Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Jianye Falls
While I was in the secret chambers forcing a confession, Jianye had already prepared its defenses under orders from Shang Weijun . Although the news that the Southern Chu Emperor had fled was deliberately leaked, causing the Imperial Guardsmen to lose their will to fight, Shang Weijun had executed a hundred rumormongering “spies,” doing barely enough to stabilize the morale of the soldiers . Shang Weijun had spent a long time presiding over government affairs . As a result, the Imperial Guardsmen were willing to listen to his orders . However, a mere fifty thousand soldiers were not sufficient to defend the city, creating tremendous difficulties for Shang Weijun . Afterwards, he could only urge all the young men within the city to mount the battlements and prepare for battle . When Great Yong’s advance scouts arrived, Jianye was ready for battle .
The next day, as the eastern morning sun was exposed through the clouds, as dawn broke, several thousand valiant horsemen in black armor began to approach from afar . At their head was a general in black who guided his horse to the top of a small hill, gazing upon the city of Jianye . All the other horsemen spread out . Shortly, they all seemed to have disappeared, leaving the general and a dozen or so personal guards . After a short period of time, one could hear the faint sounds of bugles calling spreading all over . The black armored general accepted the bugle from one of his personal guards and put it to his lips, blowing loudly . The sound was impassioned and mournful . The soldiers on the city battlements all felt their moods become abnormally strained, crying out with fear . Although the defending commanders repeatedly berated their subordinates, one could still hear frightened shouts sound frequently .
The distant Yong horsemen seemed to stand as still as a dense and awe-inspiring forest of tall trees, making no sounds . After a while, one could hear the sounds of the earth trembling could be heard from a distant place . This sound was the rumbling of several tens of thousands of horseshoes trampling the earth . The vibrations were extremely painful to the ear . It wasn’t long before everyone saw from the horizon charge forth thousands upon thousands1 of black armored horsemen . In the beginning, it seemed as if the cavalry were formed into scattered groups of three to five horsemen . As they approached, one could see that the scattered groupings form into orderly military columns, the process was natural and unforced . 2 The cavalry came to a sudden stop a thousand paces away from Jianye’s city walls .
From within the formation, a horseman clad in golden armor and wearing a black cloak slowly spurred his horse out . Following behind him was a personal guard brandishing a large banner . On the banner stitched in blood red were the words, “Grand General of Heavenly Strategies Li . ” At the same moment that the banner was unfurled, the sound of bugles began to sound like a great flood from everywhere . The soaring killing aura and the imposing prestige of the Yong army could not but frighten the Jianye defenders .
A literate Imperial Guard squinted his eyes as he gazed upon the banner . Sighing, he said, “Grand General of Heavenly Strategies Li … the Prince of Yong has come . I’ve heard that he was the most formidable Yong prince . Can we really defend Jianye?”
Standing next to him was a newly conscripted soldier . Apprehensive, he asked, “Wasn’t it said that it was the Prince of Yong commanding the Yong army? Who is this Grand General of Heavenly Strategies Li?”
The Imperial Guard rolled his eyes at the greenhorn, “What do you know? The Grand General of Heavenly Strategies is the Prince of Yong’s official position; the Prince of Yong is his title . It is that the banner the Prince of Yong’s always displays is that of a Grand General . Some say it’s because the Prince of Yong feels that his Grand General official position was the product of his own sweat and labor . As a result, he attaches great importance to this position . Other than this banner, he has a golden dragon banner that he only uses when encamped or when he has won a victory . ”
Envious, the new soldier replied, “Big brother surely knows a lot . ”
Please with himself, the Imperial Guard replied, “That’s only natural . I, your father, saw the Prince of Yong’s army when we were invading Shu back in the day . At that time, they were allied troops . ”
Bang was the sound of a whip lashing against flesh . The Imperial Guard screamed with pain and collapsed to the ground . When everyone turned their head, they saw an officer of the supervisory group staring at them with a tiger eyeing his prey . 3 In a stern voice, the officer said, “You dare to disturb the army’s morale? If we were not confronting the enemy right now,4 this official will first take your worthless life . ”
The Imperial Guard hurriedly climbed to his feet, replying, “This little one does not dare, this little one does not dare . ” Watching the officer walk away, the Imperial Guard spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm on the ground, fiercely cursing the officer under his breath before turning his attention back to the scene below the city walls .
