“Has the Grand General’s campaign nearly ended?” He Xin suggested. “Perhaps we should have the Grand General go there?”
Meng Su disagreed. “Even if the Grand General has already taken Ze’a Commandery, his soldiers are exhausted in body and mind after such a lengthy siege. Sending them on a long forced march now…”
They were still discussing the matter when a soldier hurried in.
“Report! We’ve received a carrier-pigeon message from General Tang of Donghu Commandery.”
The Great Chanyu’s heart lurched. He had a bad feeling.
When he read the contents of the letter, his vision went black, and he nearly spat blood.
“The Jinyang Army!”
Meng Su quickly asked, “What happened?”
The Great Chanyu took several deep breaths before finally recovering. “Dan City has fallen!”
“Impossible!” Tie Yu cried out. “How could that be? Didn’t they only begin their assault yesterday morning?”
The effortless capture of Fuchuan and Xianglu could be explained by the Jinyang Army taking Qu Zhao by surprise and launching a sudden attack. But Dan City had made thorough preparations, and the assault had taken place in broad daylight. How could it have fallen so easily?
The Great Chanyu felt as though his head were splitting apart. “Tang Tishou sent three emergency carrier-pigeon messages in succession yesterday afternoon. That shows how urgent the situation was. What do you suggest we do next?”
Meng Su’s heart trembled. “Great Chanyu, Heichun County is in danger!”
The Great Chanyu stared blankly for a moment before quickly understanding. “You mean…”
“Exactly.” Meng Su sighed. “After taking Dan City, the Jinyang Army’s next target will undoubtedly be Heichun County.”
His expression grew grim. “We all underestimated the Jinyang Army’s strength. Given how easily they captured Dan City, there’s no telling whether Heichun County is still in General Tang’s hands.”
“After all, night raids are the Jinyang Army’s specialty. Last night…”
He did not finish, but everyone understood what he meant. Their expressions turned equally ugly.
Donghu Commandery was the largest commandery in Fengzhou, with more farmland than anywhere else. It also possessed saltworks and a wharf.
They had sacrificed countless Qu Zhao warriors to seize Donghu Commandery in the first place.
And now, after only a few days, the Jinyang Army had taken it. How could they accept that? How could they submit to it?
The Great Chanyu’s face was so dark it seemed water might drip from it. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.
After a long silence, Meng Su continued, “Great Chanyu, I suggest we abandon Donghu Commandery and do everything we can to hold on to Ze’a Commandery.”
He Xin was startled. “You think the Jinyang Army’s next target will be Ze’a Commandery?”
Meng Su pointed to the map.
“After taking Donghu Commandery, the Jinyang Army will either advance westward and seize Zhou County, or attack Ze’a Commandery.”
“While the aristocratic families of Ze’a Commandery are locked in a stalemate with our army, this will be the perfect opportunity for an attack. They can take the commandery’s cities at the lowest possible cost.”
“More importantly, Ze’a Commandery has saltworks. The Jinyang Army certainly won’t be willing to let Qu Zhao retain control of them, so there’s a very high chance they’ll attack Ze’a Commandery.”
Tie Yu grew anxious. “Great Chanyu, if Donghu Commandery really is lost, we must take Ze’a Commandery and hold on to it. Otherwise, we won’t have a single saltworks left.”
He Xin frowned. “But we still don’t know what’s happening in Heichun County. If General Tang and the soldiers defending the city are still holding out, and we abandon them, what will become of them?”
If Donghu Commandery’s fall were confirmed, then the thirty thousand reinforcements would naturally have no reason to continue toward it. The problem was that they still had no confirmation.
“Besides, if the city has truly fallen, General Tang would certainly have sent word,” he added.
None of them could have imagined that before the battle had even begun, Tang Tishou was already dead.
The Great Chanyu considered this for a moment. “Send a message to Heichun County immediately and find out the latest situation. Then send a message to Zhou County and have them dispatch someone to investigate.”
“Judging by the timing, the reinforcements haven’t yet reached Ze’a Commandery. Tell the people there to remain vigilant. We’ll make a final decision once we have confirmation from Heichun.”
Just as they were discussing the matter, another soldier hurried in, his voice filled with panic.
“This is bad! Daqing Commandery has launched another attack!”
Everyone in the hall was startled.
“Daqing Commandery is attacking again? Where?”
The soldier was drenched in sweat from running. “Zhuangchang County. They’re already at the city walls.”
Tie Yu drew a sharp breath. “They stopped for several days. Why have they suddenly moved again? Could they have received word that Dan City has fallen?”
Everyone thought of the same possibility, and their hearts sank once more.
Meng Su felt a splitting headache coming on. “How many troops has Daqing sent?”
The soldier reported, “A little over twenty thousand.”
“Have you seen any Jinyang troops?” Tie Yu pressed.
The Daqing army was nowhere near the Jinyang Army’s level—it was merely an ordinary fighting force. The idea that twenty thousand men could take a fortified city was laughable.
However, if the Jinyang Army’s repeating crossbows were leading the assault, as they had during the attack on Tao County, then Zhuangchang County was in danger!
The soldier nodded. “There is indeed a Jinyang Army banner at the front of Daqing’s formation. It should still be the same group as before.”
While Qu Zhao was frantically arranging reinforcements and discussing how to support Ze’a Commandery, the aristocratic families there had already begun loading their possessions onto boats.
Night fell, and dawn rose again.
Standing at the wharf, Sheng Chi felt only sorrow and helpless indignation. Ze’a Commandery was lost. They had no choice but to embark on the road of exile to Sizhou.
“Those Qu Zhao barbarians deserve to die!” Zhang Tinghan cursed furiously. “They deserve to die for occupying Han territory!”
“The Jinyang Army deserves to die too! They’re Han Chinese, yet they watched us perish without lifting a finger. They disgrace the Han people. And she calls herself a princess? With such disloyalty and unrighteousness, it’s no wonder the Jiang imperial dynasty was destroyed!”
“Patriarch Zhang, mind your words,” Kong Yi warned, frowning.
Zhang Tinghan snorted. “Mind what? Which part of what I said is wrong? If the Jinyang Army had come to reinforce us, how could we have lost Ze’a Commandery?”
“This is the realm of the Han people. Because she stood by and did nothing, we lost this magnificent land. She is a criminal against Yanguo.”
Kong Yi’s face darkened, but he said nothing more.
Sheng Chi turned back toward Feng’an County and closed his eyes for a moment before turning around and boarding the ship.
As dozens of boats slowly departed from the wharf, it signaled that Ze’a Commandery had slipped completely from their grasp.
Meanwhile, in Feng’an County, more than ten thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians were still fighting Qu Zhao to the death. They had no idea that the aristocratic families for whom they were fighting—and with whom they had sworn to live or die alongside Feng’an—had already slipped away in secret.
They had taken with them all the money and provisions they could carry, using the flesh and blood of the city’s soldiers and civilians to clear their path, abandoning the entire city.
