On the walls of Jinzhou City, the banner of Lu Xiangsheng finally rose into the night wind, its fabric snapping softly as rows of oil lamps began to glow along the battlements, casting a steady golden light over stone that had only just stopped shaking from the earlier explosions.
A massive "Lu" dominated the main flag, while beside it, slightly lower but no less proud, other banners followed in formation, bearing the names of Cao Wenzhao, Chen Qianhu, and Shen Shikui, all of them swaying together as if celebrating a victory that felt strangely unreal even to the men who had just won it.
Lu Xiangsheng stood at the edge of the wall and looked toward the section that had been blown apart, where shattered stone still lay piled in uneven heaps, and as he stared at the crude breach that had ended the battle so abruptly, a faint sense of absurdity crept into his chest, because no matter how he tried to process it, the city had fallen far too easily.
Before coming here, he had prepared countless siege scenarios in his mind, refining one plan after another until even he had grown tired of his own caution, and he had even considered the possibility that if the siege dragged on for more than ten days, the enemy might send reinforcements to rescue Zu Dashou, forcing him into a desperate strategic decision that could determine the fate of the entire campaign.
All of those carefully constructed possibilities had collapsed into nothing.
The battle had begun at dusk, and by the time the night had fully settled in, it was already over.
Across the walls, soldiers of the Shanxi Army moved methodically as they lit lamps and secured positions, turning the entire city into something that resembled a sleepless stronghold rather than a recently conquered battlefield, while troops from Pi Island hauled stones and debris into place, stacking them quickly to seal off the breached section of the wall with whatever materials they could find.
The men of the Tianxiong Army, who had barely managed to contribute anything meaningful during the fighting, seemed especially restless, and so they threw themselves into the repair work with an almost excessive level of enthusiasm, as though trying to compensate for a failure that no one had actually accused them of.
Lu Xiangsheng pressed his fingers against his temple and quietly asked himself what role he had played in this entire battle, and the longer he thought about it, the more uncomfortable the silence in his mind became, because no matter how he approached the question, he could not find an answer that satisfied him.
Below the wall, a group of soldiers from the Guyuan Frontier Army passed by, humming a strange tune while laughing among themselves, their mood so light that it clashed completely with the idea of a freshly taken city.
"I am starving after that fight, do you still have any luncheon meat left, give me a piece."
"Not a chance, I am not sharing with you."
"You are stingy."
"Then give me some of your chocolate."
"I am not giving you anything."
"You are even more stingy."
They continued walking, still humming the same ridiculous melody about not having answers and searching for something that probably did not exist, their voices fading into the distance as if the war had already become a joke that they could afford to laugh about.
Lu Xiangsheng could only stand there in silence, watching them go, his expression growing increasingly complicated as the gap between expectation and reality widened further.
Not far away, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao were leading their personal guards along the wall, inspecting positions and exchanging brief words with the soldiers they passed, and as they approached, Lu Xiangsheng quickly stepped forward to stop them.
"General Cao, General Cao."
The two men immediately returned the greeting with proper respect, their posture relaxed but attentive.
Lu Xiangsheng did not waste time on formalities, because the confusion in his mind had already reached a point where it demanded an answer.
"I do not understand this battle," he said, his tone calm but clearly troubled, "throughout the entire engagement, I barely issued any commands, and from what I observed, you did not give many detailed orders either, you only shouted simple instructions such as advance or fall back, which is completely different from the structured command systems that I am familiar with, so how exactly did this work."
Cao Wenzhao looked at him as if the answer was obvious.
"The soldiers are smart," he replied, almost casually, "they do not need to be told every detail because they already know what needs to be done."
Lu Xiangsheng blinked, clearly caught off guard by the simplicity of the explanation.
Cao Wenzhao continued, his tone steady and practical, "as long as the training is thorough enough, the soldiers will develop their own judgment, so once they step onto the battlefield, they can make decisions on their own, and the role of the commander is simply to set the overall direction, after that, they will carry out their tasks without needing constant supervision, and that is all there is to it."
Lu Xiangsheng fell silent, because what he had just heard sounded almost too straightforward to be believable, yet the events of the battle had proven that it worked, and the contradiction between theory and reality left him struggling to reconcile the two.
He finally let out a slow breath and forced himself to move on, because there were more pressing matters to deal with.
