The Child Emperor-Chapter 340: A Most Arduous Night to Endure

On the evening when the battle ended, Prince Donghai awakened with the lingering impression of a corpse falling from the sky still in his mind. He sat up abruptly, extending both hands to push it away, but grasped only empty air. His heart jumped in alarm, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

He sat on the bed, wearing clean clothes, with several places on his body aching unbearably as if he had been injured. But he had not died—he could still breathe and think, and could still feel both fear and joy.

“I’m not dead?”

“You’re dead. This is the underworld,” said a cold voice.

Prince Donghai was greatly startled. He turned his head and saw Cui Teng, his body stained with blood, staring at him with a serious expression. His heart jumped even more.

“We’re all dead. Come on, follow me to see the King of Hell so we can be reincarnated sooner,” Cui Teng said in a lowered voice, making it sound even more sinister.

Prince Donghai was not that foolish. His mind had been a bit muddled when he first awakened, but now he was completely alert. Looking at the clean bedding and clothes, he knew this was his bedroom in Prince Dai’s mansion, definitely not hell. Yet he was still frightened and broke out in another layer of cold sweat. “Get lost! Go die by yourself—I’m not following you.”

“Haha!” Cui Teng laughed heartily. He had come to visit Prince Donghai without even changing out of his armor, but seeing his cousin awaken, he could not help but joke around. “I’m gonna get a drink!”

Cui Teng left, and Prince Donghai’s anger gradually subsided. He slowly moved to the edge of the bed, wanting to get up and see if everything was normal with him. He had just put on his shoes when he saw the Emperor sitting in the corner. He froze completely. “Your Majesty…”

Han Ruzi stood up. “Rest well. I’ll go call someone.”

“Thank you, I… How long has Your Majesty been here?”

“Not long.” Han Ruzi had also not changed his clothes. He smiled at Prince Donghai and stepped toward the door.

“Your Majesty…” Prince Donghai had something to say but did not know what to say. “Did we hold the city?”

“Yes, we hold it for now. The Xiongnu Right Wise King is currently gathering troops. He’s now less than six miles from the city—he might attack tonight.”

“He must be furious.”

Han Ruzi nodded and walked out of the room, letting Prince Donghai’s attendants enter while he went to meet with the generals outside. He still had many things to do.

Jincheng had not been breached after all, but the losses were severe—nearly half the defenders were casualties. After the relief forces entered, the defending strength had not increased but actually decreased. The army led by Feng Shili had also retreated with great difficulty, constantly pursued by furious Xiongnu forces, their situation unclear.

The Imperial Guard troops who had come to rescue the Emperor suffered especially heavy losses. They had arrived with over two thousand men, but only seven or eight hundred entered the city alive. General Chao Hua had died in battle, and Eunuch Cai Xinghai knelt begging for punishment. He now understood that he had been deceived and had nearly become the vanguard for the Xiongnu.

Of course Han Ruzi would not blame him. Without this relief force, the Right Wise King would still have found an excuse to attack the city. Moreover, he had obtained much news from the outside world through Cai Xinghai, which was crucial to him.

“I truly don’t understand what Yang Feng was thinking. How could he… how could he…” Cai Xinghai could not continue. He had heard about the situation in the Capital during the march and had no chance to question Yang Feng face to face.

Yang Feng had selected successors to the imperial throne—not just one, but two. One of them, Prince Ying, was still in rebel hands. Although this matter had never been officially announced, many people had heard of it and felt confused, even angry. Cai Xinghai was one of them.

But Han Ruzi immediately understood the purpose of this move. This way, the Great Chanyu could no longer attack the city and kill the Emperor. A living emperor could attract relief forces, while a dead emperor would be worthless and would only cause Great Chu to establish a new ruler.

As for establishing Prince Ying as an option, first it was to divide the Xiongnu and the Qi rebels, and second it was to prevent ministers from taking advantage of the chaos—even if someone wanted to quickly establish a new emperor, they would be unable to unite their forces because there were two choices.

