0p0 Chapter 347 The Final Solution to the Crisis in Fengcheng
Chapter 347 The Final Solution to the Crisis in Fengcheng
The atmosphere became somewhat somber for a moment.
Yang Zilan plopped down in a chair, looking dejected.
"Nothing works, nothing works, it's so frustrating! Your Highness, it seems we can't count on the Song army at all; the Yue army shows no sign of withdrawing..."
Huang Shuo didn't have that many thoughts. In his view, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.
"If all else fails, I'll protect you and help you escape!"
"No! I will live and die with Fengcheng!"
Gu Jiancheng resolutely blocked the railway.
Yang Zilan immediately agreed.
"Your Highness! Me too!"
Gu Jiancheng looked at Yang Zilan's still somewhat immature face and patted her shoulder hard.
"Alright! Zilan! At this critical moment, we cannot place our hopes on others; we can only rely on ourselves! We should no longer think about receiving aid from the Song army, nor should we think about whether we will receive reinforcements from General Qin Shao!"
We brothers will join forces to defend Fengcheng! Even if we bleed to death, we will protect it!
Yang Zilan's eyes suddenly lit up, and her face flushed with excitement.
Brother! His Highness Prince Cheng treats him like a brother!
"Very well! I will obey Your Highness's orders!"
Seeing this, what could Huang Shuo say? He could only risk his life to accompany him!
At this time, in the Vietnamese army camp.
A general rode his horse toward Liang Changping, dismounted, and bowed to report.
"Reporting to the General, the Xia army has run out of specially made crossbow bolts. We have come to ask the General whether we should launch a full-scale offensive now?"
Liang Changping didn't say much, but simply waved his hand and said loudly:
"start!"
The general hurriedly mounted his horse and charged toward the city wall, shouting along the way.
"The general has given the order! All soldiers, charge!"
Waves of Vietnamese soldiers rushed toward the walls of Fengcheng and climbed the ladders to the top of the city.
Liang Changping watched this scene with unwavering confidence and burst into laughter.
"The day has finally come! Hu Yidao! Fengcheng, which you swore to defend to the death, is finally going to fall into my hands!"
Just then, a man who looked like an imperial guard rode up on horseback, but fell off his horse before he even got close.
Two soldiers rushed forward to help the Imperial Guard up. The guard looked disheveled, with messy hair, rumpled clothes, and a dusty face.
Supported by soldiers, the imperial guards staggered toward Liang Changping, crying out loudly to him.
"General! General!"
Liang Changping looked at the Imperial Guard in surprise, only to see the guard trembling as he took out a secret edict from his robes and presented it to the deputy general, who hurriedly took it and handed it to Liang Changping.
The imperial guards were panting heavily, their faces showing fear.
"General! Chu Yang... Chu Yang is trapped... Your Majesty, Your Majesty orders you to immediately withdraw your troops and relieve the siege of Chu Yang!"
Liang Changping was shocked and hurriedly unfolded the secret edict in his hand. After reading it quickly, he looked at the Imperial Guard in disbelief, his mouth agape, almost as if he could swallow his fist.
"Song army? How is that possible? Could it be Xia army in disguise?"
To be honest, it's no wonder Liang Changping had this guess. The Song Emperor was incredibly well hidden. Over the years, not only did the Xia Emperor not expect it, but no one in the Yue Kingdom knew that the Song Kingdom would create such an unexpected navy.
The Imperial Guards were parched, swallowed non-existent saliva, and stammered.
"It is indeed the Song army...they...they came from the sea..."
"maritime?!"
Liang Changping was struck dumb, his body swayed, and he almost fell off his horse!
He doesn't believe it, absolutely doesn't believe it!
But in his hand was a secret letter personally written by Emperor Tian Shang of Yue, stamped with the imperial seal, ordering him to return to Chuyang City immediately.
He could not disobey the imperial decree. Besides, if Chuyang City, the capital of Yue, fell into the hands of the Song army, what good would it do even if he captured Fengcheng?
Could he possibly declare himself king and fight to the death with the Xia and Song kingdoms?
Liang Changping was at least self-aware enough to know that he wasn't destined to be emperor!
Even the shrewd and calculating Tian Shang hadn't anticipated the Song army's surprise attack on Chuyang City. He, a general who only knew how to lead troops into battle…
Thinking of this, Liang Changping's eyes were filled with grief and resentment. Looking at the Fengcheng city wall that was so close at hand, he suddenly looked up at the sky and roared.
"Fate! It's all fate!"
