Chapter 1308 – Taking Down Huang Song, Unifying Dongqing (Part 50)
Huang Song felt like he’d sighed enough recently to match his entire first half of life, to the point where he feared going bald from worry.
Cheng Jing said, “Liu Xi has stationed heavy troops in Wanzhou; it won’t be easy for Huai Zhen to break through. Please be patient, my Lord.”
Huang Song replied, “I know…”
Wanzhou is Jiang Pengji’s old nest.
She might be off being reckless, but she still holds her old nest dear. Otherwise, if she comes back and finds her place cleaned out, that would be a major headache!
If Wei Ci knew what these two were thinking, he’d probably just smirk and say nothing.
His Majesty here really did have a past like this—fighting ferociously on the front lines while almost losing her home to Qi Guanrang.
If the reinforcements hadn’t arrived in time and Qi Guanrang’s old master hadn’t been a headstrong fool, she would have truly lost her nest.
Even so, she had already lost quite a bit of territory.
【Pufferfish Face.PNG】
In this lifetime, Jiang Pengji assigned Qi Guanrang to guard the nest while she took troops out to fight—an alternative kind of “cyclical retribution,” perhaps?
How strong was Qi Guanrang’s defense? Back when Jiang Pengji first took over Xiangyang County, her troops were scarce; the Green Garment Army sent thousands to attack. Even with the troops sparse inside the city, Qi Guanrang somehow didn’t let the Green Garment Army gain an inch.
That was six or seven years ago, and Qi Guanrang had become even more seasoned and stable since then.
In contrast, Feng Jue seemed a bit younger, with experience not quite matching the shrewd Qi Guanrang, but the gap wasn’t huge.
Since their abilities weren’t that different, the troop numbers under their command would determine the outcome.
With one side attacking and the other defending, the defending side’s combat quality was far superior to that of the attackers.
Qi Guanrang firmly held Garrison Wanzhou, blocking every possible path Feng Jue could take to sneak an attack, ensuring the enemy couldn’t advance a step.
He abandoned his usual cunning ways, becoming steady in defense, no matter how many tricks Feng Jue tried; Qi Guanrang remained unshaken.
Feng Jue tried to deceive his soldiers?
Qi Guanrang was indifferent, not falling for it at all.
Feng Jue sent troops to engage in direct combat?
Perfect, the quality gap was too wide; even if the enemies came, they’d be courting their own suffering.
Feng Jue attempted other tactics, but Qi Guanrang countered them seamlessly, turning the whole Wanzhou defense line into a tight iron barrel—Feng Jue faced months of closed doors! Strong attacks failed, cunning plans went awry, and even attempts to lure out troops fell flat; it was a real tough nut to crack!
Thank goodness it was Feng Jue; otherwise, someone less patient would have flipped the table and yelled!
Feng Jue received news that his older brother Feng Gui had briefly been at the front lines.
“What’s big brother doing here?”
Feng Jue couldn’t help but wonder—could it be—
Big brother has joined Liu Xi?
The mere thought made Feng Jue instinctively shake his head. According to the Feng family’s ways, his big brother Feng Gui wouldn’t join at this time.
He tossed and turned thinking about it, only to find that Feng Gui left after just two days at the front.
Feng Jue: “…”
What trick is Qi Guanrang up to?
After sending scouts to dig around, Feng Jue finally discovered why Feng Gui had been at the front.
It was because of a letter!
This letter was supposedly written by Feng Gui to his third brother, Feng Jue, expressing his willingness to lead the Feng family to submit to Huang Song and help him succeed. Feng Gui wasn’t there for anything else but to explain himself to Qi Guanrang and clear his name—
Feng Jue was momentarily dumbfounded. His brain isn’t stupid; how could he secretly persuade his older brother to lead the Feng family to submit to Huang Song?
If he really did that, his own big brother would be the first to kick him out of the family and then sell him to Qi Guanrang!
