There's one more thing Xiang Yu shouldn't forget: this nameless scout has been possessed for so long and is practically dead. If Liu Xiu discovers anything amiss, it won't be good. Even if he wants to follow Liu Xiu, he'll need to find a different body.
"I understand." After asking Hao Jiu, Xiang Yu had his clone clasp his hands in greeting and obey Liu Xiu's orders.
Liu Xiu glanced at Xiang Ji with relief, feeling even more grateful. If only he could have survived…
Chapter 254 Dedicating the City
Xiang Yu's clone is dying, but Hao Jiu disagrees with using the healing medicine on this person.
The key issue is that Xiang Yu's divided soul doesn't have any healing medicine. To save this person, Xiang Yu himself would have to go and deliver the medicine, but it's completely unnecessary to take that risk for a stranger.
When Xiang Yu found this body, the person was seriously injured and would have bled to death if no one had saved him.
The original plan was that after Xiang Yu's soul split into parts and arrived in Kunyang, he would change the body he possessed. He was only using this body temporarily, so he used the small blue pill to stop the bleeding instead of using any healing medicine.
Unexpectedly, this temporary scout became Liu Xiu's trusted confidant, and it would be a pity to discard him, as even Wang Ba is no match for him now.
To be honest, given Xiang Yu's personality, he wouldn't be too willing to possess a good person. If he were to possess the lively and energetic Wang Ba and leave him with aftereffects, it would be quite unpleasant.
Wang Ba left a good impression on Xiang Yu. Moreover, if he wanted to possess such a determined person, he would need the help of the ruler. Otherwise, he could only knock him unconscious and possess him for a short time. It would be troublesome if the other party woke up.
Of course, if they were to strike hard enough to render the person a vegetable, there wouldn't be much trouble, but Xiang Yu would never agree to that.
Now things are really bad. Wang Ba went directly to Kunyang with Liu Xiu, so even if Xiang Yu's divided soul wanted to possess Wang Ba, it wouldn't work. He could only choose from among those who stayed behind.
Moreover, the selection should be made from the survivors. Don't forget that Ju Wuba's beast army is coming to besiege Ziyun Mountain. If possible, Xiang Yu wants to use this dying clone to test just how strong those extraordinary beasts are.
The memory of Liu Xiu killing the golden leopard with a single blow is still vivid. Could an ordinary person really do that?
Wang Ba secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to staying here to rob grain, he would rather follow Liu Xiu to attack Kunyang. If Xiang Ji disagreed, Liu Xiu would definitely send him.
"Haha, actually staying here at Ziyun Mountain isn't bad either. At least there are fewer enemies, so it's safer. If we can successfully seize or burn the new army's supplies, that would be a great achievement." After saying that, Li Zhi looked at his group of trusted men and found that not a single one dared to meet his gaze.
Liu Xiu looked around at everyone and said, “The next batch of supplies for the new army may arrive soon, and it is unlikely that the main battlefield at Kunyang will be won in one battle. Therefore, those of you who stay behind can at least catch up with the second half of the Battle of Kunyang, and your contributions will not be much different. If none of you are willing to leave anyone behind, Xiang Ji alone is just enough. He can shoulder the heavy responsibility.”
One of Li Zhi's trusted confidants stepped forward, saying, "This humble general is willing to stay."
"Granted." Li Zhi said through gritted teeth, feeling incredibly angry. Couldn't he have come out earlier? Why did he have to wait until Liu Xiu finished speaking before coming out?
Ma Wu had only one deputy general, and he directly ordered him to stay, and the man did not raise any objections.
After some discussion, Xiang Ji became the commander of the two thousand men left behind at Ziyun Mountain, while Liu Xiu, along with Li Zhi, Ma Wu, Wang Ba, and others, led three thousand elite troops on a secret detour to Kunyang.
Nanyang, Wancheng.
"General Yan, have the scouts we sent out returned?" Cen Peng, the commander of Wancheng, asked, rubbing his forehead. He had barely rested in the past two days and was in very poor condition.
"They're back, but..." Deputy General Yan said, hesitating to finish his sentence.
"But you didn't break through the Gengshi army's blockade, right?" Cen Peng was already used to it. Liu Yan wasn't very proactive in attacking the city, but he put a lot of effort into blocking the news. Not to mention people, even birds would have a hard time flying out of the Gengshi army's encirclement from Wancheng. They might end up on Liu Yan's dinner table.
Yan sighed, “Exactly. But this time is different from the past. This man was captured by Liu Yan, who then sent him a message to the general.”
"What news is this?" Cen Peng asked in confusion. In the past, when scouts were captured, they would only have their heads thrown back. This time, they were lucky to survive.
"Wang Yi and Wang Xun's 200,000-strong army has been attacking Kunyang for days without success, and their supplies have been seized twice by the Gengshi army. Soon they will be like us, starving," Yan said truthfully.
