Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

Autumn comes early and with a bleakness in the North.

Outside Zhenbei City, squads of heavily armed cavalry were conducting high-intensity combat drills on the vast grasslands, their hooves thundering and kicking up clouds of dust.

Further away, on the newly built beacon towers and sentry towers, soldiers with eyes like hawks vigilantly scanned the southern horizon.

To the spies sent by Gao Wang, the governor of Youzhou, all of this was nothing more than an ordinary "autumn military exercise" and "routine precautions."

After all, the Prince of Jingbei was known for his strict military discipline and the importance of autumn defense in the north. With the south in turmoil this year, it was only natural to strengthen vigilance in the north.

The scouts relayed the news back to Youzhou that "the Hanyuan army is frequently moving around, but has not crossed any lines," which calmed Gao Wang's already chaotic mind a little—at least, the fiercest neighbor to the north doesn't seem to have any intention of immediately heading south to seize territory.

However, Gao Wang's "slight stability" was soon shattered by a constant stream of bad news coming from within.

Deputy General Zhou Ting became increasingly silent.

In past discussions, this veteran, known for his outspokenness, would often express his opinions, sometimes even directly contradicting Gao Wang.

However, in recent military meetings, Zhou Ting either claimed to be ill and did not attend, or when he did attend, he remained silent with a wandering gaze, as if he had something on his mind.

Gao Wang secretly sent people to investigate, and they only heard that there had been strange visitors to Zhou Ting's residence recently, and their whereabouts were mysterious, but they could not find out who they were.

This aroused great suspicion in his mind. Could it be that Zhou Ting, that old rascal, had some ulterior motive?

The valiant general Liu Meng, however, remained as loud and boisterous as ever, complaining about insufficient food and pay, outdated weaponry, and Gao Wang's favoritism.

However, Gao Wang's informant, who had planted a spy next to Liu Meng, reported that Liu Meng had secretly accepted a huge sum of money from a "wealthy merchant from beyond the Great Wall" a few days ago, and had also secretly taken a beautiful concubine, keeping her hidden away in a golden house.

Gao Wang was both shocked and furious. He sent someone to "invite" the "wealthy merchant," but the man had already vanished.

This made him seriously doubt Liu Meng's loyalty. Would this brute sell himself out for money and beauty?

Even more critically, the food supplies were the most dangerous.

Quartermaster Qian Fu came with a long face to report that the grain stored in the granary was almost gone due to the poor harvest last year and the cessation of imperial aid this summer, in addition to the need to supply tens of thousands of troops.

If no supplies are replenished, the army will run out of food in at most half a month! Gao Wang was so anxious that he developed blisters on his lips and strictly ordered Qian Fu to find a solution.

Qian Fu hesitated, then finally hinted that perhaps they could buy from the "neighbor" to the north, since he had heard that Han Yuan had a bumper harvest this year and its granaries were full.

Should they buy grain from the north? That would be tantamount to drinking poison to quench their thirst! Gao Wang was caught in a huge dilemma.

If we don't buy them, the army will go hungry and will immediately mutini.

Buying it would be tantamount to exposing one's fatal weakness to Xiao Chen, and from then on, being at his mercy.

The messengers he sent to the south to "borrow grain" either disappeared without a trace, or brought back only messages from certain princes and military governors saying they "could not help." One messenger was even robbed and killed by "bandits" on the way, losing both his money and his life.

At the same time, unsettling rumors began to circulate in the governor's office and military camps.

Some say that the King of Qin has secretly sent someone to contact Gao Wang, offering him the title of "King of Youzhou" and asking him to raise an army in response to jointly attack Zhao Chong and the Crown Prince;

Some say that the Prince of Jin resented Gao Wang's close association with his political enemies in the past and had sent assassins to infiltrate Youzhou to take his life.

Even more outrageous was the rumor that Gao Wang had already secretly surrendered to Prince Jingbei, Xiao Chen, and was preparing to offer up Youzhou in exchange for wealth and glory... Rumors, true and false, stirred up panic in Youzhou, causing generals to distrust each other and soldiers to lose morale.

Gao Wang felt as if he were sitting on a huge, cracked ice surface, with icy water beneath his feet and a vast fog all around him, and the cracking sound of the ice breaking seemed to be coming at any moment.

He couldn't sleep at night, lost his appetite, became increasingly irritable, became suspicious of everyone, and his handling of military affairs became increasingly chaotic.

Just when Gao Wang was overwhelmed by internal and external troubles and was on the verge of collapse, he received a personal letter from Prince Jingbei, Xiao Chen.

The letter was unusually polite, even carrying a hint of concern between "colleagues".

