"The Xuanji chariot is useless in the siege now, and Changcheng will be difficult to defend. We must not let the Xuanji chariot fall into Liu Guang's hands." Although Feng Jiutian was furious, he had not lost his mind. He ordered, "Send word to General Zhang Yong, ordering him to escort the Xuanji chariot out of the east gate, and order Mr. Yuan Youxing to leave with him. If the two refuse to leave the city, bind them!"
"Also, please ask Mr. Lei Hun and Miss Ji Su to leave with the Xuanji Cart immediately. Tell them that the Xuanji Cart is of great importance and needs their protection!" Feng Jiutian put on his shoes and strode out of the house. Even now, he knew that Ji Su and the others would not leave first, so he needed an excuse to make them leave without arousing suspicion.
As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard gate, Ji Su, fully armored, appeared before him. His warhorse circled twice, snorting anxiously. "The west gate is in danger. You go through the east gate first; I'll defend the city!"
Feng Jiutian looked up at Ji Su. He couldn't see her expression beneath the helmet, only a pair of clear, lake-like eyes. Though filled with murderous intent and anger, they possessed an undeniable aura that commanded respect. Feng Jiutian took a deep breath. When he left during the day, Ji Su's pent-up anger hadn't dissipated, and perhaps never would. Yet, in this moment of crisis, she still appeared before him, still trying to get him to safety.
Moved by the emotion he felt, his mind suddenly sharpened. He roared, "Men, go to the west gate! Pile up firewood there and set it on fire! The entire army must retreat through the east gate. Do not linger. Preserving our strength is the best course of action now!"
"My lord, there are no defenders left on the city walls, and the fire at the city gates is raging, preventing our army from entering!"
Only half an hour later, the news reached Liu Guang's ears. Liu Guang squinted at the firelight for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "Quickly put out the fire and enter the city. Cavalry, follow me to the south gate. Let's go see Feng Jiutian again!"
two,
Feng Jiutian knew that the fire at the city gate could only hold off the enemy for a short time. He had to withdraw his entire army from Huichang City in this very short time to avoid the enemy's sharp edge and wait for the next battle.
As tens of thousands of troops poured out of the three gates of the eastern city in disarray, the awakened civilians began to cry out, begging the Peace Army not to abandon them. But in the chaos, the Peace Army had no time to settle the civilians, and their morale had collapsed with the overwhelming disadvantage in the western city. It was difficult enough to maintain any semblance of discipline and escape, let alone anything else.
Not long after the army left the east gate, Feng Jiutian suddenly ordered, "Turn north! Do not proceed east again!"
His order allowed the Peace Army to avoid the ambush set up by Liu Guang. When Liu Guang arrived, he found the Peace Army had already turned north and sighed, "Maintaining composure in the face of change, Feng Jiutian's military strategy is truly remarkable. Let's return to the city for now, settle the people, and then proceed with our plans."
"Why doesn't our lord launch a swift and decisive attack, taking advantage of the enemy's weakened defenses to penetrate deep into Yu Prefecture and strike directly at Kuanglan City?" Pang Zhen asked. If they could seize Pingyi City now, while the Heping Army was retreating and unable to defend, and capitalize on their recent victory, they could then advance towards Dagu and Leiming City. These cities were currently undefended and could be easily captured. But Liu Guang had ordered a retreat, which puzzled him. How could such an opportunity be wasted?
"Didn't you say that Yuzhou had its army and people living together, and that the people's hearts were with the rebels?" Liu Guang laughed. "Now, capturing cities like Pingyi and Dagu is insignificant. The key is to inflict a heavy blow on the rebel army. Only in this way can we deter the entire prefecture and force the people to join us."
“But Li Jun is probably arriving soon…” Liu Zheng hesitated slightly before adding, “It will be difficult to fight him then.”
“Li Jun has arrived.” Liu Guang turned his gaze to the eastern horizon, where it was pitch black.
"What?" Pang Zhen and Liu Zheng exclaimed in unison, clearly both harboring reservations about Li Jun.