"Ha, it must be Liu Yan's trick. Two hundred thousand is definitely too little, double is more like it. It's possible that the attack on Kunyang failed, but the claim that the Gengshi army robbed their grain and they couldn't eat is a bit of an exaggeration. Even if Wang Yi and Wang Xun are stupid, they wouldn't be so careless about grain supplies. They would definitely bring more grain with their army and send heavy troops to escort and transport it. The main force of the Gengshi army is here, so how many troops could be left to rob grain in Kunyang?"
At this point, Cen Peng really wanted to curse Wang Yi and Wang Xun. They should have sent troops to besiege Kunyang and then quickly reinforce Wancheng! While our army still has provisions, a pincer attack on the rebels in Wancheng would surely lead to a great victory. However, since Wancheng was besieged, reinforcements should have crawled to Nanyang by now, but there wasn't a trace of them!
"I'm afraid it's true that they're robbing the grain. A few days ago, our sentries observed that two groups of the Gengshi army left Wancheng and headed north. At the time, we judged that the imperial reinforcements had arrived and the Gengshi army wanted to split up their forces to intercept them. But now it seems that with the number of those two groups of troops, it's impossible for them to stop an army of 100,000 for so long. They're more than enough to rob the grain."
Therefore, Liu Yan has intensified his siege in the past few days. On the one hand, he wants to take Wancheng before our reinforcements arrive. On the other hand, he probably also wants to end the battle of Wancheng as soon as possible and head north to fight Wang Yi's army. If Wang Yi's army is really short of food and supplies and is stationed under the fortified city, things may not be good.
"If Wang Yi's army is defeated, it won't just be Nanyang and Yingchuan that are lost, but the entire Great Xin Dynasty..." Yan said, covering his face and rubbing it vigorously. The Great Xin Dynasty is doomed.
Cen Peng snorted coldly, "Forget about Wang Yi's army, let's do our duty. Kunyang, a small city, was able to hold out against an army of 400,000. Wancheng is a truly large city, how could it fall before Kunyang?"
“The general is absolutely right,” Yan said with a wry smile. “The Gengshi army’s offensive is fierce. I implore the general to allow the entire city’s population to be conscripted to defend the city.”
Cen Peng slammed his fist on the table and roared, “Nonsense! What good can those civilians do in the war? They’ll just be throwing their lives away. The enemy has more soldiers, and they can be replaced when they get tired of fighting. It’s pointless to exhaust the enemy’s strength.”
Furthermore, our soldiers are starving, so where will we get food for the people? If the people aren't well-fed, they're even less capable of fighting; they can't even move stones, let alone provide support for defense.
"General, you may not know this, but now only officials and wealthy families in Wancheng can barely afford a bowl of thin porridge. Ordinary people have even eaten tree bark. They only asked to join the war because they couldn't survive. They don't ask for a full meal, they just want a bowl of rice gruel to fill their stomachs, and they are willing to fight to the death. If all else fails..." Yan said, then stopped.
Cen Peng hadn't expected the people in the city to be living in such dire straits. "What's worse than that?"
"At worst, they can get a body or two. Dying under enemy arrows is better than cannibalism," Yan said through gritted teeth.
Cen Peng's eyes widened instantly. "Has the city become so short of food that people are resorting to cannibalism?"
"General, have you forgotten? A few days ago, Liu Yan personally led his troops to scale the city walls and nearly captured it. Later, he learned that everyone was starving and lacked the strength to defend. So, General, you ordered all the stored grain to be brought out, thinking that reinforcements would arrive in a few more days, but..."
Yan said there was one more thing he didn't say: the corpses that the Gengshi army didn't have time to take back had already been washed and their fur removed!
"Surrender," Cen Peng said woodenly.
"What?" Yan said he didn't hear clearly.
Cen Penghu's eyes were filled with tears. "I said we'd surrender the city and stop fighting! The people and soldiers of Wancheng have held out long enough. Even if Wang Yi's army arrives tomorrow, I won't wait any longer. If the enemy insists on having my head before surrendering, then take it!"
Chapter 255 Entering the City
The fourth year of the reign of Emperor Di, at the end of May.
Cen Peng, the garrison commander of Wancheng in Nanyang, surrendered the city due to the lack of food supplies.
In fact, Cen Peng was not the real garrison commander of Wancheng; it was Zhen Fu, the governor of Nanyang. However, Zhen Fu died in battle, and Cen Peng was skilled in battle, so he became the person in charge of Wancheng and established a high reputation in battle after battle.
Cen Peng said that surrendering the city was acceptable, but Cen Peng also said that we should defend it to the death, even if it meant eating people.
With a creak, the city gates swung open.
“General Yan, I’m going now. If the Gengshi army doesn’t give me a chance to speak, I beg you to plead with them not to massacre the city in their anger, and it would be best if they could give the people some food.” Cen Peng turned around and bowed to Yan Shuo with clasped hands.
"Your humble servant obeys." Yan said, choking back tears. He hadn't expected that even after holding out to the very end, reinforcements would never arrive. If only he had known this would happen in the first place.
Cen Peng laughed freely and strode towards the Gengshi army outside the city. The general riding a tall horse in front of him, who exuded a domineering aura, was none other than Liu Yan.
