The moonlight was dim.
The man under the city wall looked up in the direction of Jizhou City.
His eyebrows were tightly knitted as he let the falling leaves of the sky land on his face.
The strong wind blew, and his cape fluttered wildly, flaunting like the wings of a bird.
He seemed calm - faced, and in the darkness, it was even harder to make out his features. Even Sheng Jiangli couldn't figure out for a moment whether the enemy would take the bait in this trap.
After a long while.
Song Yinghuai pulled the reins, turned his horse around, and quickly disappeared into the thick night.
Li Muge watched the disappearing man and horse with a startled and uncertain look in his eyes, full of fear and anxiety:
"General Sheng, what... what does he mean?"
"Is he... is he not coming?"
Sheng Jiangli stared at the direction for a long time with a solemn face before saying, "Whether he comes or not, we must defend Jizhou. Instead of being so worried, Lord Li might as well think of a way to make the city wall stronger..."
Li Muge frowned in distress. "It's easy to say. The catapults and provisions in the city are almost exhausted. Originally, we could last for seven or eight days, but now with the addition of thirty thousand more cavalrymen in the city, I've calculated that we can only last for at most five days..."
Sheng Jiangli raised his eyebrows. "Isn't five days enough? The Hebei front - line is blocked by the Yan Army, so the reinforcements and provisions can't get in. Then we can get them from the sea!"
"Is the Jiaodong Sea just for viewing?"
"What are the fish and shrimps in the sea for?"
Li Muge:??
Sheng Jiangli was already impatient. He waved his hand and said, "Lord Li, go quickly. Before the Yan Army encircles us from the sea, quickly take control of the sea route!"
Li Muge turned to look at the man's unrestrained back, and a sense of humiliation welled up in his heart.
"Pah!" Li Muge spat fiercely in the man's direction. "Just because you're good at fighting! After we recapture Yanjing, see if I'll still give you any face. You're so disrespectful... I'm the commander - in - chief of the three armies!"
In the central camp of the Yan Army.
Xu Buyue, Tan Xiong, and Zhang Ce were anxiously waiting in the camp.
Suddenly.
The curtain of the tent was lifted, and the tall figure of the man rushed in, bringing with him the night.
Xu Buyue's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward quickly. "Fourth brother, how is it?"
She carefully observed Song Yinghuai's face and asked in a low voice, "Is it... Caiyu?"
Song Yinghuai's face was cold and solemn. He said nothing and sat back behind the table.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Zhang Ce couldn't hold back. "Your Highness, tell us. Is it or not?"
Xu Buyue tugged at Zhang Ce. "If Fourth brother doesn't want to say, don't ask."
She glanced at the man's face, which was colder than usual, and felt a bit disheartened.
In the past two years, whenever there was a bit of news that might be related to Caiyu, Fourth brother would be like this.
Tan Xiong coughed lightly. "That's right, Lao Zhang. Why are you so impatient? If Your Highness doesn't want to say, don't force him. A woman, whether it's her or not, can't affect our war... Your Highness, is it Sheng Jiangli?"
Zhang Ce and Xu Buyue twitched the corners of their mouths.
This question...
Was rather circuitous.
Xu Buyue still wanted to stop Tan Xiong, but the man sitting suddenly spoke, "Yes."
The three of them immediately gaped.
...Yes?
Then it was bad.
"Then... then..." Zhang Ce stammered, "Then, shall we still attack Jizhou?"
Song Yinghuai finally raised his eyes, and his gaze swept over the three of them one by one.
His face was still handsome and calm, but on closer inspection, there was a fierce look between his eyebrows.
"Attack." As Song Yinghuai's voice fell, the hearts of the three, which had been hanging in the air, finally dropped.
Then, they heard Song Yinghuai's calm voice again. "Sheng Jiangli is getting married in half a month. If I don't attack, how can I go into the city to attend his wedding?"
Sheng Jiangli is getting married?
The three were overwhelmed by this successive stream of news, their hearts pounding.
"Who is the bride?" Xu Buyue was anxious now.
Her first reaction was Caiyu.
Otherwise, why would Song Yinghuai be so eager to attack?
"Miss Hongxiu."
"Ah!" Xu Buyue responded blankly, her heart full of mixed feelings.
She couldn't tell if she was relieved or regretful.
At first, her feelings for Song Yinghuai were indeed just admiration.
The God of War of Daye, handsome and imposing, which woman wouldn't admire him?
