Hua Yuanyi said, “Your Highness surely knows that it was Fenggexuan. Shopkeeper Chen had business dealings with the princess, which was how he was able to obtain goods such as glass from Geyang.”
“But as you know, Fengzhou is a barren land. In particular, when the princess possessed only Geyang County, there was hardly any market for glass. In the end, he chose to conduct his business in Sizhou instead.”
Sun Zheng frowned. “I knew it. This man seemed to appear out of nowhere. Could he be a spy from Fengzhou? Otherwise, why would the princess know a mere merchant?”
Hua Yuanyi’s expression turned strange. After a long pause, he said, “Geyang is prosperous now, but I heard that when the princess first took the city, there were only a few hundred residents. There wasn’t even a decent house in the entire city, and the city treasury held no more than a dozen strings of copper coins. In short, it was so poor that it was almost wealthy in its poverty.”
“Just one shipment from Shopkeeper Chen was enough to multiply the money in Geyang’s treasury several times over. Do you really think it would be difficult for Princess Jinyang to know him?”
Everyone fell silent. The northern lands had always been impoverished, and Geyang was a small border city that had been left in ruin for so long under the Quzhao army. Anyone could imagine how devastated and desolate it must have been back then.
Hua Yuanyi continued, “I can’t say whether he’s a spy or not. But even if he is, there isn’t much classified information a merchant could uncover from us.”
He turned to the First Prince. “Your Highness, since courtesy demands reciprocity, I think we should send people to Fengzhou to do business as well.”
Jiang Chun’s eyes flickered. After a long while, he said, “Approved.”
Hua Yuanyi lowered his head, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.
Qi Pingwei spoke up. “General, is he really in Fengzhou?”
He was a military officer under the First Prince. Usually taciturn, he rarely spoke.
Only then did everyone remember the matter. All eyes turned toward Hua Yuanyi.
Hua Yuanyi answered honestly, “Yes.”
Sun Zheng hurriedly asked, “Then why hasn’t he returned to Sizhou? He is the Grand General of an entire nation, yet he is actually willing to remain at a woman’s side. This… this is utterly improper!”
Hua Yuanyi tugged at the corner of his mouth. “The Grand General said that he can fight the barbarians more effectively in Fengzhou.”
Sun Zheng was left speechless.
What was that supposed to mean?
Was he saying that Sizhou was weak?
No—why did Hua Yuanyi seem so infuriating after returning from Fengzhou? Every word struck precisely where it hurt!
After Hua Yuanyi left, Jiang Chun’s expression turned cold. After a long while, he ordered, “Investigate. I want to know everything Hua Yuanyi did after arriving in Fengzhou, as well as everything concerning Fenggexuan.”
Two days earlier, Jiang Jin had arrived in Lin County. She held the note Ye Shang had sent back in her hand. She had never expected Chu Qing to still be alive—but his condition was not good.
Qiu Liao was extremely agitated. “My lord, what are we going to do?”
Jiang Jin pondered. “If we were only rescuing the dozen or so of them, it wouldn’t be difficult. But the Ji army could very well use the civilians in the city as leverage.”
With only Ye Shang and the others, storming the city was impossible. Rescuing a dozen people was feasible, but there was no way to save the civilians inside the city as well.
The Ji army had kept Chu Qing and the others alive for no other reason than to humiliate them—to force Chu Qing to watch the Han Chinese civilians struggle to live like dogs, and to watch his friends submit themselves to Ji generals for the sake of a single meal.
Such humiliation, the psychological torment it inflicted, was far more devastating than physical abuse.
If they all escaped, the civilians in the city—who had once willingly gone hungry so they could save their food for Chu Qing—would inevitably become targets for the Ji army’s rage.
Qiu Liao frowned. He understood the reasoning, but he could not help worrying. His anxiety had made him impatient.
He had a general understanding of Jiang Jin’s entire plan. They could not ruin it merely for the sake of Chu Qing and the others.
