Yun Huai strictly followed Jiang Yun’s orders, and no matter how Fan Qi cursed and spoke rudely outside, he tightly closed the city gate and refused to leave. Fan Qi cursed for three days and even gave Yun Huai the title of “Turtle Yun”, mocking Yun Huai’s for being timid and a coward in battle, unworthy of his title as the top general of the Jiang Empire.
Even the soldiers stationed on the city gate tower couldn’t bear to listen anymore, their faces and ears turned red, and they were angry on behalf of their Commander.
Yun Huai said, “The enemy is trying to provoke us in this way, causing us to lose our composure and go to war recklessly. If we open the door to battle because of a few insults and open the gateway that His Highness has worked so hard to build, it is only because we have fallen for the other side’s trickery. It’s fine, let him curse.”
On the fourth day, Fan Qi directly let people get a big sea turtle, which lay across the city on the chariot, and the prominent characters “Yun Huai” written in vermilion ink on the back of the turtle. Fan Qi led his soldiers to shoot arrows and play on the back of the turtle under the city gate, and he even set up colorful banners to make the soldiers untie their pants and pee on the black turtle head.
Fan Qi also said that if Yun Huai still didn’t open the city gate to face the battle, he would replace the words on the turtle’s back with “Jiang Rongyu” tomorrow.
Even if they knew the other party was intentionally angering them, the defending soldiers couldn’t help but feel angry.
“General, this man is rude and impolite and acts nastily. He is truly despicable!”
Yun Huai frowned, but he didn’t care. He was afraid that the other party would insult his Highness in such a shameless way and let the soldiers speak up. If the other party dared to be so baseless, they would retaliate by writing the Crown Prince of Sui’s name on the dog and watering it with horse urine everyday.
Fan Qi continued to play with the turtle, and the deputy general shot an arrow at the back of the turtle, saying, “Is it possible that Yun Huai is truly a reincarnation of a tortoise? He was mocked and humiliated by the general, and he could still shrink inside the turtle’s shell without coming out.”
Fan Qi licked his cracked lips and said, “Ignore him. His Highness has said, let’s open up our hearts and curse. If cursing Yun Huai doesn’t work, then let’s just curse Jiang Rongyu!”
In the evening, Fan Qi suddenly led his troops to launch several small-scale harassment attempts to test the reality of the city’s defense, all of which were repelled by Yun Huai using a Lianyun Crossbow. The Lianyun Crossbow set up on the beacon was not an ordinary crossbow but a continuous crossbow that could fire arrows continuously, which happened to be the nemesis of cavalry. Fan Qi dared not be too eager to fight, so as not to cause casualties to his soldiers. Seeing that the beacon tower was as tightly guarded as an iron barrel, which was difficult to break, he quickly withdrew his troops.
Seven full days have passed, and both sides are still in a stalemate. The Sui army was unable to get any advantage from Jiang Yun. Sui Heng was relaxed with a clear plan in mind. However, some of the generals in the Sui army gradually began to lose their composure.
“Your Highness, Jiang Rongyu has been staying in seclusion for so long, clearly indicating that he is going to fight a defensive battle. He is defending Muyun Pass and trying to use his defense to drag us down. They can afford it, but we cannot. This deputy general has followed Your Highness for so long, but this deputy general has never fought such a suffocating battle! This deputy general will ask for an order to lead the troops to battle tomorrow and forcefully attack the city gates to capture the Muyun Pass!”
“This deputy general also asks for orders to fight!”
For a moment, seven or eight generals kneeled down together.
Sui Heng stood with his hands behind his back in the tent, still staring at the water system map. Upon hearing this, he glanced at the leading general, his eyes cold as frost, and said, “Letting you lead the troops into war is not for you to play with the lives of our soldiers. Retreat.”
The most commonly used method is to launch a strong attack from the front, but with the presence of the Lianyun Crossbow, the Sui army would have to pay a very heavy price in order to capture the city gate.
Sui Heng had an absolute sense of his own ideas when leading troops in battle. Although war was inevitably full of bones, as the Commander, he would not choose this foolish method of piling up the bones of soldiers with heavy casualties unless absolutely necessary.
