Chapter 319 Fengxiang Mansion
Liu Dazhuang and Xu Huijia looked at each other and nodded.
Liu Dazhuang said, "Yes. If all of us go to the north, we can preserve some strength in the west. If we can make them collapse without a fight, that would be the best."
Xu Huijia also said, "This change of thinking is very timely. Okay, while we still have some time, if you have any ideas or thoughts, please tell us."
Military reports of the war had already spread to all parts of Jinzhou Prefecture, including the areas of Guangzhou and Shouzhou further east which had not yet been captured.
When Wang Sanniang received the secret military report, she shouted "good" three times at home!
Afterwards, she didn't even eat her meal, but immediately ordered the store to be closed and refused to see any guests. She even asked her housekeeper to close all the shops on the east side.
The Queen Mother was shocked.
Wang Yin immediately knew that something big had happened again.
Sure enough, Wang Sanniang's expression changed the next second.
It seemed as if in an instant, she was no longer the weak and humble little girl of the Wang family who had to gasp for breath after walking two steps, but suddenly turned into Wang Sanniang, the loud-mouthed and brave female soldier of Jinzhou Prefecture who fought for the first place.
"Dad, Mom, after this meal, you must leave the Eastern Territory with me immediately." Wang Sanniang spoke quickly and her face was solemn. "His Highness is heading north to fight, and Minister Jiang will follow him to the front lines of the Xingyuan Prefecture. I have been ordered to lead the troops to Qiongzhou Prefecture to pacify the Eastern Territory. You must report immediately. I'm on the front lines, and you're still behind enemy lines. It's too dangerous. You should pack your things immediately, and we're going to Qiongzhou Prefecture."
"Qiongzhou Prefecture? Isn't that also the territory of the Ming King?"
"No, Qiongzhou Prefecture has fallen into our hands."
When the king's father and mother heard this, their eyelids twitched, and they were both happy and worried.
The good news is that this life of pretending to be a merchant and selling obsolete items from Jinzhou Prefecture at high prices has finally come to an end.
What worries me is that my most capable child has to go to the battlefield.
Seeing her parents' expressions, Wang Sanniang smiled and said, "Why are you looking so sad? I'm a soldier. Even if I die on the battlefield, it's my fate! Besides, the east is full of remnants of the defeated army. Cleaning up the east border is a piece of cake for me."
The Queen Mother said worriedly, "But you've been away from the army for several years. I'm afraid you've forgotten all about military tactics and the eighteen martial arts."
Upon hearing this, Wang Sanniang became unhappy.
Wang Yin saw his daughter pouting and about to retort, so he quickly tried to smooth things over: "What are you talking about? Our daughter was raised in seclusion in Gwangju, but she also studied hard at home and has mastered all the skills she learned in the army. His Highness trusts her, so how could we, as parents, not trust our own daughter?"
Wang Sanniang was finally satisfied and hummed twice with pride.
The Queen Mother held her forehead, looking at her daughter, who was like a child who had not grown up, and now she had to go to the battlefield and fight with others -
In the final analysis, it’s all about achieving success!
"Your Highness trusts me, but he refuses to give me the military power of the East Territory. He even wants me to compete with Liu Pan'er, saying that whoever captures a city first will be made the general!" Wang Sanniang rolled up her sleeves and gritted her teeth. "Hmph, damn Liu Pan'er, you're competing with me again! I don't know who it was that complained of a headache every few steps. I, Wang Sanniang, can kill such people with one punch. Hmph, Liu Pan'er, your sister Sanniang is here—"
The Queen Mother held her forehead.
Why, after all these years, do these three girls still enjoy fighting to the death?
In the past, it was jewelry and clothes, but now it is about who can kill more enemies and who has a higher official position.
Every time the three girls exchanged information, they would make a sarcastic remark about each other and then brag about how many people they were in charge of and how powerful they were.
This doesn't look like a high-ranking official of Jinzhou Prefecture.
This is simply a three-year-old kid on the street.
Wang's father, like Wang Sanniang, was eager to fight. He patted his daughter's shoulder and solemnly instructed her, "That's right, Sanniang, this may be our last battle in Jinzhou Prefecture. This battle will determine the prosperity and wealth of our Wang family for generations to come. You must work hard and strive to crush both the Liu and Gu families. I will make those two old guys kneel down and kowtow to your father every time they see him again."
