Xie Nanxiao had an easygoing temperament. “To Feng’an County in Ze’a Commandery.”
Although Sheng Chi had previously said that Princess Jinyang had most likely already taken Feng’an County in Ze’a Commandery, Hua Yuanyi and Mo Song were still somewhat surprised—and even a little excited—now that they had received a definite answer.
Hua Yuanyi hurriedly asked, “Has the princess truly taken Feng’an County?”
Xie Nanxiao did not hide the truth. “That’s right.”
Hua Yuanyi chose his words carefully. “Could you tell us something about the situation in Feng Province? Which cities does the princess currently control?”
Xie Nanxiao sounded faintly proud. “Our liege now controls all of Donghu Commandery, three counties in Liuxiang Commandery, and Lin County in Chunnan Commandery.”
“She reclaimed every one of them from Qu Zhao over the past year or so.”
As he spoke, he sighed. “When the princess was first taken to Liang City under guard, she had nothing. The dangers and hardships she endured along the way are beyond what outsiders could understand.”
Hua Yuanyi’s eyes flickered. The Jinyang Army truly concealed many capable people. Even this young man before him was no simple character.
With a single sentence, he had not only highlighted how difficult Princess Jinyang’s journey had been, but also made it clear that everything she possessed had been built up from nothing by her own efforts, with no connection to anyone else.
Who that “anyone else” referred to was obvious.
Mo Song was similarly conflicted. The princess had started with nothing, yet she had conquered city after city and reclaimed the territory of Yan Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the First Prince possessed the best resources in Sizhou, yet in a little over a year, he had already lost two commanderies.
If their positions had been reversed, and the princess had been the one defending Sizhou, would it have lost those two commanderies?
Could she even have reclaimed more of Yan Kingdom’s territory?
His thoughts came to a halt.
How could he possibly think such a thing?
That was far too disrespectful to the First Prince!
He secretly berated himself.
Once he had composed himself, he asked with a smile, “Didn’t you say the princess was in Gefeng? Why are we going to Feng’an County?”
Xie Nanxiao glanced at him. “You’ll know when we arrive. For now, just get ashore.”
Seeing that he had no intention of saying more, Mo Song did not press the matter.
He had realized that although the young man before him looked young, his words were airtight.
He only said what he wanted others to know, and not a single word more.
Mo Song was now even more curious about what kind of person Princess Jinyang truly was.
What sort of woman could win over so many talented people?
The fleet’s journey went smoothly. By dusk, they had reached Feng’an County. Apart from the oarsmen and a small number of Sizhou sailors left behind to guard the docks, everyone else disembarked.
Yao Ji showed them considerable courtesy and led his people to the dock to welcome them. “General Hua, Commander Mo, I’ve long heard of your reputations.”
Mo Song held the position of Palace Attendant Intern.
The first person Hua Yuanyi noticed was Hua Ruo, standing behind Yao Ji.
Hua Ruo smiled at him, then immediately tucked away her smile and stared straight ahead, standing stiffly like one of the wooden soldiers.
Hua Yuanyi: “…”
The joy and excitement he had just felt at seeing her, along with his pride at watching his daughter grow up, vanished in an instant.
Several of Hua Yuanyi’s trusted aides thought they had seen incorrectly and could not help rubbing their eyes.
When they looked again, it really was the eldest miss!
Why was the eldest miss here?
What on earth was going on?
They exchanged glances and wisely said nothing.
The deputy beside Hua Ruo, Mu Chunhua, frowned and lowered her voice. “Were those men just staring at you? They looked like they were leering. Should I find an opportunity to gouge out their eyes later?”
She came from the same village as Mu Chichi and had joined the Jinyang Army with the same batch of recruits. She could be considered a veteran.
Hua Ruo: “…”
What on earth was wrong with her eyes? How had she managed to interpret that look as lecherous?
Those expressions had clearly been ones of shock and disbelief!
Mo Song looked at Yao Ji and spoke humbly. “You’re too kind. And you are?”
Xie Nanxiao smiled as he introduced him. “This is our Commander Yao. He is fully responsible for the military defenses in this part of Ze’a Commandery.”
Mo Song frowned slightly, confused by the unfamiliar title of “commander.” Still, since Yao Ji oversaw the military affairs of an entire region, he was probably equivalent to a regional governor or a general responsible for defending the realm.
His expression gave nothing away as he cupped his hands. “A pleasure to meet you, Commander Yao.”
