I, a useless prince, started with the Xiang Yu template.

Six princes?

The prince personally led the troops into battle?

Du Wen froze on the spot, his eyes wide with shock, completely dumbfounded.

He never expected that the leader of the army this time would be the current prince. This was an enormous undertaking!

News from the capital couldn't reach the local area, so he had no idea about Chu Yun's past reputation as a playboy.

All we know is that the prince is of high status and wealth, and he is personally leading troops into battle. With the prince in charge, the morale of the army and the people will surely be more stable. Jing'an City is truly secure now.

Coming to his senses, Du Wen became even more respectful and enthusiastic, and quickly bowed.

"So it's His Highness the Sixth Prince!"

Your Highness's personal visit to the northern frontier is truly a blessing for the people of Jing'an City and for the Great Qian Dynasty!

Your Highness and the generals have had a long and arduous journey. Please come into the city quickly. I have prepared resting places for the army and will welcome them with a feast!

After saying this, Du Wen stepped aside to lead the way, personally accompanying Chu Yun, Wang Hu, and other generals, preparing to enter the city.

Upon seeing this, Wang Hu immediately stepped forward and gave a stern order to the Imperial Guard generals behind him.

"Pass on my order: the entire army will enter the city in batches, immediately take over the defenses of the four gates of Jing'an City, replace the original garrison, reinforce the city walls, strictly check all personnel entering and leaving, and deploy provisions and weapons without any oversight!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon receiving the order, the general immediately mobilized the troops. The Imperial Guards moved in an orderly manner and quickly rushed to the four gates to take over the city's defenses.

.......

Prefectural Governor's Office.

Inside the main hall, a welcoming banquet was set up.

It wasn't luxurious, but it was well-organized.

Several large solid wood tables are arranged on both sides, with coarse porcelain bowls and plates filled with meat, vegetables and whole grain staples.

Two jars of local rice wine sat in the corner, but there was no music or dance to accompany the performance.

Du Wen personally accompanied him, leading a group of county officials, and stood at the entrance of the hall to greet them.

Chu Yun strode into the main hall, followed closely by Wang Hu, Ma Dong, and other imperial guards generals.

"Your Highness, generals, you have all had a long and arduous journey. I have prepared a small feast to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey. I hope Your Highness and the generals will not find it offensive."

Du Wen bowed and gestured for Chu Yun to sit in the main seat.

Everyone took their seats in turn, and Du Wen picked up his wine bowl, stood up and spoke first.

"On behalf of all the officials and people of Jing'an County, I offer this first bowl of wine to Your Highness and to all the Imperial Guards!"

"If the Imperial Guards had not arrived in time, Jing'an City would have been in imminent danger, and the people would have been slaughtered. This kindness will be forever etched in the hearts of the people of Jing'an!"

The officials in the hall all stood up and raised their glasses in a toast.

Chu Yun picked up the wine bowl, only lightly touched his lips to it before putting it down, without drinking much.

The banquet began, but there was no trace of leisurely enjoyment; the atmosphere remained heavy throughout.

After a few quick bites, Chu Yun put down his chopsticks and headed straight for the main topic, his gaze falling on Du Wen, who sat beside the head of the table.

"Prefect Du, there's no need for formalities. The war is urgent. I want to know the specific situation in Jing'an City right now: refugees, city defenses, and provisions. Please explain in detail."

Upon hearing this, Du Wen immediately suppressed his smile and his expression turned serious.

"Your Highness, to be honest, the situation in the city is not optimistic."

"Since the invasion of the northern barbarians, the three northern prefectures have fallen one after another. Wherever the barbarian soldiers went, they burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of atrocities. The people's homes were destroyed and they could only flee south with their families."

Tens of thousands of refugees have already poured into Jing'an City, and a steady stream of refugees continues to flow in from the northern official road. Large numbers of people are pouring in every day, and the city is already overcrowded.

"Most of these refugees fled from the three prefectures of Beiliang, You, and Yan. They have been wandering and lacking food and clothing. Many of them are suffering from hunger and disease. The streets and open spaces throughout the city are full of refugees sleeping on the open. Just settling them has already given me a huge headache."

"What's even more troublesome is the war in the north. The barbarian army has already invaded Hebei Prefecture and besieged Hebei City with a large force. We have been cut off from news from them for several days. In my opinion, Hebei City has few soldiers and generals, and I'm afraid it's already in grave danger and can't hold out any longer."

The room fell silent instantly after he said that.

Once Hebei City falls, Jing'an County will face the barbarian army head-on. Everyone knows that a fierce battle is just around the corner.

Chu Yun frowned slightly and then pressed for an answer.

"What is the state of the city's grain reserves? How long can the current grain stocks last?"

