Chapter 125

Chapter 125

The journey from the capital to Jizhou spanned nearly two thousand li. The hundred-thousand-strong imperial army marched over sixty li daily, halting for rest during rain. This trek lasted over a month, and it was not until June twelfth that they reached Jizhou City, a vital northern stronghold in Jizhou. Jinzhou Commander Chen Sheng and Liaozhou Commander Meng Ji had already arrived days earlier, joining Jizhou Commander Guo Yanqing to welcome the imperial troops.

All three commanders had received the imperial decree, understanding that Princess Qingyang was the Military Supervisor, while Prince Yong and Hou Wanzhong were the true commanders leading the hundred-thousand-strong imperial army.

Yet, upon their meeting, it was Princess Qingyang who questioned the three commanders about their respective regions' battle readiness. Every question was incisive and devoid of superfluous words. Throughout, whether it was the outspoken Prince Yong, the astute and seasoned Hou Wanzhong, or the various temperamental lieutenant generals, all behaved as if this were perfectly normal, showing no dissatisfaction or suppressed resentment towards a princess interfering in military affairs. The three border commanders swiftly exchanged glances, already grasping the status and significance of Princess Qingyang as Military Supervisor.

Fan Huaizhong remained at the princess's side, observing the expressions and thoughts of the three commanders, a faint smile playing on his lips.

This past month coincided with the height of summer. Since armor was not required during the march, the soldiers wore only black battle attire, rolling up their sleeves while marching and frequently baring their shoulders during breaks. Princess Qingyang, however, rotated through four sets of armor, wearing them continuously. During brief daytime rests, aside from quick trips to her tent to remove her armor, she endured the sun and rain alongside the soldiers, rested with them in the shade, ate communal meals, and never once rode in the four-horse carriage reserved for royalty.

Evenings offered longer breaks. After meals, Princess Qingyang would gather the military officers to listen to Hou Wanzhong explain nomadic tactics, their warhorses and broadswords, the grassland terrain, weather patterns, and the hidden dangers—such as venomous snakes and scorpions—within the seemingly endless green expanse of the prairie, including how to navigate back to Great Qi if separated. Hou Wanzhong, a great general, was not particularly adept at explaining such details, but Princess Qingyang was skilled at asking questions. Through their dialogue, the officers and even the curious common soldiers who gathered learned valuable skills.

While ordinary soldiers exerted themselves without overthinking, Princess Qingyang also inspected the camps, addressing officers' unfair practices and correcting soldiers' poor discipline. She offered care where needed and meted out punishment where due. By the time the army was halfway to its destination, the entire force, from top to bottom, held genuine admiration for her. At the very least, no one dared to underestimate the princess anymore.

Princess Qingyang had honed her marching and command skills during the northern expedition against the Western Hu and her time in the Four Capital Garrisons. Thus, she navigated this journey with ease. Now in Jizhou, she intended to leverage her acquired military expertise to swiftly gain the trust of the three commanders, ensuring they saw her as a genuine contributor to tactical planning, not merely a ceremonial supervisor.

Yet, Princess Qingyang was also humble. She knew this northern expedition aimed only to curb the Eastern Hu's arrogance, not to annihilate their main force. She understood that limited grain supplies necessitated a swift victory without delay. She knew she could deploy two flanking forces, but the true main battlefield would remain with their main contingent. More importantly, she recognized that seasoned veterans like Guo Yanqing, Chen Sheng, Meng Ji, along with Prince Yong and Hou Wanzhong, were crucial to holding the main front.

Therefore, she temporarily stepped back from her supervisory role, allowing the five generals to discuss the campaign's routes, timing, and tactics. She simply listened, learned, and evaluated.

***

By the time Princess Qingyang and the hundred-thousand-strong imperial army reached Jizhou, the Western Hu royal court had also received the grain supplies from Qi. With the provisions delivered and Qi's sincerity demonstrated, the King of Western Hu finally signed an alliance treaty with the Qi envoy, who had lingered at the court for some time. The treaty stipulated that when Qi officially launched its attack, Western Hu would dispatch fifty thousand cavalry to advance on Eastern Hu from the west.

The Qi envoy successfully completed his mission and departed, but within the Western Hu royal court, there were still dissenting voices regarding the war.

The eldest son of the King of Western Hu was furious: "I don't understand why we must ally with Qi. Has Father forgotten how their emperor once slaughtered 180,000 of our people in a single battle? Rather than allying with Qi, I would prefer to ally with the Yelu family to attack Qi together, divide the Central Plains, and avenge our fallen warriors!"

Six or seven of his brothers supported the eldest, while others remained silent.

The King of Western Hu, in his fifties and still robust, motioned for his eldest son to calm down. He sighed and said, "Qi is our enemy, but Yelu Chong to the east is also our enemy. However, the Qi people prefer farming; they have no use for our grasslands. So they will only defend against us attacking them first—their soldiers are like hunting dogs guarding a large flock of sheep. Yelu Chong is different; he is an ambitious wolf king. He wants to devour Qi's flocks, but he wants to dominate the entire grassland first. Only when all the wolves on the grassland heed his command can he focus on devouring Qi's sheep without worry."

"So, we must first survive the attacks of another pack of wolves, protect our own grassland, and only then will we have the chance to seek revenge on the flock later."

"Qi wants to borrow our warriors to contain Yelu Chong, and we must borrow Qi's troops to weaken Yelu Chong's forces. If we stand by and do nothing, once Qi fails in its campaign against Yelu Chong and dares not venture beyond the pass again, Yelu Chong will concentrate all his forces to seize our territory. Tell me, can we defeat them then?"

The eldest son snorted.

