Chapter 339

Dark clouds pressed against the city, the sky had already grown dim, and a waning moon hung in the desolate northwest sky. Yet the gloom on Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face seemed even blacker and heavier than the heavens. Since raising his army, he had never encountered such a stubborn bone to gnaw. Not only were our forces suffering heavy casualties, but the reinforcements led by Cha Zha Wenhua had also been annihilated. And the hundred-thousand-strong relief army commanded by Tu Tu Kesiluo still remained without a single word of news.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart sank, and he ordered his subordinates in a heavy voice: "Quickly investigate the casualties of our army!"

A moment later, Lu Yi walked into the main tent with his head hanging low, his face devoid of color: "Reporting to Your Majesty, after tallying, over ninety thousand of our soldiers have fallen in battle, and now only about half of our forces remain..." His voice grew lower and lower, until finally only a barely audible whisper remained.

Half! Jiang Jiang Mingyu had mentally prepared himself for heavy casualties, but hearing the specific number with his own ears still made him tremble with fear. He forced himself to stay calm, squeezed out an ugly smile, and tried to lift the low spirits of the generals in the room: "Although our army has suffered heavy losses, the situation for the Northern Other Xi Xia garrison is no better. The key is that the One Da Jiang army has ample grain and can fight a war of attrition. We only need to surround the city without attacking, and we will starve Tuoba Ji Qian and the others to death!"

Hearing this, the generals' faces improved slightly, and their brows relaxed a bit. Jiang Jiang Mingyu also secretly breathed a sigh of relief; this bloody battle had made these invincible generals under his command realize that it was still too early to dominate the world.

Just then, a joyful report from the duty soldier suddenly came from outside the door: "Giddyup, giddyup! Prince Tu Tu Kesiluo has returned with troops!" Jiang Jiang Mingyu was overjoyed, disregarded the continuing meeting, and hurriedly went out to greet him. He saw Tu Tu Kesiluo, covered in blood and stumbling, walking over with a stagger, weakly shouting: "Big Brother... I'm back..." Deep exhaustion permeated his dry voice.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu quickly supported Tu Tu Kesiluo's arm, half-dragging and half-carrying him into the main tent. The generals also hurriedly made way, letting Tu Tu Kesiluo sit before the table, wrapping a hot blanket around his shoulders, only then slowly breathing a sigh of relief. Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked with concern at the dying Tu Tu Kesiluo, quickly brought over hot tea, and held it out before him: "Your Majesty, please rest for a moment, then slowly tell us the situation of the battle at the North Gate. How many of our army fell? And what is the situation on the Northern Other Xi Xia side?"

Tu Tu Kesiluo took the teacup and gulped down a few mouthfuls, only then gathering his strength to speak: "Oh, Big Brother, you wouldn't know, Tuoba Ji Qian actually deployed three hundred thousand troops at the North Gate! If I hadn't had foresight and retreated in time, I and my brothers would likely have gone and never returned..." Speaking here, Tu Tu Kesiluo shivered with cold fear, shaking his head with lingering fright.

"The defending general at the North Gate is named Du Chun, who, relying on strong troops and sturdy horses, vainly dreamed of swallowing the hundred thousand relief troops I led in one bite." Tu Tu Kesiluo gulped down half a cup of hot tea in one go, shook his head with a complex expression, "I didn't expect this fellow to actually dare to lead his army out of the city to engage us. Just as I was looking for a chance to cut off his head, the Northern Other Xi Xia troops instantly retreated back into the city."

Speaking here, Tu Tu Kesiluo let out a long sigh, clenching his fists unwillingly: "Although we killed and wounded thirty or forty thousand of them, we could never break through the North Gate. These Northern Other Xi Xia troops are like moles burrowing into the ground, always able to escape back into the city quickly!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief and asked with concern: "Then, what is the situation of our army's losses?"

"Casualties of twenty or thirty thousand, still within an acceptable range. At that time, to ensure the success of the siege, I specially brought the elite forces of One Da Jiang." Tu Tu Kesiluo shrugged, indicating the losses were not too severe.

