The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0641 Private Army

Having captured Yongcheng, Yun Qing did not immediately march to attack Haocheng. Instead, he waited for Du Zheng to arrive with an additional 50,000 troops. Once they were fully prepared, Yun Qing led 160,000 troops to assault Haocheng.

Although Ji Xuan was useless and incapable of commanding troops, Yun Qing did not relax in the slightest. Haochengʼs defences were renowned across the land — this would be a tough siege. Likewise, once Haocheng was captured, the entire northwest would be firmly in his grasp. Victory was, therefore, the only option in this battle. If they failed, there would be no place left for them in the world.

Yun Qing knew that the commander defending the city was a general named Xie Li. He asked Ding Qingyu, ”What relation does Xie Li have to Xie Junxiong?”

Ding Qingyu looked grave as he answered, ”He is Xie Junxiongʼs father, a veteran who has been through hundreds of battles. This time, the old general has likely come out of retirement because of Xie Junxiong.” His son had been killed, so naturally, he was seeking revenge.

Yun Qing said, ”No matter who is defending the city, Haocheng must be taken.” They must not retreat even half a step unless they all die in battle.

Ding Qingyu said no more. As Yun Qing had said, they were determined to take Haocheng — retreating now, after coming so far, would be too cowardly.

Facts proved that Yun Qingʼs worst-case scenario was nothing like the man from Qi who worried that the sky would fall. The defending troops inside Haocheng were competent and far superior to any they had faced before. In just one day, Yun Qing lost over 13,000 men.

Yun Qingʼs expression grew grave. ”Somethingʼs wrong. The local army doesnʼt have such strong combat power nor such fine equipment.” The defending soldiers were fighting with a strength far beyond that of the local troops. This situation was highly unusual.

Guan Tai nodded. ”Thatʼs right. These soldiers are especially fierce; theyʼre completely different from the soldiers we faced before.” These men feared nothing, not even death.

The group was unable to reach a clear conclusion.

Ding Qingyu furrowed his brows. Seeing no one spoke, he hesitated, then said, ”General, our people once heard some news. I donʼt know if itʼs true.”

Yun Qing quickly asked, ”What news?” He had long sensed this battle would be difficult, but he hadnʼt expected it to be so challenging.

Ding Qingyu continued, ”I once heard that Ji Xuan had privately raised his own troops, supposedly numbering more than ten thousand.” He didnʼt know if this was true, as he had only heard the rumour and had not dared to confirm it.

Cui Mo slapped the table and shouted, ”That explains it! The soldiers defending the city today are fighting without fear of death — no local army would fight so desperately.”

Yuan Ying commented, ”Privately raising troops is a capital offence. Ji Xuan is going all out this time.” No wonder it had felt wrong — these were Ji Xuanʼs privately raised soldiers.

Du Zheng frowned. ”But in that case, even if we fail to take Haocheng, Ji Xuan will still be unable to escape his fate.”

Ding Qingyuʼs eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, ”Itʼs possible that Ji Xuan has already fled Haocheng!” Of course, this was only speculation.

Yun Qingʼs single sentence caused Ding Qingyu to lay down his flags and stop his drums. ”Even if Ji Xuan has fled, Xie Li is still here.” Ji Xuan couldnʼt fight anyway, so his presence or absence made no difference. The problem now was that Xie Li was determined to fight him to the death.

Cui Mo asked, ”General, what should we do now?”

Yun Qing replied, ”No matter how capable Ji Xuan is, he can only privately raise twenty to thirty thousand soldiers at most. Once we have eliminated them, the rest will be easy.” There was no other option but to launch continuous assaults day after day.

On that same day, the Emperor received a report from Marquis Chiang stating that Song Guojiu was missing. The Emperorʼs face turned pale. With the northwest already on the brink of collapse, he hadnʼt expected chaos to erupt in Liaodong as well.

Jing Wang hurried into the Imperial Study and said, ”Imperial Brother, weʼve just received word that Yun Qing is marching with 160,000 troops to attack Haocheng.” If Haocheng fell, the northwest would fall into Yun Qingʼs hands.

The Emperor handed the memorial to Jing Wang, his face dark. ”Something will likely happen in Liaodong as well.” As long as Yan Wushuang remained uncaptured, he could not rest easy. To the Emperor, Yan Wushuang posed an even greater threat than Yun Qing did. If Yan Wushuang exposed his secret dealings to the world, his throne would no longer be secure.

Jing Wangʼs face turned pale. He asked, ”Imperial Brother, what should we do? If Liaodong falls into chaos too, there will be great unrest throughout the land.” With both the northwest and Liaodong in turmoil, rebellions would spring up endlessly, and the Imperial Court would lose all ability to maintain control. By then, they would all be in danger.

The Emperor said, ”I want you to go to Liaodong and search for Jiujiu.” To send someone to Liaodong now would bring more misfortune than good fortune. But aside from Jing Wang, there was no more suitable candidate.

Jing Wang nodded. ”Very well, Imperial Brother. When do I leave?” Although he seemed agreeable, he was clenching his fists tightly. Fortunately, his wide sleeves concealed them from the Emperor.

The Emperor replied, ”You will leave immediately.” He only felt at ease entrusting this task to Jing Wang. As they were full brothers, even if Jing Wang found out what he had done, he would still support him and not expose him.

Hearing this, Jing Wang felt deeply disheartened. Given how dangerous the situation in Liaodong was, with Yan Wushuang plotting rebellion, sending him there now was tantamount to sentencing him to death. Yet his Imperial Brother had never even considered his safety. Jing Wang said, ”Imperial Brother, Iʼll just go back and get some extra clothes before setting out.” He had to inform Yuchen, at least.

