Chapter 92

Chapter 91

"What kind of Prince Su is this, utterly unreasonable!"

"A fourteen-year-old child, what does he know?"

"With a major enemy at our doorstep, he still wants to seize power, truly a fool!"

After leaving Zhao Hongrun's house, Pei Zhan, Zhao Zhun, Xu Youzhi, Chen Shi, Wang Shu, and Ma Zhang gathered in the room where they usually discussed important matters.

Upon arriving, Wang Shu and Ma Zhang, the two Wuwei (military officers), couldn't help but start cursing, while Chen Shi remained silent.

After a long while, Zhao Zhun sighed, "Wuwei Wang, Wuwei Ma, even if you curse, what good will it do? Prince Su has the imperial edict written by His Majesty himself; we have no choice but to comply."

"Knowing this, we might as well hand over the military authority, rather than have Wuwei Chen be resented by Prince Su..." Xu Youzhi also sighed.

The other five remained silent upon hearing this.

Indeed, because Prince Su was only fourteen years old, not only did Chen Shi not trust him and delay handing over the military authority, but the other five also secretly supported him. However, who would have thought that Prince Su had the approval of the Wei Emperor, which was far more effective than any official document from the court.

"Since it has come to this, it's too late to say anything." Wuwei Chen Shi sighed, turned to Wang Shu and Ma Zhang, and said, "While I am away from Yanling, I hope the two of you can give Prince Su some advice. His every decision now... determines the survival of Yanling."

Wang Shu and Ma Zhang exchanged glances and nodded solemnly, "Rest assured, Brother Chen. We will keep an eye on him... but we fear he won't listen."

"Even if he doesn't listen, we must still speak up. This is the only way for now." Chen Shi said seriously.

After a brief discussion, Chen Shi bid them farewell, gathered five thousand soldiers in the city, and headed to the south bank of the Yan River upstream to build a dam.

This number of five thousand soldiers was personally stated by Zhao Hongrun, which Chen Shi found extremely unwise.

After all, Yanling currently had only a little over eleven thousand troops, yet Prince Su, who wanted to build a dam upstream on the Yan River with no practical use, had almost half of the troops dispatched. Wasn't this courting disaster?

However, with the situation as it was, Chen Shi had no choice but to obediently lead the five thousand soldiers to build the dam upstream.

His movements were immediately detected by the Chu army on the opposite bank of the Yan River. After all, not only did Yanling pay attention to the Chu army on the opposite bank, but the Chu army also closely monitored Yanling's movements. Now that Wuwei Chen Shi was leading five thousand soldiers to build a dam upstream, how could the Chu army not know?

"What? Wuwei Chen Shi of Yanling is building a dam upstream?"

When this news reached the ears of Xiong Hu, the leader of the Chu army's vanguard, this man in his thirties was genuinely stunned for a moment.

After all, although Chen Shi was merely the Wuwei of Yanling County, he had engaged in several battles with the Chu army. The Chu army was currently blocked on the south bank of the Yan River because of him.

Therefore, how could Xiong Hu, the leader of the Chu army, not know about Wuwei Chen Shi of Yanling?

"Could Chen Shi be planning to build a dam upstream and flood our army when we attempt to cross the Yan River?"

In Xiong Hu's tent, his trusted generals burst into laughter upon hearing this news, mocking Chen Shi's actions as extremely unwise.

"Chen Shi... why would he suddenly make such an unwise move?" Xiong Hu was also puzzled, as he had some understanding of Chen Shi after several encounters, knowing that Chen Shi was a meticulous person who wouldn't do something so foolish.

Suddenly, he had a thought and asked, "I heard... that Ji Si (Zhao Yuansi) had a son arrive in Yanling a few days ago?"

"Yes, it's Prince Su Ji Run (Zhao Hongrun)," a general said with a sneer, "Just a fourteen-year-old child... a child who still smells of milk, yet dares to call himself a prince. This Wei kingdom is probably not far from its downfall."

Prince Su Ji Run...

Xiong Hu paced back and forth in the tent, deep in thought, and said, "From what I know, Chen Shi has been the pillar of Yanling. He led the Wei army against our army... Therefore, he wouldn't leave Yanling without a reason. Wu Gan, do you think Chen Shi has been marginalized by Prince Su Ji Run?"

General Wu Gan pondered for a moment and nodded, "Your Highness, this is very likely. Ji Run is Ji Si's son, and he came to the front line of Yanling at a young age, undoubtedly with the intention of repelling our army... If so, he would certainly take over the military authority of Yanling. Perhaps Chen Shi refused to hand over the authority, so Ji Run simply sent him away..."

"Then... what does building a dam upstream mean?"

General Wu Gan laughed and said, "Throughout history, water and fire have often been used in warfare. Perhaps Prince Su Ji Run also wants to try this?"

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the tent couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Xiong Hu also shook his head with a smile, sighing, "A young man who doesn't know his limits. He thinks that knowing one trick of water warfare can repel our tens of thousands of Chu vanguard troops? It seems that the princes of Wei are far inferior to those of Chu."

