136 Jiangxia

on Ye Li, her eyes filled with jealousy and contempt, pointing at Ye Li and asked, "Who is this woman!"Ye Li's mouth twitched; big sister, don't you see that I'm still pregnant Are your fits of jealo...136. Jiangxia

136. Jiangxia

After a heavy rain, Ye Li rode at the head of the army with furrowed brows and deep in thought. The Marquis of Nan and others followed beside her. Seeing her lost in thought, they asked curiously, "What's wrong, Lady Wang" Shaking her head, Ye Li replied, "Nothing much, I'm just worried about the situation in Xiangyang." The Marquis of Nan raised his brows in confusion; since it was already certain that Xiangyang had fallen, what else could there be to worry about With a frown, Ye Li looked around. Since they were not on the official road, refugees from the northwest fleeing along the way were everywhere. Seeing these people struggling with their families, Ye Li felt a mix of emotions. Actually, such one-sided military situations often stemmed from political infighting in court; if preparations had been made earlier and reinforcements dispatched promptly, things wouldn’t have come to this. In any era, it was always the common people who suffered the most from war. Ye Li vaguely recalled something her teacher once said: "When the nation prospers, the people suffer. When the nation falls, the people suffer."

"Lady Wang," Zhuo Jing rode up behind her and pulled alongside her, falling back a bit to speak in a low voice.

Ye Li reined in slightly and slowed down, looking at Zhuo Jing sideways. Zhuo Jing said gravely, "Word just came that Xiangyang has fallen."

Ye Li nodded, her expression unchanged. The fall of Xiangyang had been expected by everyone; after a moment’s thought she asked, "How is General Yuan"

"General Yuan has already withdrawn to Jiangxia with his men," Zhuo Jing paused, then continued, "But… the news just received said that the Westling army massacred Xiangyang!"

“What!” Ye Li’s expression darkened. Her originally delicate features instantly turned frosty and stern. The Marquis of Nan, who was closest to them, clearly heard Zhuo Jing's words; his reins twitched but he quickly steadied himself. He stared silently at Zhuo Jing without speaking, while Zhuo Jing said softly, "After the Westling army entered the city, they clashed with the townspeople. Afterward, Commander Zheng Bian ordered the massacre of Xiangyang."

"What does Prince Southern Pacification mean to do"

"Prince Southern Pacification wasn't at the front lines; by the time he gave orders to stop it was too late. In Xiangyang… at least two-thirds of the citizens perished…" Zhuo Jing's voice sounded hoarse; since the founding of the Great Chu, this was the first instance of a city being massacred. This was hard for many soldiers to accept.

Ye Li sneered and urged her horse forward by pulling the reins. Southern Marquis was taken aback for a moment, looking at Zhuo Jing beside him with puzzlement. Zhuo Jing hesitated before following behind. Ye Li didn’t go far but stopped by the roadside, silently watching the fleeing commoners pass by. Zhuo Jing whispered, "Princess."

Ye Li glanced back at him and said casually while idly playing with her whip, "Someone once told me that having ordinary people experience war firsthand is a disgrace to soldiers and the country."

Zhuo Jing argued, "It’s not Princess’s fault."

Ye Li shook her head and coldly smiled. "Zheng Bian… The heads of his men will be hung at Dingguo Mansion. This princess wants his head to honor the spirits of Xinyang City’s people!"

"Understood, guaranteed that Zheng Bian’s head will be hung on Xinyang City wall within ten days!"

Seven days later, when Southern Marquis’s army was already besieging Jiangxia, Lei Tengfeng sent a secret letter to the garrison at Xinyang. Zheng Bian, who also stayed in Xinyang city, was killed in his room with his head hung on the city wall of Xinyang City. Next to it was a clearly marked ‘定’ character made of flying dragons and phoenixes, indicating that the killer came from Dingguo Mansion. Upon receiving Lei Tengfeng’s secret letter, Southern Marquis had a grim expression, pondered for a moment before replying with another letter to him, and then ordered an intensified attack on Jiangxia.

Jiangxia was a small city less than two hundred miles away from Xinyang. Its territory was only one-third the size of Xinyang’s, surrounded by mountains on three sides in a narrow area. However, this small city had consumed more troops to capture than several other cities combined. The seemingly invincible Western Liang army finally saw the true strength of the Great Chu Army in front of this minor fortress. Even when capturing a major city like Xinyang, Southern Marquis did not personally lead his troops into battle; but this time, he stood behind the main force on a hilltop and watched with his own eyes as the two armies’ soldiers fought fiercely down below, one side killing the other without mercy. The black-clad warriors on the city wall were tirelessly beating back any enemy trying to scale it.

"Your Excellency, I didn’t expect such a small city of only 50 thousand people to be so stubborn. Should we think of ways to resolve this" an officer behind him asked in a low voice with a look of defeat and shadow towards those black figures on the wall. This was a mark deeply etched into every enemy’s mind over a hundred years by the Mo Family Army through countless blood and lives.

Southern Marquis sighed lightly, "Fortunately, Emperor Dachu doesn’t trust Dingguo Mansion very much."

No officer behind him asked why because they too were relieved. If the ministers of Great Chu trusted their sovereign and vice versa, what would they have to worry about

"Day and night, intensify attacks! We must capture Jiangxia before Dingguo Mansion’s reinforcements arrive!" Southern Marquis ordered sternly.