Wang Sanniang immediately corrected him, "Dad, have you forgotten the rules of our Jinzhou Prefecture? You are not allowed to kneel."
"Hey, Dad doesn't care. Anyway, we've been fighting the Liu and Gu families for most of our lives. Now it's a fight to the death. I absolutely cannot let those two old guys get cocky in front of me. Everything about the Wang family depends on you!"
"Dad, I will definitely do my best! I'm betting on the glory of our family for the next few lifetimes!"
The Queen Mother rolled her eyes.
Good guy, I finally found the reason why the lower beam is crooked——
"My dear daughter, when you return home in glory and become a marquis, I will write you into the family tree. I will let your two brothers marry off, and you will stay at home to marry a son-in-law—"
The Queen Mother saw that the old man in her family was becoming more and more dishonest, and the two sons were also her own children. She never thought that the old man would see that her daughter was promising and actually wanted to keep her daughter and sell her sons!
She thought that Wang Yin's previous mumbling was just a joke.
Who knew this old guy was serious?
She hurriedly pulled Wang Sanniang out, "Hurry, hurry, the military order is as strong as a mountain, let's leave quickly--"
Before Wang Sanniang left, she clearly saw her father winking at her in a coquettish manner.
To marry into the family.
Wang Sanniang understood.
She, Wang Sanniang, could actually become the one to carry on the Wang family's lineage!
Wang Sanniang was immediately filled with energy.
——————————————————————
As the news of the great changes in Qiongzhou Prefecture, Zhou Heng's death, and Xu Zhenying's capture of all Zhou Heng's cities reached Bianjing City, their court was still arguing over who would be the emperor.
Then this military newspaper came like a bolt from the blue, catching everyone off guard!
It was thought that the three-way balance of power could last at least for a few years, or even more than ten years. No one expected that Zhou Heng would be so disappointing, and a generation of heroes would die so quietly.
Thanks to the newspaper founded by Xu Zhenying, people in Bianjing City had more or less heard some rumors, and everyone knew that the situation on the eastern battlefield was tense.
Originally, they thought that Zhou Heng's army of hundreds of thousands could at least fight against Jinzhou Prefecture for a few years. During these years, Bianjing City could also grow and develop, and gradually recover the occupied cities.
But after several years, they are still busy with internal party disputes.
On one mountain, two tigers fought against each other like fish and clams. They had wasted all that time in vain. When they looked back, they realized that Jinzhou Prefecture had grown into an unshakable behemoth.
This behemoth swallowed up Qiongzhou and is now heading towards their Bianjing City!
They always say the wolf is coming.
Right now, this wolf... is really coming!
Finally, the court in Bianjing City stopped discussing whether the grandfather or the grandson should be the emperor, and began to face the crisis in Jinzhou Prefecture.
"Your Majesty, with Zhou Heng dead, Jinzhou Prefecture's next target will definitely be us! From Jinzhou Prefecture, it's only two prefectures away from Bianjing City, a distance of less than 600 miles. Taking into account the marching speed, I'm afraid they can reach our Bianjing City in a month!"
"Lord Sun, haven't you read the monthly report from Jinzhou Prefecture? They have those cement roads all over there. They say it's like walking on flat ground, and it can at least double the marching speed. According to your calculations, we'll probably arrive in half a month!"
It seemed that only at this moment did Zhou Mian think of a serious issue:
"We've fought against the soldiers from Xingyuan Prefecture before, right? How strong were they?"
The Minister of War could only bite the bullet and speak out, "Since the Retired Emperor has asked, I dare not disobey the truth. The soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture... are like heavenly soldiers and generals. We have fought more than a dozen battles, big and small, in the area around the col, but... every time... we were defeated."
Zhou Mian's face turned pale and he stood up angrily, "Liu Zhongshu, why didn't you report such a big thing?"
"This...this...the memorial on military affairs, I submitted it a long time ago..."
Zhou Mian was furious. "You still dare to quibble?! It's clearly you who ignored military intelligence, which led to our current passive situation. I think you were deliberately concealing it! I'm afraid you've been bribed by the people in Jinzhou Prefecture a long time ago. Are you still planning to work with Xu Zhenli to collude with the enemy and sell out your country?"
