Chapter 515

“Let’s give them half an hour to let those willing to surrender leave the city?”

“Is Yang Zun out of his mind?”

“He’s just buying time, waiting for Chen Cang’s reinforcements, isn’t he?”

“We can’t agree to Yang Zun—how do we know who’ll come out? What if they stab us in the back during our assault?”

………………

At Xia Hong’s signal, Yang Zun’s negotiation document was quickly circulated among all the officers, instantly stirring up a storm—most armored officers immediately voiced opposition, refusing to accept Yang Zun’s proposal.

Only Xia Chuan and Xu Ning in the front row, along with Lu Yang and Mu Longhe who had just arrived after Xiao Kangcheng, remained silent.

“If we refuse, breaking Beishuocheng will require tremendous effort…”

Lu Yang spoke slowly, and the room fell silent at once.

They weren’t fools—they understood exactly what he meant.

Denying them any chance to surrender forces the people of Beishuocheng into a corner; ordinary civilians aside, those capable of fighting—the Cold-Resisting-level defenders—will harden their resolve, and our assault difficulty will multiply exponentially.

“A desperate army always wins” isn’t just a saying.

If we pay a heavy price and finally break the city, it’s acceptable—but if we’re repelled and can’t take it quickly, the consequences will be severe.

“We understand Lord Lu’s point! But if we follow Yang Zun’s suggestion, aren’t we letting him lead us by the nose?”

Hou Tong, commander of the five allied camps and overall commander of the Beizhao Army, spoke first; seeing all eyes turn to him, he paused, then continued: “Yang Zun is clearly trying to win hearts. Those truly loyal to him inside the city are probably preparing to fight to the death.

If we agree, first, we help him purge the fence-sitters—everyone left inside will be hardened defenders, and our spies within the city will be powerless;

second, it’s barely an hour until dawn—those who leave won’t get far. Even if we confiscate their weapons, they’re still a threat; if they turn and charge our rear lines, it’ll disrupt our assault. We already have limited troops—we can’t spare any to guard them.”

After Hou Tong finished speaking, the officers who had previously opposed the proposal nodded in agreement—his meaning was clear.

They weren’t fools—they could see right through Yang Zun’s scheme.

But remembering Lu Yang’s words, their brows tightened slightly.

Refusing means driving the people of Beishuocheng into a corner, which will also drastically increase the difficulty of the assault.

Yang Zun’s proposal is pure, unvarnished strategy—whether we accept or refuse, it severely hinders the Xia Army’s assault.

No one could think of a solution; silence settled over the room.

“So, no one has any ideas?”

From the moment they began reading the negotiation document until Lu Yang and Hou Tong spoke, Xia Hong had remained silent, listening quietly. Now that everyone was stuck, he smiled and turned his gaze toward the front row—Xia Chuan and the others.

Xia Chuan showed no hesitation; seeing Xia Hong’s look, he knew his elder brother was testing him. He stepped forward a few paces and said with a smile: “Simple. Commander Hou is right—agreeing to Yang Zun means letting him lead us by the nose, so we absolutely must refuse.

But leaving no escape route for the city’s people is also inappropriate; if word gets out, it’ll damage our future campaigns against Yangqu, Jinshan, and Wuchuan. My suggestion is…”

He paused, walked to a stand beside the main seat, and pointed to a map hanging there—the full map of Beishuocheng.

He marked the eastern, southern, and northern city gates, then continued: “Since Yang Zun wants to play the benevolent one, let’s grant him that mercy. We’ll publicly declare we’ll attack only from these three gates—never touching the western gate.”

“That way, those unwilling to resist have an escape route. And since we announce it openly, Yang Zun can’t stop it—even if he tries to sabotage the western gate, he’ll be harming his own people, driving even more resentment between him and the citizens…”

“Leaving the western gate isn’t enough—we must tell the city’s people: if you don’t help defend the walls, stay indoors, and we’ll pardon you completely after we take the city!”

…………

Clearly, Xia Chuan wasn’t the only one with a plan—Xu Ning, Lu Yang, Yue Feng, and others followed him in speaking, clearly having thought this through already.

Up on the dais, Xia Hong’s eyes had brightened the moment Xia Chuan spoke; hearing the subsequent suggestions from Xu Ning and the others, he looked down at the officers, his admiration unmistakable.

“Surround the enemy but leave an opening—the strategy of encircling three sides while leaving one open—was common knowledge in my past life, understood by anyone familiar with Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

But this is Bingyuan!

In the three years I’ve been away, not just Xia Chuan, but Xu Ning, Lu Yang, Yue Feng—all of them—have grown astonishingly.

Of course, beyond these here, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, and all their subordinate army commanders leading separate forces are surely no different.

The test has served its purpose. Satisfied, Xia Hong no longer wasted time—he rose from his chair and spoke firmly: “Since you have a plan, I won’t interfere. From now on, Xia Chuan will lead the operation personally. Attack begins in one hour!”

We’ve delayed long enough—only an hour remains until dawn.

“Your orders, my lord!”

Xia Chuan and the hundred-odd officers below bowed deeply, answering in unison.

“Xu Ning, Lu Yang, Mu Longhe, Yue Feng, Liu Yuan—you five come with me to Beishuocheng. The rest, return to your units, inventory supplies, and prepare for the assault!”

Xia Chuan wasted no time—he selected the five, then soared into the air from the front of the formation, heading straight for the skies above Beishuocheng.

“Yunjiao Army, prepare!”

“Shanhe Army, prepare!”

“Longyuan Army, prepare!”

“Hunting Eagle Army, prepare!”

“Yellow Armor Army, prepare!”

“Dragon Guard, prepare!”

…………

As Xia Chuan and the six departed, the remaining officers dispersed to the front lines, signaling their troops to ready themselves.

Ten commanding roars rang out in succession; the soldiers, already in battle formation, surged with martial energy. A vast crimson heat wave rose above the army, and the surrounding air temperature spiked sharply.

“Yunjiao Army, Dragon Guard, plus eight numbered armies—twenty-two thousand troops total. This is nearly the strongest force Xia can muster right now. The difficulty of assaulting Bingyuan shouldn’t be worse than in my past life…”

Xia Hong watched the might of the Xia Army and felt a surge of pride within.