The bright moon hung high in the sky. Not far outside the city gates, a cloud of gray dust bloomed like drifting clouds, winding its way forward.
From atop the city wall, a guard with sharp night vision made out what it was and hurriedly raised the wooden mallet beneath the bell and drum, striking it forcefully. As the deep, resonant sound rang out, he bellowed: "Eight hundred li emergency! Eight hundred li emergency!!"
Instantly, all the armored soldiers on the city wall sprang into action.
At the city gate's drawbridge, dozens of men pulled on the massive ropes coated with tung oil, slowly lowering it down.
At the same time, the city gates were swiftly pushed open.
The messenger's warhorse didn't pause for even a moment, charging across the just-lowered drawbridge and bursting through the gates.
As it rushed through to the far end of the barbican, two riders swiftly mounted warhorses on either side, gripping long halberds as they fell in to guard and clear the path ahead.
The eight hundred li emergency thundered like rolling thunder along the central Imperial Avenue toward the Palace Complex—
......
"I, Wang Shuishan, am so famous?"
Song Shi'an asked in surprise.
"That... that's natural. I've long admired your great name."
Xinyue's expression was subtle, as if she'd swallowed a fly.
She kind of wanted to grab this person by the neck and demand: Who the hell is Wang Shuishan?
"I'm quite flattered, quite flattered." After smiling and exchanging courtesies, Song Shi'an took his leave. "Well then, I, Wang Shuishan, still have matters to attend to, so I'll head home first."
"That..."
Xinyue raised her hand, but with him pulling this stunt, her plan had been completely disrupted. Seeing the confused expression on his face, she could only bite her lip: "Well then, farewell, Wang Shuishan."
"Farewell, farewell."
Just like that, Song Shi'an left.
Xinyue couldn't make things too obvious, so she had no choice but to leave as well for the time being.
Meanwhile, the plainclothes Jinyiwei monitoring Song Shi'an from the crowd, after observing vigilantly for a while, didn't take it to heart.
The orders he'd received were to monitor anyone approaching Song Shi'an while also providing a certain degree of protection.
But with surveillance work, you couldn't stick too close, and it was impossible to overhear his conversations with others.
Since it was just a brief exchange, it didn't matter...
Why would she dress as a man?
Song Shi'an was still puzzled as he browsed for books.
Could it be that someone wants to evaluate me before marrying me?
That won't do—I can't accept a woman with such a strong need for control.
Already resorting to stalking.
"What books would the customer like?"
The Reading Pavilion vendor asked.
"Does the author of Spring Garden have any sequels?"
"Yes, customer, yes indeed."
The vendor handed over a book, and Song Shi'an took it.
Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of hooves mixed with the clanging of iron armor.
That's impossible—horses are completely forbidden in the marketplace at this hour.
Outside the marketplace, it's almost curfew time, making it even more impossible to run horses.
This place is very close to Sheng'an's central Imperial Avenue.
Is it military intelligence?
........
Inside the Palace Complex, Wei Wusheng stood on a library pavilion, leaning against the railing and gazing out at the palace's night scenery.
Imperial princes who hadn't yet opened their own residences still lived within the Palace Complex. Though they could go out, they couldn't stay overnight past curfew.
So after arranging for Xinyue to meet Song Shi'an, he'd returned to the palace.
Will she be able to meet him?
And what kind of person is he?
Is he truly like the poems he's written—full of passion and devoted only to serving the country?
Or is he someone who fishes for fame and reputation, whose reality doesn't match his name?
He was genuinely interested.
And just as he was lost in thought, from his elevated position, he saw torches in the distance moving rapidly.
And beneath the silence of all things, the clear sound of horse hooves.
It's urgent military intelligence!
Entering the imperial palace at night—this must be critical military intelligence that can't be delayed for even a moment!
Wei Wusheng couldn't help but grow tense, immediately thinking of the great battle with the false Qi dynasty.
Could it be that the war has already reached some kind of transitional result?
But excluding the transmission time for the eight hundred li emergency military report, isn't this way too fast?
A great victory?
Or a devastating defeat?
Gripping the rosewood railing with his hands, Wei Wusheng's mood at this moment was extremely anxious.
This was Ji Yuan leading the campaign in person.
In his lifetime, he'd fought quite a few battles—mostly victories, but also some defeats.
