Chapter 75 Once the Arrow is Shot, It Won’t Return

Chapter 75: No Turning Back After the Arrow Is Loosed

"Everyone, let's cease the argument for now."

Though addressed to all, her words were clearly aimed at Sun En and Liu Bobo.

The two men, understanding the urgency, simultaneously turned their gaze to the self-proclaimed messenger, now a captive.

The trusted aide dispatched by Yu Hong could barely suppress a sigh.

His master had recounted how he himself had nearly been cut down by his own men due to a misunderstanding, and now, he found himself in a similar predicament. Truly, the life of an undercover agent was fraught with peril.

"What is the situation in Jiankang?" Chu Lingyuan asked, reining in her anxiety.

The messenger produced a sealed order bearing Xie Daoyun’s personal seal from his robes and presented it to Chu Lingyuan. "Jiankang has not yet seen open battle, but movements are underway. At Jingkou, the rebel forces mobilized troops a day ago and are advancing toward Jiankang. Historian Xie instructed us to act as inside operatives and suggested they position the battlefield north of Jiankang..."

"North?" Zhang Dingjiang understood immediately. Placing the confrontation zone north of Jiankang was clearly intended to minimize the impact on the city’s populace.

No, perhaps there was more to it.

When the conflict unfolded near the imperial palace and the affluent districts where officials and wealthy families resided, it would also make it easier to discern the true allegiances of certain individuals.

But regardless of the motive behind this suggestion, a more pressing matter demanded their attention.

The enemy had already mobilized faster than they had. Even if Xie Daoyun could deploy defensive forces under the pretext of safeguarding the imperial capital, the window to intercept the enemy remained narrow. Their own advance needed to be even swifter!

Zhang Dingjiang and Chu Lingyuan exchanged glances, both discerning a hidden anxiety in the other's eyes.

The Emperor had personally led the campaign to Luoyang, entrusting the safety of the south to them. What she hoped to see was certainly not the sight of Jiankang breached and its people scattered in chaos.

The aristocratic families, intent on preserving their status, would not limit their deployed forces to merely the Beifu Army.

Since they had resolutely chosen to cast aside all pretense, a fierce battle was inevitable.

"General Sun!"

The moment Chu Lingyuan spoke, both generals named Sun responded simultaneously.

She massaged her forehead in exasperation. "I meant General Sun Wuzhong. I trouble you to lead a contingent of elite troops swiftly to the Jingkou camp, muster the soldiers, and select your officers—there must be no mistakes! Lock down the camp during the muster to prevent any leaks of information."

Sun Wuzhong clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"General Liu!"

Liu Bobo hadn't expected to be called upon before Sun En. But that wasn't his only surprise; he also hadn't anticipated that the woman issuing commands before him, though clenching her hands at her sides in barely concealed tension, would speak with such unwavering authority.

"I trouble you to lead a unit of elite troops ahead at once, advancing from the foot of Mount Fuzhou directly to Jiankang, to reinforce the city."

Chu Lingyuan couldn't be certain if this appointment was a mistake, but she knew one thing: a general bold enough to launch an attack while scouting enemy positions would surely find a way to "take matters into his own hands" and carve a path to survival, even when surrounded.

She couldn't help but recall Xie Daoyun’s words before her departure.

She had said that, whether the decisions were cautious or aggressive, the situation couldn't get any worse.

If some insisted on defying the Emperor’s will and testing this "what if," then she had no choice but to make the most of every person at her side!

"If you need more hands, I'd be glad to offer my meager contribution."

"You are—" Chu Lingyuan’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden voice.

A man with a Xianbei cast to his features stepped forward. "I am Murong De. Thanks to Emperor Ying’s aid, I was able to escape the north. If there’s any way I can be of use now..."

"This is Great Ying’s domestic affair—a purge of court corruption!" Chu Lingyuan cut in coldly. "Might I ask, in what capacity are you speaking these words?"

Murong De’s heart skipped a beat. The moment Chu Lingyuan posed the question, several gazes in the room turned toward him—some scrutinizing, others outright hostile.

