The coffin was transported onto the city tower and placed in the middle of the eastern wall. Zheng Fan then sat directly on the coffin lid, his saber laid horizontally beside him.

To outsiders, this scene could be described as incredibly tragic and heroic. In cold-weapon warfare, whether The main general could lead by example, risking his life like ordinary soldiers, often had a tremendous impact on his subordinates’ morale.

Li Fusheng’s forces could be considered the fiercest among the six divisions of the North Border Army, renowned for their ability to tackle the toughest challenges. A major reason for this was Li Fusheng’s habit of always leading the charge in battle; naturally, his men would roar and follow him, fighting to the death without retreating.

At this moment, Zheng Fan wasn’t suddenly trying to emulate Li Fusheng out of desperation; rather, it was because Shatuo Queshi, lying in the coffin, was currently his greatest pillar of support.

If the battle escalated to an uncontrollable level, Shatuo Queshi would no longer be a secret, and Zheng Fan could then ask him for help to escape. When he was alive, Shatuo Queshi had escaped several times when facing thousands of North Border Army cavalry. Now, as a Zombie, his power should have weakened, but the probability of him finding an opponent’s weak point and breaking out with a single person should still be quite high.

As for the other devils, as long as Zheng Fan survived, they could find their own ways to escape. Even if they perished, it would be far better than a collective demise if their lord, Zheng Fan, were to fall.

The troops of the Situ Family were already at the city gates. These troops looked sturdy and possessed the bearing of a strong army.

It was said that in the past, the Tattoo-faced Master once remarked, “Troops are like a blade. If left unused, even the finest blade will rust.”

Even if one insists on wiping it from time to time, if the blade has never tasted blood, it lacks a killer aura. No matter how meticulously cared for, it’s merely a superficially shiny display piece.

Therefore, since the time of the Tattoo-faced Master, Qian State’s West Army Division had expanded its defense zone to include the Southwest and the northern frontier, precisely to keep its “blade” sharp.

Imagine, during this current southern campaign by the Yan Army, if the West Army Division hadn’t acted as the mainstay of the country, the situation in Qian State would likely have collapsed long ago. The so-called “borrowing passage to invade Jin State” would have been unnecessary.

According to this philosophy, among the three great families of Jin State, the Helian Family and Wenren Family were located in the western part of the state. The Wenren Family was comfortably situated with the Helian Family’s territory to their north and numerous small states to their south. Holding a central position among the four major powers, their lands prospered from trade, and they experienced few wars. Thus, among the three great families, the Wenren Family was said to be the wealthiest.

Although the Helian Family’s northern border connected to the Skybreak Mountain range, that section of the mountains also bordered Yan State. Consequently, wild people settlements there had become scarce long ago. Apart from maintaining vigilance against Yan State, the Helian Family rarely had opportunities to deploy their forces. Even against Yan State, they wouldn’t dare to provoke them lightly unless a truly great opportunity presented itself.

In contrast, the Situ Family’s territory not only had numerous wild people settlements to its north in the Skybreak Mountain range but also faced even more wild people tribes dwelling in the vast, boundless Frost Snowfield further to the northeast.

If the threat from the wild people in Jin State were divided into ten parts, the Situ Family alone arguably bore seven or eight of them.

Furthermore, the Situ Family’s southern border abutted Chu State, and for years, the two sides had engaged in skirmishes whenever an opportunity arose.

Their troops were constantly in a state of mobilization and combat readiness, and their opponents were not mere peasant rebels. It would be difficult for such an army not to be fierce.

This was likely one of the reasons why the Yan Emperor wished to negotiate peace with the old head of the Situ Family after the first phase of the war concluded.

At this moment, a detachment of banner-bearing cavalry emerged from the Situ Family’s army, advancing directly to the foot of the city wall.

Zheng Fan raised his hand, signaling his men not to shoot arrows.

He was familiar with this routine; he had done something similar himself beneath the walls of the imperial capital. Compared to his own efforts back then, however, this enemy unit was clearly much more formal.

There was also a civil official in a red robe, holding a yellow scroll, presumably some kind of imperial edict.

“The Emperor of Dacheng has decreed: this mobilization of troops is not intended to wage war against Yan State, but solely to apprehend the pseudo-emperor of Jin State and punish him for his crimes of bringing chaos to the Three Jin!”

Perhaps also considering that the soldiers might not have a high level of literacy, this civil official from Cheng State didn’t read the edict in a formal, literary style but instead shouted its meaning in his own words.

Zheng Fan smiled. The Situ Family considered Yu Ciming a false emperor, but in Yan State, the Yan Emperor himself recognized the legitimacy of Emperor Jin. How could he possibly hand him over? From the perspective of the Jin people, Yu Ciming was indeed a traitorous emperor who had opened the gates to the enemy. But only children concern themselves with distinguishing good people from bad; adults only care about which side their interests lie on.

“My lord, let’s try to stall for some time,” Liang Cheng suggested.

“Unless their commander is a fool, he won’t fall for it,” Zheng Fan replied.

“But what if he really is a fool?”

“Fine.”

Zheng Fan leaned out from the battlements and shouted, “We must request instructions from His Majesty, our Emperor of Yan!”

There was no need to say more; the more one spoke, the more chances there were to misspeak.

