Chapter 1300 - 1136: Momentum Like a Hot Knife Through Butter
Chapter 1300: Chapter 1136: Momentum Like a Hot Knife Through Butter
"Where? Several people surrounded and attacked Prince Jing, and he even launched a sneak attack from behind. Otherwise, perhaps Prince Jing wouldn’t have been hurt!" Ming Mo shook his head, somewhat disapproving of the other’s actions.
Yet he understood, on the battlefield, as long as you can kill the enemy, who cares if it’s a sneak attack?
"Do you know how serious the injury is?" Gu Chengyu thought for a moment, truly worried that Prince Jing might just die. It’s not the time for that yet.
If Prince Jing were to die so easily, there would be no one at the border to restrain Prince Gong.
"The deepest sword stab was right in the chest, and at that time, Prince Jing wasn’t wearing armor. I saw the sword penetrate halfway in. If Prince Jing’s body were weaker, perhaps he wouldn’t have survived!" Ming Mo shook his head, recalling the scene, feeling that Prince Jing was truly unfortunate.
Gu Chengyu pondered for a moment and then asked, "Why did Prince Jing go to the battlefield at that time? Didn’t he have any good generals under him?"
"Yes, he has a fierce general under him who is quite formidable, capable of one against a hundred, powerful and skilled! I inquired about it at the time, but no one knew this person. They said he emerged from nowhere, his origins unknown, and no one even knew his name. However, I heard Prince Jing called him Xiao Ba."
"Xiao Ba?" Gu Chengyu tilted his head to think for a while, indeed he hadn’t heard of him, perhaps a talent found somewhere, likely someone from the Martial Arts community.
"At that time, Prince Jing had the upper hand, but later it seemed he wanted to assassinate Prince Gong and ended up being surrounded, nearly losing his life." Ming Mo carefully recalled, thinking that Prince Jing was desperate to get rid of Prince Gong!
"This person is full of schemes, perhaps there are other calculations at play. Send someone to watch Fengqing Prefecture, report to me immediately if there’s any movement. Also, was Prince Gong eager to return because something happened?"
Gu Chengyu didn’t think Prince Jing would risk his own life, because back then, it seemed completely unnecessary!
"Indeed! Because of Liu Dong..." Ming Mo paused for a moment and glanced at Gu Chengyu.
After seeing Gu Chengyu’s puzzled look, he continued, "Liu Dong wanted to lead troops to Yuhe Pass to declare war on you while Prince Gong was away!"
"Declare war on me?" Gu Chengyu was stunned for a moment, then remembered Ming Mo was told to kill that Liu Meng before. Being both named Liu, could there be a connection between the two?
"Liu Dong is actually Liu Meng’s elder brother. Because of Liu Meng’s death, Liu Dong harbored resentment against us for a long time. Probably has been wanting to avenge his brother, but never acted on it. This time, taking advantage of Prince Gong’s absence, he thought it was a good opportunity. But who knew, not long after marching ten miles, he was discovered by someone Prince Gong had sent to inspect, and they reported this news back to Prince Gong."
"So Prince Gong rushed back to intercept Liu Dong?"
"Yes! After intercepting Liu Dong, Prince Gong didn’t punish him, just left him stationed outside Fengqing Prefecture." This point puzzled Ming Mo.
"Sir! Why did Prince Gong not punish Liu Dong despite his disobedience, instead leaving him stationed outside Fengqing Prefecture?" Usually, superiors do not favor disobedient subordinates.
"Perhaps this person still has some use for him." Gu Chengyu had no interest in guessing Prince Gong’s intentions, but he did pay particular attention to this Liu Dong.
Because this person harbored animosity, he might stab you in the back one day. If the opportunity arises, it would be better to eliminate this person.
"Sir! Prince Gong’s army has started a war again, leading troops towards the front at He Dan Prefecture, and now both sides have started fighting."
Ming Yan rushed into the study. The master had instructed that any movements by Prince Gong or Prince Jing be reported immediately.
"So fast?" Gu Chengyu and Ming Mo exchanged a glance. How could it be so fast? Prince Gong had just attacked Fengqing Prefecture, how could it be so swift?
"The distance between He Dan Prefecture and Fengqing Prefecture is not close. How could it be so fast? There’s even another Prefecture city in between." Ming Mo asked in surprise.
"Perhaps he calculated it all long ago, attacking Fengqing Prefecture was merely a pretense, the real target is He Dan Prefecture. It’s to divert everyone’s attention, putting focus on Fengqing Prefecture, so that not much attention is given to He Dan Prefecture. Despite Prince Jing’s severe injury, and even though Fengqing Prefecture was well-prepared, with so many elite soldiers led by Prince Jing, capturing Fengqing Prefecture might result in considerable losses, but eliminating such a strong adversary wouldn’t be a loss. However, he didn’t continue the attack, turns out He Dan Prefecture was his real target."
Gu Chengyu was surprised earlier why Prince Gong didn’t continue the pursuit. After all, with Prince Jing seriously wounded, it was a rare opportunity.
Hadn’t expected Prince Gong to employ a feint. Alas! Neither of them is easy to deal with.
"How is the battle going?" It seems Prince Gong is determined to capture He Dan Prefecture, Gu Chengyu could envision that the hope of He Dan Prefecture holding out is slim.
"Prince Gong has brought an army of a hundred thousand this time, He Dan Prefecture only has sixty thousand elite soldiers stationed, and that’s with temporary reinforcement. It’s doubtful they can hold out!"
Ming Yan’s meaning was clear, it seemed He Dan Prefecture’s preparations were far from sufficient.
"This time Prince Gong is unstoppable, it won’t take long before several Prefecture cities near the border will be captured by him." Ming Mo also sighed, it seemed Prince Gong had been preparing for a long time.
"Indeed! His strength is truly formidable! If he captures the border, he will eventually march to the Capital." Ming Yan was a bit worried, in wars, it’s the commoners who suffer.
After all, Prince Gong’s strength is not negligible, but the Emperor is ultimately the ruler of the land. He commands nearly a million soldiers, and Prince Gong challenging him seems quite unlikely.
"Not so fast! Though he appears powerful, it’s only a superficial display! His foundation isn’t deep enough, to wage war, provisions must come first, Silver Coin, weapons, soldiers, and horses are all indispensable. His intent is no more than a swift capture of the border’s Prefecture cities, so as to rapidly expand his power, laying the groundwork for invading the Capital. But these Prefecture cities aren’t very affluent, the majority of the wealth is in the hands of the local powerful clans, and these people are not easy to deal with. If he wants their support, Prince Gong still has a long way to go."
These local powerhouses are not easy to handle; in this harsh borderland, it takes some ruthless determination to make a name for oneself.
If cornered, these people would stop at nothing. Even if it means risking their lives, they’d never let you have it easy.
Therefore, in just two years, Prince Jing subdued the people of Fengqing Prefecture, and quickly solidified his foundation; this is something Gu Chengyu greatly admired.
"Both of you, keep an eye on these two’s movements. I need to immediately draft a memorial to the Capital, explaining the situation here to the Emperor."
Gu Chengyu dismissed the two, still contemplating what Prince Jing was scheming, could it be a deliberate show of weakness?
Now that Prince Gong’s momentum is fierce, this matter needs to be alerted to the Emperor. It can’t wait until Prince Gong becomes truly formidable to think of dealing with it, by then it would be too late.