Shen Yanzhi glanced in the direction where Lin Yao was, unexpectedly meeting eyes with Chu Chengji.

Sometimes, a contest between men only required a single glance.

For the first time in his life, Shen Yanzhi knew what it felt like to suffer a complete defeat.

He sneered, “Even my sister, heavily pregnant, can be brought to this battlefield. Truly, it’s the style of the Crown Prince.”

An Yuanqing immediately retorted angrily, “It’s clearly you who abducted my wife and family first…”

“Brother, I came here voluntarily. No one forced me,” Shen Chan suddenly spoke up, her eyes full of pity as she looked at Shen Yanzhi on the city tower, tears streaming down her face. “What you’re doing today, brother, isn’t it the same as when Li Xin and Prince Rong threatened my life in exchange for your surrender? Don’t continue down this wrong path, brother!”

An Yuanqing’s scolding voice instantly softened, and the eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers both on and off the city tower fell on the fragile figure of the woman.

Qin Zheng hadn’t expected Shen Chan to speak such words directly in front of both armies.

She looked at Shen Chan with some surprise, but unsurprisingly saw a trace of sorrow and determination on her face.

The sneer on Shen Yanzhi’s lips slightly faded as he looked at Shen Chan, his dark eyes seeming somewhat hollow.

He slowly commanded his subordinates, “Open the city gates and release An Yuanqing’s family.”

The deputy general beside him hesitated for a moment, but seeing Shen Yanzhi’s expression, he dared not voice any objections and ordered his men to escort An Yuanqing’s family off the city tower.

With the city gates wide open, the deputy general and several Chen soldiers shouted to An Yuanqing’s family, “We’ll release the An family, but you must send Lady Shen back to us intact.”

As soon as the deputy general finished speaking, several soldiers pushed An Yuanqing’s family forward.

The An family members, who had just been rescued, hurried to reunite with An Yuanqing, who rushed forward with tears in his eyes.

Qin Zheng said to Shen Chan, “Go with your brother.”

Shen Chan turned around, bowed gracefully to Qin Zheng, and forced a smile, “Today we part, and who knows when we will meet again, Sister Zheng. I hope you’ll be happy every year and worry-free.”

With that, she was assisted by two maidservants towards the gate of Wucheng.

Qin Zheng watched Shen Chan’s retreating figure, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Both sides had exchanged “hostages.”

After the deputy general of the Chen army entered the city, he quickly closed the city gates.

An Yuanqing reunited with his family, but Chu Chengji had not yet ordered the attack on the city.

Qin Zheng turned her head to look at him, and the black and gold Chu flag behind him fluttered.

From this angle, it seemed as if it was connected to his dark cloak.

Chu Chengji seemed to sense something, and as he lowered his eyes, they met Qin Zheng’s gaze, everything conveyed without a word.

In front of tens of thousands of soldiers, Shen Chan took the initiative to say that she had come voluntarily to persuade Shen Yanzhi, which helped Chu Chengji maintain his reputation.

After all, although they knew Shen Chan had come voluntarily, the ordinary soldiers didn’t know.

If news of this battle spread, people would only suspect that they were retaliating tit for tat, capturing Shen Yanzhi’s sister to force him to surrender An Yuanqing’s family.

Shen Chan sold them this favor, probably wanting to plead for Shen Yanzhi’s life.

Lin Yao approached on horseback and asked Chu Chengji, “Your Highness, when shall we attack the city?”

Chu Chengji looked at An Yuanqing, who was reuniting with his family on one side. “General An, after an incense stick’s worth of time, lead the troops to break through the gates of Wucheng. Do you have any objections?”

An Yuanqing, who harbored deep hatred for Shen Yanzhi, immediately replied, “I obey orders!”

Lin Yao, who had planned for so long how to attack Wucheng, looked a bit resentful as Chu Chengji delegated this task to someone else.

But upon second thought, he understood Chu Chengji’s intentions.

The An family had suffered a great loss under Shen Yanzhi’s command, so it was only right for An Yuanqing to personally vent his anger.

Attacking the city after an incense stick’s worth of time was probably also considering Shen Yanzhi’s sister.

