The sudden deterioration of the battlefield situation indicated that the Longxiang Army had long held back its reserves.
And after the only Lu family head who posed a threat to the Jingwei-class mothership was injured, the Fanyang Lu clan vowed not to allow him to take any more risks. Therefore, the mothership diverted the surplus energy originally reserved for the shield force field to the main cannons of the warships for attack, thereby causing the pressure on the shield of Jiankang City to suddenly increase twofold in the short term.
The warship's main cannons fired approximately once every 10 minutes, bombarding the shield of Jiankang City, creating holes ranging from 10 to 200 meters in radius. These holes were typically repaired within an average of 60 to 240 seconds.
However, this was enough time for the unmanned drones carrying the Longxiang Army's special forces and supernaturals to infiltrate.
Half an hour after the main cannons began firing, the envoy of the Yulin Army swiftly arrived at the clan land of the Shendu Cheng clan.
"By imperial decree! Clan Leader of the Shendu Cheng clan, Cheng Jinyang receives the order!"
Silently scoffing at the eccentric format of Sima Yi's decree, he bowed and said:
"Cheng Jinyang receives the order."
"Appoint Cheng Jinyang as the husband lieutenant! Lead Tianluo to support the Yulin Army, jointly defend Jiangning District of Jiankang City, and swiftly pacify the rebellion and turmoil. So decrees the Emperor!"
Cheng Jinyang remained expressionless. "I accept the decree."
Hmm, a decree without paper, entirely by oral decree, is also eccentric.
Leading Tianluo to support the Yulin Army's defense. In other words, the exemption period from responding to the court's summons has ended, and the clan must deploy Tianluo to the battlefield again.
This was, of course, expected. Originally, joining the secretive project attacking the flagship outside the city allowed temporary exemption from the court's summons, a secret agreement reached by the aristocrats and the former Grand Secretary, Wang Maohong.
Now that the military venture has failed and Wang Maohong has resigned in disgrace, the new ruler of the Zhongshu(Chancellor), Yu Yuangui, naturally would not acknowledge the political promises of his predecessor. Coupled with the urgent attack by the Longxiang Army, reinstating the conscription was only a matter of time.
Just didn't expect it to come so soon...
Seeing the envoy of the Yulin Army about to leave, Cheng Jinyang quickly grabbed him and asked quietly:
"Envoy, how is the military district arranging the retreat to Lin'an?"
Until now, everyone could see that the Northern Army's Su Zigao, who was still on the way, simply couldn't make it in time. The capital city Jiankang could absolutely not be defended. So how to retreat to Lin'an, when to retreat, who goes first and who goes last, became the most pressing concern for all the aristocratic families.
The further back they waited, the fewer retreat routes were available. Those who ran first took the safest underground network routes, while those who ran later had to take the detour outside the ruins of Changzhou-Songjiang. If unfortunate enough to be arranged by the court to leave last, they would probably have to break through the fallen Jiankang City under fire from the flagship and the Longxiang Army.
After all, the Shendu Cheng clan was a military aristocratic family with intricate connections to the royal family and the military. Therefore, the envoy did not withhold any information and quietly said:
"Clan Leader Cheng, His Majesty originally intended for your Cheng clan to be responsible for securing the passage from Jiankang to Lin'an."
"But Lord Zhongshu said that the use of gravity users who suddenly entered Jiankang City through the shield breach this morning to attack enemy strongholds everywhere is the most appropriate for the Cheng clan's affairs."
Cheng Jinyang nodded calmly, but inside, he was furious: Yu Yuangui, you cunning man! Are you really going to pick a fight with my Cheng clan? Even though you're Sister Xinnan's uncle, this grudge I shall remember!
Although he had not dealt with this Lord Zhongshu before, as a long-time political enemy of her father Wang Maohong, Cheng Jinyang occasionally heard Miss Wang's evaluation of this person:
Two words, Impatient and Arrogant.