"General Cen Peng, the defeated general, pays his respects to the Great General!"
"The army is entering the city!" Liu Yan waved his hand and led the way into the city, showing no fear of the enemy's trickery.
Cen Peng hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and followed. He bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "General, the people in the city did not participate in the battle. I hope that you will restrain your troops and not take your anger out on the people. If possible, please give some grain to the people to appease the people of Wancheng."
Liu Yan glanced at Cen Peng, "Aren't you going to plead for yourself?"
“I know my sins are unforgivable, so why waste my breath?” Cen Peng said with a wry smile.
"Pass down the order! The army must not disturb the people upon entering the city! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!" Liu Yan roared.
"Yes, sir!" the surrounding soldiers responded in unison.
Cen Peng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What about the grain..."
"Is there a severe food shortage in the city?" Liu Yan asked, tilting his head.
“Every household is out of food,” Cen Peng sighed.
"If you had food, you wouldn't have surrendered, would you?" Liu Yan was somewhat frustrated. Was it really because the city ran out of food that they were able to capture it?
"The food supplies were originally enough to last a few more days, but the general's offensive has been too fierce these past few days, and we've been eating them too quickly," Cen Peng said truthfully.
"Haha, you're quite honest. You can talk to His Majesty about the provisions later. He should like to hear about things like reassuring the people of Wancheng," Liu Yan said with a smile.
...
Soon after, the Gengshi army completely controlled Wancheng.
Emperor Gengshi Liu Xuan and his ministers also entered Wancheng, finally having a proper capital city!
Liu Xuan was very pleased and immediately requisitioned the governor's office as his temporary palace. He then summoned his ministers to the main hall.
"Do any of you ministers have something to report?" Liu Xuan felt a surge of joy, already fantasizing about winning the world like Emperor Gaozu.
"Your Majesty, the garrison commander of Wancheng, Cen Peng, only surrendered when the city ran out of food, resulting in heavy casualties among our soldiers. I request that he be executed!" said Shen Tu Jian, the Imperial Censor in Embroidered Robes, bowing.
"The censor is absolutely right!"
"He should be killed!"
...
The generals were filled with righteous indignation. If it weren't for Cen Peng, they would have captured Wancheng long ago and lost far fewer soldiers.
Liu Xuan nodded, and was about to order Cen Peng to be killed when Liu Yan stepped forward.
"Your Majesty! Cen Peng is the garrison commander of Wancheng. His dedication to his duty is a matter of integrity. Now that we are undertaking a great undertaking together, we should commend such a loyal and righteous person. Why not bestow upon him an official title and rank to encourage future generations?"
Liu Yan's idea was to have Liu Xuan treat surrendered generals well, so that more people would be willing to surrender in the future. Those who fought to the death were given official positions, so what was there to fear from the others?
Of course, if there really were such a fool who insisted on imitating Cen Peng by waiting until the food was exhausted before surrendering to show his loyalty, he would have to have that ability.
Liu Xuan was in a dilemma. All the generals wanted to kill him, but Liu Yan still wanted to be granted an official position. However, Liu Xuan could not refuse Liu Yan's request, as he was counting on him to help pacify the country. If he did not first eliminate the 400,000 enemy troops in Kunyang, his reign as emperor would be over.
At this moment, Liu Ci, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the Grand Minister of Works’ words are reasonable. Moreover, once the precedent of killing those who surrender is set, enemy generals will have to consider how many of our soldiers they have killed before they want to surrender a city. If we calculate it this way, I am afraid that even more will be willing to hold out to the end.”
Liu Xuan nodded repeatedly, "What the Grand Minister of Works and the Grand Master of Ceremonies said is quite right. In that case, let Cen Peng go to the palace to receive his title."
"Here you go."
...
Soon, Cen Peng was brought to the main hall.
Cen Peng kowtowed to the ground, "This sinner, Cen Peng, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
"Alas~ What crime have you committed? Please rise quickly. Not only are you innocent, but you have rendered meritorious service by surrendering the city! I respect loyal and righteous men the most, so I hereby enfeoff you as the Marquis of Guide and allow you to serve under Grand Minister Bo Sheng." Liu Xuan put on the airs of a wise ruler.
Cen Peng was overjoyed and immediately bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I have another request."
"Tell me about it." Liu Xuan was quite satisfied with Cen Peng's attitude.
"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you bestow some grain upon the people of the city to reassure them. Truly, every household is struggling to make ends meet," Cen Peng said, bowing respectfully.
"Don't worry, Lord Guide, I was just about to do that. From now on, Wancheng will be my capital. How can I let the people go hungry?" Liu Xuan said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, on behalf of the people of Wancheng, I thank you!" A weight was finally lifted from Cen Peng's heart, but at this moment he did not know that it was Liu Yan who had saved him. He thought that Liu Xuan had truly regarded him as a righteous man and thus bestowed upon him the title of Marquis. He also regarded Liu Xuan as a wise and tolerant ruler.