Chapter 269: All Gathered

Ceng Ce's voice gradually faded away, while Fei Hou's expression grew even more grim.

He sat on the dragon throne, his eyes dark as water, tapping his fingers on the armrest, producing a thud-thud sound.

He knew clearly in his heart that everything Ceng Ce said was the truth; Jiang Jiang Mingyu's army had already slaughtered its way to the city gates, and his dynasty was hanging by a thread.

But he was unwilling, unwilling to be destroyed by just one transmigrator, unwilling to lose the empire he had built with his own hands, unwilling to become the laughingstock of the world.

He still wanted to resist, still wanted to struggle, still wanted to find a sliver of hope for survival.

He glared fiercely at the hundred officials, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Who else has any good ideas? Speak up and let us hear them."

After witnessing Ceng Ce's fate, who dared speak the truth? The hundred officials each kept their heads bowed tightly, none daring to make a single sound.

Fei Hou's anger was about to burn his eyebrows.

"Useless things, a bunch of useless things! Raising you lot is no better than raising a few dogs."

He panted heavily as he scanned the crowd, then immediately spoke.

"He He Xinzhe, I order you to command the city's cavalry and infantry and engage Jiang Jiang Mingyu in a decisive battle outside the city."

"Listen clearly to me: if you fail to destroy Jiang Jiang Mingyu, you must kill your entire family and then cut your own throat."

This He He Xinzhe was originally Fei Hou's Minister of War, but unfortunately, he was merely a scholar.

Hearing Fei Hou's order, sweat pouring down his face, he nearly fainted on the spot.

Previously, the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Ruan Chen and others could not stop Jiang Jiang Mingyu; how much of a storm could a mere scholar like him stir up?

Seeing his legs trembling, Fei Hou's brows furrowed even tighter, and he spoke in a chilling tone.

"What? Do you not wish to obey the imperial decree?"

He He Xinzhe's eyes darted, and he hurriedly knelt to the ground.

"Your humble subject obeys the decree. Your humble subject will immediately lead men to patrol the city defenses, muster the troops, and prepare for a life-or-death battle with Jiang Jiang Mingyu."

"Your humble subject swears before Your Majesty that if this battle fails to break Jiang Jiang Mingyu, I will bring my own head before Your Majesty."

Fei Hou snorted.

"That is more like it."

When He He Xinzhe left the court, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's army was still rushing along the road.

He jogged all the way to his own residence, did not even dare to enter the gate, and directly summoned his trusted aides.

"Quick, quick, quick! Pack up everything in my house; we are leaving."

The aide paused, confused by his meaning.

"My lord, what are you saying? Where are we going?"

He He Xinzhe glared at him and spoke urgently.

"Where? Of course to surrender to Jiang Jiang Mingyu! Do you think I would really go fight him?"

"Don't you know what order Fei Hou just gave? He wants me to take the city's ragged, defeated soldiers to confront Jiang Jiang Mingyu's million-strong army. Isn't that asking for death?"

"I do not want to die, nor do I want my family to die, so we have only one choice: surrender."

"If we can surrender in time, perhaps we can still save our lives; otherwise, once Jiang Jiang Mingyu breaches the city, we are all finished."

Hearing this, the aide also thought it made sense and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, my lord. I will go make arrangements immediately."

He He Xinzhe nodded and called him back.

"By the way, you must also find a few people to surrender with me. Preferably those with some reputation; only then will Jiang Jiang Mingyu take us seriously."

"Go look and see if there is anyone willing to follow me. No matter what their rank or status, as long as they want to save their lives, tell them to come find me."

"Remember, time is short. We must escape before Jiang Jiang Mingyu attacks the city, or it will be too late."

The aide hurriedly agreed and went to handle the matter.

Watching his retreating figure, He He Xinzhe secretly rejoiced in his heart.

He felt he was very smart and clever, able to find a path to survival amidst the crisis.

He did not know that this decision of his had buried a greater disaster for himself and his family.

He did not know that this action of his had brought a greater crisis to Fei Hou's dynasty.

He even more did not know that this behavior of his had opened a greater breach for Jiang Jiang Mingyu's army.

He only knew that he wanted to save his life, that he wanted to preserve everything of his.

The setting sun slanted its light, dyeing the clouds on the horizon a brilliant orange-red, adding a touch of color to the originally withered yellow earth. Jiang Jiang Mingyu was galloping on the official road on horseback, traveling with a heavy heart.

