Chapter 1296 – Defeat Huang Song, Unite Dongqing (Part Thirty-Eight)
“Anyone can brag, but being able to turn said bragging into reality—now that’s impressive.”
Jiang Pengji declared boldly, “This year, I will confront Huang Song and unify the four nations in seven years, naturally requiring significant effort.”
Currently, the most pressing matter was to dispatch troops to intercept Huang Song’s main forces, ensuring they couldn’t advance into the San Mountain Gorge. If Hujun was secured, the subsequent battles would be easier. This was clear not just to Jiang Pengji and her team, but also to Huang Song’s side.
However, Jiang Pengji was destined to be Huang Song’s nemesis. Before he could even recover from the delight of breaching Hujun’s defenses and capturing Zhonghe County, news struck him like a bolt from the blue, scorching him from the inside out; nearly all of his rationality shattered!
【Yuan Xin nearly killed Military Adviser Nie Xun on the battlefield.】
【Yuan Xin heedlessly trusted Hua Yuan’s suggestions, opting for a scorched earth policy, leading to the loss of food supplies in Chenzhou.】
【Yuan Xin, drunken and violent, sought to kill a vice general who violated military orders, only for that vice general to team up with another vice general and assassinate Yuan Xin.】
【Chenzhou is now critically short on supplies; Military Adviser Nie Xun, injured, is reorganizing the forces within, intercepting the enemy from Cangzhou.】
These four messages left Huang Song dazed, and the truly shocking part? They didn’t occur at the same time!
What did that mean?
It implied someone had deliberately suppressed the news from the rear, deceiving both upper and lower ranks, preventing Huang Song from being informed of the situation in a timely manner!
Huang Song barely suppressed his raging fury; fortunately, Yuan Xin was already dead. If he had still been alive, Huang Song would have been tempted to draw his blade against him.
He cast a grim look towards the Messenger and hoarsely asked, “Who ordered you to deliver this news?”
The Messenger replied, “Military Adviser Nie ordered me to ensure the news reaches the Lord at the fastest speed possible.”
Huang Song followed up, “When was Military Adviser Nie injured?”
The Messenger answered, “About a month and a half ago.”
Huang Song continued, “When did General Yuan Xin die? When did the food get stolen in Chenzhou?”
The Messenger was sweating profusely, “The food theft happened half a month after Military Adviser Nie was injured, then a fortnight later, General Yuan Xin was assassinated.”
Huang Song was burning with rage, the veins on his forehead bulging, his gaze filled with horror.
“From the front lines of Chenzhou to here, it only takes about a week for a fast horse to make the journey—why did these messages delay for four or five weeks!”
Huang Song’s fury was unquenchable, and the Messenger bore the brunt of it, trembling from head to toe, not daring to interject.
The Messenger stammered, “This… it’s because… because General Yuan Xin ordered…”
Before he could finish, Huang Song understood, and his worst fears were confirmed.
He felt like a punctured balloon, his anger dropping from its peak to the lowest point, a pallor of despair crossing his brow.
Huang Song truly regretted this moment, lamenting that he had given Yuan Xin a second chance under the impression he would sincerely repent after his previous offense!
He should have listened to Feng Jue and the others’ advice—
Yuan Xin was petty; his apology was just a guise and shouldn’t have been taken to heart.
Nie Xun had grievances against him, and even if they imitated ancient practices of repentance, there was no way these two would achieve a “Harmony of Rulers and Subjects.”
A prophetic misjudgment!
Yet, Huang Song was bound by interpersonal ties to grant Yuan Xin some leniency, recalling that Yuan Xin’s young son was killed while protecting him from a stray arrow—he remembered that debt. He wasn’t heartless or ungrateful but felt obliged to show Yuan Xin some consideration.
What resulted from that?
Sigh, it was all self-inflicted!
If he had followed Feng Jue and Cheng Jing’s advice, continuing to keep Yuan Xin sidelined or separating him from the other officers, they wouldn’t find themselves in this situation now.
Huang Song knew very well that Yuan Xin was taking advantage of his feelings of guilt and familial ties, acting out, and aside from a few who could keep him in check, very few were able to suppress him. But what good did that knowledge do? He couldn’t just dismiss Yuan Xin because of his targeted actions against Nie Xun.
Before the Chenzhou incident, Yuan Xin’s biggest mistakes were merely targeting Nie Xun, reporting secretly, and ruining internal unity.
Huang Song might have let him cool his heels for a spell as punishment; after all, he intended to use him again when the tempest passed.
Little did he expect, Yuan Xin quietly caused a major incident, injuring Nie Xun and suppressing the news.
One mistake led to another, and in the end, Yuan Xin got Chenzhou’s food supplies snatched up by the mysterious Hua Yuan.
Huang Song gravely informed his subordinates of the situation.
Everyone was shocked into silence, unable to believe Yuan Xin had such audacity.
Cheng Jing rubbed his temples in frustration.
Yuan Xin had turned an advantageous situation into a disadvantageous one all on his own—truly a talented individual!
He could face death with ease, but the Lord had to clean up the mess from his foolishness.
Cheng Jing frowned in contemplation, as a certain strategist from Huang Song’s ranks stepped forward, cupping his hands, “My Lord, General Yuan Xin has died; dwelling on his mistakes now is pointless. The utmost priority is to resolve our immediate predicament—Chenzhou’s forces are insufficient, and supplies are lacking. Military Adviser Nie is injured, and we don’t know how much longer he can hold out. Please decide quickly, whether to send troops to aid Chenzhou or… abandon it…”
As he spoke the last part, the strategist’s voice trailed off.
If they ignored Chenzhou, once the enemy chose to besiege, even doing nothing would lead to its downfall.
Let’s not forget, there are nearly a million common people within Chenzhou!
The military camp still has provisions to last a few days, but a million people need to eat!
Not every household has a food reserve, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be much. Many common people routinely buy grain from merchants, with the merchants obtaining it partly from the populace and partly from major granaries.
The grain purchased from granaries is generally old stock from the previous year or even two to three years past, priced lower than fresh grain.
The common people are just glad to have something to eat; they wouldn’t fuss over whether it’s fresh or stale!
Yuan Xin had whisked away all the supplies from the granaries—how would they bridge that gap?
The strategist’s words hinted at another layer of meaning—
If Huang Song chose to aid Chenzhou, he would face a grain shortfall of several million stones, alongside starving common people; might it be better to decisively abandon it altogether?
Abandoning Chenzhou also meant relinquishing Nie Xun and the thousands of soldiers stationed there.
What to do?
What choice to make?
Huang Song found himself wavering, like a blind man standing on the edge of a cliff, with the precipice before him and a ferocious tiger behind.
“My Lord, we mustn’t delay!”
“Please make your decision soon!”
Everyone urged, and Huang Song turned his gaze towards Cheng Jing, seeking counsel on how to decide.
Cheng Jing pondered for a moment before solemnly saying, “My Lord, please prioritize the bigger picture!”
Sending troops back to aid Chenzhou is tantamount to digging one’s own grave; if they aggressively attack Hujun, there remains a glimmer of hope.
