Chapter Seventy City Tower

  In the sparse autumn rain of early morning, Gong Sun Zan climbed up to the top of Jin Cheng City and looked down at this new city that had been built by 200,000 people in just one month under the power of Liang State. He couldn't help but exclaim: "This Golden City is backed by mountains and surrounded by water, with high walls and thick fortifications - a rare stronghold! If it weren't for Lord Zhang Huan's eagerness to finish quickly, I'm afraid we would have been worn down beneath this fortress!"

  "The decline of the times, even heroes will have to retreat! The fate of Liang State was originally short-lived and could not compete with Qin. " Chu Mengmeng wrapped in a fur coat, exhaled a mouthful of white air. Thinking back to last night, he still felt lingering fear, being protected by Gong Sunying and killing his way out of the camp, then colliding with Liang's defeated soldiers, if it wasn't for Li Jin arriving just in time, he and Gong Sunying might have been surrounded and killed by Liang's army."

  "Qi Yun? I'd like to compete with him! Is there any hope for Li Jin's ghost soldiers to expand? The ghost soldiers are indeed sharp when used!" Gong Sun Ce also began to believe in the existence of Qi Yun, but he was not afraid.

  It is said that life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are bestowed by heaven. When luck is not on one's side, one must still strive for a glimmer of hope. To surrender without a fight is not his style. Therefore, fear, in his eyes, is also futile.

  "Li Jin's ghostly soldiers are extremely convenient to replenish, and as soon as there is any loss, they can be fully replenished overnight. As a price, it is forever limited to a scale of only one hundred people." Li Jin was the guardian general that Guo Jia gave to Chu Mengmeng, so Chu Mengmeng naturally knew everything about Li Jin's situation.

  "If we had five hundred ghost soldiers, even two hundred would be enough. From now on, attacking cities will be a piece of cake! As long as Li Jin can sneak into the city and occupy the gate, our army can treat the strong city like flat ground! What a pity!" Last night, Gongsun Zan sent Li Jin to sneak into Jincheng after Lü Bu led his troops out. Li Jin summoned the ghost soldiers and seized the gate in one move, allowing High Shun's unit to enter the city and occupy it before Zhang Chonghua retreated.

  A hurried footsteps splashing through the rainwater gradually approached, Gongsun Zan turned his head to see it was Gaoshun.

  "My lord, the heavenly soldiers who died outside the city have been collected and their names recorded. The Western Liang army outside the city also heard that Zhang Zhihua of Western Liang had surrendered to Qin, so they all returned to their camps."

  "Let's talk about the current military losses." Gong Sun Ce knew that in this battle, his own army had suffered heavy losses. The Fu Bing troops were almost completely destroyed, Ma Chao's newly recruited Xiliang Iron Cavalry had lost 70%, and his elder brother's 100 Heavenly Soldiers had lost more than half. In short, the losses of each department were extremely severe.

  Gao Shun took out a small booklet and said: "The vanguard Ma Chao's unit has 140 cavalry; the left army Xuezi's unit has 360 cavalry; the right army Ma Dai's unit has 300 heavy armor; the rear army Li Zixi's unit is less than 100 people, the central army trapped array has 450 people, plus General Guo's unit. At this time, my expeditionary force has 1,000 cavalry, 1,000 infantry, 3,000 strong men, 500 craftsmen, and 200 women.

  "Select the bravest from the army's strong youths to fill up each unit. Ma Chao's unit suffered heavy losses last night, which shows the importance of armor. Select 500 craftsmen from Jincheng to form a battalion under Li Zixi's command. Now set up smelting equipment and utilize Jincheng's resources to modify and repair those captured armors!"

  "The number of vacancies for the strong and brave soldiers will be supplemented from Jincheng, still with a strength of 3,000. Additionally, select another 200 women to give to Chu Mengmeng, you should know what standards to follow. Then send someone to invite Zhang Chonghua over, I want to make a deal with this Lord of Liang."

  "I will follow the order!" Gao Shun turned around and went downstairs. He was Gong Sun Ce's most trusted general, in the Horizontal Field Army, he could represent Gong Sun Ce's intentions. So there is no need for Gong Sun Ce to write an order and stamp it as proof, after all, the scale of the Horizontal Field Army is not large at this time.

  "Invite Guo Liang over as well and set up a banquet here!"

  "Yes!" The guard nearby turned around and hastily went downstairs.

  "I really want to know, when will it take effect if you bring a group of women like that?" Gong Sun Ce and Chu Mengmeng sat in the main hall of the city building, looking out at the dark sky outside.

  Chu Mengmeng took out a small wine jug, sipped a mouthful, and savored the taste: "Master, this is a long-term investment. Beautiful women are scarce resources after all. When the territory of Qin is stabilized in the future, finding beautiful women will be like finding brave generals - it can only rely on luck."

