Chapter 309: Chapter 309
The flames of the pile of corpses gradually grew larger, with thick smoke billowing upward.
The banner of the Great Chu Emperor appeared on the city gate tower. The Xiongnu across the moat exchanged knowing smiles, and someone said to Xiao Sheng in the Central Plains language: “Though the Chu Emperor is small in stature, his courage is not lacking. Go speak with him, and speak loudly. Since you’ve surrendered to the Xiongnu, you must focus on earning merit. If you can persuade the little emperor to surrender the city, you could be enfeoffed as a king. The Great Chanyu has many daughters—it’s not impossible that he might marry one to you.”
Xiao Sheng smiled and nodded twice, spurred his horse forward a few steps, then looked up. He could see crossbow archers lined up along the city walls, with many people standing on the gate tower. His eyesight wasn’t very good, but based on their positions he roughly identified the Emperor. From horseback, he cupped his hands and said: “Your subject, Chief Censor of the Left Xiao Sheng, pays his respects to Your Majesty!”
Behind him, the Xiongnu interpreter continuously translated for his companions.
On the gate tower, it was not the Emperor himself who responded, but General Fan Zhuangshan. He had not gone elsewhere to defend the city, but remained by the Emperor’s side. Not only was he tall, but his voice was resonant, carrying down from above like rolling thunder.
Fan Zhuangshan had fought fiercely against enemy forces at the city gate the previous night, killing countless enemies. Not only did the entire city know of this, but the Xiongnu had also heard of his reputation. They all craned their necks to look, making no effort to hide their curiosity and admiration.
“Xiao Sheng, how dare you show your face before His Majesty?” Fan Zhuangshan spoke for the Emperor, but added his own understanding to the words.
“The situation is hopeless. Your subject was forced into this with no choice. I earnestly hope Your Majesty will understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand. Tell your Xiongnu masters that the Great Chu Emperor would rather die than surrender. If they have the ability, let them come attack the city. The Xiongnu are treacherous and faithless—while negotiations were still ongoing, they came to invade Great Chu. Xiao Sheng, staying with them won’t end well for you either.”
Xiao Sheng turned his horse around and smiled: “Let me speak. I understand the Emperor. The matter of negotiations can’t be explained clearly in a short time—it would just waste time.”
The interpreter couldn’t make the decision himself, spoke a few words to the leader, then said in the Central Plains language: “As you wish. If you succeed, you’ll be a Xiongnu king. If you fail, see that moat in front? It would suit you quite well.”
Xiao Sheng continued smiling and nodding, then turned toward the city head and called out loudly: “Your Majesty, allow your subject to briefly explain the current situation.”
Fan Zhuangshan deeply despised Xiao Sheng. According to his own inclinations, he should have cursed him thoroughly, then had volleys of arrows rain down to shoot the traitorous minister dead. But the Emperor had other ideas, so he could only reply: “His Majesty permits you to speak.”
Xiao Sheng cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, several thousand elite troops from Fuyu Kingdom disguised themselves as plundered Chu civilians who were driven from the west by the Xiongnu. After being ‘rescued,’ they poured into the pass. Taking advantage of the guards’ unpreparedness, they killed the generals and opened the gates, allowing the Xiongnu to enter. The Xiongnu army numbers in the hundreds of thousands, divided into two parts. One part remained in Liaodong under the personal command of the Great Chanyu, attacking cities and seizing territory. Now all of Liaodong, both inside and outside the passes, has fallen—there is no more Chu territory. The other part rode without stopping, bypassing cities without attacking, crossing through Yan and Zhongshan Prefecture, heading straight for Jincheng City in Dai, all to capture Your Majesty alive…”
“Why are you saying all this?” the interpreter shouted.
Xiao Sheng turned his horse around again. “The Great Chu Emperor is naturally suspicious. I must explain the ins and outs of the situation clearly to make him completely lose hope and come out to surrender.”
The interpreter frowned. “Keep it short. If the little emperor won’t surrender, we’ll attack the city. Who has time to listen to your rambling?”
“Yes, yes, please be patient for a moment. Explaining the situation won’t take long.”
Xiao Sheng continued calling out loudly to the city head: “Now the Xiongnu army of two hundred thousand…”
“Five hundred thousand!” the interpreter sternly corrected.