**

After entering the city, Shen Chan looked at Shen Yanzhi standing below the corner tower and called out with red eyes, “Brother.”

Shen Yanzhi didn’t look at her, only instructing Chen Qin, who was following behind him, “Escort Lady Shen away.”

With that, he directly led his soldiers past Shen Chan, intending to go up to the city tower.

Shen Chan stood frozen in place, tears streaming down her face.

She turned around and shouted loudly at Shen Yanzhi, “Brother!”

Shen Yanzhi’s footsteps hesitated for a moment, but soon he continued forward with his soldiers.

Shen Chan choked back tears and asked loudly, “Brother, do you no longer want me?”

Shen Yanzhi’s back stiffened as he climbed several steps of the platform.

His voice sounded hoarse as he replied, “Leave Wucheng first. When the battle in Wucheng is over, I will come find you.”

Even with the remnants of the army, Wucheng had only about ten thousand soldiers.

With the city’s granary burned and no supplies for days, how long could the remaining provisions last?

Facing the determined revenge of the Yongzhou army outside the city and the high morale of the Chu army, there was almost no chance of victory.

Even though Shen Chan didn’t understand military strategy, she could see that Wucheng’s forces were clearly inferior.

She pleaded, “Brother, please leave with me, okay?”

Shen Yanzhi reluctantly closed his eyes and didn’t turn back. “Chen Qin, why haven’t you escorted Lady Shen away yet?”

Chen Qin, who remained below the city, bowed to Shen Chan. “Lady, let me escort you to a safe place first.”

Shen Chan looked at Shen Yanzhi’s back, unable to stop her tears.

She pushed aside Chen Qin, who stood in her way, and hurried to catch up with Shen Yanzhi.

She grabbed onto the hem of his clothes, stubbornly saying, “If you don’t go, then I won’t go either.”

The hand clutching Shen Yanzhi’s clothes was pale and weak, just like when Shen Chan, only five years old, timidly clung to her brother’s clothes in the funeral hall after the death of Prince Rong’s consort their mother, as if holding onto her only support in this life.

Shen Yanzhi said hoarsely, “Chan’er, listen to me.”

Shen Chan cried in a miserable state, her eyes red and swollen. “Brother, you’re the only family I have in this world! Will you leave with me, please?”

Shen Yanzhi exhaled a long breath, looking at Shen Chan, his eyes also tinged with redness. “The matter between me and the former Crown Prince of Chu will be settled sooner or later.”

Shen Chan shook her head while crying, “Brother, please let go of Sister Zheng. Sister Zheng is doing well now, so please don’t disturb her anymore…

With the change of regime in Bianjing and the decline of Great Chu, after this disaster of the country’s demise, you’ve already avenged the Crown Prince.

What else is there between you? Brother, Li Xin is our biggest enemy! The Li family still sits firmly on the Dragon Throne in Bianjing.

By fighting to the death with the Crown Prince in Wucheng, aren’t you playing into Li Xin’s hands? “

As she gripped Shen Yanzhi’s clothes, her knuckles turned white from exertion.

Under the fluctuating emotions, her complexion also inexplicably turned somewhat pale.

A panicked voice came from the city tower, “Young Master! The Yongzhou army is preparing to attack the city!”

Shen Yanzhi’s face turned dark.

Just as he was about to pull Shen Chan’s hand away, Shen Chan suddenly couldn’t hold on anymore and collapsed as if her strength had completely drained away.

“Lady!”

“Chan’er!”

The two maidservants who had been taking care of Shen Chan hurried forward to help, but Shen Yanzhi quickly grabbed Shen Chan to prevent her from falling off the steps.

One of the maidservants who was supporting Shen Chan noticed some spotted blood on the ground and screamed, “Blood! There’s blood on the ground!”

The other maid panicked as she looked at the hem of Shen Chan’s skirt and exclaimed, “Milady is bleeding!”

Shen Yanzhi’s face changed drastically.

Without caring about the battle on the city tower, he carried Shen Chan and hurried back. “Medic! Where’s the medic?”

The deputy general caught up and asked, “Young Master, what about the city gate?”

