Chapter 308: Chapter 308
The turmoil continued until the latter half of the night, when the Xiongnu offensive slowed. Their original plan had been to disguise themselves as envoys and exploit vulnerabilities to enter, but after this scheme was exposed, internal divisions seemed to emerge. One faction continued attacking the city, while another besieged the Northern Army outside the walls, but neither achieved complete success.
Jincheng City remained in Chu army hands. The three breaches in the city wall were hastily repaired overnight, though panic gripped the hearts of the people—something that could not be remedied in a short time.
The Northern Army’s three thousand vanguard troops suffered heavy losses. Only about twelve hundred safely retreated into the city, nearly half of them wounded. The rest were either surrounded by enemy forces or scattered during the night. Even as dawn approached, occasional howling could still be heard from outside the city, usually signaling that more Northern Army soldiers were being pursued and killed.
Han Ruzi could not be entirely without fear in his heart, but more than that, he felt anger. The Xiongnu had actually entered the pass just like that, driving straight through without any prior warning. There were substantial garrison forces in Liaodong, yet they had not made a sound.
He gathered his accompanying officials beneath the city wall.
A trembling clerk from the Ministry of War replied: “Liaodong Prefecture has twenty-three cities with twenty-three thousand garrison troops. To its west is Yan Princedom with over thirty thousand troops, Zhongshan Prefecture with thirty-four thousand troops, Dai Princedom…”
“Most of these garrisons defend passes and frontier towns. How many are stationed within the pass?” Han Ruzi interrupted, urgently needing usable numbers.
“Two prefectures and three princedoms… possibly fewer than… fewer than seven thousand men.” The Ministry of War clerk’s face paled at his own reported figure, which meant the Xiongnu had encountered virtually no resistance after entering the pass.
“A map,” Han Ruzi said.
The situation was far from optimistic. After entering the pass, the Xiongnu could either drive south to join forces with the Linzi rebels or ride west to surround Jincheng City and capture the Great Chu Emperor alive.
Han Ruzi ordered the Northern Army vanguard officers to temporarily take charge of defending the city, then returned to the prince’s residence with only a few people.
Prince Donghai came out to greet them from inside. After glancing at the Emperor, he dared not ask many questions and quietly followed behind. Cui Teng said disdainfully in a low voice: “Just woke up?”
Prince Donghai snorted but remained silent.
Han Ruzi went straight to the door of Meng E’s room and said to Liu Jie: “Open the door.”
With enemy troops massed outside the city, under such circumstances, every word the Emperor spoke carried more weight. Liu Jie opened his mouth but did not insist on his usual position. He obediently took out his key and opened the door.
Han Ruzi signaled for the others to remain outside and walked in alone.
Apart from being unable to leave, Meng E’s life was quite comfortable—she had no worries about food or clothing, and servants attended to her washing and grooming. At this moment, she stood by the window, apparently listening to sounds from outside.
“The Xiongnu have attacked,” Han Ruzi said.
“Yes, I heard people shouting about it.”
“They didn’t come through Mayi City, but through Liaodong, with help from Fuyu Kingdom. The specific situation is still unclear.”
“I’m sorry, I only know that the Xiongnu formed an alliance with Fuyu Kingdom. I don’t understand their specific plans.”
“This isn’t your fault.” Han Ruzi paused for a moment. “The one who should apologize is me. I should have trusted you.”
“Your Majesty already trusts me greatly, but an emperor is still an emperor—he must accept his ministers’ advice. In their eyes, my suspiciousness is obvious.”
“I should have trusted you more, but—” Han Ruzi preferred to speak plainly now. “I must understand clearly: how exactly did you escape from Linzi City?”
When Meng E entrusted the imperial seal to Ugly Wang in Luoyang to deliver to the Emperor, her actions would certainly have angered the people of Righteous Hero Island, yet she had still managed to escape easily—this was truly suspicious.
Meng E’s gaze was calmer than usual. After waiting a moment, she said: “My brother helped me escape from Linzi City. We agreed to each take a different path—he would join the rebels, and I would follow Your Majesty.”