“The Xiongnu army of five hundred thousand has already entered the pass,” Xiao Sheng immediately corrected himself. “Before today ends, Your Majesty must either come out and surrender, or face the city’s destruction and death.”
Hearing this, the interpreter nodded with satisfaction and quickly translated for the leader.
There was a commotion on the gatehouse. Fan Zhuangshan wanted to curse angrily but held back repeatedly without speaking. Xiao Sheng waited for a moment, then continued: “The Chu army is now scattered across various regions and absolutely cannot arrive in time to rescue Your Majesty. I hear that tens of thousands of Northern Army troops are rushing to rendezvous with Your Majesty, but the Xiongnu are already prepared. Several times their number of cavalry are currently lying in ambush in the surrounding mountains, waiting at their leisure. The Northern Army is definitely no match for them!”
The interpreter sneered coldly. The Xiongnu plan had not been leaked—Xiao Sheng had obviously figured it out himself. But this was not a concern; as long as the Northern Army took the bait, it would work. It could also frighten the little emperor.
Another commotion arose at the gatehouse, which quickly ended. This was dire news for those under siege.
“After breaking through Jincheng City, the Xiongnu army will turn south to join with the Qi rebel forces and encircle and annihilate the Chu army led by Grand General Cui Hong. By then, Great Chu will lose half its territory. With few troops remaining within the pass, the other half will soon fall as well. There are still quite a few Chu troops along the northern frontier, but they are leaderless and fighting separately—they too are no match for the Xiongnu army.”
While translating, the interpreter listened to his leader’s instructions, then said: “Tell the little emperor that the Great Chanyu has some appreciation for him and is willing to give him a way to live. As long as he surrenders, he can still retain the title of emperor. The Great Chanyu’s daughters and granddaughters are his to choose from—don’t be jealous, he is an emperor after all, so his treatment will be better than yours.”
“Naturally so,” Xiao Sheng said without turning his head. Taking a deep breath, he called out loudly: “Your Majesty, the situation is roughly as I have described. Your Majesty has only one path to take.”
The interpreter thought that what would naturally follow would be persuasion to surrender, and was quite satisfied. He quickly translated for his leader, completely unprepared for Xiao Sheng to say something entirely different. He was so surprised that for a moment he was speechless, failing to translate for his leader in time or to speak up to stop him.
“Zhuo Ruhe has already escaped from Liaodong and is currently touring the frontier fortresses in his capacity as imperial envoy, mustering all the armies both within and beyond the passes. He will arrive soon. I hope Your Majesty will hold fast and not come out. If Your Majesty lives, Great Chu lives; if Your Majesty perishes, Great Chu perishes…”
“Shut up!” the interpreter roared, spurring his horse forward and drawing his saber.
“This subject Xiao Sheng has failed in his duties and has no face to see Your Majesty again…” The sound of hoofbeats behind him grew closer. Xiao Sheng could wait no longer. Without looking back, he raised his riding whip and lashed his mount fiercely. The horse, startled, leaped forward, and after a few steps, plunged straight into the moat.
Both those above and below the city walls were greatly shocked.
The interpreter glanced into the river, knowing there was no saving the man, nor any need to do so. He had just turned to explain to his leader when arrows rained down from the city like a downpour. The Xiongnu had no choice but to retreat. Content orıginally comes from novel⁂fire.net
Atop the city walls, everyone fell silent. No one had ordered that volley of arrows—no one knew who had started it, but all the soldiers had followed suit.
No one had expected Xiao Sheng to take his own life to prove his loyalty. It turned out he had endured humiliation and persevered until now just to inform the emperor of the current situation and to ask the emperor to hold on.
Man and horse quickly sank into the water. The horse still whinnied pitifully, but the man made no sound.
Fan Zhuangshan suddenly stepped back several paces, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly with loud thuds. “I, Fan Zhuangshan, was blind and misjudged Lord Xiao. I apologize to you.”
The most surprised of all was Han Ruzi himself. He had wanted to get some information from Xiao Sheng but had never expected him to take his own life.
Xiao Sheng had never been a firm supporter of the emperor. At Divine Hero Pass, the two had even been enemies for a time. Afterward, during the struggle for the throne, he had wavered repeatedly, making his character appear even more base. In Han Ruzi’s plans, after the realm was pacified, Xiao Sheng was among the first ministers who needed to be replaced. Granting him the title of imperial envoywas merely to temporarily pacify people’s hearts.
