Ten li outside Xinyang city, tens of thousands of Western Ling troops eyed the distant city hungrily. That city held more attraction and significance than a mere border town. It contained countless supplies and military provisions, the wealth and prosperity of the northwest’s greatest city – it would become their true first step in conquering Da Chu. In the commander’s tent, the nearly fifty-year-old King of Zhengnan sat behind his desk. After reading a report just delivered by his subordinate, he suddenly burst into wild laughter. The commanders below exchanged glances, unsure what had made their lord so happy. When he finished laughing, he exclaimed loudly, “Mo Liufang! To think your day would come! If you were still alive to see your Prince Ding’s household reduced to this state, would you regret it?!”
The commanders exchanged glances, and one stepped forward to ask, “My lord, is there good news?”
The King of Zhengnan casually passed over the report while smiling at everyone: “Prince Ding’s household truly has no worthy successors, actually letting a woman command their army!” The commander who read the report also showed surprise, saying, “The Marquis of Nan as Vice Commander, and Prince Ding’s Princess Consort as military supervisor? What is Da Chu thinking?”
The King of Zhengnan snorted lightly and said, “They had no choice. This king has heard of the Marquis of Nan – he’s known for staying neutral and uninvolved in affairs. He might make a decent general, but he cannot command the Mo Family Army. Moreover, the Mo Family Army’s command authority isn’t so easily taken.”
“Could it be that the Mo Family Army is now controlled by that Princess Consort?” the commander asked in shock.
The King of Zhengnan nodded, smiling thoughtfully: “Indeed. Mo Xiuyao is far away in Northern Rong and can’t return in time. Without Mo Xiuyao, Prince Ding’s household has no one capable of leading troops into battle, so command has fallen to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.” The commanders below grew excited, conferring among themselves briefly before one stepped forward to say, “If that’s the case, my lord, we should take this opportunity to deal with the Mo Family Army. Better than letting them reunite with Prince Ding and cause trouble for our eastern campaign against Da Chu!”
The King of Zhengnan narrowed his eyes slightly, his right hand carelessly stroking his empty left sleeve as he said, “Though this king wishes to cross swords with Mo Xiuyao, a commander must not fight out of personal feelings. This time is truly heaven’s best opportunity for our army. If we can destroy this force, Prince Ding’s household will never recover!”
“We await your orders, my lord!” everyone shouted in unison, the prospect of destroying Prince Ding’s household secretly exciting each of them.
The King of Zhengnan nodded with satisfaction. “Very good. Intensify the attack on Xinyang – we must take the city within three days! Then proceed to Jiangxia and wipe out the Mo Family Army in one stroke!”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Reporting to the Princess Consort, a message has arrived from Number Two.” In the Mo Family Army camp, Ye Li sat in the main tent discussing matters with the Marquis of Nan and others while the army was encamped. Zhuo Jing entered holding a letter. Without looking up, Ye Li said quietly, “Translate it for me.” Zhuo Jing nodded and walked to a desk in the corner of the tent to translate the message. Ye Li continued speaking to the Marquis: “It will take us at least seven days to reach Jiangxia. The increased marching speed you suggested might be difficult.”
The Marquis frowned and said, “Why is that? The Mo Family Army is known for swift movement. I remember times when they could cover hundreds of li in a day…”
Ye Li shook her head and said, “Lord Marquis, those were small units. We have nearly 300,000 troops – if we compress a ten-day journey into five days, do you think these 300,000 soldiers will have any strength left to fight when we reach the border? Western Ling won’t give us time to rest either – as soon as we reach Jiangxia, we’ll face a fierce battle.”
The Marquis sighed heavily. “The Princess Consort speaks truly – how could I not know this? I just worry so much about Xinyang…” Ye Li shook her head and said softly, “Xinyang cannot be held. With your ability, Lord Marquis, how long could you hold Xinyang against the King of Zhengnan?”
The Marquis thought for a moment and said, “Xinyang doesn’t lack military supplies. If it were me, I could hold for a month.”
Ye Li said, “General Leng can hold for half a month. Count how many days it’s been, Lord Marquis. Even with wings, we couldn’t reach Xinyang in time. Moreover, Xinyang isn’t lacking everything – Xinyang lacks water!”
Everyone’s expressions changed slightly. While lacking food might allow them to hold out for some time, lacking water left no room for argument. And Xinyang’s location in the northwest meant water was already scarce. Once Western Ling surrounded the city, water shortage was inevitable.
“No matter how fast we march, the King of Zhengnan will certainly be waiting for us at Jiangxia,” Ye Li sighed.
Mu Yang frowned and asked, “What if Jiangxia falls too?”
Lu Jinxian’s sword-like eyebrows rose as he said, “Young Lord Mu need not worry. Though General Yuan Pei only has tens of thousands of troops under his command, Jiangxia is completely different from the flat plains of Xinyang. Holding for ten to fifteen days is no problem. Even if the King of Zhengnan brings his full force, as long as Jiangxia has one soldier left, they won’t let Western Ling troops take a single step in!”
