The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1036 - 1036 498 Siege (First Update)

Chapter 1036: 498 Siege (First Update) Chapter 1036: 498 Siege (First Update) The news of Yuegu City going to war has been around for more than a day or two. Those civilians who could flee have fled, and those who could not have hoarded rice and grain at home. The rice and grain shops were bought out early on, and Gu Chengfeng was just lucky. The first shop he encountered happened to have a stockpile. The rest barely had enough for their own consumption.

Gu Chengfeng walked down the deserted streets with his head hanging low.

As the legitimate son of the Marquis Residence, when had he ever worried about his clothing, food, shelter, and transportation?

A single meal of exquisite delicacies cost no less than five taels of silver, yet that was the ration for several hundred soldiers for one day.

“Teacher Hu, are you really unable to find any other places to buy rice?” Gu Chengfeng asked dejectedly.

Teacher Hu caught the look on Gu Chengfeng’s face and let out a long sigh, “We’ve been to all the shops with grain, this is all we could get.”

Without saying so, the next step would be to go door to door collecting contributions, something Teacher Hu left unsaid.

He had come to realize that these two young lords were different from the imperial envoys of the past; they wouldn’t forcefully requisition the common folk’s possessions.

“How long can our food supply last?” Gu Chengfeng asked.

“This…” After silently calculating for a moment, Teacher Hu said, “If we cut down to one meal a day, it’ll last two days.”

Gu Chengfeng murmured, “But my older brother won’t arrive for another four days.”

And they couldn’t cut down meals.

They were soldiers sworn to protect their country. How could they let them go into battle on an empty stomach?

Not to mention that the Zhan Country’s army wouldn’t be attacking the city these few days. They were already at the gates, so why wouldn’t they seize the opportunity to capture Yuegu City instead of waiting for his brother to arrive and obliterate them all?

While they were talking, they returned to the barracks near the City Tower, bringing the supply cart with them.

Gu Chengfeng walked with his head down, not looking ahead, and Teacher Hu did the same.

Suddenly, a soldier accompanying them shouted out loud, “My Lords! Teacher Hu! Look over there!”

Gu Chengfeng and Teacher Hu followed the soldier’s pointing hand, looking over at the kitchen near the barracks. At the door of the kitchen, piles of oddly-shaped wrapped bundles had appeared from nowhere. Some bundles were tightly packed, making it impossible to see their contents, while others were loosely tied, visibly containing rice, grain, or steamed buns.

There were even corn cobs, leafy greens, doughy buns, flatbreads, bacon, chicken eggs… all straightforwardly packed in sieves and winnowing baskets.

As Gu Chengfeng was trying to figure out what was going on, he saw several civilians each carrying a few small bags of white flour and cornmeal over.

They placed the flour on the ground and left without a word.

The little boy who had spoken with Gu Chengfeng earlier also came.

He and his mother arrived together, with his mother setting down a few freshly baked sweet potatoes. He seemed to want to contribute something as well but, after rummaging through his little pockets, couldn’t find anything to offer.

In the end, after some thought, he took out a piece of sesame candy he had been eating, reluctantly licked off his saliva, and, with a sense of reluctant courage, placed it on one of the sweet potatoes.

This was a treat he only got to enjoy during the New Year.

But now, with war looming and uncertainty about survival, his parents had given it to him early.

It was the best that he could offer.

Gu Chengfeng’s eyes suddenly grew warm.

These were the people of Zhan Country that his grandfather and older brother swore to protect. And it wasn’t just the military officers who were protecting civilians; the common folk were also protecting them in their own way.

Protecting an army, keeping a city safe.

Outside the city walls, the Zhan Country’s army had already started preparing siege towers and battering rams needed to attack the city, and because of the moat, they had to prepare several pontoon bridges as well.

The pontoon bridges were quickly being assembled, and the siege towers were also being hastily constructed.

Tang Yueshan watched their manpower and progress, estimating that by tomorrow night they would be ready.

Just as there were military machines for attacking, there were also those for defense. Not only were blacksmiths in the city conscripted to forge armor and weapons, but carpenters were also summoned by Tang Yueshan. Their main task was to lead the soldiers in constructing battering rams, stone dropping devices, and rolling logs.

The battering ram was a piece of military equipment used to counter siege towers, with a ramming pole tied to a frame, capable of destroying or knocking down a siege tower when it approached.

In addition, there were fire oil and arrows.

There was no need for the city’s carpenters to make arrows, as the archers from the Tang Family could do it themselves. It was one of their basic skills after all. In other countries, archers didn’t need to know how to make their own arrows, which is why the Tang Family’s archers were famous across the six nations.

Once Tang Yueshan had completed the deployment of his forces, he began a silent wait for dawn to arrive.

It was a sleepless night, for both the Zhan Country’s army and the invading forces.

