On the city walls of Xinyang, Leng Qingyu stared grimly at the distant sea of battle flags. Xinyang had been under siege for over ten days now. If they couldn’t break the encirclement soon, the city would collapse from within even if the Western Ling army failed to breach it. Moreover, the reinforcements that had just arrived at the border had suffered heavy losses, and the Deputy Commander, the heir of the Southern Marquis, had gone missing in battle, further devastating the defending soldiers’ morale. If the Xinyang commander hadn’t fallen in battle leaving the city without leadership, Leng Qingyu might not even be standing on these walls now.

“General Leng, when will the court’s reinforcements finally arrive?!” A commander with an exhausted face rushed over, addressing Leng Qingyu without courtesy. Originally, these soldiers had been dissatisfied with such a young supreme commander, especially since he had been thoroughly defeated by the Zhennan King of Western Ling before even arriving. This made everyone look down on him even more. Yet he was the son of the Grand Marshal and an Imperial General appointed by the Emperor himself. With Xinyang’s commander dead, he was now the highest authority in Xinyang. Though people showed respect on the surface, no one knew what they truly thought. As for the high-ranking officers of Xinyang, they didn’t even bother with superficial courtesy anymore. A flash of embarrassment and anger crossed Leng Qingyu’s stern face. He had always sailed smoothly through life, becoming the commander of the Imperial Guards in the capital through his ability, one of the top young talents in the capital. But upon arriving at the border, he had hit wall after wall, making his previously confident heart fill with doubt and uncertainty.

Frowning, Leng Qingyu said, “They will arrive when they arrive. The General need only wait patiently.”

The man’s face darkened as he said, “I can wait, but Xinyang cannot! General Leng, look below the city, look within it – how many more days do you think Xinyang can hold?!”

“Silence!” Leng Qingyu thundered, his gaze shooting toward the man before him like arrows. He said coldly, “Xinyang will not fall!”

The man was startled by his murderous glare, but recovered and snorted, “Since General Leng has such confidence, I shall wait and see!” With that, he turned and strode away quickly. Watching the other’s unhesitating departure, Leng Qingyu’s gaze grew more sinister, but when he looked back at the seemingly endless enemy forces in the distance, he could only forcefully suppress his anger.

Suddenly, drum beats thundered from below the city. Leng Qingyu’s spirit sharpened as he looked into the distance, where the previously still flags and crowds began to move. Taking a deep breath, Leng Qingyu raised his voice and called out, “Defend the city!”

Above and below the city, another fierce battle began between the two armies. The defending side was clearly showing fatigue and weakness, which only excited the soldiers below to charge up more vigorously.

In a tall building somewhere in Xinyang, the sound of killing could be heard from the direction of the city gates through a slanted window. Inside, a man with ordinary features said gravely, “Xinyang cannot hold. Prepare to withdraw.”

Another man frowned and said, “Should we ask General Yuan to support them again from the outer perimeter? The Princess Consort and reinforcements are already halfway here.”

The man shook his head and said, “It’s useless. Haven’t you noticed the Western Ling army’s attacks have been notably fiercer these past two days? The Zhennan King likely wants to take Xinyang at any cost. Leng Qingyu cannot control Xinyang’s soldiers, and even if General Yuan has been harassing them from the outskirts these past few days, it won’t delay them much longer. It might even get General Yuan and his men trapped as well.”

“Very well, send word immediately for General Yuan to disengage and return to Jiangxia. You all go first, I’ll stay behind to handle matters in Xinyang.”

“Alright, be careful.”

After seeing his companions off, the man turned and hurried toward the mansion of Xinyang’s chief official.

In the Western Ling military camp, the Zhennan King sat casually in a comfortable chair, one hand supporting his chin as he rested with closed eyes, waiting for news from outside. News of Xinyang’s fall would come today. Though that young man in Xinyang had some ability, he was still too green, completely powerless to turn the tide in such circumstances. Just thinking about how the countless grain, cloth, gold, and silver in Xinyang would become resources for his future attack on Eastern Chu filled him with indescribable pleasure.

“How are the preparations regarding Yuan Pei?” Remembering something, the Zhennan King opened his eyes and asked.

The officer who had also been sitting and waiting for news immediately stood up and said, “Following Your Highness’s orders, our forces have secretly blocked the road back to Jiangxia. Although we cannot find Yuan Pei’s forces for now, once Xinyang falls he will surely return to Jiangxia. We won’t fail to capture him then.”

The Zhennan King nodded with satisfaction, “Very good.”

The sound of the gong signaling troops to withdraw came from outside the tent. The Zhennan King’s smile deepened as he stood up and said, “Xinyang has fallen!”

All the officers wore expressions of joy, “Congratulations, Your Highness.” The Zhennan King shook his head and said, “No, congratulations to us all. With Xinyang, we can establish an invincible position for attacking Eastern Chu. This time, Heaven truly favors Western Ling.” The officers chanted in unison, “Heaven favors Western Ling.”