“You still hope for Great Chu to send troops to help you seize a country?” After this incident, Han Ruzi could not possibly provide any assistance to the descendants of Chen Qi.
Meng E shook her head. “It’s better to rely on oneself than on others. I don’t want a single soldier from Your Majesty—I only wish to learn Your Majesty’s art of statecraft.”
Han Ruzi was stunned. This answer was completely beyond his expectations. “I’m still learning myself.”
“Precisely. That means I can learn many things from Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager’s methods are not suitable for me.” Meng E paused. “I witnessed with my own eyes how Your Majesty maneuvered out of desperate situations one by one. I believe Your Majesty’s path will not end here.”
Han Ruzi was speechless.
Liu Jie spoke from outside: “Your Majesty, the city defense general has sent a message.”
“Mm, understood.” Han Ruzi replied, his feet remaining motionless as he stared into Meng E’s eyes. After a long moment, he said: “Come with me.”
“Let me change my clothes.”
Han Ruzi nodded, turned and walked out of the room, saying to Liu Jie: “From now on, Meng E resumes her position as a palace guard. Give her whatever she needs.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Liu Jie replied.
Han Ruzi walked toward the courtyard, and all the surprise, terror, and anger in his heart disappeared. That was right—from the moment he became emperor, he had never walked an easy path. He could have chosen to remain in the Capital, content to be a pleasure-seeking emperor who left all matters great and small to his ministers, but he insisted on leading the campaign personally, insisted on approaching the enemy despite the dangers.
This was his own choice, he thought. Since he was walking a mountain path, why complain about the rough terrain? What he needed to do was conquer one peak after another.
The messenger was a military officer whose face showed no particular tension. He cupped his fists toward the emperor and said: “Your Majesty, another Xiongnu army has arrived outside the city.”
Han Ruzi grunted and led the way outside. He wanted to personally climb the city walls to take a look. All the eunuchs and guards followed—staying in the residence at such a time would appear too cowardly and raise suspicions of disloyalty.
Cui Teng finally understood what merit he had established the previous night and couldn’t help feeling very proud. He whispered to Prince Donghai: “Last night while you were still sleeping soundly, I had a flash of inspiration and sensed the Xiongnu were going to attack the city. I couldn’t sleep no matter what, so I went to see His Majesty. His Majesty believed in my premonition, and what happened? The Xiongnu really came. This is Heaven helping His Majesty, deliberately using the most loyal person to issue a warning.”
“Why didn’t Heaven tell His Majesty directly?” Prince Donghai said coldly. He hadn’t been sleeping soundly—he had barely lain down before being awakened and had spent most of the night in fear.
“Heaven… has its reasons. In any case, it didn’t choose you,” Cui Teng said smugly.
“Let’s see how happy you are after the city falls.” This thought circled in Prince Donghai’s mind, but he didn’t voice it. If the city truly fell, he would also suffer the consequences.
The streets were filled with common people. Seeing the emperor’s banner, they all knelt by the roadside.
The ceremonial guard officers wanted to disperse the people, but Han Ruzi stopped them and rode forward under everyone’s gaze.
At the city’s edge, Meng E and Liu Jie caught up. Meng E had changed into male guard clothing and wore no disguise. Sharp-eyed people could still tell she was a woman, but no one cared—the army outside the city had become everyone’s sole concern.
The gatehouse was packed with civil and military officials, most standing far from the walls. Upon seeing the emperor, they all stepped aside.
Several guards first went to the wall’s edge to observe for a while, then nodded to the emperor, indicating it was safe.
Dawn had broken, and the Xiongnu outside the city had long since stopped their assault, making camp more than ten li away. Squadrons rode back and forth, and the newly arrived army was even larger—all Xiongnu cavalry forming battle lines outside the city. However, Han Ruzi did not see the Great Chanyu’s banner.
The Xiongnu camps were arranged haphazardly, scattered here and there with large gaps between them to allow horses to pass through, making it difficult to estimate their numbers. The Northern Army’s vanguard general stepped forward: “By rough calculation, the Xiongnu have about twenty thousand men. The Northern Army’s main force has thirty thousand and should arrive around noon.”