Liu Guang glanced at the two men, narrowed his eyes, and smiled faintly: "What harm is there in his return? I don't want to engage him in a decisive battle in the fortified city of Kuanglan. Wouldn't it be more advantageous for our army to leverage its numerical superiority by setting the battlefield here?"
Pang Zhen and Liu Zheng exchanged a glance. Although what Liu Guang said was true, Feng Jiutian under Li Jun's command had already caused them considerable trouble. If Li Jun himself came, who knew what kind of battle would unfold?
"What you can see is merely Yuzhou." Liu Guang didn't look at the two again, sighing inwardly, "If Huo Kuang were here, he would surely understand my intention."
Feng Jiutian finally breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to Pingyi City. To his slight relief, Liu Guang abandoned the opportunity to press his advantage and instead chose to rest in Huichang, seemingly waiting for something.
Two days passed before the Chen army finally took action on the third day, gradually moving from Huichang City towards Pingyi. However, they stopped halfway and set up camp on the spot. Feng Jiutian was surprised but also slightly relieved, because Li Jun had already arrived in Pingyi.
"It seems Liu Guang has complete confidence in his generals." Li Jun smiled and dismissed the matter after understanding the situation. Although the Chen army had captured Huichang, thus opening the gateway to Yuzhou, they remained inactive. Li Jun had already fully grasped Liu Guang's plan.
“If we continue our attack, he will have to divide his forces to defend the city and prevent attacks and harassment from the civilians, and he will also have to attack fortified cities like Kuanglan City, Dagu City, and Leiming City. On the contrary, the terrain here is open, which is conducive to the deployment of his forces and allows us to avoid fortified cities. As long as we defeat our main force here in one fell swoop, Yuzhou can be taken without a fight,” Feng Jiutian said.
“Indeed, Brother Feng is absolutely right. However, he has another plan.” Wei Zhan stroked his beard and cast his gaze northward. “He not only wants to win this battle, but also wants to use it to invade the Su Kingdom in one fell swoop. It seems that the general he sent to Fenglin Ferry must be someone he deeply trusts.”
"Haha, Meng Yuan and Wu Bing, aren't they also deeply trusted by me? And Fang Fengyi, if the three of them pool their wisdom, even if Liu Guang goes in person, we will have nothing to fear," Li Jun laughed.
“General Meng Yuan is both wise and brave, but he seems a bit too confident. If he were facing a renowned general like Liu Guang, he would not be careless and would not make any mistakes. But if he were facing an unknown soldier, I fear he might be careless,” Wei Zhan said after a moment of contemplation.
Li Jun's face darkened. He glanced at him for a long while, then shook his head and said, "Sir, you're overthinking it. Meng Yuan will be fine. Besides, I have a deeper reason for keeping him in Su."
Wei Zhan moved his lips, but held back the words "what deeper meaning"; if Li Jun wanted to say it, he would have said it without being asked.
Li Jun stroked his flying chain short sword, a warm feeling rising in his heart. This short sword was made for him by Mo Rong herself. Before he came to Pingyi, he had met her briefly. When the two of them walked side by side on the neat and wide streets of Kuanglan City, her gentle smile and soft voice made him forget his worries and made him intoxicated.
"Brother Meng, I already have Sister Mo and Ji Su. You should also have someone who cares about you." Li Jun smiled slightly, thinking of Lu Shang's stunning beauty. With the Chen army invading Qinggui, she wouldn't just stand by and do nothing, would she?
"How do we deal with Liu Guang?" Wei Zhan and Feng Jiutian both stared at Li Jun, who seemed to be deep in thought. Although they didn't say it aloud, their meaning was clear.
"Order the entire army to close the city gates and refrain from fighting." Li Jun sneered. "Liu Guang intends to decide the battle at Fenglin Ferry, then I will fight him at Fenglin Ferry!"
"So even Li Jun has something to fear."
