Chapter 691: Meng Shanming Finally Makes His Ruthless Move

The moment those words left Meng Shanming's mouth, everyone's expression changed.

Gong Lince was the first to speak, his voice heavy. "Marshal Meng, are you joking?"

Xu Jingyue gave an awkward laugh. "Marshal, Da'an still has a long road ahead of him. There is no need to rush."

Zhang Hu was more direct still. "Marshal, Da'an has no real battle experience at all. Discussing warfare on paper and fighting an actual war are two different things. How can a campaign of this scale possibly be handed over to him? That would be far too much of a child's game!"

Faced with opposition from every side, Meng Shanming understood.

Even with his prestige, he could not raise Luo Da'an to the top in a single step over a matter like this. The men below would not accept it.

He had only thrown the idea out as a test to see everyone's reaction. The response made up his mind.

Luo Da'an was no longer suited to remaining constantly at his side.

He would find an opportunity to throw the boy down among the lowest ranks...

...

As Song's army drew ever closer to Yanjing, and as the situation along the Dongyu River changed, Yan's successive victories stabilized the morale of the regional lords.

After Meng Shanming exchanged letters with Shang Chaozong, Shang Chaozong's one hundred thousand iron cavalry finally began to move.

The Nanzhou cavalry, which had remained firmly in place until now, began closing on the great army commanded by Luo Zhao.

Luo Zhao received the news while riding with his army.

The movement of Nanzhou's troops, which had stayed still for so long, sent him into deep thought.

After careful consideration, he swept his gaze across the immense army marching around him and ordered, "Have the vanguard accelerate. Put distance between them and the main force. Lure Shang Chaozong into attacking."

He intended to expose a weakness and entice Shang Chaozong to strike.

The moment Shang Chaozong took the bait, Luo Zhao's main force would immediately sweep around from both flanks and encircle him.

...

"Your Majesty, Shang Chaozong's one hundred thousand iron cavalry are moving toward Song's army. It appears they intend to attack!"

Inside the imperial palace at Yanjing, Chief Steward Tian Yu hurriedly reported the news to Shang Jianxiong as soon as it arrived.

Shang Jianxiong was overjoyed. He shot up from behind his desk.

"Is the information reliable?"

"There is no mistake," Tian Yu said. "This old servant did not believe it at first either, so I had it confirmed. Nanzhou's one hundred thousand iron cavalry are indeed closing on Song's army."

Song's troops had been running rampant through Yan without restraint. Their vanguard had been maintaining forced marches of nearly two hundred li a day and was rapidly approaching Yanjing.

The capital was already in chaos.

Calls to abandon Yanjing and withdraw grew louder with each passing day.

Now Nanzhou's forces suddenly appeared to be moving to the rescue. Shang Jianxiong saw hope.

Surprised and delighted, he said, "Send a decree to Shang Chaozong. If he can stop Song's army, We are willing to grant him the office of Grand Marshal!"

Tian Yu froze for a moment.

He glanced toward the cultivators standing nearby, hesitated, and almost spoke.

Truly give the position of Grand Marshal to Shang Chaozong?

Then he caught Shang Jianxiong's meaningful look and understood.

This was only meant to encourage Shang Chaozong.

As for whether the office would actually be given afterward, was there any fear the people at court would fail to find reasons to obstruct it?

"Yes!"

Tian Yu immediately accepted the order.

Reality, however, disappointed Shang Jianxiong.

The office of Grand Marshal did not seem capable of moving Shang Chaozong at all.

Nanzhou's cavalry did indeed close on Song's army, but they merely kept pace alongside it. They showed no intention of intercepting or attacking.

Luo Zhao was disappointed as well.

No matter what opening he exposed, Shang Chaozong remained unmoved.

The feeling was deeply uncomfortable.

Song's army seemed to have become a great slab of meat, while Shang Chaozong was a starving wolf pacing beside it and staring hungrily, yet refusing to bite.

Worse, the cavalry came and went like the wind, leaving Luo Zhao unable to do anything about them.

...

