Cen Yi said, “The food and supplies in the inner city of Beicang Pass are only stored according to the old practices of previous years. This battle came too suddenly, and we didn’t expect it to last so long; moreover—”
When Cen Yi said this, snow was falling outside the window. Only he, Cen Yelan, and Yuan Zheng were in the room. Cen Yi had come to discuss business with Cen Yelan, but he didn’t expect Yuan Zheng to also be there, lying lazily on the couch reading a military book. The gyrfalcon stood on the screen frame with high spirits, looking quite majestic.
Cen Yi glanced at Yuan Zheng in surprise. Cen Yelan had a cold and serious personality and usually disliked reckless young men.
Yuan Zheng is a member of the royal family after all, and the position of the Eastern Palace is still vacant. There are voices in the court calling for the establishment of a crown prince. If Yuan Zheng had not acted so absurdly, based on the emperor’s preference for him, he would have moved into the Eastern Palace long ago. The Cen family lives in a remote corner and has never been involved in the disputes in the court. Cen Yelan strictly abides by the Cen family’s rules and has no choice but to avoid Yuan Zheng. How could he be so close to him?
His thoughts passed in just a moment, and Cen Yi’s eyes swept from Cen Yelan’s calm face. He put down the teacup. Maybe it was because he drank the tea, his lips looked exceptionally rosy.
Yuan Zheng asked, “Moreover what?”
Cen Yi hesitated for a moment and said, “Ah Lan has led troops to help and is now trapped in Beicang Pass, which is also a huge expense. Although Beicang Pass is an important town, it will not be able to hold out for a long time either without help.”
Cen Yelan said, “Yan Le has been planning this carefully, I’m afraid it’s all for this day.”
Cen Yi sighed and said helplessly, “He first used me to lure Ah Lan to Beicang, then cut off the food supply route and seized Heshan Prefecture, which is closest to Beicang, in order to put us in an isolated and helpless situation.”
Cen Yelan did not speak. Yuan Zheng frowned and said, “If we transport food and supplies from Hanzhou to Beicang…”
“If Hanzhou wants to transport food and supplies to Beicang Pass, no matter how long the journey is, it must pass through the food supply road. By then, I’m afraid that the food supply will be intercepted by Shu Dan before it even arrives.”
“What about Hedong?”
Cen Yi pondered and said, “Hedong and Shangdan Prefecture… Hedong is now too busy to take care of itself, I’m afraid that by the time the food and supplies are transported over—”
What he said was cryptic, but Yuan Zheng was perceptive and understood a little. He frowned even more tightly and said, “Things have their own priorities. Do you think Si Shaoying dares to cause trouble and delay the battle?”
Cen Yi said, “Your Highness, the border of Dayan is divided into four regions, and the four regions are mutually restraining. If Hedong wants to interfere in the war on the northern border, they need to petition His Majesty.”
Yuan Zheng laughed angrily, “The Hu people will already break through the gates if we wait until the memorial is delivered, one pass after another. What’s the point of fighting?”
“Now send a letter to Si Shaoying.” Yuan Zheng said without question, “I will take care of everything if things happen.”
Cen Yi looked at Cen Yelan but found that Cen Yelan was looking at Yuan Zheng. He retracted his gaze and nodded. Cen Yi said, “Yes, Your Highness.”
After Cen Yi left, Yuan Zheng felt that this was more and more ridiculous, and couldn’t help but say, “What a broken rule.”
Cen Yelan didn’t care. This was a drawback left over from the border of Dayan for many years. In the early years, the defense army was self-reliant and intended to rebel. After so many years, the roots were intertwined, and it became deeper.
It’s not that the emperor doesn’t want to change it, but one move would affect the entire body, and it even involves military affairs. The sky is high and the earth is far away1It’s an idiom that describes being very far apart, so he dares not move lightly. Especially in recent years, the old general of the Hedong Division is old, and his three sons are all mediocre, far inferior to the northern border.
Hedong will not help them so easily.
Cen Yelan said, “In the early years, His Majesty and Adoptive Father intended to break the status quo on the border, but the results were minimal. Later, Adoptive Father passed away, and the matter was left unresolved.”
Yuan Zheng sat cross-legged and, throwing the military book aside, said, “The accumulated problems cannot be solved overnight. I will bring this matter up to my emperor father after I return to the capital.”
Cen Yelan glanced at him and hummed.