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

In the distant city wall, an old general named Yuan Pei with grey hair was staring at the enemy troops below him, his sword-like eyebrows deeply furrowed. His eyes, full of insight into worldly affairs, were bloodshot and weary, but he stood tall and resolute, determined to share in Jiangxia's fate.

"General Yuan," Leng Qingyu rushed over. Less than a month after setting out on the expedition, his youthful face was already lined with weariness and defeat. Seeing him, Yuan Pei shook his head and sighed softly, saying, "General Leng, is there something"

Leng Qingyu glanced at the distant place where flags were fluttering and frowned, saying, "General Yuan, our troops' morale will surely be damaged if we continue to keep the city gates closed."

Yuan Pei replied, "General Leng, you can rest assured. The morale of the Mo Army won't be suppressed by a few days. We all know that we don't have the strength to compete with the Western Ling army now, so fortifying and waiting for reinforcements is the only thing we can do." Seeing the soldiers guarding the city, Leng Qingyu's eyes darkened. Yuan Pei was right; what had truly been damaged wasn't the Mo Army's morale but that of the less than ten thousand soldiers he brought out from Xinyang City, who were already completely defeated after this major defeat and now seemed like startled birds at any further attack.

"This is a battlefield. My task here is to protect Jiangxia. General Leng, squabbles won't benefit our current situation. The Western Ling soldiers aren't pushovers either; once we enter their vast army of hundreds of thousands, it's like water entering the sea and will be swallowed up." Yuan Pei said earnestly. Leng Qingyu was silent; he wasn't ignorant of what Yuan Pei had said but could barely endure this deadlock. It was his first time leading troops into battle and ending up in such a predicament. In fact, the outcome of this war didn't matter much to him anymore. He could foresee that either he would face punishment from the emperor or be sidelined for life; there'd be no more chance for him to lead an army again. Attack or defend.

The soldiers on both sides fought day and night without rest, piling up corpses in the city gate courtyard and rivers of blood flowed under it. It was impossible to distinguish between their own and enemy dead as they fought blindly. Jiangxia had only five ten-thousand troops, including those who died while supporting Xinyang, actually less than four ten-thousand strong, and even adding the remnants from Xinyang still fell short of five ten-thousand. In contrast, their enemies were over twenty ten-thousand elite soldiers, cultivated with great effort by the Prince of Southern Command for a decade or more. Jiangxia's defending troops grew fewer while time passed without the city gate falling, under which hung flags belonging to the Great Chu and the Mo Army.

Behind the Western Ling army, the Prince of Southern Command stared solemnly at the closed city gates.

"Your Highness, they can't hold on any longer."

The Prince did not speak but his eyes were filled with respect for the enemy. For five days and twelve hours without pause, relentless attacks. With just a few ten-thousand troops, even he doubted if he himself could hold out until now. This wasn’t something a capable commander could achieve alone; it required an unwavering belief and resolve among every soldier in the army.

After some time, the Prince of Southern Command said solemnly, "Continue! Capture Jiangxia within one hour!"

After more than a period of two hours, the heavy and slow gate of Jiangxia City finally fell. On top of the city wall, Yuan Pei, covered in blood, casually threw off his armor and shouted sternly at the soldiers already there: “Kill!”

All the soldiers’ eyes were red with rage; it was their shame that the Mo Family’s army, which they had guarded, was trampled by the enemy. They would use the blood of the enemies to wash away this shame. Regardless of everything else, all the soldiers rushed towards the nearest enemy—on top of the city wall, at the gate, and on the streets—the battles raged everywhere.

With eyes as red as they were going to bleed out, Leng Qingyu stood at a corner watching the battle unfold. Behind him was a group of defeated soldiers who had escaped from Xinyang and could no longer fight; nobody asked them to pick up their weapons again. With his back turned towards them, Leng Qingyu said sternly: “Did you see They are also soldiers of Great Chu just like you! What did they do when the city fell, and what have we done It’s my incompetence that I couldn’t defend Xinyang; you all better take care of yourselves now!” With those words, he drew his sword and rushed out.

The defeated soldiers looked at each other for a long time. Then one person held the knife in his hand and followed him out. Another then did the same…

A group of soldiers who were completely different from the black-clad Mo Family’s army charged out from around the corner, rushing towards the enemy troops that had invaded through the city gate. The resistance by the Xi Ling soldiers upon entering the city further aroused their beastly nature; they howled and pounced on every Chu soldier in sight. Blood instantly dyed the streets red.

"Rumble—"

An earth-shattering sound came closer from afar, and everyone was taken aback involuntarily. The surviving Mo Family soldiers’ faces were lit up with joy and excitement: "Black Cloud Cavalry! Black Cloud Cavalry is here! Reinforcements have arrived!"

In the wide street, a black mass of people rushed forward with tremendous force and fierce aura. Leading them was a red-clothed man on horseback; his clear voice rang out filled with killing intent: "Block off the city gate and don’t let any bandits escape from inside the city. The two flanks, head to the city wall!"

"Yes!ger is now reduced to mere instinctive disdain."Feng Zhirao! What are you doing here!" Feng Zhian, the second son of the Feng family, asked his younger brother with some unease after years of separati...