Chapter 111 A Fire Attack Against the Wind: Is Your Highness Confused?
"I didn't believe the news at first, but I never expected you to actually surrender to the enemy!"
Not long after Duan Xuchao was captured alive by the Phoenix Army, news came that she had been killed for refusing to surrender.
Although Jin Yuelun did not usually value Duan Xuchao and had a mediocre relationship with him, he couldn't help but sigh after hearing the news, respecting Duan Xuchao as a good mother.
However, no one expected that Duan Xuchao, who was rumored to have died for his country, had actually surrendered to the Phoenix Kingdom in secret and made significant contributions on the battlefield between the Phoenix Kingdom and the Liang Kingdom.
When the news spread, Jin Yuelun was still doubting its authenticity.
Only when Duan Xuchao appeared before the Wu army as the Phoenix General, seemingly "resurrected from the dead," did she realize the truth of the matter. A feeling of being fooled welled up within her, and anger surged within her.
"No need for further words, it's just a matter of choosing a new master." Duan Xuchao was publicly insulted by his former commander, but he did not show any change in expression.
She was mentally prepared for this outcome long before she volunteered to play.
"Choose another wise ruler?" Jin Yuelun sneered upon hearing this, suppressing his anger as he loudly gave the order.
"Jiang Wei, go and bring back the traitor's head!"
A black-armored general responded to the call, spurred his horse forward, and engaged Duan Xuchao in battle.
"Duan Xuchao, how could someone like you surrender to the enemy? I really misjudged you before," Jiang Wei said through gritted teeth as he brandished his spear and thrust it at Duan Xuchao.
Duan Xuchao remained silent, focusing solely on attacking. He seemed completely oblivious to the insults and curses hurled at him by the Wu army, and gradually gained the upper hand in the battle.
...
The capital city at this time.
Yuan Jing was held accountable for instructing the Ministry of Revenue to delay military rations, and was dismissed from his position as Minister of Revenue. Now he is restless in the Prince's residence.
Father, didn't you say that Mother Empress was beyond medical help? Why did Mother Empress wake up again?
It just so happens to be at such a critical moment.
If she had known her mother would wake up, she would never have dared to use such methods against Yuan Yan. Now, not only did she fail to bring down Yuan Yan, but she also got herself involved.
Yuan Jing knew that this matter was far from over. Although the Empress Dowager had not yet dealt with her completely due to the overall situation of the court, she had clearly become suspicious of her father.
Shortly after the imperial edict was issued, Yuan Jing felt uneasy and wanted to go to the palace to find Feng Qing to confirm the situation and discuss countermeasures.
However, she, who used to be able to enter and leave her father's palace without any hindrance, was stopped at the palace gate this time.
"I am going to pay my respects to my father, why are you stopping me?" Yuan Jing frowned as he looked at the palace servants.
"Your Highness, it was not the barbarians who blocked our way."
The attendant smiled, but his words remained unchanged: "His Majesty has decreed that Feng Qing is unwell and needs to rest quietly, and no one is allowed to disturb her until she is fully recovered."
Yuan Jing didn't believe it at all and felt something was wrong. "My father is ill. How could I, as his daughter, not know?"
My father was perfectly fine just a few days ago, how could he suddenly fall ill?
Yuan Jing sensed something amiss in their conversation, and his ominous premonition grew stronger, making him even more eager to see Feng Qing.
"The Empress could not possibly issue such an edict; it must be you palace servants who are causing trouble."
"Get out of the way, I need to see my father." Yuan Jing rebuked the palace servants, his authoritative voice carrying a hint of threat.
But the attendant remained unyielding, speaking respectfully.
"Your Highness is wise. Even if the barbarians had a hundred more lives, they would not dare to falsely convey the imperial edict. This is His Majesty's golden word. Please, Your Highness Prince Qi, do not make things difficult for us."
Yuan Jing sensed his mother's attitude through the words of his attendant, and his heart sank.
