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Chapter 5 The Situation in Laizhou, the Invasion of the Eastern Yi

Since that crushing defeat two years ago, the Cangming Dynasty has been no match for the Eastern Barbarian cavalry, and Laizhou, located on the border, has fallen one after another.

In just two years, the fertile lands of eight prefectures fell into enemy hands. As for the remaining five prefectures, although they were nominally still part of the Cangming territory, they were already in chaos, with various forces fighting for control.

Jiang Ce stared at the division of power in Laizhou marked by Chen An on the sand table, and felt a splitting headache.

With this situation, the entire Laizhou has been completely plunged into turmoil. No wonder the Empress insisted on sending him here, and even the Emperor did not stop her. It was clearly a case of "what's the use of trying to ruin everything."

Unable to reverse the decline, the imperial court simply gave up on this hot potato, but it was concerned about its reputation and did not want to be ridiculed by other countries.

Just then, the empress proposed to confer upon him the title of Prince of Laiyang, and the emperor naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

Trading an insignificant prince for the last vestige of dignity for the dynasty seems like a worthwhile deal no matter how you look at it.

After all, in the eyes of the world, the emperor never truly gave up Laizhou, and even sent his own son to guard it. Even if he was defeated and died in battle, it would only be because the prince was incompetent.

As for whether to reclaim the lost territory in the future, isn't that just a matter of the emperor's word?

Having figured out all the scheming, the last vestige of filial piety Jiang Ce felt for his father vanished completely.

He concealed the coldness in his eyes, turned his gaze back to the sand table, and began to ponder the next strategy to break the deadlock.

During these two years, chaos and warlordism raged in Laizhou, and the imperial court's inaction fostered countless ambitious individuals.

Within the vast territory of Laizhou, in addition to the Dongyi tribes who burned, killed, and looted, there were also many rebel forces that had declared themselves kings.

These forces are diverse, with the first group being the local prominent families of Laizhou.

Their ancestors followed Emperor Wu Jiang Sheng to establish his career and were granted this place because of their outstanding achievements. Back then, Jiang Sheng was able to reclaim Laizhou from the Eastern Yi, which was entirely due to the strong support of these families.

Having thrived for over two hundred years, these aristocratic families have long been deeply rooted, rendering even imperial decrees ineffective.

Now that the imperial court has withdrawn from Laizhou, they naturally seize the opportunity to rise up, divide up territory, and establish their own independent regimes.

For powerful families to gain a foothold, they cannot do without the support of the army, namely the border troops.

These soldiers were originally the garrison of the eight prefectures. According to the military law of Cangming, they should live and die with the city, and those who desert should be executed immediately.

However, when faced with life and death, very few people are willing to die for their cause. Some surrender directly to the Eastern Barbarians, while others join powerful families and become their lackeys and henchmen.

The second force, as for the bandits who ruled the mountains, was a group of outlaws.

Take, for example, Chang Yuchun's brother-in-law, Lan Yu. He was once a bandit who ruled the mountains, but because of Chang Yuchun, he has now transformed into a member of the imperial army.

However, not everyone was willing to accept the offer of amnesty. Those bandits who had been entrenched in Laizhou for many years were already very dissatisfied with the imperial court. Now, they were simply raising their arms in a formal uprising and openly becoming enemies of the court.

These are the three main forces currently in Laizhou.

However, in Jiang Ce's view, the real threat was the Eastern Yi army.

As one of the Four Barbarian Tribes, the Eastern Barbarians possessed profound cultural heritage. At their peak, even if the entire Cangming Dynasty were to exert all its power, it might not be able to contend with them.

Fortunately, three years ago, a power struggle broke out within the Dongyi people, much like the War of the Eight Princes in the Western Jin Dynasty, splitting them into several factions, each occupying its own territory.

The forces that have now invaded Laizhou are the Eastern Yi King Tuoba Yu and the Dingshuo King Yelü Qing.

Just as Jiang Ce was pondering a solution, the study door was suddenly pushed open, and Chen An rushed in anxiously, saying, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! A large army of more than two thousand infantry and cavalry is heading towards Laiyang City."

Chen An clenched his teeth, each word dripping with coldness.

"Your Highness, they arrived too quickly! It's clear... someone leaked the information!"

Jiang Ce fell silent for a moment.

The answer is obvious. He had barely stepped into Laiyang when the Eastern Yi army was already at the city gates. Who else could have done this except for the Empress in the inner palace?

Before the thought had even formed, a deafening commotion suddenly erupted outside the city, followed by battle cries that pierced the sky, the sharp whistling of arrows cutting through the air, and distant flames shooting straight into the heavens.

The enemy army had already reached the city walls, and their attack was as fierce as a thunderbolt!

Jiang Ce had no time to think further and sternly ordered all available troops in the city to be transferred to the city walls to defend against the enemy.

At present, there are only two thousand old, weak and disabled soldiers in the city. Even if we add the five hundred elite troops under Chang Yuchun's command, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock when facing the powerful Dongyi infantry and cavalry.

The two sides were already vastly different in strength, but what was even more critical was that Laiyang City was no longer as majestic as it once was. Its city walls were mottled and crumbling, and the Eastern Yi army could probably destroy it completely with just a few rounds of fierce attacks.

But reality is often crueler than expected.

The two armies clashed less than half an incense stick later, when the enemy forces smashed open a hideous breach in the south gate, and countless Dongyi soldiers, howling like hungry wolves, surged into the city like a tidal wave.

When Jiang Ce arrived at the city wall, he witnessed this extremely dangerous scene. He immediately drew his sword and took his seat. Then, he grabbed the spear beside him and, with the protection of Sun Hanchuan and his guards, leaped off the city wall and charged into the blood-soaked battlefield.

At that moment, Chang Yuchun, who was guarding the north gate, handed over command of his troops to his brother-in-law Lan Yu and immediately led three hundred elite soldiers from the north gate.

"Barbarian general, cease your arrogance! Chang Yuchun is here! Anyone who offends Laiyang shall die!"

This angry shout was like a thunderclap on the chaotic battlefield, shocking the Dongyi soldiers and making their eardrums ring. They almost lost their grip on their weapons!

The commander of the Eastern Barbarian army this time was a general named Naibosen under Yelü Qing, the King of Dingshuo of the Eastern Barbarians. He possessed the strength of the initial stage of the Heavenly Realm and wielded a large wheel-shaped axe with great force.

Among martial artists of the same level, he can be considered a formidable figure with few rivals.

The reason he was here was naturally because he was Qian, the Empress's secret guard.

In order to eliminate Jiang Ce, the Empress's secret guards spent a lot of money to bribe Naibosen, ordering him to lead an army to attack Laiyang and kill the King of Laiyang who had just arrived there.

If he can take Jiang Ce's head, the Empress's people will give him three times the reward, plus a powerful martial arts manual.

Faced with such temptation, how could Naibosen resist? In any case, in Laiyang right now, Chen An is the only one worth considering. Although he is indeed no match for him, there is no need to confront him head-on.

As long as the army successfully holds them back, he doesn't care about the old, weak, sick and disabled in the city. If it weren't for the fact that King Dingshuo was afraid of disrupting the current situation in Laizhou, the Eastern Yi would have already conquered Laiyang City.