Shang Weijun stood on the battlements, gazing down upon the brave and strong army that was before the city . He calculated in his heart . Although the enemy was strong, they only numbered twenty thousand . If they could sally forth and capture the Prince of Yong, then the current perilous situation would be alleviated . Thinking of this, he turned to the Vice Commander of the Imperial Guards and asked, “The enemy only has twenty thousand troops . Can we sally forth to battle?”
“We don’t have any cavalry,” replied the Vice Commander, “It is best that we remain inside defending the city . ”
Shang Weijun’s brow furrowed . Just then, the enemy soldiers outside the city began to holler, trying to incite battle . Shang Weijun quickly issued the order to prevent any soldier from foolishly leaving the city and had the logs and rocks prepared to defend the city . They all waited for the enemy to attack .
Looking at Jianye from a distance, Li Zhi smiled faintly and said, “I knew that they wouldn’t dare to come out from behind the city walls . ”
Beside him, Sima Xiong, the commander of his personal guards, asked, “Your Highness, we only brought cavalry . How are we going to attack the city?”
Li Zhi smiled and replied, “Be at ease . I have no intention of using cavalry to attack the city . Although Jianye’s defenses are formidable, unfortunately the morale of its defenders are lax and disorganized . I have already prepared agents inside the city . Today, we only need to stay here and take a look . That’s right, have the troops we dispatched reaped any benefits?
“They have,” replied Sima Xiong with a smile, “Your Highness has said that the sovereign of Southern Chu may try to flee before we arrive, and thus dispatched General Chen to block their escape . Our scouts have reported that Zhao Jia has indeed fled . If we are able to bring their captured monarch before the city walls, I wonder if they will obediently surrender?”
“Whether we will be able to capture their sovereign will be based on luck,” replied Li Zhi, “We cannot rely upon it . It’s best we think of something to take the city . Were it not for Shang Weijun being completely hopeless with military affairs, our agents would have been unable to prepare plants inside to help us . Each and every Southern Chu general and soldier valiant and skilled in war have found it difficult to standing with solid footing in Jianye . This is a ridiculous fact for the ages . In comparison, all of our Great Yong’s Imperial Guards were selected from the best of the best . ”
“Although the Imperial Guards are an elite force,” replied Sima Xiong in disagreement, “They pale in comparison to Your Highness’s personal guards . Although this is because the Crown Prince deliberately excludes our men from joining the Imperial Guards, who doesn’t know that only one warrior in a thousand is able to join Your Highness’s personal guards . ”
Li Zhi smiled faintly, not refuting Sima Xiong’s words . His personal guard consisted of three thousand elite cavalry . All of them were a unit of huben5 filled with soldiers willing to die . This time, the twenty thousand troops he had brought were being regarded as the basis for the expansion of his personal guard . Their elite training far surpassed that of the Yong Imperial Guards, not to mention the regular Yong army .
This day, Li Zhi only ordered his army to strut around6 before the city . Shang Weijun did not dare to sally forth from the city to give battle, causing the morale within the Southern Chu army to become increasingly depressed . As dusk arrived, Li Zhi gave the order for his army to retreat ten li away from the city to encamp and rest . Seeing Li Zhi withdraw, Shang Weijun could finally relax . He returned to his official residence . He tried to figure out if he was too cowardly by sending away Consort Shang and the Crown Prince to hide, and considered bringing them back tomorrow . He absentmindedly ate some food and went to sleep with his clothes on in his study . But his sleep was restless, woken repeatedly woken by nightmares .
Shang Weijun suddenly awoke from his nightmares, his forehead covered with sweat . Afterwards, he heard the distant sounds of shouts and cursing . He sat up . Just then the door to the study had been pushed open and a servant rushed in . Seeing that the Prime Minister was awake, the servant called out in an appalled voice, “Daren! Something has happened! The Imperial Guard has revolted!”
