Inside the Mianzhou City Government Office, Bai Chuxiao sat at the head of the table, while Yu Fengyang, Murong Xuan, Cui Hao, Chen Yiyu, and others sat below her.
Murong Xuan said in a deep voice, "Sister Xiao, General Lü Fengxian, who is stationed in Changzhou, has already led tens of thousands of troops to guard outside Fengyun Valley. I'm afraid we won't be able to get through for the time being."
Fengyun Valley is a rugged and treacherous canyon between Mianzhou and Changzhou, renowned for its strategic importance and defensible terrain. Unfortunately, it's also the only route to Changzhou, making it an unavoidable passage.
Bai Chuxiao's expression remained unchanged; she had anticipated this. Changcheng was an important city, and Lü Fengxian, the commander of Changzhou, had been appointed General Huaihua by the late emperor.
He's no fool. Upon receiving the news of Mianzhou's fall, Lü Bu's first priority would be to defend this crucial pass leading to Changzhou. If they held it well, they could at least hold them off for several months.
Xia Fan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, news has arrived that Zhang Yu has led an army of 100,000 to reinforce Changzhou. He now has full command over the three prefectures of Chang, Yun, and Ying."
Bai Chuxiao nodded slightly. Yu Fengyang, seeing her calm demeanor, raised an eyebrow and said, "Your Highness, the enemy's forces far outnumber ours, and they have natural defenses to defend. Do you have any ideas? If we get bogged down here, it won't be good for the Prince either."
Bai Chuxiao calmly replied, "To be honest, I've never been to Fengyun Valley either."
"..." Yu Fengyang couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Then why are you still so calm?"
Bai Chuxiao raised an eyebrow and said, "What's the rush? Let's explore Fengyun Valley later. Besides, I think Zhang Yu may be cunning, but he might not be a good warrior."
Zhang Yu, as the former Provincial Governor, was indeed quite good at governing the region, but he had never actually been on the battlefield. For example, he didn't even show his face during the previous rebellion in the capital.
Murong Xuan hesitated, "Sister Xiao, are you thinking of starting with Zhang Yu? Although he's never been on the battlefield, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would act rashly."
Xia Fan quietly added, "Second Young Master, Zhang Yu also brought his two other sons this time, Zhang Shaoqi and Zhang Shaowei."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "Xia Fan, send someone to make contact. Now that they are both sons of a prince, Zhang Tuo has been directly made the heir apparent. I'm afraid these two are resentful."
"yes"
Yu Fengyang said with a smile, "It seems that the Princess Consort had planned this all along."
Bai Chuxiao said calmly, "Given Chu Wenzheng's personality, he won't pay any attention to us. The person who comes must be Zhang Yu, the newly appointed Prince of Yingchuan. He won't give up this opportunity for his other two sons to gain military merit."
Yu Fengyang stroked his chin. "The Princess is right."
Bai Chuxiao stood up and instructed, "Alright, leave the aftermath of Mianzhou to Xia Fan and Yi Yu. Just follow the procedures of Qizhou."
"yes"
Seeing her about to leave, Yu Fengyang raised an eyebrow and said, "Your Highness, is there any need to rush the investigation of Fengyun Valley?"
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "Of course we'll go to Fengyun Valley, but not now. Even if we went now, we'd have to face an army of 200,000..."
Yu Fengyang nodded and asked, "So what's this?"
Bai Chuxiao was speechless. "Rest?" She wondered if it was because she had been too busy lately, but even her usually proudly healthy body felt weak.
Meanwhile, in a military camp outside Fengyun Valley, Lü Bu was staring at a map with a grim face. He had heard of the Princess Consort of Yan's reputation. Changzhou and Yunzhou were close to each other.
Previously, the late Emperor had sent Princess Yan to Yunzhou to handle matters. Others might not know, but he did. Princess Yan had subdued the rebel army and reorganized the Yunzhou garrison. As for the good deeds done jointly by Yunzhou and Yingzhou, he had also heard a little about them.
Although he was loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty, he was quite displeased with the Emperor's decision to appoint Zhang Yu as the commander-in-chief and take over military power. How could someone who had never been on the battlefield be the commander-in-chief?
Fengyun Valley is located a hundred miles north of Mianzhou City, a narrow path between two massive mountain ranges. The terrain is rugged, and the mountain road stretches for over ten miles. In the first part, it is so narrow that even several people cannot pass side by side.
Lü Bu's main camp was set up in a mountain hollow behind the narrowest section of Fengyun Valley. The terrain here was high, and one could see most of the valley from the edge of the cliff.
On the other side of the ravine lay dense forests and sheer cliffs, virtually untouched by human hands. The chances of the enemy sneaking up from the other side were extremely slim; the only possible route was the great canyon beneath their feet.
If those standing above were to throw down boulders or similar objects, the opposing force would suffer heavy casualties, if not total annihilation.
Lu Bu glanced at the defenses again and felt slightly relieved.
Upon hearing the news of the fall of Mianzhou, he immediately led his men to defend the area. With Zhang Yu as commander-in-chief, as long as he didn't give reckless orders, even if the Princess Consort of Yan had connections everywhere, she wouldn't be able to get past here.
Sure enough, Zhang Yu arrived in Changzhou with 100,000 troops within a few days.
Accompanying him were the eldest and second sons of the Prince of Yingchuan's mansion. Although his own son was already a deputy commander, Zhang Yu clearly intended to use this opportunity to pave a bright future for his other two sons as well.
The main camp at Fengyun Valley was not large enough to house 100,000 troops, so these troops were only stationed in a temporary camp outside Fengyun Valley, not far from Changzhou City.
Upon being summoned to see the commander-in-chief, Lü Bu frowned deeply after just one glance at the makeshift military camp.
What is the point of setting up camp in such a remote and inconvenient place, with neither natural defenses nor fortified cities? If the Changning army were to break through Fengyun Valley, they could flatten this makeshift camp in less than a day.
Inside the main tent
"General Lü, please hand over military command," the junior official who came to deliver the imperial decree said, glancing sideways at Lü Fengxian with an unfriendly expression.
Lu Bu smiled disdainfully, but didn't delay. The Prince of Yingchuan was a favorite of the Emperor, and these people would naturally prefer to curry favor with Zhang Yu than with him.
The transfer of military power was not a particularly complicated matter. Apart from routine military affairs, the most important thing was the military tally, which Lü Bu had already prepared. He simply waved his hand and had the item brought up.
Two young officers, one carrying a thick stack of documents and the other holding a small box containing the military tally that commanded the Changzhou army, stood side by side.
Lu Bu said calmly, "Your Highness, they're all here."
Zhang Yu didn't stand on ceremony, took the military tally and seal, examined them, and nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, General Lü."
Lu Bu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, you're too kind."
After receiving the military tally, Zhang Yu handed over other military affairs to his two sons.
Seeing this, Lü Bu frowned slightly but said nothing. Zhang Yu himself was not good at fighting, but he was capable in other aspects. However, his two sons were...
It wasn't that he looked down on him, but that young master Zhang had been captured as soon as he arrived in the Northwest, and now, as the deputy commander of the Northwest, he was being repeatedly defeated. If even the most talented young master was like this, how could the other two young masters possibly fare any better?
After giving his orders, Zhang Yu left a group of generals in the tent to drink tea.
Zhang Yu, seated at the head of the table, raised his cup and said, "I have just arrived in Changzhou, and the bandits outside Mianzhou are eyeing me covetously. I will need General Lü's assistance in the future."
Lu Bu lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Your Highness is too kind. It's all as it should be."
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