The previous invasion of Xi had cost the Yan Kingdom its face, and now the Yan King sought to avenge this humiliation. As both King and State Preceptor, he could freely marshal elemental power. Needless to say, the combat effectiveness of the entire Yan army would immediately rise to a higher level.
This meant that the time needed to conquer the Xi Kingdom would be greatly shortened.
For the Wei Kingdom, this was certainly not good news.
Feng Miaojun sighed: “The Yao Kingdom is about to face disaster.” This development would inevitably force the Wei Kingdom to accelerate its steps to annihilate Yao.
“This news is already seven days old.” The northern and southern continents were far apart, and news traveling from the southern continent took considerable time to arrive here. Since Feng Miaojun and her servant were not in their territory, the timeliness of the intelligence they received was even worse. By comparison, the Wei court must have known this long ago and had probably already taken action.
Sure enough, Chen Dachang immediately continued: “Also, the Wei army has won two major victories and is now marching straight toward Yinzi City. The Yao people organized several resistance efforts, but each time they were utterly routed.”
The great edifice of the Yao Kingdom was about to collapse. Feng Miaojun sighed with feeling: “Attacking the mind is the highest strategy.”
Wei King Xiao Yan now held a trump card. He needed only to spread the news of the deaths of the Yao King and his son—that the Yao Kingdom was leaderless—to subdue the enemy without fighting. No matter how brave the Yao troops were, once their morale collapsed, they would have no fighting strength to speak of.
Yun Ya had seen precisely this point, which was why he had left after assassinating Miao Fengxian, no longer attempting to attack the ancestral temple.
Chen Dachang continued: “As soon as Miao Fengxian died, Wei King Xiao Yan issued an ultimatum to Yinzi City. If the Yao Kingdom surrenders within three days, they can still maintain partial autonomy in some provinces and prefectures, and the Wei Kingdom will not slaughter the royal clan. Otherwise, the Wei army will bind red bands and massacre the city, sparing neither chicken nor dog!”
“Under pressure from the Yan Kingdom, Xiao Yan is anxious to take the Yao Kingdom.” Feng Miaojun’s beautiful eyebrows knitted together. “By my calculation, isn’t the day after tomorrow the final deadline?” The Wei Kingdom had planned this assassination for a long time. As soon as Miao Fengxian was killed, Xiao Yan issued his ultimatum—not wasting a moment. This showed just how much pressure this Wei King was under.
The so-called “binding of bands” meant soldiers would tie red bands around their arms and wash the entire city in blood. Every living creature that could still breathe would be killed—not just the elderly, women, and children, but even dogs and chickens would not be spared. This would create boundless slaughter, violating Heaven’s virtue of cherishing life.
City massacres had always been criticized as the most brutal method. Xiao Yan was more moderate than the old Wei King, yet now he was adopting such severe measures to threaten a child ruler and widowed mother—ultimately because he feared the Yan Kingdom.
With troops about to reach the city gates, the options were either assault or negotiation. If it came to assault, the Yao people were traditionally stubborn. If they were determined to defend Yinzi City to the last person, it would become a protracted, drawn-out battle. After all, Yinzi City had been developed for over a hundred years and had accumulated substantial resources, enough to sustain a long war of attrition, perhaps even going into multiple rounds of overtime.
As for negotiations, that process would also be complex. After rounds of delays and quibbling, who knew how much time would be wasted? The negotiations might not even conclude before the Yan Kingdom finished off Xi Kingdom and prepared to move against Wei.
So for Xiao Yan to quickly and decisively take Yinzi City, not giving the Yan Kingdom time to ambush him, the most brutally simple method was to issue a death ultimatum, striving to intimidate this leaderless Yao regime and end the war as quickly as possible!
Thinking of this, Feng Miaojun felt somewhat irritated.
Her New Xia was different from the Jin Kingdom. Jin Kingdom’s geographical environment was uniquely advantageous, with the majestic White Elephant Mountain Range and White Elephant Lake blocking the east-west passage on its left side. Neither the current Yao Kingdom nor the future Wei Kingdom could cross this area to attack Jin. New Xia had no such natural advantage. In other words, once the Yao Kingdom fell, New Xia would immediately have to face the Wei Kingdom alone.
When Wei invaded Yao, Jin Kingdom had wanted to send reinforcements to Yao through New Xia’s Chikan Plains, but was firmly blocked by New Xia citing treaty obligations, and still could not pass through. Needless to say, relations between Jin Kingdom and New Xia had plummeted as a result. If conflicts arose between Wei and Xia in the future, would the Jin Kingdom offer assistance?
That seemed unlikely.
She was lost in thought for quite some time before asking Chen Dachang: “What about our country?”
“The homeland is stable without disaster. The royal court operates as usual.”
Of course—having been away for only a few days, how much could have changed? Nevertheless, Feng Miaojun felt somewhat relieved. She speculated that Yun Ya had not left Yinzi City, firstly because his injuries were too severe and required proper rest, making long-distance travel inadvisable; secondly, the Wei army was about to enter the Yao capital, so he could simply wait here.
Thinking of Yun Ya made her teeth itch with hatred.
Seeing that she seemed to be grinding her teeth again, Chen Dachang quickly added: “Also, Prince Zhao Yun of the Yan Kingdom has arrived.”
“Zhao Yun?” Feng Miaojun was startled. “What is he here for?”
“Perhaps to pay condolences.” Chen Dachang answered honestly. “Zhao Yun and his party of six or seven entered through the West Gate Road this morning. Zhao Rushan sent people to escort him into the palace, and many people saw them on the way.”
At such a critical juncture, the Yan Kingdom’s intervention would only make the outcome of the war more unpredictable. Even though Feng Miaojun was merely a spectator now, when she put herself in their position, she found it extremely thorny.
What approach would the Yao royal court take? She thought of Princess Hanyue, and her heart grew dim. She knew her friend’s temperament best—Princess Hanyue was straightforward, capable of being a good wife and barely managing the inner palace, but she had no grasp of court politics. With the sudden deaths of the Yao King and his son, the entire burden of the family and nation had fallen upon her shoulders. That Princess Hanyue hadn’t collapsed under the pressure already spoke to her strength.
But even though Feng Miaojun wished to help her friend, the treaty between Yao and Xia was supervised by the Way of Heaven, and she could not easily extend a helping hand.
What could be done?
She pondered for a long time, only standing to leave after all the dishes on the table had been emptied.
Such a delicate and beautiful woman had an appetite that rivaled two or three burly men, leaving the second-floor patrons who had been stealing glances at her dumbfounded.
Chen Dachang hurriedly settled the bill and followed his mistress downstairs.
Shundongfeng was a semi-official establishment. To stabilize public sentiment, the Yao royal court forcibly required these official businesses to operate as usual, allowing customers like her to enjoy a good meal. But returning to the main street, everywhere she looked was desolate.
The once-bustling streets had half their shops closed—nonsense, with death looming, who still cared about making money? Pedestrians on the road looked like frost-beaten quails, hunched and fearful.
The camellias and peach trees by the roadside were shedding their leaves, but with no one to sweep them up, they had accumulated in thick layers on the ground. Whenever a breeze passed, they rustled noisily.
Though it was only early summer, it felt like deep autumn.
Feng Miaojun’s lodging was very close to the Shundongfeng Restaurant, requiring no hired carriage. She could walk there at a leisurely pace, though she had to pass through three alleys. The second alley ran alongside a small river. The servant women who used to squat on the bluestone slabs washing clothes were now nowhere to be seen. As she strolled along the riverbank toward her lodging, four people suddenly sprang out from front and behind: “Stop!”