"But this is our opportunity." General Wu Gan winked and asked, "Your Highness, would you like to send some troops to the upstream to play with Chen Shi?"

Xiong Hu clearly heard the teasing tone in his trusted general's voice and laughed, "Why bother?... If Chen Shi is indeed marginalized by Prince Su Ji Run, he will be eager to return to Yanling... If we send troops to harass him while building the dam, he will surely abandon the dam and return to Yanling without a second thought... It's a rare opportunity for us that Prince Su Ji Run has helped us. We shouldn't be foolish... Let Chen Shi and those five thousand soldiers slowly build the dam upstream. By the time they finish, our main army will have already crossed the Yan River."

"I agree." General Wu Gan bowed and smiled, "Your Highness, with five thousand fewer soldiers and without Chen Shi, this is a great opportunity to attack Yanling..."

"Indeed." Xiong Hu nodded, suddenly stroked his chin, and said with a sinister smile, "We shouldn't delay. I'll write a challenge to that young man, provoking him to fight with me..."

Not long after, Xiong Hu wrote a challenge letter and had it shot across the river with an arrow. The Yanling soldiers patrolling the north bank of the Yan River picked it up and sent it to Prince Zhao Hongrun in Yanling.

In less than two hours, Zhao Hongrun received the letter from Xiong Hu.

"This guy is trying to provoke His Highness to fight with him?"

Zongwei Shen Yu and others stood behind Zhao Hongrun, peering curiously. Upon seeing the contents, they couldn't help but laugh.

It turned out that in the letter, Xiong Hu introduced himself as a noble of the Xiong clan of Chu, intending to "compete" with Zhao Hongrun, a descendant of the Ji clan of Wei, to see which noble bloodline was superior.

"By saying this, his real intention is probably to get Prince Su to let him cross the Yan River..." Zongwei Zhang Ao, temporarily borrowed from Zhao Hongrun's younger brother Hongxuan, immediately saw through Xiong Hu's intentions.

Similarly, Zongwei Li Meng, also from the ninth prince Hongxuan, laughed and said, "It seems that Prince Su's age has deceived many people."

The other zongweis smiled in agreement.

Indeed, the zongweis in the room, either Zhao Hongrun's or his younger brother Hongxuan's, knew Prince Su very well. Only they knew that Prince Su, stripped of his "fourteen-year-old" disguise, was a highly intelligent prince.

"That Xiong Hu indeed doesn't plan to attack Chen Shi upstream..." Zongwei Wei Jiao said admiringly.

"How could he attack Chen Shi?" Zhao Hongrun smiled and pointed to the letter, "See, he flatters me in the letter, saying that I, though young, have taken control of the power. This shows he already knows I have taken over Yanling... From this, I can infer that there are indeed Chu spies in Yanling. I wonder if they are among the refugees or the defeated soldiers... How is the task I assigned you going?"

Upon hearing this, Zongwei Gao Kuo smiled and said, "Your Highness, we don't even need to act. Wuwei Chen Shi was sent upstream to build the dam by Your Highness, and the people in Yanling are already privately discussing that Your Highness is settling personal scores..."

"Oh?" Zhao Hongrun laughed, "It doesn't matter, as long as the goal is achieved. Now, with a small portion of our troops dispatched and the 'skilled' Wuwei Chen Shi sent away, and with a self-important and stubborn Prince Su... I believe the Chu army is eager to cross the Yan River and swallow Yanling in one bite..."

The zongweis smiled at each other, their smiles filled with mockery for those who criticized Prince Su without knowing the truth.

"Then, what about this Xiong Hu..."

Looking at Zhao Hongrun, Zhong Zhao asked in a low voice, "Will Your Highness accept the challenge?"

Zhao Hongrun thought for a moment and said, "You write a reply for me, with a bit of arrogance... As for his proposal, say that I don't trust him and only allow him to send a thousand soldiers after building the pontoon bridge. At that time, I will also send a thousand soldiers. ... We will compete within this number of a thousand soldiers."

"Will he agree?" Zongwei Fang Shuo asked, puzzled, "I imagine Xiong Hu will be worried that those thousand soldiers will be wiped out by our army?"

Zhao Hongrun looked at the zongwei borrowed from his younger brother and smiled, "If I were him, I would accept it without hesitation. ... The Chu vanguard has sixty thousand troops. If a mere thousand soldiers' loss can lead to the fall of Yanling, why not? ... Undoubtedly, at that time, Xiong Hu will no longer care about his bet with me. As long as he is not a fool, he will order those thousand soldiers to hold the pontoon bridge firmly, allowing the Chu army on the south bank of Yanling to cross to the north bank continuously..."

"I see." Fang Shuo nodded in understanding.

"Mu Qing, go call the county magistrate Pei Zhan here. ... Try to keep it low-key, I need to give him some instructions."

"Yes!"