A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace Chapter 1123: I Will Come Back to Save You

All close associates were ruthlessly annihilated by heartless adversaries.

Hai Tang found herself utterly isolated.

After countless trials, she finally managed to flee the blood-soaked Imperial City.

Having desperately escaped throughout the entire night,

by dawn, she found herself in a forest, a hundred miles distant from the Imperial City.

Ascending to the mountaintop, she turned her gaze back towards the Imperial City, tears welling as she knelt and wept profoundly.

"Father, brother, I am so sorry!"

"I must depart first, but I vow to return and rescue you!"

The Western Xia and the Great Chu Dynasty had officially commenced hostilities.

Prince Jin would likely not have much time to concern himself with their predicament here.

If she could escape, a faint glimmer of hope might still exist for the three of them.

Should all three be captured, their fate would be sealed.

Therefore, she was compelled to leave!

Respectfully kneeling in the direction of the Imperial City, she performed a profound kowtow three times.

Biting her lip, Hai Tang rose, her eyes fixed with unwavering resolve.

Turning her back, she set her course towards the border with the nascent light of dawn.

There lay the possibility of survival, familiar faces, and critically, a chance for her to regain her standing.

Prince Jin!

The grievances you harbor against me, I shall repay tenfold, a thousandfold!

...

The boundaries separating the Great Chu and the Western Xia were already obscured by the dust of conflict.

Hai Xiangjin commanded eighty thousand veteran soldiers and cavalry, fully provisioned, launching an assault on Yinshan City situated at the southwest and northwest convergence.

Although Yinshan City was a mere northwestern outpost,

it served as a crucial strategic passage, facilitating both land and water transportation.

Should this location be successfully taken,

the Western Xia Army would effectively carve out a significant breach.

The northwestern terrain was a labyrinth of mountains.

Once the Western Xia Army advanced into this region, they would be exceptionally difficult to dislodge.

Much like countless rodents scurrying into an intricate maze of tunnels, visible yet beyond reach, accessible yet impossible to exterminate!

Precisely!

Although the analogy might not perfectly align, this was the very outcome Prince Jin sought to engineer!

Yinshan City had previously endured an incursion,

but those scoundrels disguising themselves as bandits had already been thoroughly eradicated by Xia Tingfeng and Zhao Qichen.

Nevertheless, dealing with an individual like Hai Geli presented a more formidable challenge.

He remained entrenched within Yinshan City like a venomous serpent, commanding a modest contingent of a few thousand men.

Compounded by the treachery of Liu Shouwei, the city's populace was under their absolute control.

Xia Tingfeng and Zhao Qichen found themselves completely constrained, unable to act decisively.

The sole viable strategy was to establish a tight encirclement around Yinshan City.

This was intended to prevent Hai Geli from coordinating with the Western Xia Army across the frontier.

However, would such a measure truly be effective?

Xia Tingfeng's expression was etched with gravity.

Zhao Qichen's countenance was dark and foreboding.

Despite his lack of extensive experience in military campaigns and battles, he was not naive!

The initiative concerning Yinshan City unequivocally resided with Hai Geli.

He was akin to a venomous snake gripping a helpless infant in its jaws, issuing a dire threat.

"Withdraw, or I shall execute him!"

If Hai Geli truly intended to utilize the lives of the citizens as a bargaining chip to demand their withdrawal,

he genuinely did not know how he could possibly make a choice!

To disregard the threats and launch a direct assault would mean relinquishing Yinshan City.

This was not a matter of one or two individuals, but an entire city!

The elderly, the children, the women, and the ordinary citizens; they were not lesser beings, but rightful inhabitants of the Great Chu Dynasty.

To abandon the city even before hostilities commenced! Logically, emotionally, internally, or externally, it was an unthinkable proposition.

But what if they refused to abandon it?

If they complied and retreated numerous miles,

then Hai Geli and Prince Jin would act in concert.

They would infiltrate the northwestern territories of the Great Chu Dynasty like insidious snakes and rats, becoming virtually impossible to eradicate thereafter.

By that juncture,

it would transcend the scope of a single city and a few thousand individuals,

encompassing countless hamlets, towns, innumerable families, and an immeasurable number of lives!

In such a dire circumstance, what decision should be made?

To abandon or not to abandon, they remained paralyzed, unable to reach a conclusion.

The strategic advantage in the engagement invariably remained within the enemy's grasp.

...

