Chapter 42 Cowardly Refusal to Fight

"Luo the Boss and Captain Xue are back!"
"Everyone, go and welcome them quickly!"

Outside the walls of Wangjiang City, the refugees now practically worshipped Luo and Xue like deities. Seeing them return with even more "troops" and warhorses, they knew without asking that the Zhenyi Camp must have won another resounding victory.

In truth, the current prestige of Luo Fang and Xue Chengqian was largely thanks to Lu Xiaoyuan's "assistance." He still kept the city gates tightly shut, remaining completely indifferent to the life and death of the refugees outside. To this day, the refugees owed their food supplies to Luo Fang, who had sent men to intercept grain transport teams and distribute those "military rations" to the people.

"Boss Luo, Brother Xue, you've finally returned."

Xiang Rui took the lead in coming forward with his brothers to meet them, though his expression was far from relaxed.

"Boss Xiang, has anything happened here in Wangjiang City?"

Smiling bitterly, Xiang Rui lowered his voice and said, "Every time I open my eyes, there are tens of thousands of mouths waiting for food. How could nothing happen? It's getting harder and harder for us to intercept the grain transport teams right under the noses of Wangjiang's imperial guards."

Luo Fang nodded solemnly and said, "Fortunately, Brother Xue had already reminded me to stockpile some provisions before Lu Xiaoyuan made his move."

Xiang Rui managed to feel somewhat reassured and looked up at the figures behind them. Among them were not only many unfamiliar faces, but even a woman riding a horse surrounded like the moon among stars, whose status was clearly extraordinary.

"Boss Luo, who are these people?"

"Their identities are no small matter! Since Lu Xiaoyuan intends to make things difficult for us, let's present Lu Xiaoyuan with a dilemma of his own. Let's see whether this Governor of Wangjiang City is truly loyal to the Great Liang or if he is simply hoarding troops to protect his own power!"

Xue Chengqian had agreed to Wei Xiao's request to accompany her in seeking aid from Lu Xiaoyuan. However, this undertaking was not easily accomplished and was fraught with risk. He had to carefully consider what kind of ripples bringing Wei Xiao back to Wangjiang would stir up.

Along the road, Xue Chengqian had already shared his plan with Luo Fang in advance. They arranged for their soldiers to directly "crash" the gates of Wangjiang City, loudly proclaiming to the garrison inside that the daughter of the Governor of Dongping had personally come to seek aid!

With such a commotion, the soldiers and citizens of Wangjiang soon learned that a fierce battle was underway in Dongping and that Governor Wei's daughter had arrived.

"Creak!"

The tightly sealed gates of Wangjiang City were, for the very first time, voluntarily opened for Xue Chengqian and his companions!

***

The ramparts of Dongping City were already paved with corpses.

After a whole day of frantic assaults, the Northern Barbarian army finally suspended hostilities just before sunset and voluntarily withdrew their forces. Wei Shengyun had successfully led his men to hold Dongping!

Yet, from him downwards, none of the defenders of Dongping wore a shred of joy on their faces; instead, terror was etched upon every single one of them.

Dongping City, renowned as a vital strategic fortress in the northern borderlands of Great Liang, had never faced foreign enemies before, and its defenses were completely intact. Yet, in a mere single day, the Northern Barbarians had breached the ramparts multiple times. During the brutal contests over the city walls, even though the defenders swarmed the invading Northern Barbarian warriors from three directions, they were still relentlessly beaten back step by step. If not for the sufficient garrison forces within the city and Governor Wei personally setting an example by fighting fiercely at the very front, Dongping's walls might well have fallen within a single day.

And this was merely the first day!

Looking at the city walls strewn with the bodies of their comrades, and recalling the terrifying ferocity of the Northern Barbarians during the daylight hours, no one dared to guarantee how much longer the city could hold out.

"The Northern Barbarians are only skilled in field battles, not in sieges."

Before the battle, they had all used such phrases to soothe each other's anxiety. Yet now, those words felt like a bitter irony.

"My Lord! The Northern Barbarian army is no longer what it used to be. Not only can they construct complete sets of siege engines, but they can also perceive the flaws in our defenses. Can we truly hold Dongping?"

