Meng Su shook his head. “What difference does it make to us whether we hold a truce for two months or go to war immediately?”
“If we retreat without a fight, our already-shaky morale will inevitably collapse even further.”
He looked at the Grand Chanyu. “If we retreat on our own, we can either take the Han civilians of Chunnan Commandery with us or kill them all. That would disrupt the Jinyang army’s morale while reducing its pool of soldiers and laborers.”
The Grand Chanyu lowered his head in thought. After a moment, however, he shook it. “If we kill them, I’m afraid we’ll only enrage the Jinyang army completely!”
He knew very well that an attack driven by fury was entirely different from one carried out in a normal state of mind.
Meng Su said nothing. He knew this was nothing more than impotent rage.
But now, they could neither defeat the enemy nor retreat willingly.
That afternoon, Zhou Sui captured Shu County.
Almost at the same time, the Jinyang army began operating throughout the counties of Chunnan Commandery. They killed Qu Zhao’s scouts and patrols stationed outside the cities, while rounding up the Han civilians.
The various counties were so frightened that they did not even dare leave their cities to intervene. They could only watch helplessly as the soldiers under their jurisdiction were killed and the Han slaves were taken away.
The next day, Zhou Sui continued advancing and attacked Anzhen County. While the battle was still underway, the remaining four counties of Chunnan Commandery collectively withdrew.
This time, they had learned their lesson. None of them used the official roads. Instead, they broke up into countless small groups and retreated in scattered formations toward Ningding Commandery.
Qiu Liao of Lin County and Yun Yu, who was defending Shu County, reacted very quickly. As soon as they received the news, they immediately sent troops out to intercept and kill them.
Unfortunately, the enemy’s forces were too scattered, making them difficult to attack. They managed to kill only seven or eight thousand Qu Zhao soldiers and rescue a little over ten thousand Han civilians.
Jiang Jin’s sphere of influence expanded once again. The entire Chunnan Commandery had fallen into her hands!
After several days of traveling by water, Hua Yuanyi finally returned to Jiu’an.
When Jiang Chun heard his report, the veins on his forehead throbbed. “What did you say? Of my five thousand soldiers, only three hundred remain?”
Hua Yuanyi’s face was full of shame. “Yes. This subordinate is ashamed. However, those soldiers did not die in vain. Working alongside the Jinyang army, they helped seize Dongcheng County in Ze’a Commandery from Qu Zhao’s forces.”
Jiang Chun stared at Hua Yuanyi with a gloomy expression. After a long while, he slowly asked, “Why did Sixth Sister use our Sizhou soldiers to attack Dongcheng County?”
Hua Yuanyi replied helplessly, “It wasn’t the Princess who attacked Dongcheng County. At the time, the Princess was in Geping. It was one of her subordinates who said that we had to break through Ze’a Commandery so that we could meet the Princess sooner.”
“We hadn’t fully figured out the situation yet when we were pulled ashore. Before long, we were taken to the battlefield outside Dongcheng County.”
He sighed. “Everyone knows that the casualties in a siege are immense. Although we had the Jinyang army’s repeating crossbows supporting us, our losses were still heavy. We later helped attack two more counties, and that was how we ended up with so few men left.”
“However…” His tone suddenly shifted. “There are still several hundred wounded soldiers recovering in Feng’an County. Once they’re healed, they’ll return to the ranks as quickly as possible.”
Sun Zheng frowned. “The Jinyang army talked you into going, and you just went?”
Hua Yuanyi nodded honestly. “We had only heard about the situation in Fengzhou from the Sheng family. We didn’t know the specifics ourselves.”
He truly was not lying. At the time, Xie Nanxiao really had deceived them into going to Feng’an County.
“Besides, the Jinyang army didn’t exactly lie to us. After we opened the route through Ze’a Commandery, we really did meet the Princess Jinyang in Geping.”
Sun Zheng: “…”
Did you even hear what you just said?!
Jiang Chun felt a heavy tightness in his chest. Then, remembering something, he asked, “Where is Commandant Mo?”
Hua Yuanyi looked even more ashamed. “Commandant Mo… he choked to death while eating.”
