Time flies like an arrow.
The standoff lasted for three whole months, and Beiming ushered in the hottest month of the year, August.
Rumble rumble rumble!
At dawn, just like a few days ago, the war drums thundered. A new scar appeared on Crown Prince Rui's handsome face, left from the previous sneak attacks by Chu Mubai's men, making his entire face look ferocious.
He glanced at the blackened but still standing city walls of Maicheng, took a deep breath, and roared, "Attack the city!"
At his command, the first echelon of over a thousand shield soldiers charged to the front, followed closely by infantry, with a large number of siege ladders following behind. However, just like the attacks of the previous days, arrows and stones flew out from inside the city.
Screams and cries of pain filled the air as thousands of shield bearers were thrown into disarray, and the infantry were immediately exposed to a dense barrage of arrows. Even when the siege engines approached, straw coated with grease was thrown from the walls, instantly igniting a raging fire.
Maicheng is situated on high ground, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, when Chu Mubai originally occupied it, it had stockpiled a large number of weapons and armor. So, for the past three months, Chu Mubai has been using their Beiming weapons against their own troops. Damn it!
Moreover, during this period, various night raids kept them awake at night, and the team was reduced by several thousand men.
"Your Highness, all our new siege ladders have been burned!" A scout on horseback rode towards the prince, shouting as he ran.
Crown Prince Rui's face was dark and gloomy. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Retreat!"
The fire raged, and the retreating soldiers were numb; three months of fighting here had worn away their original fighting spirit.
However, during this attack, Prince Rui clearly saw that the enemy's defensive arrows were far from sufficient.
Prince Rui was confident that he could capture Maicheng in three more days at most.
The thought of capturing Maicheng and killing Chu Mubai made him want to laugh out loud. He was determined to torture that so-called "genius strategist" of Nanyu.
Even the new emperor has been slow to send reinforcements, so Chu Mubai's death is not far off.
Crown Prince Rui led Yin Xiao into the military tent, unaware that many of the returning soldiers were looking at him strangely. Moreover, he soon flew into a rage because of a letter that came from the Beiming Imperial Palace.
The emperor of Beiming, who is also the father of Crown Prince Rui, sent a letter.
The letter roughly translates to: "It's irrational to start a war over a woman. I order you to immediately retreat and defend your territory! I have already signed a peace treaty with Nan Yu, so hurry up and send the princess back."
"Coward!" Crown Prince Rui roared, tearing the letter to shreds in a fit of rage, startling the eunuch who was delivering the letter so much that he fell to his knees with a thud.
The eunuch, speaking in a shrill voice, relayed the message the Northern Emperor had sent him: "Your Highness, the Emperor has instructed me to remind you that after autumn comes winter, and then the grain supplies may... Ah, Your Highness, have mercy!"
Before he could finish speaking, a sword was thrust at the father-in-law, who screamed and scrambled away in terror.
"Get out, all of you get out!" Crown Prince Rui brandished his longsword, driving the other guards out of the tent, his eyes bloodshot.
Three days!
In three days at most, he will be able to take down Chu Mubai. Once he takes him down, Zhao Tuo is just a reckless fool!
He, Crown Prince Rui, cannot afford to fail at the last hurdle.
Crown Prince Rui's mind flashed back to his younger brothers in the palace, who outwardly respected him but were actually acting in their own self-interest, as well as the frequent disappointed looks from the Northern Emperor.
Those petty people only know how to flatter the ambitious Emperor Beiming with their words. For so many years, Beiming has been suppressed by Nanyu, and even has to pay tribute every autumn.
Why? Why is he, the crown prince, subject to such constraints? Why...?
Before Crown Prince Rui's eyes appeared mountains of treasure in the Southern Yu imperial palace, and endless riches and glory. The new emperor of Southern Yu was just a good-for-nothing; what right did he have to enjoy those things?
He, Crown Prince Rui, had to eat, wear, and use less than a young prince from a young age, all to create the illusion of the royal family's integrity. Meanwhile, that cowardly man, sitting on the throne, listened to the slander of petty people and even considered establishing another crown prince.
No.
He cannot fail.
cannot!
Crown Prince Rui needs a great victory, a victory that will shake the Northern Underworld and force the muddle-headed emperor to rescind his decision to establish a new crown prince.
Suddenly, Prince Rui felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his throat tightened so that he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Your Highness!" The guards at the door heard the noise and came in to see the Crown Prince Ruijian leaning on the ground, spitting blood. They were terrified and helped him up.
Since being kicked by that man named Yan Jiu, Crown Prince Rui's health has not fully recovered. Now, he has been angered again, which has aggravated his injuries.
Crown Prince Rui was panting heavily, his bloodshot eyes filled with hatred. He had hit that spot after Yan Jiu knocked him off his horse that day, and it had been swollen for a whole month afterward, making it difficult for him to urinate. This was a humiliation for him.
He also took Zi Linglong with him, which has put him in such a passive position now. If Zi Linglong were really in the camp, he could have used her as a hostage to force Chu Mubai to open the city gates!
He vowed that after taking Chu Mubai's life, he would use all the power of Beiming to find that damned Yan Jiu and torture him to death.
But now...
"No... I can't go back. Someone, prepare paper and pen." Crown Prince Rui wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, suppressed his anger, and wrote a letter to his father, asking for three more days.
Shortly after he sent out his letter, his scouts brought back good news—Chu Mubai could not hold out any longer and had sent a group of men to the capital under cover of night to demand troops.
Chu Mubai must have promised the new emperor something in the letter he sent to the capital; that letter absolutely cannot be allowed to get out.
Crown Prince Rui immediately ordered that the group be intercepted that night.
However.
He had no idea that at that moment, two people dressed as Beiming soldiers in his ranks were secretly whispering among themselves.
"Damn it, he's always telling us to rush in and fight to the death, but he just stands there in the distance and doesn't even go up. What a coward."
"Shh, keep your voice down, he's the Crown Prince."
"What's wrong with the Crown Prince? I heard that the Northern Underworld Emperor intends to establish another Crown Prince, and the imperial edict has already been written..."
"No wonder Crown Prince Rui was in such a hurry, resorting to kidnapping people and attacking cities."
"It's not just because of that. I heard that Crown Prince Rui goes to that Zi Linglong's tent every night. She's a vixen, and the Crown Prince has been bewitched."
Gradually, rumors began to circulate among the tens of thousands of soldiers: "The Crown Prince is about to be deposed," "The Crown Prince has been bewitched by a witch," and even "The Crown Prince doesn't care about their lives," "The Emperor has ordered a retreat, but the Crown Prince continues to attack." These messages further demoralized the already exhausted soldiers.
Furthermore, it fostered a serious war-weariness.
The soldiers were full of complaints.
After receiving the reports from the centurions, Prince Rui did not take them seriously and immediately ordered them to be beaten to death more than a dozen of the most notorious soldiers as an example to others.
Looking at the group of soldiers who were terrified like quails.
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