solved in Xinyang

the handsome youth before her and smiled wryly. "Fifth brother has grown up; you really look like your aunt now. Back when we left the capital city, you were just a little kid." Xu Qingyan instantly...135. Xinyang Captured

135. The Fall of Xinyang

Xinyang City

On the city wall, Leng Qingyu glared at the distant flags and banners rolling in. Xinyang had been under siege for over ten days; if it couldn't be relieved soon, even without the Western Capital army breaking through, it would collapse internally from within. Moreover, half of the reinforcements that had just arrived at the border were already casualties, and Nan Hou’s heir was missing on the battlefield, further lowering morale among the garrison soldiers. If not for the death of Xinyang's commanding general and no one to take charge, Leng Qingyu might not even be able to stand on the city wall.

"General Leng, when will the reinforcements from the imperial court arrive!" A tired-looking officer rushed over and asked Leng Qingyu without any courtesy. Originally, these officers were very dissatisfied with this young general who had risen to become a military commander. Now that he hadn't even arrived at the border before being defeated by the Southern Pacifying King of Western Capital, everyone looked down on him even more. But偏偏他是鎮國大將軍的兒子，皇帝親封的大將軍。偏偏他又確實是鎮國大將軍之子，且被皇帝親自冊封為大將軍。信陽城守將陣亡，他就是信陽最高的指揮官。表麵上雖然恭敬有加，但冇人知道他們心裡在想什麼。至於那些高級將領更是連表麵功夫都懶得做。

Worried about this situation, Leng Qingyu's stern face flashed with humiliation and anger. He had always been successful since childhood and relied on his own abilities to become the commander of the Imperial Guard in the capital city, one of the top young talents in Chu Capital. But now that he was facing difficulties at every turn, it left him feeling somewhat hesitant and doubtful.

With a frown, Leng Qingyu said, "They will arrive when they should; General, please wait calmly."

The man's face darkened as he replied, "I can wait, but Xinyang City cannot! Look at the city walls and inside the city—how long do you think Xinyang can hold out!"

"Silence!" Leng Qingyu barked loudly, his eyes piercing into the man in front of him like a sharp arrow. He said coldly, "Xinyang City will not fall."

The man was startled by Leng Qingyu's murderous gaze and turned around with a light snort, saying, "If General Leng has such confidence, I'll wait to see!" With that, he flung his sleeves and quickly walked away. Seeing the other person's resolute departure, Leng Qingyu’s eyes became more sinister; but looking back at the endless enemy troops in the distance, all he could do was suppress his anger.

The drumbeat below the city wall suddenly thundered loudly, startling Leng Qingyu to look far away. The previously stationary flags and banners began to move. Taking a deep breath, Leng Qingyu shouted loudly, "Defend the city!"

On the walls and below them, the two armies once again engaged in fierce fighting. And the defending side had clearly shown signs of fatigue and weakness, making the soldiers on the ground even more excited to attack.

In some high-rise building in Xinyang City, a window opened diagonally, and shouts and battle cries from the city gate direction echoed inside. A plain-looking man said solemnly, "Xinyang is no longer defendable; let's prepare for evacuation."

Another man frowned and asked, "Should we ask General Yuan to support them from the outside The princess and reinforcements are already on their way halfway.

The first man shook his head and said, "It’s useless. Haven’t you noticed that the Western Capital army's offensive has become much more fierce these two days Southern Pacifying King must be willing to pay any price to capture Xinyang City. Leng Qingyu can't control the soldiers of Xinyang, so even if General Yuan leads troops to harass them from outside for a few days, it won’t stop them for long and might also drag General Yuan’s forces into danger."

"Alright then, send a message immediately asking General Yuan to leave the battlefield and return to Jiangxia. You go ahead first; I’ll stay behind to handle matters in Xinyang City."

"Okay, be careful."

The man turned and hurried downstairs toward the residence of Xiangyang City's governor.

In Western Capital’s military camp:

Duke Taizhen sat calmly in a comfortable chair, propping his chin with one hand as he closed his eyes to rest while waiting for news. He was sure that within today they would hear the news of Xiangyang City's fall; although the youngster there had some talent, he was still too inexperienced to turn the tide in this situation. Thinking about all the grain, cloth, gold, and silver in Xiangyang City becoming his resources for attacking the Great Chu Kingdom made him feel elated.

"How is Yuan Pei's preparation going" Duke Taizhen recalled something and asked with his eyes open.

The officers seated below immediately stood up to report, "Following Your Highness’s orders, our army has secretly prepared the route back to Jiangxia. Although we haven't found Yuan Pei's troops for now, once Xiangyang falls, he will definitely return to Jiangxia, and then it won’t be difficult to catch him."

Duke Taizhen nodded contentedly, "Very good."

Outside the tent, the sound of a gong signaled the troops to retreat. The smile on Duke Taizhen’s face deepened as he stood up and said with delight, "Xiangyang has fallen!"

All the officers had happy expressions; they congratulated him, but Duke Taizhen shook his head, saying, “No, it's a celebration for all of us. With Xiangyang in our hands, we stand invincible when attacking the Great Chu Kingdom. This time, indeed heaven blesses Western Capital.” All the officers chorused, "Heaven blesses Western Capital."

Outside the tent, the hurried footsteps of a messenger soldier could be heard. He reported loudly, “Your Highness, Xiangyang City has fallen!”

"Good! What about that boy in charge of defending the city" Duke Taizhen asked.