"Eldest sister, what are you doing here?"
Just then, a voice rang out from ahead.
Yuan Jing looked up and saw that the person who came was Yuan Wen, who had just come out of the palace.
Seeing Yuan Jing blocked outside, Yuan Wen didn't seem surprised. She only stopped to admire Yuan Jing's expression for a while before speaking.
Her eagerness to watch the spectacle was so obvious that Yuan Jing initially didn't want to pay attention to Yuan Wen, but when she thought about the direction Yuan Wen had come from, her expression changed, and she temporarily suppressed her anger.
"I have come to visit my father."
"Judging from the appearance of the Sixth Princess, it seems she has just come from the Empress's place?" Yuan Jing changed his expression and subtly inquired.
"Yes, the Empress summoned me to the palace, so here I am," Yuan Wen said with a smile, seemingly unaware of Yuan Jing's probing intent.
Yuan Jing wanted to find out why his mother had summoned Yuan Wen.
But Yuan Wen was just young, not really stupid. She already had a grudge against Yuan Jing and had suffered a great loss at his hands, so naturally she wouldn't tell the truth now. She gave a few casual words and then changed the subject to Yuan Yan.
"Eldest sister," Yuan Wen said with a smile, "Second sister, with her strategic planning, won several battles in a row, defeating the Liang Kingdom and dismantling the Liangwu Alliance."
"Now, the only remaining enemy is the Wu Kingdom. With the Second Princess's military prowess, if she could defeat the Wu Kingdom once, she can certainly defeat it a second time."
"Thinking about it this way, my second sister will be back soon."
Yuan Wen seemed very happy, smiling broadly, "I wonder if Eldest Sister has prepared any plans to celebrate Second Sister's birthday?"
The entire court knew that the Ministry of Revenue's failure to pay grain was related to Yuan Jing. The deep-seated hatred between Yuan Yan and Yuan Jing was a matter of life and death.
If Yuan Yan returns, he'll probably seek revenge on Yuan Jing first. Then, having lost the Emperor's favor, will she really have a chance against the victorious Yuan Yan?
Upon hearing this, Yuan Jing finally lost his composure, his eyes turning deep and piercing.
"This is such a small matter, no need for Sixth Princess to trouble herself."
Yuan Jing refrained from reacting because of the presence of palace servants, and coldly said before turning away.
However, Yuan Wen's words also revealed Yuan Jing's deepest fear.
Upon returning to the palace, she immediately summoned her trusted confidants.
"Now I am out of the Emperor's favor and in a difficult situation. I don't even know what my father's condition is... If there is really no other way, I will have to take a gamble."
Yuan Jing seemed to have made up his mind at this moment. His expression changed several times before he finally spoke.
...
On the battlefield.
For several days, Yuan Yan and Jin Yuelun had clashed several times.
The Phoenix Army is brave and has many fierce generals. With the renowned commander Yuan Yan in command, morale is soaring.
After several battles, Jin Yuelun was forced by Yuan Yan to abandon Ruyin and retreat to the wilderness, where he stationed his troops on the banks of the Lu River.
"Your Highness, shall I lead my troops to pursue them?"
Seeing this, Yuan Shi consulted Yuan Yan.
“Lushui…” Yuan Yan did not answer immediately upon hearing this, but instead looked at the sand table, his eyes filled with thought.
Looking at the terrain where the enemy camp was located, she pondered for a moment and rejected Yuan Shi's suggestion.
"No, we'll use fire."
Yuan Shi was surprised, "Fire attack?"
Not only Yuan Shi, but all the other generals in the tent couldn't help but show surprise when they heard this.
After hesitating for a moment, Xue Lang stepped forward.
"Your Highness, this place is probably not suitable for a fire attack," she gently reminded him.
"The enemy camp is located close to a tributary of the Lu River, with abundant water and moist soil, making it difficult to ignite."