Yuan Zheng looked at Cen Yelan, raised his hand, and waved to the gyrfalcon standing on the screen, and called out, “General Xiao Cen.”
The gyrfalcon came closer, folded its wings, and stood on the small tea table next to Yuan Zheng.
Yuan Zheng talked to it: “Tsk, General Xiao Cen; look, how can there be such a person who doesn’t even say thank you after receiving a favor from others?”
Cen Yelan listened to him calling ‘General Xiao Cen’ and expressionlessly said, “The gyrfalcon is an eagle that roams the heavens, and you imprisoned it in this small space.”
Yuan Zheng smiled and said, “I never imprisoned it. The place I stay is vast and free, so it can fly freely.” He turned around and asked the gyrfalcon, “Is that right, General Xiao Cen?”
Cen Yelan’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, “Nonsense.”
Yuan Zheng laughed and said, “General Cen ah, why do you keep repeating the same few words over and over again? I’m tired of hearing them even at the age of seven2Just a reminder that CYL and YZ met when they were younger.”
Cen Yelan looked at him in silence for a while and suddenly said, “Yuan Zheng, go back to the capital.”
Yuan Zheng was stunned for a moment, then jokingly asked, “Why, you don’t want your Seventh Prince to die?”
Cen Yelan ignored him and calmly said, “You are from a royal family. Once the Hu people know your identity, they will not give up easily.”
Yuan Zheng said, “So what? They are just barbarians.” He snorted and laughed, “Besides, there’s still you, Cen Yelan, at Beicang Pass. Is our Dayan’s God of War afraid?”
Cen Yelan said, “I’m not joking with you. Now is not the time to be a hero.”
Yuan Zheng smiled and said, “I’m not joking either.”
The two looked at each other, and Yuan Zheng said, “There is no royal family in Dayan that deserts the battlefield.”
“If I leave today, how can I face the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the border, and how can I face the people of the world? Should I let them know that the royal family they respect and defend is a coward who only dares to hide in the palace?”
Cen Yelan was speechless.
Seeing this, Yuan Zheng smiled again and said calmly, “Are you very touched?”
“You don’t have to be moved.” Yuan Zheng said nonchalantly, “I just can’t stand seeing others being so arrogant in front of me. If I don’t take off Yan Le’s head and just return to the capital in disgrace like this, won’t I become a laughing stock in the capital?”
Cen Yelan mocked, “Your Highness doesn’t feel itching anymore even when covered with lice3One doesn’t feel itching anymore even when covered with lice means to be pass worrying., so why do you care about this?”
Yuan Zheng said, “I care, of course I care. Is that right, General Xiao Cen?”
The gyrfalcon flapped its wings.
Cen Yelan was silent for a moment, then said, “…You are going to spoil this eagle.”
Yuan Zheng said seriously, “It won’t. General Xiao Cen is very patient.” He spoke the word softly, and it sounded like he was talking about General Cen. His eyes even flicked to Cen Yelan’s lips. Cen Yelan’s bitten lips seemed to be burning hot. He pinched the document in his hand again and again and almost threw it out.
Cen Yi’s document was sent out, like a stone sinking into the sea, without a sound.
Yan Le did not wait, and the offensive was extremely fierce. The snow in the air during those days carried a strong and pungent smell of blood. As Cen Yi said, the 100,000 troops in the city consumed a lot every day, and it was a cold season as well, so it was impossible to let the soldiers go to the battlefield on an empty stomach.
The two sides fought back and forth for several days, and the outcome was unclear, but the Hu people never retreated a single step, they were determined to take over Beicang Pass with all their might.
On the sixth day, Yan Le attacked the city at night and tied letters to arrows and threw them into the city. Each letter was full of inflammatory words, causing panic among the people in the city.
Beicang Pass is an important border town with a large population. After the war, most of the people left, but many still remained. They were sure that with Cen Yi and Cen Yelan, Beicang Pass would not be lost. The Cen family had guarded the border for a hundred years and was a well-deserved fortress of Dayan. Many people in the city worshipped the Cen family as gods, not to mention that it was an important place like Beicang Pass. They did not believe that the Hu people could cross the copper and iron wall and step into the city.
On the tenth day, the city was running out of food and supplies.
However, in just ten days, tens of thousands of soldiers defending the city were killed, suffering heavy losses.
Keluarga Cen yg sudah menjaga perbatasan selama 100tahun akan hancur kl ada pengkhianat di dalam.