In his letter, Xiao Chen expressed his "admiration" for Gao Wang's "many years of hard work and great achievements in guarding the northern frontier" and his "understanding" of the current "dilemma" that Youzhou is in due to "the court cutting off supplies and disrupting trade routes".

Then, the author shifts focus to mentioning that the North had a "lucky" bumper harvest this year, with a slight surplus in the granaries.

If Governor Gao has any needs, Han Yuan is willing to sell some of the grain to Youzhou at a "fair market price" to relieve the urgent needs of his "comrades".

The letter specifically emphasized that this was a "fair trade" with no other intentions, and attached a "reasonable" list of grain prices and the types and quantities of grain available for delivery.

This letter, like a boulder thrown into an already turbulent lake, stirred up towering waves in Gao Wang's heart. To buy, or not to buy?

The staff members started arguing again.

Some believe this is Xiao Chen's scheme; once accepted, it would be tantamount to handing over one's life to the other party, leading to endless troubles.

Some believe this is the only way out at present. First, we should get through the food shortage and stabilize the army. As for the future, we should take it one step at a time.

Others suspect that the letter itself is some kind of test or trap.

Gao Wang held the letter and sat there blankly all night.

He crumpled the letter paper and smoothed it out, smoothed it out and crumpled it out again.

Ultimately, the fear of the army running out of supplies and mutinying outweighed any apprehension towards Xiao Chen.

He gritted his teeth and made a decision: Buy! But he had to be careful. The delivery location had to be within Youzhou, a place he had absolute control over, and it had to be done in batches, with each batch not being too large, to prevent the other party from playing tricks.

However, Gao Wang was unaware that from the moment he decided to buy the grain, he had already stepped into a trap.

On the eve of the "secret" agreement between Gaowang and Hanyuan to complete the first batch of grain purchases, agreeing to the delivery in a valley called "Black Stone Valley" seventy miles north of Youzhou, a long-brewing storm was about to break.

On the 27th day of the ninth month of autumn in the first year of Yongning, at night.

A dark and windy night is the perfect time for murder and arson.

Youzhou City, North Gate.

Vice General Zhou Ting is on duty tonight.

He stood on the city wall, fully armed and with a solemn expression, gazing at the boundless darkness beyond the city.

In his hand, he tightly clutched a warm jade pendant—a gift he had given to a savior years ago by an old friend through Night Owl a few days earlier.

The message brought by that "old friend" consisted of only one sentence: "King Jingbei knows of the general's loyalty and righteousness, and cannot bear to see such a jewel tarnished. Tonight at midnight, light a fire as a signal, open the north gate, welcome the royal army, and together we will punish the traitor Gao Wang and restore peace to the northern frontier."

Zhou Ting struggled internally for a long time.

He was utterly disappointed with Gao Wang's actions in recent years and was even more pessimistic about the future of Youzhou.

Xiao Chen's prestige, Han Yuan's strength, and the orderly nature of the Northern Territory stand in stark contrast to the chaos and decline of Youzhou and even the entire world.

More importantly, what Night Owl brought him was not just a promise, but also irrefutable evidence—ironclad proof that Gao Wang colluded with the Hu merchants, betrayed military intelligence, and embezzled rations for personal gain, as well as a copy of a secret letter suggesting that Gao Wang was preparing to surrender to a prince in the south. If this evidence were made public, Gao Wang would be disgraced, and Zhou Ting, as his deputy, would also be implicated.

"Loyalty and righteousness...traitor to the country..."

Zhou Ting pondered these two words, gazing at the scattered lights in the city and the majestic Governor's Mansion in the distance. There, Gao Wang might be gloating over the grain he was about to receive, or he might be anxious and restless because of the rumors and pressure.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, his eyes becoming resolute.

He was loyal to the Great Xia and the people of the northern frontier, not to a greedy and incompetent Gao Wang who would lead Youzhou to ruin!

It's almost midnight.

Outside the city, there was a deathly silence. Only the howling wind could be heard.

Suddenly, a small fire lit up on a hillside about three miles outside the North Gate. Then, a second, a third... three bonfires lit up in a triangular formation, their flames standing out starkly in the dark night.

Zhou Ting's heart pounded; he knew the signal for their agreement had arrived.

He whirled around and barked at the guards at the North Gate, whom he had already persuaded or controlled with swift and decisive action: "Light the fire! Open the city gate!"

On the north gate tower of Youzhou City, three piles of firewood that had been prepared were lit, and flames shot into the sky, echoing the bonfires outside the city.

The heavy city gate was slowly pushed open with a teeth-grinding creak.

Almost at the same moment the city gates opened, the deathly silence of the night was completely torn apart!

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves suddenly erupted from the darkness, approaching from afar like a torrent of water, surging in instantly!