Hearing this, both the Marquis and Mu Yang couldn’t help but flush. The Mo Family Army had guarded the borders for over a century, never letting enemy nations step one foot into Da Chu territory. Now, because the emperor’s suspicion of Prince Ding’s household had left Mo Family Army soldiers idle, in less than a month of war, Western Ling’s forces had taken several cities and advanced three to four hundred li.
The Marquis nodded and said, “As long as the Princess Consort has a plan.”
Ye Li smiled faintly and said, “I know the Lord Marquis also worries about the war situation. Please be at ease – General Sun Yan has already sent the Black Cloud Cavalry rushing ahead day and night toward Jiangxia.”
“Princess Consort.” Zhuo Jing had finished the translation and came over to hand it to Ye Li. She looked at it for a while, frowned slightly, and passed it to the Marquis saying, “What do the Lord Marquis and generals think?”
The Marquis glanced at it, looked with some surprise at the calm-faced Zhuo Jing standing beside Ye Li, then frowned and said, “The King of Zhengnan suddenly accelerated his attack – could he be trying to take Jiangxia before we arrive? No! Princess Consort, I fear something is wrong!” Seeing the Marquis’s expression change, Lu Jinxian and Feng Zhiyao hurriedly took the message and read it together, their brows furrowing deeper as they read. While the King of Zhengnan was attacking Xinyang fiercely, he had also split his forces to move in a flanking maneuver. Even the southern army not far from them had dispatched a force northward…
“Princess Consort…” Feng Zhiyao frowned.
The Marquis said gravely, “While the King of Zhengnan attacks Xinyang fiercely, he splits his forces to circle – he must be trying to cut off General Yuan’s retreat route.”
Ye Li’s delicate brows furrowed deeply. After a while, she said, “Bring the maps.” This situation highlighted the disadvantage of poor communication – no matter what they analyzed now, they couldn’t immediately inform the commanders at the front. They could only hope the frontline commanders had also seen through the enemy’s intentions and made necessary preparations. Fortunately, this disadvantage often worked both ways.
Zhuo Jing turned and took out a folded paper from his belongings, slowly unfolding it to reveal lines marking mountains and rivers, showing Da Chu’s borders from south to north at a glance. Ye Li took up a brush from the desk and marked the marching routes of Western Ling’s various forces mentioned in the message. Frowning, she looked up and asked, “Has the detailed map of the northwest arrived?”
Zhuo Jing reached back into the luggage and pulled out another document, saying, “It arrived this morning – I was planning to show it to you.” Ye Li cleared the table to spread out the map, saying, “What use is showing it to me? I’ve never been to the Northwest. Lord Marquis, General Lu, come take a look.”
Everyone had been curious about the maps before them, and hearing Ye Li’s words, they immediately gathered around. Two similarly sized maps lay on the table – one clearly showed all of Da Chu’s western border regions, while the other was much more detailed but only covered the northwest. It showed details they had never seen before. Lu Jinxian praised it: “Excellent work. I’ve been at the northwest border since I was twenty, spent nearly twenty years there, but wouldn’t dare say I know it as well as this map shows.”
The Marquis nodded, pointing to a spot on the map: “General Lu speaks truly. I’ve made several trips to the northwest myself – Princess Consort, this map is… very thorough.”
Ye Li smiled with satisfaction. How could it not be detailed? This batch of newly trained people had all been sent out, and combined with all the existing maps – if they couldn’t become familiar with the northwest after all that, those people would have learned nothing.
Ye Li stared at both maps for a long time, then picked up her brush and drew a heavy line at a certain point, saying gravely, “Immediately order the southern forces – all those near Western Ling’s southern army should concentrate westward. Intercept the forces they’ve split off!”
Zhuo Jing nodded in acknowledgment. Ye Li raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, then smiled faintly. She pulled out a paper, wrote a line of characters on it, and handed it to Zhuo Jing, asking, “Where is Qin Feng?”
Zhuo Jing thought for a moment and said, “Near Ling Pass – he should be preparing to head north to join us now.” Ye Li looked down at Ling Pass’s position and said, “Tell him not to return. Give him this – the next phase of the plan.”
Zhuo Jing took the note and left without looking at it.
“Does the Princess Consort have a plan?” Mu Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ye Li smiled faintly and said, “It hardly counts as a plan – just making some advance arrangements. Just in case.”
Knowing she didn’t intend to explain further, Mu Yang just gave her a complex look without pressing the matter. The Mo Family Army had followed Prince Ding’s household’s orders for a century and had little goodwill toward the emperor in recent years. His position as someone inserted by the emperor, and from a family loyal to the emperor, was naturally awkward. Fortunately, Mu Yang himself was quite tactful.
The Marquis looked at Ye Li, then at Mu Yang, seemingly unaware of the undercurrent between them, and stroked his beard with a smile: “It’s good the Princess Consort has a plan. We’re hundreds of li away and can do little now – getting to the battlefield quickly to provide support is the main thing.” Ye Li and Mu Yang both nodded in agreement. Only then did the Marquis smile, discuss a few more matters with Ye Li and the others, then rise to bid farewell and return to his tent to rest. With the Marquis gone, even though Mu Yang wished to stay and continue listening to everyone’s discussion, he had no choice but to rise and take his leave as well.