Sui Heng sneered and added, “Next time you have such a stupid idea, just go get your own military baton and don’t show your face in front of Gu.”
Sui Heng’s military governance was very strict, sometimes it can be called cold-blooded and ruthless. Even the most rebellious and unruly general in the battalion was disciplined and tidied up by him using various cunning methods. The entire Qinglang Battalion feared his authority.
The commander of the Qinglang Battalion in the military and the Crown Prince, who is chatting and laughing with people in the court, are two completely different people. As soon as he arrived in the army, Sui Heng became calm, sharp, and unstoppable, like a cold sword hidden in its sheath, patiently hibernating and waiting for the best opportunity to kill with one strike.
Sui Heng did not want to rashly attack the city. Firstly, he did not want to cause too many casualties, and secondly, he did not dare to underestimate Jiang Yun. If this person had repeatedly obstructed his southern expedition plan and had the luck to assist his advisors with great efforts. After meeting in the river last year, he had already knows that Jiang Yun was a formidable enemy. He cannot make the same mistake again and underestimate this hypocrite.
Sui Heng fold his arms and pondered for a moment, then raised his long eyebrows and called for the brothers Lu Jishi and Lu Anmin.
In the next few days, although the Sui soldiers did not launch a direct attack, they did not give up probing. Fan Qi, due to his bravery, still led the way. This time, he brought a row of huge tanks specifically designed for attacking the city, which the soldiers pushed and collided with the city wall. However, the bricks and stones on the wall were only slightly loose.
The Sui army’s armored vehicles were equipped with heavy armor on the sides to cover the soldiers. The Sui soldiers also had shields on their heads, and the Lianyun crossbow did not play much of a role. Yun Huai informed Jiang Yun of this situation.
Yun Huai was worried. “If the Sui army insists on using this method, at most in half a month, the walls of the beacon tower may not be able to hold up anymore.”
Jiang Yun said, “It’s alright, just hold on. If you can’t hold on, you can retreat to the pass.”
The beacon tower is just the first line of defense, and it was hastily built after a year and a half. Although the city wall is also quite strong, it is far inferior to the repeatedly reinforced Muyun Pass city wall. The goal of delaying the Sui army for so many days and dampening their morale has been achieved on Jiang Yun’s side.
Jiang Yun is thinking about what Sui Heng will be doing at this moment.
Although the Sui soldiers on the opposite side did not give up their intrusion, they were all small-scale exploratory intrusions and did not launch a fierce frontal attack. With the three hundred thousand iron cavalry from the Sui Empire, if they were to launch a fierce attack from the front, even with the presence of a continuous Lianyun Crossbow, the beacon tower would not be able to withstand it for seven days. But in this way, the casualties of the Sui army would be incalculable, and if he were the commander, he would not have chosen such a foolish method from the beginning.
Moreover, the beacon tower is only the first level, not the main gate of the Muyun Pass. Even if a fierce attack tactic were used, Sui Heng would not have used it in this place.
Jiang Yun understands Sui Heng. Sui Heng was not a conservative person and would never choose conservative tactics in tactical arrangements. The Sui army had not made any progress and was definitely waiting for a good opportunity.
Jiang Yun dared not slack off at all. Every day, he had his subordinates take turns inspecting various defenses. If any omissions were found, even if it was just a wall brick that was not strong enough, they should report them to him as soon as possible.
In addition, Jiang Yun also wants to explore Fan Qi’s reality and emptiness.
Jiang Yun called Yun Huai and gave orders.
The next day, Fan Qi once again led the Sui army to the city to curse. Yun Huai rarely showed his face and loudly said, “It’s cold and freezing. Our Highness sympathizes with General Fan for his hard work and is afraid that General Fan might damage your voice by cursing. We have prepared ten jars of thin wine to reward General Fan and all the soldiers.”
Yun Huai ordered the soldiers to climb down the wall and deliver the wine to the enemy’s front line.
Fan Qi was vigilant and didn’t understand what the other party was up to. He gestured to the deputy general with his eyes. The deputy general understood and immediately dismounted, opening the wine jar.
