In Fengzhou City, Yue Qiong led his army into the city. Early the next morning, he received a report from the northern scouts and was instantly stunned on the spot!
"You’re saying… the barbarians have attacked Cangzhou City?!"
The scout below was drenched in sweat. "Yes, Marquis! We encountered many refugees fleeing from Cangzhou along the way. They all said Cangzhou has fallen, and this time, the barbarians somehow gathered hundreds of thousands of troops. Cangzhou was lost in just an hour—those savages were frenzied, slaughtering all the civilians in the city. The ten thousand Northern Garrison Army troops left by Zhao You have also been completely wiped out!"
Yan Qi was also shocked. "Barbarians?! How could there be barbarians?! No wonder the deposed Empress suddenly retreated! So that’s the reason!"
After a moment of thought, Yan Qi’s expression turned resentful. "Now, are we just supposed to wait here for the barbarians to attack? What a ruthless scheme! Marquis, what do you think? The deposed Empress has led her troops to Chongzhou—in my opinion, we should pursue them directly. We’re only a day behind; there’s still time!"
Yue Qiong frowned deeply. "Prince Cheng! Didn’t you hear?! The barbarians have invaded, and Cangzhou has been massacred! If we leave Fengzhou, it will be the next to be slaughtered. How can you say such a thing?!"
Yan Qi looked ashamed but refused to back down in front of Yue Qiong. "We came to fight the Northern Garrison Army, not the barbarians. Marquis, don’t confuse priorities. Leave some troops behind to guard Fengzhou City…"
Yue Qiong looked at Yan Qi as if he were a fool. "Leave some troops? Didn’t you hear the barbarians have hundreds of thousands of troops this time?! Even with our full force, we might not be able to hold Fengzhou, let alone with only part of our men!"
Yan Qi’s eyes widened. "The barbarians… are they that formidable?"
Yue Qiong sneered coldly. Having seen through Yan Qi’s incompetence along the way, he didn’t bother arguing further.
"Someone, send a letter to the capital immediately. This… this may very well be the Great Zhou’s calamity!"
Seeing Yue Qiong’s grave expression, Yan Qi hesitated but ultimately said nothing more. When he glanced around, the younger officers seemed unaffected, but the older ones were pale and grim, some even sweating profusely.
Following Yue Qiong’s orders, the military report to the capital was quickly written and dispatched. Yue Qiong then imposed martial law in Fengzhou City, immediately preparing military supplies and reinforcing the city defenses, leaving no room for the barbarians to exploit. By evening, another scout report arrived.
"Marquis, our scouts have reached the southern outskirts of Cangzhou. They saw that Cangzhou City is now in ruins. Outside the city, the barbarians are dividing their plunder, along with many captured women. Our scouts estimated their numbers—this time, the barbarian forces amount to around two hundred thousand."
Two hundred thousand!
Although earlier reports mentioned "hundreds of thousands," those came from fleeing civilians and couldn’t be fully trusted. Ordinary people, unaccustomed to such large numbers, might easily misjudge. But this time, the intelligence came from their own scouts!
Instantly, everyone in the strategy tent gasped in horror.For this northern expedition, a total of one hundred thousand troops were mobilized. Twenty thousand were sent to reinforce Chongzhou, leaving only eighty thousand soldiers in Fengzhou City. The barbarian tribes are fierce and warlike, far surpassing ordinary Zhou people in combat prowess. Unless we outnumber them and employ superior strategies, merely matching their numbers would make victory difficult, let alone now when the enemy forces are twice our size—
"Marquis! How can we possibly defend this place? During the Cangzhou catastrophe back then, only fifty thousand barbarians crossed the Azure Dragon Mountain. Cangzhou City also had fifty thousand defenders holding the city walls, yet not only did they lose, the city was massacred with only a handful escaping. Now, the enemy has two hundred thousand troops—how are we supposed to fight?!"
"Marquis, must we truly hold Fengzhou?! We only have eighty thousand men now!"
"Marquis, why not retreat further south? We could have Fengzhou’s civilians evacuate southward as well. By yielding some ground, we could buy time until imperial reinforcements arrive before engaging in battle!"
Listening to his subordinates, Yan Qi finally understood the barbarians’ ferocity. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and fear crept into his heart.
Yue Qiong, however, furrowed his brow deeply. "Retreat? If we retreat further south, we’d be ceding more territory to the barbarians and stretching our battle lines thinner. At that point, they wouldn’t need to besiege cities—they could infiltrate the vast Zhou lands at will, slaughtering indiscriminately. Garrisoned areas might fare slightly better, but counties and prefectures without troops would suffer terribly. Besides, barbarians excel at guerrilla warfare compared to us. If we don’t block them at the northern frontier, what justification do we have to hand Fengzhou over on a silver platter?!"