A near-instinctive sense of danger made him swallow the words "Murong clan" before they left his mouth.

He had originally wondered whether aiding the Great Ying Army in defeating the enemy might secure support for the restoration of his Murong clan. But Chu Lingyuan’s response, coupled with the reactions of those present, seemed to silently convey the answer: as the Celestial Screen had foretold, the Central Plains would ultimately belong only to Great Ying. If he sought to leverage past favors for the sake of reviving Yan, he might as well stand aside and observe how they achieved their goals.

He forced a smile. "How about... as General Liu’s deputy general?"

"Eh?" Liu Bobo was taken aback.

Murong De, however, understood the wisdom of adaptability. "Is that not acceptable?"

Ever since Murong Chui’s death, he had foreseen the immense crisis facing the foundation of Yan. But he hadn't expected Tuoba Gui to act so swiftly under the Celestial Screen’s influence. With the Celestial Screen’s declaration that every Murong clansman who claimed emperorship ascended the throne only to fall swiftly, rallying his former retinue would be an uphill battle. Perhaps it was better to leverage Liu Bobo’s life-saving favor as a stepping stone to secure his own survival in a different way!

Chu Lingyuan glanced at Liu Bobo, signaling him to make a decision.

Liu Bobo studied the still well-equipped troops behind Murong De and made up his mind. "Let him come with me. If he violates military orders, there’ll be no need for anyone else to intervene—I’ll deal with him myself."

He truly needed Murong De’s forces to accomplish more!

Sun En, watching the exchange, grew impatient. "What about me? What should I do?"

Chu Lingyuan turned to him. "During our recent campaign, Strategist Zhang has told me much about you. So I have a crucial task to entrust to you."

...

Only when the army resumed its advance—some units speeding ahead, others splitting from the main force on horseback, and still others doubling back to the rear ranks to say something—did Chu Lingyuan finally find herself in solitude once more.

She gripped her reins, feeling a sheen of sweat on her back.

"Afraid?" Zhang Dingjiang noticed her reaction. "If the aristocratic families’ counterattack blazes like a forest fire, even if we’re leading troops outside the city—unlike Historian Xie, who is mired in the inferno—we’ll still be caught in the fallout. Your status, after all, is different from mine."

"What’s the difference?" Chu Lingyuan’s unease vanished as quickly as it had come, replaced by determination. "We are equally the Emperor’s vassals. To act despite knowing the odds requires immense courage. But the Celestial Screen has already declared that striving with all one’s might will bring success. So what does it matter if the road ahead is treacherous?"

"If I weren’t untrained in martial arts, I’d take up a sword myself and fight those pitiful resisters to the death!"

Chu Lingyuan glared. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all. I was just thinking..."

Ah, how to put it? Since she had once lived in the palace, she’d witnessed certain individuals going to the Emperor to cry—an embarrassing past she’d rather not bring up now.

But with Chu Lingyuan brimming with battle intent, perhaps it was best left unsaid.

Zhang Dingjiang snapped her whip. "Let the Emperor see that while she draws her blade first, we will not fail her expectations!"

...

Liu Yi, Zhuge Zhangmin, and their vanguard moved at an undeniably swift pace.

As rebel forces, they strictly followed the directives given, arriving at the gates of Jiankang just three days after setting out.

A hundred and sixty *li* (approximately 50 miles) was no short distance, and three days was the limit if the troops were to retain any fighting strength upon arrival. Moreover, before reaching Jiankang, Liu Yi’s forces had already clashed with the city’s defenders.

The defenders had attempted to lay an ambush along the way, hoping to halt this unauthorized advance, but were steadily beaten back. Forced to abandon their rear battalion still mired in close combat, they retreated toward Jiankang.

Yet this retreat was far from smooth.

Northern Jiangsu was flat and open, offering little advantageous terrain to hinder pursuing forces. Instead, the fresh cavalry from the rear repeatedly gained the upper hand, forcing Jiankang’s retreating defenders to fight them again.

Though they inflicted some casualties on the rebels, the defenders were visibly exhausted by the time they withdrew into the city, too fatigued to fight on.

