Jin Feng spread a slightly ingratiating smile. “Why don’t you tell us how your lord, with unmatched wisdom and courage, conquered Donghu Commandery and Feng’an County?”
Shuangjiang’s voice was flat. “My lord first took Shantong County, then ordered the rest of us to take the other counties. Then we took them all.”
Everyone: “…”
What exactly did you just say?
Where was the thrilling, heart-stopping process? Had you eaten it?
Li Zan worked hard to compose himself and keep his voice as steady as possible. “How do you plan to attack Yushui County? Yushui is considerably larger than Tao County and Zhuangchang County. It’s easy to defend and difficult to attack.”
Hua Ruo spoke in an unhurried tone. “The three hundred elite troops we brought this time are all crossbowmen. With the elite troops under Commander Nan, you’ll have seven or eight hundred crossbowmen covering you. What are you afraid of?”
“Just charge forward. Leave your backs to us. We’ll guarantee that casualties are kept to a minimum.”
Everyone: “…”
That made sense.
The Grand Chanyu had only just recovered somewhat from his grief over Qu Shilang’s death when he heard Ruan Jian’s report.
His heart lurched. “The Jinyang Army and the Daqing Army have surrounded Yushui County?”
Ruan Jian wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Yes. This time, the Jinyang Army’s numbers are much greater—almost twice as many.”
Their guess yesterday had indeed been correct. The Jinyang Army and the Daqing Army really had set their sights on Yushui.
The Grand Chanyu nearly spat up blood. They were giving them absolutely no time to recover.
Remembering something, he hurriedly asked, “Have the reinforcements reached Yushui?”
Ruan Jian nodded. “The reinforcements entered the city just in time. However, this battle will be difficult. The Jinyang Army is entirely made up of crossbowmen.”
Meng Su sighed. “Strategist He only left Liang City yesterday. He certainly won’t arrive that quickly. By the time he gets here, I’m afraid…”
He left the rest unsaid, but everyone understood. The Jinyang Army’s speed in attacking cities was simply too fast.
Tie Yu gritted his teeth. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll lose. Yushui County is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and we’ve sent so many soldiers to reinforce it.”
Everyone thought it over and realized he was right. The Jinyang Army’s successive moves had shaken their confidence so badly that they had almost forgotten how strong Yushui’s defenses were.
The Grand Chanyu’s face darkened. “Indeed. The winner is still unknown. We must hold Yushui County.”
Tie Yu suggested, “Should we consider sending troops from Ze’a Commandery to attack Feng’an? The Jinyang Army only just captured the city, so they probably haven’t made adequate preparations yet. This is the perfect time to attack.”
Meng Su shook his head. “The Jinyang Army has repeating crossbows. It’s too difficult to take a city from them.”
As they were discussing the matter, a soldier hurried in and presented a letter with both hands. “Grand Chanyu, there’s a letter from the Jinyang Army.”
Everyone looked puzzled. “Has the Jinyang Army sent an envoy to Wuqin?”
The soldier shook his head. “No. It was a scout we sent to investigate the area around Lin County. The Jinyang Army discovered him and had him deliver the letter for them.”
Everyone felt a profound sense of helplessness. The Jinyang Army was truly bullying them beyond endurance!
They completely disregarded Quzhao scouts, treating them like their own messengers.
The Grand Chanyu waved his hand listlessly. Tie Yu quickly took the letter, checked that there was nothing wrong with it, and then presented it to the Grand Chanyu with both hands.
The Grand Chanyu accepted it and opened it. A moment later, he slammed his palm against the table. “Arrogant! Outrageous!”
The others were baffled. “Grand Chanyu, what happened?”
The Grand Chanyu clenched his teeth and forced down his anger. “Advisor Yu is still alive. The Jinyang Army wants five hundred jin of gold in exchange for his life.”
Everyone: “…”
They were certainly outrageous. Who was worth five hundred jin of gold?
They could naturally afford that much gold, but they were unwilling to pay it.
If they refused to rescue him, they would chill the hearts of Quzhao’s soldiers—and those of the generals and strategists present as well.
Seeing what was troubling the Grand Chanyu, Meng Su suggested, “Why don’t we send someone to negotiate and try to bring the price down?”
In this battle, Jin Feng once again felt the same exhilarating rush he had experienced when attacking Lin County.
