I Became a Sugar Mama to an Ancient General during a Famine! - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: She Cannot Let Zhan Chengyin Die

The Chu army stretched across the horizon thirty miles from Zhen Guan, their crimson-yellow battle flags forming an imposing line against the sky. An hour later, the Yong forces arrived, establishing their position twenty miles to the east, even closer to Zhen Guan than their Chu counterparts. Their black dragon banners unfurled menacingly across twenty miles, casting an oppressive presence over the landscape.

Unlike the barbarian hordes they typically faced, these armies displayed impeccable organization. Both nations’ troops exhibited strict discipline and professional training. For Zhan Chengyin, who had built his reputation fighting barbarians, this marked his first confrontation with Chu and Yong. Despite his fame as the young general, he had never experienced such psychological pressure.

“How many crossbows remain?” he asked Li Yuanzhong.

“Five thousand, sir, but we’re down to roughly hundred thousand arrows. We’ve lost considerable ammunition.”

A hundred thousand arrows would prove insufficient against an army of three hundred and fifty thousand. Just then, Chen Kui appeared, covered in dust and dirt.

“General,” he whispered, “we’ve spent two hours laying explosives within a five-mile radius of the city.”

“A thousand men completed the circle of explosives. Should we detonate them?”

Chen Wu arrived breathlessly with more news: “General, my brother led the explosive placement last night. We captured several followers who confessed everything. We’ve uncovered spies from the barbarians, Chu, Yong, Yan, and Yu…”

He spat in disgust. “Damn it! Our Zhan family army has been infiltrated like a sieve. We treated them well – daily rice and pork. Would they enjoy such luxuries in their home countries? We caught two actively transmitting messages and dealt with them immediately.”

Mo Fan returned on horseback, having paraded through the streets as ordered by Zhan Chengyin, though he hadn’t understood the purpose. His presence had drawn out over a dozen suspicious figures – all confirmed as spies upon interrogation. Only then did he realize he’d served as bait.

“This prince is starving!” he complained. “No sleep, no food?”

Zhan Chengyin instructed Tian Qin to take him to the kitchen for whatever he wanted, but Mo Fan insisted on waiting for food from the god. This reminded Zhan Chengyin that he hadn’t replied to the god since dawn.

Rushing back to the council hall, he found a thick stack of notes at the vase’s bottom. The goddess had waited all night for his response. He immediately wrote back:

「My apologies, goddess. The fault is mine. We’ve exposed over twenty spies overnight. Chu and Yong have halted twenty to thirty miles away, poised to attack at any moment.」

Ye Mumu finally received his message. Just as she’d foreseen in her dream, these kingdoms had made their move. 「Are you confident?」 she asked.

「We have five thousand crossbows and over a hundred thousand arrows, but face three hundred and fifty thousand enemy troops, 」he replied. 「The explosives Chen Kui planted within five miles won’t be enough against such numbers.」

「How can I help?」 Ye Mumu asked anxiously.

「goddess, I swore to you I would survive!」

After half a month of correspondence, Ye Mumu understood his character well enough. He would break before he bent – surrender was not in his nature. If the city fell, he would likely perish.

This couldn’t happen! She had invested heavily in these hundred thousand lives, spending every waking moment planning their salvation. Now, with one conflict, everything threatened to collapse. Half a month’s effort and billions in investment would be wasted.

Pacing anxiously in her living room, Ye Mumu knew she had to find a solution. Zhan Chengyin must not die. But how could fifty thousand men triumph against three hundred and fifty thousand? Unlike the loosely organized barbarians, these were disciplined Han soldiers…

First, they needed more crossbows.

She searched online for bows, arrows, even hunting rifles. Finding three compound bow shops, she called them immediately. When no one answered, she drove to the nearest store. The street cleaner informed her they wouldn’t open until 7:30.

While waiting, she bought out entire inventories of nearby food shops – tea eggs, soup dumplings, soy milk, noodles, and cleared out a convenience store’s drinks. After sending these supplies through, she continued waiting, eating dumplings and drinking soy milk.

At 7:30, the yawning shop owner finally arrived. Ye Mumu directly asked about their compound bow stock. Seeing a young girl, he hesitated before asking what model she wanted.

“Long-range, suitable for boar hunting,” she specified. The owner detailed their inventory: fifteen hundred bows, each with fifty arrows, totaling seventy thousand arrows. The price: 1.45 million yuan.

Without haggling, Ye Mumu transferred the full amount, demanding immediate delivery. The owner, overjoyed at clearing years of inventory, quickly agreed. She repeated this at two more shops, ultimately purchasing five thousand bows and quarter-million arrows for 4.5 million yuan.

After all deliveries reached the warehouse, she brought breakfast to Uncle Yang, who left to deliver some to his wife. Once alone, Ye Mumu transmitted the weapons through. Zhan Chengyin would handle the training.

By 8:30, Master Huang delivered the vegetables – five truckloads instead of the planned three. After settling payments, Ye Mumu considered using the drivers to transport coal. Zhan Chengyin could use heated coal from the walls to repel attackers.

This sparked another idea. She asked about obtaining oil, gasoline, or diesel in quantity. Master Huang mentioned a suburban fake liquor factory whose products had proved lethal. Tens of thousands of jin sat unused for years. At one yuan per jin, she purchased the entire stock, dispatching trucks for both alcohol and coal.

She notified Zhan Chengyin: 「 Five vegetable trucks arrived. Sending through in ten minutes.」

The massive quantity required full military alert as soldiers mounted the walls. Zhan Chengyin erected a tent nearby. When Wu Erlang led two thousand Chu people into the city, they witnessed vegetables spilling everywhere, the tent bursting at its seams as supplies rolled across the ground…