Chapter 322: Chapter 312: Seeing You
Xie Xun could not station tens of thousands of troops outside the city. For one, such a large force camped outside would destabilize military morale. For another, if civil unrest erupted and anything happened within the city, all casualties would be attributed to the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. If they seized this opportunity to cause trouble, the Twelve States would be thoroughly split into two factions, completely fractured.
Xie Xun could not retreat to Ningzhou either. If he returned to Ningzhou, the Twelve States would become even more emboldened, following the example set by Lin Zhi’s actions in the state mansions of the Twelve States. If they did not want to betray the court but also did not want the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry to occupy their cities, the best course of action would be to sacrifice themselves for integrity. Xie Xun could not step over Lin Zhi’s corpse to seize Jiaozhou.
If he were to besiege and attack the city, Jiaozhou would certainly not be a match for the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry.
But capturing this city would mean losing the hearts and minds of the people across the Twelve States—this was the worst possible strategy. Lin Zhi’s righteous sacrifice left Xie Xun and the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry in a desperate situation.
Caught between two impossible choices!
"Ten days from now, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry will attack Jiaozhou. Those who do not wish to lose their lives should evacuate!" Xie Xun’s voice pierced through the dense clouds, resounding against the city walls. He glanced at Lin Zhi’s cold corpse, turned around, and commanded, "To Tongzhou!"
Jiaozhou lies north of Tongzhou. The news had yet to spread throughout the Twelve States, and Xie Xun had forged a good relationship with Tongzhou during his campaign to suppress bandits, so the same predicament would not arise there.
Tens of thousands of troops retreated northward like a tide, kicking up clouds of dust into the air. The common folk, incapable of even holding a chicken, collapsed in utter fear atop the city walls, trembling uncontrollably.
For the first time in the Twelve States, Xie Xun suffered a defeat, forced to take up a defensive stance.
Lin Zhi was the top scorer in the seventh year of Jianming, a man as upright as flourishing bamboo trees. He was a minor descendant of the Lin Family, known for his forthright personality. During the corruption case in the ninth year of Jianming, he was implicated and reassigned to Jiaozhou. He shared a close friendship with Xie Zhang, and Xie Xun had met him as a child at the Marquis Mansion. When he penned a letter to Lin Zhi, his sole intent was to probe Lin Zhi’s stance. Lin Zhi replied sincerely, stating he would welcome him with open arms and act with integrity. Who could have guessed it would end with blood spilling three feet, forcing Xie Xun into a humiliating retreat?
What truly happened?
Was Lin Zhi determined from the beginning to sacrifice himself to protect the city and his honor, or did something go wrong midway?
"Send someone into Jiaozhou City to investigate the state mansion’s current situation—find out who’s in charge, what changes have occurred at the mansion, whether the court has sent any emissaries to Jiaozhou recently, and how Lin Zhi’s family is being managed. Report back with every detail." Xie Xun said coldly.
"Yes!"
Xu Zhou accepted the order and went down to make the arrangements.
Jinzhou and Yunzhou had both agreed to establish trade relations with West Continent, but Jiaozhou hesitated at the time. Xie Xun should have been more vigilant. Yet, he and Xie Jue had assumed Jiaozhou was merely wary of the court dispatching troops and did not dare to openly form ties with West Continent. After all, Zhongzhou’s army was just a river crossing away from Jiaozhou, and Lin Zhi’s cautious nature made sense.
No one could have foreseen such an outcome.
What was done was done, and it was fruitless to dwell on past mistakes. Xie Xun was preoccupied with salvaging the situation. Even if he retreated to Tongzhou, Zhongzhou would dare not dispatch troops. Jiaozhou lay to the south of Tongzhou, its east bordered Dan State, and its west was connected to Jinzhou.
Jinzhou maintained an ambiguous stance, slightly favoring the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. The state mansion there was led by pragmatic individuals focused solely on preserving the livelihoods of the people. Dan State was even more capricious, shifting loyalty to align with whoever held more power. Tongzhou had the newly constructed Liangma Road at its back; if the court dared to deploy troops, Jiaozhou would be isolated like a lonely island.
By the time Fengyu received the news, it was already mid-month. She had begun making arrangements for business in West Continent and planned to leave within half a month. Nangong Heng was now fully capable of overseeing West Continent’s affairs, with the Zhang Brothers lending their support like adding wings to a tiger.
Fengyu left Chen Jiangdong and over four thousand cavalry behind to guard West Continent. She took Nuanyang, Zhang Da, Qiuxiang, Chunlu, and five hundred others and departed West Continent, heading toward Tongzhou.
Zhixu, I’m coming to see you!