Jiang Jin studied the map and suddenly asked, “Are there any mountains near Wenxia City?”
Zhou Sui immediately understood what she meant. “My lord, are you thinking of digging a tunnel into the city?”
He shook his head. “Wenxia City is Ji Duoyan’s permanent residence. It has not only a large garrison, but also extremely strict defenses.”
“To capture Wenxia City, even if we managed to undermine it from within, we would need several thousand elite soldiers at the very least.”
“There’s no way to move several thousand elite soldiers through Chongzhou without leaving a trace. The route is too long. We would inevitably be discovered.”
If it were only a few dozen people or a couple hundred, they could find a way to erase most of their tracks. Even if they were discovered, the Ji army would not take them too seriously, just as they had Ye Shang and the others—the Ji army would simply assume they were bandits.
But if it were several thousand people, even the dullest person would realize that something was wrong.
It had to be said that Chongzhou’s “closed-door policy” was extremely beneficial to the Ji army itself. In present-day Chongzhou, there were hardly any merchants, and almost no civilians traveled outside the region. Everything was under the Ji army’s control.
Jiang Jin pointed beyond the pass. “You’ve forgotten about this place.”
Everyone froze. Then they all sucked in a sharp breath.
“You… You want to pass through the territory of the Jiao tribes beyond the pass?”
Jiang Jin nodded. “That’s right. If we ride hard, we should be able to reach Punan Commandery in Chongzhou in about two or three days.”
From Chun’nan Commandery, Punan Commandery was separated only by Shangjing Commandery. Wenxia City, however, lay toward the western side of Punan Commandery.
The territory beyond the pass near the inner border was generally not frequented by barbarian tribes.
Even if there were some nearby, they could simply kill them. As long as they cleaned up properly, there would be no problem.
She looked up at everyone. “There is, however, one issue.”
“Without passing through Punan Commandery’s checkpoint, is there anywhere we can enter the pass?”
Naturally, there were places to cross along such a long border. Qiu Liao, who was familiar with the terrain, quickly gave them an answer.
He pointed to a location. “Here. It’s a little more than twenty li from He County in Punan Commandery. The mountains and forests here are steep and rugged, but people can make their way through. Horses, however, won’t be able to pass. We’ll have to travel on foot.”
Jiang Jin studied the map. “This place isn’t too far from Wenxia City. We can leave the horses beyond the pass.”
She swept her gaze around the group. “Now there is another issue: how do we get several thousand soldiers into the city? Is it feasible to dig a tunnel?”
There was no need to think about attacking the city from outside with several thousand soldiers. After all, this would be a true strike from the heart—a spectacularly lucrative one at that.
Wenxia City was the political and military center of the Ji army. The great chanyu of the Ji people was in Wenxia, and many Ji civil and military officials were there as well.
If they attacked from outside, they would likely be surrounded within less than half an hour. Before long, they would be trapped on every side. No matter how powerful their repeating crossbows were, they could not withstand an ocean of attackers both inside and outside the city.
But if they could truly capture Wenxia City, the benefits would be obvious. The Ji army throughout Chongzhou would go mad!
Everyone understood what she meant, and excitement appeared on their faces.
Qiu Liao was the first to speak. “The nearest mountain is seven or eight li from Wenxia City, but the city’s moat is broad and deep. Digging through it would be extremely difficult!”
Xia Chanyi frowned. “Alternatively, we could launch a night raid. We have telescopes that allow us to see in the dark. It should be difficult for them to discover us if we move at night.”
Qiu Liao shook his head. “Ji Duoyan is an exceptionally cautious man. He will certainly have a large number of patrols stationed around Wenxia City. If even one unit spots us and manages to raise the alarm before we eliminate them, our entire army will be wiped out.”
Once they entered Chongzhou, they would be like a sheep among wolves. The slightest mistake could doom them forever.
Zhou Sui nodded. “Even if we could reach the vicinity of Wenxia City, it would still be nearly impossible for Ye Shang and the others to launch a night raid and open the city gates.”
