Xiping City was the economic, political, and military center of the Xishan Province. At this moment, the sky above the city was covered in snow, and there were almost no lights in the city. No one knew how long the winter would last, but everyone knew that they had to conserve charcoal and other resources. Otherwise, they would not be able to survive this long winter.
The sound of hooves outside the city broke the silence. When Situ Sen arrived outside the city with 10,000 cavalry, he only saw that the west gate of Xiping City was wide open. There was not even a curfew or any soldiers guarding the gate.
"What's going on?"
Facing the dark city gate, Situ Sen squinted his eyes and said, "The gate is wide open, and there are no guards. It looks like there's a trap!"
Captaincy smiled and said, "Deputy Commander, the art of war says that the real is fake, and the fake is real. Chen Yu is an expert at scheming. Since the gate is wide open, could it be that there are no ambushes at all? Could it be that this is just an empty city to delay the speed of our attack?" "Forget it.
The three armies need rations. We don't have time to waste. "
Situ Sen raised his hand and said, "The 1,000 soldiers of the First Battalion will be divided into 10 teams. Every team of 100 will enter the city to search for rations and the situation of the people. Report back here in two hours. You must be extra careful. Chen Yu may have buried some kindling or magic crystal cannons in the city. We are used to these kinds of tricks."
"Yes, Deputy Commander!"
Amidst the hurried sound of hooves, a group of people quickly entered the city.
Situ Xue pursed her red lips and said, "Brother, I'm worried. Should I lead 10 dragon knights to spy on the situation in the city from the air?"
"Yes."
Situ Sen nodded and said, "You must be careful."
"Okay."
With a low roar from the dragon, Situ Xue also left.
…
Holding his sword, Situ Sen urged his horse to circle around on the snowy ground. He felt very uneasy. However, if he thought about it carefully, almost all of the magic crystal cannons and native cannons in Xiping Prefecture had been taken away by Filet's main fleet. Chen Yu must be very short of supplies. Moreover, he only had seven or eight thousand old, weak, and disabled soldiers. Why would he set up an ambush in the city?
However, even though Situ Sen had tried his best, he still couldn't stop the development of the situation.
In less than an hour, a series of loud booms could be heard in the city. Soon after, flames rose from the sky in the distance, and even the sound of fire arrows piercing through the air could be heard.
"Oh no, someone is arson!"
Situ Sen gnashed his teeth.
"Are we going in now?!" Captaincy was a little angry.
"Don't be rash!" After all, Situ Sen was experienced in battles. He squinted his eyes and said, "Let's wait for the report from our brothers in the city. We've only sent a thousand men in. We can't send more troops in."
"Yes!"
As expected, in less than half an hour, a continuous stream of cavalry from the Longdan Army Camp rushed out of the city. Each of them was covered in dust. One of the chiliarchs said, "Deputy Commander, they've buried a few magic crystal cannons in the city. They just detonated them … Also, there are piles of firewood every three to five households in the city. Now, these piles of firewood have been set on fire. The city is on fire and it looks like it's going out of control!"
"Do you see the figures of their soldiers?"
"Yes, they've already escaped from the east gate!"
"Damn it, Chen Yu is such a despicable person!" Situ Sen trembled with hatred. He said, "This lunatic wants the millions of people in Xiping City to die with us? Where's the grain? Where's the grain stored in the city? "
"The granary of Xiping Prefecture is on fire. The flames are soaring. We can't get close at all!"
"God damn it …"
Situ Sen pulled out his sword and said, "Quickly enter the city to put out the fire. Send a letter to the Marshal and His Highness to inform them of the situation here. Quickly, immediately … send someone to beat the drums and gongs to encourage the people to come out and fight the fire. We can't let Xiping City, a thousand-year-old city, burn down in the blink of an eye!"
"Yes!"
…
In the blink of an eye, the ten thousand Steel Cavalry became a special force to fight the fire. However, it seemed that the number was far from enough. Chen Yu was too smart. He knew that most of the people in the city had left the city to cut wood and come back to pile up firewood. Now that the fire had burned the people's firewood, it would also burn down Xiping City. Without the people and grain in Xiping City, the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Qin Empire would not be able to establish a foothold on this continent.
Until noon, the fire had still not been extinguished. Nearly half of Xiping Prefecture had been burned down. The once prosperous Xiping Prefecture had become a thing of the past.
Outside the city, Lin Muyu accompanied Qin Yin and led the vanguard cavalry of the army to Xiping City. Situ Sen and Situ Xue led the Steel Cavalry to greet them with their faces covered in soot.
Without saying anything, Situ Sen dismounted and knelt on the snowy ground. Ignoring the soot on his face, he said with red eyes, "Milord, I am incompetent. The granary has been set on fire. We didn't even manage to get a single grain of rice back. Moreover, many of the houses of the people are also on fire. I can only order the troops to stop futilely trying to put out the granary fire and have them help the people fight the fire instead."
Lin Muyu dismounted and helped Situ Sen up. She said, "General Sen, you did not do anything wrong. We should help the people fight the fire. Only by winning the hearts of the people can we conquer the world. The Qin Empire came from afar to let the people of the Celestial Pole Continent know of Her Highness's wisdom and that the Qin Empire is a civilized country governed by a constitution."