But it was just admiration, so she thought she could magnanimously accept other women around Song Yinghuai.
She just wanted to strive for the greatest benefits for her family.
But as the time of companionship grew, she witnessed this man's resourcefulness, his love for his soldiers and the people, and his single - mindedness in love.
After admiring him for so long, she also began to have selfish desires.
Maybe in this lifetime, without Caiyu.
She would be the only one who could get close to Song Yinghuai.
The word "only" was such a great temptation for a woman.
So...
She didn't want Caiyu to really die, but she hoped that Sheng Jiangli's bride was Caiyu.
The four of them could live in peace.
Song Yinghuai didn't notice Xu Buyue's expression at all. In his eyes, Xu Buyue was no different from other women.
In this world, except for Caiyu, no one else could make him interested in their emotions.
Song Yinghuai, Tan Xiong, and Zhang Ce began to discuss the preparations for the siege the next day.
Tan Xiong sighed. "Our gunpowder was burned by that bastard Sheng Jiangli. I've asked Leng Fei. It will take at least a month to produce a large amount of gunpowder to blast the city gate again."
Song Yinghuai responded with an "mm" and asked, "What about the muskets?"
"Muskets have a long range. As long as the shield soldiers protect the troops and rush to a place not far from the city wall, they can shoot upwards."
Zhang Ce was furious. "Speaking of this, I'm even angrier. That bastard stole all the muskets while in chaos!"
Xu Buyue hadn't participated in this battle before. She led her troops to block the Hebei front - line. She heard that the siege of Jizhou had failed, so she came alone on horseback to check the situation.
When she heard that the muskets had been stolen by Sheng Jiangli, she was also stunned:
"Then won't they be able to use the muskets on the city tower to counter - attack us?"
Song Yinghuai had been sitting in the rear and didn't expect his opponent, who had disappeared for two years, to suddenly appear. So, he was unexpectedly successfully attacked.
If the enemy stood on the city tower and attacked with muskets, they wouldn't even be able to get close to the city tower, let alone attack the city.
For a moment, his temples began to throb.
He finally understood why Sheng Jiangli had been so confident on the city tower.
Song Yinghuai stared fiercely at the sand - table with his eyes.
After a long time, he said, "Tomorrow when we attack the city, use only shield soldiers. Surround the city but don't attack. Harass them from time to time to create the illusion of a siege. Consume their ammunition until it's exhausted."
Although the muskets were in their hands, Leng Fei, who made the ammunition, was in the Divine Machine Camp.
As long as they could exhaust their ammunition, they could continue to attack the city later.
Xu Buyue said, "Surrounding the city without attacking is a long - term plan, but he's getting married in half a month. What if that Hongxiu is actually Caiyu?"
Zhang Ce didn't mind much. "The provisions in Jizhou City are running out. They won't be able to hold out for a few days. They'll run out of provisions before the wedding."
I see!
"No." Song Yinghuai rubbed his temples again. "Sheng Jiangli is here. He's not as stubborn as Li Muge..."
"Jiaodong has the sea. Sheng Jiangli will definitely make use of it!"
When the Yan Army counter - attacked, there were a hundred thousand soldiers, while the Southern Army had four hundred thousand at first.
Later, they killed one hundred thousand Southern Army soldiers. Then, in order to win quickly, Song Yinghuai didn't disperse his troops to block the sea route. He just let Xu Buyue block the Hebei front - line to prevent the Southern Army's reinforcements from entering Jiaodong.
Because he was sure that Li Muge's stupid head wouldn't make use of the sea route.
And those scattered soldiers and landlubbers of the Southern Army wouldn't risk entering Jiaodong by sea.
But all of this had been disrupted by the suddenly - appeared Sheng Jiangli.
Zhang Ce's face changed. "I'll immediately lead ten thousand soldiers to compete for the sea route with the Southern Army!"
Song Yinghuai's fingertips rubbed against the sand - table as he softly responded, "Go and give it a try!"
The hope was slim, but they had to find out the situation.
In September of the second year of Xuanwen in Daye.
The Southern Army was stationed in Jizhou, surrounded by the Yan Army. The battle was at a stalemate.
There was a tense atmosphere outside the city, but inside Jizhou City, it was decorated with lanterns and streamers.
The red silk was hung on the towering trees in the city.
The red peeping out was like a fiery cloud, burning Song Yinghuai's eyes.