Chapter 107: Night Raid, Recapture Li City

"He Liancheng this beast slaughtered all the defenders of Li City and now even spares no unarmed civilians, he’s simply not human!"

When Shen Qianmo received the news and hurried to the strategy hall, she heard Cao Xun cursing loudly inside.

In the hall, Wen Ren Yuan, Yun Yi, and the other generals were likewise filled with righteous indignation.

Upon seeing Shen Qianmo enter, they all saluted her in unison. “Greetings to the Princess Consort Xuan.”

Shen Qianmo nodded, indicated without further pleasantries, and asked directly, “How are the citizens of Li City?”

Cao Xun sighed deeply, his tone heavy with pain. “After the Northern Di army launched a massive assault on Li City, few civilians remain, and they are mostly the elderly, weak, women, and children. The thirty citizens killed today were all old people and children, some of them only five or six years old. He Liancheng this beast, what is he trying to accomplish?”

Recalling the thirty heads hung bloodily on the city tower, Cao Xun felt his blood surge. He wished he could rush to He Liancheng at once and chop him down.

He is straightforward, open-minded, and cannot abide crooked and evil means. When two armies clash, each for their own cause, they should fight fairly and let strength decide. Soldiers may kill bloodily and die on the battlefield, but how can civilians be so innocent that they must be attacked?

“Could it be that yesterday’s battle, the Eagle lost to the Flying Cloud Knights, losing face and nursing a grudge, so venting his anger on Li City citizens?” a general speculated.

After much thought, it seemed that must be the reason.

“If so, he could have slaughtered every citizen of Li City at once. Why kill thirty each day and even fear we do not know, hanging their heads to display, all this elaborate trouble?”

Yun Yi frowned, thinking it over, and voiced his doubts.

Indeed, why did He Liancheng kill a few civilians so grandly?

Everyone exchanged glances, then all turned their heads toward Shen Qianmo, who sat quietly on the main seat.

Shen Qianmo’s brows furrowed slightly as she spoke slowly. “If venting anger is not He Liancheng’s goal, then his high-profile killings have only one possibility: using the citizens of Li City as hostages to force us to attack the city quickly.”

“He Liancheng must have set traps in Li City long ago, waiting for us to deliver ourselves to him like catching turtles in a jar.”

Yun Yi gave a cold laugh. “I never expected He Liancheng to be so vicious!”

If that were the case, rashly attacking Li City would only fall into his trap.

In fact, they needed only hold Jin Yang Pass for three more days. After three days, whether it was Meng Yuan Heng or the Meng family army from Jingshou, they would all arrive. Then recapturing Li City would give them several times the advantage.

But these past days, were they to stand by and watch the innocent citizens of Li City die in vain?

Should they attack Li City or not?

For a moment, everyone’s gaze turned once more to Shen Qianmo.

Shen Qianmo knew they were all waiting for her decision.

Since she had taken command of the troops in Meng Yuan Heng’s stead, the decision was hers to make.

Yet this was no small matter; it concerned the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers in Jin Yang Pass and the Flying Cloud Knights.

Shen Qianmo’s brows furrowed slightly. After a long pause, she uttered one resolute word.

“Attack.”

If it had been Ah Heng, would he have made the same decision? Shen Qianmo gripped the blue-green porcelain cup tightly, recalling that decisive man, her eyes gradually brightening.

This brief, firm declaration sent the blood of Wen Ren Yuan, Cao Xun, and the other generals boiling.

The soldier’s duty is to protect the nation and its people. If they watch civilians slaughtered while cowering behind the walls of Jin Yang Pass, how can they deserve the title of “soldier”?

Li City, even if it is a dragon’s den and tiger’s lair, they must charge.

Once the decision was made, action followed.

Wen Ren Yuan and Cao Xun were veteran generals, far more experienced in sieges than most. Shen Qianmo listened quietly to their plans and offered no objections.

All was ready. As night fell, the assault on Li City began in earnest.

One hundred thousand Northern Di troops faced them, while they had at most half that number.

Numbers were so uneven; this night raid must succeed through surprise and strike at the enemy’s heart.

