Chapter 1092: Decisive Battle (2)

Mu Yangling was happy to hear that. Fan Zijin couldn’t bear to see her happy, so he doused her enthusiasm. “Eldest Cousin didn’t say that he would definitely move the capital here. Don’t be happy too early. Seeing as the Central Capital doesn’t look like much, the courtiers definitely won’t agree.”

“That might not be the case.” Qi Haoran supported his wife as usual. “The Central Capital is vast and there are still many unused lands. If we can build the Imperial City here, it will definitely be majestic and grand. Moreover, just as Big Brother said, building the capital here is equivalent to the Emperor guarding the entrance of Great Qi and resisting the invasion of the northern barbarians.”

“Alright, what’s the use of arguing about this now? Let’s think of a way to take down the city first. Don’t forget that Great Qi isn’t the only one surrounding this city now.” Qi Xiuyuan interrupted them.

How could it be so easy to move the capital?

Historically, moving the capital necessitated a massive shake-up. Moreover, building the Imperial City…

Qi Xiuyuan’s heart ached whenever he thought of the money needed for that. He couldn’t bear to fork out the money, so he decided to shelve it for the time being.

When Qi Haoran saw this, he whispered into Mu Yangling’s ear, “Why is Big Brother so petty like Little Bear and the others? He can’t even bear to fork out the money to build the Imperial City.”

When the sharp-eared Qi Xiuyuan heard that, he turned around and glared at him. Mu Yangling also twisted the soft flesh on Qi Haoran’s waist, reminding him to be careful with his words and actions.

“Alright, we can’t see the situation clearly from here. Since General Mu and General Yuan are already waiting in the middle tent, let’s see if they have any good methods to attack the city.”

At this point in the battle, the three Great Qi armies far outnumbered the Jin soldiers. Other than attacking forcefully, there was no better way.

However, this would undoubtedly cause heavy casualties to the soldiers. Therefore, General Mu and General Yuan were inclined to only surround and not attack. With their rations as support and the support of their motherland behind them, it would not be a problem to surround the enemy for a month or two.

After a month or two, even if there were still rations in the Central Capital, their willpower would be mostly worn down.

However, Qi Haoran did not agree with such a passive approach; he preferred to take the initiative to attack.

“But it’s not just Great Qi that’s besieging the city. There’s also the Great Yuan army. Once we force them too much, Great Yuan will benefit instead.” General Yuan said with a frown, “We have sufficient rations, but that might not be the case for Great Yuan. They’re rebels to begin with, and the hearts of the people are still unstable. Not to mention two months, even if none of us makes a move for half a month, there will be unrest. Why don’t we wait for the other party to make a move first?”

General Mu nodded. “When a crane and a clam are struggling, an old fisherman ends up profiting from it. When the time comes, we’ll be the fisherman, and they’ll be the clams.”

Qi Xiuyuan looked at Qi Haoran and Mu Yangling and asked, “What do you think?”

Qi Haoran said, “Let’s give it a try first. After all, the soldiers need two days to rest after the urgent march.”

Qi Xiuyuan nodded and ordered, “Pass down the order: The soldiers of the three armies will rest and reorganize on the spot. We will only surround and not attack. Strictly order them not to harass the commoners. Those who violate the military law will be punished!”

“Yes.”

After giving the order, Qi Xiuyuan was in the mood to chat. He said to Mu Yangling, “Where’s Little Bear? Go get him here. Since this child has many ideas, why don’t we let him think of a good solution?” Then, he said to General Yuan and Mu Shi, “General Yuan’s grandchildren are also in the army, right? Since young people have many ideas, why don’t we let the children think of a way? Let Bosi join in too.”

General Yuan and General Mu knew that the Emperor wanted to train the children, so they agreed.

Qi Xiuyuan waved his hand and said, “Alright, we haven’t rested since we met up tonight. Go and rest. Haoran, go and serve your father-in-law. Don’t stand in front of me anymore.”

Mu Shi hurriedly said that he wouldn’t dare to be served. Seeing this, Mu Yangling went forward and hugged his arm. “Father, I haven’t spoken to you yet. Let’s go talk.”

Everyone took their leave.

When they arrived at the tent, Mu Shi went to poke Mu Yangling. “You’re too bold. When I received His Majesty’s secret letter, I was almost scared out of my wits. How dare you come to the battlefield, leaving the four children at home…”

Then, he went to chide Qi Haoran. “Your Highness, it’s fine if Ah Ling is insensible, but why didn’t you stop her?”