Hurried footsteps of a messenger came from outside the tent, “Reporting to Your Highness, Xinyang has fallen!”

“Very good, what about that young commander?” the Zhennan King asked.

The messenger hesitated, then said, “Xinyang’s commander Leng Qingyu could not be found.”

Hearing this, the Zhennan King frowned and waved his hand, “Go investigate further, report immediately if there’s news.”

“Yes!”

An hour later, the soldiers who had attacked the city had all returned to camp, and the main tent was filled with jubilation. Only the Zhennan King frowned, causing those below to ask, “Your Highness, is something amiss?” The Zhennan King shook his head and said, “I don’t know, I just feel something isn’t quite right…”

“Reporting to Your Highness, terrible news!” Someone outside the tent called urgently for an audience. The Zhennan King’s heart sank as he said coldly, “Enter. What’s happened in Xinyang?” The man said, “Reporting to Your Highness, the supplies that should have been in Xinyang somehow only amount to less than twenty percent!”

“What?!”

Everyone was shocked. “Could the Eastern Chu people have known they would lose and moved the supplies beforehand?”

“Impossible, after Xinyang was surrounded not even a mosquito could fly out, let alone so many supplies.”

The Zhennan King’s face darkened as he asked gravely, “What else?”

The soldier looked at the Zhennan King’s expression and said tremblingly, “Also, the silver from Xinyang’s treasury and all the cash and banknotes from several money houses have disappeared. The silver that can be found in Xinyang now is less than thirty percent of what should be there.”

The tent fell silent as the officers secretly watched the Zhennan King’s expression, none daring to speak. Though Xinyang wasn’t Eastern Chu’s wealthiest city, it was where they stored the most military supplies and was among the top five cities for commerce and trade, though their trading partner was Western Ling. Everyone had coveted this city precisely because of its countless supplies and treasures, but now… everything was gone.

“Good!” After a long while, the Zhennan King suddenly laughed coldly, “Well played, Prince Ding’s household!”

Everyone was stunned. Someone asked doubtfully, “Your Highness, you think Prince Ding’s household did this?”

The Zhennan King smiled and said, “Besides Prince Ding’s household, who else could hide all the supplies so quickly and quietly?”

“But isn’t Prince Ding in the Northern Rong?”

“Then it means Prince Ding’s household has other capable people.”

“Reporting to Your Highness, General Zheng just ordered the slaughter of the city!” a soldier hurriedly reported from the entrance.

“Outrageous!” The Zhennan King slammed the table as he stood up, saying harshly, “Who gave that order!”

The soldier trembled in fear and quickly said, “General Zheng… General Zheng was taking things from a pawnshop when he clashed with the city’s civilians, then… then General Zheng ordered the slaughter…”

“Go immediately and convey my order to stop the slaughter! Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot. Order Zheng Bian to come to see me at once.”

“Yes!”

In the tent, the officers looked at each other. “Your Highness, those Eastern Chu people might as well be killed, keeping so many people would just waste food.”

“That’s right, Your Highness. We got nothing from taking Xinyang, we might as well kill all those Eastern Chu people to teach them a lesson.”

“Fools!” the Zhennan King said coldly. “How many people are there in Eastern Chu? Can you kill them all? Right now only Eastern Chu’s army resists us, but once the civilians learn of the city’s slaughter, all the common people will resist us together.”

Many were unconvinced, “Eastern Chu’s army can’t defeat us, what can a few civilians do?”

The Zhennan King said sternly, “In any case, without my order, do not kill Eastern Chu civilians at will!”

“Reporting to Your Highness, Yuan Pei has broken through with several tens of thousands of Mohist troops and is heading for Jiangxia.”

Hearing this, the Zhennan King frowned, “What happened?”

“The forces Your Highness’s son sent to intercept Yuan Pei were ambushed and destroyed. Moreover, Yuan Pei seemed very familiar with our forces’ arrangements and terrain. He led his men through the gaps in our lines in several groups. Though they suffered some losses, the main force of the Mohist army wasn’t severely damaged.”

“Reporting to Your Highness, we just received news from the southern forces that Your Highness’s son was ambushed three days ago and was severely wounded.”

The Zhennan King suddenly stood up, “How is Tengfeng?”

“The Young Master is no longer in danger, but his injuries are quite severe. He likely won’t be able to command troops for some time.”

The Zhennan King lowered his head in thought for a long while, gradually suppressing the anger in his heart. He waved his hand and said, “I understand. You may go.”

The previously celebratory tent’s atmosphere had become subdued due to this succession of news. After a long while, the Zhennan King was heard chuckling, “Well, Prince Ding’s household truly has many capable people. This round, I haven’t won.”

“Your Highness?”

“Enough, send word to Tengfeng that I will send someone else to take over the southern forces. Tell him to come to Xinyang as soon as possible.” The Zhennan King waved his hand and said calmly, “In any case, Xinyang is finally ours. Have him come oversee matters here. Those supplies and treasures couldn’t have flown away – they must still be in the city!”

“Yes.”