After hearing Jiang Jiang Mingyu briefly describe the fierce battle at the East Gate, Tu Tu Kesiluo looked at Lu Yi and the others with worried faces, yet a hint of cunning suddenly flashed in his eyes. "Big Brother, do you know? I was lucky; this time I actually captured several Northern Other Xi Xia prisoners. They revealed that the grain supplies of the Other Xi Xia Wang Cheng are now almost exhausted!"

Hearing this, the generals once again fell into low murmurs of discussion. Only Lu Yi still wore a look of doubt, and he sighed: "Even if Tuoba Ji Qian runs out of grain, can we quickly decide the battle and capture Wang Cheng? If time drags on, our great army might also collapse..."

"Run out of grain?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu keenly grasped these two words. He turned to Tu Tu Kesiluo and pressed: "As far as you know, how many more days can Tuoba Ji Qian hold out?"

"Two days! Within two days, the Northern Other Xi Xia army will definitely run out of grain!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu pondered for a moment, then a sharp light burst forth in his eyes. He slapped the table and decided: "Give him two days! The entire army will temporarily surround without attacking; when the moment Tuoba Ji Qian's army runs out of grain arrives, I will have a clever plan to deal with him!"

"Clever plan?" The generals all pressed for details.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled meaningfully and said in a low voice: "Listen carefully, we will do this..."

After hearing this, everyone could not help but reveal complex expressions.

After a long while, Tu Tu Kesiluo raised his thumb and praised: "Big Brother, only you could think up such a strategy!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu carelessly patted his shoulder and said resolutely: "Since there are no objections, it is settled! Quickly send the orders; delay will bring change!"

The night was deep and quiet, and a chill permeated the air. The sentries at the camp gate forced themselves to stay awake, striving to keep alert. At this moment, a light black shadow suddenly emerged from the deep darkness, sneaking into the camp like a ghost.

This black-clad figure headed straight for the commander's tent. He gently lifted a corner of the door curtain; inside came the sound of even breathing, obviously the commander was already fast asleep. The intruder's eyes darkened, as if making some decision; he drew out a dagger and suddenly stabbed at the vital point of the person on the bed! A cold shout rose in his throat: "Die!"

However, just at this critical moment, dozens of lamps instantly lit up inside the tent, illuminating the intruder's full form—it was Zhang Zhang Jiaqi! She obviously did not expect that the person before her had already guessed she would come and had quietly prepared. And even more unexpectedly, cold arrows shot from all directions had already surrounded her layer upon layer; if she dared to make even the slightest move, she would instantly become a hedgehog!

At this time, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, who had been pretending to sleep, slowly sat up. No joy or anger could be seen on his face; he simply looked coldly at Zhang Zhang Jiaqi: "I didn't expect you to have been waiting here for a long time already?"

"You..." Zhang Zhang Jiaqi, in shock mixed with disbelief, could not believe Jiang Jiang Mingyu would guess her actions!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu tore off the black veil from her face, and complex emotions churned in his eyes. He never expected that the assassin standing before him, ready to put him to death, would be the woman who had once loved him deeply!

"Why... how did we come to this step today?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu's words were filled with unspeakable pain. He did not understand; how could his initial rejection make her hate him to this extent, even joining the enemy and becoming irreconcilable with him? Could so-called love giving birth to hate be this kind of madness?

"I will make you pay the price!" The malice in Zhang Zhang Jiaqi's eyes seemed almost to burn Jiang Jiang Mingyu. She sneered: "I didn't expect you to be so self-righteous, thinking that without you I cannot live? My revenge against you is absolutely not because of love!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was startled. He spoke blankly, his voice already choked: "What exactly made us come to this step today... tell me the truth!"

"Now everything is set in stone; more words are useless." Zhang Zhang Jiaqi looked at Jiang Jiang Mingyu, her eyes devoid of emotion, "You and I are now completely enemies; if you want to kill me, then kill me."

In this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu suddenly realized the truth. Originally, in her heart, he had already been dead! On the day she left Jinzhou, her beautiful heart had already died! What truly hurt her was not Liu Liu Yifei's selfishness, but his invitation at the wedding—for a woman who loved him with all her heart, this was simply a great insult!

And all of this today was merely her step-by-step revenge plan. For that moment of humiliation, she was willing to risk her life, only to demand justice!

But the price of this justice, how could it be borne by her shoulders...