Seeing the grim expressions around him, Yue Qiong had to declare, "Do not undermine our own morale! Though the barbarians are formidable, their previous victory in Cangzhou relied on catching them unprepared. Fengzhou’s fortifications are far sturdier than Cangzhou’s. If we retreat, all northern civilians will face disaster. You receive official salaries funded by the people’s taxes—how could you live with yourselves if you fled now?!"
Yue Qiong’s stern tone and unwavering demeanor silenced the crowd. Though fear lingered, his resolve steadied their hearts.
"Marquis, what do you propose then?! Do we defend to the death?! Should we recall the troops from Chongzhou?!"
Yue Qiong took a deep breath, momentarily unable to respond. With two hundred thousand enemy troops, he couldn’t focus solely on Fengzhou—yet he commanded only eighty thousand men!
He walked to the topographic map and pointed. "Cangzhou is the northernmost territory of Great Zhou. Heading south from there, due south leads to Fengzhou, southwest to Wuzhou, and southeast to Chongzhou. The barbarians’ two hundred thousand troops, emboldened by high morale, will naturally target the nearest Fengzhou. If we defend stubbornly, we might hold out for a few days, but there’s no guarantee they won’t split forces to attack Wuzhou and Chongzhou. With just over eighty thousand troops, we can’t afford to protect Wuzhou—otherwise, we’d lose both fronts..."After a moment's contemplation, Yue Qiong said, "Very well. Immediately send messengers to Wuzhou to inform them of this matter. Have them close the city gates at once and prepare their defenses. Wuzhou should have a garrison of over ten thousand troops. While preparing their defenses, they should also request reinforcements from Mengzhou. This way, we can gather at least twenty thousand men. If the barbarians do attack, they can hold out for at least two days. The more time we buy, the more likely we are to receive reinforcements from the imperial court. Otherwise, all our positions here will follow Cangzhou's fate!"
A young officer responded, "The Marquis speaks wisely! For now, we must resort to such desperate measures to hold our ground! This subordinate will go and issue the orders immediately!"
Yue Qiong nodded and added, "When delivering the orders, make it absolutely clear: if any commanding officer dares to abandon the city and flee, disregarding the civilians, it will be a capital offense!"
The young officer acknowledged the command and hurried out to relay the orders. Yue Qiong then turned his attention to Chongzhou.
"Chongzhou originally had a garrison of ten thousand troops. With our reinforcements of twenty thousand, we now have only thirty thousand men in total. The deposed Empress is leading her forces there with the intention of capturing Chongzhou. They outnumber us, so even if Chongzhou holds its ground stubbornly, it might not be enough. However..." Yue Qiong narrowed his eyes. "We cannot let them have it easy either. Immediately order Chongzhou to withdraw its troops and set up camp south of the city. Leave the Northern Garrison Army inside Chongzhou to block their path southward and force them to join us in resisting the barbarians!"
Someone below clapped in approval, and Yan Qi also exclaimed, "Excellent! A brilliant move, Marquis! They want to take Chongzhou and leave us here to hold the line. They probably still intend to head south. Well, we won't let them! They must join us in fighting the barbarians!"
Yan Qi's tone was full of smug satisfaction, merely reveling in the chance to reclaim the dignity lost to the Empress's schemes. Little did he know the depth of Yue Qiong's concerns.
"It's not about retaliating for their abandonment of the city," Yue Qiong explained. "The barbarians are numerous this time, and even if the imperial court can send reinforcements quickly, it's unlikely they'll send many. If the Northern Garrison Army causes chaos in the south, the Great Zhou will completely fall apart!"
Only then did Yan Qi understand Yue Qiong's true intent. He sighed helplessly, "But would the deposed Empress ever help us resist the barbarians?"
Yue Qiong sneered, "The Empress may be wildly ambitious, but Zhao You still has some integrity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have guarded the northern borders for so many years. In that case, if the barbarians attack Chongzhou, the Empress will have no choice but to engage. We don't need them to take the initiative; at the very least, they can divert some attention and prevent the barbarians from easily capturing Chongzhou."
As they spoke, someone was already drafting the military orders. Yue Qiong added, "The forces in Chongzhou are only there to stop the Empress from heading south. Under no circumstances should they initiate hostilities with her. If our two sides fight each other first, we'll only be giving the barbarians an opportunity!"
