Xinyang reports breakthrough

  Xinyang reports breakthrough.

  Xinyang City

  On the city wall, Leng Qingyu gazed out at the fluttering banners in the distance with a solemn expression. Xinyang had been surrounded by the large army for over ten days now, and if they couldn't break through the siege soon, even if they weren't breached by the Western Ridge Army, they would likely collapse from within before long. Furthermore, the reinforcements that had just arrived at the border had suffered heavy casualties as soon as they reached the border, and Nan Hou Shizi, the deputy general, had gone missing on the battlefield, which made the morale of the defending soldiers even lower. If it weren't for the fact that the commander-in-chief of Xinyang's defense forces had died in battle, no one would be able to take charge of the overall situation, and whether Leng Qingyu could still stand on the city wall was an unknown quantity.

  "General Leng, when can the reinforcements from the imperial court arrive?" A weary-looking general rushed over and asked bluntly. The generals were already dissatisfied with General Leng, who was young and inexperienced, yet held a high position as the commander-in-chief of the army. Moreover, he had been defeated by the Southern King of Xiling before even arriving at the scene, which made everyone look down on him even more. To make matters worse, he was also the son of the Grand General of the Nation and a general appointed by the emperor himself. After the death of the commander of the garrison of Xinyang, he became the highest commander in Xinyang. Although people showed respect on the surface, no one knew what they were thinking deep down. As for the high-ranking generals of Xinyang, they didn't even bother to pretend. A hint of embarrassment and anger flashed across General Leng's cold face. He had always been successful since he was young, becoming the commander of the Imperial Guard in the capital through his own abilities, one of the top young talents in Chujing. But now that things were not going well, he kept running into obstacles, which made him doubt and question himself.

  He furrowed his brow and coldly said, "When the time comes, it will naturally arrive. General, just wait patiently."

  "That man's face sank as he said, 'General Mo has waited, but General Xin can't wait any longer! General Leng, take a look at the city below and inside the city. How many more days do you think Xin City can hold on?!"

  "Shut up!" Leng Qiu Yu roared in a low voice, his eyes shooting towards the person in front of him like sharp arrows. "Xinyang City will not be breached!"

  That man was taken aback by his fierce gaze, and turned around to hum a response: "Since General Leng has such confidence, I'll wait with bated breath!" He finished speaking, swung his sleeve, and quickly departed. Watching the opponent's unhesitant departure, Cold Jingyu's eyes became even more ominous, but looking back at the distant, seemingly endless enemy army, he could only forcibly suppress his emotions.

  The drumbeat under the city suddenly shook the sky, and Leng Qingyu's spirit was shocked as he looked far away. The originally still banner crowd began to move. Taking a deep breath, Leng Qingyu raised his voice: "Defend the city!"

  The city above and below, the two armies began another fierce contest. The defenders had already shown obvious signs of fatigue and weakness, which made the soldiers below excitedly rush up.

  In a high-rise building somewhere in Xinyang City, the sound of shouting and killing came from the direction of the city gate outside the slanted window. Inside the window, an ordinary-looking man said in a low voice: "Xinyang City can't be defended, get ready, we're withdrawing."

  Another man frowned and said: "Shouldn't General Yuan provide support from the outside again, the princess and the supporting troops are already halfway there."

  The man shook his head and said, "It's no use. Haven't you noticed that the Xiling army's offensive has been much more fierce over the past two days? The King of Zhen Nan is afraid to take down the city of Xin Yang at all costs. Leng Jingyu can't hold back the generals of Xin Yang, and even if General Yuan has been leading people to harass the outside in recent days, it won't hinder much time, and it's very likely that General Yuan will be trapped together."

  "Alright, send word immediately for General Yuan to withdraw from the battlefield and return to Jiangxia. You go first, I'll stay behind to take care of things in Xinye."

  "Alright, be careful."

  After seeing off his companion, the man turned around and quickly headed down the stairs towards the mansion of the Lord of Xinyang Prefecture.

  Xiling Military Camp

  The King of Zhen Nan sat calmly in a comfortable large chair, one hand supporting his chin and the other closed his eyes to rest while waiting for news from outside. Within today, he would definitely receive news that Xinyang City had been broken through. Although the young man inside Xinyang City had some skills, he was still too tender and powerless to turn the tide in this situation. Just thinking about the countless grains, fabrics, gold, and silver inside Xinyang City which would become his resources for future conquests of Great Chu filled him with indescribable joy.

  "How's the preparation going at Yuan Pei's place?" The King of Zhen Nan asked with his eyes open.

  The general who was sitting at the bottom immediately got up and said: "In obedience to your order, our army has secretly set up a return route to Jiangxia. Although we can't find Yuan Pei's troops for the time being, once Xinyang is broken, he will definitely return to Jiangxia, and then we won't worry about catching him."

  The King of Zhen Nan nodded in satisfaction, "Very good."

  The sound of drums and gongs came from outside the account, and the smile on Zhen Nan Wang's face deepened. He stood up and laughed: "Xinyang is broken!"

  The faces of the generals were all filled with joy, "Congratulations to King Wang." The King of Zhen Nan shook his head and said: "No, it's congratulations to us all. With Xinyang, our attack on Chu will be unbeatable. This time, it is indeed the blessing of heaven for West Hill." The generals chorused in praise: "Heaven blesses West Hill."

  A messenger rushed in, "Reporting to Your Highness, Xinyang City has fallen!"