Outside Chuyang City, countless Song soldiers were at the city gates, which remained tightly shut.
There were only a few Vietnamese soldiers on the city wall, and they were all trembling with fear, their hands holding the bows and arrows shaking slightly.
Everyone knows that the Yue Kingdom mobilized the entire nation's strength, determined to annex the Xia Kingdom in one fell swoop. The two countries were at war, so what was the Song army doing under the city walls?
What the hell?
But the flags of the Song state were fluttering in the wind, making it impossible to pretend not to see them.
The soldiers defending the city were all wailing in their hearts, "Heaven is going to destroy my Yue Kingdom!"
Inside the Song army's tent, General Gao was leisurely washing, brewing, and drinking tea.
The entire operation was performed flawlessly.
Guan Liushui sat opposite General Gao, and looking at the general's calm and composed expression, his face twitched involuntarily.
"General Gao, don't you want to take advantage of the current vulnerability of Chuyang City, seize it in one fell swoop, and head straight for the imperial palace?"
While Guan Liushui spoke politely, countless impolite thoughts flashed through his mind.
What does it mean to remain inactive?
Are you just putting on an act and playing house?
I really can't understand it by watching the flowing water.
A cup of tea was slowly pushed in front of Guan Liushui, and General Gao had a profound and unfathomable smile on his lips.
"The three groups of people sent out from Chuyang City to request help have been gone for five days now. I ordered the soldiers to let them pass without hindrance. Liang Changping should have received the news by now..."
Guan Liushui tried to put himself in Gao's shoes and understand the true meaning behind Gao's words.
"Is General Gao waiting for Liang Changping to lead the Vietnamese army to relieve the siege?"
"if not?"
General Gao asked Guan Liushui a question in return, and then sighed, seemingly with a sense of helplessness.
"My emperor did not order me to attack Chuyang City. He just made a show of attacking it a couple of times. As long as Liang Changping withdraws his troops from Fengcheng, your predicament in the south will be resolved, and my mission will be complete."
Damn it! ! !
Guan Liushui silently cursed under his breath.
The people of Song are all really good at putting on airs!
General Gao appears harmless and honest, but deep down he is cunning and treacherous, no less so than Emperor Song.
They don't want to suffer any loss, not even a single soldier!
This not only intimidated the Yue Kingdom, but also made the Xia Kingdom owe the Song Kingdom a huge favor!
Guan Liushui took a sip of tea to calm himself down, then used the teacup to cover half of his face, quickly concealing his disdainful expression.
Upon closer reflection, General Gao's actions were indeed something that Xia Kingdom could not find fault with. If it were him, this would be the safest and least risky option.
"So that's how it is. Emperor Song still wants to maintain the tripartite balance of power, with Xia and Yue checking each other. Emperor Song's survival in this gap is quite comfortable!"
General Gao seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in Guan Liushui's words, and smiled faintly.
"We're all neighbors, why bother? It's just that your two families are so big and powerful, while our family may be small, but it's still quite complete!"
"General Gao plans to withdraw his troops as soon as he receives intelligence that the Vietnamese army is on its way?"
Guan Liushui continued to press for answers.
General Gao looked very serious as he analyzed the current problems with Guan Liushui.
“We are good at naval warfare but not at land warfare. We definitely can’t win in a fight. The only safe option is to retreat to the sea. I don’t think Liang Changping would dare to go to sea and fight us, would he?”
Firstly, he had no warships, and secondly, he had no navy. You know, when I first boarded the ship, I was seasick for over three months before I got used to it!
As he spoke, General Gao leaned over and patted Guan Liushui on the shoulder in a rather affectionate manner.
"Your Excellency, it is truly not easy for our Song Kingdom to build a navy!"
Ha ha!
Guan Liushui finally understood that this powerful navy was the Song Kingdom's trump card. As long as this navy existed, it could deter the Xia and Yue kingdoms.
It seems that the Song Emperor gave General Gao a death order: to resolve the crisis in Fengcheng of Xia State without losing a single soldier and simply by putting on a show.
But the Yue emperor certainly wouldn't think that way!
Given Tian Shang's warlike nature, he would definitely believe that since the Song army already had such a great advantage in combat power, the right thing to do was to take advantage of their weakness and seize Chuyang. Otherwise, he would not have sent three batches of troops out of the city to ask for reinforcements.
When it comes to cunning, the Song emperors considered themselves second to none!
Guan Liushui was speechless. He could only raise his teacup and offer a toast to General Gao.
"Then I wish General Gao all the best in advance!"