“Sir, there is a white light in the east. What does it mean?”
Qing Mulan came running from a distance, pointing at the white flare in the eastern sky.
She had guessed it was some kind of signal, but Jin Feng had never told her exactly what it signified.
“White light means Mount Mao’er has been taken,” Jin Feng replied.
“Wonderful!” Qing Mulan was so excited she almost jumped into the air.
The Ninth Princess, by contrast, remained perfectly calm on the surface, yet Jin Feng noticed the knuckles of the hand holding her teacup had gone slightly white.
Whether her heart was as calm as her face was another matter.
“Wuyang, can we go to Mount Mao’er now?” Qing Mulan asked.
Mount Mao’er’s strategic position was vital. She would not feel at ease until she saw it secured with her own eyes.
The Ninth Princess did not answer immediately. Instead she looked toward Jin Feng.
Though she was nominally the leader of the expedition, she always consulted Jin Feng on major decisions.
Only after seeing Jin Feng nod did the Ninth Princess rise and have Qin’er summon Wei Datong.
“Greetings, Your Highness! Greetings, Master Jin!”
Wei Datong first saluted the Ninth Princess, then cupped his hands toward Jin Feng. “May I ask what instructions Your Highness has for this humble official?”
“Sir, you speak,” the Ninth Princess said, turning to Jin Feng.
“Mount Mao’er has fallen to us. We need Lord Wei to organise the common people to transport a batch of grain there. As for the remaining civilians, please also arrange suitable accommodation for them,” Jin Feng said.
Meng Tianhai’s troops had been starving for days. Grain had to be sent at once, or the soldiers would have no strength to fight.
The escorts numbered only a few hundred. Only the civilians could deliver the supplies.
Moreover, the success of this plan owed much to the common people.
If they had not disguised themselves as escorts to deceive Sangji, he would never have despatched three thousand men to reinforce the Jinma River.
In that case, seizing Mount Mao’er would not have gone so smoothly.
“Your Highness, Master Jin, rest assured. I know nothing of marching and warfare, but delivering grain and settling the people are well within my abilities. I will handle everything properly.”
Wei Datong thumped his chest in guarantee.
If Xichuan city fell, he, as the transport commissioner, would be finished too.
In truth, Wei Datong had already sensed the possibility before arriving.
Now that Jin Feng had confirmed it, he was deeply moved.
“Lord Wei is too modest. If not for you, the plan would never have succeeded so smoothly,” Jin Feng said with a smile.
Earlier, when he and the Ninth Princess had repeatedly scouted the Jin Dyke, they could not decide which embankment to breach.
Only after Wei Datong joined the survey team did the afternoon flooding of the Tubo army become possible.
Wei Datong knew the Jinma River like the back of his hand. The embankment he selected was high enough and held exactly the right volume of water. It swept away the Tubo forces without causing downstream flooding.
By now the Jinma River had returned to its normal level.
To ensure complete success, Wei Datong had even chosen two backup embankments.
“It is this official’s duty and honour to serve Your Highness!”
Wei Datong asked, “Does Your Highness have any further instructions?”
“No,” the Ninth Princess waved her hand.
“Then this official will take his leave to attend to matters!” Wei Datong saluted and withdrew.
Before leaving, he cast Jin Feng a grateful glance.
He could feel that the Ninth Princess was extremely pleased with him.
Without Jin Feng’s recommendation, he would never have received this opportunity.
Professional matters must be left to professionals.
Wei Datong was not only intimately familiar with the Jinma River waterworks, he also understood perfectly the art of officialdom.
When the Ninth Princess had ordered him to load all the hidden grain onto boats, she had already recognised this quality.
His organisational ability was equally impressive. By the time Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess descended the mountain, civilian labourers were already unloading grain from the boats.
Around eight or nine o’clock that night, the Ninth Princess, protected by Jin Feng and the others, arrived at Mount Mao’er.
“The criminal minister Meng Tianhai pays respects to Your Highness!”
Meng Tianhai, together with all his officers, waited at the foot of the mountain.
The moment they saw the Ninth Princess, every officer dropped to their knees and dared not raise their heads.
Qing Xinyao had sent them to Mount Mao’er to hold back the main Tubo army, buying time for the civilians to evacuate and for the defence of the city to be prepared.
Yet they had failed to hold even for a single day. The Tubo forces had broken through, leaving the surrounding civilians no time to flee.
That crime alone was enough to warrant execution.
Meng Tianhai was genuinely ashamed and feared the Ninth Princess might order his death on the spot.
“Your heads remain on your necks for now. If any of you again show cowardice or slackness and delay the war effort, every officer of hundred-man rank or above will see his entire family executed! All other soldiers will be exiled to the northern frontier and enrolled in the vanguard camp!”
When Wei Datong had begged forgiveness earlier, the Ninth Princess had ignored him.
But this time she was truly furious. Her words were ice-cold.
“Yes, Your Highness!” Meng Tianhai pressed his forehead to the ground. “Your Highness may rest assured. Even if this criminal minister dies on the battlefield, he will not retreat one step!”
“For the sake of your many years of loyal service to Brother Xinyao, this palace grants you one chance to redeem yourselves through meritorious deeds!”
The Ninth Princess lifted her chin and declared coldly, “In the coming counter-offensive, you will serve as the vanguard. If you achieve the strategic objectives that this palace and Master Jin have set, this palace will petition His Majesty to spare your lives!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Meng Tianhai and all the officers behind him kowtowed in gratitude.
Watching the Ninth Princess’s back, Jin Feng gave a slight nod of approval.
As expected of the Ninth Princess who could trade blows with the old foxes at court. She wielded carrot and stick to perfection.
In just a few sentences she had both terrified Meng Tianhai and his officers and given them hope of survival.
Now there was no fear they would disobey.
The soldiers on Mount Mao’er had been starving for days. With grain finally arriving, they immediately set about cooking.
Soon the aroma of food filled the camp.
…
Outside Xichuan city, Danzhu was also receiving a steady stream of reports from Mount Mao’er.
First came Cedain and Awang, reporting that the stone bridge over the Jinma River had been lost. Cedain also mentioned the black-armoured unit.
Danzhu, however, refused to believe Great Kang possessed such elite troops and assumed Cedain was making excuses for losing the bridge.
Very soon afterwards came news that Mount Mao’er had fallen and Sangji had been killed by two black-armoured units that appeared out of nowhere.
Shocked, Danzhu immediately despatched large numbers of scouts and spies to discover exactly what had happened.
More detailed intelligence quickly followed.
Only then did Danzhu learn that Sangji had fallen for the enemy’s ruse, resulting in three thousand Tubo warriors being drowned by floodwaters.
The black-armoured unit truly existed and was every bit as formidable as Cedain had claimed.
There were simply not as many of them as Cedain had said. Most of the black-clothed figures had been Great Kang refugees in disguise.
“This Great Kang princess is no ordinary woman!”
Danzhu clutched the intelligence reports, his brow deeply furrowed.
Warfare in this world was as primitive as smelting or weaving. Most battles consisted of both sides assembling their troops, finding an open field, and hacking at each other until one side could endure no more.
Even someone like Qing Huai, who had led Dangxiang cavalry on endless chases through the mountains, was already considered a master commander.
In half a lifetime of warfare, Danzhu had never before encountered an opponent who used floodwaters against the enemy.
“General, the one we should truly beware of is not Princess Chen Wen’er, but this man called Jin Feng.”
An elderly counsellor with a long beard entered the tent.