A strong, foul smell rushed towards them.
The deputy general’s expression changed.
It’s a smell that no one who has ever marched and fought in a war is unfamiliar with.
Fan Qi was furious, and his eyes were about to crack. He immediately ordered someone to smash the ten jars of wine and cursed loudly, “Your grandma Jiang Rongyu, how dare you tease Laozi with horse urine!”
The soldiers of the Jiang Empire across the street pulled back a round, and the pent-up frustration they had endured for days finally burst out, laughing loudly.
The deputy general asked, “General, what should we do now?”
Fan Qi gritted his teeth, suppressing his frustration in his heart, saying, “Don’t be fooled. Get on the hook cart.”
Hook carts were used to throw large hooks onto city walls and violently scratch and damage them. This type of tank was not common in this era, and Jiang Yun did not expect the Sui army to have it.
On the first day, the defending of Jiang’s soldiers put a rope around the hook, and the two sides spent the day pulling at each other.
On the second day, Jiang Yun instructed Yun Huai to water the city wall.
It started snowing again at the Muyun Pass in the past two days. Early on the third day, thick ice had formed on the city wall. Hooks could grab onto the wall, but they could not exert any force on the ice surface.
Fan Qi was so angry that his teeth were itching, and he cursed Jiang Yun fiercely before withdrawing his troops.
Both sides are once again deadlocked.
Fan Qi cursed and returned to the camp. Shi Fang happened to approach him. Seeing this, he awkwardly said, “Big brother, why did we withdraw so early today? It seems that we haven’t gained a lot from this battle.”
Fan Qi gritted his teeth and said, “That hypocrite Jiang Rongyu is really cunning. When we break through the Muyun Pass in the future, Laozi must pour three vats of horse piss on him!”
Shi Fang wondered, “Why horse urine?”
Fan Qi had ordered his soldiers to remain silent and not mention today’s events. He scanned left and right to ensure that no one else was present. Then he whispered to Shi Fang.
Shi Fang burst into laughter.
Fan Qi gave him a hard slap and said, “How dare you laugh?”
“Laozi—Laozi is really getting pissed off at that hypocrite!”
The wind and snow are heavier at night.
Zhao Yan brought a copper basin into the tent and served Jimo Qingyu washing his feet.
Jimo Qingyu, after all, is of advanced age. This time, he went south to be responsible for escorting food and supplies, accompanied by his eldest disciple, Zhao Yan, and two other disciples.
A fire pot was set up in the tent, it was warm and not too cold. Jimo Qingyu had already removed his armor and was sitting on the marching bed wearing only a long black robe.
Zhao Yan placed the copper basin on the ground, crouched down, rolled up his sleeves, and personally removed his master’s boots and socks. He asked, “Master, it has been half a month now, and the Muyun Pass is still as solid as an iron barrel, difficult to break through. Are we really going to waste this time here until next spring?”
Jimo Qingyu glanced at him and said, “Who said that?”
Zhao Yan said, “This disciple guessed it.”
The Qinglang Battalion has always been invincible, and this is the first time it has taken so long in front of a city. However, Zhao Yan was puzzled by the Crown Prince’s calm and steady attitude on weekdays.
Jimo Qingyu said mercilessly, “With such a little brain, no wonder you can’t accomplish great things!”
Zhao Yan: “……”
Jimo Qingyu narrowed his eyes and said, “However, the Crown Prince’s style of conduct this time has surprised this old man. It seems that he has indeed grown a lot in the past two years.”
Zhao Yan was surprised to see that his master would privately praise the Crown Prince. In the past, he used to call him by his name and scold him loudly.
“However, it’s still far from enough.” Jimo Qingyu snorted coldly.
“Jiang Rongyu, on the other side, is more calm and composed than him.”
“This old man heard that the other party is even two years younger than him.”
Zhao Yan: “……”
Zhao Yan said, “This disciple heard that His Highness has been busy selecting soldiers for some underwater competition. It’s freezing cold, why is the Crown Prince not using his good cavalry but training sailors instead?”
“Sailor?”