The civil official was no pushover either. He retorted, “Then we shall await your good news!”

With that, he pulled on his reins and began to ride back.

Whether the Situ Family actually believed this stalling tactic was doubtful; they most likely didn’t. This was because their troops immediately began to set up camp and started felling nearby trees to prepare siege equipment.

For an ordinary small fort with a small garrison, a contingent of archers providing suppressive fire, followed by a vanguard unit scaling the walls, could often secure a quick victory.

However, this fort itself was not small. Moreover, due to the recent war where the Yan people invaded Jin State, the old fort master had specifically reinforced and raised its walls in a bid to protect it. Currently, within the fort, Zheng Fan’s troops, combined with the two or three hundred personal guards Yu Ciming had brought back, numbered two thousand fighting men, not even counting the able-bodied men of the fort. The Situ Family might be formidable, but unless they were prepared to use their own men’s corpses to build a ramp to the top of the walls, they couldn’t foolishly order a direct assault.

“Back in Qian State, facing walls like these always gave me a headache. Now that the wall is on our side and the enemy is all cavalry, it’s actually quite refreshing,” Zheng Fan joked with Liang Cheng.

“My lord is right. In the future, we must maintain a standing force of foot soldiers in our army, and their numbers cannot be small. They will be crucial for storming cities.”

“Mm.”

At this moment, the blind man silently ascended from below to the city tower, arriving at Zheng Fan’s side.

“Blind Man, what have you been busy with down there all this time?” Zheng Fan asked.

With a major crisis looming, the devils each had their roles and had quickly adapted. The blind man had initially been below, calming the populace, but that task should have been completed much earlier. Yet, he had only come up now that night had fallen.

Truth be told, although Zheng Fan knew that Liang Cheng was the most skilled military strategist among the devils, not having this cunning old devil by his side during critical moments made him feel a distinct lack of security.

“My lord, I previously went among Emperor Jin’s personal guards and managed to get some information from them.”

“Oh? What is it?” Zheng Fan asked curiously.

“I sense that there might be a slight problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes. After Emperor Jin separated from us, his stop for tonight was supposed to be Xinsu City. His next stop after that would be his fief in the region of the capital city.”

“And then?” Zheng Fan suddenly had a premonition that something was amiss.

“Xinsu City is garrisoned by our Yan State city defenders; in fact, a general under Lord Jingnan is stationed there. However, I only learned from questioning those personal guards that as they were approaching Xinsu City, the Situ Family’s army suddenly attacked from outside the city, preventing their contingent from entering Xinsu City.”

“That’s excellent news! It means that even if our own messenger didn’t get through, Xinsu City will definitely send word to the Yan Army about our situation.”

“No, my lord. What I mean is, if Xinsu City is still in the hands of the Yan Army, how did this Situ Family army manage to approach the vicinity of Xinsu City so silently without being detected? Tens of thousands of cavalry could indeed remain hidden if dispersed across the wilderness and valleys. The invasion of Jin State by Lord Jingnan and the Earl of North Border might have seemed like a brilliant strategic move. However, had Emperor Jin not personally opened the South Gate to allow the Yan Army entry, a true battle would have erupted. In that scenario, the Helian and Wenren Families would undoubtedly have received intelligence and coordinated a response. It would have been impossible to achieve such a decisive victory, annihilating the elite forces of both families in one fell swoop.”

At this point, the blind man turned to Liang Cheng and asked, “A Cheng, tell me, isn’t this strange?”

“Jin land was newly annexed, and the hearts of the people had not yet been won. This was why, when the Situ Family rose in rebellion, the local tyrants of the Three Jin responded to their call, quickly forming a sizable force. However, since Xinsu City has not fallen, it would be nearly impossible to ambush it with tens of thousands of cavalry hidden nearby. The Jingnan Army, under Lord Jingnan, is renowned for its strict military discipline. Such an army would not be so careless as to commit such an oversight.”

Zheng Fan rubbed his throbbing temples and asked, “So, are you implying that this Emperor Jin was intentionally delivered to the Situ Family by the Yan Emperor? That the Yan Emperor and the newly enthroned young emperor of the Situ Family have actually struck a private deal?”

If that was true, then what was he doing now?

“My lord, there is actually another possibility,” Liang Cheng said.

“Speak.”

“For decades, a military force has been stationed in Xinsu City—the very force the Wenren Family used to monitor the region of the capital city. Currently, that city is under the control of our Yan Army. If we consider another angle, suppose the Yan Emperor and the Situ Family haven’t made a deal to hand over Emperor Jin like a bargaining chip, and the Yan Army in Xinsu City wasn’t deliberately negligent. Then, the only explanation is that this Situ Family army has been concealed near Xinsu City all along, in a location that Yan Army scouts cannot easily access or reconnoiter.”

Zheng Fan immediately responded, “Hiding in the region of the capital city?”

“That’s the only place they could hide soldiers without being discovered by the Yan Army in Xinsu City. Then, when Emperor Jin’s party was about to enter Xinsu City, they could coordinate the timing. The cavalry from the capital city region could then charge out. This way, even if the Yan Army in Xinsu City detected them, they would have no time to react effectively.”

Zheng Fan chuckled and said, “So, this is Emperor Jin orchestrating his own capture for amusement?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep