Chapter 825 Entering the Jar!

Xie Zhuyang sat on the city gate tower, drinking tea. He was drinking Daze Fragrant Tongue, the favorite of the Yan Kingdom’s Prince of Pingxi, who would always bring it up when discussing tea ceremonies.

The Xie family head was one of the Four Pillars of the nation. Although his family wasn’t one of the Four Great Clans of Chu, in terms of background and accumulation, it was only higher than the other great noble families.

For no other reason than… being low-key.

A family head who dared to directly call the Emperor of Chu, Xiong Laosi (Old Fourth Xiong), and nearly rebelled against the Xiong family the year before last, was definitely not out of his mind, but rather, he had the confidence.

The Xie family was actually similar to the Helian family of Chu. The Helian family also had barbarian blood. It was said that they were the barbarian general who first joined the Marquis of Jin's banner when he opened up Jin and drove out the barbarians. Although the ancestors of the Xie family were not the Shanyue people (mountain tribes of southern China), as the first great noble family to be enfeoffed in the Southern Border, the Xie family had long intermarried and assimilated with the local Shanyue people.

Back then, the Fifth Prince of Chu, Xiong Tingshan, was almost considered a heretic for marrying a Shanyue woman, but the Xie family had been doing that for hundreds of years.

The Shanyue tribes in Wutong Prefecture had always resisted fiercely, which was why Xiong Tingshan had a foundation to rise from. However, the location of the Xie family and their fiefdom were much more peaceful because the local Chu people considered the Xie family as their own, and the Shanyue people also considered the Xie family as their own.

Only after the Chu Emperor ascended the throne did he lift a series of restrictions against the hundred Shanyue tribes, hoping to absorb the power of the Shanyue people for the Chu court. The Xie family, in fact, had been secretly doing this for a long, long time.

Back then, after the Qu family was able to lose the main force of the Azure Luan Army in Jade Plate City under Qu Tiannan, they were immediately able to organize another Azure Luan Army at home for their young master, Qu Peiluo, to continue losing, which showed how terrifying the accumulation of this aristocratic family that had been passed down for hundreds of years was.

Of course, there was also this: if the Prince of Pingxi were standing here watching Pillar of the Nation Xie drinking Daze Fragrant Tongue cup after cup, looking refreshed, he would have a deeper understanding of the Xie family's foundation.

This was because he must have drunk so much that he had developed drug resistance!

The father was drinking tea,

the son was lying there, applying medicine.

"Father, you've come. Good."

"Why?"

"Being at Zhennan Pass, I wasn't at ease. My Chu has already lost three Pillars of the nation at the hands of the Prince of Pingxi. I was really afraid that you would be next, Father, just enough for a game of mahjong."

Xie Zhuyang nodded and said, "Yes, Father is also afraid. Some things are just that strange. Father was thinking, if that Prince of Pingxi is really blessed by fate, wouldn't Father be sending himself to his table if he went up ahead?"

"It's better here," Xie Yu'an said.

"Father only brought twenty thousand troops; the rest are still guarding the home."

"That's enough. This time, we'll watch the Qian people fight. Our Chu can just beat the drums on the sidelines."

"Trusting the Qian people is like a sow climbing a tree."

"While pigs running all over the mountains are annoying, when pigs are obediently in the pigsty, they are quite docile."

Just then, a guard came in to report,

"Family Head, Young Master, a beacon fire message has arrived from the front! The Yan army has reached Shisui Fort!"

Xie Zhuyang nodded and stood up. Before he could step out, he hesitated, looked at his son, and said,

"How about... together?"

"I thought you were beating me up to find an excuse to leave me behind to ensure my safety."

"You're thinking too deeply about your father. Why wouldn't I bring a prodigy with me?

Besides,

if the Qian people really can't be trusted, and the Yan people directly roll down like a bead curtain, I'm afraid the sky of this Liang Kingdom will be turned upside down. Having you by my side will make it easier for Father to take you back to Chu."

"Sigh."

Xie Yu'an sighed and got off the bed.

Before leaving, he swiped two oranges from the coffee table.

…

"Was it you who called them?"

Standing on the city wall, Xie Zhuyang asked his son.

"Yes."

Xie Yu'an rested his hands on the battlements. Those who didn't know would think he was anxiously gazing at the enemy from the north, but the guards knew that the young master couldn't sit down because his butt was still sore.

"How did you know he would definitely come?"

Starting a few years ago, Xie Zhuyang had gotten used to asking his son about things he didn't understand, and he would mostly listen to his son's suggestions. The two times he didn't plan to listen, his son had forcibly changed his mind by holding a knife to his balls.

"Eager to make a name for himself. Just these four words. This Southern Gate Pass General of Yan was able to climb from a nobody to where he is today because he wanted to climb higher. And today, his end is also because he wanted to climb too high.

Success also stems from this, and failure also stems from this."

Xie Zhuyang nodded and then said,

"After going to the Wei River, Father flipped through the military intelligence reports about the last time the Yan Kingdom's Prince of Pingxi marched straight into Fancheng. When Nian Yao was around, his command tent had developed a habit of doing a post-mortem of every battle of the opponent. Fortunately, Father picked up a bargain.

When that Prince of Pingxi led his army into my Chu, the vanguard army was key."

After all, the leader of the vanguard army at that time was the Barbarian King.

"The vanguard opens the way, covers the battlefield, and allows for rapid marching. Zhennan Pass also has a servant army that can provide support in times of crisis.

Look at this Southern Gate Pass General. Judging from the military reports, he did none of what he should have done, only focusing on leading a lone army to this Liang Kingdom's capital."

After Jingnan Prince left, the Prince of Pingxi had undoubtedly become the main research subject for generals of other countries. Moreover, the Battle of Fancheng wasn't too long ago, and there were too many things to reflect on.

For Xie Zhuyang, after reliving the Prince of Pingxi's methods of leading troops, and then looking at the upcoming Ran Min, although they were both Yan generals, the difference was truly so great that it was somewhat unsettling.

Xie Yu'an then said,

"You're doing a post-mortem, so you must already see Ran Min as a turtle in a jar. Although I think so too, if we stand in the perspective of that General Ran, in fact, what he's doing isn't wrong.

When the Prince of Pingxi was marching, he was in my Chu territory, with dense military forts and county towns, and they were all my Chu people;

General Ran is marching in Liang territory, and the people of Liang are considered their vassal state by the Yan people. Marching in Liang territory doesn't feel like marching in a foreign land at all.

Furthermore,

what General Ran received was a distress warrant from the Liang Kingdom's ruler that I forged. The Yan people look down on my Qian Chu, so how could they possibly look up to Liang?

And during regime changes, people's hearts are often the most volatile at the beginning, and there are also the most opportunities for those outside to take advantage of. It's most suitable for intervention.

As long as Ran Min leads his army and is able to arrive at this capital in time,

if the ruler has already quelled the rebellion, he can also take the opportunity to lead his army into the Liang Kingdom's capital, imitating the old ways of that Prince of Pingxi, and insert the Black Dragon Flag of the Yan people into the heart of Liang.

If the ruler is still deadlocked with the rebels, he can play the role of a heavenly soldier descending from the sky and settle the fate of this Liang Kingdom in one fell swoop, a great accomplishment.

If the ruler has just lost, and the rebels have just come to power, when the hearts of the people are unstable, when Ran Min arrives, borrowing the tiger skin of Yan, he can also turn this overturned sky of Liang back over again. This is truly recreating the universe.

So, he really can't be considered 'careless and rash,' but rather, it's the best choice in his position."

"But you still guessed right?" Xie Zhuyang said, looking at his son.

Because when Ran Min received the distress warrant, the political change targeting the Liang Kingdom's ruler hadn't happened yet. His son could be said to be planning ahead and very at ease.

"I only dare to guess him. If the opponent was the Prince of Pingxi of Yan, I wouldn't dare to guess, because guessing is useless."

"Slap!"

Xie Zhuyang slapped the back of his son's head.

"Your mother isn't good enough, but your concubine is."

Xie Zhuyang took a deep breath and said, "Father, can we not be like this? There are so many people watching."

Xie Zhuyang looked around, and all the guards lowered their heads.

"Come, continue. If it were that Prince of Pingxi, what would he do?" Xie Zhuyang urged.

"The Prince of Pingxi wouldn't be in a hurry. He would mobilize several armies, the vanguard opening the way, calling on the other countries to cooperate, and then proceed with his own royal chariot, slowly pressing forward step by step.

There wouldn't even need to be a war. Liang would immediately submit on its own. At the same time, he could also announce to Wei, Zhao, and Qi who the real suzerain state is.

The difference lies in,

different names, different prestige. Another difference is that, in Ran Min's eyes, the merit worth risking everything to snatch is not worth mentioning at all in the eyes of that Prince of Pingxi.

Fishing requires bait. I have prepared the bait for Ran Min, but there's no way to prepare bait that can hook that Prince of Pingxi."

"Sigh." Xie Zhuyang also sighed and said, "I only realized after going to the Wei River that many of my Chu people have begun to secretly flee to Jin."

"We have to win. We have to stir up this water. If things continue as they are, Qian Chu has no hope."

"Report!!! The Yan army has passed Yongan Fort!"

"It's about time. Father, we can close the door."

"Father knows. You'll be sitting here?"

"Yes. I still have to coordinate with the Qian troops. Ran Min has taken the bait. I still have to use him as bait. Heh heh."

…

Ran Min led his army on a long march, without encountering any obstacles along the way. Even the last barrier north of the Liang Kingdom's capital, Lion Head Pass, had its guard actively open the gate when he saw the Yan army with the Black Dragon Flag approaching, allowing the Yan army to pass.

After passing Lion Head Pass, continuing south was the Liang Kingdom's capital. To the east was Wenming Mountain, and to the west was the largest lake in Liang, Asking Heart Lake.

The lake surface was very wide, which also meant that the reed marshes and wetlands were also extremely vast.

Wenming Mountain and Asking Heart Lake were the most famous mountain and lake in Liang, but at this time, Ran Min was in no mood to appreciate the scenery after entering summer.

He wanted to reach the Liang Kingdom's capital as soon as possible and quell the chaos there. He had even thought about how to enter the Jin Kingdom's imperial palace and Yingdu like the Prince of Pingxi did back then, to spread his and Great Yan's prestige to the extreme!

However, just as the Liang Kingdom's capital could almost be seen in the distance, a red cloud appeared on the horizon.

The Chu people's romance was vividly reflected in their army's armor, while the Yan people were indeed much more rigid in this regard.

The Xie family army began to advance with neat steps. Shield soldiers, spearmen, crossbowmen, axemen, and even the cavalry on both sides, which added up to only a thousand riders, formed an extremely solemn and rigorous sense of order.

Perhaps the most aggrieved thing for the Chu people was that, in the years of fighting against the Yan people, their own true elite infantry phalanxes had not really fought against the Yan people in a proper manner.

Of course, this was mainly because the Yan people wouldn't give them this opportunity.

But right now,

the only road to the Liang Kingdom's capital was blocked.

Ran Min opened his mouth. The cavalry he had sent out kept reporting the flow of military intelligence ahead to their commander.

This was a Chu army, because the other side had already displayed its flags.

A Chu army appearing in Liang was major news.

Ran Min's mind began to calm down quickly.

He didn't order a direct charge. Facing that almost meticulous formation, any enemy general with a normal brain wouldn't want to try to see whose head was harder in the most primitive way.

He ordered his deputy general to lead a force to return, while he led his troops to prepare to charge.

Xie Zhuyang continued to order the Xie family army to steadily advance and exert pressure, according to his own rhythm.

The pressure brought by the Black Dragon Flag of Great Yan was indeed unimaginable, but the advantage of private soldiers was that when their family head was by their side, they could resist most of the fear.

This relatively static confrontation lasted for a long time.

Until,

Ran Min waited for his deputy general to return.

Lion Head Pass, which had previously let him in, chose to close its gates when faced with the Yan army knocking on them again, and also shot dead several Yan cavalrymen.

The feeling of being in a jar suddenly struck.

Immediately,

Ran Min ordered his troops to charge.

The contact between the two sides presented a classic clash between cavalry and infantry phalanxes.

The Yan army attempted to squeeze the Chu army's formation by constantly applying pressure, while the Chu army showed the Yan cavalry their own fangs and began to further compress the space, hoping to entangle the Yan cavalry.

The soldiers on both sides were very nervous, after all, they were the fighters on the front line, but the generals on both sides were particularly calm.

Ran Min could see that the Chu army only wanted to drive them back and block their path;

Xie Zhuyang could see that the Yan army didn't have the determination to fight to the death.

In the end,

after the Yan army failed to shake the Chu army's formation with two charges but forced the Chu army to pull back the contact distance, the Yan army chose to move east.

The wetlands of Asking Heart Lake to the west would cause the Yan army's hooves to sink into the mud and lose their effectiveness, turning into a burden.

But, going east…

Xie Zhuyang didn't order a rapid pursuit, but after letting his men clean up the battlefield, he continued to march at the original pace, neither choosing to return to the Liang Kingdom's capital nor exploring further afield. Instead, after advancing a distance to the east, he ordered the camp to be set up near dusk.

The distance between the two sides hadn't widened too much. After all, the Yan people had rushed over and fought with the Chu army, and they were now tired and exhausted, so it was impossible to move too far at once.

After night fell,

the scouts on both sides fought happily under the cover of darkness, temporarily drowning out the countless cicada chirps of summer.

…

Inside the command tent,

Xie Zhuyang received the latest report from his own scouts:

Many scouts in the Yan army were heading north.

"Alright, I understand."

Xie Zhuyang waved his hand, propped himself up on the command table, leaned his head, and slowly fell asleep.

…

In stark contrast to the atmosphere of Xie Zhuyang entering dreamland, the Yan army found itself in a dilemma at the foot of Wenming Mountain.

The garrison of Wenming County was the Liang army, but they were flying the "Pu" banner.

This was an elite Liang army that had fought against the Chu army in the Qishan Mountains, but at this time, it was here, led by a surrendered general, blocking the Yan people's path to the east.

The bonfire in front of them kept crackling, making Ran Min's face flicker, which reflected his inner thoughts at this time.

The losses of his troops weren't too great, but the supplies were almost exhausted. The original plan was that after entering the Liang Kingdom's capital and quelling the chaos, nothing would be lacking. Now, they had fallen into this predicament.

Bypassing Wenming County and continuing south to the Liang Kingdom's capital wasn't impossible, but with the Chu army already appearing north of the capital, the situation in the Liang Kingdom's capital was naturally unlikely to be favorable. Doing so would only put his army in a greater passive position, and even the space to maneuver would be lost.

The closure of Lion Head Pass meant that the possibility of returning the same way was also blocked.

Continuing east, taking the Qishan Mountains, could detour back to Southern Gate Pass, but going there would be better than detouring through Asking Heart Lake.

The biggest problem was that Chu army. It was stuck there, making him feel like he had a fishbone in his throat, and he was constrained no matter how he advanced or retreated.

Ran Min picked up a water pouch and took a sip of water.

He had already sent people north, hoping to use the advantage of small cavalry to break through the blockade and report the news to his family.

In the darkness, he had a premonition that what he was doing was wrong. He was a rough man and didn't understand music, but he had seen operas and felt like he was performing in the direction that the other side was expecting.

But he couldn't sit idly by as his army really fell into a state of destruction.

In recent years,

the Yan people,

the court,

had won so much that it had become a habit, even numb, but the more this was the case, the more a sudden defeat would provoke a greater backlash.

Back then, when the First Prince rose again after his defeat at Wangjiang, it was so difficult. What was he, Ran Min, compared to that?

"Use force to break skill, use force to break skill."

Ran Min muttered to himself,

"As long as the main force arrives, my lone incursion can become bait, luring the enemy into a trap. Great Yan's chances of winning are still great!"

Having just drunk water, Ran Min suddenly felt parched again.

Yes, yes,

the Prince of Pingxi had also been besieged after a similar lone incursion, and then waited for reinforcements, winning a great victory and earning the first merit!

…

Jindong, Fengxin City;

Prince of Pingxi's Mansion;

"Ah, Chu slave, I am the Prince of Pingxi, give me your life!"

"Ah, kill!"

Crown Prince Ji Chuanye and Tiantian were playing children's war games;

After guessing rock-paper-scissors, Tiantian lost and had to play the Chu army. The Crown Prince won and played the Yan army, and he put himself in the role of the Prince of Pingxi.

In Yan and Jin, many children fought every day over who would play the Prince of Pingxi.

The Crown Prince rushed towards Tiantian with a wooden sword.

Tiantian began to retreat, not because he was afraid of the Crown Prince's status and didn't dare to fight, but because he knew he was playing a Chu person, and Chu people could only run!

But the Crown Prince was perhaps too excited and too invested. When "pursuing and killing" the Chu slave, he tripped over his feet, and the whole person fell to the ground, and the wooden sword flew out.

Tiantian quickly walked over and helped the Crown Prince up.

The Crown Prince cried;

"Don't cry, don't cry, little brother. Big brother will take you to find the big snake snake to get scales."

But the Crown Prince shook his head and said,

"How could I have lost? How could my Yan army possibly lose…"