Hu Yingming naturally planned to distribute the grain first. Having served as an official for so many years, he deeply understood what a formidable thing popular resentment could be. With so many people mobilized to steal grain, their entry into the city couldn’t possibly have gone unnoticed. The matter of obtaining grain simply couldn’t be concealed. If they didn’t proactively open the granaries to distribute grain, the city would likely erupt in riots by nightfall. When Wu Qianli attacked then, with internal troubles and external threats arriving together, even having the Marquis of Dingyuan’s men wouldn’t solve the problem.
This somewhat contradicted the Prince of Zhennan’s original plan, but the Marquis of Dingyuan quite decisively agreed. “Lord Hu’s concerns are reasonable. Wu Qianli won’t let this matter rest. Unfortunately, our feint attack also failed to lure them completely to the ambush point. Because of this, even though they suffered losses, those losses are very limited. Once they recover, the pressure on Jinzhong will still be extremely great.”
Han Yu also nodded in agreement. “Moreover, if we leave with the grain, the common people will definitely be furious. When popular resentment boils over, Jinzhong absolutely won’t be able to hold. Once we leave and the common people start rioting, we’ll essentially be handing Jinzhong over to Prince Gong. If they occupy a place like Jinzhong, even if we persuade the county magistrate and people of Yangquan and take the route through Yangquan, what use would it be? Without a foundation, we still won’t be able to establish ourselves.”
Not expecting Han Yu to have such insight, both Hu Yingming and the Prince of Zhennan glanced at him. Han Zhengqing himself was formidable in warfare, and the sons he taught turned out to be quite capable as well. Fortunately, this son wasn’t valued by Han Zhengqing.
What they said made sense. The Prince of Zhennan wasn’t someone rigidly bound by outdated thinking. Moreover, it was indeed true—if they abandoned Jinzhong for Yangquan, it would only be sacrificing the greater for the lesser. They wouldn’t get far.
But even if they opened the granaries to distribute grain and gained the people’s trust, Jinzhong would still be in danger when the Marquis of Dingyuan and the Prince of Zhennan eventually had to leave. The most urgent matter at present was how to deal with Wu Qianli.
They had to deal with Wu Qianli, that persistent nuisance, first before they could help Cui Shaoting with peace of mind.
On this point, Hu Yingming had already made plans. “The winds have been strong these past few days. Wu Qianli’s encampment must have been burned terribly. Based on his personality, what do you think he’ll do?”
Having engaged Wu Qianli for over half a year, the Prince of Zhennan naturally understood Wu Qianli’s character well. After a moment’s thought, he frowned. “He’s excessively cautious. Even if we burned all his tents, he probably won’t immediately consider launching an urgent attack.”
Hu Yingming nodded in agreement. “Given his personality, he’s more likely to use underhanded methods, just like when he drove refugees to Jinzhong before.”
Wu Qianli’s initial methods of dealing with Jinzhong had been extremely vicious. He drove large numbers of refugees from nearby towns to the front lines, having them cry out for the gates to be opened. The refugees from nearby towns were mostly related to Jinzhong’s common people by blood or marriage. At first, the common people could still steel their hearts and heed the government’s advice, but later, as wave after wave of people died at the city gates, how could the common people endure it? They all felt the officials were utterly inhuman, forcing the officials to open the city gates to shelter the refugees. Hu Yingming and the Cui family were driven nearly to hanging themselves then, not even daring to sleep for fear the common people would riot at any moment.
In the end, they still couldn’t hold out. Moreover, no one could bear watching innocent refugees die by the dozens or hundreds. Even the soldiers defending the city had some who couldn’t endure it and went mad. So after discussing for a while, they still opened the gates and began trying to shelter the refugees.
But sheltering them created problems. Not only did Wu Qianli take the opportunity to attack, but those surviving refugees who entered the city had no proper work to do. There was only so much land and only so much grain. The drawbacks gradually became exposed, with many incidents of refugees killing, injuring, or robbing people. The officials were simply exhausted running around.
That wasn’t all. Although at first the refugees were all recorded and registered, with officials trying their best to arrange placements for them, there were too many people. With the need to focus on warfare outside as well, they simply couldn’t manage everything. So many spies also infiltrated the city, gathering intelligence, stirring up trouble and disturbing the people’s morale.
Now recalling that previous ordeal, both Hu Yingming and the Prince of Zhennan felt lingering fear, which made them all the more wary of Wu Qianli.
Cui Yingtang explained Wu Qianli’s previous tactics to the Marquis of Dingyuan. The earlier joy from seizing grain had mostly dissipated, replaced by some worry. “This Wu Qianli is both cautiously experienced and quite clever. He’s truly very difficult to deal with.”
The Marquis of Dingyuan stroked his chin with interest and smiled. Hearing it described this way, Wu Qianli was indeed an excellent commander—he could practically be called cunning as a fox, able to consider every aspect.
But precisely because he was too cautious, he was also prone to hesitation. Sometimes caution wasn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when carried to excess.
He looked at the moon, which had at some point hidden behind the clouds, then at the pitch-black sky outside, and couldn’t help smiling again. “Since he’s such a cautious person, he’s definitely on guard against us being prepared. Tonight probably won’t see any more activity. Even if he’s unwilling to find a nearby village or town to settle his men first, such a large group still needs to sleep. Otherwise, in this weather, they could freeze to death.”
The Prince of Zhennan, having been friends with him for many years, understood what he intended as soon as he spoke. “You mean to catch them unprepared while they’re not yet ready?”
The Marquis of Dingyuan nodded. “There’s no better time than now. We’re fully aware of their encampment situation. Before he figures out how to deal with us, we might as well strike first.”
The Prince of Zhennan wasn’t one to hesitate either. After carefully considering the feasibility, he knew the Marquis of Dingyuan’s suggestion couldn’t be more correct. He immediately assembled his troops and divided them into two routes to surround and attack Wu Qianli.
Wu Qianli hadn’t yet prepared the cloth strips he planned to shoot into Jinzhong city the next day when he first faced the formidable enemies—the Marquis of Dingyuan and the Prince of Zhennan—attacking from left and right. Both were battlefield veterans. The Marquis of Dingyuan had countless clever strategies, while the Prince of Zhennan had courage to spare. They had also brought plenty of archers. Wu Qianli’s forces had already been exhausted from traveling back and forth and being busy putting out fires. Caught completely off guard by the Marquis of Dingyuan and the Prince of Zhennan, they suffered heavy losses.
By the time they recovered their senses, the soldiers at the front had already fallen into complete chaos and disorder, turning to flee in all directions. Even though he ordered that anyone who retreated be immediately executed, he still couldn’t stop these soldiers whose courage had already been shattered and who were exhausted beyond measure. Meanwhile, the Prince of Zhennan and Marquis of Dingyuan’s side had rested and waited for the exhausted enemy, and they fought with increasing vigor. For the first time in his life, he was defeated so miserably, leading his personal guards in utter helplessness as they retreated into Baihe Village.
This battle left him completely powerless to fight back. In a single night, the Marquis of Dingyuan and Prince of Zhennan had actually launched two consecutive attacks—something utterly unexpected. Even after retreating into Baihe Village, he still felt as if he were dreaming. Yet he knew clearly it couldn’t be a dream. Barely containing his grief that made his heart bleed, he still had to force himself to tally the casualties and order increased defenses.