Chapter 321: The Mysterious Princess

The great army had marched to this place for over half a month; the yellow sand flying beneath their feet almost buried their knees. Occasionally covering a layer of dried blood and severed limbs, it silently proved the ferocious slaughter that had once occurred. Between heaven and earth lay a desolate wasteland, the boundary of the distant horizon seeming forever unreachable.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu rode horseback to patrol the army, checking the map by his side from time to time, fearing the group might have taken the wrong direction. To this point, all the scouts he had sent out had returned, their accounts remarkably consistent.

"Your Highness, we have traveled hundreds of li around here; aside from a few villages, there are no residents. The people of Other Xi Xia live in seclusion; except for slightly stronger border defenses, the defenses of each city are lax." After the scout respectfully reported, he withdrew.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu pondered for a moment, then turned to ask Tu Tu Kesiluo: "In such a situation, is this good or bad for our great cause? Do the people of Other Xi Xia harbor any deceitful tricks? What is your opinion?"

Tu Tu Kesiluo thought briefly and replied: "For our army, this matter can be called a heaven-sent opportunity! Other Xi Xia is deeply mired in hunger and cold; this is precisely the perfect time for our army to take advantage of the void and launch a massive assault on their cities! We have also discovered no signs of any deceitful tricks; everything is under control!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded and asked the vice-general Fang Hang: "Fang Hang, do you see it this way too?"

Fang Hang hurriedly agreed: "Exactly so! With winter approaching, the Other Xi Xia army and people are deeply troubled by it. This is a perfect opportunity for our army to ride the momentum and capture the southern cities! The wise decision to launch this expedition has caught the enemy off guard! Next, we only need to advance steadily and secure the spoils; success is certain!"

"Hahaha!" Upon hearing this, all the generals laughed loudly; for a moment, joy and triumph, along with a sense of supreme confidence, overflowed on everyone's faces.

The Wang Cheng of Other Xi Xia, the golden and resplendent Zhengdian of the imperial palace.

Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian sat worriedly on the dragon throne, lightly tapping a feather fan on his knee. This young monarch of the Other Xi Xia Empire possessed a fine appearance; with a burly body and square features, he looked like a handsome and mighty man. Only now did several deep wrinkles knot upon his forehead. The entire Zhengdian was silent; even the eunuchs beside him held their breath, fearing to disturb the Emperor's thoughts.

"Plop!" The feather fan hit the ground. Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian suddenly stood up and kicked the eunuch on the right, whose face was full of bitterness: "Useless thing! Every day there are dark rain clouds; after finally having a few sunny days, you still wear this mournful expression. You deserve to starve to death! Go tell the grain officer: if I do not see military grain transported to the camp again, I will flay him!"

That eunuch covered his stomach and repeatedly agreed, crawling out of the Zhengdian. Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian sat back on the dragon throne with a thud and sighed to the heavens. This war had dragged on too long; the rain clouds never dispersed, the rain poured down, and the supply lines stretched so long that the already insufficient military grain transport became even more difficult. The Other Xi Xia army, usually wild and cruel, now shivered from cold and suffered from hunger; their morale was inevitably affected. Even more deadly was that the enemy opposite, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's troops, those slippery rats, seemed to have been injected with chicken blood, constantly rushing forward to bite. How much longer could they hold out?

A familiar footstep approached from afar; a young woman entered carrying a pot of steaming mutton milk tea. Although she wore a dazzling satin Other Xi Xia robe on her upper body, she wore neat Mongol trousers on her lower half, fully displaying her tall and slender beautiful legs.

"With such heavy rain, you should not neglect taking care of yourself." Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian's eyes warmed slightly. "Even I have caught a cold from the chill; do you intend to exhaust my little treasure, the master of Other Xi Xia?"

The woman met his gaze; a hint of mockery shone in her clear eyes. "You still have the mind to joke? Could it be that the reports about Jiang Jiang Mingyu from your subordinates are not enough? Never mind, drink the tea first." She handed the steaming cup of mutton milk tea to Tuoba Jiqian.

Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian drank it all in one go, then let out a long breath and began to recount the desperate battle situation to the woman in detail.

The woman listened silently, her brows furrowing slightly: "Indeed, it is just as I predicted earlier. This Jiang Jiang Mingyu travels with light boats and fast horses, and is skilled at setting ambushes, employing some ghostly and demonic tactics. Our side has scattered morale and lacks clothing and grain; we are afraid we will suffer a great loss."

"Jiang Jiang Mingyu's next target, I believe, is undoubtedly Tanzhou." She pulled out a silk scroll from her side and unfolded it on the Shangshan Shangshan Jian; it was the recently drawn map of Other Xi Xia. "If he continues to advance deep into the hinterland, not only will his rear lines be too long, but grain transport will also be difficult. Conversely, if he captures coastal strongholds like Meng Pu in Tanzhou, he can utilize sea transport to obtain supplies continuously." Her finger tapped the location of Tanzhoucheng: "If I am not mistaken, his next first target is right here."