With Yue Qiong's arrangements laid out, everyone finally understood his deeper concerns. Now, Wuzhou, Fengzhou, and Chongzhou formed a connected line of defense—the last barrier against the barbarians' southern advance. If the barbarians broke through any one of these points, there would be a second, then a third Cangzhou. With the Great Zhou already embroiled in internal strife and instability, if that happened, there would be no point in the Empress and the Crown Prince vying for the throne—the Great Zhou would first be overrun by foreign barbarians! If it came to that, Yue Qiong feared he would die with everlasting regret.After issuing military orders to both the eastern and western fronts, Yue Qiong dispatched scouts once more, determined to ascertain when the barbarian forces would arrive outside Fengzhou’s walls. At the same time, he began to wonder how the barbarians had managed to assemble such a large army. By then, it was already the dead of night, yet the command tent remained brightly lit. Yue Qiong looked at his assembled officers and said, "You all know the barbarians—like the Rong people, their tribes number no more than a few hundred thousand, and their armies, at most, consist of a hundred thousand men. Yet now, they’ve suddenly brought two hundred thousand troops. Why is that?"
As the commander of the northern expedition and the most experienced in warfare among the generals, Yue Qiong possessed the deepest understanding of the Great Zhou’s formidable enemies on all fronts. If even he was unaware, the others were naturally clueless. Seeing that his subordinates could offer no explanation and having not yet engaged the barbarians in battle, Yue Qiong himself was utterly perplexed.
Though the question gnawed at him, Yue Qiong had no choice but to set it aside for the moment. Before long, several more batches of scouts returned, all reporting on the barbarians’ movements. Strangely, the barbarians were advancing more slowly than Yue Qiong had anticipated. The scouts could not provide a clear reason, only mentioning that it seemed internal disputes had arisen among the barbarians, leading to quarrels along the way.
This news naturally pleased Yue Qiong. He immediately ordered his men to intensify efforts to reinforce the city’s defenses, ensuring all preparations were completed before the barbarians’ arrival. He even urgently summoned his trusted aides to discuss the possibility of launching an ambush outside the city. They debated the matter throughout the night, and it was not until the next morning, when everyone was on the verge of collapse, that Yue Qiong finally dismissed them.
In the two nights since entering the city, Yue Qiong had barely slept. By now, as he gazed at the pale light of dawn breaking on the horizon, he too was struggling to stay upright. At his age of forty, he could no longer endure such relentless strain. Just as he was about to retire for some rest, a trusted guard approached and whispered a few words in his ear.
Yue Qiong raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "How could that be?"
The guard replied, "This humble one never expected it either. The person claimed to be my relative, but when I went to meet him, he insisted on seeing you in person, Marquis. When I asked for his identity, he refused to disclose it, merely pointing westward. Seeing his dignified demeanor and upright, handsome appearance, I felt compelled to report this to you."
Hearing the description, Yue Qiong felt a stir in his heart. "Where is he? Take me to him at once!"
"He is in the sentry post tent near the western camp gate. The men stationed there are all our trusted allies, so I dared not bring him here."
Yue Qiong nodded approvingly. "Well done!" With that, he strode toward the western camp gate.
Upon arrival, he saw a young man in his twenties dressed in blue robes standing inside the tent. The visitor was slender yet imposing in stature, clearly not some common charlatan. His breathing was light and controlled, marking him as a master of the martial Path. Upon seeing Yue Qiong, the young man bowed respectfully and, without a word of explanation, handed him a letter.
"This letter was entrusted to me by my master to be delivered directly into your hands, Marquis. It could have been passed along through intermediaries, but its contents are of grave importance. Only by handing it to you personally could I ensure its security."
After speaking, the young man stood respectfully at attention. Yue Qiong scrutinized him briefly before hurriedly reading the letter. Halfway through, his eyes widened with shock and dawning comprehension. By the time he finished, he was so stunned he held his breath. After a long moment, he held the letter over a nearby lamp that had not yet been extinguished, watching as it crumbled to ash. Only then did he turn back to the young man. "You have considerable nerve, daring to deliver a letter here. Your master is now a rebel against the court. How dare you enter my camp with such audacity?"The young man smiled leisurely, "If the Marquis were to capture me, I would have nothing to say, though it would be a pity to betray my master's trust and efforts."
Yue Qiong's eyes sharpened, "Your master... has plans..."
"I am merely a messenger. My master's intentions are beyond my knowledge. Since the Marquis has read the letter, I shall take my leave."
With these words, the young man cupped his hands in a casual salute and strode toward the exit. At the doorway, Yue Qiong's personal guards blocked his path, yet the man remained unflustered, standing still with a smile. Yue Qiong sighed, "My thanks for the Path. You may go."
Only then did the guards outside permit passage. The young man exited the camp gate and soon vanished beyond the encampment.
Inside the tent, Yue Qiong gazed at the ashes on the ground, his eyes deepening with thought.
He had never imagined—never imagined that the reason for the two hundred thousand troops lay with the Rong people.
Even more unimaginable was that the messenger delivering this news turned out to be Yan Chi.
Precisely because of this, he had wished to question the messenger earlier. Alas, Yan Chi's status as a rebel had been proclaimed throughout the land. Considering his own position, his stance, and his circumstances, it would be difficult for him to march north and resist the Rong barbarians now.
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