Feng Jue might be rebellious, but he wasn’t someone who would disregard his family. How could he persuade his family to betray Jiang Pengji when Huang Song was clearly at a disadvantage? The family wouldn’t agree, and the risk would be tremendous—who would be brave enough to gamble? What he was doing would endanger the entire Feng clan!
Thus, the mere existence of this letter was quite puzzling.
Conspiracy theory time! It might be Qi Guanrang’s little play to test the Feng family’s attitude and stance!
Feng Jue was oblivious to the complex drama surrounding Ta Xue and Liu Xi, so his conspiracy theory seemed the most logical.
“Qi Guanrang, you’ve got some wicked ideas!”
Qi Guanrang: “…”
Unjustly caught in the crossfire!
As time passed and autumn harvest drew near, Feng Jue had yet to make any breakthroughs.
His most successful attempt was breaking the gates of the fort, but the enemy troops showed no fear of death, valiantly holding out for a stick of incense’s worth of time, while hundreds of siege weapons blocked the entrance. Seeing this, all Feng Jue could do was sigh in response. Looking at his own troops, their morale fluctuated like a yo-yo, while the enemy troops—despite facing a breach in their defense—showed no signs of retreat, instead growing bolder in battle.
Feng Jue had an unprecedented urge—people fighting people, it’s infuriating! He really wanted to drag those soldiers back and train them properly!
Communication at the front lines was inconvenient, and after multiple twists and turns, Qi Guanrang’s secret letter finally reached Jiang Pengji.
She examined the seal for any signs of tampering before opening the letter and taking out the paper inside.
“Ta Xue?”
Jiang Pengji read through the contents of the letter in a flash, the familiar image of Ta Xue from years gone by flooding her mind.
Back then, upon noticing something off with Ta Xue, she simply kept her under close watch, then later sent her back to Liu Zhi.
Liu Zhi even arranged a match for Ta Xue, marrying her into a well-off family.
In short, Ta Xue was just an ordinary person, a pawn manipulated by the main system through Liu Zhi’s hands. How could she have taken care of Liu Xi and Jiang Pengji for so many years? As long as she hadn’t committed any unforgivable sins, Jiang Pengji would let her off the hook and allow her to pass away in peace.
Yet—
Ta Xue still ran out recklessly.
Truly stubborn and unyielding.
A hint of disgust flashed in Jiang Pengji’s eyes. If it weren’t for Qi Guanrang, if Ta Xue’s letter had been exposed, it would not only sow discord between her and the Feng family but also lead to an early confrontation between her and Liu Zhi. Moreover, the map Ta Xue smuggled out could deal a devastating blow to the Wanzhou defense line.
After reading the letter, she burned it.
Just as the paper turned to ash, there was a report that Wei Ci had arrived.
“Let Zixiao in.”
Wei Ci brought a food box, making Jiang Pengji realize it was already time for dinner.
“What is the Lord burning?”
Wei Ci caught a whiff of the burnt paper smell in the air and casually asked.
Jiang Pengji replied, “It was documentation of classified reports from the front.”
Wei Ci glanced at Jiang Pengji’s face, noting it looked a bit gloomier than usual, and suspected something was up.
“Is it about Wanzhou—”
Jiang Pengji shook her head, “No, it’s not about a battle.”
After hearing that, Wei Ci didn’t press further; he set out the food box containing a vegetarian dish, a meat dish, and a soup, with a large bowl of freshly cooked white rice at the bottom.
“Eat while it’s hot, my Lord.”
Jiang Pengji started digging into her rice, her earlier agitation fading as her stomach began to feel full.
“Zixiao’s cooking is getting better and better, but the dishes are a bit sparse, making them hard to pair with rice.”
Wei Ci said, “The Lord often says my skills are as delicious as a meal; don’t you think they go better with the dishes?”
Jiang Pengji’s hand froze mid-shovel.
Didn’t expect you to be such a seasoned player!
