Chapter 869: Bustling Yan Zhou City

Qin Zhanhong glanced askance, his eyes full of contempt, "I've been on the battlefield, I've killed people."

"I fight every day!" Yu Yan Chu shouted, unwilling to lose, "I just never got the chance to go to the battlefield; you talk as if you're formidable, but you're only a bit earlier than me—what's there to brag about? Later I'll tell my husband, I'll also go to the battlefield."

"Oh, the Princess is going to the battlefield?" Qin Zhanhong teased with a smile.

"What? No way!" Yu Yan Chu thrust out her broad chest, shouting heroically, "The Princess can also become a general, as long as I want it."

She gave Qin Zhanhong a sideways glance, "Besides, even if you went to the battlefield, you might not beat me. Strength isn't something you can catch up on after just a few days of fighting."

Qin Zhanhong snorted, "Your competitive spirit is still this strong? If you don't believe me, we can try!"

"Let's try, then—who's afraid of whom!"

……

Hua Yin watched the quarreling Qin Zhanhong and the Princess, lowering her head silently.

Some very old memories suddenly began to assault her frenziedly.

She remembered.

She remembered everything!

These two have often given her headaches before, trying to break up fights until people were nearly beaten to death.

In her impression, that Duke had, because of this, seemingly entered the palace several times to apologize.

Who would have thought that after all these years, they're still like this.

Not changed at all.

……

Chen Wuji personally led the troops away from the Ancestral Spirit Mountain pass in a winding manner, while Yang Pojun continued to lead his forces in garrison.

Next, he will bear the responsibility of transporting grain to the front lines, rushing to aid Yang Yu, and guarding against possible enemy troops emerging from Shenxian Ling, among other duties.

Because he kept in mind the information Qin Zhanhong brought, Chen Wuji, after walking a stretch with the army, got onto a carriage.

Three ladies, plus Hua Yin, the Elder Princess's personal attendant, made the originally spacious carriage feel a bit cramped.

After Chen Wuji got on, he straight to the point asked Qin Zhanhong, "You went to Yan Zhou—what news did you gather?"

Qin Zhanhong and Yu Yan Chu were still bickering tirelessly, each wanting to come out on top in everything, neither yielding.

Chen Wuji's sudden boarding made them pause slightly.

Qin Zhanhong composed himself and said solemnly, "There's a lot of news, and it's quite mixed."

"What we've confirmed is that the Court Army seems to have internal strife; Deputy Chief Liu Yan, about ten days ago, led his unit's troops away from Yan Zhou, destination unknown, and my people are tracking them."

"A large body of troops on the move would find it hard to hide their traces, so we should hear news in a day or two. The remaining three divisions of the Court Army, as well as the Uyghur people who just arrived at Yan Zhou, are all stationed in Yan Zhou City."

Chen Wuji leaned against the carriage wall, brow slightly furrowed, "How many troops did the Uyghur send?"

"Eight thousand light cavalry."

"These damned things, they really are willing to spend the money." That number already gave Chen Wuji a headache; the Court Army's size was already huge, and adding these eight thousand Uyghur light cavalry only raised the difficulty of this battle.

The Uyghur people's cavalry differs from the Court Army's; their cavalry's combat power even surpasses that of the Qiang people.

Qin Zhanhong smiled, "Husband, don't get worked up first—there's good news."

"Good news, you're hiding it? Say the good stuff first!"

Qin Zhanhong chuckled, "I'm not trying to start from the beginning with you, husband. The good news is that the Court Army stationed in Yan Zhou seems to have split into three factions, none of which get along."

"I sent several groups to sneak into Yan Zhou City secretly and got some more hidden information: the unit led by Regional Commissioner Li Yu is the smallest, only ten thousand, but he's on good terms with the Uyghur."

"Li Yu seems to have wanted to seize Gaoyu's authority, setting up a Hongmen Banquet, but Gaoyu noticed. At the banquet, Li Yu almost got killed by Gaoyu in retaliation. Afterwards, Gaoyu led troops to assault Li Yu's camp, openly slaughtering thousands of his men, then immediately sealed off Li Yu's military camp."

"In that gap, Cao Lin took the opportunity to seize Yan Zhou City, driving out the troops of Gaoyu and Li Yu left in the city and killing a batch of people. I heard that when they entered the city, they each brought their personal retainers; because space inside the city was limited, the bulk of the troops remained outside."

Chen Wuji glanced at Qin Zhanhong, "You keep using words like 'seems' and 'apparently'—is this information accurate or not?"

"Accurate!" Qin Zhanhong affirmed, "Speaking habits aren't changed overnight. When I say 'seems,' I mean there vaguely appears to be another force in Yan Zhou City, but we have no clear evidence."

"Also, we haven't confirmed what kind of relationship Li Yu and the Uyghur have, so we can only use 'seems' to simply summarize them as three forces."

Chen Wuji then nodded, "Listening to this, it's really chaotic."

"Who says it isn't? When we first arrived in the city, I couldn't believe the reports from our subordinates." Qin Zhanhong sighed, "Obviously Li Yu is the Regional Commissioner who commands all the route troops, but Liu Yan was the first to dissent, openly defying Li Yu's military orders, and even almost seized Li Yu's command authority during a council."

"Right after that came the things I just mentioned: the Court Army's four divisions, nominally led by Li Yu, but now each has its own ideas and goals; Li Yu can't control the other three divisions, and instead he's become the weakest side."

"After Gaoyu and Cao Lin each dealt him two blows, the troops he has left seem to be under five thousand. This…… I can only say 'seems,' because this number isn't precise, roughly so."

Chen Wuji laughed, "My strength really depends on the contrast with others—great, this really is good news, tremendous good news."

Having said that, he lifted the carriage curtain and shouted outward, "Eleventh Uncle, pass the order down: tell the troops to march slowly, no need to rush."

"Yes!"

With this good news, why hurry along the road?

Taking advantage of their intense infighting, it's a good chance to help them gather grain.

Nan Jun has already finished the summer harvest; Yan Zhou is a bit farther north, so the timing is a little later. At their pace, they'll arrive just in time to gather grain and also work on an immigration plan.

The land in Nan Jun is now abundant, plus the expansive Qiang Land, capable of taking in many people.

I don't know whether what he's done in Nan Jun has reached Yan Zhou; if that trend spreads here, immigration shouldn't be overly complicated—after all, such fine conditions are in place, enough to overcome homesickness.

Besides that, tactically, Chen Wuji also can't move too quickly.

If his great army suddenly appeared in Yan Zhou, it might force these few to temporarily set aside their infighting, gather forces, and attack him.

Letting them fight each other is best; that is the optimal outcome.