Looking eastward, the pursuing troops could already be seen advancing steadily into view.

Liu Yi’s face grew even smugger as he issued the command: "Attack the city!"

Among his rebel troops, some had initially grumbled. But with the Jiankang defenders in retreat, those voices were temporarily suppressed, replaced by something else—ambition.

They had already missed the chance to participate in the battle for Luoyang and were not fortunate enough to serve under Grand General Liu Yu, unlikely to stand out among other troops. So why not try for another shot at rising with a new master?

Emperor Yong'an’s measures to reclaim lost territories, suppress the aristocratic families, and develop the people’s livelihoods would take over a decade to fully materialize—especially with war looming. It was hardly their fault if they sought a more thrilling path in the meantime by pledging allegiance elsewhere.

Hell, they couldn’t even know whether Tuoba Gui and Yao Xing, now warned by the heavenly signs, had already defeated Emperor Yong'an in the face of the northern coalition’s advance.

A man’s gotta look out for himself.

"Attack the city—!"

"Storm Jiankang! Kill the traitors who murdered the emperor and usurped the throne!"

Xie Daoyun’s face was stone-cold as she observed the dark tide of soldiers in the distance. She gave a slight nod to the commander of the guards stationed atop the city walls.

In an instant, arrows launched from below, arcing high before plummeting mercilessly upon the advancing attackers.

She couldn't blame these men for their actions—she’d once left Jiankang herself and witnessed just how gullible the uneducated masses were when knowledge was monopolized by the aristocratic families.

Even educated men were often shortsighted, chasing fleeting gains—let alone ignorant peasants who knew nothing of the path of a sage ruler!

Yet though she pitied them, she could summon no sympathy today, watching coldly as arrows cut them down.

A runner dashed over from behind the city wall’s cover, rushing to Xie Daoyun’s side.

She steadied him with a hand. "What’s the situation?"

"Just as you predicted—two teams tried sneaking into the capital underground. One dug a tunnel leading straight to one of the Xie family’s estates, while the other attempted to use a passage beneath the moat. Both were discovered by our men."

What these infiltrators hadn't counted on, however, was that Xie Daoyun—though she hadn't mobilized additional troops in recent days to avoid giving them a “righteous” cause to rally more rebels—had recruited a group of unusual talents from the common folk around Jiankang.

In pre-Qin times, they might have been called cutpurses and conmen.

But now, facing the vast imperial capital of Jiankang—a city besieged on all sides—they were the perfect scouts, capable of the most unexpected feats.

For instance, the elite divers attempting to enter Jiankang via the underground river had their throats seized by fishermen even more skilled in swimming, yanked relentlessly into the depths. The floodgates then crashed shut, trapping them with no escape.

As for Xie Chong—who should’ve been mourning Sima Daozi—he had contacted his eldest son in the capital for support, leading the Xie family’s private soldiers in digging what he thought was a hidden tunnel—only to surface and find the estate where his troops were stationed already surrounded. He was captured on charges of treason, along with his men.

Amid the chaos, Xie Chong watched in despair as an arrow pierced his son’s chest, ending his life—while he himself, now shackled, could do nothing.

……

"Useless idiots—can’t do anything right!"

Xie Daoyun wasn’t the only one receiving reports—Wang Yu, too, had just heard these two successive pieces of disastrous news, wiping away whatever good mood he’d had upon learning of Liu Yi’s advance.

At first, their plan was working smoothly: as the Beifu Army attacked Jiankang, several other forces were meant to open the city’s gates from within. Once the gates were breached, the Beifu Army outside would have another way in.

But now, their backup forces meant to rendezvous with them had been taken out one by one, while southern reinforcements were still marching—lagging behind Liu Yi’s troops, leaving them shorthanded.

"We’ll have to do it ourselves!" Yu Hong slammed the table and stood, then winced as pain shot through his wounded shoulder.

Wang Yu, who’d caused the injury, hurried to steady his unlucky rescuer. "Be careful."

"Enough—don’t worry about me now. Just tell me: do we need to move quickly?" Yu Hong said coldly. "Jiankang’s defenders are few, but this is the imperial capital. Its walls are thick and tall. A drawn-out siege helps no one."

