The old man reached out and picked up the teacup again.
"Sir, the tea is cold. Let me make you another cup."
The butler carried the teacup and left the study. Dıscover more novels at novelꞁire.net
Looking at his empty room, the old man felt a sudden twinge in his heart, and a trace of alarm crept into his eyes. Because just now, an idea had formed in his mind, an idea that knocked the wind out of him: I wish the Yan people could push back the King’s army.
News emerged from Prince Fu’s Royal Mansion that the Crown Princess had fallen ill due to a fright and had been recuperating in her room ever since.
At this time, the Crown Prince and the Princess were having lunch face to face.
The Princess was dressed in plain clothes today. Yesterday had been extraordinary, but in reality, she was still in mourning for her deceased husband.
"Eat up quickly. We still need to give your father a proper burial later with the servants."
The Crown Prince’s face was etched with clear panic.
"What’s happening outside, and what does it have to do with you?"
"The army, it’s fighting its way back, Mother!"
"So they’re fighting their way back. So what? If they fight their way back, you can take your father’s place and become the new Prince Fu."
"If the army does fight its way back, it just means you, Zhao Yuannian, don’t have that fate, and neither do I. If we aren’t destined for it, then we must accept our fate. Now eat."
"But, but Aqing is dead."
"She’s dead, so she’s dead. While your father was alive, he already told you about her identity—surely you didn’t get emotionally attached to her?"
"Of course not. It’s just, Mother, after all, she was a spy for the Silver Armored Guard. When the army returns, the Silver Armored Guard won’t believe Aqing died of illness."
"That’s easy to take care of. Doesn’t our Royal Mansion still have several concubines your father left behind? If the Yan people truly are defeated, when our Qian army enters the city, just kill all those concubines of yours and place your wife’s body among them. Say it was an atrocity committed by the Yan people.
Then, I’ll appear disheveled and report this to our superiors. With some luck, our family might be pitied. After all, your father died while on a mission for the Emperor. Surely, you should be able to retain your title. You might even receive more rewards, and life won’t be as tiresome for you as it was for your father."
"In the face of events, you need to make decisive choices. Your father is gone. In this world, only the two of us are left to rely on each other, so don’t even consider your grandfather as an option. If your grandfather had truly cared about me, he would never have allowed me to marry into Prince Fu’s Royal Mansion."
"Mother, I understand."
"Hmm, so eat. We have to bury your father this afternoon. We can’t let him remain unburied indefinitely."
The new commander of Chuzhou City had already summoned his men. There were over two thousand of them.
Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng arrived just as they were gathering.
"HEH, they’re coming to offer battle," said Zheng Fan.
Last night, this new city commander led the city defense soldiers he could incite and control to slaughter numerous noble families and seize plentiful wealth.
Now, upon hearing news of the approaching "King’s army," he had voluntarily gathered his available forces to request permission to fight alongside the Yan Army.
This was a strange thing. When the Yan Army first entered the city, the several thousand city guards of Chuzhou had scattered like frightened birds after only a brief resistance.
But at this time, they suddenly had the courage to face the Qian army.
Their combat abilities were, of course, still subpar. However, the contrast in their courage showed a significant change.
One reason for this was that they realized they had committed monstrous crimes. If the Qian army were to reclaim Chuzhou City, they would certainly be sentenced to death. Furthermore, they would have nowhere to hide in the entirety of Qian State.
They had a blast and plundered all they could last night, but when the sun rose and they sobered up, they immediately started to worry about the reckoning.
"These soldiers only gather courage momentarily. A slight setback, and they will scatter," Liang Cheng said.
"Well, what do you expect from a puppet army?"
None of the soldiers from the North Garrison Army stopped Zheng Fan. Zheng Fan was able to walk straight into the small house.
The house was simple. Upon entering, Zheng Fan saw Li Fusheng’s Pi Beast lying lazily there.
Though this Pi Beast couldn’t compare to those of the two Lords in terms of bloodline, frankly speaking, it was vastly superior to Fatty Hui’s. The beast’s massive body, combined with its black scales, made it look extremely formidable.
It would be nice if I could be allocated a Pi Beast in the future. I could then have my underlings research how to improve its bloodline.
It was interesting. The Emperor of Qian State liked to give wives to his ministers, while the Yan Emperor liked to give mounts.
As soon as Zheng Fan entered the room, he saw Li Fusheng sitting on the bed with two of his personal guards helping him don his armor.
"Chief Zheng, you surprise me. I’ve seen the list and the report on materials and grain procurement you sent this morning," Li Fusheng said.
Upon returning, Zheng Fan had forgotten about it and gone straight to sleep, but his subordinates were reliable and had sent it to Li Fusheng very early.
"The Lord was right about you. You’re different from us common soldiers. You can get things done."
"You flatter me, sir."
"Don’t always be so modest. We in the North Garrison Army don’t go in for that. Don’t you know they’d almost curse each other’s mothers trying to snatch the vanguard spot whenever they have a meeting in the command tent?"
"A scout reported that a Qian army has been spotted outside the city. According to the latest news, its troops number no less than thirty thousand, HEH HEH."
Zheng Fan noticed Li Fusheng’s eyes were starting to redden again.
This is... he’s really pent up.
"I will take twenty thousand cavalry to attack, and leave ten thousand in the city to continue procuring grain and suppressing any unrest."
"I know what you want to say. Are you thinking that the whole city is in an uproar, and everyone knows their ’King’s army’ is nearby? HA-HA, I deliberately let them spread the news. I had those scouts shout it out in the streets on purpose.
I know what Zhao Jiulang and you were trying to achieve yesterday. But I’m a bit dull-witted; I can’t think that meticulously, don’t know the specifics of what to do, and don’t have the patience for it.
But there’s one thing I know: the best way to make people collapse is not to beat them to death with one blow, but to first give them a little hope. Then, finally, crush that hope right in front of them!"
Once his armor was donned, Li Fusheng stood up and roared:
"Direct Thief! You advised me back then to take the city of Chuzhou. We did, but it felt bland doing so.
Luckily, who knows where these thirty thousand Qian soldiers sprang from. It doesn’t matter anymore. At least now there’s a proper battle to be fought.
My North Garrison Army has been fighting the Barbarians in the desert for a hundred years!
The Qian people always like to claim my North Garrison Army is just overhyped, right?
This time I’ll show these Qian people,
What the true finest iron cavalry in the world looks like!"