“Ah Ling misses her parents and wants to take this opportunity to come back and take a look. When we go back, we might take a detour to Jingzhao Prefecture. When the time comes, we can go home to take a look.”

With a sigh, Mu Shi said, “Your mother and younger siblings are doing well. This time, your second brother came along, too. He’s behind us and will probably only arrive in the afternoon. By the way, since Little Bear is here too, where’s he?”

“He’s still sleeping. That child had been scouting ahead with the scouts for the past few days, so he fell asleep the moment we arrived. When he wakes up, I’ll get him to come and greet you.”

In the end, Little Bear did not manage to see Mu Shi. Reason being, Mu Shi had to lead his troops to the east gate to surround the city before Little Bear woke up. After hearing the Emperor’s decree, Little Bear started thinking of a way to break through the city with Rong Le, Qin Ming, and the others.

Alas, they didn’t have any good ideas.

Little Bear sat on the hill and supported his chin with his hand as he looked at the majestic Central Capital in the distance. Sighing, he said, “The Central Capital is too stable, making it difficult for us to sneak in. What good solution is there?”

Qin Ming and Rong Le nodded and said, “There will be too many casualties if we attack forcefully. We can only heed General Yuan and General Qin’s advice and only surround them but not attack.”

Little Bear stood up and said, “The Central Capital is like a turtle shell now. This is the capital of Great Jin, so there must be a lot of rations stored here. If they refuse to leave the city, are we going to surround it for half a year? My Royal Uncle can’t stay here for too long. It’s been three months since the war started in late February. It’s almost June now, and summer harvest has already begun in Jiangnan. Surely we aren’t going to spend the New Year in the north?”

“Then what good ideas do you have?”

“I don’t have a good idea.”

Qin Ming and Rong Le: “…”

“But we can ask others. My mother said that when we are at a loss, we should listen to everyone’s opinions and brainstorm. Even if we can’t get a good idea, we might have a flash of inspiration as we discuss. It’s better than us being stuck here, right?”

As these words made sense, Qin Ming and Rong Le couldn’t object. They asked, “Then who do you wish to gather ideas from?”

“Let’s ask the soldiers first, and I’ll also write to ask my younger brothers. Maybe the smart Little An has a way.”

Qin Ming asked in embarrassment, “If I recall, your two younger brothers seem to be only 10 years old? And Prince Fan is 11 years old this year?”

Little Bear nodded.

So the two of them, who were in their twenties, had to discuss with a group of young brats how to attack the capital of Great Jin?

Qin Ming and Rong Le looked at each other in embarrassment.

Little Bear, on the other hand, wrote to Little Treasure, Little An, and the others excitedly. Anyway, since he had a messenger pigeon, it would take only two days to receive a reply.

Little Treasure held the letter in distress and discussed it with Little An. “If you guys don’t have a good idea, why don’t we send it to the various academies in the capital so that everyone can brainstorm?”

Little An rubbed his chin and said, “I think General Yuan and General Mu are right about one thing. We have to wear down the enemy’s willpower so that we can win without fighting.”

Tiger Head asked anxiously, “Then how do we wear down their willpower?”

“This is exactly what we’re brainstorming about.” Little Lion said, “How can a person’s will be worn away?”

“Destroy their faith. I heard that the Jin people believe in totems. Let’s spread the idea that their totems can’t protect them anymore, and that they should put their faith in our Emperor instead…”

“Put down their weapons and we’ll spare their lives…”

“And remind them to think about their families. Do they want their wives and children to die with them?”

The three children started discussing animatedly. Little Treasure said thoughtfully, “Other than Jin people, there are also many Han people in the Central Capital.”

Little An’s eyes lit up. “We’ll get the Han people in the city to rebel. Fourth Aunt said that it will always be difficult for outsiders to kill their way in from the outside, but it’s very easy to kill one’s way out from the inside. If they have internal strife and someone opens the city gate for us, we won’t have to take the risk to attack the city…”

“But since the city gates of the Central Capital are tightly shut, how can you encourage the Han people in the city to rebel?”

Little An rolled his eyes and said, “Write to them?”

“I know.” Tiger Head raised his hand and said, “Mother said that we should make Kongming Lanterns1 and write messages on them.”

“But what if the commoners can’t read?” Little Lion said, “Didn’t they say that many people in this world can’t read?”

“Then draw? Even if they can’t read, they should at least be able to understand drawings…”