novelaction Chapter 740 Arrival in Xingzhou!
Chapter 740 Arrival in Xingzhou!
Two days after Duanmu Chuze's army set off, it had reached the border of Xingzhou. At the same time, the emperor's edict also arrived.
Chu Rong was quite surprised after seeing the imperial edict. "Your Highness, you ordered the army to set off without the Emperor's permission. What if something goes wrong?"
“There’s no such thing as ‘what if’! We are soldiers, and it is our duty to fight the enemy and protect the country. When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor’s orders. Chu Rong, although you have served on the border before, you have never actually fought against the Turkic army. You do not understand their cruelty and ruthlessness. I would rather be scolded and punished by my father than let Xingzhou be in any danger.”
"But Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness, but have you considered what would happen if it were Prince Ming?"
Before he finished speaking, Duanmu Chuze already knew exactly what he was going to say.
“I trust my elder brother, the Emperor. No matter how much commotion we have within our own family, that’s an internal affair. It’s a matter between us brothers. If outsiders interfere, the nature of the situation changes. Even if my brother, Prince Ming, is foolish, he can’t possibly not understand this. Once people find out that he’s colluding with the Turks, how could Dayong possibly have a place to stand?”
"What Your Highness says is quite right. Then, Your Highness, do you intend to go directly to Xingzhou, or..."
"I have already sent someone to inform my brother, the Prince Ming. I believe he will come out of the city to welcome you soon."
Duanmu Chuze is not a god, so naturally he could not possibly predict everything with perfect accuracy.
He dared to make this judgment because he believed that, fundamentally, the Ming King still deeply hated the Turks. His years of royal instruction had not been in vain.
Furthermore, it's impossible that the people he planted around King Ming wouldn't have gotten any information at all.
That's why he dared to appear in Xingzhou so openly.
Sure enough, when they leisurely appeared outside Xingzhou City, they saw that the Ming King had already ridden out to greet them.
"Fourth brother, you really came."
"Did Brother Ming know I would come?"
"Twenty miles outside Xingzhou City is all wasteland, and beyond that is the territory of the Turks. In the past few days, people have suddenly started to move closer to Xingzhou. I don't believe you haven't received the news."
"Brother Wang, what is your opinion?"
"Let's go into the city first, and we can discuss the details later. What we have now confirmed is that the enemy leader is the third prince of the Turks. I've heard that he's ruthless and vicious. We already clashed with him yesterday."
"So, what's the outcome?"
King Ming lowered his head in shame. "I am ashamed. I have lost two great generals. As for the enemy, they only lost some minor soldiers."
Duanmu Chuze did not ask any further questions. It should be said that he knew no less about this third prince of the Turks than King Ming did.
The third prince of the Turks was named Keli. He was born to the Turkic king and a princess from a relatively remote Turkic tribe.
It is said that the princess was as beautiful as a flower, and this third prince was also extremely handsome.
Moreover, this third prince was the most intelligent and the most favored among the many sons of the Turkic king.
This time, the Turkic king was able to send him to attack Xingzhou, which clearly shows that he had made thorough preparations.
"Brother Wang, how many soldiers do you have here in total?"
"Less than 150,000."
Duanmu Chuze thought for a moment, "This is the Emperor's edict. All the troops in Xingzhou are temporarily under my command. I hope you understand and cooperate fully."
"Don't worry, I understand Father's thoughts. To be honest, you don't know until you fight. Only when you actually fight do you realize that you are no match for him."
"Brother Wang?"
"Alright, it's not such a shameful thing! At least in my opinion, I'm only worse than you. As for the Crown Prince, hmph, I'm afraid he's not even as good as me."
Duanmu Chuze had no intention of arguing with him about this. The group quickly entered the council chamber and immediately began to survey the terrain of Xingzhou and the surrounding conditions.
Duanmu Chuze ordered the entire army to assemble at Xingzhou Pass, and then went directly to the city wall.
Duanmu Chuze had never fought against this third prince before; more accurately, this was their first formal meeting.
Looking at the dark mass outside the city, Duanmu Chuze frowned slightly. It was obvious that the other side was well prepared. If he hadn't set off early, Xingzhou would probably have become the domain of the Turks by tomorrow.
"Your Highness, it seems the enemy's forces are superior to ours," Fu Hongyang whispered. "This time, we only brought General Chu Rong's 100,000 troops, plus some local Xingzhou soldiers, which only amount to 250,000 men. And these troops weren't all under Your Highness's command before, so I'm afraid you'll have trouble actually commanding them?"
"There shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm just worried that their fighting ability will be significantly inferior to ours."
"So, what does Your Highness mean?"
"Immediately send a message to Fang Heng, instructing him to bring 50,000 elite troops over."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chu Rong stayed close to Duanmu Chuze the whole time. In fact, he had always been resentful that Duanmu Chuze had taken away the person he loved.
Although he had always respected this war god of Dayong, he had never actually witnessed his prowess on the battlefield.
It seems that this time, there is a chance.
"General Chu, take 20,000 men from your 100,000 troops and give them to Fu Hongyang. I have other uses for them."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Duanmu Chuze glanced outside again. The feeling of being surrounded by enemy troops was truly unsettling. It hadn't been that long since he'd fought the Turks, yet they seemed to have already forgotten how badly he'd beaten them back then.
"Fu Hongzhang, pass on the order to General Yu to lead his troops out of the pass as quickly as possible and wipe out all the Turks outside Qishan. Remember to tell him to fight quickly and decisively, without any delay."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Now that we've confirmed that the enemy's true objective is Xingzhou, the scattered troops outside Qishan are no longer a threat.
Of course, he would not tolerate anyone who dared to covet their Great Yong.
Therefore, those stragglers were destined to die. From the moment they were sent out to disrupt his vision, they were already considered a dead end by Keli.
"Your Highness, will the enemy attack the city tonight?"
"Very likely. Hmph, Keli? I'll see just how capable you really are!"
Fu Hongyang remained silent, but raised his eyebrows slightly. Whenever the prince spoke in this tone, it was likely that the person's unfortunate days were not far off.
"Your Highness, Prince Ming said he's hosting a banquet at the Prince's residence to welcome you back. What do you think?"
Duanmu Chuze frowned. "Tell Brother Ming that the enemy is very likely to attack the city tonight. As for the banquet, he can invite me after we have repelled these Turks."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing that there would be a battle that night, King Ming immediately lost his appetite for the banquet. He thought to himself that his Xingzhou City was well-defended, and that the enemy could indeed easily break in.