Yet it was such a man who would rather throw himself into the river than surrender to the Xiongnu.
“Left Chief Censor Xiao Sheng has died loyally for the country…” Han Ruzi paused to collect his thoughts. “He truly was a pillar of the imperial court. You all must not forget Lord Xiao’s aspirations. We too dare not cherish Our body while forgetting our country. Even if only one person remains, Great Chu will not perish.”
The officials knelt down. Though most were scholars, each felt their blood burning with righteous fervor.
But will and morale alone could not drive off the Xiongnu. Han Ruzi immediately summoned the Northern Army commanders and asked: “Is there any way to notify the main Northern Army forces not to come to Jincheng City?”
“Not come to Jincheng?” The Vanguard general was greatly shocked. “But Your Majesty…”
“Lord Xiao has already explained it very clearly. The Xiongnu will use Us as bait to lure the Chu army to come to Our rescue, then wait at ease for their exhausted opponent and unleash their ambush forces to strike them.”
The Vanguard general had not been on the city gate tower earlier, but he had already heard of Xiao Sheng’s deeds. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Without the assistance of the Northern Army’s main force, Jincheng cannot hold until tomorrow morning.”
“Have the Northern Army’s main force choose a strategic location to make camp, forming mutual support with Jincheng, and maintain strong defenses without emerging. In order to lure the Northern Army into battle, the Xiongnu will not immediately capture Jincheng.”
The reasoning might be sound, but implementing it was too risky. All initiative would be in the hands of the Xiongnu. The Vanguard general hesitated again before saying, “We could use smoke…” He glanced at the thick smoke outside the city and immediately changed his mind. “We could beat drums as signals, but they can only carry five to ten miles. Whether Captain Liu can receive the message and whether he can retreat in time are both uncertain.”
The Northern Army’s main force was commanded by Northern Army Captain Liu Kunsheng, who was honest and loyal but not the kind of capable general who could make decisive decisions on the spot. However, Han Ruzi had no other options. “Let’s do it this way. Don’t stop the drumbeats.”
“Yes, I’ll go personally beat the drums at the southwest corner.” The Vanguard general also understood that if the Northern Army’s main force was annihilated, Jincheng would be in even greater danger.
Han Ruzi still did not leave the city tower, watching the thick smoke and the Xiongnu movements. The enemy forces were obviously planning to ambush the Northern Army’s main force before leisurely attacking the city. They were gathering on a large scale, all heading toward the southwest. It was said there were even more ambush troops in the distant mountains, which he could not see at all.
“I never expected Xiao Sheng to be such a person,” Cui Teng murmured beside him, his face full of confusion. “Fortunately Zhuo Ruhe escaped. If he can gather all the frontier armies, we should be able to repel the Xiongnu.”
By now there were few people left on the city gate tower. Prince Donghai said in a low voice, “I’m afraid there will be difficulties. Zhuo Ruhe is an imperial envoy for grain distribution and has no authority to deploy troops. The frontier commanders…”
“Do you think you know so much?” Cui Teng said angrily, really not wanting to hear bad news.
But Han Ruzi had to accept bad news. “Prince Donghai is correct. Someone must carry an imperial edict to Zhuo Ruhe and give him the authority to deploy troops.”
Xiongnu cavalry were everywhere outside the city, and people in the city could not escape even with wings. Prince Donghai remained silent to avoid being chosen. Cui Teng, not knowing the depth of the situation, loudly declared, “I’ll go!”
Han Ruzi shook his head. He had not yet decided on a candidate, and now was not the optimal time to send a messenger. He was most worried about the Northern Army’s main force, and he was also thinking about another matter.
“Yang Feng once said that scholars could also bewitch people’s hearts and compete for power and position, but unlike fate seers, they have principles in their hearts. Xiao Sheng is a scholar, and he too has his own principles. Unfortunately, I made my judgment about him before seeing those principles.”
“This cannot be blamed on Your Majesty…” Prince Donghai consoled.
“So whether a person can be used or not cannot be determined solely by observing their behavior at one moment in time.”
The sound of drums came from the southwest corner, sometimes urgent, sometimes slow. Only the Northern Army could understand the meaning of the beats, but this was not, after all, an imperial edict written in black and white. Whether to retreat or advance would still have to be chosen by the commanders themselves.
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.