“Yes, it’s the navy that Jiang Yuping, the Guozhu of the Jiang Kingdom, voluntarily offered to His Highness. The disciple heard that His Highness was going to select three hundred elite soldiers from it. During this time, he had people directly smashed a hole in the Yellow River, making those sailors jump into the river like dumplings every day. Is the Crown Prince crazy?”
Jimo Qingyu remained silent.
After a while, he reprimanded his eldest disciple and said, “Have you finished the article assigned to you before departure? Have you read through the newly revised encyclopedia? You only know how to pry into idle matters all day long!”
Zhao Yan was aggrieved and said, “The disciple has been writing, but recently the heavy military affairs have caused some delays…”
“Is the heavy workload of military affairs the reason? Your article is always written with—”
Jimo Qingyu suddenly closed his mouth for a while and said, “This old man also doesn’t need to be angry everyday.”
Zhao Yan knew that his master must have started regretting his inexplicable disappearance again, it was said that his little junior brother’s body had been placed in the Dali Court for a whole year already.
Because of this matter, his master even went to the Crown Prince’s mansion specifically, hoping to make the Crown Prince relax and bury the person as soon as possible to ensure safety.
But the Crown Prince clearly doesn’t have this intention, he is neither retrieves it nor disposing of it. The body is still lying in an ice coffin to this day, and every time his master passes by the entrance of Dali Court, he will vent his anger.
There wasn’t much goodwill toward the Crown Prince because of this.
Zhao Yan was actually very regretful, and he could vaguely understand some of the Crown Prince’s paranoid behavior; after all, even the book said that love drives people crazy. The Crown Prince used to be so infatuated with his inexperienced junior brother, and for a moment, it was probably difficult for him to accept such a cruel fact, so he dared not face the corpse.
At that moment, the attendant reported outside that Secretary Chen was seeking an audience.
Chen Qi held the position of Right Secretary in the Military and Horse Department, responsible for national food and forage affairs. Therefore, this time he was coordinating the food and forage supplies for the Southern Expedition with Jimo Qingyu.
Jimo Qingyu wiped his feet clean, put on his shoes and socks, and let Chen Qi in.
After Yan Bing was dismissed, the position of the Right Prime Minister remained vacant, while the Left Prime Minister Jimo Qingyu became the undisputed leader of civil service officials. Chen Qi was always very respectful in front of Jimo Qingyu. After finishing his business, he took out a box of chilblain cream from his pocket and presented it to him with both hands, saying, “The minister has heard that the Left Prime Minister has recently developed frostbite on his feet. This was made by the minister’s mother using a family-secret recipe. Apply it to the affected area before going to bed every day, no later than seven days, and it should take effect.”
Zhao Yan was delighted.
His master has been suffering from frostbite for the past two days, and his feet are extremely itchy and unbearable at night. He has taken frostbite cream from a military physician, but it has not been effective. That’s why he insists on serving his master to soak his feet and relieve his sores everyday.
Jimo Qingyu glanced at his eldest disciple first.
Then he said coldly, “No need, no merit, no reward. Secretary Chen is full of wisdom and means. Instead of pleasing this old man, who is almost dead, it’s better to focus more on the right path. People, see off the guest.”
Chen Qi tightened his hand slightly as he held the ointment box. After a while, he respectfully bowed and stood up to bid farewell.
Zhao Yan was puzzled and said, “Secretary Chen was also well intentioned. Why did Master refuse?”
After a moment of silence, Jimo Qingyu said, “This man’s heart is not right, and if he is not used well, he will become a great danger.”
When Chen Qi heard this outside the tent, his fists, hidden in his sleeves, were clenched to the point of cackling. This is not the first time Chen Qi has tried to please Jimo Qingyu. During his time in the Sui capital, he repeatedly showed goodwill and even wrote several articles specifically, personally visiting the Left Prime Minister’s Mansion to seek guidance from Jimo Qingyu, but was rejected by Jimo Qingyu.
Chen Qi knew that Jimo Qingyu was not an ordinary person, so he wanted to gain recognition from the other party with his talent in the article. However, to his surprise, the other party did not give him this opportunity. Today, he directly refuted his face in public.