Shang Weijun jumped to his feet and opened the window . He could clearly hear the screams outside . Some were screaming “the enemy has entered the city” and some were screaming “the sovereign has already fled, why are we sacrificing ourselves for him?” The majority of the screams weren’t discernable, but some were cursing, while others were instigating the masses . Shang Weijun’s heart was as cold as ice . Suddenly, he saw flames erupt all over the city, the blazes soaring to the Heavens . Shang Weijun looked at the fires stupidly, not knowing what to say .
In the middle of all this, the Yong army had launched a sneak attack on Jianye’s western gate . The gate had been opened and the elite Yong cavalry charged into the city, filled the entire city7 with horsemen in black clothes and armor . Illuminated by the flames, their arrival was as terrible and frightening as demonic monsters . On every street one could hear the tumultuous hubbub8 of soldiers . In the beginning, Southern Chu soldiers had rushed to the western gate in the hopes of driving the Yong army out of the city, but in the face of the cruel slaughter perpetrated by the Yong army, the Southern Chu soldiers quickly broke and the streets were filled with the scattered remnants9fleeing for their lives . The chaos was so much that some of the Southern Chu soldiers even began to break into residences to slaughter and massacre . Within the fire, Jianye shuddered and groaned .
After daybreak, the Yong army had gained full control of the city and began to reestablish order in the city . All of the surrendered Southern Chu soldiers were expelled from and forced into camps outside of the city where they were imprisoned . All of the soldiers who had taken advantage of the chaos were executed, their heads hung publicly . All of the common people of the city were ordered to remain in their homes . The fires had been brought under control and extinguished by the Yong army .
In control of the gates and the key points of the city, the Yong army began to interrogate the residents of the city . Each and every member of the Southern Chu imperial clan and every single individual holding a position rated at sanpin10 were all arrested and imprisoned in the imperial dungeons . Everyone else were ordered to remain in their homes . The entire city was deathly silent . Anyone who dared to leave their homes without permission were punished . Any Southern Chu soldier who dared resist were executed . Shang Weijun had originally intended to take advantage of the chaos to flee, but ended up being captured by the Yong army, and at this moment, imprisoned in the imperial dungeons .
When noon approached, Li Zhi entered the city . Looking at the bloodstained streets, Li Zhi smiled faintly and said, “If it weren’t for the incompetence of Southern Chu’s sovereign and officials, it would not have been so easy for us to capture Jianye . ”
Cautiously surveying their surroundings, Sima Xiong replied, “Your Highness, this subject has already received a report, there are only court ladies and eunuchs left in the Palace . All of the ladies sent from Great Yong are there, but all of the children they produced have been taken away . Consort Shang and the Crown Prince were not in the Palace . After investigation, it is likely that they were sent away by Shang Weijun . ”
Thinking it over, Li Zhi replied, “As for the Yong ladies, send someone to ask them if they are willing to return back to their home country and have them prepare to leave . If we capture Zhao Jia, have them continue to attend to him . If he is not captured, then allow them to return to their homes . Shang Weijun is the father of Consort Shang, and is of extreme importance . He must not be allowed to commit suicide . Take good care of him and bring him along when we go back . As for the other officials, don’t worry about them . Release them when we leave . ”
As the two were slowly making their way through the city, a horseman rushed forward . When he was close to the two, he reported, “General Chen’s scouts have reported in . They have captured Zhao Jia . ”
“They’ve captured him?” asked Li Zhi, pleasantly surprised, “Where is he?”
“General Chen personally led a unit to pursue,” replied the horseman, “Following the report from our agents, we were able to capture all of them . General Chen reports that the three thousand Imperial Guards escorting Zhao Jia have all been separately annihilated . All of the royal clansmen have been captured . Zhao Jia was easily captured . They are being escorted to Jianye and should arrive tomorrow . ”
“Order General Huang to lead a unit to reinforce General Chen,” commanded Li Zhi, “Zhao Jia must be brought safely to Jianye . ” After giving the order, Li Zhi smiled faintly and continued, “Finally accomplished the mission . If we were unable to capture Zhao Jia, then this trip would have been in vain . Sima Xiong, do you remember the task I entrusted to you? I am a bit ill at ease . You will immediately go personally and ensure that location’s safety . ”
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