Imperial Husband Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Yamen.

Zhou Yunting bowed with hands clasped and reported, "Your Highness, your subordinate has learned that the Qianluo army has already launched an attack on Zhuzhou City. Also, last night the Eldest Prince's assault on Qianluo failed, and his foot sustained irreversible injuries. The physician currently treating the Eldest Prince is Physician Shi, but Physician Shi has declared that the Eldest Prince's foot will likely never allow him to walk again in this lifetime."

Lan Mingzhou also reported back, "Your Highness, additionally..."

Li Jin listened, then said meaningfully, "It seems General Bai is still very wary of me."

Although Li Jin had long expected that Bai Yifei would not inform him of military intelligence, he hadn't expected Bai Yifei to have everyone conceal it from Li Jin. If not for Li Jin having Zhou Yunting and Lan Mingzhou by his side, along with memories from his past life, Bai Yifei might have already succeeded in his deception.

However, Li Jin did not blame Bai Yifei; on the contrary, he quite approved of Bai Yifei's actions.

After all, with Ying Zihui's past mistakes serving as a stark warning, Zhuzhou City could no longer afford another defeat. If he himself, or Ying Yuan, were to act as recklessly as Ying Zihui had, it would be no exaggeration to call it a catastrophe for Zhuzhou Therefore, Bai Yifei chose to conceal it directly and unequivocally.

"A-Jin, I've finally succeeded! The gunpowder you spoke of is finally ready." Ying Yuan suddenly walked out from inside, rushed towards Li Jin, and unable to contain his excitement, hugged him.

"We pay our respects to the Seventh Prince."

Zhou Yunting and Lan Mingzhou, startled by Ying Yuan's sudden appearance, immediately bowed in greeting.

"Uh..."

Ying Yuan hadn't expected them to be there either and stiffened for a moment.

"A-Yuan, take me to see it." Li Jin lightly patted Ying Yuan's shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous, then calmly addressed Zhou Yunting and the other, "You two go and prepare. The Seventh Prince and I will join you shortly."

"Yes."

Zhou Yunting and Lan Mingzhou nodded in acknowledgment and withdrew.

Shortly after, only Li Jin and Ying Yuan remained in the room.

Thinking Ying Yuan was nervous about accidentally letting slip the matter of gunpowder, Li Jin immediately tried to reassure him, "A-Yuan, relax, it's alright. They've already left."

"Mm."

Ying Yuan nodded and released Li Jin.

Li Jin didn't miss the dark circles under Ying Yuan's eyes. "A-Yuan, you've also worked hard all night. Go and rest for a while. Leave the rest to me."

"No." Ying Yuan shook his head. "Didn't you also stay up all night with me, wanting to complete the gunpowder as soon as possible? How could I possibly leave you to go sleep by myself."

Ever since Li Jin mentioned gunpowder, they had been researching tirelessly in the room through the night. If Zhou Yunting hadn't come earlier to report, Li Jin would have been assisting Ying Yuan with the final adjustments instead of letting Ying Yuan handle them alone.

Fortunately, Heaven rewards the diligent.

They finally managed to produce the gunpowder Li Jin had described. However, its potency still required further testing.

Li Jin ruffled Ying Yuan's hair and stopped insisting that Ying Yuan rest alone. "A-Yuan, the situation has changed. We need to take the gunpowder and fuses to the city wall."

 

"What happened?"

Being too focused on the gunpowder earlier, Ying Yuan hadn't paid attention to what Zhou Yunting and the others had said.

"The Qianluo army of one hundred and fifty thousand is already attacking the city..."

While explaining to Ying Yuan, Li Jin gathered the newly developed gunpowder, and together they hurried out.

...

Zhuzhou City Wall.

"Attack! Take Zhuzhou in one fell swoop!"

As the commands to attack rang out one after another, Qianluo soldiers maneuvered a battering ram, repeatedly striking the city gate. At the same time, they raised bamboo scaling ladders against the walls and launched stones from catapults, hammering the defenders without pause.

Facing Qianluo's relentless siege tactics, the defending soldiers gritted their teeth and persevered, showing no intention of retreating.

Bai Yifei shouted loudly, "Hold on, everyone! Behind these walls are the common people. We must hold the line!"

"Yes, General!"

The defending soldiers immediately shouted in unison, their voices resounding.

Their flagging morale gradually began to rise.

Unfortunately, the disparity in their military strength was simply too great. Gradually, the soldiers who were barely holding the city gate began to struggle. Moreover, seeing one comrade after another killed before their eyes by Qianluo soldiers, even soldiers with the strongest mental fortitude could not remain unmoved.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bai Yifei, Yan Zhongjin said gravely, "General Bai, Qianluo clearly intends to wear down our fighting strength. If this continues, we won't be able to hold the city gate."

Bai Yifei said through gritted teeth, "We must hold it even if we can't. Even if I die, I won't let them enter the city."

The reality Yan Zhongjin pointed out was painfully clear to Bai Yifei. However, when faced with overwhelming enemy numbers, even the most brilliant strategy loses its edge. Their only remaining choice was to fight with every ounce of strength to protect Zhuzhou.

"But..."

"Deputy General Yan, as a seasoned officer who has long served under the Prince, you should understand what is appropriate to say and what is not."

Bai Yifei shot Yan Zhongjin a warning glance, then picked up his large bow, nocked three arrows, and aimed them directly at the Qianluo army's main general.

