My Cultivation Starting from Archery-Chapter 316 - 158: Besieged on All Sides [Thanks to the League Master ’Jia Ling’]_7

"In the end, there’s no escape from death, is there?"

"How cruel, so very cruel!"

"..."

"Enough talk!"

Zhu Qi immediately set out, escorting them as they departed.

...

The fourteenth day!

On this day,

the Qing Country’s grand army pressed towards Green Ridge Mountain.

Just another three to five days’ march, and they would enter the territory of Lai State!

Outside Yong Yue Prefecture.

Meng Quji had already made preparations to retreat.

Outside Zhao Tong Prefecture, in the camp of the Dasheng Army, Sha Wenlong and the others were mixed with worry and secret joy.

The worry was that they were anxious about the direction of the situation to come.

The secret joy was because someone had issued a military order!

Ten days before.

After Chen Sansi failed to persuade Zhao Tong Prefecture to surrender, he led his men further south.

It was only recently that they had returned.

As a result...

According to reliable intelligence, they hadn’t taken a single city!

That is to say, they had done nothing but run south and then back again, wastefully spending more than ten days’ time, and tomorrow would make the fifteenth day!

That was the day previously agreed upon to let Zhao Tong Prefecture open its gates.

After tonight!

If Zhao Tong Prefecture still didn’t surrender, besieging it would be impossible, they would have to withdraw quickly!

That is to say.

Chen Sansi had failed to fulfill the military order!

All his previous arrogance was about to meet its final reckoning!

...

Zhao Tong Prefecture.

Atop the city walls.

The soldiers and citizens of Qing Country watched with their own eyes as the Xuanjia Army returned.

Following that, came the news brought back by the scouts.

"Things have gone terribly wrong!"

"Outside the city, word is spreading like wildfire among the Sheng Army troops, and the other eight prefectures have surrendered, too!"

"Just like before with the twenty-seven states, did every place Chen Sansi visited see the main generals open their gates to surrender voluntarily, without firing a single arrow?"

"What, really?"

"Didn’t General Deng say that the other eight prefectures wouldn’t surrender?"

"Shh—keep it down, have you forgotten that before those twenty-seven states surrendered, General Deng also said they wouldn’t either? What happened then?"

"You mean the general has been deceiving us all along, just wanting us to hold out?"

"What else?"

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Actually, it’s completely unnecessary. Just open the gates and surrender, why stubbornly hold out? Those from the other prefectures who surrendered are probably already home!"

"..."

"What did you say? You’ve got some nerve, spreading rumors, disrupting our army’s morale, die—"

Deng Feng climbed up on the city wall and happened to hear what one of the soldiers said privately; he was thunderously furious, and with one swift motion, decapitated him right in front of everyone, the blood spraying from the severed neck, bringing a warm touch as it spattered on those nearby.

He picked up the head: "Listen well, all of you. The news from outside must be false! I, your general, will not surrender, it’s simply impossible for the eight prefectures to surrender! Anyone else who dares to disrupt our morale will meet the same fate!"

"This, this..."

The crowd recoiled in horror, no one daring to discuss it any further.

But Deng Feng knew that having to resort to killing for stability hinted they were at their limit!

Fortunately, just a bit longer!

This tension, just needed to last through one more night!

Early tomorrow morning.

This was when Dasheng claimed the time to attack the city.

As long as they launched an attack on the city, and both sides became desperate in battle, they could keep defending!

After five days, the army would arrive!

...

Outside the city.

In the central tent of Dasheng’s Hu Ben Army.

"A few more hours and it will be dawn! If the people of Zhaotong Prefecture haven’t opened their gates to surrender by then, it means General Chen’s military order cannot be fulfilled! When the time comes, I’ll personally capture him and bring him before Meng Dashuai. I’d like to see how Fang Qingyun can save him then!"

"Where is Chen Sansi? He better not be hiding!"

Sha Wenlong squinted his single eye, continuously stroking the edge of his broadsword, imagining himself forcing General Chen to kneel and admit his wrongs.

"Replying to General Sha, Chen Sansi is in the tent at the East City Gate!"

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"What is he doing?"

"Don’t know, he seems to be doing nothing. However, I saw that the Xuanjia Army seems to have brought in many surrendered soldiers."

"Surrendered soldiers?"

Cui Congyi raised his eyebrows: "What is he bringing surrendered soldiers for?"

"Don’t know! The people from the Xuanjia Army didn’t reveal anything!"

"Report—"

Another soldier rushed into the tent and knelt down to report: "General Chen has an order! He commands us to abandon the strategy ’surround three gates and leave one’ by 5 a.m., completely lock down Zhaotong Prefecture, sound all the war drums, deploy troops on all four sides of the city, and prepare all the siege equipment."

"Good!"

Sha Wenlong couldn’t help but laugh coldly: "I get it! He’s using the surrendered soldiers to force them to serve as shields and storm in first, then we attack the city! It seems he has finally come to realize that the people inside won’t surrender, so we must attack!

"Too late, though!"

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"Now it’s all too late!"

"As soon as blood is shed, it will provoke a desperate resistance from the people inside, and it’s absolutely impossible to conquer it in five days! Qing Country’s reinforcements are almost here!"

"He’s making a fatal blunder in wartime!

"General Cui, send a message quickly!"

"We are close to Yong Yue Prefecture, and by dawn Hai Dongqing will have flown back. Let’s have Meng Dashuai stop this fool! Attacking now is a suicide mission!"

"Withdraw his false commission, let’s capture him and bring him back for trial!"

"Yes!"

...

Xuanjia Army.

Under immense tension, Chen Sansi was practicing his spear technique in front of the tent.

He stopped only when Xia Cong hurriedly came to report, leisurely accepting the coarse cloth that Zhao Kang handed him to wipe his sweat: "Is everything arranged?"

"Sir!"

Xia Cong bowed and said: "Two thousand surrendered soldiers are all positioned, spread across the four city gates to the northeast, southwest, and northwest! The other units are also ready and will prepare to attack the city as soon as it gets light! So Sir, for this fifth step, are we still attacking the city?"

Lu Shuhua, Xiao Zheng, and others all cast puzzled looks.

In their view,

attacking now seemed impossible to complete in time.

But since the sir insisted on it, it meant he definitely could capture it in an exceedingly short time.

However, the method remained beyond their imagination.

The answer they received, though, was completely contrary to their guesses.

"No attack on the city."

"Not attack? Then, are we still going to persuade them to surrender? But sir, we’ve brought in surrendered soldiers to serve as shields and ordered other units to prepare siege equipment; if it’s not for attacking, is it just for intimidation?"

"You have been asking me what the fifth step of taking over Lai State is."

Chen Sansi’s palm hovered over the sand table, directly above Zhaotong Prefecture City. Under the flickering candlelight, shadows enveloped the entire city.

He spoke slowly, his words firm: "The fifth step! Songs of celebration from all sides!"

"Celebration songs? Are you referring to the folk songs of Qing Country?"

Xia Cong and the others were almost completely flustered: "Sir, what is this plan?"

"Relay my command! After midnight, have the two thousand surrendered soldiers sing mountain songs!"

"When the celebration songs start, and with the dawn in the east, that will be the moment when Lai State City falls!"

"Bang!"

Chen Sansi’s palm, like Five-finger Mountain, heavily fell, crushing the sand table depiction of Zhaotong Prefecture City into powder!

The fifth step!

Songs of sadness from all sides, arrows of heart attack, arrows to open the city gates and secure Lai State!