Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 738: Madness (Part 2)

That night, Zheng Chen kept brooding and drafting a plan, Zhao Wu and Lu Cheng tossed and turned on their beds, also sleepless through the night.

At the break of dawn, Zhao Wu and Lu Cheng came together again.

Peng Sihai could no longer stop them, and reluctantly passed the message again: "Young Master, General Zhao and General Lu are here again. The court’s troops fiercely attacked the city yesterday, making them anxious and uneasy. You should see them!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Zheng Chen nodded: "I will go out to meet them now."

Peng Sihai followed his master nervously, silently praying to the heavens not to reveal any signs in front of Zhao Wu and Lu Cheng.

Perhaps Peng Sihai’s sincere prayers moved the heavens. Or perhaps the clouds shrouding Zheng Chen had dissipated somewhat in daylight; his words and actions were no different from usual.

"The court’s troops failed to breach the city yesterday; today, they will certainly continue their assault." Zheng Chen said grimly, "The Left General has been guarding the border for twenty years, skilled in city defenses, and naturally adept at siege tactics too. He will maintain relentless attacks, aiming to crush us in the shortest time possible, take Yu State, and return to the court to claim rewards. The coming days will surely be tough to endure."

"The newly recruited soldiers should not be held back anymore. Let them take shifts on the walls. First, to deplete the enemy’s forces, and second, to give the new recruits a taste for blood."

The distressed Lu Cheng, upon hearing Zheng Chen’s well-reasoned words, felt reassured and respectfully agreed.

Zhao Wu asked softly, "Should we still send the citizens and children onto the walls?"

"Not for the time being." Zheng Chen’s eyes were cold: "Zuo Feng is a man with a heart as cold as iron. Even after so many civilians died yesterday, he won’t retreat. Keep the captured women, children, and elderly confined together; they might still be of use later."

In fact, having a crowd of terrified screaming elders and women on the walls didn’t affect the court’s highly spirited troops much, but it significantly impacted the Yu State Rebel Army defending the city. The soldiers’ morale wavered, leading to hesitation and indecision.

Zhao Wu and Lu Cheng exchanged glances and agreed together.

"Will the Young Master go to the city gate today?"

"Yes!" Zheng Chen replied without hesitation: "I’ll go right now!"

...

That day, there were no elders, women, or children on the city gate; instead, there were many new recruits.

The new recruits, who had been training in the military camp for months, suddenly found themselves on a real battlefield. Some were too fearful to move forward; some were recklessly eager to act, and many more were dazed and confused.

However, the veteran soldiers who had experienced yesterday’s operations understood the might of the court’s army and deliberately pushed the new recruits forward while discreetly retreating themselves.

Bang!

A massive stone heavily struck the city wall, causing a muffled sound and a slight tremble.

Bang! Another loud crash followed, a stone flew high, over the city gate, and landed inside the city. A hapless individual got hit directly and was smashed into pulp on the spot.

Such a gruesome scene terrified whoever witnessed it. Some new recruits screamed in horror and instinctively tried to flee down the gate.

Lu Cheng sneered, swung his blade, and beheaded a new recruit; the head fell, blood spurting, before the new recruits. The personal soldiers followed suit, executing a few more who tried to escape.

"Anyone who dares to flee will end up like this. Listen up, raise your bows and arrows, aim, and fire down."

The new recruits, with mournful expressions, nervously raised their bows, which they had just learned to use, and clumsily shot them.

However, with so many people, the arrows fell densely, like rain, always hitting some unlucky targets. A few court soldiers on the Cloud Ladder were struck by the rain of arrows and fell from the ladder, immediately splattering blood.

The defenders, holding the strategic high ground, as long as they stabilize their positions and are willing to pile up human lives, can always achieve some effectiveness.

By day’s end, the casualty count was slightly better than the day before.

"We really shouldn’t have let the elders and women go up the walls yesterday." Zhao Wu breathed a bit easier and said to Lu Cheng in a low voice: "They only cried and shouted, greatly disrupting the army’s morale and causing the defending soldiers to lose morale. Today was much better."

Lu Cheng wasn’t as optimistic as Zhao Wu and sighed heavily: "It’s not much better; today, several hundred more died. At this rate, how long can we hold?"

Zhao Wu said: "The casualties on the other side are no less than ours. It’s a matter of who can hold out longer!"

The attacking side is bound to have more casualties than the defending side. If the prolonged assault results in casualty numbers reaching a point unbearable to the soldiers, morale will drop, and the battle will reach a standoff. This is the true lifeline for the Yu State Army.

Lu Cheng understood and nodded heavily. Turning his head, he murmured: "The Young Master said he would stay on the wall all day, but he disappeared early."

Zhao Wu sighed: "The Young Master comes from a noble background, used to the lavish life of the court, has he ever personally experienced battle? Being able to last half a day on the wall is already commendable."

"Leave some men on patrol for night defense; let’s go back for some rest."

...

"Sihai, I have decided; the new dynasty will use ’Chen’ as its name."

"After I ascend the throne, I will no longer have the surname Zheng, I will change my surname. As everything renews, I will be called Yuan Chen."

"The entire Zheng Family must be killed. The first to execute is the Grand Empress Dowager, the second is Duke An. Wang Jin and Cui Du must also die. As for the court ministers who bow to my command, they can be spared. Those who dare resist, kill them all."

"After much thought, I can’t bear to kill Jiang Shaohua. However, she has already married and bore a child. I cannot make her Empress, let her be Noble Consort instead."

Under the bright candlelight, Zheng Chen’s eyes shone with startling intensity, sometimes writing, sometimes speaking to Peng Sihai, alternating between rage and boisterous laughter.

As the night deepened, the master became more frenzied.

Peng Sihai’s heart was full of bitter melancholy, yet he couldn’t show it and had to softly agree: "The Young Master is right."

"Those who do not obey should all be killed."

"The Young Master sparing Commandery Princess to be a Noble Consort is a kindness to her."

Zheng Chen laughed heartily.

For several days in a row, it was like this.

By day, visiting the city gate, boosting morale, commanding with confidence. By afternoon, his spirit would start drifting; he would suddenly fall silent, return to his quarters, enter the study, and continue writing reform plans and even drafting the new dynasty’s name and era title. This went on until late at night, when exhaustion allowed him to sleep for an hour or two.

Such a relentless pace would break even the strongest person.

Even Peng Sihai’s eyes had turned red from the exhaustion.

On the eighth day of the court’s army siege, the soldiers of the Heroic Guard Camp finally truly charged up the wall; the Yu State Army, using every ounce of strength, barely managed to hold them back.

Corpses littered the ground, morale waned. New recruits kept secretly deserting; there weren’t enough executions to stop them. Even among Yu State Army’s veterans, some began to desert.