The Minister of War immediately cried out that he was innocent, but Zhou Mian was determined to make an example of him. He ignored everyone's objections and dragged the Minister of War directly into the death row to await his fate.
Zhou Mian was so enraged by the military report that he acted with thunder and lightning. For a moment, everyone in the court was silent, and they all had strange thoughts.
"So, if the Jinzhou Prefecture truly attacks, how should we respond? Fengxiang Prefecture's garrison commander, Wang Xinde, is already old and might not be able to handle the Jinzhou Prefecture's troops. In this critical moment, is there anyone willing to serve the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
Someone immediately said, "Perhaps General Zhao Yi in the north could be used."
But he was immediately retorted: "Are you crazy? Once Zhao Yi leaves, how will we resist the Tartars?"
Zhou Mian said, "It's summer now, and the grass and water outside the Great Wall are lush and abundant. The Tartars are busy recuperating and won't attack us for a while. Furthermore, they usually come to plunder in winter, and right now the northern border is relaxed. This is truly a national crisis. If I summon him, do you think he would dare not come?"
Han Xiang offered a slight reminder, "Your Majesty, three years ago you issued an edict severely reprimanding Zhao Yi for accepting 5,000 cotton-padded clothes from the Jinzhou government. Last year, military pay wasn't disbursed promptly, leading to hundreds of soldiers starving to death in the northern border. General Zhao Yi submitted over a dozen memorials, but you promised to curb his arrogance, and so you held back. It was only by selling off General Zhao Yi's ancestral property in Bianjing that he was able to weather the storm. How loyal is Zhao Yi to the Great Zhou Dynasty now? Would he actually come if you summoned him? Aren't you afraid of inviting a wolf into your house?"
The blood color on Zhou Mian's face disappeared in an instant!
Now, it’s too late to regret!
The court officials were naturally trembling with fear.
There are only a hundred thousand soldiers in Bianjing City now. How can they resist the hundreds of thousands of troops from Jinzhou Prefecture?
Someone immediately suggested, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, why not use the late emperor's death as an excuse to invite General Zhao Yi back? If he returns, everyone will be happy. But if he refuses, we can use the opportunity to charge him with treason."
"Great!" Zhou Mianlong was delighted. "I will send a letter to the northern border immediately, asking him to bring 150,000 troops back to defend the city. I just don't believe that our 250,000-man army can't resist a tiny Jinzhou Prefecture."
The court officials below praised "Your Majesty's wisdom" repeatedly.
After the court was dismissed, Han Xiang was caught up by several ministers as he was leaving the Meridian Gate.
Several ministers ran out of breath and complained: "Prime Minister, why are you in such a hurry? You disappeared right after the court was dismissed. I have been waiting for a while to find you."
Han Xiang naturally knew what these people were up to. He smiled and looked around to talk about other things. "I'm not a young lady. Why are you gentlemen chasing me?"
Everyone said, "Your Excellency is joking."
The Minister of Revenue took Han Xiang's hand and said, "Your Excellency, how can you still laugh at such a critical moment? Your Majesty just mentioned that 250,000 troops would be sent to resist Jinzhou Prefecture. I heard that the soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture are as strong as a fortress. How can we resist them?"
Another person also said, "Now that Jinzhou Prefecture has obtained seven-tenths of the empire, and Zhou Heng couldn't even hold Qiongzhou Prefecture, we certainly can't hold our three-tenths either. Just now, this old minister wanted to persuade Your Majesty to sue for peace with Jinzhou Prefecture, but why did Prime Minister Han repeatedly signal to stop me?"
Han Xiang laughed and said, "Do you really think that His Majesty is not aware of the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture and our current predicament?"
"Since Your Majesty knows this clearly, why is he still so determined to prepare for war?"
Han Xiang, however, stared at the other person with a smile, "What do you think?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Han Xiang did not point it out and walked straight out.
The adults hurriedly pulled him aside and said, "Master Xiangguo, what is the emperor thinking? What strategies do we have to defeat the enemy? What plans do you have? You must tell us all."
However, Han Xiang had already gone away.