But such a swift and devastating defeat had never happened before.
This time, it was because of the locust plague in Yi Prefecture and the refugee uprising that left Great Yu's situation unstable, which Ji Yuan had seized upon to launch this war.
Ji Yuan had always harbored ambitions to devour the world, and he'd long coveted the Northern Liang valley, secretly colluding with the Liang Prefecture aristocratic families.
So when the false Qi's three thousand light cavalry, carrying no supply trains and only three days of dry rations, mysteriously bypassed all the frontier scouts like night ghosts and suddenly appeared beneath Tongmen Pass, they broke through this mighty fortress in an instant with inside support, and countless soldiers surrendered.
At the same time, the tens of thousands of Qi troops that had been secretly mobilized swarmed into the pass, completely surrounding Wuwei, the first city of Northern Liang, before they could even concentrate their grain supplies.
In this battle, Ji Yuan was full of ambition, continuously reinforcing his troops until his total forces reached a full hundred thousand.
But the city only had eight thousand armed soldiers, and the grain supplies for both the army and civilians would only last half a year, so Ji Yuan had been surrounding without attacking, just waiting for the grain to naturally run out without losing a single soldier.
If Wuwei fell, the entire Northern Liang basin would basically be lost, so the Emperor had no choice but to send troops to relieve the city and fight Ji Yuan in open battle.
If the relief force suffered a devastating defeat, Wuwei City would definitely fall.
With Wuwei gone, the entire Northern Liang basin would have no strategic positions left to defend.
From then on, a sharp sword would hang over Great Yu's northern frontier.
Ji Yuan could launch a southern campaign at any time.
Victory would mean expanding territory.
Defeat would still allow him to retreat and hold the Northern Liang basin, ready to move when the time was right.
Thinking of this, Wei Wusheng couldn't help but panic.
Half a shichen later, he saw a brightly torchlit carriage procession entering the imperial palace.
Anyone entering the imperial palace was required to dismount and walk, including princes. Could this be...
........
"Duke of Li has arrived—"
Outside Xuanyu Hall, an elderly but upright man wearing the robes of a super-rank official slowly walked into the sleeping quarters.
Ancient bronze sword scars that split through the harsh winter wound across his face, and the scar running straight to his ear on his left cheek was tinged with frost, like a frozen old battlefield.
After walking before the Emperor sitting on the dragon throne, he slowly knelt and kowtowed.
"Chen Bao, grant him a seat," the Emperor said.
Following Chen Bao's gesture, two eunuchs carried a wide armchair and placed it directly opposite the dragon throne on the steps.
Slowly, the Duke of Li sat down facing the Emperor.
His back reclined, his hands resting on the armrests, his breathing steady.
The Emperor gave a look, and Eunuch Chen delivered the military report into the Duke of Li's hands.
As he read, his weathered brows gradually furrowed.
After finishing, he looked up at the Emperor and assessed: "Northern Liang is lost."
"Zhen thinks the same."
The Emperor closed his eyes and slowly nodded, saying: "Zhao Xiang retreated to Shuofeng with the remnants of his forces, saying that after leading the army back south, he will commit suicide."
"Shuofeng cannot be defended, but it must be defended."
Shaking his head, the Duke of Li said gravely: "Shuofeng City has no barriers surrounding it—easy to attack, hard to defend. After Ji Yuan takes Wuwei, his momentum will be at its peak, and he will certainly conquer Shuofeng. But if we don't defend it, we're essentially abandoning the entire Northern Liang valley. The Liang Prefecture aristocratic families already have ambiguous relations with Ji Yuan—if I retreat, I fear those surrendering to the north will be countless."
Defending it would absolutely be impossible to hold.
But not defending and directly abandoning it would disappoint the people and aristocratic families alike. The commandants of the various commanderies, knowing the court was weak, would all surrender and offer up their cities.
"We should defend—we must resist stubbornly, slow Ji Yuan's southern advance, and wear down the false Qi's soldiers. At the same time, send a great general to garrison Liang Prefecture to contend with him and fight for the Northern Liang valley."
After pondering, the Duke of Li looked up and said: "Didn't Zhao Xiang say he wanted to commit suicide after returning south? Well, he doesn't need to return south—let him die in battle at Shuofeng."