As the first light of dawn touched the horizon, all the necessary preparations were almost complete. They had only seven thousand troops, less than five thousand of which were regular forces.

The Zhan Country’s army numbered a solid twenty thousand regular troops, resulting in a huge disparity in strength. This was a battle to the death.

But just as Gu Chengfeng had said, even if it meant fighting to the last man, they must hold this city.

The cost might be the lives of these seven thousand soldiers, including Tang Yueshan’s own life.

“Grand Marshal of the Tang Family.”

The dazzling daylight filtered in through the gaps in the tent door, accompanied by two newly appointed deputy generals of Tang Yueshan, both of whom were returning with completed orders.

“Is everything ready?” Tang Yueshan asked.

Deputy General Cen saluted and said, “Reporting to my lord, the battering rams, rolling logs, and rockfalls have all been readied and moved up to the city tower.”

“Good.” Tang Yueshan nodded before turning to look at Deputy General Li.

Deputy General Li also saluted and said, “The weapons and armor have also been forged to completion.”

“Let the military officers rest,” Tang Yueshan said, pausing for a moment before adding, “Have a good meal, and prepare for battle tonight.”

The two deputies exchanged a complex look, saluted, and responded in unison, “Yes!”

Deputy General Cen left first. Deputy General Li, presenting a new suit of armor with hands cupped, offered it to Tang Yueshan, “This is the armor you requested.”

Tang Yueshan’s gaze fell on the shiny new and cold armor. He raised his hand and gently touched it, “Good.”

Gu Jiao had been busy all night in the tent for treating the wounded soldiers. When the doctors in the city heard there was a shortage of hands, they spontaneously came over. Like Gu Jiao, they had been on their feet all night without sleep.

After treating the last round of wounded soldiers, all the doctors were exhausted.

The doctors were too tired to go home to rest and ended up falling asleep on the tables.

Gu Jiao sat on the ground, holding her Red-Tasseled Spear in her arms, leaning against the tent pole. It wasn’t long before she too fell asleep.

She was woken by the heat, only to find an unusually thick robe had been draped over her—it was Gu Chengfeng’s.

She removed the robe, stretched her legs, straightened up, and began to rub her somewhat sore neck and lower back.

When she touched something cool at her lower back, she blinked oddly and turned to look, discovering a suit of armor placed beside her.

“Hmm, whose armor is this?” she murmured.

Hu Dongqiang entered the tent carrying a pot of brewed medicine. Seeing Gu Jiao, his eyes lit up, “My lord! You’re awake! Great, I’ve prepared the medicinal soup you instructed me to make. Shall I wake the patient and feed it to him?”

“Yes, feed him,” Gu Jiao said.

“Right away!” Hu Dongqiang went to wake the wounded soldier who needed the medicine.

“Whose armor is this?” Gu Jiao asked him.

“Yours, I guess?” Hu Dongqiang suggested.

“Mine?” Gu Jiao blinked.

Hu Dongqiang speculated, “Last night, the blacksmiths in the city worked through the night repairing and forging armor for the military officers. Perhaps they made one for you as well.”

Gu Jiao uttered a sound of realization, stood up and tried it on.

It fit quite well.

She also put on the helmet and checked her reflection in front of the water tank.

Hm.

Nice-looking.

Gu Jiao shook her little head!

Yuegu City was strategically located, treacherous with mountains on three sides. Under circumstances where strength did not need to be considered, the easiest approach was a frontal assault.

The large army of 20,000 from Zhan Country would naturally not fear the few thousand soldiers of Yuegu City; it was an utterly straightforward crushing force.

The highest-ranking officer leading the troops this time was Rong Yao’s youngest son, Rong Fu.

Governor Cheng had heard news that Rong Yao would lead the troops himself, but in fact, Rong Yao had only escorted the large army out of Ye City. The real commander leading the troops was his youngest son, Rong Fu.

In Gu Jiao’s dream, Rong Yao only hastened to commit a massacre in the city after Rong Fu had been shot dead by someone.

And it wasn’t a Tang Family archer who had shot Rong Fu, but a very ordinary guard. That guard’s archery was never accurate, and even he was dumbfounded when he hit Rong Fu.

Rong Fu was even more dumbfounded.

Rong Fu was as famous as Gu Changqing, both of them were military officers who had become renowned when they were young, and their ages were not far apart.

This battle was crucial for Rong Fu, he was determined to win.

Gu Jiao was not sure if Rong Fu would still be shot dead. After all, many things had changed: Tang Yueshan’s troops had entered the city, she and Gu Chengfeng had also entered the city, and the guard who had once shot Rong Fu might have already been assigned to other posts by Tang Yueshan. The attack and defense strategies of Zhan Country had also become somewhat different from the dream.

At dusk, Rong Fu ordered the assault on the city.

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