Zheng Fan mounted his Pixiu, riding alongside Mao Mingcai towards the Central Military Camp.
Mao Mingcai didn't mind Zheng Fan's previous "rudeness" and still spoke to him amiably. General Zheng, for his part, finally found his act again, engaging Mao Mingcai in what seed like a delightful conversation, as if they were old friends who regretted not eting sooner. In truth, both n were eager to dispel the earlier awkwardness.
By the ti the imperial edict team arrived at the entrance of the Central Military Camp, Chen Yang, the chief general of the Jingnan army, was there to welco them in Prince Jingnan's stead.
Chen Yang, on horseback, saluted Mao Mingcai. "The Prince is occupied with military affairs and has ordered to receive Master Mao," he said.
Chen Yang was a veteran of the Jingnan army. Tian Wujing had promoted him a decade ago, and he had gradually risen to the position of chief general. Moreover, his attitude was icy, displaying clear disrespect. It wasn't long ago that Prince Jingnan had refused an imperial edict, an incident that led to the two delivering eunuchs killing themselves by dashing their heads against the stone lions. Consequently, the high-ranking officers in the Jingnan army had grown indifferent towards so-called imperial edict teams, and even towards the Minister of War. After all, Tian Wujing had personally commanded the Jingnan army for over a decade. During these years, the Jingnan army had beco entirely independent, a system unto itself, separate from the Imperial Court's Ministry of War. If you have no authority over , why should I fear you?
Compared to Chen Yang, however, Mao Mingcai and his group now found Lord Pingye to be surprisingly amiable and even endearing.
"The Prince is occupied with military affairs and naturally need not trouble himself with such formalities," Mao Mingcai said. "However, please inform His Highness that today, the Chu emissary and I will announce the state letters of our two nations."
That is, we needn't bother with the formalities, but Prince Jingnan needs to be present when official matters are handled.
Chen Yang nodded. "I will inform the Prince," he said.
Next, the imperial edict team began their preparations. In truth, the urgency was largely due to Jingyang's insistence. The Blue Luan army was still starving in Jade Plate City, and the sooner he delivered the Imperial Edict, the fewer Chu soldiers would die of hunger.
Zheng Fan did not linger with the delegation; instead, he followed Chen Yang into the military camp.
"You went to welco them?" Chen Yang asked.
"Do I look like I have that much free ti?" Zheng Fan retorted. "I was just taking a stroll nearby and happened to run into them."
Chen Yang glanced down at the Pixiu beneath Zheng Fan. He was clearly envious of Zheng Fan's privilege, and he said unabashedly, "If I had one of these, I'd go out for walks more often too."
Chen Yang's temperant was quite to Zheng Fan's liking. He said what he thought, and while he might appear cold and sowhat inconsiderate of social niceties, he was refreshingly genuine and didn't put on airs.
Hearing this, Lord Zheng patted the Pixiu's head. "You bet," he said.
Chen Yang chuckled. As they neared the commander's tent, they dismounted and entered.
Prince Jingnan happened to be sitting on a chair outside the tent.
Chen Yang stepped forward to report, "My lord, the imperial edict team has arrived. The Minister of War, Mao Mingcai, is waiting outside, and they seem impatient."
Prince Jingnan waved a dismissive hand. "Prepare the grounds for them," he said.
"Yes, as you command."
Chen Yang imdiately went to make the arrangents. Zheng Fan, however, had nothing to do; his troops weren't here, so there was nothing for him to organize.
Prince Jingnan then pointed towards the distant Jade Plate City. "Negotiations are about to begin," he said.
Matching Tian Wujing's sigh, Zheng Fan also let out a breath. "What a pity," he said.
"A pity about what?"
Zheng Fan replied with a smile, "It's a pity that we couldn't let more Chu people starve."
Prince Jingnan pointed at Zheng Fan. "As a general, one must possess a grand perspective and great ambition," he said.
"Yes, I stand corrected."
Tian Wujing stood up. "Co, help with my armor," he said.
On the city walls of Jade Plate City, Chu soldiers stood guard. They stood ramrod straight and were nurous, but in truth, this was all rely for show. The reality within Jade Plate City was a dire lack of food, a truly severe situation.
Apart from a feigned assault by the Yan Army on the day they crushed the main force of the wild people, they had not launched any further siege attacks. The Chu people stood ready for battle on their city walls, while the Yan people constructed an encompassing "wall" around Jade Plate City.
It was like two people in a standoff: one shouting, "You co up here!" The other, with a disdainful "Heh," would retort, "You co out here!"
Initially, the Chu army attempted several breakouts to attack the outer wall, but the Yan Army's counterattacks were swift and fierce. The Chu forces could achieve a montary breach, but never had enough ti to dismantle the "wall." After several such attempts, the Chu army abandoned these efforts, as dismantling the siege wall held little strategic value for them.
Outside Jade Plate City, the land was open plains. The Blue Luan army consisted mainly of infantry, while the Yan Army was primarily cavalry. With no external reinforcents, any attempt by the Blue Luan army to break out would inevitably devolve into a disastrous rout. The Yan Army wouldn't even need to directly assault their formations; they could employ attrition tactics, relentlessly harassing them. The Chu forces simply couldn't hold out much longer.
However, the food situation in the city had beco extrely dire.
Qu TianNan stood on the city gate tower. He had seen people in Chu official attire pass by beneath the city walls several tis, shouting from a distance. But every ti he attempted to send soone out of the city to make contact, the Yan Army surrounding them would instantly shoot down his ssenger with arrows.
It was a truly bizarre situation. After all, their own nation's envoys and officials were right there, within the Yan Army's command tent.
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