"Moreover, the enemy camp is in the north, and at this time of year, the wind is mostly from the south. Lighting a fire against the wind will not only fail to help the fire spread, but may also injure oneself."
Xue Lang analyzed the situation rationally.
The others also agreed in their hearts; no matter how you looked at it, the banks of the Lu River were a deadly place for fire attack.
Even using water would be more realistic than using fire. I don't know why His Highness, who is always so wise, would suddenly make such a suggestion.
"Yes, Your Highness, the Wu army is located near a water source and against the wind, making it unsuitable for fire attack."
Everyone tried to persuade him.
However, this time Yuan Yan did not heed the advice of his generals, but insisted on his own opinion and made the decision by his own will.
“I know all this,” Yuan Yan said. “Gentlemen, please do as I say. Whether we can completely defeat the Wu army depends on this one battle.”
The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.
Your Highness seems rather strange today. To knowingly do something impossible is completely unlike you!
Everyone present was initially suspicious, and even the usually resourceful Zhang Xiaoju couldn't guess Yuan Yan's intentions from her words.
Yuan Yan had already given the order to prepare oil and saltpeter.
As Yuan Yan meticulously arranged the fire attack, Yu Liu and the others gradually calmed down, each accepting their orders and beginning to act according to Yuan Yan's instructions.
"General, the enemy is transporting saltpeter and oil in large quantities and deploying crossbows."
The generals in the tent, including Jin Yuelun, were initially taken aback, and then couldn't help but show expressions of surprise and suspicion.
"Salt water and oil?" Shi Zongji couldn't believe it. "Is the Phoenix Army planning to use fire to attack our army?"
“Using fire at this time of year, she couldn’t possibly be trying to burn herself… No, Yuan Yan has always been cunning, she wouldn’t make such a mistake. This move must be to deceive us, and her real plan might be hidden behind this.”
After several battles, Shi Zongji was already terrified of Yuan Yan's methods. Upon hearing about the Phoenix Army's illogical actions, he subconsciously felt that Yuan Yan was using this action to cover up something.
Another general speculated: "Could it be that the Phoenix Army is planning to launch a night attack on our army again, just like last time?"
In the past, if he had heard that someone was planning to use fire to attack the enemy near the Lu River, Jin Yuelun would have scoffed and ridiculed it.
But the person who did this was Yuan Yan.
The loss of Jicheng to Yuan Yan last time had become a deep humiliation in Jin Yuelun's heart.
Upon hearing his subordinates bring up the matter, Jin Yuelun's expression immediately darkened, and he became even more cautious.
“Regardless of whether the Phoenix Army truly intends to launch a fire attack, we must be fully prepared,” Jin Yuelun said.
Even though she didn't understand Yuan Yan's intention in preparing the fire crossbows, she still ordered her men to take precautions.
Jin Yuelun ordered: "Send troops to the Lu River to fetch water and place it near the camp, just in case."
"Give the order to each battalion to increase patrols, carry fire and weapons, and patrol back and forth, and be wary of enemy night attacks."
"Set up hidden spies, in groups of three, lying in ambush. Once they detect enemy activity, they will use a coded signal to quickly report to the central command."
...
In response to Yuan Yan's ambiguous actions, Jin Yuelun and the Wujun generals discussed the matter at length and finally strengthened the camp's defenses, taking extra precautions.
In this way, even if Yuan Yan truly possessed extraordinary abilities, he could no longer resort to his old tricks.
After Jin Yuelun had his men do these things, he finally felt much more at ease.
As the Wu army had predicted, Yuan Yan launched an attack shortly afterward.
"Your Highness, the south wind is blowing hard right now. Are we really going to use fire?" Yu Liu asked worriedly, looking at the situation on the battlefield ahead.
“Good, have the crossbowmen equip their firearms with oil bladders and prepare.” Yuan Yan showed no sign of changing his mind despite his subordinates’ doubts.
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