Deputy Commander Huo Siliang's voice trembled.

"Audacious! Huo Siliang, in the midst of a great battle, how dare you shake the morale of the army!"

In truth, Wei Shengyun himself had already begun to harbor deep anxiety, but he knew even better that if the soldiers learned the high-ranking commanders were also wavering, morale would collapse without a fight.

Huo Siliang was a commanding officer he had previously trusted relatively well, but in order to steady the army's morale at this moment, Wei Shengyun ignored Huo Siliang's bitter pleas and directly ordered him to be executed on the spot, with his head displayed to all three armies as a warning.

Witnessing Huo Siliang's fate, the other commanders obediently followed military orders, carrying away the wounded and reorganizing the city's defense works.

However, even using thunderous methods to deal with Huo Siliang only prevented morale from instantly shattering; it could not dispel the shadows lingering in the hearts of every soldier across the city.

Wei Shengyun stared fixedly at the distant horizon, his inner thoughts identical to those of the other commanders.

Without reinforcements, Dongping City was in grave peril!

***

"Without reinforcements, Dongping is in peril! I implore Lord Lu, out of consideration for serving in the imperial court alongside my father, to dispatch troops swiftly to our rescue. This humble woman pays her respects here!"

Lu Xiaoyuan could completely ignore the refugees outside the city and disregard the merits earned by Xue Chengqian and his men. But he could not ignore Wei Xiao, who had come seeking aid.

As Xue Chengqian's men shouted at the top of their lungs by the city gates, the entire city became aware of the military situation in Dongping. Given the current predicament of the entire northern frontier, Wei Shengyun guarding an isolated city single-handedly and fighting fiercely against the main force of the Northern Barbarians naturally tugged at the hearts of countless people. Even without knowing the specifics of the battle in Dongping, in everyone's minds, Wei Shengyun had already risen to the stature of a heroic and loyal minister.

For his daughter to travel alone to Wangjiang to beg for her father's rescue added an even more loyal, filial, and tragic hue to the matter.

Public opinion was a formidable force. Although Lu Xiaoyuan was a powerful regional governor whose word was law within Wangjiang City, he still had to care about how others viewed him. More importantly, the Wei family belonged to the gentry lineage!

"My virtuous niece, please rise quickly. This matter still requires deliberate consideration."

Facing Wei Xiao, Lu Xiaoyuan wore an expression of utmost cordiality, yet he stubbornly avoided mentioning the dispatch of troops.

"The Northern Barbarian cavalry roam the northern frontier at will. They are extremely fast and come and go like the wind. Most of our Great Liang forces are infantry; once they leave the shelter of fortified cities, they risk being ambushed by the Northern Barbarian cavalry at any place."

"Didn't my virtuous niece just say so yourself? When reinforcements attempted to enter Dongping City, they were ambushed by the Northern Barbarian cavalry halfway and routed in a single stroke."

Lu Xiaoyuan had no choice but to summon all the key commanders of Wangjiang City to share the military intelligence regarding the Dongping front, even having Luo Fang and Xue Chengqian—who had escorted Wei Xiao—attend as listeners, putting on a thorough facade.

However, he also deliberately reminded the generals of how Wei Xiao's escort force had been ambushed and severely defeated on their way to Dongping, intending to make them understand the immense risks involved in dispatching troops.

To watch friendly forces fall into peril and refuse to render aid was not only a grave crime, but also something that would weigh heavily on one's conscience. Yet, to be routed in the open field by the Northern Barbarian cavalry while trying to rescue Dongping was no trivial matter either. To say nothing of bearing the heavy responsibility for failure, no one dared guarantee they could return alive to Wangjiang under the pursuit of enemy cavalry.

Wei Xiao spoke anxiously, "This humble woman does not understand the art of warfare, but the reinforcement force that escorted me numbered no more than ten thousand men, whereas Wangjiang City possesses sixty thousand elite troops!"

"Moreover, the main force of the Northern Barbarians is currently besieging Dongping City. As long as Lord Lu dispatches a large army, how could the Northern bandits have any surplus strength to intercept you?"

After a feigned hesitation, Lu Xiaoyuan let out a long sigh, fully displaying his predicament.