The county commandant dropped onto the low couch. “That’s it?”
He suddenly sprang to his feet. “The attack only started this morning! How could it be over already?”
He truly could not understand. Wuqin, the city where the Great Chanyu Qu Zhao was stationed, and Yunqi and Ding County formed a triangular encirclement, supporting each other on both offense and defense. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way they could have been wiped out in so little time.
As a result, even Yu He’s death failed to make much of an impact on him.
The centurion was panicking as well. “Commandant, Qu Zhao’s army is now halted at Changhai. What should we do?”
The commandant’s heart lurched again. “How many troops does Qu Zhao have left?”
The centurion shook his head. “We don’t know the exact number, but around fifty or sixty thousand, I’d say. Including the Han captives, the Qu Zhao nobles, and the common people, there should be a little over a hundred thousand in all.”
Not only had most of the Qu Zhao nobles and commoners from Wuqin escaped, quite a few of the Qu Zhao people from Yunqi and Ding County had escaped as well, eventually joining them.
The commandant thought for a moment before asking, “What does Qu Zhao want?”
“Their people say they want to claim a piece of land as a place to settle. They want us to send someone over to negotiate the details.”
The commandant was stunned. He soon understood Qu Zhao’s intention. Having realized that they had no hope of standing against the Jinyang Army, did they intend to prey on the Jiao Army instead?
Did they really think the Jiao Army was an easy target?
The commandant found the idea laughable. With only fifty or sixty thousand troops, Qu Zhao indeed had no chance of defeating them at Changhai—but this was Jiao territory. Did they truly think the Jiao Army was so easy to bully?
Even so, he could not help being shocked by the strength of the Jinyang Army. How could they be so powerful?
He turned to the centurion. “Is the Jinyang Army really that strong?”
The centurion recalled Yu He’s death and the comrades who had been crushed into bloody pulp. Fear flashed through his eyes. “They’re incredibly strong.”
“Not only are their generals powerful, their repeating crossbows are formidable, and even their catapults have a greater range than ours.”
The commandant fell silent. Only after a moment did he speak. “I’ll go negotiate with Qu Zhao now and see what they’re really planning.”
He looked at the centurion again. “Get to Liangcheng as quickly as possible and report the Jinyang Army’s strength, along with Qu Zhao’s current situation, to General Jiao Tai.”
Jiao Tai in Liangcheng received the news soon afterward and spat out the wine in his mouth. “What did you say? Qu Zhao has been defeated?!”
The situation had been urgent, and the centurion still had not even had time to wash his face. His entire body was covered in grime, which had begun to give off a foul stench.
“Yes. They held out for half a day—only half a day—and then it was over. And our General Yu He… sob, sob… he was killed in a single move. The Jinyang Army didn’t even send one of their great generals. It was just a junior officer.”
It was too humiliating. He truly felt that General Yu He had died far too quickly. What angered him even more was how utterly insignificant Yu He’s death seemed.
Once everyone learned what had happened, no one thought about avenging him. No one even cared. The first thing everyone asked about was Qu Zhao’s defeat.
Only then did Jiao Tai remember Yu He’s death. His heart ached, and he asked, “How did Yu He end up fighting the Jinyang Army?”
He had sent Yu He to Wuqin not to help Qu Zhao fight, but simply to assess the Jinyang Army’s strength.
By rights, Yu He should never have taken the field.
At the mention of it, the centurion’s expression grew even more troubled. “The Han provocation was too vile. On top of that, the Qu Zhao soldiers kept making sarcastic remarks from the sidelines…”
Jiao Tai understood. He slammed a hand onto the table. “This is infuriating! Qu Zhao is despicable, and the Jinyang Army is shameless!”
Shou Mo frowned. “Qu Zhao has stationed its troops at Changhai. Could they be planning to seize Changhai?”
He was one of the generals in Liangcheng’s Jiao Army.
