In fact, not only were the soldiers exhausted, but Ouyang Heng was also worn out by the Tule Tribe's strategies. If things continued like this, the Tule Tribe would surely emerge victorious.
Mu Fengqie ignored Ouyang Heng's words and quietly observed the situation of the Tule Tribe. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she noticed something amiss.
Unlike other ladies who learned piano and art since childhood, Mu Fengqie's favorite pastimes were horse - riding and shooting. So she knew horses very well. The horses of the Tule Tribe were a bit wobbly on their feet. It was obvious that they had been on a long - distance journey and hadn't had enough to eat.
She suddenly came up with an idea and shouted loudly, "Governor, is there enough food and forage in the city?"
The governor gave her a skeptical look. Although he always thought women couldn't be of much help, he didn't neglect Mu Fengqie. He replied, "There's enough food and forage in the city to last for a year or two."
"That's good. Then please send someone to get some food and forage," Mu Fengqie said confidently, looking at Ouyang Heng.
With the food and forage there, the horses would surely rush to eat it without hesitation. At that time, the scene would surely be in chaos as the horses all went for the food. Even if the Tule Tribe's plan was flawless, it would be useless.
Jing Xunce understood what Mu Fengqie meant as soon as he heard her words. He never thought Mu Fengqie would come up with such a plan. It really surprised him.
But Ouyang Heng didn't buy Mu Fengqie's words. "What are we getting the food and forage for? Are we going to feed the enemy's... "
Half - way through his words, Ouyang Heng's expression gradually turned into one of surprise. He was a smart man. After a little thought, he understood what Mu Fengqie meant. Suddenly, he had an epiphany and burst out laughing.
Ouyang Heng quickly ordered people to get the food and forage. Big piles of it were thrown down from the city wall. The horses of the Tule Tribe went crazy and started gobbling up the food on the ground. The originally well - ordered formation immediately fell into chaos. The hungry horses didn't listen to their riders at all. All they cared about was filling their bellies.
In the blink of an eye, Mu Fengqie took an arrow from a soldier beside her, aimed at the enemy general without hesitation, and shot.
The Tule Tribe was caught completely off guard by the sudden appearance of the food and forage. The general was hit by the arrow without any defense and fell heavily off his horse.
"Great skill! Madam is truly a heroic woman!" Ouyang Heng beamed with joy.
Jing Xunce looked at Mu Fengqie in great surprise. He didn't know she could shoot arrows. How many other things about her were still unknown to him?
Mu Fengqie waved her hand repeatedly. "It's just a trifling skill. I'm being a bit of a show - off."
If she hadn't loved shooting since childhood, she couldn't have shot so accurately. If she hadn't come along today, God knows what the outcome would have been.
The Tule Tribe was caught off guard by Mu Fengqie and retreated in a hurry. The sky had completely darkened. Naturally, Mu Fengqie and Jing Xunce stayed in the governor's mansion.
The governor's wife stared intently at Mu Fengqie as she listened to her deeds and kept praising her. "Who says women are inferior to men? The young general's wife is truly a heroic woman and a real extraordinary lady."
In this world, women were usually responsible for managing the household and serving their husbands virtuously. People like her who understood military strategies were extremely rare.
Mu Fengqie blushed with embarrassment at the praise. "I've just read a few books in my spare time. I think the Tule Tribe probably won't take any more action tonight. But how come there are only ten thousand soldiers left in such a big city as Pingzhou?"
Even the Tule Tribe had thousands of soldiers for the surprise attack. A city as big as Pingzhou should, in theory, have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
But now, there were less than ten thousand soldiers left in Pingzhou. It was really powerless to fight against the Tule Tribe. How on earth had this city been emptied of its troops?
Speaking of this, Ouyang Heng heaved a deep sigh and slowly said, "Some time ago, Pingzhou received an imperial edict from the emperor, ordering ten thousand soldiers to be transferred to guard the border. At that time, there was no war in Pingzhou. Who would have thought that as soon as the troops left Pingzhou, the Tule Tribe would launch an attack?"
Mu Fengqie gave Jing Xunce a skeptical look. Their expressions at this moment were almost the same. Both were looking at Ouyang Heng in a daze.
"The war on the border has long been over. Moreover, even if they need to guard the border, the imperial city can dispatch enough troops. Why did they have to transfer troops from Pingzhou, which is so far away? Didn't the governor ever have any doubts?" Jing Xunce asked puzzledly.
There were too many loopholes in this matter. The emperor would definitely not issue such an imperial edict. If Ouyang Heng really received the edict, it was very likely that someone was behind it.
Ouyang Heng sighed again. "I also thought this matter was very strange. At that time, I suspected the authenticity of the edict. But the seal on the edict was definitely the emperor's jade seal. So I had no choice but to follow the order."
"How is that possible? Did you report this to the court and ask for reinforcements?" Mu Fengqie asked.
As she asked, she was thinking. If this was really the case, they couldn't have heard nothing about it in the imperial city. Could this matter also be related to Lou Mingkou?
The governor's wife stroked Ouyang Heng's heaving chest and said, "Ouyang has already reported this to the court. But there have been no reinforcements for so long. Even the surrounding cities haven't sent a single soldier. Maybe the court has already given up on Pingzhou..."
Their initial full - fledged hope had turned into disappointment and despair. They knew that without reinforcements, this city would eventually fall into the enemy's hands. But they still didn't want to give up.
"I'm sure there must be another reason. Although the emperor is muddle - headed and incompetent, he values the territory the most. If he knew about this, he shouldn't just sit back and do nothing."
Jing Xunce recalled the emperor's wars with other countries over the years. Every time, he had done his best to protect his own territory. Maybe the emperor was also kept in the dark about this matter.
"You're right. Anyway, we should send someone to inform the Fifth Prince first. The Fifth Prince will surely find a way to send troops to support Pingzhou. And the matter of the jade seal can only be investigated by the Fifth Prince."
After this incident, they were now far away in Pingzhou. The imperial city was so far away. The only person they could trust in the imperial city was the Fifth Prince.
Jing Xunce thought the same way. They must find out who was behind this. This person had colluded with the Tule Tribe and intended to give away the territory of the Qin Dynasty. Moreover, he had managed to steal the imperial jade seal. If this person wasn't eliminated, there would surely be a great disaster in the future!
Zhu Fei immediately took Jing Xunce's hand - written letter and returned to the imperial city. She rode at full speed without any rest and finally reached the imperial city in a day and a night.