Siege

Xu Yuan was already growing numb to high-level cultivators popping up out of thin air beside him like performing a magic trick. But to pull that off inside a confined space like a carriage? Squeezing in through the carriage window? Xu Yuan silently glanced at the bountiful, generous chest of the gorgeous aunt beside him. Judging by that volume, squeezing through such a small window should have gotten her stuck. Well, nothing was absolute. After all, it wasn't made of hard material. A momentary silence settled over the carriage. Li Qingyan seemed to have tracked Lou Ji's movements clearly. Her eyes showed little surprise as she spoke in her raspy voice, "To think this matter could draw Chief Lou away from her busy schedule to make a personal visit?" There was no trace of hostility in her tone, only placid calm. "Heh." Lou Ji looked Li Qingyan up and down with a faintly scrutinizing gaze, a soft chuckle escaping her luscious red lips. "Your Highness jokes. I only came on this trip to see my Changtian." "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. "See him?" Li Qingyan's impassive gaze swept over Xu Yuan. Lou Ji nodded, her voice faint and mournful. "Ever since Changtian was forced to leave the capital over that ridiculous scandal, I, his big sister, haven't seen him for two whole years." With that, Lou Ji pinched Xu Yuan's chin with one hand, forcefully wrenching his head around. While vigorously ruffling his hair like petting a dog, she giggled, "Hehehe~ It's been so long, our Changtian has gotten even more handsome~" Dizzied by the onslaught, Xu Yuan struggled free from the older woman's grip. "Enough! Aren't you annoying?!" "..." Lou Ji froze for an instant before pouting aggrievedly. "Changtian, you're being mean to me..." "..." Xu Yuan rolled his eyes. Sitting quietly across from them, Li Qingyan watched the "brother and sister" bicker. There was no anger in her heroic phoenix eyes; instead, a glint of amusement surfaced as she looked at Lou Ji. It was as though she were watching a childish fool. Meeting her gaze, Lou Ji felt the spark of amusement fade. Letting go of Xu Yuan, she sighed helplessly, "Changtian, you really are useless." "..." Xu Yuan snorted coldly without answering, calculating that the woman beside him probably wouldn't stir up any more antics. After all, Li Qingyan wasn't a giant block of ice. Her identity, her stance, and their betrothal were completely different; this aunt had no reason to cause trouble. Besides, in a political marriage, spending a whole month together in a single carriage—a man and a woman alone in such close quarters—would usually spark some affection. If none developed, it was usually because one or both parties were unappealing. Yet the strange thing was that it simply hadn't happened. A month ago, they had treated each other with polite, distant respect, and a month later, Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan remained in the exact same state of polite, distant respect. Xu Yuan's usual tactics were completely ineffective on Li Qingyan. Having led soldiers from a young age, Li Qingyan understood how to win over hearts and minds all too well. Just like the military training instructors back in his past life, she was a seasoned master of psychological maneuvering. Every move was countered, every maneuver met by an equal opponent. The end result was running in place. And since Lou Ji lived for drama, with no friction to stoke, she naturally lost interest in fanning the flames. After a brief silence, Lou Ji got down to business, steering the conversation back to the war. "Your Highness, are the goods that old fellow Jiang He had delivered to you still intact?" Li Qingyan reined in her gaze, regaining her solemnity, and replied evenly, "Intact and undamaged. "Chief Lou, it has been over three months since I left the Northern Border. How stands the military situation now?" Battlefield situations shifted in the blink of an eye. Three months was not a long time, but it was enough for earth-shaking changes to take place. Hearing this question, a haze immediately flashed through Lou Ji's eyes. As the head of the Black Scale Guards, ever since she secretly arrived in the Northern Border, nearly all intelligence converged upon her, and those countless streams of information pointed toward a single conclusion. "For now, the situation remains stable. The Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng have constructed several large fortified camps near Mount Dali to mutually support each other in a defensive posture. However, if this snow continues for another two months, the dynamic of offense and defense between us and the Barbarians will reverse." Li Qingyan understood the reason almost instantly. "Because logistics and supplies cannot keep up?" A flicker of helplessness crossed Lou Ji's emerald-green eyes. "Presently, massive amounts of weaponry and provisions are piled up in Guangyang Prefectural City, unable to move north due to the blizzard blocking the roads. The forces along the Mount Dali and Dingman River line can still rely on Sumeru rings for transport, so they remain stable for now, but the stockpiles inside Beifeng City are nearing depletion." Although vast amounts of supplies were churned through Beifeng City—the Northern Border's most vital strategic fortress—every day, it was still a drop in the ocean compared to the daily consumption of hundreds of thousands of front-line troops. Hearing this, Wuyuan's slender brows knitted slightly, her heart sinking. The very thing she had feared most before leaving the Northern Border had come to pass. Guangyang Prefectural City was the transportation hub for the three northern prefectures, situated at the boundary of this northern blizzard. To prepare for this war of extermination against the Barbarians, her imperial father had secretly amassed an immense stockpile of resources, yet due to this sudden natural calamity