Chapter 412: The Army at the Gates (Part 2)
"The Crown Prince need not worry, it is just a slight delay in the siege. We still have a hundred and fifty thousand troops behind us, the fastest batch of fifty thousand soldiers will arrive by the afternoon, and we can besiege the city tonight. By tomorrow, the remaining hundred thousand troops should have arrived. With two hundred thousand troops, even if they threw themselves bodily at the walls, it would be enough to bring them down." Although delayed by a day, Prince An was actually more anxious, but he still had absolute confidence. Their surprise attack was meant to catch the Capital City off guard, and even if reinforcements are sent, it would be too late.
"The closest to the Capital City is the west, Han Si Que is still in the capital, what on earth are they up to?" The Crown Prince was also puzzled. If it were him, he would have ordered Han Si Que to dispatch troops early, but right now Han Si Que remained in the Capital City, which seemed strange to him.
Prince An said, "Who cares what they are up to. Whether or not they dispatch troops to the west, it is absolutely impossible for them to arrive in the next few days, and even if they do manage to get here, the Capital City will already be ours. Once you are the Emperor, as long as Han Si Que is executed, what tricks could the Western Army possibly pull?"
The Crown Prince replied solemnly, "Let us hope so! Then we shall wait for the reinforcements to arrive this afternoon."
Su Xingqiao spent the entire day strengthening the defense of the city gates. He just received news that nearly fifty thousand enemy troops had already arrived. To avoid any further mishaps, the enemy would likely begin the siege after a brief rest tonight, so he had to be ready at all times.
However, at least they had delayed them for one day. If they could just hold out for tonight, by tomorrow their reinforcements should also have arrived!
Soon after dusk, just as expected, the horns from the enemy camp blared.
Su Xingqiao ordered Han Si Que to lead the troops out to meet the enemy, while General Han provided backup at the city gates. He commanded the battle from the city walls.
The sky had grown dark, but at the city gate of the Capital City, it was ablaze with firelight as bright as day. Above and below the city walls, both armies fought with desperation, the air filled with the mixed scent of blood and burning.
For four whole hours, the enemy launched no fewer than six assaults on the city, all of which were arduously repelled, yet both sides—enemy and allied—were utterly exhausted by now.
It was then that Su Xingqiao, amidst the battlefield strewn with corpses, caught an unexpected glimpse of Han Jing in plain clothes. He was completely stunned; if not for seeing Lan Ling beside her, he would have thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him!
He ignored the enemy soldiers climbing the city walls and hurriedly strode towards her, shouting loudly, "Get back!"
But Han Jing wasn’t there to cause trouble. She had calculated the time; this was the moment when both sides were most exhausted and their strength was nearly depleted. Just a little more effort and the city might be breached.
"There’s no time, Brother Qiao, quickly order our forces to retreat; we must push them back. If the city falls, even if our reinforcements arrive, we’ll be in for a hard battle, for the enemy’s reinforcements are no fewer than ours!" Han Jing didn’t have the luxury to argue with Su Xingqiao. This was not the time to discuss whether she should have come. If they didn’t stop the enemy from storming the city now, all their previous efforts might be in vain!
Su Xingqiao was utterly livid. Did she have any idea where this was? It was a battlefield! Did she know how dangerous it was here!