Yao Ji nodded with a smile. “The journey must have been tiring, and it’s already getting dark. Why don’t you rest and recover first?”
Mo Song stroked his beard. “We are merely doing our duty for the people; there’s no need to call it tiring. But when will we be able to meet the princess?”
Yao Ji’s eyes flickered. “If you wish, I can take you to see our liege right now.”
Mo Song’s face lit up, but then he remembered something and asked, “I thought you said the princess wasn’t in Feng’an County?”
Yao Ji nodded. “That’s right. Our liege is currently in Gefeng. So you can come with us and fight our way there from Feng’an County. Once we reach Gefeng, you’ll be able to see our liege.”
The smile on Mo Song’s face froze.
Had he misheard, or had he really misheard?
What did Yao Ji mean by “fight our way there”?
Hua Yuanyi also pulled his gaze away from Hua Ruo and frowned. “Commander Yao, what exactly do you mean?”
Yao Ji sighed helplessly. “Our Jinyang Army doesn’t have the deep resources you do in Sizhou. Qu Zhao currently has seventy or eighty thousand troops stationed in Ze’a Commandery, and we’re no match for them.”
“Feng’an has been surrounded and is now an isolated city. We can’t advance, and we can’t retreat. We were in quite a predicament when you arrived.”
“And what do you know? The timing couldn’t be more perfect. You want to see the princess, and we want to see our liege. So we’ll join forces and fight our way out together.”
The corner of Mo Song’s mouth twitched. He had never seen anyone so shameless in his life!
What did he mean, the timing couldn’t be more perfect? Hadn’t one of their own men brought them here?
They had ships. Now that all of Donghu belonged to the princess, couldn’t they have landed anywhere they pleased?
Besides, Mo Song did not know whether they could advance, but retreating should have been easy enough. After all, the Jinyang Army had a navy!
How could anyone say such an obviously fabricated excuse with such complete confidence and righteous solemnity?
Hua Yuanyi’s expression also grew strange as he turned to look at his daughter again.
So this was the army she had joined?
Hua Ruo stood expressionless, staring straight ahead with a perfectly serious face.
Mo Song was completely at a loss. His voice trembled as he said, “This… doesn’t seem quite appropriate. I think…”
Yao Ji cut him off. “There’s no need to feel embarrassed. Although we hadn’t planned to break through Ze’a Commandery so soon…”
“I also understand that the First Prince has gone to great lengths and is desperate to see his sister. So our Jinyang Army is willing to cooperate with you and break through layer upon layer of defenses so that you can meet our liege as soon as possible.”
Mo Song’s lips trembled even more violently. “No, that isn’t what I meant.”
Xie Nanxiao clapped him on the shoulder like an old friend. “You don’t need to thank us. Everything we do is for the sake of the First Prince.”
Mo Song: “…”
How had this suddenly become for the sake of the First Prince?
Why was a civil official like him losing an argument to a military man?
He rubbed his face. Could it be that his skin simply wasn’t thick enough?
Mo Song turned to Hua Yuanyi, hoping he would say something.
Hua Yuanyi did indeed speak. “How many troops do you have in Feng’an County? Which city do you plan to attack first?”
Mo Song: “…”
Why did this conversation sound so strange?
His eyes flew wide open.
What did General Hua mean by that?
Was he really planning to help the Jinyang Army attack Ze’a Commandery?
Yao Ji had no idea what was going on in Mo Song’s mind. He smiled and explained, “We have around ten thousand troops, but most of them are new recruits, along with some soldiers left behind by the old noble families.”
“As for which city we’ll attack first, naturally it will be Dongcheng. It’s the easiest to defend and hardest to attack. Once we take Dongcheng back, the other counties will be easy to deal with.”
Dongcheng County was indeed difficult to take. For one thing, its walls were higher than ordinary city walls, while its moat was deeper and wider.
More importantly, Dongcheng had been built to follow the contours of a mountain, giving it extremely treacherous terrain.
With Qu Zhao’s recent reinforcements added to the equation, the Jinyang army was under considerable pressure.
However, to ease that pressure, Jiang Jin turned to besiege Zhou County after capturing Qinghuai County.
Zhou County had few troops stationed there, and Wu Qin was too far away, so they had no choice but to seek aid from the nearest Ze’a Commandery.
Left with no alternative, Ze’a Commandery dispatched more than ten thousand troops to march rapidly toward Zhou County.
