Zhou Sui soon received the news that Jiang Jin had captured Feng'an County. A look of relief crossed his face. "Taking Feng'an is as easy as taking something out of one's pocket for our lord," he said.
He looked out of the window. In a few days, after he finished recruiting soldiers and arranged the defense of Donghu County, he would head back to Gefeng.
Now the entire Donghu County was under the lord's control. There was a navy along the coast. As long as they defended the eastern border, they didn't need to deploy too many troops in Donghu County.
On the contrary, Gefeng was adjacent to several Quzhao forces in Zhou County. Although Yun Ci was guarding it, he had a problem with his legs and was busy with the weapons workshop. Zhou Sui was worried.
Just as he was thinking, Yun Yu rushed in. "I heard that our lord has captured Feng'an County?"
Zhou Sui said calmly, "Yes, it was captured yesterday."
Yun Yu laughed heartily. "Great! It seems that it won't be long before we capture the entire Ze'a County."
Zhou Sui shook his head. "It's not necessarily a good thing to expand the territory too quickly."
The main problem was that Jiang Jin's troops were too few. Her military strength couldn't keep up with the speed of her territorial expansion.
Yun Yu nodded. "You're right. No hurry. Our lord should be coming back here soon, right?"
Zhou Sui smiled. "Probably. She'll come back after finishing the business in Feng'an County."
In Wuqin, the Grand Chanyu looked at the note in his hand, feeling a chill run through his body. His hands couldn't help trembling slightly.
His head spun, and a sweet, coppery taste welled up in his throat, which he forced down. He couldn't collapse. If he did, Quzhao would really be finished!
Meng Su sensed something was wrong. "Grand Chanyu, what's the matter?"
The Grand Chanyu slowly looked up, scanning everyone present. His voice came out through gritted teeth. "Qu Shilang has been killed. The Jinyang Army has captured Feng'an County."
"What?" Meng Su exclaimed.
He Xin and the others also looked at the Grand Chanyu in disbelief. Their minds went blank for a moment, and it took them a while to react.
"What? The general has been killed? How is that possible? The general is so brave!"
"Wasn't the general about to capture Feng'an County? How could it have been taken by the Jinyang Army instead?"
The Grand Chanyu took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions. "This is a message sent by carrier pigeon from Dongcheng County. There's no mistake."
Meng Su clenched his fists tightly, a fierce light flashing in his eyes. "Grand Chanyu, we must avenge the general."
"Yes, avenge the general. Kill the Jinyang Army and leave them no one alive, not even a chicken or a dog!" Chang Gai slapped the table hard.
Tie Yu's voice was choked with sobs. "We must avenge the general. We must destroy the Jinyang Army."
The Grand Chanyu's breathing became heavy. Didn't he want to destroy the Jinyang Army?
He dreamed of it!
At this moment, he deeply regretted that he hadn't listened to Qu Bai's advice and destroyed the Jinyang Army when it was still weak.
One wrong step led to another. Now, the Jinyang Army was no longer something he could destroy at will.
What Quzhao should consider now was how to keep the existing territory.
Meng Su obviously thought of this too. He suppressed the grief in his heart. "Grand Chanyu, the Jinyang Army doesn't follow the normal rules of warfare. They're very likely to continue expanding in Ze'a County next."
"We should discuss how to defend now. As for avenging the general, we'll do it sooner or later, but not now."
The Grand Chanyu's voice was filled with grief. "The military advisor is right. The Jinyang Army is too powerful and unpredictable. Now, let's talk about what we should do next."
Those present were not stupid. They knew that this was a critical moment of life and death. Acting on impulse would only lead Quzhao to a dead end.
Chang Gai said, "The Jinyang Army may also attack Zhou County and the counties around Gefeng next."
He Xin shook his head. "Not necessarily. I think the Jinyang Army is very likely to attack Yushui County in Ze'a County next."
The Grand Chanyu frowned. "You mean the Jinyang Army wants to connect the coastal counties and link up with Daqing County?"
He Xin nodded. "Yes. Since Daqing has cooperated with the Jinyang Army, the only county they haven't captured between them is Yushui County. So I think they're very likely to capture this county."
Meng Su lowered his head and thought for a while, then agreed. "It's very possible. Judging from their surprise attacks on Fuchuan and Xianglu, the Jinyang Army should have its own navy, or at least a fleet. Capturing coastal cities is extremely beneficial to them."
"However, it's very strange. Where did the Jinyang Army's ships and navy come from? It seems like they suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
He Xin guessed, "Maybe they're from Daqing County. They may have cooperated for a long time, or even be the same force."
Everyone was shocked by his guess. After thinking about it, they felt it was very possible.
The Grand Chanyu sighed. "It doesn't make much sense to dwell on these things now. Since you all think that the Jinyang Army's next plan is very likely to be Yushui, let's increase the troops in Yushui."
"Our 30,000 reinforcements should have arrived in Ze'a County. Let them send some troops to Yushui, and also strengthen the defense of Dongcheng County."
Tie Yu nodded. "They should be almost there. I'll send a message to them right away."
Meng Su looked worried. "Grand Chanyu, our current situation is not good. I suggest talking to the Jiao Army again. We must make them understand that the Han people are our real enemies."
The Grand Chanyu frowned slightly. "The Jiao Army is very powerful. I'm afraid they won't cooperate with us easily."
"We have to try. As long as they know how powerful the Jinyang Army is, they'll be more cautious. If necessary, we can consider giving them one or two counties."
The Grand Chanyu pondered for a moment. "It's indeed a way. Who among you is willing to go?"
He Xin thought for a while. "I'll go."
Shuangjiang and Hua Ruo soon arrived in Zhuangchang County. Lu You's heart skipped a beat. "Why are you here?"
Nan Wen was also a little puzzled. "Does the lord have any instructions?"
They had just captured Zhuangchang County yesterday and were still cleaning up the mess.
Shuangjiang smiled arrogantly. "Our lord has captured Feng'an County. It's time to attack Yushui County now."
Lu You almost pulled out his beard. "What?"
Jin Feng also exclaimed. "Weren't you attacking Donghu County? How did you capture Feng'an?"
"Yes, isn't Feng'an guarded by the aristocratic families in Ze'a County?" Zeng Tong was puzzled.
Nan Wen, however, was overjoyed. "Great! Our lord is truly heroic!"
Hua Ruo said calmly, "It was indeed guarded by the aristocratic families in Ze'a County. However, they couldn't hold it. They abandoned the common people and soldiers and fled by boat."
"Our lord pitied the people in the city, so she had no choice but to capture Feng'an County to save the tens of thousands of people in the city."
Li Zan's eyebrows twitched. "Has the princess captured the entire Donghu County?"
"Impossible!" Zeng Tong widened his eyes.
It had only been so short a time. How could she have captured the entire county?
Shuangjiang gave him a disdainful look. "What's impossible? Our lord is both wise and brave. Naturally, she's invincible."
Everyone: "..."
Shuangjiang was impatient to talk about these things. She went back to the original topic.
"Let's attack Yushui tomorrow. Our Jinyang Army has brought another 300 elite soldiers this time. They'll assist you in attacking the city together with Commander Nan. Try to capture Yushui County as soon as possible."