"Your Majesty, Song's five hundred thousand vanguard troops are at most five days from the capital. I fear Yanjing's two hundred thousand defenders will have great difficulty stopping them."

"Your Majesty, the capital can no longer be held. We should withdraw! If we wait any longer, it will be too late. Once the delay grows too great, we may not escape Song's pursuit. We must leave first and maintain a safe distance."

"Yanjing's walls are high and the city is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Can two hundred thousand men truly not hold it?"

"Your Majesty, five hundred thousand is only Song's vanguard. Once the capital is surrounded and the rest of Song's army arrives, there will be no holding it. Even if we could defend the walls, all supplies entering the city would be cut off. With so many people in Yanjing, how long could we last? Without reinforcements, the city cannot be held!"

"Your Majesty, if we remain until Song breaks into the capital, it will be a catastrophe!"

"Are you truly asking Us to abandon the people of the capital and flee? If We cast aside the people and run, with what face could We ever meet the people of Great Yan again?"

This was the discussion taking place between Shang Jianxiong and several senior ministers inside the Imperial Study.

Withdrawal was already unavoidable.

The key question was who would remain behind to hold the capital.

They could not simply make no defensive effort at all and hand Yanjing over to Song on a platter.

If Shang Jianxiong truly did that, he might as well cease being Emperor. The people's spit alone would drown him.

Not only did the capital have to be defended, a senior minister of sufficient weight had to remain and hold it.

Sending some insignificant official to defend Yanjing would be far too perfunctory. What difference would there be between that and handing the city over?

Which senior minister would remain?

The subject was too heavy to resolve at once.

Shang Jianxiong's meaning was that the ministers should discuss it among themselves.

After the officials departed, Shang Jianxiong slumped back in his chair and called softly, "Tian Yu."

"This old servant is here." Tian Yu stepped forward.

Shang Jianxiong almost murmured, "There are too many women in the rear palace. If We abandon Our ministers and people while taking a whole crowd of women with Us, the tongues of men are fearsome."

Tian Yu understood.

Those women also had innumerable attendants around them.

He bent slightly. "Yes. To mix so many women into the army would slow the march, and it would also be harmful to military morale."

Shang Jianxiong said, "Draw up a list of the women in the rear palace who will withdraw with Us. Exercise your own judgment."

Tian Yu tried asking, "How many noble ladies would be appropriate to take?"

He could draft the list, but he could not decide the number himself.

"Ten? Thirty?" Shang Jianxiong asked back.

Tian Yu looked at him, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

There were more than ten women who had borne the Emperor sons and daughters alone.

Shang Jianxiong seemed to realize the problem himself.

Taking too few was not a matter of whether he personally needed those women.

Many had powerful family backgrounds that could not lightly be offended. Their fathers, brothers, and clansmen were serving him, commanding troops or governing regions.

Was he supposed to abandon their daughters?

At last Shang Jianxiong sighed and changed his answer.

"Keep it below one hundred."

"Yes."

Tian Yu accepted the instruction, then cautiously asked, "And how should the other noble ladies be arranged?"

Shang Jianxiong closed his eyes and said nothing.

He seemed to have fallen asleep leaning back in his chair.

Silence itself was an answer.

Tian Yu's heart tightened.

He understood.

The Emperor's women could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands and suffer defilement.

"The Emperor has three thousand beauties in his rear palace" was only a saying among the common people.

Shang Jianxiong had not actually collected thousands of women he had no energy even to see.

Still, there were several hundred.

Once a man reached his position, certain lavish offerings became difficult to refuse.

Several hundred women of the rear palace.

Every one of them belonged to the Emperor.

Tian Yu's heart grew heavy.

It seemed the villain in this matter could only be him.

...

Yanjing had sunk into panic.

Elsewhere, Luo Zhao stood before a map while his army rested temporarily, and he too was sinking into profound unease.

The Yan forces that had invaded Song were leading Wu Qunlie's former river-defense troops around like a man walking a dog.

Something was wrong.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief, word has arrived from Wu Qunlie."