While Xia Tingfeng and Zhao Qichen spent days with grave expressions and silent internal turmoil, desperately seeking a resolution,

the very outcome they most dreaded materialized.

That evening, as dusk settled,

a messenger arrived at the military encampment, bearing the ostentatious, handwritten missive from Hai Geli.

The letter contained a single, stark sentence, prominently displayed in bold characters.

"Retreat fifty miles by tomorrow, or within the subsequent day, the city will face a full-scale massacre!"

This solitary sentence plunged them into an even more precarious predicament.

Xia Tingfeng and Zhao Junyao clutched the letter, their visages as dark as the bottom of a cauldron.

To accede?

Hai Geli would then join forces with Prince Jin in this theater; their combined might would swiftly advance inland, wreaking havoc upon the civilian population.

To refuse?

The lives of every soul within the city hung precariously in the balance!

What path should they take!

Crown Prince Zhao Qichen found himself confronting his very first insurmountable quandary in life!

It remains unknown how much time passed,

before Xia Tingfeng, with newfound resolve, grasped the letter and made an exceptionally challenging determination.

"We shall not retreat!"

Zhao Qichen's eyes snapped wide open, filled with utter astonishment.

"Uncle?!"

He inwardly acknowledged that his uncle's decision was indeed the correct one.

Yinshan City represented a critical choke point, a place where a single warrior could hold off a thousand; it was an absolutely vital tactical stronghold.

Should a breach occur, the enemy would undoubtedly surge into the heartland, and they would never be successfully repelled.

However...

To personally proclaim such words, to effectively abandon the very citizens residing within the city walls, he simply found himself incapable of accepting it!

Xia Tingfeng let out a cold chuckle.

"Do you truly believe that if we withdrew fifty miles, the city's populace would be safe from harm?"

The forces of Western Xia were known for their cunning and their utter lack of mercy.

Having journeyed from afar to assault Great Chu, the logistical burdens and expenditures for transporting and maintaining their provisions were astronomically high.

How could they possibly squander precious resources by accommodating such a vast multitude of people?!

Therefore, a swift and complete massacre was their standard, habitual practice.

"Perhaps, the slaughter has already commenced!"

After all, consuming even one additional meal meant a further depletion of their vital provisions.

With so many souls gathered, the need for sustenance could not be overlooked!

Xia Tingfeng carefully folded and secured the letter, then placed it directly into Zhao Qichen's hands.

"Tonight, you are to maintain a vigilant watch over the encampment! Under no circumstances are the troops to be mobilized!"

"I shall infiltrate the city myself to ascertain the true situation. If my grim premonition is correct..."

Xia Tingfeng found himself unable to contemplate the potential outcome any further!

Initially, Zhao Qichen voiced his strong opposition.

"It is far too perilous; the city is undoubtedly swarming with their soldiers!"

Xia Tingfeng offered a knowing smile.

"Rest assured, your uncle possesses at least this measure of capability!"

Were those years spent as a wandering vagabond ultimately for naught?!

Zhao Qichen, albeit reluctantly, gave his assent.

That very night.

Left to command the camp alone, Zhao Qichen watched as Xia Tingfeng, equipped with a few carefully selected weapons and concealed armaments, donned a set of dark, stealth-appropriate attire, vanishing into the vast, impenetrable darkness like an agile swallow.

...

His iron grappling hook found purchase on the formidable city ramparts.

Seizing the precise moment when the sentries' attention was diverted, Xia Tingfeng ascended the wall from a concealed alcove.

A solitary patrolling soldier caught sight of him and prepared to sound the alarm.

Regrettably, a sudden cold sensation swept across his throat, and his voice was instantly silenced before it could escape his lips.

Xia Tingfeng swiftly dragged the incapacitated man into a shadowed corner.

He stripped the soldier of his uniform and donned it himself.

Concealing his face, he seamlessly integrated himself among the patrolling guards, proceeding along the battlements as if he belonged.

Ultimately, he seized an opportune moment and stealthily slipped away from his false post.

The city's thoroughfares were deathly quiet, devoid of any living soul!

An oppressive atmosphere, thick with the metallic tang of blood, permeated the air.

A sudden breeze rustled through the trees, causing the branches to sway and emit a series of heart-wrenching wails.

It eerily resembled the mournful lament of someone consumed by profound sorrow.

He meticulously searched the city's most abandoned sectors, methodically moving from one dwelling to the next.

By the time the long night drew to a close, he had discovered numerous lifeless bodies, yet not a single survivor could be found.