of snow, seventy to eighty percent of it could not be transported to the front lines. Amid the carriage's silence, Xu Yuan suddenly spoke up out of the blue: "The military transport capacity is falling short likely because disaster relief for the refugees has consumed too many of the imperial court's military carriages." "Have you lost your mind?" Li Qingyan immediately looked up, her gaze fixed on the man opposite her with bewilderment. She could hardly comprehend how someone who had just been worrying about the soldiers could turn around and utter such cold-blooded words. Lou Ji, on the other hand, said nothing, regarding the side of Xu Yuan's face with keen interest. Xu Yuan glanced at the two of them and said in a heavy voice, "Wuyuan, you saw it along the way as well. Low-grade carriages without array formations guarding them don't dare travel north at all. Most of the military carriages we passed were diverted across the three prefectures for disaster relief. If this continues, the Emperor will most likely reassign the military carriages currently relieving the three northern prefectures' refugees to forcefully resupply Beifeng City." The people are of greatest importance; the altars to the land and grain come second; the ruler is lightest. Those words sounded wonderful. Even in the ancient feudal dynasties of his past life, few monarchs could ever live up to them, let alone in this transcendent feudal dynasty. The madness of one's final days, a morbid obsession with a lifelong ambition—the current Emperor was absolutely capable of doing such a thing. Li Qingyan fell quiet for a moment. Offering no further comment on the matter, she turned to Lou Ji and asked, "Uncle Mu and his forces are in this state, but what of the Northern Border's sects? Where are their armies?" Lou Ji glanced at Xu Yuan with a smile and slowly leaned back against the cushioned divan. "Those sects are all huddled on the second line." "The second line?" Li Qingyan frowned. Lou Ji lowered her gaze, toying with the Sumeru ring on her fingertip. "Nearly three hundred thousand of their elite troops are holed up near Houting County, acknowledging imperial decrees but refusing military orders." "Houting County?" Xu Yuan murmured. Deep in thought, Li Qingyan explained softly, "A garrison fortress Uncle Mu built thirty years ago. It fell previously, and after being recaptured, it has served as a logistics transit depot." Xu Yuan shook his head. "What I mean is, with so many of their troops clustered together, can their supplies keep up?" "It isn't too deep into the Northern Border, only three hundred li from Beifeng City. They can be resupplied via the official road." "..." Xu Yuan fell silent. Mount Dali and the Dingman River were nearly one thousand three hundred li away from Beifeng City. Three hundred li... How was that a "second line"? Those sects were practically huddled right at their own front doorstep. Their top commanders could probably leave in the morning and return to Beifeng City for dinner in the evening. Rotten. Utterly rotten. Lou Ji crossed her legs, looking at Li Qingyan with a meaningful expression. "Indeed they can resupply via the official road. According to my scouts, their stockpiles inside Beifeng City are still plentiful." Refusing to obey military orders, the imperial court had naturally cut off the grain and fodder supply to the sects' armies. The trouble was that these sects had operated in the Northern Border for thousands of years; their stockpiles were already piled high as mountains, making the cut-off completely trivial to them. In other words, if they moved against the sects, the Northern Border would have more than enough supplies to sustain the war. Exchanging a glance with Lou Ji, Li Qingyan shook her head gently. "Under current circumstances, we cannot touch those parasites' assets yet. One move, and major turmoil might erupt." Lou Ji spread her hands. "I never said we should move against them; I was merely giving Your Highness a heads-up." As she spoke, Lou Ji produced several sealed cylinders of parchment from her Sumeru ring. "These are my compiled summaries of the northern war situation. The Princess can look through them when you have time." Li Qingyan reached out, accepted them, stored them in her Sumeru ring, and cupped her hands. "Wuyuan thanks Chief Lou." "All right, all right, we're all family here—no need for formalities. My Black Scale Guards will take charge of escorting these goods to the front line." Lou Ji smiled faintly, then turned her gaze to Xu Yuan. "However, since Your Highness is thanking me, could you lend me Changtian for a day?" Hearing this, Li Qingyan glanced at Xu Yuan across from her. Pausing for a heartbeat, she suddenly smiled. "Of course. Chief Lou may use my prince consort as she pleases." "Hehehe~ Your Highness is so generous~ Big Sister won't wear Changtian out~" Following a burst of charming laughter, Lou Ji caught hold of Xu Yuan and soared out of the carriage. By the time Xu Yuan came to his senses, he had already arrived inside a lady's bedchamber. The air was thick with the familiar fragrance of venomous roses. The dark green bed curtains were in disarray, with miscellaneous bottles and jars strewn atop the mattress—likely concocted potions. On the desk across the room, stacks of documents rose like mountains, yet unlike the messy bed, these papers were sorted with immaculate order and clarity. This aunt always knew where to draw the line, keeping business and personal matters strictly separate. Xu Yuan pulled his gaze back, finally resting it upon Lou Ji, who sat at the edge of the bed. "Sister, why did you bring me here?" "Changtian, give it to me." "?" Xu Yuan gave her a questioning look. Lou Ji narrowed her beautiful eyes. "Don't play dumb. Xu Changge already gave you that Heavenly Communication Crystal of his. Don't think I don't know." Xu Yuan's eyelid twitched. Chuckling, he walked