Chapter 89

Chapter 88

At the end of September in the sixteenth year of Hongde, Prince Su of Zhao, Zhao Hongrun, along with twenty royal guards, had already arrived in Yanling.

Yanling was not an easily defensible city, but its geographical location was indeed somewhat special. To the south was the Yan River.

The Yan River, also known as the Zheng River, was a well-known waterway of the ancient State of Zheng. With the passage of history, after the fall of Zheng, Wei and Chu gradually expanded and incorporated the land of Zheng, forming the current confrontation between Wei and Chu.

To the east of Yanling, about a hundred miles away, there was another river, the Cai River, which flowed from north to south. Due to the presence of this river, when the Chu army invaded the territory of Wei on a large scale, the Ministry of War continuously transported supplies from Daliang to Yanling via the Cai River.

Do not think that the officials of the Ministry of War only knew how to seek peace. In fact, while they were petitioning the emperor to seek peace with Chu, they still did what they should do. They would not abandon Yanling simply because they believed it could not withstand the Chu army's offensive, and even neglect to transport the necessary supplies.

Thanks to the support of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, although the situation in Yanling was not optimistic, it had managed to firmly hold the Yan River, preventing the Chu army from crossing this natural barrier.

After arriving in Yanling, Zhao Hongrun did not immediately enter the city. Instead, he climbed a nearby hill with the royal guards to overlook the terrain around Yanling. Although there would certainly be maps of the waterways and terrain inside the city, those maps drawn on paper would inevitably have some degree of inaccuracy.

Therefore, Zhao Hongrun wanted to see the land with his own eyes. With his exceptional memory, remembering these terrains was not a problem.

Ying River Prefecture was a region with complex terrain, with many hills. Therefore, there were many cities in Ying River Prefecture named after "ling" (hill), such as Yanling, Chenling, Anling, Xinling, and Xiangling. Between the hills, there were mostly flat plains and numerous rivers.

It cannot be denied that Ying River Prefecture was the region with the densest network of rivers in the Wei territory. These numerous rivers converged to form the famous Ying River Basin, whose tributaries were widely distributed, spanning Wei, Song, Chu, Lu, and even Qi, eventually flowing into different seas. These rivers were crucial for water transport and irrigation in these countries.

The Yan River was a small tributary of the upper reaches of the Ying River system, originating in Xinzheng, passing through Changshe and Yanling, and ultimately converging into the Cai River, which then flowed into the Ying River.

The widest part of the river was about 15 to 16 zhang (about 50 to 53 meters), and the narrowest part was about 11 to 12 zhang (about 37 to 40 meters). The water flow was not rapid. On the contrary, due to the current late autumn and early winter season, the water level of the Yan River had significantly dropped, making it difficult for the Chu army's boats to sail upstream from the lower reaches of the Cai River into the Yan River and reach the vicinity of Yanling to assist the Chu infantry in crossing to the other side.

After all, the Yan River was just a small tributary of the upper reaches of the Ying River system, and its water level during the late autumn and early winter season was not sufficient for the Chu army's boats to navigate normally.

For this reason, the Chu army had built several camps on the opposite bank of the Yan River near Yanling, and could only rely on infantry to cross the Yan River and attack Yanling.

However, the situation for the Chu army was not optimistic either.

Although Chu initially broke through several Wei cities with the advantage of the river, this was only because the Wei generals on the front lines were inadequately prepared or lacked the manpower to defend against the numerous Chu troops.

As these cities fell, the defeated Wei army gradually retreated, ultimately retreating to Yanling, which significantly increased the number of defenders in Yanling. Despite the generally low morale in the army due to repeated defeats on the front lines.

According to the reports sent to the court from Yanling, there were currently over ten thousand soldiers in Yanling, including 2,500 local defenders and more than 8,000 front-line troops who had retreated.

However, on the opposite bank of the Yan River, there were as many as 50,000 Chu troops.

Worse still, these 50,000 Chu troops were not all of the forces under the command of Xiong Tuo, the Marquis of Chuyang. According to reports from the front, Xiong Tuo had mobilized all the troops from his territory to attack Wei in retaliation for the humiliation of Song by the Wei emperor. Additionally, the armies of several other Xiong clan nobles had joined, bringing the total number of Chu troops in Ying River Prefecture to 160,000.

With 160,000 troops committed to the Ying River battlefield alone, plus the troops attacking Song, it was no wonder that the officials of the Ministry of War in the Wei court generally opposed declaring war on Chu, as the disparity in military strength was too great.

Faced with such a powerful Chu army, the people and soldiers in Yanling were extremely anxious, and even the governor was constantly frowning.

The term "governor" referred to the civil and military officials of Yanling.

In the Wei-controlled cities, civil and military officials were separate.

