Chapter 60: Foreign Invasion

Inside the Qi Prince's palace, the Qi Prince stroked his thick beard, beaming as he looked at Xiao Sanzi, and praised, "I never realized before that you, lad, are truly a talent."

"This idea is excellent; just as you said, even if Jiang Jiang Mingyu finds out, he can only stare helplessly."

After speaking, the Qi Prince rose from his golden-threaded wooden chair, sized Xiao Sanzi up from head to toe, nodded in satisfaction, then strode to the window and commanded, "Tomorrow I will lead the border troops to drill in foreign lands; three days later, dispatch forces to blockade the Green Dragon Stronghold!"

The next day, the bright sun shone high, and the weather was clear.

Inside the main hall of the county yamen, Jiang Jiang Mingyu knitted his brows tightly, his expression grave as he watched Lord Murong Murong Yunhai, who was panting heavily and drenched in sweat, and asked with concern in his voice, "Brother Lord Murong, should you not be guarding the coal mine? Why have you run back to the county yamen alone?"

Lord Murong Murong Yunhai's face was pale, his expression anxious, as he said, "Brother Jiang Xingqiu, terrible news—the foreigners have invaded!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu froze instantly, gasping sharply, his voice trembling, "What did you say? The foreign army has arrived?"

Lord Murong Murong Yunhai, gasping for breath and speaking in broken sentences, said, "Yes, from a high vantage point at the Green Dragon Stronghold, I saw it clearly: a vast, black mass of cavalry, each clad in beast hides, wielding long spears and bows, emitting fierce, beast-like roars—identical to the foreigners we encountered before!"

At the mere mention of foreigners, Jiang Jiang Mingyu distinctly sensed a thick killing intent radiating from Lord Murong Murong Yunhai, whose hands also clenched involuntarily, as if recalling some terrifying past event.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked anxiously, "Have all the commoners mining coal on the mountain evacuated safely to their homes? If the foreigners capture them as hostages, the situation will be dire."

Lord Murong Murong Yunhai regulated his breathing and said, "I immediately sent someone to notify Lord Tu; he protected the villagers as they descended the mountain at full speed, and all have now safely entered the city and returned to their own homes."

"Now the commoners have securely bolted their doors, and defenses at the North Gate have been strengthened; there should be no danger for the time being."

Only then did Jiang Jiang Mingyu breathe a slight sigh of relief, his tightly furrowed brows relaxing somewhat, "That is good; where are Goudan and Xiao Er?"

Lord Murong Murong Yunhai gradually calmed his ragged breathing, sweat quietly dripping from his forehead, "Xiao Er is accompanying Lord Tu to soothe the panic among the market folk, while Goudan has gone to the City Defense Camp to deploy the soldiers."

It seemed the current situation was at least temporarily orderly; Jiang Jiang Mingyu breathed a slight sigh of relief and analyzed calmly, "Do not worry; it is nothing serious."

"An invasion by foreigners was only a matter of time; I simply did not expect them to arrive so suddenly."

"Presumably, with the freezing cold and exhausted supplies making marching difficult, they took a desperate risk, crossing mountains and ranges to breach the border."

"Fortunately, we repaired and reinforced the city walls and gates in advance, and the guards have heightened their vigilance; once the Qi Prince dispatches troops, we should be able to hold against the enemy's attack."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Goudan stumbled into the hall, his face deathly pale, shouting loudly, "Reporting to my lord, a major disaster has struck!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's brows tightened, and he asked sternly, "What has happened? Have the foreign troops already breached our city?"

Li Goudan's voice trembled uncontrollably, "No, news has come from the City Defense Camp: the Qi Prince led his troops out this morning to drill in foreign lands."

"With the army leaderless, upon hearing that the vicious foreign horde is invading, the city defense soldiers are in a panic; they have abandoned their weapons and scattered in flight. Now the city's defenses are empty, and the situation is critical!"

"My lord, the foreigners will soon be at our city gates; what shall we do?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu frowned tightly, forcing down the anger in his heart, "I understand; the more critical the moment, the more we must maintain rationality and calm..."

At this moment, though his face remained calm, in his heart he had already cursed the Qi Prince fiercely countless times.

In his heart, he had already cursed the Qi Prince fiercely; usually annoying and persistently troublesome, yet at this crucial moment, not only did he fail to send reinforcements, but he also caused his own troops' morale to crumble, truly adding frost to snow.