They divided into three routes. The middle route, led by Yun Yi with over a hundred shadow guards from Yun Lian Mountain Villa as vanguard, would infiltrate Li City silently, set fire to the granaries first to create chaos, then kill any who resisted and cut down the enemy command banner to shake their morale. The left route, led by Wen Ren Yuan with twenty thousand elite Flying Cloud Knights; the right route, led by Cao Xun with twenty thousand troops from Jin Yang Pass. They would use the fire as signal and coordinate left and right for a dual assault. The remaining ten thousand Flying Cloud Knights and the fifty thousand imperial troops brought by Yao Wen Tao would remain to garrison Jin Yang Pass, guarding against any feint by He Liancheng.

The night was heavy, the wind howling. Yun Yi led his shadow guards forward like ghosts, silent and traceless, merging with the darkness.

Shen Qianmo, cloaked, stood on the high city wall of Jin Yang Pass, gazing toward Li City in the distance.

Rumbling sounds drifted faintly, like muffled thunder, shaking the desolate earth beyond Jin Yang Pass.

Then a pillar of fire erupted skyward, instantly tearing the black night asunder and illuminating Shen Qianmo’s steady gaze.

This was the signal for the general assault!

At that moment, Wen Ren Yuan and Cao Xun had already led their forty thousand elite cavalry in a fierce charge on Li City.

Driven by the wind, the distant fire grew stronger until it blazed into a raging inferno.

The thunder of hooves, the clash of blades, the ringing of weapons, the screams of the dying—all reached their ears. Shen Qianmo seemed to smell the thick scent of blood in the air.

One could only imagine how fierce and tragic this battle would be.

This night was destined to be sleepless, a night of slaughter.

Shen Qianmo stood motionless on the city tower, enduring a full night in silence.

As dawn approached, scattered snowflakes drifted down through the mist, lending a touch of beauty to the dark walls of Jin Yang Pass.

Border snow always arrives early.

Green Bamboo stood nearby, her voice soft. “Miss, it’s almost light. I wonder how General Wen Ren and Lord Yun are faring?”

“Worried about Xue Hao?” Shen Qianmo asked with a faint smile.

“Miss… you’re teasing your servant again!” Green Bamboo’s pretty egg-shaped face flushed with embarrassment.

Shen Qianmo turned and helped adjust her cloak. “In the future, stop calling yourself my servant. I have never treated you as one.”

“Miss…” Green Bamboo’s voice caught, eyes brimming with grateful tears.

How fortunate she was to have such a good master in this life.

At that moment, one rider approached from afar at a gallop, soon reaching beneath the city tower.

It was Xue Hao!

He looked up and reported loudly, “Your Highness, Li City has been recaptured.”

Recapturing Li City had proved surprisingly easy.

The Flying Cloud Knights had taken the city in one night, forcing the one hundred thousand Northern Di troops to retreat thirty miles to Yangyang Valley outside Jin Yang Pass and set up camp.

After a night of fierce fighting, the streets of Li City were scorched and blackened by fire and smoke, leaving the already dilapidated old city trembling on the brink of collapse. Shen Qianmo walked through the rubble-strewn lanes, the sight desolate and mournful.

At the largest mansion in Li City, He Liancheng had taken temporary shelter.

Crossing the high threshold, she found the courtyard in disarray, furniture overturned.

The secluded back courtyard held the study. It was nearly empty, containing only desk, chairs, and bookshelves.

Clearly He Liancheng had cleared everything before fleeing.

In the corner beneath the desk lay a wastepaper basket. Years of investigating crime scenes had ingrained the habit; Shen Qianmo bent down instinctively and picked up a crumpled scrap of paper.

Unfolding it, she saw only three words:

Shen Qianmo.

The strokes were bold and slashing, each one piercing the paper, while the final stroke of the character “Mo” thickened dramatically, the dot stabbing through the edge as if to declare the writer’s boundless fury and hatred.

Green Bamboo, though not highly literate, recognized her miss’s name at once.

She covered her mouth and cried softly, “Miss, why would He Liancheng write your name?”

Shen Qianmo stared at the firm, powerful characters, then smiled faintly.

“He must hate me to the bone.”

Yun Yi said worriedly, “Qianmo, He Liancheng is ruthless and cunning. If he holds a grudge, you must take extra care.”

Shen Qianmo nodded to Wen Ren Yuan. “General Wen Ren, keep the soldiers cautious in Li City. He Liancheng’s elaborate plan to lure us here must mean something.”

“Understood.” Wen Ren Yuan’s upright face was grave.

The battle had gone far too smoothly. It was clearly He Liancheng’s scheme.

But what trap he had laid in Li City remained a mystery to them for now.