Reaching into his sleeve, he pulled out a rolled map and spread it open, revealing the terrain of Liaodong in careful detail, and then he placed his finger firmly on the position of Jinzhou.
"Now that we have taken this city, we have effectively seized the throat of the enemy's route into the Central Plains, which means we must establish defensive points and fortifications outside the city to intercept the cavalry of Dorgon when they attempt to return."
Cao Wenzhao nodded in agreement.
"The main concern," Lu Xiangsheng continued, "is that the news of Jinzhou's fall will reach the enemy soon, and Hong Taiji will likely move to retake the city and retrieve his forces, we should be able to defend Jinzhou itself, but the smaller outposts outside will not withstand a full-scale assault."
Cao Wenzhao allowed himself a faint smile.
"Your concern is valid, but in this matter, you do not need to worry too much, because the main force of Hong Taiji will not be able to come here."
Lu Xiangsheng frowned slightly, clearly unconvinced.
"And what makes you so certain of that."
"Because we are not fighting alone," Cao Wenzhao replied, "the Mongols have already begun their movements."
Lu Xiangsheng's eyes widened in surprise.
"How do you know that."
"A messenger just arrived with the information," Cao Wenzhao said, producing a letter as if it had been waiting for this exact moment, "I was about to show it to you."
The letter, which had been fabricated not long ago but now carried the weight of official intelligence, described Mongol cavalry launching raids against multiple northern positions, forcing the enemy into a state of constant harassment and preventing them from concentrating their strength.
Lu Xiangsheng read through it carefully, and as he finished, the tension in his expression eased into visible relief.
"This is excellent news, although I still wonder whether the Mongols alone will be sufficient, given their past record against the enemy, I cannot help but question their effectiveness."
At that moment, Shen Shikui stepped forward and clasped his hands.
"My lord, allow me to return to Dandong and create the appearance of an imminent attack on Shengjing, which will force the enemy to keep their main forces in place, making it even less likely for them to move against Jinzhou."
Lu Xiangsheng's face brightened immediately.
"General Shen, that would be a great help, I will leave this matter to you."
Shen Shikui exchanged a brief glance with Cao Wenzhao before departing, heading toward the coast where a fleet awaited to carry him back toward Dandong.
After considering the overall situation, Lu Xiangsheng turned back to Cao Wenzhao.
"General Cao, I will entrust Jinzhou to you for the time being, I will return to Beizhili at once to deal with Dorgon, while you block his route back to Liaodong from here, and together we will trap him between us."
Cao Wenzhao bowed.
"As you command."
Satisfied, Lu Xiangsheng made his way to the shore and boarded a transport ship, his mind already shifting toward the next phase of the campaign as he prepared to return west.
Once he had left, Cao Wenzhao and the others went to report to Li DaoXuan.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, Lu Xiangsheng has departed."
Li DaoXuan nodded, his expression relaxed in a way that did not quite match the scale of what had just happened.
"Good, now that he is gone, we can finally operate without restraint, the village will begin transporting large quantities of supplies immediately, and we will rebuild Jinzhou into a proper frontline fortress."
As he spoke, he let out a soft sigh, and for a brief moment, the absurd confidence gave way to something quieter.
"It is a pity that there are hardly any civilians left here."
Cao Wenzhao responded without hesitation.
"There are still people hiding in the nearby mountains and forests."
Li DaoXuan's eyes lit up instantly.
"That is even better, the people of Liaodong have suffered enough over the years, especially around Jinzhou where both sides have taken turns stripping everything they could from the land, so we must bring them back with gentle policies and make sure they are properly settled."
Cao Wenzhao bowed again.
"As you command."
At that moment, Chen Qianhu appeared below the wall, walking past with a few soldiers while humming happily, his expression full of pride as if he had personally conquered the entire city.
Li DaoXuan raised his voice.
"Chen Qianhu."
Chen Qianhu immediately turned around and rushed over, dropping into a respectful bow.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, what are your orders."
Li DaoXuan looked at him for a moment before speaking in a tone that was almost too calm.
"We are going to bring the civilians back into the city, but with you here, they will be too frightened to approach, so I am reassigning you to return to the capital and assist Sun Chuanting in handling the situation there."
Chen Qianhu froze completely as the words sank in, and then his entire body collapsed forward onto the ground in one smooth motion, as if all strength had been drained from him at once.
"Am I really that terrifying."