The messenger soldier hesitated and said, "The main commander of Xiangyang, Leng Qingyu, hasn't been found."

Hearing this, Duke Taizhen couldn’t help but frown. He waved his hand and ordered, "Go investigate again; report as soon as you have any news."

"Yes!"

After an hour, the soldiers who had gone to attack the city returned to camp. Joy prevailed in the tent, except for Duke Taizhen, whose brow was furrowed. Seeing this, someone below asked, "Your Highness, is there anything wrong" Duke Taizhen shook his head and said, “I don’t know; I have a feeling that something’s not quite right…”

"Your Highness, it's grave news!" Someone shouted from outside the tent.

Duke Taizhen felt his heart sink as he coldly asked, "What is it What happened in Xiangyang City" The person reported, “The grain and provisions that should have been in Xiangyang City are mysteriously missing, with less than 20% remaining!”

“What!

The crowd was shocked. "Does this mean the people of Dong Chu knew they were doomed to lose and moved their supplies beforehand"

"Impossible, not even a mosquito could escape from Xinyang after it was surrounded. How could such large quantities of grain and silver be taken away"

Prince Zhen Nan's face darkened as he asked in a stern voice, "What else has happened"

A soldier glanced at Prince Zhen Nan's expression and nervously reported, "The treasury silver from Xinyang City’s government offices, along with the current cash and banknotes of several money houses, have all disappeared. Now there is less than a third of the original amount in circulation in Xinyang."

The large tent fell silent as the generals glanced at Prince Zhen Nan's expression but no one dared to speak up. Although Xinyang was not Dong Chu’s wealthiest city, it was indeed where the greatest amounts of military supplies were stored and among the top five cities for commercial trade in Greater Chu. Even though their trading partners were Western Capital. Everyone had coveted this place because of its countless grains and gold and silver; yet now… nothing remained.

"Well!" After a long pause, Prince Zhen Nan suddenly sneered coldly: "How clever of the Prince Ding's residence to be so thorough!"

The crowd was taken aback. Someone questioned doubtfully, "Prince, do you mean it is Prince Ding’s residence that did this"

Prince Zhen Nan smiled and said, “Besides Prince Ding’s residence, who could move such large quantities of grain so quickly without anyone knowing”

"But isn’t the Prince Ding in Northern Rong"

The prince laughed. "This means that Prince Ding's residence has someone far more capable."

“Prince, General Zheng just issued orders to massacre the city!” A soldier rushed in to report.

"Rubbish!" Prince Zhen Nan slammed his hand on the table and shouted sternly: "Who gave this order"

The soldier was startled by the prince’s anger and quickly replied, “General Zheng… while General Zheng was taking something from a pawnshop with his men, he got into a conflict with the city's civilians. Then… then General Zheng ordered to massacre the city…”

"Immediately send out an order in my name to stop this massacre! Any violators will be executed on the spot. Order General Zheng and General Bian to come see me immediately."

“Yes, Your Highness!”

In the large tent, all the soldiers exchanged glances with each other. "Prince, those people from Dong Chu are already dead, so why not just let them be Keeping them alive is a waste of food."

"That's right, Your Highness. We didn't gain anything after capturing Xinyang; why don't we just kill all the people from Dong Chu to teach them a lesson."

The Southern Marshal coldly said: "Stupid! How many people are there in Dong Chu Can you really kill everyone Now, only Dong Chu's army resists us. If the citizens find out about the massacre, they will all unite against us."

Many did not take it seriously and said, "If Dong Chu’s armies can’t defeat us, what use are a few commoners"

The Southern Marshal sternly said: “In short, without my order, none of you shall casually kill the civilians in Dong Chu.”

"Reporting to Your Highness. Yuan Pei led tens of thousands of Mohist soldiers out of encirclement and headed towards Jiangxia."

Upon hearing this, a frown appeared on the Southern Marshal’s face: "What happened"

"The troops sent by Crown Prince to intercept Yuan Pei were ambushed and wiped out. Moreover, it seems that Yuan Pei is very familiar with our army's layout and terrain, leading his men in several directions through the gaps in our forces. Although they lost some soldiers, the main body of Mohist’s army didn't suffer major losses."

"Reporting to Your Highness, we just received news from the Southern Army. Three days ago, Crown Prince was attacked and severely injured."

The Southern Marshal suddenly stood up: "How is Teng Feng"

"Crown Prince’s life is no longer in danger, but his injuries are severe; he may not be able to command for a while."

The Southern Marshal bowed his head and thought for a long time, gradually suppressing the anger in his heart. He waved his hand: "I understand this situation now. You can leave."

In the originally jubilant tent, the atmosphere became gloomy due to these successive pieces of news. After a while, he chuckled softly: "Well done, Prince Ding's mansion indeed has many capable people; in this round, I truly haven't won."

"Your Highness"

The Southern Marshal said calmly with a wave of his hand: "Forget it. Send someone to tell Teng Feng that the Southern Army will have another person take over command from now on, and he should come to Xinyang as soon as possible." He continued, "Regardless of how things turn out, Xinyang is ours. Let him handle everything; I don’t believe those supplies and gold can fly away! They must still be in the city."

"Yes, Your Highness."erced, Ye Li fell off a cliff in the unknown, while Mo Xiuyao turned overnight into an old man for her sake. Mo Jingqi knew these were things he could never have."Did His Majesty summon this concubine...