Standing calmly on the plains fifty li outside Pingyi City, Liu Guang's beard and hair trembled slightly in the north wind. He paused, then sneered, "So you've closed the city gates and refused to fight? It seems even this brat has run out of tricks."
Liu Zheng unconsciously narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. Li Jun avoided this battle to fight Liu Guang, but why shouldn't our lord avoid fighting Li Jun at the foot of Kuanglan City? Avoiding the enemy's strengths and attacking their weaknesses is a natural principle in warfare, but even renowned generals like our lord and Li Jun have strengths and weaknesses, don't they?
Li Jun and Liu Guang could wait, but the changes in events left them no choice but to wait.
On the 17th day of the 12th month of the 20th year of the Zhongxing era of the Su Kingdom and the 1st year of the Wude era of the Chen Kingdom, it snowed.
Liu Guang received the news from Fenglin Ferry in Su State half a day earlier than Li Jun. Upon seeing the sixteen characters on the letter, "Fenglin has been captured, horses have drunk from the Gui River, and the bandits have been eliminated next year," Liu Guang stroked his beard and laughed heartily: "Huo Kuang has indeed lived up to my expectations; the outcome of this battle is already decided!"
Han Chong, whose injuries had partially healed, moved his lips but swallowed the words that were about to come out. Liu Guang glanced at him and patted his shoulder: "You're different. You don't need to compete with Huo Kuang for credit and fame."
Han Chong lowered his head deeply. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Liu Guang's heavy reliance on Huo Kuangyuan, believing that he should be the one in charge. However, Liu Guang's gentle reassurance comforted him. Liu Guang ordered, "Spies, contact our people in Pingyi City and see how Li Jun reacts. If I'm not mistaken, he will take action!"
Li Jun only received news of the fall of Fenglin Ferry a day later. Meng Yuan's letter writer felt deeply remorseful, but could not quell the anger in Li Jun's heart. "I said long ago that he was different from others, and his every move should be an example for all the generals. How dare he take such a risk!" he roared in his heart, his eyes blazing with rage.
"Li Jun!"
Ji Su, whose face was still somewhat pale, saw a hint of fierceness in his eyes and said with concern. Li Jun was stunned, his gaze lingering on Ji Su's pale face, which pained him deeply. If it weren't for him, why would Ji Su be like this? If it weren't for him, why would Meng Yuan take such a risk? He knew in his heart that he had placed high hopes on someone else, and therefore had no choice but to take the risk.
“Li Jun…” Ji Su extended her hand, and Li Jun grasped it tightly. This hand, which had instilled fear in Chen Guoyong on the battlefield, was now so soft and warm. Li Jun placed his other hand on her soft hand as well. The soldiers beside them silently withdrew from the tent, leaving the two of them alone.
“Ji Su, my dear.” Li Jun gazed at Ji Su and finally said what he should have said long ago but hadn’t: “You’ve suffered.”
"It's nothing." Ji Su lowered her eyelids, but then raised her head, a blush rising on her face, to meet Li Jun's gaze.
"Not only for you, but also for us Rong people, for the common people." Her voice was soft, like a lark on the grassland, like a spring breeze sweeping across the plains. "Li Jun, I, Sister Mo Rong, and others, all follow you for this reason. Meng Yuan should feel the same way."
"Yes..." Li Jun felt himself tremble under her clear gaze. The hatred he had felt for Meng Yuan just now filled him with shame. Why did he hate Meng Yuan? Had he forgotten that it was Meng Yuan who saved him from the brink of death? Had he forgotten that it was Meng Yuan who had always fought alongside him, whether under Commander Lu's command or behind him? Was his promise to Wei Zhan that he would never slaughter meritorious officials going to be overturned so quickly?
"You said it yourself, as long as your actions benefit the people, that is the greatest benevolence," Ji Su said slowly. "Don't forget, benevolence isn't about the grand principles spouted by you pedantic scholars, nor is it about your personal likes and dislikes, but rather whether it benefits the people." She paused, then smiled slightly: "This is what I'm saying on behalf of Sister Mo Rong."