The old men sighed and groaned. The Minister of Revenue frowned and said, "Han Zongyun is such a cunning old fox, half hiding and half revealing. He's really cunning! If we want to expect him to stand on the side of peace, I'm afraid it will be difficult."
"The main reason is that we can't figure out the minds of Prime Minister Han and His Majesty."
"Didn't His Majesty say that we must prepare for a desperate battle with all our might?"
"Bet? What are we betting on? The national treasury has been losing money for nearly fifteen years. We don't have the money or people of Jinzhou Prefecture, and we don't have as much territory as them. Do we really have to play the game of the emperor guarding the city gates and the king dying for the country? Didn't you read the newspaper published by Jinzhou Prefecture? They clearly stated that there is nothing wrong with being loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but we must distinguish who is the emperor. The people provide for us, and the people are the emperor. What kind of country is this? It's not a single country, but this land!"
"Lord Sun, be careful with your words! Be careful with your words!"
Lord Sun disagreed. "What are you afraid of? The enemy is about to reach Bianjing City. What can't be said or shouted? Just wait and see. Those people who were hiding in the court just now are probably all secretly colluding with the Jin. Only we brothers are honest and still wavering."
Another person also said: "I think Your Majesty has lost his mind. To be frank, Your Majesty is the culprit for the growth and development of Jinzhou Prefecture over the years! If he hadn't been busy with party disputes all day long, thinking about competing with the late emperor for the throne, and constantly saying that we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression, now that the country is not stable, foreign troubles are brewing. With internal and external troubles, I am afraid that our court is also in turmoil -"
"Master Zhao, is Jinzhou Prefecture really that terrifying? We don't even have the strength to fight?"
"Oh, the strength to fight? Look at what happened to Zhou Heng. He was a great hero and once our most troublesome enemy. But the people from Jinzhou Prefecture took action, and it hasn't been long since they even lost their hometown of Qiongzhou! Not to mention the firearms mentioned in the newspaper. It is said to be so powerful that it can penetrate mountains and rocks. How can we fight against them?"
"If that's the case, then what exactly is your Majesty thinking? Should we fight this war or not? If we want peace, how will we negotiate?"
"Ask for peace?" someone scoffed. "How can we negotiate without bargaining chips? We're just fish on the chopping board!"
"I see that Your Majesty is also panicking. I don't think he has any idea, and he just keeps asking General Zhao Yi for help. As for asking for peace, Your Majesty naturally doesn't want it. Have you ever seen a king who lost his country and survived? Your Majesty is not someone who would put his life in the hands of others—"
"That's right. What's more, there are still a group of veteran officials in Bianjing City. Even if they die, these veteran officials will guard the gates of Bianjing City and not let Xu Zhenying take a single step inside. So, Your Majesty knew that this battle was going to be lost, but he still had to fight hard."
"I think His Majesty has lost his mind. He still thinks he has everything under control, completely unaware of the drastic changes that have taken place in the outside world. Now that the enemy has reached our doorstep, we have finally realized the power of their firearms. As for us ministers... what should we do——"
"What are you afraid of? I heard that the empress never kills people indiscriminately, and most of the generals and officials who surrendered in Qiongzhou were properly resettled. The worst that can happen is that I can start over under the empress. I have to save my life first—"
There were rumors swirling in the city of Bianjing, and the people were even more frightened.
However, the gates of Fengxiang Prefecture were closed at this moment.
The reason is simple: people from Jinzhou Prefecture have arrived.
There were at least hundreds of thousands of them, and they were densely packed along the banks of the Wei River. They had even started setting up camp in the afternoon, with white tents stretching for dozens of miles, with no end in sight.
The Lord of Fengxiang Prefecture sent out more than a dozen letters asking for help overnight, and called together all the civil and military officials in the city to discuss countermeasures. The final conclusion was still to wait for rescue.
The garrison of Fengxiang Prefecture was only six or seven thousand. How could they resist the hundreds of thousands of troops from Jinzhou Prefecture?
What's more, the city wall of Fengxiang Prefecture had just been reinforced and repaired, so they all agreed that as long as they held their ground, Fengxiang Prefecture could at least delay until the imperial court's reinforcement team arrived.
Only then will they be able to barely fight.
This day has finally come.
