Chapter 38 Grudges and Love-Hate Relationships
The siege of Haozhou, which began on October 22nd of the seventh year of the Jiaping era, lasted for six days and six nights. The ferocity of the battle was beyond description. The Northern Rong, personally commanded by Khan Ji Nuli, launched a relentless and relentless attack on Haozhou with 60,000 troops and numerous siege weapons. Haozhou was defended by only 5,000 soldiers, but they fought bravely, advancing and retreating in a desperate defense.
Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Northern Rong lost nearly 20,000 soldiers, including the vanguard Dunlu Chengxiong and the adjutant Lu Wang. Nearly half of the soldiers and civilians in Haozhou City were killed or wounded. Deputy Commander Li Dingguo and adjutant Shi Zhong were killed in battle, and Princess Rouzhen was wounded by a stray arrow from the Northern Rong while delivering supplies to the soldiers and unfortunately died.
Fortunately, at the critical moment of life and death, the Prince of Jin led 10,000 light cavalry to arrive in the snow and launch a surprise attack on the Northern Rong from the rear. After two hours of fierce fighting, the Northern Rong army, attacked from both sides, gradually became overwhelmed and their formation collapsed. Helpless, Ji Nuli led the remaining troops to retreat to Suzhou, and the siege of Haozhou was lifted.
After resting and replenishing their supplies in Haozhou City for a day, the light cavalry led by the Prince of Jin, contrary to everyone's expectations, did not cross the Grand Canal to relieve the siege of Yangzhou City, nor did they head north to seize Sizhou, the first pass of the Bian River. Instead, they braved the snow and headed west to launch a surprise attack on the Northern Rong central army besieging Changying City from the rear. They caught the Northern Rong off guard and quickly retreated before they could counterattack. They entered Bozhou City, which the Northern Rong had not yet occupied, and used it as their base to reorganize their army and await the main army that was going to conquer Jiaozhi. This was because the main army was carrying supplies such as food, clothing, siege engines, and catapults. Without the siege weapons, they would not be able to recapture the occupied cities.
When Ruan Bi awoke from her coma, the Prince of Jin had already been gone from Haozhou City for two days.
She only found one letter he left behind, saying that he had requisitioned all the grain she had bought, and he was quite unhappy about it. However, according to Dongxue and Granny Zheng, he hadn't slept a wink in Haozhou City for a day and a night, either convening his subordinates for sand table drills or inspecting the city's defenses and directing the soldiers and civilians to strengthen them. Despite his hurried schedule, he still managed to visit her three times. Once, he even sat by her bedside for a quarter of an hour.
Ruan Bi's arrow wound was in a vital area of her shoulder, causing significant blood loss, and the immense pressure of defending the city further exacerbated her condition. She hadn't slept for several days and was utterly exhausted, which explained her three-day coma. Gu Xiaobai, on the other hand, although wounded in the chest, had a shallower wound, and due to his strong physique, he recovered quickly.
In early November, the expeditionary force to Jiaozhi landed successively in the areas of Ningjiang, Runzhou, and Hezhou. They then split into three routes: the western route headed directly for Changying, engaging the Northern Rong central army; the central route reached Bozhou to join forces with the Prince of Jin, both to contain the Northern army led by Ji Nuli and Dunluhe in Suzhou and to monitor the Northern Rong central army besieging Changying; the eastern route marched directly to Taizhou, joining forces with the Taizhou army to attack Ji Qida's troops besieging Yangzhou.
Apart from Haozhou City, all other prefectures and counties along the Huai River were engulfed in war.
On November 12th, the Empress Dowager in Shengzhou sent two imperial edicts. One praised Nguyen Ngum for her fearless defense of Haozhou during the siege, standing shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers and donating 10,000 shi of rice as military rations. She commended Nguyen Ngum for her courage and exemplary conduct, deserving of the title of a hu of pearls and 300 bolts of silk. The other edict praised Princess Rouzhen for her noble bearing, stating that she had bravely sacrificed herself for her country, her courage and virtue leaving a lasting legacy. Remembering her grief over the loss of her mother, the Empress Dowager bestowed upon her the title of Princess and the name Anfu.
Dongxue felt indignant on Ruan Bi's behalf, saying, "The young lady exhausted herself defending the city for a month and donated 10,000 shi of grain, only to receive a bushel of pearls and 300 bolts of silk. It's not even as good as someone who loses their mother and immediately becomes a county princess, enjoying a fief every year. Besides, where are the bushel of pearls and 300 bolts of silk? It's truly laughable that a dignified empress dowager would issue IOUs."
Ruan Bi smiled and said, "She fled the capital in a hurry, how could she have had time to take gold and silver jewelry with her? Anyway, she made a promise, are you afraid she will run away?"
Dongxue pouted and said, "If she really had no money, why did she reward Miss Chen with one hundred taels of gold?"
"That's for Princess Rouzhen's funeral expenses."
"Does the Shen family not have money?" Dongxue said unhappily. "Why are you always speaking up for outsiders, young lady?"