It means that Yu Yuangui is impatient and arrogant, with lofty ambitions but lacking in ability. It can be said to be a very bad description.
However, all the aristocrats praised Yu Yuangui and described him as "a beautiful jade in a good year", which was completely different from Miss Wang's disparagement. In addition, when it comes to "self-esteem", no one in the world can compare to Miss Wang (who can make her look up to him?), so Cheng Jinyang didn't take it seriously.
But now it seems that Wang Wanrou's evaluation is simply exquisite!
According to the special envoy of the Yulin Army, how could Cheng Jinyang not understand what the Lord Zhongshu meant?
The other party mistrusts the remaining faction of the Shendu Cheng clan because he is weary of the previous "split" among the Cheng family and the rebellion of some clan members. Hence, he rejected the Emperor's proposal for the Cheng clan to guard the pathway to Lin'an.
However, firstly, factional disputes are commonplace among the scholar-officials, as bloodlines and family legacies are crucial; after all, one cannot place all eggs in the same basket. While the Shendu Cheng family indeed engaged in "self-splitting," haven't other supernatural families done the same? Why pick on us alone?
Secondly, after the split, those Cheng clan descendants who remained in Jiankang truly tied their fates to the court and the Emperor.
Setting aside everything else, even if you, the Zhongshu, were to inquire about the grievances between Cheng Qingxin, the former clan leader, and me, Cheng Jinyang, you would know that we absolutely cannot secretly unite.
You must understand that there cannot be two suns in the sky; even the court can only have one Emperor. How could the small Shendu Cheng clan possibly accommodate two clan leaders?
My lineage and my uncle's have long been at odds; what reason do you have to fear my leadership of the clan?
Is it worth your effort to obstruct the Emperor's decisions and force me into fratricide with my uncle's lineage?
Impatient and arrogant, with lofty ambitions but lacking in ability — truly, there isn't a single mistake!
"So, His Majesty's intention is..." Cheng Jinyang asked again.
"Ahem, His Majesty has adopted the Lord Zhongshu's suggestion," the special envoy of the Yulin Army replied, "If the Shendu Cheng clan can eliminate the previous rebellious faction, your family will be included in the evacuation queue the day after tomorrow morning."
The day after tomorrow morning... Cheng Jinyang pondered silently; that works.
According to my sources, the Taiyuan Wang clan and the Qinghe Cui clan are scheduled to evacuate tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening, respectively. If our clan can manage by the day after tomorrow morning, it should suffice; it seems the Emperor still holds some sentiment for our Cheng clan.
But if only our Cheng clan could have been tasked with guarding the pathway from Jiankang to Lin'an, these clan members of ours would have been able to depart from Jiankang today!
Hmph, Yu Yuangui, I've marked this grudge down; let's see how this plays out!
"Clan Leader Cheng," seeing his tense expression, the special envoy of the Yulin Army cautiously asked, "When do you plan to go to Jiangning District to handle your rebellious clan members? We still need to report to the Lord Zhongshu!"
"The esteemed envoy jests; those clan members have already split off and have nothing to do with our Shendu Cheng clan anymore." Cheng Jinyang immediately turned serious, emphasizing with two "already"s to clearly draw the line with those people opposite him.
[T/N: The two already is said in chinese. In English only one is sufficient.]
"As for quelling the rebellion, our Cheng clan naturally bears the responsibility. However, acting rashly under urgent orders would not be prudent. We will commence after investigating and confirming the situation, at the latest by tomorrow."
"In that case, we entrust it to the Shendu Cheng clan." The special envoy of the Yulin Army nodded understandingly.
After all, since the Emperor has granted a spot for evacuation the day after tomorrow morning, the Shendu Cheng clan will surely strive to resolve matters by tomorrow.
However, the Lord Zhongshu's actions were indeed underhanded. Since the Shendu Cheng clan is still willing to cooperate, the Yulin Army can also breathe a sigh of relief.
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A/N: Countdown to the awakening! Everyone, stay tuned!