Without looking back, Shen Yanzhi said, “Withdraw the troops!”

The deputy general also knew that their side was at a disadvantage against the Chu army, and with the city’s granary burned and supplies running out, if they fought hard, it would be no different from sending themselves to die.

Therefore, after Shen Yanzhi ordered to “withdraw the troops,” the deputy general breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ordered the army, “Retreat from Wucheng!”

After the Chen army voluntarily withdrew, An Yuanqing led the Yongzhou army and soon captured the city gate.

The civilians in the city were like startled birds, with every household tightly closed, not daring to go out.

Chu Chengji left Lin Yao in charge of the garrison in Wucheng, helping Qin Zheng to reissue decrees for governance, while he himself continued towards Yicheng with An Yuanqing.

Previously, they had burned the granary in Yicheng and then withdrew.

Since the front-line battle with the Chen army hadn’t yet been determined, taking Yicheng would only further divide their forces and weaken their main army.

Now that the Chen army had retreated to Zhuzhou, retaking Yicheng would be like taking something out of a pocket.

Song Heqing, who had previously guarded Qingzhou, fell ill after days of hard work.

Qin Zheng didn’t want to see him, at his age, follow her around everywhere.

She took over the government’s management of the cities of Wucheng and Yicheng, as well as the salt and tea business, both large and small matters, all handled by herself.

Because of her experience in governing Qingzhou and reading many books on market management in Xuzhou, she was now quite adept at handling these matters.

With the foundation of the former Chu still in place, every time they reclaimed lost territory, the most important thing was to win the hearts of the people, and they had to implement benevolent policies.

Li Xin had originally marched from Qixian all the way to Bianjing, burning, killing, and plundering.

One reason was that the army lacked money and food, and the other was to let a group of lowly followers taste the sweetness of victory.

Human desires are endless.

Those poor peasants who had been oppressed at the bottom for years tasted the sweetness of success.

In order to obtain more power, they would work even harder to help Li Xin conquer the world.

So, Li Xin’s army at the time was a collection of various desires, like a torrential flood, which fiercely impacted the decayed former Chu dynasty.

Now, those who followed Li Xin had all divided up their own interests.

Suddenly jumping from the lowest level to the highest, their greed for pleasure far exceeded that of the corrupt officials in former Chu.

From the moment they captured Bianjing, Li Xin’s army had actually lost its edge.

A vicious dog is only the fiercest when it is hungry. Once it is full, it loses the initial ferocity.

After sitting on the throne, Li Xin saw that the people who had followed him to conquer the world had become insatiably greedy one by one.

He realized that after conquering this land, he still had to find a way to hold onto it.

Therefore, he tried his best to use the old officials of Great Chu, trying every means to build his own reputation in order to consolidate his rule.

At first, perhaps the common people were also looking forward to Li Xin overthrowing the former Chu dynasty, but after witnessing the uncontrolled burning, killing, and looting of Li Xin’s army, they had a choice after seeing the comparison.

Obviously, the regime established by Li Xin was even more despicable than the former Chu.

At this time, Chu Chengji appeared under the banner of restoring the former Crown Prince of Chu, implementing benevolent policies, and loving the people like his own children.

Naturally, the people would turn their backs on them.

After capturing each city, Chu Chengji repeatedly ordered his soldiers to abide by military regulations and not to oppress or plunder the local people.

Qin Zheng then consulted with the ministers to formulate a series of policies to benefit the people.

Wucheng and Qingzhou, like cities in the plains, were suitable for the vigorous development of agriculture and sericulture.

In governing Wucheng, Qin Zheng almost directly copied some of the policies from Qingzhou, with some minor adjustments based on the actual situation in Wucheng.

However, unlike the cities previously captured like Qingzhou and Xuzhou, Wucheng and Yicheng had been heavily depleted during these months of war, with the government treasury empty and the granaries depleted.

The economic foundation was too poor, and they had to rely on downstream Qingzhou to lend a hand.

In order to encourage the people to cultivate the land, besides exempting land taxes, seeds and land were also distributed.

Qin Zheng was just thinking about how to quickly make Wucheng and Yicheng prosperous when trouble arose in Zhuzhou.