Chapter 314: Chapter 314
Feng Shili had fallen into a desperate situation. Through momentary caution, he had preserved his own life and those of fifteen thousand Northern Army soldiers, but few were grateful to him. Many believed that if the entire army had participated in battle, they might not have been defeated by the Xiongnu. Others thought that the Northern Army should have rescued the Emperor at all costs regardless of consequences. Though Northern Army Captain Liu Kunsheng and others had died with honor, the Right General had placed everyone in an unjust position.
Feng Shili was caught in a dilemma. To advance meant death, to retreat meant disloyalty. He could only establish camp on the spot, relying on mountains and rivers, setting up multiple barriers and maintaining a strong defensive position without venturing out. He sent messages to the court and to Grand General Cui Hong in the east, waiting for further orders. However, a round trip would take at least ten days, and for reinforcements to arrive would take another ten days.
Jincheng City, where the Emperor was located, could fall at any moment. The Xiongnu outside the camp challenged them day and night, while his subordinate officers occasionally mocked him openly and covertly. Feng Shili felt he could barely hold on any longer and truly wanted to lead his troops in a charge against the Xiongnu to end it all.
Palace Secretary Zhao Ruosu and the Emperor’s personal attendant Chao Jing arrived just in time. Had they been half a day later, even if Feng Shili hadn’t left the camp, the Northern Army soldiers would have gone out to fight of their own accord.
The route the Xiongnu had indicated was simple, yet the two still got lost in the mountains and circled around to the rear of the Chu army camp. They were discovered by scouts and immediately brought to the camp, just as the Xiongnu had temporarily withdrawn, encountering no obstacles along the way.
Feng Shili felt greatly relieved. Despite past conflicts, he still trusted the Emperor’s judgment relatively well. Most importantly, he no longer had to bear responsibility – the thousand-pound burden pressing on his head had nearly driven him mad.
However, the imperial edict greatly shocked him. It clearly and unmistakably commanded the Northern Army to immediately march toward Jincheng City, not to engage in prolonged fighting with the Xiongnu, and to quickly enter the city to rendezvous with the Emperor.
Whether to engage in prolonged fighting was not something the Northern Army could decide. Feng Shili stared at the edict for a long while, then looked up at Zhao Ruosu, vaguely remembering that there was indeed such an official in the Secretariat. As for the Emperor’s personal attendant Chao Jing, he had seen him several times but was learning his name for the first time.
Then he looked at the dozen or so officers in the tent. These men were eager and impatient, as if dying in battle against the enemy was an honor, something that absolutely had to be done, and being late would mean someone else would take their place.
“Pass down the order: at the third quarter of the noon hour, the entire army will leave camp and proceed to Jincheng City to rendezvous with His Majesty,” Feng Shili commanded. In formal occasions, he couldn’t say “rescue the Emperor” but could only say “rendezvous.”
Only one hour remained until the third quarter of noon – basically just enough time to eat a full meal before mounting their horses.
The edict demanded “immediate” action, and Feng Shili could only extend the time by this small amount.
The generals received their orders and were about to leave the tent to prepare when Zhao Ruosu spoke: “Wait a moment.”
The Emperor hadn’t required him to do this – Zhao Ruosu was acting on his own initiative, wanting to test whether this Northern Army was loyal. He was very satisfied. From Right General Feng Shili down to all the other generals, no one hesitated, and no one made excuses. They were worthy of trust.
“What other matters does Lord Zhao have?” Feng Shili asked politely. Regardless of his inner thoughts, his face showed nothing, just like the other generals.
Zhao Ruosu’s gaze swept around and finally settled on Chao Jing. “Take off your clothes.”
“What? Right here? These are clothes His Majesty bestowed upon me.”
“Not only that, they’re also an imperial edict.”
At these words, everyone in the tent was astonished. The most shocked person was naturally Chao Jing, who looked down at his own clothes. “This is… an edict? How did I not know?”
