Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 1469: Chapter 1470: Reaping the Benefits

”The spy who infiltrated Shuangli City yesterday has returned and reported that Shuangli City has posted an imperial decree. The Emperor of Chilin has enforced conscription nationwide. Any able-bodied adult male must join the army, and those who refuse will be killed without exception.”

Shuangli City is another city in the Chilin Kingdom. An Jing knows this.

But upon hearing the latter part, An Jing frowned, strongly disagreeing with the Emperor of Chilin’s approach: ”This will incite public resentment.”

Xiao Changyi countered, ”That’s just as well. Their infighting will allow us to reap rewards without effort.”

An Jing immediately laughed, ”True enough.”

...

A little over half a month later, on March 20th, Qian Taiwen finally led his troops to attack the city.

Qian Taiwen was appointed by the Emperor of Chilin as the Great General to retake the city, commanding an army of 800,000 to reclaim Jingye City.

Among these 800,000 were the 150,000 men who previously fled Jingye City.

Qian Taiwen had already questioned the general who guarded the West Gate of Jingye City at the time, asking exactly how Xiao Changyi managed to invade Jingye City.

Upon hearing that Xiao Changyi first had people traverse the mountains and ford the river to enter Jingye City, Qian Taiwen immediately decided to dispatch troops to attack Jingye City in the same way.

Unlike Xiao Changyi, who sent just over 2,000 men to attract enemy forces, Qian Taiwen planned to send 300,000 soldiers.

That area is a weak point in Jingye City, and in Qian Taiwen’s view, it offers a better chance to invade the city despite rigorous defenses.

The South and West Gates of Jingye City were unassailable due to terrain obstacles, leaving only the possibility of an attack from the east, through the mountains and river, or from the North Gate.

Qian Taiwen planned to lead the remaining 500,000 troops personally to attack Jingye City’s North Gate.

Before Qian Taiwen’s attack, Xiao Changyi had already divided the city’s force of 400,000 into four divisions: 10,000 at the South Gate, 10,000 at the West Gate, 200,000 in the east, and 180,000 at the North Gate.

The reason for 200,000 in the east was also because Xiao Changyi considered the area by the mountains to be the weakest spot.

Although he believed the chances of an attack on the South and West Gates were nearly zero, Xiao Changyi still stationed catapults and stones on the city towers there as a precaution.

A good number of catapults were also arranged in the east.

Most catapults were placed at the North Gate, almost allowing no space between them, only leaving gaps to facilitate soldiers placing stones on the catapults.

In addition to catapults, archers were deployed in all directions—east, south, west, and north—with the highest concentration in the east and at the North Gate.

Among Jingye City’s 400,000 soldiers, 100,000 were those who had surrendered. Actually, Xiao Changyi wasn’t entirely trusting of these men, and this battle was also a test of their loyalty.

Xiao Changyi had issued secret orders that should any of these 100,000 soldiers betray, they should be executed without mercy.

On that day, Qian Taiwen brought 500,000 troops to Jingye City’s North Gate. As soon as he arrived, he saw a general he recognized standing on the city tower and was immediately furious, shouting: ”Ge Xiangchong, you, as a general of Chilin, have also defected?! You bring disgrace to Chilin! I wonder how you will face your ancestors after your death!”

Ge Xiangchong replied: ”The Emperor of Chilin doesn’t treat me as human, so why shouldn’t I defect? Here, I can be treated as a person, and my ancestors wouldn’t want me to live a life inferior to a dog’s.”

As Commander, Xiao Changyi was naturally also on the city tower, though he quietly watched everything without stopping Ge Xiangchong from speaking. Of course, he clearly knew that Ge Xiangchong was quite skilled, even Meng Zhuqing was no match for him.

If truly loyal and willing to serve Xiyun, it would indeed be beneficial.