Wen You strode in from outside the relay station with an intelligence report.

Luo Zhao did not move from the map.

His gaze remained fixed upon it as he asked coldly, "Have we confirmed the enemy's grain situation?"

"We have," Wen You replied. "The amount of grain they carry while moving is easy enough to observe. It differs little from what the Grand Commander-in-Chief predicted. They cannot last much longer."

Luo Zhao clenched his teeth as he stared at the map.

"What ghost is Meng Shanming playing at?"

Wen You understood his meaning.

Earlier, it had been Luo Zhao who wanted to lead Meng Shanming's troops around because he knew their grain was limited and intended to exhaust them to death.

Now the situation was reversed.

Meng Shanming was the one leading Wu Qunlie's troops around.

The critical issue remained Meng Shanming's provisions.

He plainly did not have enough grain, yet he was still wasting time like this.

Was he trying to die?

No.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

That was precisely where Luo Zhao's unease came from.

Recently, he had been following the movements of Wu Qunlie's former river-defense forces and Meng Shanming's armies with extraordinary attention.

Su Yuanbai, standing nearby, tried asking, "Could he merely be putting on a show?"

Luo Zhao turned and asked in return, "As commander of an army, would he use the lives of more than two million men merely to put on a show? Does Elder Su think that is possible?"

That was exactly why Luo Zhao had now truly begun to understand how formidable Meng Shanming was.

He simply could not read the man.

Su Yuanbai said irritably, "Then what is this Yan army doing, circling around again and again like this?"

Luo Zhao turned back to the map.

"One thing is certain. He is trying to find a way to annihilate the main force of our river-defense army."

"If he does not eliminate those troops, he will find it difficult to accomplish anything inside Song."

"Wen You, warn Wu Qunlie again. He must spread scouts widely and closely monitor the movements of every Yan force."

"He must maintain an appropriate safe distance at all times. Under no circumstances may he give Yan's army an opportunity to strike a lethal blow."

"And have him report the movements of both armies once every two hours. I want to know the situation of every major force at all times."

...

State of Qi, Hall of Wind and Thunder.

The lamps burned brightly.

A chair had been placed before the map.

Huyan Wuhen had sat there facing it through the entire night.

Zha Hu, steward of the Huyan household, entered and stopped beside him.

He glanced at the map and smiled.

"General, you stayed up another whole night. If you keep staring like this, you'll wear flowers into the map. Is all this really necessary? Eat something and get some rest."

Ordinarily, a servant would never be permitted inside such a critical military center.

Zha Hu was an exception.

Hao Yuntu himself had granted him permission.

Huyan Wuhen looked at him, rose, and walked to the map.

He tapped one position with his finger.

"He's crossed the river. Now he has room to maneuver."

"Meng Shanming is finally going to make his ruthless move."

"If things go badly for Song this time, Meng Shanming may beat the whole state flat. Their former river-defense army will probably be annihilated."

"The Qunluo Mountains?" Zha Hu walked to the map and looked. "You think the decisive battle will be fought here?"

Huyan Wuhen nodded.

"Meng Shanming truly is a top-tier master of strategy and battlefield tactics."

"The way he has moved his armies has been brilliant."

"All that maneuvering that nearly made one's eyes blur was nothing but a screen to mislead Song."

"At present, Luo Zhao still appears not to have seen through Meng Shanming's intention."

"Even if he understands now, it is probably already too late."

"The show is about to begin."

Zha Hu gave a small sound of surprise.

"Didn't Luo Zhao once fight the Yingyang and Wulie Guards? I heard he escaped intact despite being heavily outnumbered. How could he be this inadequate?"

Huyan Wuhen gave a cold snort.

"That depends on whom he is facing."

"Meng Shanming had already retired then."

"When there is no tiger in the mountains, the monkey proclaims himself king."

"This time Luo Zhao has met a real tiger."

"The two are simply not opponents of the same level."

"Luo Zhao found success while still young and has ridden high-spirited all these years. This time, I fear he is going to suffer a very hard fall."

[End of Chapter 691]