Everyone’s faces filled with confusion.
Hua Yuanyi sighed. “Ah, Geping has a very delicious food called youtiao. Commandant Mo was particularly fond of it, but he ate too quickly and eagerly, and ended up choking to death.”
As he spoke, his eyes reddened. “It was my fault. I failed to protect Commandant Mo. Your Highness, please punish me.”
Everyone: “…”
Seriously? He died just like that?
Was that even plausible?
And what kind of food was so delicious that someone could choke to death on it?
Hua Yuanyi had no choice. It was impossible for all three hundred Sizhou soldiers who had returned with him to be trusted, so he could only let Mo Song ‘die’ properly once.
If Mo Song had wanted to ‘die’ earlier, the battlefield would have been the best place for it. Unfortunately, he had remained lively and energetic all the way to Geping.
With no other options, they had come up with choking to death. In front of a large number of soldiers, he had ‘died’ convincingly.
Wang Boshan pursed his lips. “Youtiao… is it really that delicious?”
Everyone: “…”
That was what he was focused on?
Hua Yuanyi nodded. “It really is delicious. Commandant Mo had to eat twelve pieces a day. He would feel awful if he ate even one fewer. Who could have known that, sigh…”
Everyone: “…”
How big was one piece, exactly?
Sun Zheng narrowed his eyes. “The soldiers are one thing, but Commandant Mo choked to death and is gone now. No matter how he died, we still have to bring his remains back to Jiu’an and give him a proper burial. Otherwise, how are we supposed to explain this to his family?”
Hua Yuanyi replied helplessly, “That was Commandant Mo’s own wish. You all know how much he valued his appearance. How could he allow his remains to rot and stink before being brought back?”
Everyone: “…”
It did sound reasonable. Commandant Mo really did care greatly about his appearance. His hair was always combed perfectly, his beard groomed until it shone, and his clothes smooth and immaculate.
Sun Zheng still felt that something was wrong. “If he choked, how could he have told you his last wishes?”
Hua Yuanyi: “…He grabbed my hand and stared at me with his eyes wide open. Somehow, our hearts connected for a moment, and I understood what he meant.”
Everyone: “…”
Hua Yuanyi sighed. “I only brought back his clothes. His family can build a symbolic tomb for him later.”
Sun Zheng neither agreed nor disagreed. He stopped pressing the earlier issue and instead asked, “You saw the Jinyang army this time. How are their repeating crossbows? Are they really as formidable as the Sheng family claimed?”
Hua Yuanyi nodded earnestly. “They really are. Extremely formidable.”
Jiang Chun sat up straight. “Did you manage to…”
Hua Yuanyi shook his head. “With such a divine weapon, the Jinyang army guards it extremely strictly. They didn’t even leave behind the arrowheads. When they cleared the battlefield, they collected every one of them, whether it was damaged or intact.”
Everyone could understand that. If they possessed such a powerful weapon, they would certainly keep it hidden as well.
Jiang Chun refused to give up. “Did you discover nothing at all?”
Hua Yuanyi’s face was full of shame. “This subordinate was incompetent. The Princess probably guarded against us too. I didn’t meet the Princess until several days after arriving in Geping. Clearly, this was her warning to us.”
Sun Zheng shouted angrily, “How presumptuous! How dare she treat our Sizhou army this way? It is a sign of disrespect toward His Highness!”
The others wore varied expressions. It was indeed presumptuous, but she had the power to be presumptuous. Reclaiming Han territory from the barbarians was an achievement of unparalleled merit.
Remembering something, Wang Boshan asked, “Are you saying that Princess Jinyang has already occupied Donghu Commandery, Ze’a Commandery, and Liuxiang Commandery—three commanderies in all?”
Hua Yuanyi gave a soft “mm.” “Yes.”
Then he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added, “Oh, right. Princess Jinyang said that some of her people from Fengzhou are doing business in Sizhou. She hopes Your Highness will look after them.”
“If any people from Sizhou wish to do business in Fengzhou, she welcomes them as well.”
Jiang Chun frowned. “Who?”