“Do not doubt Lord Yang. His actions are entirely appropriate.” Han Ruzi breathed a great sigh of relief. The situation was still critical, but there was now some room for maneuvering.

Cai Xinghai had multiple wounds on his body. Seeing the Emperor so composed, he too calmed down, kowtowed, and asked to withdraw.

“When General Chao is buried, We will personally attend,” Han Ruzi reminded him.

“Yes.” Cai Xinghai withdrew.

Chao Hua was not a general of exceptional ability, nor had he achieved extraordinary merit, but he and those fishermen soldiers from south of the capital were of great significance to the Emperor. Han Ruzi had to personally see him off.

Fan Zhuangshan saved his life, but his injuries were too severe for him to continue commanding the city’s defense. Han Ruzi personally went to his bedside to comfort him, then summoned the surviving generals to arrange defensive matters.

If the Xiongnu truly launched a desperate attack tonight, Jincheng would be unable to defend itself. There were too few soldiers, and they were all extremely exhausted. Han Ruzi could only have the soldiers who had not participated in the battle mount the city walls, raise more banners, and carry more stones and defensive equipment, hoping to intimidate the Xiongnu.

These soldiers were mostly civilians, whose greatest use was merely creating an illusion of strength.

The surviving veterans were all ordered to rest.

The accompanying civil officials had also formed ranks in the streets awaiting battle, but had no opportunity to leave the city. Now they served as commanding generals on the walls, supervising the soldiers.

Han Ruzi himself did not rest, taking over a dozen guards to patrol everywhere. More than thirty guards had squeezed out through the city gates during the day and caught up with the fighting. Most had returned, and losses were not severe, but this had little impact on the situation. In a confrontation between two armies, it was indeed not the time for them to play a significant role.

The Xiongnu camp outside the city was brightly lit, as if preparing something. Han Ruzi climbed the walls to observe several times but could not think of any good strategy.

Cui Teng claimed he was going to drink, changed into clean armor, ate some food, and still came to find the Emperor. He was uninjured, full of energy, and dismissive of the imminent threat. “If the Xiongnu dare attack again, we’ll slaughter them all.”

Han Ruzi lacked such confidence and remained silent.

Meng E stepped forward from behind and said quietly, “When will Your Majesty have us leave the city?”

Cui Teng did not understand what the female guard was saying, but Han Ruzi was startled. Since nightfall, he had looked back at his guards three times. No one else had noticed, but Meng E had already guessed what he was thinking.

The greatest threat was not the Xiongnu army, but the Right Wise King. He wanted to attack the city for his own interests, and even more so to wash away the humiliation of having his concubine abducted. Killing him seemed the simplest method of defending the city.

Han Ruzi shook his head. “No, there’s no chance of success.”

“The chances are no less than defending the city with full force.” Meng E glanced back at the guards and continued, “We’ve discussed a plan that could utilize Hua Bin…”

“We?” Han Ruzi asked in surprise.

“Yes, we all think assassinating the Right Wise King is a feasible plan. Hua Bin brought ten people into the city from outside. We could leave the city with the same number, carrying a severed head and claiming it’s Your Majesty’s. As long as we can enter his tent…”

Han Ruzi still shook his head. The Right Wise King did not trust the Chu people and would never receive a group of pugilists without precautions. Even Deng Cui, who was most “favored,” had no opportunity to approach the Right Wise King alone.

“Does Your Majesty still wish to wait for reinforcements?”

The arrival of Feng Shili’s reinforcements had been somewhat within expectations, but now he was retreating all the way and could not turn back. As for the other two Chu armies, one was at Mayi City beyond the passes, and one was slowly approaching Yan. Neither could possibly come to rescue Jincheng, especially not tonight. Miracles could not happen consecutively.

A group of Xiongnu emerged from camp and formed ranks, apparently taking defensive positions. If they truly intended to attack the city, the Xiongnu would also need to use siege equipment. They had clearly learned from their previous lesson—defend first, then build siege engines.

