Chapter 149

Jin Kui was momentarily rendered speechless by Bai Qian’s words.

This woman’s methods always seemed a bit petty and underhanded, not in line with the grand strategies of a true general.

However, with Bo State currently weak, if they continued to engage Rong State in direct confrontations like before, they would be unable to withstand the assault.

At this point, they might as well treat a dead horse as if it were alive and abandon any sense of propriety!

By the time the Rong army had regrouped and reached Xie City of Bo State, it was already the second day.

After enduring a night of iron caltrops and falling boulders, the Rong army had not suffered a devastating blow, but they were in no condition to fight immediately.

They needed time to rest and reorganize before launching their next assault.

Moreover, with frost approaching, the Rong King intended to wait until the moat around Xie City froze before attacking.

Once the river turned to ice, it would become useless as a defensive barrier, allowing his troops to march across unimpeded.

The two armies remained in a standoff, but the Rong King’s shallow scheming was something Jiang Xiurun could see through easily.

However, she knew more than the Rong King.

This year, Bo State would be struck by an unusually severe cold wave.

In her previous life, during this very year, Bo State’s tribute to the imperial court had decreased sharply, angering Emperor Duanqing, who then held her elder brother, Jiang Zhi, accountable.

Later, Jiang Zhi learned from Ji Wujiang that Bo State had suffered an exceptionally rare frost disaster that year.

Heavy snowfall sealed doors shut, and countless cattle, horses, and sheep froze to death, plunging the already frail state into further hardship.

Recalling this, Jiang Xiurun had preemptively ordered the Agricultural Department of Bo State to prepare.

She instructed every county to construct winter shelters for livestock, reinforcing outer walls with thick layers of clay mixed with animal dung.

Every precaution was taken to ensure survival through this bitter winter.

Even if the coming cold matched that of her past life, she hoped Bo State’s people would endure the harsh season.

As for the moat, it was never meant to hold back the enemy indefinitely—only to buy time.

The longer they could delay the Rong army, the more they would exhaust their supplies and reinforcements.

Even if the moat eventually froze, it wouldn’t matter.

Xie City was aptly named, for it sat nestled in the mountains like a scorpion, making it an easily defensible stronghold.

(T/N: Xie city=scorpion city)

If the Rong army failed to seize Xie City, they wouldn’t be able to advance further.

Jiang Xiurun believed that the impending winter could claim a significant portion of the Rong army’s lives.

But before the anticipated winter could arrive, the moat had already frozen over.

The Rong people, hailing from the cold regions, were well-prepared with ample firewood and provisions.

After brief preparations, their forces mobilized to attack Xie City.

This time, however, it seemed they had received guidance from some higher strategist—they arrived with siege ladders.

These ladders soared sky-high, equipped with braces and grappling hooks that latched onto the walls, making them difficult to dislodge.

The defenders of Xie City responded with boiling oil, flaming arrows, and massive boulders.

The battle cries and screams of agony merged into a chaotic symphony of war.

Jiang Xiurun remained inside the city, taking in the fierce battle raging below.

Reports came that the bodies piling at the foot of the walls had been doused in oil and set aflame, their burning corpses stretching in a horrifying, unbroken line.

The flames licked the sky with an ominous red glow.

General Jin Kui advised the empress to evacuate Xie City for her safety, but Jiang Xiurun rejected the suggestion without hesitation.

Bai Qian, who personally fought on the front lines, understood the difficulty of defending Xie City and also urged Jiang Xiurun to retreat.

“If I leave now, it will be seen as an act of cowardice, which could shake the morale of our troops. We are locked in a deadlock with the enemy—how could I dampen the spirits of our soldiers now? … Didn’t we already arrange a safe place for Baoli, my brother, and his wife? I have nothing to hold me back… If Xie City falls, Bo State will have no other defenses left. This battle must be fought to the death.”

However, the Rong army’s assault was fiercer than anticipated.

Despite Bo State’s careful preparations and the soldiers’ prior training in siege defense, the enemy forces included numerous commanders who were clearly not from Rong but spoke in the accent of Liang State.

These foreign officers led the barbaric Rong warriors with precision, systematically dismantling Xie City’s defenses.

Jiang Xiurun’s heart sank.

This invasion from Rong State, which had not occurred in her previous life, was clearly the result of a premeditated scheme.

It seemed that Rong and Liang States had formed an alliance to destroy Bo State.

She couldn’t help but sneer—since when did Bo State warrant such attention?

Two entire states had joined forces, wielding overwhelming strength to crush this tiny, crippled bird.

Within the city, their supply of boiling oil was running low, and the speed of transporting boulders no longer kept up with their rate of consumption.

The Rong King, recognizing the defenders’ dwindling strength, grew increasingly confident.

He ordered his men to hurl insults at the walls, directing crude and vulgar jeers at the Empress of Bo State.

The foul-mouthed taunts painted explicit, slanderous images of Jiang Xiurun’s past in the Qi, accusing her of being a debauched courtesan who had served the emperor and his sons in their beds.

The obscene and degrading shouts filled the air, an endless torrent of filth.

The most revered holy empress of Bo State was being slandered as a promiscuous harlot, enraging her loyal soldiers to the point of trembling with fury.