  "While we still have the power, we should gather these beauties. In the future, whether it's to give them away or use them ourselves, it will be very convenient." Chu Mengmeng replied with a hint of a smile, but her tone was cold. It might be due to her past experiences as a loser, or perhaps it was the influence of Guo Jia's cunning ways. Or maybe in the eyes of all intelligent people, everything is just a resource.

  "What's most precious about people is their emotions. Without emotions, being together is no different from being with a blow-up doll." As for women, Gong Sun Zan's heart was still very pure. His heart was filled with yearning for power and affection for his family, but towards the young women under Guo Jia's command who amazed him, he was merely amazed.

  As for Gongsun Ce's answer, Chu Mengmeng just smiled. He thought that his master would change, at least for the prosperity of the clan, Gongsun Ce must have many women.

  "Big brother!" Guo Liang threw the umbrella out into the courtyard, with Hua Xiong following closely behind him, his hand on the hilt of his sword. His armor was already drenched from the rain. Meanwhile, Li Wei, still wearing his face mask, picked up the umbrella that Guo Liang had discarded and stood off to the side, closing his eyes to meditate.

  "How much of the supplies in the city have been collected?" The "supplies" Gong Sun Ce referred to were only three things: gold, silver, and armor and weapons.

  "There are roughly twenty tons of gold, over fifty tons of silver, and various jewels that filled two large boxes. Many suits of armor were newly manufactured, but only half-finished, totaling around two thousand sets. There were also many finished scales for armor, not yet strung together, which could be used to make about a thousand sets of scale armor."

  Guo Liang was very excited, but Zhang Chonghua said that he had already searched for all the gold and silver around Jincheng, and unexpectedly, it was now a bargain for Gong Sun's group.

  "Guo Liang, I have another task for you. Take half of the gold and silver and transport it to Xianyang! Qin Wu Wang Ying Dang is going to ascend to the throne, and we will present these things as a good opportunity! Such a large sum of gold and silver is not something that we can swallow either!" Gong Sun Ce's concept of gold and silver at this time was just a number. The world had not yet stabilized, and gold and silver were just a pile of dead objects, useless if left behind, and would only trigger various thoughts in others.

  "Are we leaving again? The next battle is in Liangzhou's stronghold Wuwei, when can I come back if I leave now?" Guo Liang suddenly stood up, very dissatisfied with Gongsun Zan's decision.

  "What's the hurry, I reckon I'll be staying in Jincheng for a while. The situation north of Jincheng in Wuwei is still unknown, but Former Qin's Fu Jian has already led his men to kill their way over!" Gong Sun Ce pushed Guo Liang down and made him sit.

  "This is the news that the scouts have found out, the front Qin army and Jincheng are only 20 kilometers apart. Because we took down Jincheng, Fu Jian's troops still don't know the true strength of our Xiangye Army, so they're holding back." Chu Mengmeng said with a smile, seeing Guo Liang's mischievous nature, she found it quite amusing.

  "Oh! But wait till I come back, and then we'll get rid of Fu Jian together!" Guo Liang's anger dissipated, he also knew that transporting gold and silver back would definitely be heavily rewarded by Qin Wu Wang Ying Dang, it was a big fat job. Moreover, among Gong Sun Ce's men, only he had the ability to transport gold and silver back to Xianyang.

  Soon, Zhang Chonghua arrived at the city gate tower. He wore a plain white long gown and his face was as pale as his robe. Yu Junyu held an umbrella to escort Zhang Chonghua into the main hall and stood guard at the door like Li Wei. Unlike Li Wei's meditation, Yu Junyu was worried in her heart.

  Zhang Chonghua saw that the large hall was covered with thick layers of carpets, and on the carpets sat several people. In front of each person stood a small table, and on the small table was a simmering small pot. Around the small pot were arranged meat dishes. Zhang Chonghua knew this was hot pot, which he had eaten after his rebirth and felt pretty good about it.

  Zhang Chonghua was very calm, walked to the carpet in front of him and took off his shoes, and sat down at the only small table that was empty. He used chopsticks to pick up meat and vegetables from his own hot pot, letting them roll around in the pot before turning his head to look at Gong Sun Ce.

  Gongsun Ce beckoned with one hand, and a group of white-robed women stepped forward to pour wine for everyone. Zhang Chonghua's expression didn't change, remaining very calm. Gongsun Ce picked up his wine cup and had it filled by the white-robed woman, staring at Zhang Chonghua as he scrutinized him closely.