When the topic of provisions came up, Du Wen's expression grew increasingly grim, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"Your Highness, Jing'an County is not a major grain-producing county, and the grain stored in the official granaries is not much. Originally, it was only enough to support the garrison and the people in the city for two months."

But now, with tens of thousands of refugees pouring in, daily food consumption has skyrocketed. At the current rate of consumption, the grain currently stored in the official granaries can only last for a month at most. If the number of refugees continues to increase, it may not even last for twenty days.

Food shortages are the biggest hidden danger at present.

Once food supplies are cut off, the city will fall into chaos on its own, even without the barbarian army attacking it.

Chu Yun turned to look at Wang Hu beside him, his tone firm.

"General Wang, we'll figure out a solution for the grain supply later."

The most important task at present is to immediately deploy comprehensive defenses for Jing'an City.

The barbarian army has conquered three prefectures in succession, and now their military might is at its peak, their arrogance boundless. After capturing Hebei City, they will undoubtedly march without delay to attack Jing'an. We have little time to prepare.

"You must immediately deploy troops to reinforce the city walls, prepare rolling stones, logs, bows, arrows, and oil, thoroughly investigate spies within the city, and pacify the refugees. You must make sure that the entire Jing'an City becomes an impregnable fortress before the barbarian army arrives."

Wang Hu immediately stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and accepted the order.

"Your humble servant obeys!"

Upon seeing this, Du Wen, who was standing nearby, quickly echoed his sentiments.

"Your Highness, rest assured, General Wang, you only need to focus on deploying defenses. I will lead the entire prefecture to fully cooperate!"

Whether it's the allocation of provisions, the conscription of laborers, or the preparation of supplies, whatever the Imperial Guards need, just ask, and I will do everything in the city's power to get it done, without ever hindering Your Highness!

Chu Yun nodded.

"Prefect Du, you don't need to worry too much."

The 20,000 Imperial Guards I led this time were merely the vanguard of the imperial court's northward advance.

His Majesty has already issued an edict to mobilize elite troops from all over the country, who are continuously heading to the northern frontier. It won't be long before a large number of reinforcements arrive in Jing'an...

Upon hearing this, Du Wen immediately bowed in respect.

"Your Highness is wise! With Your Highness in command, Jing'an City will surely be defended!"

........

Central command tent.

Inside the tent was a large topographical map of Jing'an City's defenses, laid out on a wooden table with its edges flattened by stones.

Wang Hu stood in front of the table, holding a wooden stick in his hand, pointing to the city gates, city walls, and surrounding roads on the map, and gradually arranged the city defenses with his deputy general Ma Dong and several imperial guards.

"Ma Dong, you will lead 5,000 men to guard the east gate. The terrain there is flat and it is most vulnerable to attack by the barbarian army. Make sure you have enough rolling stones and oil."

"Hand over the West Gate to Lieutenant Li, and send men to reinforce the wooden barriers behind the city gate, and add two more bolts to prevent the barbarian army's battering rams from breaching the city."

"Three thousand men will be assigned to each of the North and South gates, and the remaining four thousand will follow me as a mobile force to provide support wherever there is a crisis."

"All soldiers take turns on duty, day and night, and sentries must be stationed on and around the city walls to report any movement immediately."

Wang Hu issued orders one after another, and the generals listened attentively with their heads down, nodding in agreement from time to time.

Chu Yun sat in the main seat inside the tent, listening quietly to their plans without saying a word.

Before long, the entire city defense deployment was clearly arranged.

Ma Dong looked down at the city defense map, then looked up at Wang Hu and volunteered to take command.

"General, we have just arrived in Jing'an and are completely unaware of the surrounding terrain and the movements of the barbarian army."

The subordinate requested to lead a team of elite cavalry out of the city to scout the surrounding terrain and find out the paths and passes.

"While we're at it, we'll also go north to scout out the enemy's situation, so we can make preparations in advance."

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to winning a war. Ma Dong's words hit the nail on the head.

Wang Hu nodded without even thinking.

"Granted. You will select one hundred cavalrymen, bring plenty of dry rations and water, go as soon as possible and return as soon as possible. Be very careful on the road, do not easily engage in combat with barbarian soldiers, and return immediately after gathering intelligence."

"Yes!" Ma Dong immediately responded and turned to select soldiers.

Upon hearing that they were to go out of the city to conduct reconnaissance, Chu Yun, who was sitting in the main seat, immediately stood up, walked quickly to the table, and called out to Ma Dong.

"Wait a minute, I want to go too."

Wang Hu was taken aback at first, then frowned, pondered for a moment, and then turned to instruct Ma Dong.

"Your Highness's safety is paramount. You must never allow him to be in danger, understand?"

Ma Dong quickly stood up straight.

"Rest assured, General, I will protect Your Highness even at the cost of my life!"