With the Jinyang Army’s crossbowmen supporting them from behind, the Quzhao soldiers on Yushui’s walls were completely suppressed and couldn’t even raise their heads. All he had to do was lead his troops forward.
Mounted behind the battlefield and overseeing the fighting, Lu You tightened his grip on the reins. Whenever he faced the might of the repeating crossbows directly, he felt his heart race, while a chill spread throughout his body.
At that moment, he felt both relieved and uneasy.
He was relieved that he had not made an enemy of Princess Jinyang.
But he was uneasy because he had once stood by and watched the emperor die without offering aid. He had no idea whether Princess Jinyang had held that against him and might settle the score with him in the future.
Li Zan was equally shaken. His voice was hoarse as he said, “With three hundred additional crossbowmen, their power has actually increased several times over. Such a divine weapon—no wonder the Jinyang Army is invincible, conquering every city in its path.”
His expression relaxed. “At this rate, we’ll take the city very soon. Once Yushui falls, we’ll be able to connect with the Jinyang Army.”
This was unquestionably good news. The Han forces could join together, support one another, and face their enemies as one.
When he heard no response from Lu You, Li Zan turned his head and saw that Lu You’s expression was grim.
Li Zan understood his thoughts at once and sighed inwardly. He consoled him, “General, from what I’ve seen, Princess Jinyang is a broad-minded person.”
After a long while, Lu You gave a quiet hum and said nothing more.
Just as they had predicted, they captured Yushui County before nightfall.
Meanwhile, He Xin rushed by horse and only arrived at Liang City the day after Yushui County had fallen.
Jiao Tai asked curiously, “May I ask why the Quzhao Grand Chanyu has sent you here?”
He Xin let out a derisive “hmph.” “General Jiao may not know this yet, but the Jinyang Army has already captured the entirety of Donghu Commandery, as well as Feng’an County.”
Jiao Tai was startled. “How did they move so quickly?”
Yu He couldn’t help but sneer. “Since when did Quzhao become so weak? You were beaten by the Jinyang Army without the power to fight back, fleeing in utter defeat!”
He Xin ignored his sarcasm and continued looking at Jiao Tai. “If I’m not mistaken, you must have sent people to operate around Gofeng as well, haven’t you?”
“And then those people vanished as though they had disappeared into thin air. Even the Han spies you arranged to infiltrate the city stopped sending messages the moment they entered, didn’t they?” His tone was one of certainty.
Jiao Tai frowned. “So what?”
They had not merely sent people once. They had made two attempts. Both the Jiaozu scouts lurking outside Gofeng and the Han spies who had infiltrated the city had vanished without a trace.
That was why they had been forced to stop.
He Xin gave a cold laugh. “Did it never occur to you that all of them might have been killed by the Jinyang Army?”
Jiao Tai had naturally guessed as much. Spying was an extremely dangerous business; being discovered and killed was perfectly normal.
Yet even now, he still couldn’t understand how the Jinyang Army had detected them.
It was understandable that the Jiaozu scouts hiding around Gofeng had been discovered. But the Han spies who had entered the city all looked alike. How had the Jinyang Army distinguished them from ordinary people?
Jiao Tai naturally did not know that everyone entering territory controlled by the Jinyang Army had to report to the county office and register their household details anew.
Jiang Jin had long been on guard against spies and had trained the clerks accordingly.
The clerks paid particular attention to individual civilians who did not arrive as part of a village group.
These Han spies were not especially resolute people to begin with; otherwise, they would never have agreed to work as Jiaozu spies. Under the clerks’ questioning, they quickly revealed inconsistencies.
Even if they managed to bluff their way through the household registration process, the civilian reward system for reporting suspicious people remained.
Having suffered in the past, the city’s residents felt not only a faint sense of pride toward newcomers but also an instinctive wariness and rejection of them.
So they always kept a close eye on the pair’s every move and reported them immediately at the slightest sign of anything unusual.
Seeing that Jiao Tai remained silent, He Xin continued, “I’m telling you this to make one thing clear: the Jinyang Army cannot be judged by conventional standards.”
“Half of Fengzhou’s counties have already fallen to the Jinyang Army. Once we fail to hold Fengzhou, their next target will most likely be your Jianzhou.”