The Northern Army’s march within the pass wasn’t tightly coordinated—three thousand in the vanguard, thirty thousand in the main force, and over ten thousand more in the rear guard, arriving at Jincheng City in successive waves.
“The enemy will very likely attack the city again before noon. Be vigilant in defense.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The vanguard general was very grateful to the emperor. Without the emperor’s timely orders, he and all the vanguard soldiers would have died outside the city.
Facing an absolutely unexpected nighttime surprise attack with enemy forces twice their number, even the most formidable army could not have escaped unscathed.
“Why are the Xiongnu collecting corpses?” Han Ruzi asked.
The vanguard general had seen it too—Xiongnu riders were racing back and forth across the battlefield, collecting bodies. Those belonging to Chu forces were piled together, while those of the Xiongnu were taken to the rear.
“I’m afraid… I’m afraid the Xiongnu are going to pile up the corpses and burn them. This is one of their ways of intimidating enemies. It hasn’t been… used for many years,” the vanguard general replied.
The Great Chu frontier fortresses had not been breached for many years either.
Han Ruzi’s heart sank.
Suddenly, an angry roar erupted from behind, “Your Majesty, let me leave the city to fight the Xiongnu to the death!”
Fan Zhuangshan’s valor was already known throughout the city. The bloodstains on his armor had not yet been wiped clean, and though he held no battle-axe in his hands, he still stood there with imposing dignity—just one look at him could give people considerable reassurance.
Han Ruzi would absolutely not let him take risks again. “General Fan, please remain calm. After the Northern Army’s main force arrives, it won’t be too late to move out of the city.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I just can’t bear to watch…” Fan Zhuangshan was tall, and even standing at the back, he could see the Xiongnu outside the city piling up corpses.
“The Xiongnu are using provocation tactics. We must not fall for it. After they burn the corpses, the enemy army will attack the city. All commanders must exert their utmost efforts.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the commanders responded.
Han Ruzi arranged the city defense matters on the gate tower. After the commanders received their orders and departed one by one, considerable space was cleared. The civil officials on the second level came up one by one according to rank. Though they served little purpose, they still had to stand together with the emperor.
After Han Ruzi finished his arrangements, he glanced at the pile of corpses outside the city that grew ever higher, and another flash of anger crossed his mind. For origınal chapters go to novel⟡fire.net
“Your Majesty,” the official from the Ministry of War stepped forward. He was the highest-ranking Ministry of War official in the entourage and felt he ought to do something.
“Aren’t Left Chief Censor Xiao and Hongnong Prefect Zhuo Ruhe in Liaodong?”
Xiao Sheng and Zhuo Ruhe had been dispatched by imperial decree to tour the various prefectures, supervising governance and grain distribution. They had departed even earlier than the emperor and happened to be in Liaodong.
Han Ruzi said nothing. These two imperial envoys were both civil officials, so it was only natural that they could not stop the Xiongnu.
“Perhaps the two officials have some ingenious strategy…”
Han Ruzi raised his hand to signal the official of the Ministry of War to be quiet. He now only hoped for the Northern Army’s main force and had no interest in “ingenious strategies.”
The Xiongnu lit the fire. The blaze was not very large at first, and Han Ruzi forced himself to watch.
A small squad of Xiongnu cavalry galloped over and stopped on the opposite bank of the moat, their backs to the great fire, facing directly toward the gate tower.
“Let the Chu emperor come out and meet with Chu’s ministers!” a voice shouted loudly.
The official of the Ministry of War looked out over the wall, and his expression suddenly changed. “Isn’t that Left Chief Censor Xiao?”
Left Chief Censor Xiao Sheng sat on horseback with no ropes binding him. It was unclear whether he had become a prisoner or had already defected to the enemy.
If you are reading this on an aggregator site, do consider visiting https://tuzhitranslations.wordpress.com/ to support this translation project by leaving a comment.