Although Xingyuan Prefecture across the way was the territory of rebels, Jinzhou Prefecture had always adopted a conciliatory approach towards Bian Jing, and did not prohibit the two sides from exchanging what they had, and the people of the two sides often moved between them.
Over the past few years, Fengxiang Prefecture has become accustomed to living under the watchful eye of a fierce tiger. Even if the sky falls, life must go on as usual.
What's more, Bianjing City is not in a hurry, so why should Fengxiang Prefecture be in a hurry?
He is the Lord of Fengxiang Prefecture and not the Emperor.
Who knew that one day this beast would wake up, and the first thing it would do after waking up was to look for food!
But what they never expected was that the expected siege did not take place.
The people of Jinzhou Prefecture set up camps all over the mountains, even in the hills between Fengxiang Prefecture and Xingyuan Prefecture, but they had no further plans.
Soon, someone came to report that the other party had pushed out a black object with four wheels and a long tube as big as an adult.
The long barrel was not known whether it was made of copper or iron, but it looked quite heavy. The city defending general Wang Xinde took a closer look with a telescope and felt that the barrel was like a huge mouth of an abyss, which made people feel fear when looking at it from afar.
"Damn it, what are the people in Jinzhou Prefecture doing? What the hell is that iron bucket?"
The face of Deng Quan'an, the Lord of Fengxiang Prefecture, changed, and he remembered the thing called newspaper that was secretly circulated in Fengxiang Prefecture, which mentioned something of this shape.
"General Wang, it's a firearm! It's a firearm!"
Now everyone on the city wall was stunned.
firearm?
The legendary weapon that was so powerful that it could flatten the entire eastern war?
Wang Xinde's face was filled with sternness. "The people of Jinzhou Prefecture have always been skilled in strange and lewd techniques. We have only heard of firearms, but have never seen this thing. I really don't believe it. Is this firearm really that powerful?"
Deng Quanan said, "The telescope you are using now is also from Jinzhou Prefecture."
Wang Xinde frowned, took down his telescope and looked around, "I have to say, the craftsmen in Jinzhou Prefecture are quite skilled."
It's more than just two brushes.
Ever since the telescope became popular, all the prominent generals in the Zhou Dynasty got one. Such a small thing, just two pieces of glass, actually cost a thousand taels!
No wonder Jinzhou Prefecture is so wealthy.
This method of making money is also first-class!
But now wasn't the time to discuss these matters. Seeing them set up camp, Wang Xinde felt even more terrified. "Why aren't these bastards attacking the city? It's been a whole day and night, and there's been no movement. What on earth are they planning to do?"
Deng Quanan said, "Could it be that they rushed all the way and needed time to rest?"
Wang Xinde shook his head. "No, that's not their style. We've fought them in battles of varying magnitude over the past few years. The people of Jinzhou Prefecture...are skilled in military tactics and surprise attacks, like loaches. You can see them, but you can never catch them. I really want to meet the Queen Mother. I wonder what kind of person she is, to be able to train such an army."
"So what do you mean by them only defending and not attacking? Are they trying to wear us out?"
Wang Xinde frowned, "I think they want to shake our morale."
"Shake the morale of the army?"
"Master Deng, psychological warfare has always been their forte. The people of Jinzhou Prefecture don't like to attack violently. They always say that a general who wins every battle is not considered a famous general. Only those who can win every battle with the least casualties can be considered a famous general."
Deng Quanan couldn't help but choke. He snorted coldly, "These grass-roots soldiers are quite pretentious."
Wang Xinde smiled bitterly but didn't say anything.
What kind of grass-roots army?!
It’s not that he wants to shake the morale of the army, but they don’t stand any chance of winning against the people from Jinzhou Prefecture!
Looking at their posture, their weapons and equipment, and their military appearance, I couldn't even utter the word "surrender".
Wang Xinde was a soldier of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he would rather die in the Great Zhou Dynasty!
On Xu Zhenying's side, among the dozens of miles of tents, there was one that was the most fortified. The tents here looked even taller, and even a simple meeting room was made of branches.
All his subordinates advised Xu Zhenying to set up the command room in the Xingyuan Prefecture government office, which would be safer.
But Xu Zhenying declined.
Xu Zhenying insisted on going to the battlefield in person, so the security team had to be carefully selected and surrounded her tent.
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