Almost at the same time when Yan Huisheng received the hawk messenger, the hawk also found Zhou Che, who was on his way to Jibei.
The hawk circled twice above the clouds, then dived down, landing directly in front of Zhou Che’s horse.
Seeing this, a soldier immediately shouted, "General, be careful."
Zhou Che didn’t sense any danger, but he still drew the sword from his waist, ready to defend himself.
Seemingly aware of his preparedness, the hawk took a few steps back, its head tilted, seemingly trying to recognize if he was the person it was seeking.
Training hawks to deliver messages naturally required them to develop sharp senses of smell, hearing, and vision. Recognizable maps were marked for the hawk to memorize in order to accurately deliver the message. Most importantly, they needed to have an item from the person to whom the message was addressed, which the hawk could use to track by scent.
In short, among millions of hawks, very few could be trained to understand humans.
Someone with sharp eyes said immediately, "General, there’s something tied to its leg. Seems like a... message?"
Zhou Che put his sword away, dismounted, and reached out to the hawk.
The hawk sniffed at him and seemed to confirm that this was the person it was looking for. It moved forward two steps, allowing Zhou Che to pick it up.
A soldier curiously leaned in, "Eh? Is this really a messenger hawk?"
"Hawks can deliver messages? That’s amazing."
Someone asked, "General, is this message for you?"
Zhou Che wasn’t sure, but when he untied the message from the hawk’s leg and saw it was in Zhou Gu’s handwriting, he broke into a smile, "It’s from my fourth younger brother."
"Ah? So this hawk is raised by the fourth young master?" someone marvelled, "It found you accurately."
"No, it wasn’t him. He doesn’t raise hawks." Zhou Che was puzzled, and as he continued to read the message, his relaxed expression gradually turned solemn. Upon reaching the end, he was both shocked and anxious, and immediately commanded, "Change course, head to Nanping."
The vice generals and his soldiers were momentarily stunned.
Someone asked, "General, what happened?"
"Jibei might be launching an attack on Nanping, Zhang Ping is about to rebel, we have to rush to their aid," Zhou Che folded the message. He immediately took out a piece of paper from his pocket, scribbled a few words with a charcoal pencil, replying that he would be there soon, and tied the note to the hawk.
After tying the note, he ordered to reward the hawk that had found him, "Bring it some meat."
A soldier quickly brought a large piece of meat from the food camp.
The hawk eyed the meat contentedly, casually picked it up in its beak, and then, with the note tied to it, flew straight up into the clouds.
Zhou Che immediately led his hundred thousand troops and changed course for Nanping.
At the Marquis Nanping Residence, Ning Chi had returned home after dealing with important matters in the eighteen stockades. He and his father, Marquis Nanping, began discussing the military deployment for Nanping City.
Marquis Nanping was somewhat apprehensive, saying to his son, "Isn’t this too much? Is Zhang Ping really about to turn against us now?"
"For Zhang Ping, now might be the best time," Ning Chi had a different opinion. "The Nangong family has teamed up with the Pingxi General Residence, offering half their fortune to have Lady Su Qi killed. The Nangong family’s half of the wealth is not a small amount, enough for Zhang Ping to raise an army."
Marquis Nanping gasped, "But there are only thirty thousand troops in our city."
"Let’s set up defenses first. Just in case. Lady Su Qi has already sent a letter to the Crown Prince to call for reinforcements." Ning Chi hoped that Zhou Gu’s judgment was wrong, but he feared the chances of that were slim. As sure as his deduction that Zhang Mao was in the eighteen stockades.
Marquis Nanping nodded, "Then let’s hurry up!"
With the cooperation of Marquis Nanping, Ning Chi soon began reassigning the military forces.
Before the preparations were complete, he received a message from Zhou Gu stating that a large number of troops from Jibei were on the march toward Nanping, most likely numbering no less than two hundred thousand. He was advised to prepare for battle urgently.
Upon hearing this, Ning Chi’s face changed completely. Even though they had been preparing, facing an army of no less than two hundred thousand - more than six times the size of the current Nanping force - how could Nanping survive?
Thankfully, Zhou Gu’s message stated he’d received a reply from Zhou Che, who was on his way to Nanping with a hundred thousand troops. As long they could hold out for a few days, they should be fine.
Ning Chi presented Zhou Gu’s letter to Marquis Nanping, whose face also changed, "I’ve always known that the Pingxi General Residence privately maintains a large army, but I didn’t expect the number to be this huge. If they can send two hundred thousand troops to attack Nanping all at once, then they must have at least another two hundred thousand troops remaining in Jibei."
Originally, Pingxi General’s Residence in Jibei, according to the imperial law, was to maintain a hundred thousand troops. But now, they had four times the number, and the emperor would probably be shocked to learn that Zhang Ping had turned against him, since it was the emperor who fattened Zhang Ping’s ambitions and secretly nurtured his army.
The father and son had already made preparations, but with the arrival of this immense army, the pressure became substantially greater. Ning Chi invited Jiang Zhu to his study and showed him Zhou Gu’s letter.
After reading the letter, Jiang Zhu’s face changed dramatically. He muttered to himself, "If I told Zhou Gu now that I regret it and want to go back to the stockades, would he agree?"
No less than two hundred thousand troops! The city only had thirty thousand Nanping soldiers. Wasn’t this a suicide mission? If they launch a straight attack, they won’t be able to hold out for even a day, let alone several days.
Ning Chi looked at him, unable to joke at this moment. He could only say, "You’re already on board this pirate ship and can’t get off. Brother Jiang, you better think together with me on how to defend the city, so your brothers who wish to serve the Crown Prince can seize this opportunity to gain merit."
Jiang Zhu almost cried, "Tell me, how can thirty thousand troops stand against two hundred thousand, and gain merit?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
"Your brothers from the eighteen stockades, there are a few thousand of them, and they are all highly skilled fighters." Ning Chi decisively patted his shoulder, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Think about it, your brothers who don’t want to leave Daliang to go to Nanchu, the current imperial amnesty offers them low-level roles. But say, in this battle, with them defending Nanping City, the reward would be an official position based on their merit. If someone takes this opportunity, they might even be catapulted into the high echelons. Also Brother Jiang, you want to join Lady Su Qi, you need to show your skills. A mere recommendation from Zhou Gu will not make Lady Su Qi notice you. You have to make her admire you, so when she goes to Nanchu to claim the throne, you can gain her favour and achieve your full potential."
Jiang Zhu sighed, "Brother Ning, you really should travel the world as a persuasive speaker. Nanping isn’t worthy of your talents."
Ning Chi coughed, "So, Brother Jiang, hurry up and rally your brothers to defend the city with me, alright?"
Jiang Zhu sighed, "I guess there is no other option."
As he said, they are all on this ship now and can’t get off.
"Oh, and my brother." Ning Chi suddenly remembered Ning Ze, and immediately ordered, "Tell the Second Young Master to come."
Now that he’s serving Su Rong, he can’t stand by in this critical time. Everyone must do their part.
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