  Although he doesn't look very handsome, he has a lot of style, and his eyebrows and eyes are quite heroic. He doesn't look like the king of a defeated and ruined country at all, but rather like a prince who is about to inherit the kingdom.

  "General Gongsun, you invited me here, it can't be just to know what I, Zhang Chonghua, look like?" Zhang Chonghua raised his wine cup, and Gongsun Ce only smiled, raising his own cup in a distant toast with Zhang Chonghua, then downed the drink.

  "It's not natural, I want to make a deal with you." The woman in white continued to pour wine for Gong Sun Ce.

  "I'm now a prisoner under the rank of general, I don't know what else is worth the general's concern?" Zhang Chonghua picked up the meat from the hot pot and asked while eating, making it seem very natural.

  "I know that the heavy armor of Liang's heavenly soldiers has great significance to you. I can let you make up for the missing troops before the envoy from Xianyang arrives!" Gao Shun had already told Zhang Chonghua about his willingness to save the lives of Liang's heavy armor, and how he knelt down in supplication. A failed monarch, who could kneel down and beg for the lives of his soldiers, it can be seen that his heart is still burning, the fire in his heart has not been extinguished.

  After hearing Gong Sun Ce's words, Zhang Chonghua suddenly lost his spirit and swallowed the meat in his mouth. He wiped his mouth with a cloth on the small table and asked: "I'd like to hear more about it."

  "Thank you." Gong Sun Ce said, starting to eat the hot pot as well. His manner was also very natural, he never made any noise while eating and his speed was quite fast. By the time he finished the meat dishes in the small pot and refilled it with more food, Zhang Chonghua was still thinking.

  Gongsun Zan looked at him, and Zhang Chenghua sighed and said: "A good bird chooses a tree to perch on, a virtuous minister chooses a lord to serve. If you want to get Xie E, just go find Xie E yourself. Why bother finding me, a fallen man who can't even guarantee his own safety?"

  "It's different, I didn't go to Xie Ai's place. But I know that without your consent, even if I forcibly recruit him, all I'll get is his physical body." Gong Sun Ce used Zhang Chenghua's life to threaten Xie Ai, which would naturally make Xie Ai surrender. However, the subsequent Xie Ai might be like Xu Shu under Cao Cao.

  Zhang Chonghua let out a sigh, picked up the wine jug and drank it all in one gulp, looking at Gongsun Ce with a firm nod. This deal he had to do, he had to have soldiers under his command, otherwise he would be controlled by others and trapped forever.

  "Gongsun Zan's general, Xie Xuan, is invited to come." Gongsun Zan smiled and shouted out towards the main hall.

  Xie Ai was brought up by two bodyguards, wearing a white single garment with gray hair, shivering all over. A scar on the left cheek had just shed its scab, giving Xie Ai's handsome face an air of ferocity.

  "Great General Xie Ai of the State of Dai, pays his respects to Your Majesty! The reason why Your Majesty has fallen to this state is all due to my, Minister Xie Ai's, guilt." Xie Ai, at the gate of the great hall, bowed down with his face to the ground, tears streaming down his face. He felt that Zhang Chonghua sitting below Gongsun Ce was a huge humiliation for Zhang Chonghua.

  It is said that the lord is humiliated and the minister dies, and it was because of his night raid plan that Zhang Chonghua became a prisoner of Qin. In Xie Ai's view, not being able to die in battle last night was the greatest sin and shame.

  "General Xie Ai, Zhang Chonghua is now just a prisoner in the hands of General Gongsun, no longer the King of Liang as he once was." Zhang Chonghua's faint voice brought tears to Xie Ai's face.

  "General Gongsun highly appreciates your talent and hopes to gain your service. I, Zhang Chonghua, as the former Prince of Liang, give you my final order: serve General Gongsun just like you served me."

  Zhang Chonghua himself was also heart-wrenching, cutting off his own arm to give to his enemy. This feeling is very unbearable. But he knew that this was the treatment of a loser.

  "Thank you, I obey the king's order!" Xie Ai detected a tremble in Zhang Zhonghua's tone. It seemed that Gongsun Ce had made some important conditions to Zhang Zhonghua, which led him to transfer himself to Gongsun Ce.

  Xie Ai deeply understood that for Zhang Chonghua, the most important thing was Daliang, not his own life. So Gong Sun Ce's condition must be related to the revival of Daliang, rather than using Zhang Chonghua's life to coerce him into surrendering himself.

  "Report!" A urgent voice came from the bottom of the city, Zhang Chonghua looked up at the roof with a wry smile. It's probably that other forces in the northwest have taken action, but unfortunately he had to keep sacrificing for Da Liang, sacrificing his dignity and his beloved general.

  If Gongsun Zan were defeated by other forces in the northwest, all his humiliation would be washed away.