The Emperor nodded. ”Very well.”

Yuchen had just lain down for a nap when she heard that Jing Wang had returned. Seeing him packing, she quickly asked, ”Wangye, where are you going?” Hopefully, not to the northwest. Yun Qing had already captured Yongcheng and was preparing to attack Haocheng — heading in that direction would be su*cide.

Jing Wang replied emotionlessly, ”Jiujiu has gone missing. Imperial Brother has asked me to go to Liaodong and find him.” He didnʼt dare tell Yuchen about the instability in Liaodong for fear that she would worry.

Yuchenʼs face turned pale. She said, ”Impossible! Jiujiu is surrounded by masters as numerous as clouds and has elite guards protecting him. How could he possibly go missing?” Besides, if Jiujiu were missing, wouldnʼt chaos soon ensue in Liaodong?

Jing Wang quickly clarified, ”It wasnʼt Marquis Chiang who went missing, but it was my Jiujiu, Song Huaijin.” He was deeply dissatisfied. When he learned that Yan Wushuang was still alive, he proposed that, since it was the royal family who had wronged the Yan family — mistakes committed by their late father — the Emperor should restore the Yan familyʼs name and return their title to Yan Wushuang. He thought this would resolve the matter. However, his Imperial Brother firmly refused, no matter what, and even sent their Jiujiu to Liaodong. Jing Wang instinctively felt that something was going on, but he didnʼt think it was appropriate for him to ask about it.

Yuchenʼs whole body loosened up; just now, she thought it was her jiujiu who had gone missing. However, she soon became suspicious and asked, ”Since Lord Guojiu has gone missing, shouldnʼt the Song family be the ones to search for him in Liaodong? Why send you? Youʼre the Emperorʼs own brother, yet all the most bitter, most exhausting, and most difficult tasks are assigned to you.” Her words were full of emotion.

Jing Wang also resented the Emperor, but he did not show it. ”Itʼs precisely because we are brothers that he feels at ease.”

Hearing this, Yuchen sensed something was amiss and asked, ”What do you mean by ʼfeels at ease sending youʼ? Could there be more to it than just looking for someone?” As she spoke, her face turned pale, and she asked, ”Is this mission very dangerous?”

Jing Wang looked at Yuchenʼs expression and gently touched her face. ”Itʼs not dangerous. Iʼm just going to search for someone.” He didnʼt want his wife to worry, no matter what.

Despite Yuchenʼs concerns, Jing Wang packed his things and left.

Seeing how deeply troubled Yuchen was, Momo Gui advised, ”Wangfei, donʼt worry. Wangye will be back soon.”

Yuchen shook her head and said, ”Something isnʼt right. I was already puzzled when Tong Chunlin died, and Song Guojiu went to Liaodong. Now, with Song Guojiu missing and the Emperor sending Wangye there so urgently, I feel this is not a simple matter.”

After thinking carefully about it, Momo Gui also felt Yuchen was right. ”Wangfei, should we send someone to the Marquisʼ residence to inquire?”

Yuchen smiled bitterly and said, ”No need. The people there wouldnʼt know any more than I do, and saying too much would only worry Waizumu. Iʼm just very puzzled about what could make the Emperor so anxious and agitated.” With so little information, they couldnʼt make any guesses.

Momo Gui felt that this was a complicated matter to handle. While it was easier to inquire about the affairs of noble households, they had no channels for major Imperial Court matters.

Yuchen said regretfully, ”Itʼs a pity that my Dage has gone to the northwest.”

However, Momo Gui thought that Yuchen was being overly optimistic. Even if Han Jianming knew anything, he wouldnʼt tell Wangfei. Truth be told, Wangfei was excellent in every way, except that she had no brothers to support her. As for Han Jingyan, Momo Gui simply ignored him — as long as he didnʼt cause any trouble, she couldnʼt expect him to offer any support. She changed the subject to divert Yuchenʼs attention. ”Madam, Fifth Missʼs wedding is coming soon. What gift should we prepare?” In fact, they had already prepared the gift a long time ago.

When the subject of Yurongʼs marriage came up, Yuchen couldnʼt help but frown. ”If you ask me, it would be better to call off the engagement. With a mother-in-law like that, how could she expect to have a happy life in the future?” Jiang Hongjin was three years older than Yurong and was already thirty-one this year. Madam Jiang strongly disapproved and wanted her son to take a concubine, but he refused.

At the end of last year, when news of Yuxiʼs rebellion reached the capital, Madam Jiang secretly hired a matchmaker to break off the engagement with the Han family. However, Han Jingyan disagreed, saying that if the engagement was to be broken off, both Master Jiang and Madam Jiang should have come together. When Jiang Hongjin heard of this, he personally apologised, and the matter was settled.

Momo Gui commented, ”Priceless treasures are easy to obtain, but a loving man is hard to find. Madam Jiang may not be ideal, but Second Young Master Jiang is deeply affectionate and devoted to Fifth Miss. It would be a pity to break off the engagement.”

Yuchen argued, ”What good is a husbandʼs deep affection if the mother-in-law detests Yurong? After marriage, sheʼll be living a life of torment.”

Momo Gui smiled and said, ”Wangfei, donʼt all wives go through this? I think it will slowly get better.”

Yuchen shook her head. She wasnʼt so optimistic. If Yurong didnʼt want to marry into the Jiang family and asked her for help, she might intervene. However, the problem was that it was Yurongʼs wish to marry into that family. Since they werenʼt full sisters born of the same mother, why should she do a thankless job?