Before Jiang Jiang Mingyu could finish speaking, Wu Xiao Er rushed in again, panting heavily, and shouted loudly, "My lord, the foreigners have already arrived at the North Gate!"

"They specifically demand your presence for a meeting, giving you one quarter-hour; if you do not appear after one quarter-hour, they will assault the city by force!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu unhurriedly flicked his wide sleeves, "Very well; this official will go see for himself whether the legendary foreigners are truly so fearsome."

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu about to depart, Lord Murong Murong Yunhai hurried forward to block him, "My lord, you cannot go; now the Qi Prince holds military power yet remains inactive. If you venture into danger alone and meet with mishap, what will become of Shangmu?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled faintly, "As an Imperial Envoy, defending Shangmu is my duty, for which I bear full responsibility. Moreover, if I do not go out, the enemy will immediately launch an assault on the city; it is better to go personally, assess the enemy situation, know both the enemy and ourselves, and thus win every battle. Time waits for no one; come with me to the city walls."

Lord Murong Murong Yunhai continued to dissuade him, "But now only a few of us remain in the city; even if we ascertain the enemy situation, what can we do? My lord, with the foreign horde pressing upon our borders, the city empty within, and no reinforcements from without, Shangmu has fallen into a deadly trap!"

The words "deadly trap" instantly made Li Goudan and Wu Xiao Er freeze in place, their faces solemn.

Shangmu had just begun to see a glimmer of hope; how could it, in the blink of an eye, face total destruction?

Facing life and death, Jiang Jiang Mingyu remained remarkably calm, "A deadly trap? So what? Stretch out your neck and it is one slash; pull back your head and it is still one slash. We might as well fight them to the end. Even without soldiers, we still have tens of thousands of commoners, and we still possess the backbone of being born subjects of Great Feng. If they wish to swallow this official, let us see if they have such good teeth?" On the tower of Shangmu's North Gate, the scene Jiang Jiang Mingyu witnessed made him cannot help but smile bitterly, "Truly, Heaven has not doomed me."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu stood atop the high tower, clad in a simple green long robe, the north wind blowing straight into his face, making his lapels flutter noisily.

His brows were tightly knitted, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the wilderness below his feet.

There, scattered across the desolate wilderness, were fewer than a hundred foreign stragglers.

These foreign stragglers were all burly of build, dark-skinned, with disheveled hair and faces brimming with killing intent.

They wielded curved blades, some holding long cavalry lances, with belts made of beast bones tied around their waists; their attire was rough and wild, as if they were barbarians from the edge of the sky.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu had originally expected to face a foreign horde covering the mountains and plains, unstoppable in their advance.

He did not expect that in reality, it was merely a gathering of lonely, restless stragglers and deserters. Although few in number, judging by their posture, they would not be so easy to deal with.

But then again, the only one among his subordinates who could be counted as genuine combat strength was Tu Tu Kesiluo.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu realized that to deal with a mere hundred or so stragglers, he still needed to use his wits and could not underestimate the enemy.

He turned his head and whispered instructions to Wu Xiao Er, "Go and prepare..."

Wu Xiao Er was completely bewildered, thinking Jiang Jiang Mingyu might have gone mad, "My lord, what are you planning to do?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu said calmly, "This official has his own plans; hurry and prepare, or it will be too late."

Though Wu Xiao Er did not understand the reason, he sighed and quickly descended the city wall to prepare what Jiang Jiang Mingyu had ordered.

Just then, a burly foreign man mounted on a horse below the city wall called out to Jiang Jiang Mingyu. With a face full of beard, disheveled hair, wielding a long blade, and radiating imposing ferocity, he shouted, "Are you the chief official of Shangmu?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu replied calmly, "Indeed, it is I. This brother has worked hard; Jiang Mou pays his respects." As he spoke, he politely cupped his fists toward the other party.

That foreigner, without any courtesy, directly barked, "Listen well: our army lacks grain and has come specifically to borrow some from you. Open the city gates and hand over the grain, and we may consider sparing your lives. If you dare hesitate, once we assault the city, you will be the first to be killed!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu very obviously shrank his neck, his voice even trembling, "If we open the city, will you truly spare our lives?"

The foreigner said triumphantly, "When a true man speaks, even four horses cannot catch up! Satisfy us, and we will spare your lives."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was instantly overjoyed, nodding repeatedly, "Good, good, as long as we can avoid death, that is wonderful, we do not have to die! Men, hurry and open the city gates to welcome the great foreign army into the city!"