At this moment, a tall, powerful horse suddenly galloped toward them from the opposite direction. The rider wore light armor and seemed to be rushing along. Jiang Jiang Mingyu immediately signaled his own men to clear the road, and the swift horse quickly rode up close.

"Report! My lord, Mr. Zhu Ge Yu and General Li are just twenty li away!" the rider shouted loudly.

It was their own scout, coming to report good news. Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu was overjoyed and looked toward the distance; sure enough, dust was flying, as if a great army was approaching from afar.

He immediately ordered Tu Tu Kesiluo: "Quickly lead the main army off the official road and turn into the mountains to hide our tracks! We are already within fifty li of Jingcheng; we must proceed with extreme caution."

Tu Tu Kesiluo responded and hurriedly transmitted the order; the entire army quickly left the official road and concealed themselves in the mountain paths. Under the cover of dense forests, they avoided the eyes of others.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu followed closely behind, traversing the dark and damp mountain paths. The army wound its way forward for one double-hour before finally catching a glimpse of campfires in the distance—their target was now within arm's reach!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu finally saw Zhu Ge Yu, Li Goudan, and others, whom he had not met for a long time.

Zhu Ge Yu was still the same, sporting two small mustaches and a cross-shaped scar on his face. He strode up to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, squinting his eyes as he said, "Master, how have you been?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded and slapped Zhu Ge Yu's shoulder hard: "Capturing Taizhou so quickly, you and Zhang Zhang Jiani did well!"

Li Goudan immediately felt somewhat aggrieved and muttered, "My lord, Tu Tu Kesiluo and I also captured Guizhou; why do you not praise me?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu laughed heartily: "Good, good! You have all performed excellently. In the future, I will surely return heavily with rewards!"

Watching everyone laughing and smiling, Fang Hang, standing aside, could not help but fall into a daze. Such a harmonious scene was something he could hardly imagine in Jingcheng.

Amidst the laughter and banter, Zhang Zhang Jiani suddenly spoke up: "Brother Jiang, why is my sister not seen? Is she injured?" Her expression looked extremely anxious.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's smile carried a hint of awkwardness as he said, "Zhang Jiaqi has returned to her hometown in Huicangzhou."

Zhang Zhang Jiani was about to press further when Tu Tu Kesiluo hurriedly held her back: "Zhang Jiaqi is fine. The main matter is urgent; I will explain later."

Though Zhang Zhang Jiani still had doubts, she had to let it go.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, the day we fight for our lives is near. This time we will march straight to Jingcheng and capture Fei Hou alive! Do you have any good ideas?"

Zhu Ge Yu stroked his beard and said, "My Lord, I have already sent people to scout the situation in Jingcheng. Fei Hou has a hundred thousand elite soldiers under his command, stationed around Jingcheng, ready to meet the enemy at any moment. If we attack head-on, I fear the losses will be heavy."

Li Goudan grinned and said, "Then let's launch a surprise attack. We sneak into Jingcheng at night, head straight for Fei Hou's residence, drag him out, and that's it."

Fang Hang shook his head and said, "That idea won't work. Fei Hou's residence is the most heavily guarded place in Jingcheng, surrounded by heavy troops, high walls, and deep courtyards. Even if we could get in, it would be hard to get out. Moreover, Fei Hou is no fool; he will surely have defenses, perhaps even set an ambush waiting for us to take the bait."

Zhang Zhang Jiani blinked her eyes and said, "Then let's use a stratagem. We can pretend to surrender to Fei Hou to make him lower his guard, then strike when the opportunity arises and take him down."

Tu Tu Kesiluo frowned and said, "That idea is not good either. Fei Hou is a cunning old fox; he will not easily believe our surrender. He will be suspicious and might even turn the tables to frame us. Furthermore, if we pretend to surrender, it will likely damage our reputation and morale, causing our subordinates and the common people to lose faith in us."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu listened to everyone's opinions, pondered for a moment, and said, "What you all say makes sense, but we cannot retreat because of difficulties. We must devise a plan that ensures both success and our safety and reputation. I have an idea; what do you think?"

Everyone held their breath, looking at Jiang Jiang Mingyu expectantly.

Now that the serious matter was at hand, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not help but turn to Zhu Ge Yu and ask.

"Zhu Ge Yu, tell me, how should our army break through Jingcheng?"

Although he already had an idea, regarding such a major undertaking as attacking Jingcheng, he still wanted to hear Zhu Ge Yu's opinion.