“I’m not speaking for outsiders, but I’m not doing these things for her reward. Whether she gives it to me or not, what does it matter? Besides, since she issued the imperial decree, she won’t shortchange me. If she doesn’t give me pearls and silk, I will keep pursuing her with the imperial decree.”
Dongxue chuckled and said, "You're teasing me again, girl."
On the 13th, Ji Qida retreated to Sizhou, and the siege of Yangzhou was lifted.
At dawn on the 14th, Yu Qing escorted supplies such as grain, clothing, and weapons collected from surrounding prefectures and counties to Bozhou. Gu Xiaobai, whose wounds had healed, decided to join the army and thus accompanied them north. Ruan Bi, Liu Shizhi, Dong Xue, and others braved the heavy snow to see them off at the north gate, accompanying them all the way to the post station. Only after watching the long procession disappear into the vast snowstorm did they turn back to Haozhou.
As they approached the city gate, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar. Then, a rider came galloping towards them and, with lightning speed, grabbed Ruan Bi's reins and rode off. Dong Xue exclaimed in surprise and was about to call for someone to stop him when Liu Shizhi stopped her: "Sister-in-law, that's Young Master Gu."
Dongxue paused, quickly swallowing the words "help" that were on the tip of her tongue, and watched as Gu Xiaobai led Ruan Bi's horse and galloped away. Seeing her worried face, Liu Shizhi said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, Young Master Gu knows what he's doing. The snow is too heavy, let's go back first."
Dongxue nodded and returned to Haozhou City.
Ruan Bi was initially a little panicked, but once she saw that it was Gu Xiaobai, she calmed down and let him lead her horse around aimlessly. The wind wasn't strong, but the snow was heavy. Although the wind shielded her head and face, her neck was still filled with snow. After galloping aimlessly for a quarter of an hour, they circled back to where they had left. Gu Xiaobai reined in his horse, panting heavily, and turned to look at her. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and his eyes were like black jade washed clean by snow, sparkling brightly.
Ruan Bi pressed her stomach and complained, "My intestines are about to come out."
Gu Xiaobai frowned and said, "How stupid. I've already said that the rider should follow the horse."
"Why did you come back all of a sudden?"
"Didn't I promise to teach you how to ride a horse? I was halfway there when I suddenly remembered, so I ran back."
Ruan Bi asked in surprise, "Were you teaching me how to ride a horse just now?"
Gu Xiaobai retorted, "Otherwise what?"
Ruan Bi blinked and smiled gently.
Gu Xiaobai smiled, revealing her snow-white teeth.
"I have to go, or I'll miss my chance."
"Yes, have a safe journey."
Gu Xiaobai nodded, giving her a deep look. He spurred his horse, Sa Lu Zi, and with a soft neigh, leaped forward. Chasing the wind and snow, it quickly became a tiny black dot, disappearing into the swirling snowflakes. Ruan Bi watched the fluttering snowflakes and couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.
A moment later, he put his hood back on and prepared to enter the city. Suddenly, he felt a gaze fixed on him from the city wall. Looking up, he saw a figure standing there, looking down at him. He was wearing a hood, obscuring his face, but his expression was sinister. A thick layer of snow covered his cloak, indicating he had been standing there for quite some time.
Ruan Bi rode into the city and asked the guards, "Who's on the city wall?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a clear voice rang out: "It's me." Shen Hua followed her down the stairs, stopping on the third step, staring at Ruan Bi with a gloomy expression.
Ruan Bi frowned slightly, a memory flashing through her mind of the lotus-viewing party at the Marquis of Yanping's residence over a year ago. Back then, she had walked past in a flowing, eight-panel brocade skirt of alternating blue and white, exuding an air of composure and radiance. How elegant and graceful she was! Like a fine pearl radiating a soft glow. Now, her appearance remained the same, her composure still present, but her radiance had been replaced by a somber mood. That soft glow had vanished completely.
Shen Hua also recalled their first meeting at the Marquis of Yanping's residence over a year ago. She sat in the least prestigious seat, her clothes decent but not luxurious. At that time, Xie Mingzhu pointed at her and said, "Miss Shen, you don't need to know anyone else, but you must know this person." She smiled at the time, but in her heart she was thinking, who in this world is someone I absolutely must know?
"Have you heard? Xie Mingzhu married Prince Kang and was even made Empress." Shen Hua said sarcastically, her thin lips barely moving. "Do you think she can remain Empress for long?"
"Given the circumstances, I'm afraid she wasn't doing it willingly."
"When did you become so magnanimous?"
"We've never been close friends before, so how do you know what kind of person I am?"
"That's right, we weren't close friends, but we were destined to be entangled for life."
Hearing these words from Shen Hua gave Ruan Bi a strange feeling. "Miss Shen, your surname is Shen, and my surname is Ruan. We each go our own way, so why talk about entanglement?"
“That’s what I originally thought, that’s always been my thought. I even considered letting you and Prince Jin be together, and even if… Gu Xiaobai liked you, I didn’t resent you. But…” Shen Hua stared at Ruan Bi, her eyes filled with hatred, “You killed my mother.”
Ruan Bi stared at her with wide eyes, as if she were looking at a madwoman.
