Chapter 517 Betrayal
Upon receiving the order from the King of Chu, Qi Rong quickly led 5,000 cavalrymen back to Taiyuan.
Besides the princess and the county princess, Taiyuan now only has one general guarding the city. Commander Sun was injured on the battlefield a few years ago. Although he is a subordinate of the King of Chu, he has not been on the battlefield for many years.
This time, the King of Chu brought most of his troops with him, leaving only 30,000 soldiers to garrison the city. He feared that while they were attacking the capital, other vassal kings might secretly attack Taiyuan, undermining their plans and reaping the benefits.
Although Commander Sun was injured, his ability to lead troops in battle was extremely strong, especially in defending cities. The King of Chu was at ease entrusting the city of Taiyuan to Commander Sun.
Just to be on the safe side, the King of Chu sent Qi Rong back. Firstly, Qi Rong was reliable, and he felt more at ease leaving him in Taiyuan.
Secondly, A Rong was injured a few days ago and is currently unable to fight. Placing him in Taiyuan will allow him to recuperate properly.
Qi Rong arrived in Taiyuan with 5,000 troops, almost at the same time as the imperial army. Perhaps it was because the King of Chu gave the order in time, but when Qi Rong rushed back to Taiyuan, the imperial army had not yet arrived.
Qi Rong hurriedly led his men into the city. Before he could even return to the Prince's Mansion, he went straight back to the Commandery and found Commander Sun, whose hair had turned gray, to discuss countermeasures.
"Grandpa Sun, my uncle sent me back to guard Taiyuan. The emperor has sent men to attack Taiyuan, hoping to strike at its root."
An old man, around sixty or seventy years old, with neatly combed silver hair, sat upright beside the sand table, wearing armor. When he saw Qi Rong, he nodded slightly to him.
"Qi boy, you're back? Have a seat."
Qi Rong sat down next to Commander Sun without any hesitation, and looking at the sand table next to Commander Sun, said: "I expect that the number of people from the imperial court will be quite large this time."
Commander Sun nodded to indicate that he understood.
"It's alright. The defenses around Taiyuan have already been completed, and the city's food supplies can last for a month without any problem. A month is enough time for Your Highness to take Luoyang."
Qi Rong nodded in agreement; a month was indeed enough time for his uncle to conquer the city.
Hearing this, he didn't think much of it. He chatted with Commander Sun for a while and then returned to their respective camps to rest, preparing to wait for the imperial army to arrive.
Qi Rong was about to go out when he suddenly saw a slightly unfamiliar commander. As soon as he came out, the commander, with a tense expression, went into Commander Sun's tent.
There were many people in the army, and Qi Rong naturally couldn't remember everyone. Seeing that this person was unfamiliar, he didn't think much of it and went straight out of Commander Sun's tent.
Just as he was about to head to his tent, he suddenly heard someone outside reporting.
"Commander! The imperial army has reached within 30 li of the city."
A soldier ran towards Commander Sun's tent while shouting.
Qi Rong thought to himself that the court officials had arrived quite quickly. Just as he was about to turn back, he heard a series of clattering sounds coming from inside the tent, which seemed to be the sound of teacups falling to the ground.
An alarm bell rang in his mind, and he drew his sword from his waist and quickly ran towards the tent.
As soon as the tent flap was opened, they saw Commander Sun clutching his chest, and the commander who had just entered was lying on the ground with a knife in his chest.
Qi Rong's eyes widened suddenly, and he rushed forward to support Commander Sun: "Grandpa Sun!!!"
Commander Sun shook his head slightly, panting heavily, his hand clutching his chest, where blood trickled through his armor.
With a hint of disbelief in his eyes, he slowly pushed Qi Rong's hand away when he heard the report from outside.
"Qi boy, take command immediately and coordinate the troops. Go!"
Qi Rong stared at the wound on Commander Sun's chest, feeling somewhat hesitant. He turned to look at the corpse on the ground, frowning with regret. He should have been more cautious.
Commander Sun could tell what Qi Rong was thinking just by looking into his eyes.
"Why bother with him? This man has been with me for eight years. No one would have expected that he would turn out to be a thorn in my side. Go, Qi boy. I probably can't go into battle now. Taiyuan is in your hands."
After speaking, Commander Sun covered his wound and took out a command token from his waist, stuffing the blood-stained token into Qi Rong's hand.
The tent was in a flurry of activity. The guards quickly summoned the general's doctor to examine Commander Sun's injuries.
Commander Sun was panting heavily, and some blood foam was already gushing out of his trachea from the corner of his mouth.
Qi Rong took the token, gave the military doctor a few instructions, and then quickly walked outside.
Qi Rong's face remained gloomy throughout the journey. He never expected that there would still be spies in the army at this time. The emperor was quite patient, though.
After reorganizing their troops, the Qi Rong were not in a hurry to go into battle. At this time, all they needed to do was hold Taiyuan and not hinder the King of Chu.
"Someone, relay my orders: defend the city and do not engage in battle without authorization. Archers, prepare!"
Lord Ji, standing below the city, gazed at Taiyuan from afar. The emperor had sent them here to strike at the heart of the problem, but their available troops were limited. Even with troops transferred from other garrisons, their numbers were only slightly over 20,000.
It would be a pipe dream for 20,000 people to take Taiyuan by force.
Not to mention that Taiyuan was the stronghold of the King of Chu, and its defenses were more rigorous than those of other places, Taiyuan itself was a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Furthermore, the King of Chu has a backup plan within the city, making this battle extremely difficult.
Fortunately, they now know who is in command in Taiyuan. As soon as they arrived, they gave orders to the spies planted in the city to assassinate the commander defending Taiyuan.
This Commander Sun was an old minister who fought alongside the retired emperor to establish the empire. However, he didn't stand out much back then and was later given to the Prince of Chu by the retired emperor, where he has been guarding the frontier ever since.
While he was lacking in siege warfare, he was renowned for his ability to defend cities. If Taiyuan City was to be captured, Commander Sun could not be allowed to live. It was just a pity that after serving the Li family for so many years, he would die in the infighting among the princes.
A few inexplicable emotions flashed in Lord Ji's eyes as he turned to his personal guard beside him: "When will Chang'an's message arrive?"
The guard hesitated for a moment before taking out a letter from his pocket: "It will probably take another week before we can bring people over."
Lord Ji calculated the time and realized there was still enough time. He nodded to his guards and then read the letter.
The emperor's move wasn't particularly clever, but it was certainly the best option for them at the moment. Marquis Ji sighed, feeling that the emperor was inviting trouble into the country.
Currently, the number of troops that can be mobilized from various regions is limited, and the army attacking Prince Sheng is currently unable to move due to food and supplies. The people he has now are the most widely available personnel that the emperor can mobilize.
However, this was far from enough to attack Taiyuan, so the emperor gave Chang'an a secret letter and ordered them to split up and head to the Prince of Xiang's residence.
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