Some even began to waver, questioning whether the Rong warriors’ words might hold truth.

Bai Qian, hearing the murmurs of doubt among the troops, was so incensed that she immediately ordered the arrest and flogging of two soldiers who had been spreading rumors.

But before the punishment could be carried out, Jiang Xiurun arrived and intervened.

The filth that spilled from men’s mouths could never be fully silenced.

If she punished these two soldiers now, it would only make her seem guilty.

The next day, Jiang Xiurun donned the ceremonial robes of the Empress of Bo and personally ascended the city tower, looking down upon the King of Rong as she called out to him.

To be honest, though the King of Rong had long coveted Jiang Xiurun’s beauty, he had only ever seen her once when he was still a prince—back then, she had been a delicate girl of twelve or thirteen.

How she had grown into the stunning woman she was now, he had only glimpsed from the portraits sent by Shen Hou.

Now, standing atop the city walls, she was tall and slender, her fair skin flawless even from a distance—a beauty beyond compare.

The King of Rong felt a surge of desire, so much so that he ignored Qin Zhao’s attempt to stop him and spurred his horse forward a few paces.

As he crossed the boundary of the frozen moat, her features became even clearer.

Her beauty was beyond what he had imagined, but it was her unique charm that made her truly irresistible.

She carried an air of enchantment mixed with a warrior’s boldness, making her all the more alluring—igniting an overwhelming urge in him to claim her as his own.

For a moment, the King of Rong was utterly mesmerized, his eyes gleaming, his mouth hanging open.

He wished he could leap onto the walls and seize this breathtaking woman into his arms.

Seeing that the King of Rong had crossed into the moat’s territory, Jiang Xiurun suddenly smiled and called out in a clear voice, “I have heard that the soldiers of Rong have been spreading all kinds of unheard-of filth about me—vile words, indecent beyond measure. Tell me, King of Rong, did you hear this nonsense from others, or have you personally witnessed my so-called ‘skills’?”

The King of Rong, already lost in his fantasies, latched onto the word “skills,” his mind drifting into heated imaginings of silk-draped chambers and rolling red waves.

He threw back his head and laughed.

“I would very much like to personally witness your skills in the bedchamber, my empress! But alas, this city moat keeps us apart, delaying our reunion as husband and wife. If you were even half as devoted to me as you were to the Emperor of Luo’an, I guarantee you’d find yourself drowning in ecstasy under my touch—so much so that you’d forget any other man even exists!”

Just as he finished his vulgar taunt and burst into raucous laughter, Jiang Xiurun suddenly turned and withdrew, taking a peculiar-looking bow from Bai Qian’s hands.

This bow had been custom-made by master craftsmen upon her return to Bo.

It was larger than an ordinary crossbow by a third, equipped with specially designed bowstrings, and tailored to a woman’s strength.

The addition of a spring mechanism gave it a much greater range than regular bows.

The King of Rong had not dared to step onto the riverbank, fearing hidden archers.

But Jiang Xiurun, wielding her heavy crossbow with practiced ease, carefully calculated the distance and angle—she was at least 80% certain she could strike this bastard down.

Both the Rong and Bo forces watched as the once-dignified, delicate empress of Bo suddenly moved with swift elegance, lifting her skirts and stepping onto the city wall.

Her waist was poised, her figure graceful, and in the blink of an eye, she raised the crossbow, aimed at the King of Rong, and pulled the trigger.

A volley of ten arrows shot forth.

The power of the crossbow was immense, the arrows streaking like flashes of light, faster than the eye could follow.

Only the sharp whistling of the arrows could be heard.

The King of Rong, still lost in his lustful fantasies, never expected her to attack without warning.

His guards reacted quickly, raising their shields, but they were a step too slow—one arrow found a gap in the armor and struck him directly in the eye.

With a scream, the King of Rong toppled from his horse.

The Rong soldiers retaliated instantly, launching a rain of arrows toward the city walls.

But Jin Kui had been prepared.

The moment Jiang Xiurun fired and withdrew from the wall, he pulled up an iron net lined with thorns, shielding most of the city’s defenses from the incoming arrows.

At that moment, Bai Qian’s loud, unrestrained voice rang out, “Our  empress once roamed the city of Luo’an disguised as a man! She was known as Young Master Jiang and studied under the great scholar, Master Mufeng! At the Molin Academy, she was unrivaled in intellect! The great scholars and noblemen of Luo’an held her in the highest esteem! Her talent was so extraordinary that the Emperor of Qi personally appointed her as a senior minister—her literary and martial prowess is unmatched in this world! And you, a filthy barbarian crawling from the gutters, dare to slander her? You think you’re worthy of ‘witnessing her skills’?!”

On any other day, such words of praise might have carried little weight.

But moments ago, the soldiers of both sides had witnessed Jiang Xiurun’s astonishing archery, her arrow piercing the lust-blinded King of Rong’s eye.

Now, hearing her life story—each word true, each accomplishment undeniable—Bo’s soldiers were filled with renewed vigor.

They raised their voices in unison, chanting:

“Empress Yaren—wise and mighty, peerless in this world!”

Their cries drowned out the curses of the Rong army, sweeping away the despair of the past days.

A fierce, unyielding spirit now surged through the ranks, shaking the very battlefield itself.