Chapter 1246 - 922: Cijian’s Crushing Defeat

"What? A major defeat at Cijian?"

By now, they had returned to Qianqiu Palace. When Yu Wenye finally spoke of the contents of the letter, even though Shang Ruyi had been prepared for it, she couldn’t help but exclaim softly, staring wide-eyed at Yu Wenye, "Really defeated?"

Yu Wenye lowered his head, scanned the few lines on the letter again, and then nodded.

Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.

In recent days, everyone’s attention had been focused on the case at Hot Spring Palace, the pursuit of rebels at Wanggang Village, and the city-wide hunt for assassins, almost neglecting other matters. Yet they still kept a string taut in their hearts for the battle where King Qi led an army eastward towards Luoyang. Earlier reports said he had already occupied Cijian.

Logically speaking, the place was not far from Luoyang, and if there was a battle, results should have been known immediately. But unexpectedly, there had been no news for two months.

It wasn’t until today that they received a letter from Shen Tu Tai.

Shang Ruyi murmured, "How did they lose?"

Meanwhile, Yu Wenye had already held the letter closer to the candle on the table. A corner of the letter was lit by the flame, and with a swoosh, it burned brightly. Yu Wenye flicked his finger at it, and the entire letter turned into a fireball, instantly burning to ashes and floating lightly to the ground.

He said, "Third brother wanted to concentrate forces to attack Luoyang, but both Shen Tu Tai and your brother disagreed. They believed that if the troops were dispatched like that, Luoyang’s defenses were strong and wouldn’t be easily breached. Once a stalemate occurred, nearby garrisons would immediately return to defend, putting his forces at risk of being attacked from behind, or even trapped on multiple fronts."

"Indeed."

"Therefore, they strongly advised him to hold Cijian firmly and send troops to attack Huilu Storehouse east of Luoyang. By feigning an attack on the Eastern Capital, surrounding garrisons would surely return to defend. At that time, one could besiege a point to strike reinforcements, while cutting off Luoyang City’s supplies. As surrounding troops exhausted their strength, unrest would grow inside Luoyang due to food shortages, creating an opportune moment to attack Luoyang and achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Shang Ruyi opened her eyes wide: "Such a great idea, why didn’t I think of it?"

Yu Wenye glared at her: "Do you really think that after accompanying me on a couple of campaigns and gaining merit at Fufeng, you understand military strategy?"

Shang Ruyi blinked guiltily.

To be honest, she somewhat believed it. After all, during the Battle of Fufeng, she had indeed achieved merit and witnessed plenty of battles, even becoming more insightful during theoretical discussions than before.

But unexpectedly, when faced with this kind of warfare, her mind regarding the garrison troops at the Luoyang Eight Passes was still muddled, not knowing what to do. Shen Tu Tai and Shen Wuzheng could already come up with countermeasures.

It seems that arranging troops for battle is truly not easy.

She carefully contemplated the approach suggested by Shen Tu Tai and Shen Wuzheng, recalling the positions and troop distributions at the Luoyang Eight Passes and the location of Huilu Storehouse—although this granary wasn’t as large as Xingluo Granary and didn’t have as much stock, it was the closest one to Luoyang. After Xingluo Granary was taken, Chu Yang moved south to Jiangdu, leaving Luoyang’s defenses almost completely vulnerable, it was the biggest reason Liang Shide could hold Luoyang.

So this method was feasible.

But given the major defeat at Cijian, it means—she looked up at Yu Wenye: "King Qi didn’t listen to their advice?"

Yu Wenye said, "Of course not. Not only did he not listen, but he also wanted to imprison your brother for the crime of disrupting morale. However, the soldiers in the army all pleaded for him, and Shen Tu Tai defended him strongly, so the third brother didn’t act."

Shang Ruyi sighed deeply.

That’s what she was afraid of; it turns out Yu Wenquan’s use of Shen Tu Tai and Shen Wuzheng in this troop was indeed a strategic move.

"So the defeat at Cijian is—"

"The third brother acted recklessly, insisting on directly attacking Luoyang. Shen Tu Tai and Shen Wuzheng’s persuasion failed, so they insisted on leaving a strength of troops at Cijian, one to block behind reinforcement attacks, and two, to have a retreating place if the attack was unfavorable."

"That’s a comprehensive strategy."

"Unfortunately, their predictions came true. The third brother’s troops hadn’t reached the bottom of Luoyang City when they were stopped by two reinforcements from Yique Pass and Dagu Pass. Although one was quickly defeated, before the third brother could completely repel the reinforcements, Luoyang’s garrison emerged, taking advantage and wiping out their forces in the ambush, resulting in his major defeat."

Shang Ruyi was a bit nervous: "King Qi, is he okay?"

Yu Wenye shook his head, with a hint of coldness in his eyes, saying, "Just like in Taiyuan before, he fled quickly, with only fewer than two thousand out of fifty thousand troops following him in retreat."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi felt a deep ache in her chest.

Out of fifty thousand troops, fewer than two thousand returned...

This loss was practically a total defeat. Even without considering the court’s losses, she had been on the battlefield before, sharing hardships with the soldiers. Thinking that five thousand living people were sacrificed in such a seemingly worthless manner felt like a knife cutting through her heart.

No wonder, after seeing the letter just now, Yu Wenye’s face looked so grim, and he snapped at her regarding military matters.

It’s not that he didn’t care about Yu Wencheng’s life or death, but beyond life and death, as a commander of an army, one not only affects the outcome of a battle but also the lives and survival of so many people. Yu Wencheng suffered yet again in defeat and retreat, with such serious losses; it truly made one angry.

Seeing his face turn ashen, Shang Ruyi sighed and said softly, "Don’t be angry, given what’s happened, we need to consider how to continue the battle."

Yu Wenye glanced at her and shook his head: "It’s not yet time for that."

"Hmm?"

This left Shang Ruyi stunned, looking at him in surprise: "What do you mean?"

Given Yu Wencheng’s defeat in this battle, shouldn’t the focus be on reinforcements for continued attacks on Luoyang, changing commanders or simply retreating?

He said, it’s not yet time, could there be something else to do?

While Shang Ruyi wondered and was about to ask him, suddenly someone hurriedly walked in from outside. She looked up and saw that it was Eunuch Yu, whose expression carried weight and a hint of panic. After entering, he saluted both of them and said, "Greetings, Prince Qin and Princess Qin. Prince Qin, the Emperor orders you to immediately go to Xuanzheng Hall for an audience."

Shang Ruyi’s heart sank.

Yes, at this moment she finally realized—someone must take responsibility for this defeat!

And Yu Wencheng is definitely not going to admit the failure was his fault!