over to sit by the bed. "Sister, Father said that thing is for Wuyuan's use. You're staying in Beifeng City—it's not like you don't have communication crystals." Lou Ji cast him a flirtatious glance and took Xu Yuan by the arm. "I'm only borrowing it for a couple of days. Don't be so stingy, Changtian~" Xu Yuan rolled his eyes. Lending it to her would be like tossing meat buns to a dog—never to return. After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan withdrew a black box from his Sumeru ring. At the sight, Lou Ji's eyes suddenly lit up. "This is..." "Sumeru rings." Xu Yuan slowly opened the black box, revealing thirty-eight Sumeru rings arranged in neat rows. Sumeru rings could not be stored directly inside another Sumeru ring, but an insulating container made of precious, specialized material like this black box allowed them to be placed within. As Xu Yuan unhurriedly passed the black box to Lou Ji, he said, "The internal spaces of these Sumeru rings are all immense, and they were already filled with supplies in the Imperial Capital. Father said that if transported to the front line, it should be enough to cover Mr. Zong's consumption for two months. I leave delivering them to you, Sister." The ancient sects from twenty thousand years ago were fabulously wealthy; the concentration of levitation stone in each of their Sumeru rings was immense, far exceeding anything produced today even after centuries of degradation. Lou Ji's eyes flickered. She nodded and put away the Sumeru rings, then said, "All right, I'll see to it. Changtian, let's get back to the Heavenly Communication Crys—" Before she could finish, Lou Ji abruptly fell silent, turning toward the southern end of the city with sheer disbelief in her eyes. During the time spent dealing with Lou Ji, the carriages transporting the Cloud Qi Bombs had already been taken over by the Black Scale Guards. After Xu Yuan and Lou Ji vanished, Li Qingyan sat alone in the carriage, browsing through the Black Scale Guards' military intelligence summary. It was very detailed. There were written reports as well as several maps, meticulously documenting everything that had occurred in the Northern Border over the past three months. In short, due to the sudden blizzards, Great Yan needed to consolidate its forces to hold out defensively, while the Barbarians sought to whittle down Great Yan's military strength as much as possible throughout the process. To the Barbarians who had lived in the bitterly cold lands for generations, this unexpected blizzard granted them the advantage of both right timing and familiar terrain, like fish in water. Even though Great Yan's military was formidable, under such natural disaster they had no choice but to concentrate their forces into a defensive posture. In the early days of the snowfall, her Feather Forest Guards had suffered heavily for that very reason. Dividing forces meant being picked off one by one. Over this crux, Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng had engaged in an intellectual duel of wits against the Barbarian Heterodox King for a full month. Three large-scale skirmishes had occurred, leaving both sides with heavy casualties, yet Great Yan had accomplished its strategic objective of uniting its armies. And ever since Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng consolidated their forces, the Barbarian army had merely prowled the perimeter, hovering close without committing to battle. After carefully reading through the written accounts, Li Qingyan spread a map across the tea table. The deployment of the Great Yan Dynasty's armies and the transport resupply routes were laid bare before her: the Black Scale Army, the Beifeng Army, and even the defensive layouts of the various sect forces. Beside each garrison were small annotations noting casualty figures, stockpiles of provisions, and weapons reserves. In addition, several scouted Barbarian outposts were marked. Studying the map as time slipped by, Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes narrowed by degrees. Ever since their failed large-scale assault on Zong Qingsheng's encampment over a month ago, the Barbarians had limited themselves to small-scale harassment. She had witnessed the blizzards deep in the Northern Border. The snow was so deep it could practically bury a person alive, and ordinary seventh-rank soldiers could not see beyond five zhang. A war of attrition to exhaust our troops? Li Qingyan realized what the Barbarian King who had unified the Northern Border intended to do. High-ranking commanders could go without rest, but ordinary soldiers could not. Campaigning over thousands of li, isolated deep in the Northern Border, harassed day and night—under a prolonged campaign of exhaustion, they could easily be shattered by a sudden, decisive strike. Thinking of this, Li Qingyan frowned, her slender fingertip tracing lightly across the map. Uncle Mu was no ordinary general, nor was Mr. Zong an ordinary man. With their command capabilities, the effect of such tactics on their armies should be negligible at best. What was the Barbarian Heterodox King's purpose in persisting with this strategy...? Lost in thought, confusion clouded Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes as she attempted to step into her old adversary's shoes to deduce his line of thinking. After an unknown span of time, BOOM!!! A deafening roar erupted from the southern quarter of the city, shattering Li Qingyan's train of thought. After a heartbeat of silence, Li Qingyan rose and stepped out of the carriage, looking toward the source of the blast. A massive pillar of fire billowed outside the city walls in that direction, and Beifeng City's city-protecting array had already activated automatically in response to the explosion. In the next instant, DONG— DONG— DONG— Nine colossal warning bells tolled across the skies of Beifeng. The Barbarians had begun their siege.