Thinking of the warehouse, Jiang Jin could not help asking, “Is there much grain in the city?”
Qiu Liao shook his head. “Not much. Only a little over thirty thousand dan.”
Jiang Jin frowned, quickly understanding why.
The autumn harvest was almost upon them, which meant the existing grain had already been consumed for an entire year. It was perfectly normal for the stores to be running low.
After all, no one was wealthy in this era.
Grain in particular was impossible to stockpile in any significant quantity.
Qiu Liao said with a smile, “Fortunately, there’s quite a lot of gold, silver, and other valuables. We haven’t finished sorting them yet, but from what we can see, the amount is substantial.”
Jiang Jin’s eyes lit up. Money was precisely what she needed most at the moment.
Chongzhou, Shangjing Commandery.
Ji Yuzhu stared at the note in his hand. As if unable to believe it, he read it over and over again, his expression gradually darkening.
Xi Yang hurriedly asked, “What happened?”
Ji Yuzhu finally confirmed that he had not read it wrong. He nearly ground his back teeth to dust as he said, “Wenxia City has fallen. The Grand Chanyu and all our tribesmen in the city have been captured.”
For a moment, no one in the hall reacted. They all stared at him in astonishment, mouths agape. After a long pause, they asked in unison, “What did you say?”
Ji Yuzhu struggled to steady his emotions and handed the note to Xi Yang. “This is the carrier-pigeon message the Grand General sent this morning.”
Rong Hei roared, “How is that possible?”
Ji Yuzhu did his best to calm himself. “There can be no mistake. The Grand General’s message was perfectly clear.”
Rong Hei slammed his palm against the table. “Who did it?”
“The Jinyang Army!” Ji Yuzhu spat the words out as if forcing them through his teeth.
Rong Hei froze. “The Jinyang Army? Fengzhou’s Jinyang Army? Didn’t we agree that we would neither attack one another nor interfere with each other, and would cooperate instead?”
Ji Yuzhu snorted coldly. “Isn’t it perfectly normal for the Han to be treacherous—to put on one face in public and another behind our backs?”
Qu Lin gave a cold laugh. “It seems the Jinyang Army has been plotting this for a long time.”
After reading the note, Xi Yang’s expression turned grim. He asked in confusion, “It says the Jinyang Army may have as many as ten thousand men. With so many troops passing through Shangjing Commandery, it’s impossible that we wouldn’t have noticed them. How exactly did they enter Wenxia City?”
Qu Lin’s heart jolted as he thought of a possibility. “From beyond the pass!”
Everyone was stunned. But after thinking it over, they realized that this was the only possibility.
Sha Yan shot to his feet, eyes blazing with fury. “Then what are we waiting for? We must go rescue the Grand Chanyu immediately!”
Ji Yuzhu stopped him. “The Grand General ordered us to hold our position and strengthen the border defenses.”
Qu Lin immediately understood. “The Grand General is worried that the Jinyang Army might take advantage of this opportunity to attack Shangjing Commandery?”
Ji Yuzhu nodded. “Exactly. The Grand General has already mobilized troops from the other four commanderies and sent them toward Wenxia City. Our duty is to defend Shangjing Commandery and make absolutely certain that the Jinyang Army does not succeed.”
Suddenly recalling something, Qu Lin said in realization, “No wonder so many of our patrol soldiers were killed some time ago. It seems that was also the work of the Jinyang Army, all to throw us off the scent.”
Ji Yuzhu remembered the incident as well. Things had quieted down over the past few days, and he had assumed that the bandits had moved elsewhere.
Now it seemed they had indeed gone somewhere else—Wenxia City.
They had been ruthless, driving a blade straight into the heart of the Ji Army!
“Where something is out of the ordinary, there must be a reason. The ancients truly never lied,” he sighed, his voice filled with reluctance and regret.
Xi Yang tapped the table. “Should we inform the Jiao Army?”
Qu Lin frowned. “Are you worried that the Jinyang Army will send troops through the territory beyond the pass and strike Punan Commandery?”
Xi Yang nodded. “We can’t rule out the possibility. We should warn the tribesmen of the Jiao Army beyond the pass to remain vigilant.”
He pointed at the map. “The Jiao Army also has two counties bordering the Jinyang Army. If hostilities truly break out one day, perhaps we can cooperate with the Jiao Army.”
The Jinyang Army was undeniably powerful now, no weaker than the Ji Army in the slightest. It was essential to seek outside support.
Ji Yuzhu thought for a moment and decided it was feasible. “Send someone to notify the Jiao Army.”
Someone immediately acknowledged the order and quickly left the council hall.
Silence descended upon the room.
After a long while, Rong Hei finally spoke, still unwilling to accept the situation. “The Jinyang Army is despicable. We cannot simply let them off so easily.”
Qu Lin frowned. “What do you intend to do?”
Rong Hei gritted his teeth. “The Jinyang Army and we had a verbal agreement. Now they’ve suddenly attacked our territory. We must demand an explanation from them. Otherwise, they’ll truly think the Ji Army is easy to bully!”
Xi Yang shook his head. “The situation in Wenxia City is still unclear. We may have to mobilize troops at any moment. This is not the time to create further trouble.”
Sha Yan protested, “The Jinyang Army has only ten thousand men. Are we really afraid that our army of hundreds of thousands can’t retake Wenxia City?”
Xi Yang was helpless. “Under normal circumstances, we certainly could. But the Grand Chanyu and all our Ji tribes’ civil and military officials are in the city. The Grand General and the others will inevitably be wary of acting rashly.”
He sighed. “And there are our people in the city as well. Many are the families of our soldiers and commanders. I’m afraid the army’s morale could become unstable.”
Ji Yuzhu rubbed his temples. “What do you think the Jinyang Army is trying to accomplish?”
Xi Yang fell into thought. “They’ve ventured deep into an isolated city and struck directly at the royal court of our Ji tribe. Whatever they’re planning, it can’t be anything small.”
Qu Lin speculated, “They’re probably after the city. They intend to trade the Grand Chanyu for it.”
Rong Hei slammed his hand against the table. “In their dreams!”
Qu Lin said helplessly, “If the terms fall within a reasonable range, the Grand General will likely agree.”
Rong Hei stared at him in disbelief. “Impossible! The Grand General would never do such a thing.”
Qu Lin shook his head. “Why not? If something happens to the Grand Chanyu, the Ji Army could very well fall apart.”
The Ji tribe had originally been formed through the unification of dozens of separate tribes, and their soldiers were likewise drawn from all of them.
As long as the Grand Chanyu remained, everyone submitted to his authority.
But if the Grand Chanyu were gone, everything would become uncertain.
Some might even have no desire to rescue him at all.
As the Grand Chanyu’s trusted aide, the Grand General could never allow such a thing to happen. He would inevitably save the Grand Chanyu at any cost.
Ji Yuzhu said thoughtfully, “There’s no need for everyone to be so pessimistic. The Grand General has already assembled a large force of elite soldiers at Wenxia City. Perhaps they’ll be able to take the city in one decisive strike.”
As he recalled something, a sinister glint flashed across his face. “Princess Jinyang has also arrived in Wenxia City. Once the city falls, we’ll capture Princess Jinyang. Heh.”
“Exactly. Then the Jinyang Army will be the ones on the defensive,” Sha Yan said harshly, his words laced with bitter hatred.
The sudden news had thrown them into confusion just moments ago. But now that they thought about it, there was no need for them to panic.
Ji Yuzhu looked at everyone. “Increase the patrols, especially along the borders. Keep a close watch on the Jinyang Army’s movements. We must be prepared in case they launch a surprise attack.”
