Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

On the second day of the sixth lunar month, outside Anshi City, at the Northern Yan camp.

"What? Food supplies?"

Upon seeing the letter delivered by Shen Lang, Murong Chui was so enraged that he slammed his fist on the military desk.

Standing in the main tent, Cui Mingji trembled with fear, trying his best to remain calm so as not to lose his head at any moment.

Murong Chui unfolded the letter and walked up to Cui Mingji: "The Duke of Zhenguo must have made a mistake, right? Doesn't he know the current state of our Great Yan? Why would he ask us for grain?"

Cui Mingji bowed and replied, "General, please calm your anger. This is indeed a letter written in the handwriting of the Duke of Zhenguo. Currently, the army of my Taiji Kingdom is besieging the capital of Goguryeo."

The shortage of supplies and low morale have delayed the launch of a general offensive. The Duke of Zhenguo's point is that since the two countries share a common hatred of the enemy...

We can't allow one side to put in the effort while the other reaps the rewards without contributing anything in return.

Upon hearing this, Murong Chui flew into a rage: "If the Duke of Zhenguo were to lead a regular Chu army, even if it were only ten thousand men..."

The situation in Liaodong had already calmed down; how could it have come to this? Ultimately, it's all because of his flawed deployment!

Cui Mingji replied cautiously, "General, the Duke of Zhenguo asked me to pass on a message to you and the Second Prince."

"What?"

He said that the State of Chu exchanged three million shi of grain for land outside the Great Wall from the State of Yan, and agreed to cooperate with the State of Yan in launching a pincer attack on Goguryeo.

The grain has now been delivered, and in accordance with the agreement reached with the Yan state, the Chu state has exerted tremendous pressure on Rangzhou from the rear.

However, to date, the State of Yan has not fulfilled the agreement and has not ceded the land that was promised to the State of Chu to the State of Chu.

Therefore, the Duke of Zhenguo believed that such unilateral sacrifice was meaningless.

Murong Chui instinctively sensed a different atmosphere from Cui Mingji's words.

"What does this mean? Does it mean that the State of Chu is going to turn against our Great Yan?"

"This, I cannot know. I only ask the General and the Second Prince to give me a satisfactory answer so that I can report back to the Zhenguo Gong."

Murong Chui clenched his fists, looking at Cui Mingji bowing respectfully to him, and wished he could punch him directly.

"You wait here, I'll be right back."

Murong Chui left with a remark, clutching the letter, and went to find Murong Ke.

……

Inside Murong Ke's military tent, after reading Shen Lang's request to procure provisions, he simply smiled.

"Ignore it. Shen Lang couldn't possibly be unaware of the situation in Great Yan. Even if I had 500,000 bushels of grain, I couldn't transport it there."

Murong Chui: "Then I'll go reply to Cui Mingji now."

Murong Ke shook his head: "Not for now. Shen Lang is trying to tell us this way."

To get him to fully cooperate with the Great Yan in controlling the entire Liaodong region, sufficient benefits must be offered.

Murong Chui: "So you mean..."

"Actually, the best approach is to ignore all of Shen Lang's requests."

He will take Rangzhou sooner or later, and Liaodong will ultimately belong to my Yan territory.

Murong Chui was taken aback: "Second Prince, you're not planning to break the agreement, are you? Are you going to turn against the Chu Kingdom now?"

Murong Ke nodded: "Yes, as long as Shen Lang lives, we cannot completely control Liaodong."

Without controlling Liaodong, there simply aren't enough manpower and resources to unify the entire country.

"Now that the State of Chu is brimming with martial prowess, the attempt to sweep south from Bingzhou is no longer feasible."

Nanjing could transport troops to the north via railway in a very short time.

Only by establishing a foothold in Liaodong and consolidating a large army to march south from the former territories of the Song and Jin dynasties can the dream of unifying the world be realized.

Murong Chui: "Then why did you involve the State of Chu in the situation in Liaodong?"

