Despite her worries, when she saw General Wu approaching, Madam Wu forced herself to smile.
General Wu glanced at the thirty carts filled with supplies, then turned to his wife and held her hands.
Seeing the worry in her eyes, he said softly, "Wife, please take care of yourself. I will send you a letter once I have settled there."
Taking a deep breath, he added heavily, "If... if sothing happens to , don’t be sad. Pack so valuables and leave the Jin Empire at once."
Lowering his voice, General Wu whispered, "I worry that His Majesty won’t let the Wu Clan off if I fail in rescuing the Second Imperial Prince and Seventh Imperial Princess."
At those words, Madam Wu’s tears finally fell.
She looked at her husband lovingly and said in a hoarse voice, "Husband, no matter what, please return safely. If sothing happens to you, we will et at our promised place. No matter how long, I will wait for you there."
On their wedding night, they had promised to et again in a certain place should they ever be separated by fate.
Rembering that promise, General Wu nodded. "Alright."
The two fell silent for a long ti, until the adjutant reminded him, "General, it’s ti to depart."
Hearing this, General Wu pulled his wife into an embrace. Kissing her forehead, he whispered, "Stay alive. I will find you, no matter what happens."
Then he reluctantly released her, walked away, and mounted his war horse. Giving his wife one last look, General Wu ordered, "Move out!"
At his command, the soldiers on top of the city walls began to beat the war drums.
Dum~! Du~dum! Dum~! Du~dum!
Following the war drums, three hundred thousand soldiers of the Jin Army left the imperial capital city at once.
As the dust rose into the air, Madam Wu and the common people watched the army march away, praying for their safe return.
Early the next morning, the soldiers of the Feng Army were busy preparing supplies for delivery to Xiquan City.
By the ti the soldiers loaded the last bag of rice onto the wooden cart, the first ray of sunlight had broken through the eastern horizon.
Overseeing the work, Tan Pengtai held the supply list and counted them carefully.
After making sure that the amount recorded on the supply list and the supplies packed onto the wooden carts matched, Tan Pengtai turned to the escort captain and said, "The journey is dangerous, and there are many refugees and bandits on the way. If anyone tries to rob the supplies, execute them on the spot."
Hearing the order, the escort captain clasped his fists and responded, "This subordinate accepts the order."
Handing over the supply list to the escort captain, Tan Pengtai looked up at the morning sky and said, "It’s ti. You should depart now."
"Yes, General Tan." The escort captain put away the supply list, then turned to his subordinates and said, "Move out!"
Following his order, two hundred escort soldiers pushed the supply carts out of the Feng Army barracks.
After they left, Tan Pengtai let out a sigh of relief and muttered, "I hope they arrive safely in Xiquan City."
When the entire escort team disappeared from his sight, Tan Pengtai walked back to his tent. He needed to send a letter to let Mo Yuan know that the supplies had been dispatched.
At the sa ti, in Xiquan City, Mo Yuan and the ex-generals of the Ji Army were in the middle of a discussion.
Standing in front of the large map of Xiquan City and its surrounding area, Mo Yuan said, "Xiquan City has vast land, but its defense is poor. We need to dig a trench around the city and lay traps beneath it to strengthen the defenses."
Hearing this, the oldest general hesitated for a mont before saying, "General Mo, digging a trench around the city requires a lot of manpower."
"Although we have sixty thousand soldiers, most of them are sick and too weak to work right now. If we let the stronger soldiers dig the trench, then if the enemy attacks, we won’t have the strength to fight back."
Turning to look at the oldest general, Mo Yuan asked, "General Ge, how many common people are left in the city?"
When Ge Zidong heard this, he answered, "There are still around twenty thousand common people left in the city. However, most of them are old, disabled, or weak children and won."
Pausing for a second, he asked in doubt, "General Mo, do you plan to hire the common people to dig the trench?"
Mo Yuan nodded and explained, "Right now, Xiquan City has no resources left, and the common people have no way to make a living. Since we can’t spare manpower from the army, we should recruit the common people and pay them with food and water to dig the trench."
"By doing this, not only do we buy ti for the soldiers to recuperate, but we also give the common people a way to survive. At the sa ti, this plan can also reduce the cri rate and improve the overall situation in Xiquan City."
"Only when the common people live in happiness, safety, and satisfaction can we establish a good living environnt and develop the city."
After listening to Mo Yuan’s explanation, Ge Zidong and the other generals exchanged glances.
Seeing their hesitation, Mo Yuan thought, ’This bunch of people is really useless. They are too timid to make bold decisions and too selfish to sacrifice their own interests for the common people.’
With a slight frown, Mo Yuan said, his calm voice tinged with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Since none of you have anything to say, then we will proceed with this plan."
Waving at them, Mo Yuan added, "This general will draft the plan first. All of you may leave now."
The generals saw that Mo Yuan had made his decision, so they clasped their fists and said, "Yes, General Mo."
Before leaving, one of the generals glanced at Mo Yuan in dissatisfaction and anger.
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