“His Majesty was afraid you couldn’t keep your composure. Quickly take them off.”
“Oh.” Chao Jing didn’t mind. He indeed couldn’t keep his composure and couldn’t keep secrets. As for undressing in front of everyone, he minded even less. Back in the fishing village, he spent about half his time practically naked.
Chao Jing wore a short tunic that looked unremarkable from the outside. When turned inside out, however, there was a large patch with fine, dense stitching. Chao Jing immediately recognized Zhang Youcai’s handiwork and laughed, “His Majesty really has his tricks.”
No one in the tent laughed, all understanding that this secret edict represented the Emperor’s true intentions.
Since no one else dared to act, Zhao Ruosu asked for a dagger and personally picked at the stitching. After quite some time, he managed to completely remove the edict and turned to display it to everyone.
It was a square piece of fabric with writing on it and stamped with the imperial seal—indeed a genuine edict.
Zhao Ruosu held up the edict with both hands, preparing to read it, when Chao Jing quickly snatched back his original clothes, saying quietly, “Amazing, so I’ve been wearing the edict all this time. These clothes will be worth something in the future.”
The new edict overturned the previous orders. The Northern Army was not only forbidden from advancing to Jincheng City, but also had to ensure their own safety. They could retreat and choose a more suitable camp, but not beyond then miles, then await reinforcements. They could only launch an attack when their forces were at least equal in number to the Xiongnu.
Then came a series of personnel appointments. Grand General Cui Hong would continue commanding all Chu armies and was to rendezvous with the Emperor at the fastest possible speed. Chai Yue was appointed as General of Swift Cavalry—also a long-vacant honorary title, but for Chai Yue, it still represented a meteoric rise, spanning even more ranks than Deng Cui had.
Hongnong Prefect Zhuo Ruhe was additionally appointed as Junior Protector of the Crown Prince—also a first-rank honorary title that had nothing to do with whether there was actually a crown prince. It was Great Chu custom to grant high-ranking honorary titles to lower-level officials when assigning them important tasks, so they could legitimately issue orders, and it wouldn’t greatly affect the court structure afterward.
Zhuo Ruhe was granted authority to oversee the frontier and deploy troops. After joining forces with Marquis Piyuan Zhang Yin at Shattered Iron City, he was to transfer command to an actual general.
For the Capital, the Emperor made no additional arrangements. Chancellor Shen Mingzhi and Sealbearer Yang Feng should know what to do.
This time Feng Shili was truly relieved. The Emperor had not lost his reason after all and had made the correct choice. He immediately said, “The Northern Army need not retreat. We’ll hold firm here and await reinforcements.”
An officer stepped forward and asked, “What if Jincheng City faces emergency? Will the Northern Army just stand by and watch? The scouts report that the Xiongnu have been increasing their numbers these past few days, bringing much equipment. They’re definitely planning to attack the city.”
Zhao Ruosu remained silent for a moment before speaking, “His Majesty said not to burden the realm for one person. If the Xiongnu are strong, even if Jincheng City is destroyed, the Northern Army must not leave camp. If we can retreat, we retreat. If we cannot, we continue to hold firm.”
The officers fell silent, finally believing that the Emperor truly did not want them to come to his rescue.
Zhao Ruosu continued, “If General Feng is willing, please send troops to charge the Xiongnu once, so the Jincheng City defenders can see it and His Majesty will know I have arrived safely.”
“Of course, tomorrow… no, I’ll send troops shortly,” Feng Shili immediately replied.
“Also, send someone beyond the frontier to find Zhuo Ruhe. This edict must be delivered to him promptly. If Lord Zhuo is no longer there, send the edict to Shattered Iron City.”
“No problem, I’ll send capable men beyond the frontier.”
“General Feng has already sent messages to the capital and the Grand General, hasn’t he?”
“Of course, they were sent several days ago, but there’s been no reply yet.”