"Tanzhou..." Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian's mind sank into memories; he and the woman before him had met in that very Tanzhou. He still remembered that when he led a team south to suppress bandits, she had laughed heartily and jumped out of the rushing stream during a flash flood, looking exactly like a mermaid. Although they had parted on bad terms later, fate had strangely brought them together again here. Looking at her, he suddenly said: "If Tanzhou is captured, many of our people will likely die. Especially the elderly, women, and children; if Jiang Jiang Mingyu insists on his own way, he will surely massacre the city. I absolutely cannot allow this!"

After hearing this, the woman's gaze toward him turned sharp, as if a fierce anger burned in her heart: "Such an arrogant and self-important person as Jiang Jiang Mingyu, if he one day dominates Other Xi Xia, will surely bring harm to the boundless land! Ignoring this ungrateful villain and raising a tiger to harm oneself!"

"Cough, this... this is not necessarily so..." Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian coughed awkwardly; he could not utter more words of refusal because he knew deeply that what she said was true.

"Could it be that you have only now remembered compassion?" The woman sneered. "During the succession war a few months ago, did you not order the total slaughter of civilians? Now, simply because you want to save your people in Tanzhou, you cannot bear to kill anymore?"

Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian suddenly fell silent; only after a long while did he speak: "This is a futile change of heart. I originally believed the invincible Great Other Xi Xia would surely rule the four directions. Who knew that a succession war would exhaust the people's strength and the army's power, and the tragic scenes of war and slaughter would ultimately shock my heart. Too much blood, too many innocent lives lost. I do not wish to repeat the same mistakes."

"Hmph, if you are afraid, just say so." After the woman finished speaking, she turned her head and disappeared outside the Zhengdian with graceful steps. Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian, however, still stood in place, gazing fixedly at her departing figure.

Now seeing her determined back, Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian's heart was filled with mixed emotions. He did not know whether the intuitive prediction in the woman's words was accurate.

"Issue the order..." he instructed the trembling eunuch beside him, "send another 50,000 troops to reinforce Tanzhou; you must annihilate Jiang Jiang Mingyu's forces beneath the walls of Tanzhoucheng!"

The eunuch showed a troubled expression and said cautiously: "Your Highness, our army lacks clothing and grain; sending troops out now might be unsustainable..."

"It does not matter. Did we not originally launch a massive expansion into the Western Regions for a broader living space and resources?" Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian scolded impatiently. "My resolve is set; go quickly and issue the order! Ask yourself, can the ambition of the Other Xi Xia Empire be limited by mere grain supplies!"

The eunuch could only humbly obey and withdraw.

Looking at the gloomy sky above the door, Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian whispered to himself: "In my life, I have never feared any hardship or obstacle. Since this is what you want, how can I stand aside? Even if I must fight alone and battle in blood, I will not hesitate!"

His eyes were determined, as if he had made some great resolve. Only Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian himself knew who exactly the "you" in his words referred to.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded, signaling the scout to continue. The scout shook the snow off his body and briefly reported: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the four commanderies of Meng Pu have been completely captured by Governor Li. When I passed by, I saw the entire city covered with One Da Jiang army flags; the Other Xi Xia soldiers who had defected were undergoing registration and organization."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu flew into a rage, his brows tightly furrowed: "That damn dog, does he not fear Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian's attack? The army is not being organized; he only cares about organizing the surrendered soldiers?! Go back quickly and order Li Goudan to immediately gather the troops and remain on high alert for an Other Xi Xia counterattack!"

The scout hurriedly agreed and left. As soon as Jiang Jiang Mingyu stepped into the military tent, he roared at Fang Hang: "What are you staring at? Why not quickly order the army to continue marching toward Tanzhou! Even if that Goudan is dull, we should deploy our formations in advance and make full preparations!"

Fang Hang immediately bowed and left to receive the order.

The great army marched another fifty li in the cold wind and finally set up camp outside Tanzhoucheng. Jiang Jiang Mingyu immediately ordered the accompanying painter to draw a map of Tanzhou based on the scout's report. Looking at the five-zhang-high city walls, he sneered and said: "The so-called Tanzhoucheng is nothing special. Later, I will have the army circle the city; I want to see how confident the garrison inside the city really is!"

At this moment, the scout carefully entered the tent and reported again on the situation of the Tanzhou garrison and its generals.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked him up and down before speaking.

"What is the situation in Tanzhou?"

The scout, ignoring his exhaustion, spoke directly.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have discovered that Tanzhou originally had 150,000 troops, including 120,000 infantry and 30,000 cavalry."

"For some unknown reason, a few days ago Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian suddenly sent 50,000 additional troops to Tanzhou; currently, the enemy has 200,000 troops."

"The defending general of Tanzhou is named Situ Heshong; he is a famous capable warrior of Other Xi Xia and is deeply trusted by Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu waved his hand and said: "I understand. I want to see this Situ Heshong myself; what kind of capable warrior is he... You may go out and rest first; you have worked hard."

After the scout withdrew, Jiang Jiang Mingyu whispered to the attendant beside him: "200,000 troops; Tuoba Tuoba Jiqian has put in enough thought... Never mind, never mind. A true man remains calm in the face of change. Our One Da Jiang army is fully capable of easily capturing Tanzhou! Even if they charge at us, it is no problem!"