“You… may prepare, but unless the Xiongnu actually attack the city, do not take action.”

“Yes.”

Meng E requested writing materials from the accompanying eunuch and asked the Emperor to write an imperial edict. She could select guards and also take away the imprisoned Hua Bin.

The guards were divided into two teams. One team was led away by Meng E, while the other remained under Wang He’s command, with the sole task of protecting the Emperor closely.

Whether Hua Bin agreed to this plan was unimportant. Regardless, he would have to leave the city with them.

The tunnel out of the city had been sealed. Meng E and the others could only wait behind the city gates. Once needed, they would immediately open the gates and charge out on horseback. As for whether they could gain the Xiongnu’s trust in time, that would have to be decided then—it was the first test they would face.

Han Ruzi led his men down from the walls. Since he was sending assassins, it was inappropriate for him to show himself on the battlements.

He settled in the military camp, where he could receive news from the walls at any time. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the assassination plan was unfeasible. Several times he wanted to recall Meng E and the others to his side. Once he even had Zhang Youcai prepare writing materials, but after picking up the brush, he set it down again.

There had never been a foolproof plan to begin with. Meng E was right—assassinating the Right Wise King was no more difficult than simply defending Jincheng. Every opportunity counted, and it was better than sitting around waiting for death.

Messages continued to arrive from the walls. The Xiongnu had erected more than ten siege engines and sent soldiers to clear the battlefield. It looked like they planned to attack at dawn—this time without excuses or stratagems, just a pure frontal assault.

In the latter half of the night, Cui Teng was overcome with exhaustion and found a tent in the camp to sleep in. Han Ruzi, however, continued reading by lamplight. With nothing else to do, he could only study books, hoping to find some confidence and strategies from the Founding Emperor’s experiences. But he couldn’t concentrate at all. The Founding Emperor’s experiences were completely different from the current situation and offered no lessons to draw upon.

Prince Donghai arrived. Liu Jie escorted him into the Emperor’s tent without announcement.

After glancing around, Prince Donghai asked, “Cui Teng isn’t here?”

“He went to rest. Did you sleep well?”

“Mm. I really don’t understand—how is that boy Cui Teng still so lively despite being covered in blood?”

“The bloodstains came from moving corpses. He didn’t have time to participate in the battle.”

“Heh.” Prince Donghai considered himself a hundred times cleverer than Cui Teng, yet he hadn’t expected to be fooled by him. “That guy…”

“He didn’t make it in time; he wasn’t deliberately avoiding battle.”

Prince Donghai believed Cui Teng wasn’t that cunning, but he still snorted coldly to show his disbelief, then said seriously, “The Xiongnu will attack the city at dawn?”

“It appears so.”

“Will there still be reinforcements?”

Han Ruzi was silent for a moment. “No.”

“Then there’s only one way to defend Jincheng.”

“Oh?”

Han Ruzi thought Prince Donghai had also considered assassination, but what he proposed was a different plan. “Appeal to the Great Chanyu for help.”

The Great Chanyu wanted peace talks, and the Right Wise King’s attack on the city was acting against orders. But there was one problem that couldn’t be resolved.

“The Great Chanyu isn’t outside the city, and the Xiongnu won’t let an envoy through.”

“Take a gamble. At dawn, have an envoy leave the city with great fanfare, declaring he wants to see the Great Chanyu. Let all the Xiongnu outside the city see it, and bet that the Right Wise King won’t dare directly disobey the Great Chanyu’s orders.”

“The Right Wise King dares to attack the city but won’t dare kill an envoy?”

“That’s why it’s a gamble. The Right Wise King is currently in a rage—we need to help him calm down.” Prince Donghai bit his lip and paused. “I’ll go.”

If you are reading this on an aggregator site, do consider visiting https://tuzhitranslations.wordpress.com/ to support this translation project by leaving a comment.

← CH 339