  "Alright, what about that little brat who was defending the city?" asked the King of Southern Town.

  The signal soldier hesitated for a moment before saying: "Commander Lin Xingyu of Xinyang has not been found."

  At these words, the King of Southern Town involuntarily frowned and waved his hand: "Go and investigate again, and report back immediately if there is any news."

  "Yes!"

  An hour later, the generals who went to attack the city had all returned to the camp, and the big account was filled with joy. However, only the King of Zhen Nan frowned, and the people below saw him ask: "Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?" The King of Zhen Nan shook his head and said: "I don't know, I just feel that something is not quite right..."

  "Report to Your Highness, something is amiss!" A voice outside the tent loudly requested an audience. The King of Zhen Nan's heart sank, and he coldly said: "Enter, what's going on with Xinyang City?" The person replied: "Reporting to Your Highness, originally there should have been enough grain and fodder in Xinyang City, but for some reason, less than 20% is left!"

  "What?!"

  Everyone was shocked: "Could it be that the people of Eastern Chu knew they would lose and had already transferred their grain and fodder?"

  "It's impossible, after Xin Yang was besieged, not even a mosquito could fly out, let alone such a large amount of grain and fodder."

  The King of Zhen Nan's face was gloomy, and he asked in a deep voice: "Is there anything else?"

  The soldier glanced at the face of Zhen Nan Wang, and said with some trepidation: "There is also the silver in the treasury of Xinyang City Government, as well as the cash and silver bills from several money houses that have all gone missing. At present, the amount of silver that can be taken out in Xinyang City is less than 30% of the original amount."

  Inside the big tent, there was a dead silence. The generals were all stealing glances at the face of the King of Town South, but no one dared to speak up. Xinyang wasn't the richest city in Eastern Chu, but it was indeed the place where the Great Chu stored the most military supplies and one of the top five commercial cities in the Great Chu, although their trading partner was Xiling. Originally, everyone had been eyeing this city because of its countless grains and gold and silver, but now... everything was gone.

  "Good!" After a long while, Zhen Nan Wang suddenly sneered: "What a magnificent Ding Guo Wang Fu!"

  Everyone was stunned, and someone doubted: "Prince Wang, you said it was done by the Dingguo King's Mansion?"

  Zhen Nan Wang smiled and said: "Besides Ding Guo Wang Fu, who else could have hidden all the grain and hay so quickly without anyone knowing?"

  "But isn't Ding Wang in Bei Rong?"

  "That means there's still someone more powerful in the Dingguo Palace."

  "Report to His Highness, General Zheng has just ordered the massacre of the city!" a soldier hastily reported at the door.

  "Preposterous!" The King of Zhen Nan slammed his fist on the table and shouted: "Who gave this order?"

  The soldier was startled and hastily said: "General Zheng... General Zheng led his men to take things from a pawnshop, had a conflict with the city's civilians, then... then General Zheng ordered the massacre of the city..."

  "Go at once and transmit My orders, stop the massacre! Anyone who dares to disobey will be executed on the spot. Order Zheng Bian to come and see Me immediately."

  "Yes!"

  Inside the big tent, all the generals looked at each other, "Your Highness, those people from Eastern Chu were killed and that's it. Keeping so many of them is just a waste of food."

  "It's true, Prince Wang. Since Xinyang has fallen and we've gained nothing, let's just kill all those Eastern Chu people and show them some color."

  "Foolish!" The King of Zhen Nan said coldly, "How many people are there in Eastern Chu? Are you going to kill them all? Now only the army of Eastern Chu will resist us. Once the people of Eastern Chu know about the massacre, all the people will unite to resist us."

  Many people think nothing of it, "The army of Eastern Chu can't do anything to us, what can a few ordinary people do?"

  "Anyway," said King Zhen Nan in a deep voice, "without my order, no one is allowed to slaughter the people of Eastern Chu at will!"

  "Reporting to Your Highness, Yuan Pei has led tens of thousands of Mo family soldiers in a breakout and is heading towards Jiangxia."

  At these words, the King of Southern Town furrowed his brow, "What's going on?"

  The Crown Prince's troops, who were sent to intercept Yuan Pei, were ambushed and annihilated. Moreover, Yuan Pei seemed to be very familiar with our army's deployment and terrain, leading his men to split into several routes and pass through the gaps in our army, although they lost some men and horses, but the main force of the Mohist army did not suffer too much damage.

  "I report to Your Highness, I just received news from the southern route army that three days ago, the Crown Prince was ambushed and suffered serious injuries."

  Zhen Nan Wang suddenly stood up, "How's Teng Feng?"

  "The crown prince is no longer in danger, but his injuries are quite severe and he will likely be unable to lead the troops for a while."

  The King of Zhen Nan bowed his head in contemplation for a long time, and slowly suppressed the anger in his heart. He waved his hand and said, "I understand, you can go down first."

  The originally joyful atmosphere in the big tent gradually became depressed due to the continuous news. After a long time, the King of Southern Town finally heard a low laugh, "Well, the Dingguo King's Mansion is indeed exceptional, this round, I, the king, have not won."

  "Your Highness?"

  "Never mind, send someone to inform Teng Feng that the Southern Route Army will have someone else receive it. Let him hurry over to Xinyang." The King of Zhen Nan waved his hand calmly and said, "In any case, Xinyang is already ours. Let him come over to take charge of the situation. Those grains and silvers, I don't believe they can fly away, they must still be in the city!"

  "Yes."