"I said before—we should have taken control of the palace gates first, even if it was riskier, to buy time for the Beifu Army. But now? The battlefield’s crawling with archers. Even if they reach the walls, they’ll suffer heavy losses. And the other two routes? Gone! Wiped out!"

"Easy now," Wang Yu soothed.

Yu Hong’s suggestion had indeed sounded appealing—Wang Yu had even considered it himself—but he’d ultimately dismissed it. And could he really be blamed?

If Yu Hong could actually lead troops, why had he been just a figurehead during the campaign against Wang Gong, achieving no notable feats of his own?

Positioning the battlefield north of Jiankang was common sense—fine as advice. But attack timing meant victory or defeat. Better to eliminate the wrong options first.

Now, with two routes destroyed and one blocked, Wang Yu reluctantly admitted that Yu Hong’s suggestion might have been correct. Unfortunately, realizing it now was far too late.

He ground his teeth. "While the battle rages both outside and inside the city, hurry and contact those people."

"Yes!" The attendants swiftly departed to carry out the order.

Which people? The fence-sitters, of course.

These were men who, though terrified by the celestial revelations and aware they were marked for destruction by the aristocratic families’ downfall, had hesitated to rebel outright after hearing of Emperor Yong'an’s deeds. Instead, they’d made excuses, wanting to see how things played out in Luoyang first.

But hesitation was no longer an option.

Those among the aristocratic families desperate to survive had already sounded the bell of rebellion, tearing open the rift between both sides. The waverers had to pick a stance now.

If they continued to cower, once Wang Yu’s forces breached Jiankang, they would be purged as officials of the Ying Dynasty.

Alternatively, if Xie Daoyun repelled the rebels, their inaction would brand them as rebel collaborators—still a grim fate.

They had to choose: either become insiders for the rebels outside, joining Wang Yu’s side, or muster their servants and private soldiers to aid Xie Daoyun in defending the city!

There were no other paths.

Wang Yu’s eyes burned with resolve. Without waiting for the messengers to return with answers, he turned to Yu Hong. "Come with me."

Yu Hong hurried after him, stunned to discover that Wang Yu had secretly hidden hundreds of elite soldiers right under his nose, in an adjacent chamber. Yet from the way these men responded to Wang Yu, they didn’t seem to be his own trained forces.

He suddenly understood—the words he’d used to persuade Madam Huan hadn’t been wrong.

Even without Wang Yu, someone would have stirred chaos in Jiankang.

It was merely coincidence that Wang Yu had stepped forward first, becoming the nominal “leader.”

"I’ll assign a few men to protect you. Go retrieve your father’s remains at once, put on mourning attire, and stage a lament outside the official residences—force those people to make their choice!"

Yu Hong cursed inwardly but agreed readily. "Fine. And you?"

Wang Yu’s gaze turned frigid. "Naturally, I’ll stab them where it hurts!"

As Wang Yu emerged, he was already clad in armor and donned a helmet, looking every bit the battle-ready general, heading toward one of the city gates where the battle raged.

These elite troops, lying in wait, struck without warning, intercepting a reinforcement unit bound for the city walls and slaughtering them on the spot with their razor-sharp blades.

The defending soldiers turned back in haste, only to see their supposed stronghold, Jiankang, now swarming with rebel forces, who, after slaughtering the reinforcements, charged toward the walls.

In the chaos, they had no way to discern the true situation unfolding in Jiankang behind them or why such rebels had emerged, freezing them in shock.

Yet at that very moment, an arrow shot fiercely from the rear toward the advancing rebels. Though it was dodged, it was a rallying cry, jolting everyone into motion.

"What are you all standing around for?"

Xie Daoyun's arm trembled slightly within her sleeve from the sudden draw of the bow.

Though she had long neglected the archery skills of the Six Arts of a gentleman, the moment she released the arrow, all saw her weathered face, hard as the stones of the city wall, refusing to retreat even half a step.

"If rebels dare to scale the walls, cut them down where they stand!"