Left Wing General Boermu spoke up: "The king is right. The Central Plains people have a saying: 'One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.' The Central Plains can never tolerate two emperors, and our grassland is the same. Previously, our two tribes were evenly matched in strength, and neither had the power to conquer the other. But since our defeat by Qi, Yelu Chong has gradually taken nearly thirty percent of our grassland over the years. This campaign by Qi against Eastern Hu is a godsent opportunity for us. We must not lose it!"

With both the king and the Left Wing General in favor of allying with Qi, the others had no choice but to comply, especially since the reasons for the alliance were indeed sound.

***

With Western Hu and Qi now allied, the discussion in the Eastern Hu royal court turned to whether to engage in battle or avoid it.

King of Eastern Hu Yelu Chong had just turned forty, in the prime of his life. He had inherited the throne eleven years earlier. Compared to his cautious and conservative father, Yelu Chong had set two grand ambitions for himself: first, to incorporate his western neighbors into his domain and unify the grassland, and second, to lead his army south to seize the Central Plains from its people.

Yelu Chong advocated for war.

His paternal uncle, Left Virtuous King Yelu Hong, advised him to avoid battle: "The emperor of Qi is old. I’ve heard his crown prince is weak and sickly. The Qi emperor is wise and astute; he would not leave us, a critical threat, to his son. How could a frail lamb withstand fierce wolves of the grassland? So the Qi emperor must have made thorough preparations for certain victory in this campaign. Moreover, Western Hu is determined to seize this opportunity to reclaim the territory they lost from us. Faced with two fierce armies with high morale, our chances of victory are slim. It would be better to avoid engaging Qi first. Once Qi withdraws its troops, we can catch Western Hu off guard."

Yelu Chong: "No, Uncle overestimates the Qi emperor. I think he has grown senile, actually sending a princess to supervise the army. If women could really fight, the sheep on the grassland could fly to the sky, haha…"

After laughing heartily, Yelu Chong’s gaze grew even fiercer: "No, I am resolved to fight this war. Otherwise, wouldn’t people think I’m afraid of even a woman? I hear this Princess Qingyang is the Qi emperor’s most beloved daughter, born from his most favored concubine. She must be a beauty. I will personally capture her and make her my prisoner. Hmph, the Qi emperor wants to humiliate me? I will return that humiliation twofold!"

Yelu Hong: "Your Majesty, please reconsider! A princess who can serve in the court is no ordinary woman. In my opinion, the one person Your Majesty should not underestimate in this war is this very princess!"

Yelu Chong: "I’m not underestimating her—I’m going to capture her! Since Uncle is so afraid of the Qi army, please remain at the royal court. There’s no need for you to lead troops in this war. I will personally lead the attack!"

***

In early July, Princess Qingyang and several main generals led over three hundred thousand troops from Jizhou, formally advancing into the grassland.

Of the over three hundred thousand troops, only about two hundred thousand had actual combat strength.

Qi's scouts were everywhere, probing for traces of Eastern Hu's forces, while Eastern Hu's scouts kept a close watch on the movements of the Qi army. Upon learning that Qi's so-called four hundred thousand troops had only half the combat effectiveness, split equally between cavalry and infantry, Yelu Chong dispatched eighty thousand cavalry to the west to engage Western Hu's forces while leading one hundred fifty thousand cavalry himself to confront Qi, leaving only sixty to seventy thousand veteran and new soldiers to guard the royal court.

Western Hu's Left Wing General Boermu was cunning and avoided bloody battles with Eastern Hu's troops. After all, Qi had said that as long as they could contain part of Eastern Hu's forces, it would be enough. If Qi won, they could still commit fully in time; if the Qi army was no match for Eastern Hu, they needed to preserve their strength even more to guard against Yelu Chong turning his main force against them after Qi's defeat.

On the main battlefield, Chen Sheng, Guo Yanqing, Meng Ji, Prince Yong, and Hou Wanzhong—the five main generals—proved worthy of their reputations as renowned veteran generals of the dynasty. Each alone could boost morale, and with all five leading together, even the infantry fought with seventy percent effectiveness of the cavalry. In several clashes with Yelu Chong’s forces, they managed to fight to a draw each time, with neither side gaining a clear advantage.

Yelu Chong was dissatisfied, and Princess Qingyang was also dissatisfied—not disappointed in the soldiers, but aware that war could not rely solely on morale indefinitely. The difference in strength between the two armies was evident. Princess Qingyang was certain that after one or two more draws, with casualties mounting, even the five main generals would struggle to maintain morale.

Noticing that Yelu Chong always charged in her direction during battles, and that Guo Yanqing and others had to factor her safety into their deployments, Princess Qingyang spotted an opportunity.

In early September, after once again repelling Yelu Chong’s forces, Princess Qingyang summoned the five main generals to her command tent.

After so many battles, all five generals had sustained injuries of varying severity, with the most fiercely combative Prince Yong suffering the worst—his left arm was newly put in a sling that day.

Prince Yong feared no pain and only sought victory. So when his niece announced a withdrawal, he slammed the table and stood up: "If you want to retreat, you retreat! I’m not leaving!"

Meng Ji and the other three were long accustomed to this. They couldn’t control Prince Yong’s temper, but Princess Qingyang knew how to handle him.

Princess Qingyang smiled and said, "Uncle, first hear me out. If we continue fighting north, Yelu Chong will hold us in higher regard, and the more highly he regards us, the more cautious he will become. But if we retreat, he will think we are afraid. Only when he becomes overconfident will we have an opportunity to exploit."

Prince Yong was half-convinced: "What kind of opportunity?"

Princess Qingyang pointed to a river valley they had passed on their way in on the map and casually drew a circle around it: "Use me as bait to lure the enemy into our trap."