The civil official was called a "governor," also known as a county governor, county magistrate, or chief governor, responsible for criminal, civil, and tax matters; the military official was called a "commander," or more colloquially, a military captain, a commander of the rank of colonel, responsible for law enforcement, security, and city defense, serving as the deputy to the governor.

The county magistrate of Yanling was surnamed Pei, named Zhan, and the military captain was named Chen Shi. In the past, they were just obscure local civil and military officials in the Wei bureaucracy, but now, they had become the highest-ranking officials on the front lines, responsible for managing tens of thousands of refugees and over ten thousand troops.

Of course, there were not just Pei Zhan and Chen Shi in Yanling. After the fall of cities like Chenling, the local county magistrates and military captains had also retreated to Yanling. To put it bluntly, there were now the county magistrates and military captains of three cities in Yanling.

These people discussed matters with Pei Zhan every day, with some advocating a counterattack and others advocating a defensive stance, but they could never reach a consensus.

As for the military captains led by Chen Shi, the military captain of Yanling, they began to strengthen the defenses of Yanling.

After all, these were military officials, and they were naturally more decisive than civil officials.

However, even so, the situation in Yanling remained precarious in the face of the Chu army's offensive.

There was no choice, as Pei Zhan, Chen Shi, and the other county magistrates and military captains were not skilled in warfare. They had at most experience in civil, criminal, security, and law enforcement matters. The truly skilled generals were far away at Fenxiong Fort, where they were being held back by a detachment of the Chu army.

After all, the strategic importance of Fenxiong Fort was far greater than that of cities like Yanling. Therefore, even though the generals at Fenxiong Fort knew that the Chu army had invaded Wei, they did not dare to send troops to aid Yanling. The border between Chu and Wei was too long, and the role of Fenxiong Fort was to block Chu's western advance. If this fort fell, the Chu army would not just have two routes to attack Wei, but three, making Wei's situation even more passive.

Therefore, even if the Chu army attacked from the Ying River, the army at Fenxiong Fort did not dare to move lightly.

Until one day, the county magistrate of Yanling, Pei Zhan, received a message from the capital, Daliang, stating that the court had dispatched Prince Su of Zhao, Zhao Hongrun, along with the Grand General of the Jun River Camp, Baili Ba, to support Yanling and formally declare war on Chu.

Upon receiving this news, many county magistrates and military captains in Yanling breathed a sigh of relief, especially the military captain of Yanling, Chen Shi. After all, he had been acting as a front-line general for some time, commanding several military captains of the same rank and over ten thousand troops, which was a violation of regulations. After all, he was just a county military captain, and had no right to command over ten thousand troops.

However, there was no choice, as Yanling had lacked a person of sufficient authority for some time.

Now, the court had formally declared war on Chu and sent two people of sufficient authority, one being the Grand General of the Jun River Camp, Baili Ba, and the other being the current emperor's son, Prince Su of Zhao, Zhao Hongrun.

However, the civil and military officials of Yanling were somewhat puzzled. After all, they had only heard of the Princes of Yong, Xiang, Yan, and Qing. When did a Prince of Su appear?

However, this did not matter. As long as he was the emperor's son and a prince of Wei, he was enough to reassure the people and soldiers of Yanling and boost the morale of the troops.

Yes, that was what they initially thought.

But when they saw that the so-called Prince of Su was actually a mere 14-year-old child, their hearts sank to the bottom.

"It is indeed Prince Su..."

After welcoming Zhao Hongrun into the city governor's office, the county magistrate of Yanling, Pei Zhan, carefully examined the documents Zhao Hongrun had given him.

These documents were issued by the court and stamped with the seals of the Ministry of War and the Wei emperor, confirming Zhao Hongrun's identity.

While he was examining the documents, the other county magistrates and military captains who had heard the news were eagerly watching Zhao Hongrun, not knowing what they were thinking.

Too young...

The eyelids of the military captain of Yanling, Chen Shi, twitched as he continuously sized up Zhao Hongrun.

Because he was far from Yanling and had never seen the princes of Daliang, he had subconsciously assumed that the Prince of Su would be a prince in his twenties. However, he never expected that the Prince of Su was not even 15 years old.

This... really hand over military authority to a prince who is not even 15 years old?

The military captain of Yanling, Chen Shi, hesitated.

Zhao Hongrun was also carefully observing the military captain of Yanling, Chen Shi, because he had heard upon entering the city that the reason the Chu army could not advance to the north bank of the Yan River was due to the repeated resistance led by this military captain.

Although many soldiers had sacrificed their lives in these repeated resistances, the fact that the Chu army, which had far more troops than Yanling, could not cross the Yan River and had failed in multiple attempts to do so, was enough to prove that this military captain had a certain level of military skill.

Otherwise, the military captains of the other counties would not have followed his orders.

If he could persuade this person, it would save a golden order...

Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but think.

However, it was clear that the military captain of Yanling, Chen Shi, looked at Zhao Hongrun with a lack of trust.