Ever since learning that His Highness the Crown Prince was at Tianji Pass, Marquis Wu'an has sent people to keep a close eye on the situation there.
If His Highness is in danger, he will protect His Highness even if it means abandoning Tianxuan Pass and Tianshu Pass.
Upon learning that the main force of the Northern Barbarians was attacking Tianji Pass, he had already begun to muster his troops to go to Tianji Pass to rescue the emperor. However, before he could even set off, a scout reported that the Northern Barbarian cavalry was heading towards Tianxuan Pass.
The current situation is that His Highness not only refused to let him be rescued, but instead brought troops to rescue him.
But he wished His Highness hadn't come.
He didn't know why the Northern Barbarians abandoned Tianji Pass and instead attacked Tianxuan Pass, but he didn't believe that Xie Chang'an, a mere child, had such ability!
If the command of the border defense battalion is handed over to Xie Chang'an, wouldn't that be tantamount to handing over His Highness's safety to Xie Chang'an? And entrusting the lives of His Highness's entire clan to Xie Chang'an?
"Your Highness, the authority to command the border defense battalion must not fall into the hands of the Xie family!" Marquis Wu'an whispered to Ye Jingchen.
Ye Jingchen completely lost his patience. He revealed half of the tiger tally and said loudly, "From this moment on, the border defense battalion will be under my command, and you will all obey my orders!"
The Marquis of Wu'an and the border defense battalion generals all looked rather grim, but Ye Jingchen was both the crown prince and held the tiger tally. He had hundreds of Eastern Palace Guards and 20,000 Divine Might Army soldiers as his support, so who would dare to question his decision at this time?
"Soldiers of the Divine Might Army, follow me to the city wall to meet the enemy!" Ye Jingchen shouted.
After saying that, he led the Divine Might Army quickly toward the city wall.
"Your Highness, didn't you just say that all the soldiers of Tianxuan Pass should obey Xie Chang'an's orders? You can just let Xie Chang'an go to the city wall to meet the enemy. Why do you need to go in person?" Marquis Wu'an caught up with Ye Jingchen and persuaded him.
"Didn't General Li just refuse my proposal? Didn't you all think Xie Chang'an wasn't qualified?" Ye Jingchen asked with a cold smile as he walked away.
"Xie Chang'an is the young heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and the future commander of the Divine Might Army. How could he not be qualified?" Marquis Wu'an said calmly.
"Heh—" Ye Jingchen sneered. Even at a time like this, he still couldn't resist trying to sow discord among the Duke of Zhenguo's family.
"I'm just worried that Xie Chang'an is still relatively inexperienced and that you might not respect him. So I'm personally going to the city wall to oversee things. It can also boost morale. Isn't that wonderful?"
"We obey! Since it is His Highness's order, how could we not obey?!" Seeing that Ye Jingchen had already started to climb the city wall, if there weren't too many people here, Marquis Wu'an would have knelt down before Ye Jingchen.
"Your Highness, you are of noble birth and should not put yourself in danger! If you are really worried, you should stay in the city and guard the city. This way you can control the situation and avoid risks."
The city wall was at risk of being hit by arrows from the northern barbarians or by catapults, while the city platform was much safer. If Tianxuan Pass could not be defended, he could send someone to escort the crown prince away in advance.
"What you say makes some sense. In that case, I will take charge of the city. Xie Chang'an, the safety of Tianxuan Pass and the people within it is all in your hands!" Having achieved his goal, Ye Jingchen immediately said to Xie Chang'an.
"I will certainly live up to Your Highness's expectations!" Xie Chang'an said firmly.
After walking onto the city wall, Marquis Wu'an hurriedly led Ye Jingchen into the city platform, while Xie Chang'an came to the city wall directly above Tianxuan Pass.
Changing commanders mid-battle is usually the worst thing to do on the battlefield, but the arrival of the Divine Might Army was a shot in the arm for the border guards.
Xie Chang'an remained calm in the face of such a scene, issuing orders in an orderly manner. The Divine Might Army quickly replaced the border guards, blocking the Northern Barbarian cavalry's offensive with an arrow rain that was at least twice as dense as before.
The border guards who were replaced were responsible for preparing defensive equipment for the city. Since they did not have to face life and death directly, their morale was much higher.
Ye Jingchen remained seated on the city wall, from where he could see Xie Chang'an's back.
Although the Northern Barbarian cavalry is currently outside the pass, and when they arrived at Tianxuan Pass, the fearless Northern Barbarians had already rushed to the city walls, and it seemed that breaking through the pass was just a matter of moments, for some reason, Ye Jingchen felt very at ease whenever he saw Xie Chang'an.
In fact, the current troop strength of Tianxuan Pass is at least twice that of the Northern Barbarian Cavalry. With sufficient weapon reserves, defending Tianxuan Pass is indeed not a problem.
The problem lies with the soldiers of the border defense battalion. Compared to the rabble of the previous guard battalion, the soldiers of the border defense battalion are well-trained; what they lack is courage.
It's ironic that they guard the northern frontier but lack the courage to fight the northern barbarians.
Finding themselves unable to break through after a prolonged siege, the Northern Barbarians temporarily sounded the retreat, giving the soldiers of the Divine Might Army a chance to catch their breath.
Xie Chang'an walked into the city wall, and the expressions on the faces of all the generals, including Marquis Wu'an, were not good.
They used to think Xie Chang'an was too young and therefore looked down on him, but now reality has slapped them in the face.
After a moment of deathly silence, some people began to flatter Xie Chang'an, praising him as a worthy descendant of a military family, saying that like father, like son, and so on.
Xie Chang'an ignored them and sat down next to Ye Jingchen with a cold face.
Ye Jingchen insisted on sitting on the city wall, and Marquis Wu'an could not persuade him. Fearing that he would catch a cold, he ordered several charcoal stoves to be lit inside the city wall.
The finest silver frost charcoal made Ye Jingchen feel no cold even in the drafty city tower.
Besides the charcoal fire, there were also delicate pastries and warm tea in front of him.
Even on the battlefield, these people could take very good care of him.
Ye Jingchen tasted a piece of the pastry and thought it was pretty good, so after Xie Chang'an sat down, he pushed the pastry in front of Xie Chang'an and personally poured him a cup of tea.
Seeing this, the expressions on the faces of Marquis Wu'an and the others became even more distorted.
"How are things? Is there any pressure defending the city?" Ye Jingchen didn't bother with them and simply asked Xie Chang'an gently.
"No," Xie Chang'an replied casually, then added, "as long as supplies can be provided."
“That’s no problem, unless you can use up all the supplies in the border defense camp. But the court allocated so many supplies to the border defense camp this year, it’s impossible to use them all up in one battle, General Li, don’t you agree?” Ye Jingchen asked Marquis Wu’an and the others with a smile.
"Your Highness, rest assured, military supplies will definitely keep up!" one of the generals assured.
"That would be best. This is my first battle against the Northern Barbarians. If I can't even hold a single pass, how can I face my father?" Ye Jingchen said meaningfully.
Marquis Wu'an and the others felt a chill run down their spines. Ye Jingchen's meaning was that they were determined to defend Tianxuan Pass.
"Your Highness, the main force of the Northern Barbarians is currently at Tianxuan Pass. Why don't you order the soldiers from the other six passes to come and support Tianxuan Pass?" someone suggested.
"The Northern Barbarian cavalry are adept at rapid raids and flexible maneuverability. If they rashly mobilize troops from other passes, causing those passes to fall, who will bear the responsibility?" Ye Jingchen asked bluntly.
"Besides, can the walls of Tianxuan Pass really accommodate so many people?"
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