Daliang had taken Rong City; after resting for a day, they dispatched troops to attack Wang City.
Helan Ying and Feng Zhan, who were defending Wang City with sixty-five thousand soldiers, couldn’t hold it for more than a day before they had to retreat in disarray, losing an additional two thousand soldiers in the process.
The venerable duke did the same as before: rewarding the army and taking control of Wang City. He replaced the Dawei flag on the city tower and ordered a day of rest before continuing toward Qingzhou City.
Qingzhou City had a similarly thin defense. Helan Ying, leading his forces, resisted for two days but ultimately had to retreat as well.
Thus, in less than ten days, Daliang had captured three Dawei cities, their momentum unstoppable.
The urgent report reached the Dawei Royal Capital, and the Dawei Emperor was both shocked and angry. He immediately called an imperial court to discuss which commander should be selected to resist the Daliang troops at the border.
Since more than half of the Dawei commanders had been taken away to attack Nanchu, no suitable commander could be chosen from within Dawei to deal with the Daliang duke.
Who would have thought that Helan Ying would not be able to defend Rong City and subsequently lose three cities in a row?
Before the council could come up with a plan, they received successive reports on the loss of Wang City and Qingzhou City.
The second prince, Yuan Chen, stepped forward, "Father, I am willing to lead an army to battle."
The Dawei Emperor looked at Yuan Chen, asked in a deep voice, "The commander leading Daliang’s troops is the old duke. Are you confident?"
Yuan Chen responded, "Father, allow me to use the two siege cannons that were built a few days ago. I will certainly stop the old duke."
The Dawei Emperor hesitated, "Before the Crown Prince left the capital, he specifically instructed not to move those siege cannons. They are his heavy artillery reserved for defending the capital."
Yuan Chen insisted, "Father, we have already lost three cities in a row, and the Crown Prince is far away in Nanchu. His distant support can’t put out this nearby fire. He took most of the troops away, leaving only 300,000 troops in the country. Even if we mobilize all of them to resist Daliang, I’m afraid it won’t be enough. I’ve found that the Daliang court currently has 400,000 troops. Though the old duke has taken 200,000 to attack Dawei, he must have more troops to back him up. If you don’t deploy the two siege cannons, even the Crown Prince would struggle to hold back the fierce advance of Daliang."
The Dawei Emperor felt that his argument made sense, but he still hesitated, "We only have those two siege cannons left."
"Father, the Crown Prince took six with him. Now that we have lost three cities, if you continue hesitating, I’m afraid we’ll lose more than just those three," Yuan Chen reasoned.
The Dawei Emperor finally relented, realizing the gravity of the situation, "Very well, you should hasten your departure and make sure to intercept the Daliang soldiers at the Lanwan River."
Yuan Chen nodded, "I will execute your command."
So it was that the Dawei Emperor made Prince Yuan Chen the leading general, sending him out from the royal capital with the remaining 300,000 soldiers and two siege cannons, rushing towards Qingzhou City.
At the same time, three days after leaving the capital, the Daliang Crown Prince, Yan Huisheng, received the battle reports from the old duke’s courier on the way to the capital.
After opening the battle reports, Yan Huisheng was overjoyed, saying, "Well done, old duke! I always have faith in him."
It was the first time Xie Lin had seen Yan Huisheng express such elation. Xie Lin asked from the side, "Your Highness, is it good news from the old duke?"
"Yes." Yan Huisheng handed the battle report to Xie Lin with a smile, "The old duke has seized Rong City, a border city of Dawei. Helan Jue’s nephew, Helan Ying, had to abandon the city and retreat."
After receiving the battle report, Xie Lin was overjoyed, surprised and in awe. After so many years, Daliang finally struck back at Dawei, avenging the capture of Daliang City all those years ago.
Jiang Xing and Chen Zhou were equally delighted when they heard the news. They huddled next to Xie Lin to read the battle report.
This battle report bolstered everyone’s confidence.
After reading it, Xie Lin handed the report back to Yan Huisheng. Yan Huisheng refolded the report and gave it back to the courier, "Continue your trip back to the Capital City."
Such good news needed to reach the civil officials and military officers in the Capital City right away.
After receiving the battle report, Yan Huisheng sped up their journey. In the following days, he successively received the exciting news of the old duke’s capture of Wang City and Qingzhou City. The capture of three cities was a great victory.
Xie Lin admired the old duke immensely, "The old duke is truly incredible, showing renewed vigor in his old age, a sword that hasn’t been out of use yet."
Yan Huisheng nodded, a smile clear on his face, though he tried to control it, saying, "I will write a letter, asking the old duke to take charge and reorganize his forces in Qingzhou City. In just ten days, we’ve taken three of Dawei’s cities. I fear it may have worn out the old duke."
Xie Lin hurriedly responded, "Yes, Your Highness, write the letter quickly. Send someone on a fast horse to deliver it as soon as possible."
After finishing his words, he sighed, "If only we could use carrier hawks to deliver messages, I’ve heard that the hawks the Seventh Lady gave to Zhou Gu are very useful."
Yan Huisheng responded, "I have people training hawks, but they are not yet ready."
The reason Su Rong’s letter reached him so quickly was thanks to the Hawk Messenger, but he couldn’t just keep the hawk for his own use. It could only be used for communication between Su Rong and him.
After capturing three cities of Dawei in succession, the old duke didn’t aim to advance immediately. Instead, he ordered the army to rest for three days in Qingzhou City.
Three days later, the old duke attacked the next city, Huaishui County. Taking advantage of Dawei’s delayed reinforcements, the old duke seized Huaishui County in another two days.
Next, the old duke attacked Renping City and Changhe City.
Therefore, when Crown Prince Yan Huisheng, leading his newly assembled army of 200,000 Daliang soldiers, met up with the old duke’s troops, the old duke had already captured six cities of Dawei.
Meanwhile, the Dawei second Prince, Yuan Chen, had led 300,000 troops to Qiangli City, which was nearest to Changhe City.
Upon arriving at Qiangli City and learning that Changhe City had also been lost, Yuan Chen was furious and wanted to subject Helan Ying to a military court. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Helan Ying was loyal to Crown Prince Yuan Zhao and was not willing to accept this. He showed anger towards Yuan Chen saying, "Without timely reinforcements, I only had 100,000 soldiers. The old duke of Daliang has 200,000. How could I possibly defend Rong City? For each subsequent city, there were at most 20,000 soldiers and at least 5,000. How on earth do you expect me to hold out? The second Prince may not have to worry about our soldiers, but I do. I’ve sent urgent reports to the royal capital, but your reinforcements arrived far too late. What is your intention? Are you trying to seize power while the Crown Prince is absent?"
Yuan Chen was furious, "You’ve lost six cities, how can you still argue? Since receiving my orders, I’ve not delayed for a moment. Who would have guessed that half a month later, you would have lost an additional three cities!"
Helan Ying scoffed, "So I should have been stubborn until death in battle? How could I possibly have preserved these 70,000 soldiers?"
you proposing that my accomplices and I die on the battlefield? As the second prince, you don’t care about the lives of Dawei soldiers, but as a general, I do care."
"You shameless deserter, always acting high and mighty." Yuan Chen ordered, "Arrest Helan Ying and send him to the Royal Capital to await our father’s judgment."
Helan Ying quickly drew his sword, "Second Prince, if you want to detain me, you should ask these 70,000 soldiers under my command whether they agree."
He looked at Yuan Chen with cold anger, "Whether I am guilty is not for the second Prince to judge. I will return to the Royal Capital and beg for punishment after we have counterattacked and taken vengeance."
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