"Yes. Thank you, Milord, for not pursuing the crime of dereliction of duty."
"You did not dereliction of duty. It was Chen Yu who was too cunning."
Lin Muyu walked into the city. A group of ashen-faced soldiers from the Longdan Army Camp knelt on the snow on both sides of the road and said loudly, "Greetings, Lin General!"
"Get up."
Lin Muyu's heart was cold. He looked up at the sky. Fine snow was still falling, mixed with some greyish-white smoke. He stretched out his hand and caught a piece of dust. The dust rolled out of his palm. Lin Muyu felt a slight pain in his chest. This was the dust after the rice was burned. Chen Yu was indeed ruthless. He wanted to end the food supply of Xiping City!
"What is the specific situation of the food supply, Ah Xue?"
"Milord …" Situ Xue said with red eyes, "The largest granary in Xiping Prefecture has been burned. It is said that Chen Yu has been collecting food in the city for the past few days. It seems that he has also burned it. Now, in Xiping City, millions of grains have been burned. Not only is there no food in the treasury, but even the people's homes have no food. There is only enough for them to eat. It is definitely not enough to support our army of hundreds of thousands."
"The three armies rely on military provisions. Without food, there will be a mutiny."
Lin Muyu took a deep look at Situ Xue and said, "We must find a way to get food as soon as possible. Otherwise, the army will starve from today onwards."
Situ Xue said, "Milord, I have found a useful piece of information. Although Chen Yu has left with his defeated soldiers, he did not take everyone with him. Before Chen Yu left, some of Filet's subordinates had relatively luxurious mansions in Xiping City. In addition to many servants and concubines, these mansions also have a lot of food and fodder. We can slaughter pigs for the New Year. First, take some people to raid these people's homes and get some food to solve the urgent problem."
"Good idea!"
Lin Muyu's eyes lit up and said, "Situ Sen, Situ Xue, do it immediately!"
"Yes!"
The two of them led the cavalry without stopping. Lin Muyu turned around, held the reins of Qin Yin's warhorse, and said, "Let's go. We will accompany Her Highness to Xiping Prefecture."
Xiping Prefecture was the center of Xiping City. It was also the place where Qin Yin would be overseeing for a long time in the future. With the empress here, the morale of the three armies would be boosted.
…
When the group of civil and military officials entered Xiping Prefecture, they were somewhat astonished. They had long heard of the affluence of the Celestial Pole Continent, but no one had expected that a mere Xiping Prefecture would be as luxurious as Ze Tian Palace Hall. In fact, it might even be more luxurious. One could well imagine how luxurious Tianji Palace Hall was. It was simply unimaginable.
In front of Xiping City, the twelve dragon-shaped totem pillars of the Tianji Empire towered into the sky. Although they were a little charred, it didn't affect their imposing manner. Behind the pillars was the main gate of the mansion. Eight people entered and eight exited. At this moment, the guards had already been replaced by imperial guards and imperial guards. Everyone entered through the main gate. From afar, the main gate was actually a thousand meters away from the mansion. Along the way, there were paths paved with glazed crystals, and both sides of the path were heavily guarded. Xiping Prefecture must have been extremely prosperous in the past.
"With such a superficial appearance, it's no wonder that the Tianji Empire was defeated!" Feng Jixing laughed.
However, Lin Muyu didn't think so. She said, "The biggest reason for the Tianji Empire's defeat wasn't extravagance, but the disunity between the emperor and his subjects. If Beiming Yuan didn't suspect Gong Shangming, Filet, and Chen Yu, and didn't fight among themselves, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Hmm, that's true."
Feng Jixing raised his head and looked at the fire at the back of the main hall. He said, "That should be the place where the granary was burned."
"Yes." Lin Muyu frowned and said, "Chen Xiaoli, Tang Zhen, and Xiang Yu, the three commanders, immediately gather manpower to fetch water to extinguish the fire. Minimize the damage to Xiping City from the fire to the greatest extent."
"Yes, Lin General!"
The three commanders turned and left.
Lin Muyu continued, "Wei Chou, go and put up a notice to appease the people. Put up the empire's constitution and inform the people of Xiping City that from now on, Xishan Province is the territory of the Qin Empire. Everything will be governed according to the empire's constitution. Order the three armies to not offend the local people. Otherwise, they will be punished by military law."
"Yes, milord!"
Wei Chou brought a group of staff officers and went straight to the side hall. For the time being, that would be their office.
Lin Muyu looked at Chu Yao behind her and said with a smile, "Sister Chu Yao, temporarily set up the Spiritual Medicine Department in Xiping Prefecture. That way, we can take care of each other."
"Hmm, I'll listen to you."
…
When it was close to dusk, rows of carriages carrying provisions entered Xiping Prefecture. It was Situ Sen and Situ Xue who had returned. Their faces were full of excitement.
"How much provisions did you get from raiding the houses, generals?" Feng Jixing asked with a smile.
"Fifty thousand! We got at least fifty thousand dans of provisions! "
Situ Sen laughed and said, "These bastards really hid a lot of provisions!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