Zhao Ruosu nodded. “Finally, please have General Feng assign several soldiers to escort us to Qi. I need to rendezvous with the Grand General.”
After several troop deployments, the Capital’s military strength was depleted. Great Chu’s had two most important armies—one in the north, one in the east. The northern forces had greater numbers but were more scattered, requiring considerable time to assemble, while the eastern army was more concentrated but was constrained by rebel forces and difficult to mobilize.
Zhao Ruosu’s personal mission to see Grand General Cui Hong was to ensure that army would sacrifice the small for the great and march north to rescue the Emperor as quickly as possible.
Feng Shili complied with everything: dispatching ten men to carry the edict beyond the frontier, twenty men to escort Zhao Ruosu and Chao Jing to Qi, and simultaneously, five thousand Northern Army soldiers left camp to challenge the Xiongnu with great fanfare—not seeking battle, but simply to let Jincheng City see that this army truly existed.
Zhao Ruosu and Chao Jing took no rest. After delivering the edict, they departed immediately.
With everything arranged, Feng Shili finally had a moment to relax. He collapsed into a chair, utterly drained, as if he had just returned from battle. Though his body was exhausted, his mind raced.
He summoned an officer and asked, “Tell me again about the Xiongnu situation.”
”The Xiongnu surrounding Jincheng number approximately sixty thousand, with over five thousand arriving daily. They’ve now reached nearly eighty thousand, and it appears they’ll continue to increase. It’s said that most cities in Yan and Zhongshan Prefecture have already fallen, with only a few still holding out. Many of the siege engines the Xiongnu brought were captured from Chu forces…”
Feng Shili interrupted the officer. “In your estimation, when will the Xiongnu attack the city?”
The officer thought for a moment. “At the earliest three days, at most no more than five days before the Xiongnu can launch a large-scale assault on the city.”
Feng Shili waved for the officer to withdraw, keeping no one by his side as he pondered alone in his tent.
No matter how he calculated, he realized that reinforcements from either side could not possibly arrive in time. The Xiongnu strategy was clear: either use the Emperor as bait to lure waves of Chu forces into rescue attempts and destroy them piecemeal, or breach Jincheng and capture the Emperor alive to threaten Great Chu. They would never wait until Chu forces grew numerous enough to match the Xiongnu.
“How unfortunate,” Feng Shili sighed. It was the Emperor himself who had insisted on personally leading the campaign. Having reached this point, no one else could be blamed. He prepared ink and paper himself, took up his brush, and wrote a letter. After sealing it in an envelope, he summoned a trusted attendant and ordered him to carry the message back to the Capital.
“This letter is of utmost importance and must never fall into others’ hands. You must personally deliver it to Chancellor Shen. Do you understand?”
The attendant kowtowed in acknowledgment and hurried from the tent.
Great Chu faced crisis once again. This time, who could turn the tide? Feng Shili preferred to prepare multiple options rather than wait helplessly for a miracle.
The five thousand Northern Army troops left camp and sounded dozens of horns at a location more than ten li from Jincheng. Before the Xiongnu could encircle them, they immediately retreated.
The Xiongnu had already laid their trap like a net across heaven and earth, never expecting the fish to be so cunning—just as it was about to enter the net, it turned and swam away. This left them extremely disappointed and furious. They charged to the camp’s perimeter, using various methods to issue challenges.
Han Ruzi in the city finally received the signal. The Northern Army’s feint indicated that Zhao Ruosu and Ni Qiu had successfully deceived the Xiongnu with the false edict and escaped the encirclement. Check latest chapters at novᴇlfire.net
But he could only breathe slightly easier. The Xiongnu besieging the city grew more numerous by the day, constructing tall siege engines everywhere. The Xiongnu were rapidly learning operational techniques, with the large numbers of captured prisoners serving as laborers.
The next assault on the city would no longer be as simple as merely shooting arrows.
Before reinforcements arrived, Jincheng City still had to find ways to protect itself.
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