Chapter 409: Moving the Capital to Chenzhou (XV)

“Clean up the battlefield and collect all the arrows that can be recovered.” Jiang Pengji spat out the weed that was dangling from her mouth. She stood straight and looked far into the distance. She could vaguely see the city on the horizon. “After the battlefield is cleaned up, rest for a while. We’ll besiege the city after dinner.”

Feng Jin frowned. “Besiege the city at night? This… is quite inappropriate.”

Jiang Pengji smiled and replied, “A night battle is unfavorable for us, but it’s even more unfavorable for them.”

Feng Jin wanted to stop Jiang Pengji from taking the risk. They had too little troops on hand; they could not afford to gamble.

“Don’t worry, Huaiyu. I’m not a brainless, reckless person. Since I’ve decided to besiege the city at night, I have a certain degree of assurance.”

Jiang Pengji’s troops were all well-rounded. The training she gave was tedious and harsh. The dietary nutrition for each troop member was as balanced as possible. They practiced diligently under the supervision of General Coach Meng Hun. They were all skilled to varying degrees at night combat.

Furthermore, many people in ancient times––especially poor people––had different degrees of night blindness due to an imbalance in their dietary nutrition. When there was a year of drought, they often had little food to eat, let alone a balanced diet. A very large proportion of them suffered from night blindness.

Jiang Pengji was determined to conquer the nine states and become the Emporer. How could she stand by and do nothing? She did not live in Langye for three years for no reason.

During a night battle, one would advance when the enemy retreated. 1,000 troops had quite a strong combatant value.

Luo Yue took the group of imperial guards with him to help the troops clean up the battlefield. The troops contributed the most in garroting the Tsing Yi Army, while the imperial guards were more for show.

Luo Yue took the initiative to look for Jiang Pengji and asked, “Is there anything else that I can help you with?”

Jiang Pengji answered, “Of course there is. I’ll entrust the safety of tens of thousands of people to you.”

Luo Yue opened his mouth a few times. He wanted to participate in the siege, but the words lingered on his tongue. No matter how hard he tried, he could not speak.

Jiang Pengji planned to fight the enemy at the forefront with her troops. The imperial guards under Luo Ye’s leadership would protect them from behind. People of good sense knew who was safer.

Jiang Pengji looked at Luo Ye and asked with concern, “Is there anything else?”

Luo Yue shook his head and responded, “No. I’ll leave now.”

The corpses of the 3,000 members of the Tsing Yi Army were dumped at the foot of the mountain and covered with dry, flammable straw. A huge flame set the dead bodies on fire.

Jiang Pengji ordered someone to burn and clean up the corpses. None of her subordinates disagreed.

One did not have to treat the enemy’s corpses well.

During hot summer days, dead bodies easily attracted mosquitoes and flies. They would decay quickly. If they were not dealt with as soon as possible, it could give rise to an epidemic disease.

Langjun repeatedly stressed the importance of disposing of the bodies, so of course, no one argued with her.

They discovered a few horses that belonged to the Tsing Yi Army when they were pitching tents and cleaning up the battlefield. However, the horses were either dead or on the verge of dying due to severe injuries. Jiang Pengji ordered someone to slaughter the horses and cook some broth. The food was given to the people who cooperated with them during their operation.

The people were still suffering from shock. To be honest, they were not particularly willing to be used as bait. After all, they were risking their lives!

However, when they discovered that the troops had cooked some food for them after pitching tents and slaughtering horses, they were teary-eyed. The resentment in their hearts mostly disappeared. They could not help but feel ashamed.

On the other hand, Jiang Pengji did not feel very emotional. She took the meat congee handed to her by the troops and gulped it down.

Seasonings were very scarce in ancient times. They were in the middle of travel and would, at most, have some salt. It did not taste very good.

However, it was nothing to be picky about. Prim and proper aristocrats like Feng Jin did not even complain, let alone Jiang Pengji.

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Qiguan Rang took everyone else to meet up with Jiang Pengji. “I could see flames leaping to the sky from afar. I reckon you must’ve had a landslide victory.”

Qiguan Rang no longer looked like a learned and refined scholar. The clogs under his feet were replaced with thick, straw sandals. He was wearing clothes that made moving about easier. His black hair was tied up with a hemp rope made of straw. Apart from his aura, he looked just like a farmer.

“Indeed. We had quite an easy win thanks to the enemy’s extreme foolishness.” Jiang Pengji got up and hung her sword around her waist. She picked up two footlong daggers and placed them where she could easily get to them.

The daggers usually hung in her room for decoration; however, she brought them along with her so she could kill the enemy.

Qiguan Rang handed Jiang Pengji a handful of bows and a quiver. “You must be careful tonight.”

If anything happened to her, everyone’s future would be uncertain.

“Just wait for my good news.” Jiang Pengji received the bows and arrows with a smile. She carried them on her back, her quiver filled with arrows.

Her long hair was tied into a ponytail with a hair tie and bundled with a cloth, making her look suave and neat.

Judging solely from her current attire, she looked like a cool ranger in the marketplace novels instead of a knowledgeable scholar.

Jiang Pengji suddenly remembered something and added, “Right, the 3,000 members of the Tsing Yi Army have all been buried here. They may send someone out of the city to investigate. Be careful of night attacks.”

Qiguan Rang had seen the rising flames at the foot of the mountain from afar. It was difficult to know whether the Tsing Yi Army in the city had noticed them or not. They still needed to play it safe. Since Jiang Pengji took the people from Shangjing with her, she was responsible for their safety.

Qiguan Rang solemnly replied with a bow, “Don’t worry. I vow to guard this place well. I’ll wait for your good news.”

“I’m definitely not worried about the few of you staying behind.”

Jiang Pengji definitely could not take the scholars with her on the night attack. She simply asked them to protect the people with the 1,000 imperial guards.

The terrain was high, and one could see everything far and near. If the Tsing Yi Army tried a surprise attack, her people could get by for a long time by relying on the terrain.

“Let’s depart!”

When the sun began to set in the west and the hot wind gradually cooled, Jiang Pengji and the others headed towards the tall city walls.

******

In another place, the Tsing Yi Army discovered the unusual smoke in the distance and informed General Jiu about it.

General Jiu was banqueting with the “heroes” at the residence of the district magistrate. They drank heavily and ate meat while they watched beautiful women dance. If they got excited, they would directly pull one into their arms to seek pleasure. The entire hall was filled with the smell of wine, meat, and the stench of obscenity.

Even if one was far away, they could hear the men’s wayward laughter and the women’s trembling imploration.

“It’s not a big deal.” General Jiu was shirtless, revealing his strong upper body. He was cuddling a pretty woman with his left hand, and he took a bite of the meaty drumstick with his right hand. He continued indifferently, “The weather is hot now. Aren’t fires to be expected?”

The member of the Tsing Yi Army who reported the fire opened his mouth and replied hesitantly, “Deputy General, who left the city this afternoon, hasn’t returned yet…”

General Jiu sneered and responded, “Why do you worry so much? Perhaps they’ve made a clean sweep and they’re splitting the loot somewhere.”

They were all from the same bandit hideout, so he knew Deputy General’s greed very well.

The private who reported wanted to speak, but General Jiu was impatient and threw the drumstick in his face. “Get lost. Don’t be an eyesore.”

Not long after, the atmosphere in the hall was lively once again.

People were drinking, eating, and enjoying beautiful women. Little did they know that the soul reaper was on her way.