Murong Ke: "If the State of Chu hadn't gotten involved, do you think our Great Yan, with its current national strength, could have defeated Goguryeo?"

Murong Chui remained silent, unsure how to respond.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "So what do you plan to do now?"

Murong Ke: "I said, we will proceed according to the original plan. As long as Shen Lang can take Rangzhou City and prevent Gao Cang from taking care of both ends, that will be enough."

Murong Chui: "Shen Lang is probably not as stupid as you think. He was able to destroy Qiangxia in just a few months."

"They not only swiftly pacified the Wu region, but also displayed the audacity to annex the territories of the Song and Jin dynasties. Could it really be that a small city like Rangzhou has taken so long to conquer?"

Murong Ke: "So what if they discover it? If Chu wants to obtain the land beyond the Great Wall, they only have one way: to cooperate with me."

"Report——"

At this moment, a scout knelt down outside the tent to report.

"Your Highness, the news from Rangzhou indicates that the city was captured by the Goryeo people five days ago."

"What? Great!"

Murong Chui immediately rushed out of the tent, took the battle report from the scout, and opened it to read.

"Hahaha! It's done! It's really done this time!"

He excitedly handed the battle report to Murong Ke.

"Second Prince, look, Rangzhou has fallen. Now Gaozang must be in trouble."

Murong Ke smiled slightly: "Now, tell Gao Zang this news. Rangzhou is the capital of Goguryeo."

He will definitely send troops back to reinforce, and what we need to do is take advantage of Gao Zang's return journey to annihilate his entire army in one fell swoop.

Murong Chui volunteered: "Then let me see Gao Zang off on his final journey."

Murong Ke nodded: "General, whether our Great Yan can rise to power depends on this battle."

"Ah."

Murong Chui clasped his hands in a fist salute, then quickly left the main tent to gather his troops and prepare.

……

As night fell, Anshi City was brightly lit.

Suddenly, the heavy iron gate slowly opened, and thousands of warhorses galloped out, heading towards Rangzhou...

Meanwhile, on the only road leading to Rangzhou, Murong Chui had already led his 30,000 troops in ambush, waiting for Gao Zang's army to pass by before launching a full-scale attack.

Murong Chui knew that this battle was crucial. Yan's food supplies were about to run out, and only by quickly annihilating the main force of Goguryeo could they win this protracted victory.

"General, we have heard a lot of hoofbeats ahead."

"Notify the entire army to take cover and obey my orders!"

"Yes!"

On both sides of the low hills, the Northern Yan army was already eager for battle. Under the light of the starry sky, they painstakingly lay in ambush in the muddy ground, waiting for the moment of decisive battle.

Just as the situation on the narrow passage was becoming clear, Murong Chui suddenly raised his hand.

The next second, a signal arrow pierced the void.

"kill--"

Upon receiving the signal, the Northern Yan army roared and charged down the mountain, immediately engaging in a fierce battle with the Goguryeo people.

The sounds of battle shook the heavens and filled the universe, instantly overwhelming the Goguryeo army that had no time to react.

"die!"

With a roar, Murong Chui sent a Goguryeo soldier flying dozens of steps with a single spear thrust.

Looking around by the firelight, one could see that the ground was littered with the corpses of Goguryeo people.

"We win, we win!"

A junior officer of the Yan Army shouted, which immediately caused a huge uproar.

But only Murong Chui noticed something amiss.

"Wait, why are there so few troops from Goguryeo returning to reinforce us? And their fighting strength is not right either. Also, why isn't Gao Zang among them?"

Just as he was beginning to have doubts, a rider suddenly came from afar to report.

"General, something terrible has happened! Our main camp has been attacked by Gao Zang's main force. The entire camp, spanning three hundred li, has been reduced to ashes. Please, General, return to reinforce us immediately!"

"What did you say!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Chui was immediately shocked.

"Damn it, we've fallen into a trap! Order the entire army to retreat immediately! Return to our main camp!"