“That arrow, the one that killed my mother, wasn’t from the Northern Rong,” Shen Hua said through gritted teeth. “It was from our Great Zhou.”
This was something Ruan Bi was unaware of, and she was slightly surprised. Princess Rouzhen was shot by an arrow on the city wall; if it was a stray arrow, it could only have been from the Northern Rong, not the Great Zhou. If it was an arrow from the Great Zhou, then most likely someone couldn't stand by and watch and intended to kill her.
"You don't believe me? Go ask the Prince of Jin. He was the one who collected my mother's body and pulled out that arrow."
Ruan Bi pondered for a moment and said, “Miss Chen, the Empress Dowager has already issued an imperial decree to commend her, saying that Princess Rouzhen took the lead in the battle and was unfortunately shot by a stray arrow from the Northern Rong. She sacrificed her life for the country, showing great wisdom and courage, and will be remembered for generations. People should take her as an example.”
Shen Hua said in a shrill voice, "That's not true."
"That's the truth, just like my surname is Ruan."
"This isn't true, I won't admit it, I won't admit it..." Shen Hua shook her head desperately, and the snow on her hood fell down in a flurry.
"Whatever you want," Ruan Bi said, then spurred her horse to leave.
Shen Hua leaped down the steps in three quick steps, blocking her way. Her eyes were bloodshot as she said, "As long as I live, this is not true. One day, I will avenge my mother."
"Whatever," Ruan Bi said indifferently, turning her horse around to go past her.
In late November, the Prince of Jin and the Eastern Route Army of the Great Zhou launched a feigned attack on Sizhou, while their true objective was to attack Suzhou. Ji Nuli ordered Dunluhe to lead 40,000 cavalry from Suzhou to reinforce Sizhou. However, Dunluhe, harboring ambivalent intentions, refused to go to Sizhou or retreat to Suzhou, instead encamping at Dingli Town. The Prince of Jin acted decisively, dispatching 30,000 cavalry in three columns to encircle Dingli Town, setting fire to the camp under cover of night. Dunluhe hastily engaged in battle, and a fierce open-field battle ensued on the Huaihe Plain at Dingli Town. The fighting lasted all night, leaving the battlefield strewn with corpses and rivers of blood.
King Jin considered that Dunluhe and Jinuli had a long-standing feud, and that if Dunluhe were to die in battle, Jinuli could easily reorganize the Mona tribe. Therefore, at dawn, he deliberately left a gap in the west, and Dunluhe led 30,000 troops to break through the encirclement and head west, returning directly to the Mona tribe.
When Ji Nuli learned of the battle situation, he was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood and said, "Dunlihe, that villain who brought disaster to the country and the people."
In early December, the Prince of Jin captured Sizhou City. The Northern Rong general Ji Qida led his remaining forces to retreat to Suzhou City, where they joined forces with Ji Nuli. Relying on the city's fortifications, they controlled the Huai River, the Bian River, and the capital region. The Prince of Jin launched several attacks, but all failed. In late December, Ruan Bi sent 5,000 thunderbolts, procured from various sources. The Prince of Jin adopted her plan, hiring 1,000 miners to dig tunnels from ten miles away to the vicinity of the city walls. They then buried 2,000 thunderbolts, extending long fuses to detonate them remotely. The earth shook violently, the city walls collapsed, and the century-old fortified city of Suzhou fell. Ji Nuli retreated with his remaining 60,000 troops to Mengzhou.
In early January, the Empress Dowager returned to the capital with her concubines and resumed her role as regent. The Prince of Jin led an army of 300,000, divided into two routes: one to attack the western route army of the Northern Rong entrenched on the Weinan front, and the other to attack the central route army personally led by Ji Nuli in Mengzhou.
Half a month later, the Northern Rong western route army in Weinan was defeated and retreated to Luzhou. The emperor, trapped in Weinan, returned to the capital and issued an edict to the world, ordering a campaign against the traitor Chai Jue. With no way out, the King of Han fled by sea to the Liuli Islands. The emperor launched a massive purge, dismissing, confiscating, and beheading anyone who had been too close to the King of Han. Panic gripped the capital.
Ji Nuli, relying on the natural defenses of the Mengzhou area, fought several battles with the army led by the Prince of Jin. At first, both sides had victories and defeats. However, the Northern Rong army was isolated deep in the enemy territory, lacked food and supplies, and the soldiers were increasingly homesick. Their morale was low, and they had no will to fight. Gradually, they lost more battles than victories.
In April of the eighth year of the Jiaping era, Dunluhe, who had returned to the Mona tribe, declared himself king and led 20,000 light cavalry to attack the Geli tribe, burning, killing, and arson, and stealing more than 30,000 horses, cattle, and sheep. When the news reached the front lines in Mengzhou, the soldiers of the Geli tribe were filled with grief and indignation, and they all demanded to return to their hometown to avenge their defeat.
With his backyard on fire, Ji Nuli was left with no choice but to send envoys to the Great Zhou to seek peace, offering to pay tribute and become a vassal state.
The war ended just like that.
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