Bai Yifei possessed great strength, and his archery skills were among the best under Li Shiyun's command. This sudden triple-shot instantly caused a ripple of unease in the Qianluo army's morale.

However, Batu had also made preparations. Seeing three arrows heading his way, Batu did not dodge. Instead, he grabbed a captured Da Xia soldier and used him as a human shield.

"Damn those Qianluo barbarians!"

Afraid Batu would continue using Da Xia soldiers as shields, Bai Yifei immediately changed his aim, turning to shoot and kill the Qianluo soldiers attacking the walls.

However, no matter how superb Bai Yifei's archery skills were, in the end, one man alone could not hold back an entire army. As the battle wore on, the defending troops suffered mounting casualties.

Meanwhile, Li Jin and his group had also arrived.

Seeing Li Jin's arrival, Bai Yifei couldn't conceal his anger. "Your Highness, Seventh Prince, I must ask you to leave quickly. Your presence here will only hinder us."

Li Jin ignored Bai Yifei's attitude and bowed with clasped hands. "General Bai, I have a method that could reverse the tide of battle. I wonder if General Bai would be willing to give it a try?"

As soon as Li Jin finished speaking, he immediately took out the prepared gunpowder device.

Perhaps because it was made on short notice, both the fuses and the cloth bundles containing the gunpowder appeared quite crude.

"Your Highness."

Bai Yifei uttered the title "Your Highness" through gritted teeth, giving an idea of how furious he was at their arrival.

Meeting Bai Yifei's blazing angry eyes, Li Jin didn't show the slightest intention of backing down. "General Bai, I am not joking with you. I ask that you consider this seriously."

For a moment, Bai Yifei fell silent.

Because he saw the seriousness in Li Jin's eyes.

Should I trust him... No... He has no experience with warfare at all...

It felt like an eternity had passed.

Bai Yifei spoke, "For this general to agree is possible, but this general demands that Your Highness immediately pledge a military oath. If Your Highness's method fails, you will forfeit your life as compensation. How about that?"

Ultimately, Bai Yifei was still unwilling to trust Li Jin and directly stated these words, determined not to agree.

"Fine."

Like a stone thrown into calm water, it stirred up a thousand ripples.

None of those present who heard Bai Yifei's words expected Li Jin to finally choose to agree.

"Li Jin, don't be impulsive!"

Ying Yuan was the first to speak up and stop him.

Li Jin turned to look at Ying Yuan, resolute and determined. "Seventh Prince, I am not impulsive. Believe me, we will succeed. Zhuzhou City will definitely hold."

"Your Highness, are you serious? You are truly willing to stake your life on an attempt whose success is unknown?"

Bai Yifei was also startled by Li Jin's response.

Although Bai Yifei still didn't understand the function of the strange items Li Jin had brought, agreeing so readily to pledge a military oath forced him to take a serious look at those peculiar objects on the ground.

Li Jin said calmly, "A word once spoken, a team of four horses cannot overtake it."

[一言既出，驷马难追 (yī yán jì chū, sì mǎ nán zhuī): lit. a word once spoken, a team of four horses cannot overtake it; fig. a promise must be kept; a man must keep his word.]

"General Bai, I am also willing to stake my life on it."

Knowing Li Jin was determined to use the gunpowder, Ying Yuan didn't continue to try and stop him. Instead, like Li Jin, he pledged a military oath.

Bai Yifei was even more deeply astonished.

"Seventh Prince, do you understand what you are saying?"

Ying Yuan responded word by word, "I understand. But I believe with these things, we can definitely defend Zhuzhou."

A-Jin, since you insist on staking your life, then I will accompany you.

"Seventh Prince, you..."

Ying Yuan interrupted Li Jin's unfinished sentence. "Heir Li, we will succeed, won't we?"

"Yes."

At this point, having seen Ying Yuan's resolve, Li Jin said nothing more to dissuade him.

Shortly after, Li Jin and Ying Yuan swore in unison, "I, Li Jin (Ying Yuan), hereby pledge this military oath. If the gunpowder cannot repel the Qianluo army, I will atone with my death."

Immediately after, almost as soon as Li Jin finished speaking, the two of them, working in seamless coordination, began preparing the gunpowder and fuses.

To maximize the gunpowder's effectiveness and suppress the Qianluo army in one fell swoop, Li Jin used a special substance to bind the gunpowder together, forming a solid cannonball with a fuse attached.

To ensure immediate usability, Li Jin made the solid sphere roughly the same size as the stones used for the catapults.

Seeing the preparations were nearly complete, Li Jin stood up and looked at Bai Yifei. "General Bai, may I borrow a catapult?"

"Fine."

This time, Bai Yifei did not stop them. He even sent soldiers to assist Li Jin and the others.

"What are they doing?" Batu had been closely observing the people atop Zhuzhou City's wall and naturally noticed the unusual activity. An indescribable sense of unease involuntarily rose within him.

"Your Highness, it looks like they're just making a desperate last stand. There's no need to pay them any mind."

The general fighting alongside Batu didn't take this matter to heart. Given the current state of the battle, they were already on the verge of victory and had nothing to fear.

"Let's hope so." Batu still felt uneasy, but to prevent his abnormal state from affecting army morale, he forcefully suppressed it.

Elsewhere.

A group of people dressed in Da Xia soldier uniforms were watching Li Jin intently from the shadows.

Soon, the leading soldier said sternly, "Listen, everyone. When the Heir of the Prince of Dingbei activates the catapult later, we will all attack together. We must ensure he is killed."

"Yes."