There were no shouts, no torches, only a silent, chilling torrent of black iron, reflecting a cold metallic luster in the dim moonlight, like a deathly flood from the depths of hell, surging into the city through the wide-open gates!

The leading general, clad in black armor and helmet, wielding a ten-foot-long spear, was none other than Wang Dashan, the commander of the Xuanjia Guard!

Behind him stood a uniform line of heavily armored cavalry, both men and horses clad in heavy armor, resembling a moving steel wall. The horses' hooves pounded on the bluestone pavement, producing a dull and terrifying roar that seemed to shake the entire city wall.

"By order of the Prince of Jingbei! To quell the rebellion and restore order! Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who obstruct me will die!" Wang Dashan's roar was like thunder, exploding in the deathly silent night sky of Youzhou City.

At the same time, fires broke out in many key locations throughout the city, and shouts of killing filled the air!

The Night Owl's lurking agents launched their attack simultaneously, setting fires and creating chaos everywhere, and assaulting the governor's mansion, granaries, and armories!

Even more impressively, a mid-level officer from the Youzhou army who had been turned against the enemy led his men in a counterattack, shouting, "Kill Gao Wang and welcome the royal army!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The north gate has been opened!"

"The Xuanjia Iron Cavalry! It's the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry of Hanyuan!"

"Zhou Ting has rebelled! Zhou Ting has opened the city gates!"

"The granary is on fire! The armory has been captured!"

Chaos spread like wildfire throughout Youzhou City.

Many soldiers of the Youzhou army had just been awakened from their sleep when they heard the deafening sound of horses' hooves and shouts of battle. They saw fires breaking out all over the city and had no idea what was happening, where the enemy was, or how many there were. Under the officers' orders, some hurriedly grabbed their weapons to try to resist, some ran around like headless flies, and many more trembled with fear and were at a loss.

Gao Wang was dragged out of bed by his personal guards.

His clothes were disheveled. When he heard the news that "Han Yuan Army has entered the city" and "Zhou Ting has rebelled," he was struck dumb and his face turned ashen.

"Impossible! This is impossible! Xiao Chen's letter... supplies... a trap! It's all a trap!" He roared hoarsely, drawing his sword, still trying to organize a resistance.

But when he stumbled out of the governor's mansion, he saw a tidal wave of black iron cavalry, flames raging in the city, and his men in a state of panic, kneeling and surrendering in droves...

A stray arrow flew from nowhere, grazing his cheek and leaving a trail of blood.

Gao Wang trembled, and the long sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

It's over, it's over.

What King of Youzhou, what military power, what waiting for the best price... all become a joke in the face of absolute power and meticulous calculation.

"Commander! Go quickly! Break through the south gate! As long as we're alive..." A loyal bodyguard captain grabbed him, trying to protect him as he fled.

"Go? Where to go?"

Gao Wang smiled bitterly, gazing at the black torrent that swept across the city like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, and at the black wolf-head banner fluttering in the firelight, his eyes filled with despair and regret.

He knew that the South Gate, East Gate, and West Gate were probably already part of the enemy's plan.

This was a meticulously planned, coordinated attack from both inside and outside!

"It's...it's been lowered, hasn't it?"

Gao Wang seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, collapsing to the ground and muttering to himself.

As dawn broke, the fighting within Youzhou City had largely subsided.

The main streets and key departments have been completely controlled by the Han Yuan Army.

After the initial panic, most of the Youzhou soldiers learned that "only the ringleaders will be executed, and those who surrender will not be killed," and seeing that the situation was hopeless, they laid down their weapons.

Wang Dashan, riding a tall horse and surrounded by his personal guards, arrived in front of the Youzhou Governor's Mansion.

The gates of the mansion were wide open, and the inside was a complete mess.

Gao Wang was bound hand and foot, escorted by soldiers, and forced to kneel before the steps, his face ashen.

Deputy General Zhou Ting, Quartermaster Qian Fu, and a group of Youzhou officers who had been turned or controlled stood solemnly to one side.

"Report! General Wang! All four gates of Youzhou are under control! The armory, granary, and treasury are intact! Those who stubbornly resist have been eliminated! Our army is currently counting prisoners and pacifying the people!" The messenger rushed in to report.

Wang Dashan nodded, his gaze sweeping over Gao Wang without lingering, as if he were looking at an insignificant object.

He raised his head and looked towards the southern horizon, which was gradually turning white, where the Central Plains lay even more vast and chaotic.

"Immediately report to the Prince on horseback!" A relieved yet spirited smile appeared on Wang Dashan's face. His voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout Youzhou City, which had just been ravaged by war.

"Youzhou has fallen!"