Jiao Tai pondered. “Impossible. Changhai is our territory, and they couldn’t take it even if they tried. Even if they did, they would then have to face attacks from the Jinyang Army, Da Qing, and our Jiao Army.”
Mu Qi nodded. “That’s right. Changhai County won’t be Qu Zhao’s first choice, but they may well come to Juanzhou to fight us for territory.”
Jiao Tai slapped the table. “They dare?”
Mu Qi could only smile bitterly. “When someone has been driven into a corner, what wouldn’t they dare to do?”
He looked at the map. “The whole of Fengzhou is now under the Jinyang Army’s control. Even if Qu Zhao wanted to return to the grasslands, they can no longer do so. Every pass is in the Jinyang Army’s hands.”
Shou Mo let out a cold laugh. “If Qu Zhao truly wants to go back, they can pass through Shangjing Commandery in Chongzhou and detour through our Jiao territory.”
Mu Qi shook his head. “Putting aside how far out of the way that would be, do you really think the Great Chanyu of Qu Zhao could accept that?”
Everyone fell silent. If they were in Qu Zhao’s position, they certainly would not be willing to accept it.
So many strong warriors had perished on this Han soil. How could they simply let it go? And how would they explain themselves to their people once they returned?
Mu Qi continued, “For now, we can only wait and see what Qu Zhao says. If they truly want to take a share of Juanzhou, we can try to persuade them to go to Chongzhou instead.”
Fifty or sixty thousand troops was no small force. If they clashed with the Jiao Army, they could still bite off a sizable piece of them.
Since that was the case, it would be better to redirect the trouble elsewhere—as long as Qu Zhao did not come and wreak havoc in Jiao territory.
Before long, the Shangjing Commandery also received news of Qu Zhao’s defeat.
Ji Yuzhu was unable to calm his thoughts for a long time. “The Jinyang Army is actually this powerful?”
His strategist, Qu Lin, looked worried. “I’m afraid the Jinyang Army’s next target may be us.”
Xi Yang frowned. “Impossible. We have no ambitions of expansion, and besides, the Jinyang Army has an agreement with us.”
Qu Lin sighed. “How many times have people broken their agreements?”
He looked at Ji Yuzhu again. “We not only have to defend against the Jinyang Army; we also have to guard against Qu Zhao making a desperate move.”
Ji Yuzhu’s brow twitched. “You’re worried Qu Zhao will come to our territory and take a share for themselves?”
Qu Lin nodded. “Even if Qu Zhao doesn’t want to come, the Jiao Army will drive them here.”
That was indeed quite possible.
“However…” Qu Lin changed tack. “Perhaps we can use our agreement with the Jinyang Army to make Qu Zhao hesitate.”
Rong Hei drew a sharp breath. “You mean use the Jinyang Army to scare Qu Zhao away?”
Qu Lin stroked his beard and slowly nodded. “Exactly. The Jinyang Army took Wuqin in only half a day. Their strength is clearly terrifying.”
Qu Zhao had just fought the Jinyang Army, so they would inevitably still be wary of them. It was only natural that they would not want to confront the Jinyang Army again.
At this moment, Qu Lin felt somewhat fortunate that they had reached an agreement with the Jinyang Army. Otherwise, they would now be facing an impossible dilemma.
Ji Yuzhu fell into thought. “If the Jinyang Army really drives Qu Zhao’s forces in the direction of Juanzhou, will Juanzhou be the Jinyang Army’s next target?”
If Qu Zhao’s army were driven onto Jiao territory and the two sides were made to fight, the Jinyang Army could reap the benefits as the third party.
Qu Lin shook his head. “It’s hard to say. The Jiao Army and Qu Zhao’s forces may indeed clash, but if they come under attack from the Jinyang Army, the two sides could very well form a temporary alliance and attack the Jinyang Army together.”
“The Jinyang Army has conquered all of Fengzhou in just over a year. They’re clearly no ordinary force. They couldn’t possibly have failed to consider such possibilities.”