Since he was promoted to the position of the Right Secretary, most people in the court knew that he was a trusted subordinate of the Crown Prince and treated him politely. There were countless people who secretly tried to curry favor with him, but this Jimo Qingyu never gave him a good face.
Chen Qi looked sinister and threw his frostbite cream directly into the snow.
“Brother Chen.”
The brothers, Lu Jishi and Lu Anmin, walked towards him.
After the three of them met, Lu Jishi looked at Chen Qi and said, “Secretary Chen’s complexion is a bit bad, where are you feeling unwell?”
Chen Qi said no, maybe it’s because of the cold.
Lu Jishi smiled and said, “That’s right, after all, Secretary Chen comes from Jiangnan and is accustomed to the warm climate. You may not be able to adapt to the bitter cold in Jiangbei. His Highness just rewarded us brothers with two jars of good wine. Would Secretary Chen like to join us for a drink?”
The Lu Jishi brothers come from Jiangbei and have outstanding talents. During this period, they have been following Sui Heng and training sailors with him. Despite being unable to attack Muyun Pass for a long time, Sui Heng remained calm and composed. Chen Qi knew that Sui Heng must be carrying out a more secretive plan. This plan may only be known to the Lu brothers.
This made Chen Qi feel a subtle threat psychologically.
The Lu brothers, on the other hand, were full of sharpness and liked to suppress Sui Heng everywhere, whether in military discussions or privately offering advice.
Chen Qi said he had something else to do and would definitely accompany them next time, so he said goodbye and left. When he reached the corner, he heard Lu Anmin say to Lu Jishi, “If Elder Brother can help His Highness win the Muyun Pass this time, it will be a great achievement.”
Lu Jishi smiled and said, “Everything depends on His Highness’s careful planning.”
Chen Qi returned to his tent, and his trusted subordinate saw his gloomy expression. He said, “His Highness cannot take control of the Muyun Pass now. Ultimately, it is due to the lack of an insider. If we can contact the people in the pass and open the city gate from within, the Muyun Pass will naturally break through without an attack.”
Chen Qi said, “I’ve thought about this before, but Jiang Rongyu had guarded the Muyun Pass like an iron barrel, and it wasn’t easy to break through from the inside.”
The trust subordinate said, “The subordinate has thought of someone.”
“Who?”
“King Chu, Jiang Lang. It is said that this person is the eldest son of Emperor Jiang and is highly favored by him. He has always been at odds with Jiang Rongyu, but this time Jiang Rongyu forcibly brought Jiang Lang to the Muyun Pass to maintain his position in the court, disregarding his brotherhood. Jiang Lang hates Jiang Rongyu for this. If my lord can get in touch with Jiang Lang, he is probably willing to help my lord. It is said that there are still some former trusted subordinates of Jiang Lang in the Muyun Pass who were deliberately suppressed by Jiang Rongyu and have no real power as well, it should be possible to convey messages.”
Jiang Lang is now under house arrest in the palace, living a life of darkness. He has to deal with food, drink, and urination in the palace every day, which is no different from pigs and dogs. Jiang Lang hates Jiang Yun to the bone and even dreams of breaking him into pieces. Therefore, when he saw the unfamiliar palace attendant who came to deliver the meal, he asked, “Who are you?”
The other person remained silent, and a cold light flashed in his sleeve. A dagger had been pressed against Jiang Lang’s neck.
Jiang Lang was shocked and pale.
“Your Highness, don’t speak. I’m here to help Your Highness.”
That person took a secret letter from their bosom and handed it to Jiang Lang.
After seeing it, Jiang Lang changed his expression slightly. After a while, he gritted his teeth and asked, “If everything is successful, what benefits does this king have?”
“The future master of Jiangnan.”
“As long as Your Highness King Chu is willing to obey our Crown Prince’s command, His Highness the Crown Prince can even assist King Chu in ascending to the throne.”
Jiang Lang took a deep breath with a wicked and excited gleam in his eyes.
He said, “This king can tell you guys about Jiang Rongyu’s weaknesses.”
