My Princess and Crown Prince Are Revived
Chapter 330 Too Many Hostages

Chapter 330: Chapter 330 Too Many Hostages

Nan Li’s barbed words once again caused Nan Shi’s face to turn pale, making him feel utterly disgraced.

"Father Emperor, please think carefully about what you should do," he said.

Having dropped this cold remark, Nan Li immediately turned and left.

As an Emperor, to be reprimanded by his own son like this.

Nan Shi’s expression was bitter.

It was his own fault, after all.

He was wrong, he was truly wrong, he had been wrong from the very beginning.

...

Too many troops in tow did not make for swift travel.

Therefore, Chu Baihan had Wuming follow behind with the tens of thousands of troops, while she and Yan Lin rushed ahead to Tongzhou.

On the road.

The biting wind stung Chu Baihan’s cheeks.

On this journey, she had already run several horses into the ground.

Yan Lin had been by her side throughout.

He looked at her with eyes filled with tenderness.

He couldn’t imagine how she had managed to deal with West Chu’s mess over the years.

"Are you afraid?" she asked, turning to him after noticing his gaze.

The wind was so strong that it scattered her voice.

Yan Lin could barely make out what she said.

But he could clearly see the brightness in her eyes and the movement of her lips.

He could guess what she might have asked.

He shook his head quickly.

If she wasn’t afraid, how could he be afraid?

Seeing him shake his head, Chu Baihan quickly flashed a smile.

In that moment, the scenery around them seemed to fade.

Yan Lin watched her intently.

That stubborn and cool little face became radiant with her smile.

The wind brushed through her hair, caressing her cheeks, as if the wind itself had become gentle in that instant.

Yan Lin’s heart, at that moment, crumbled completely.

No matter the past, from now on, he would be the one by her side, fighting alongside her.

Since they had only brought along a handful of followers, they reached Tongzhou in less than two days.

The homing pigeons were faster; Tongzhou received word of their arrival before they even got there.

When Chu Baihan reached the gates of Tongzhou City, Magistrate Zhu Liqun immediately came out to meet them.

"Magistrate Zhu Liqun of Tongzhou greets the Princess," he said.

A slender man stepped forward promptly to salute her.

"Magistrate Zhu, there’s no need for such formalities," Chu Baihan responded in a calm tone, then swiftly dismounted from her horse.

Her dismount was clean and efficient, her skirt trailing behind her like a blooming flower.

Many present were taken aback.

So this was their Princess.

Since the conflicts in Nanduan Kingdom were mostly in the western and northern regions, Chu Baihan had never visited the east.

In fact, this was the first time they had seen her.

Realizing that the entourage behind him had been caught off guard, Zhu Liqun coughed vigorously.

The others came to their senses and hurriedly followed suit, paying their respects.

"Rise, the war is urgent, there is no need to mind these trivial etiquette. Magistrate Zhu, come and tell this princess about the situation in Tongzhou."

Chu Baihan hastened toward the city, casually tossing the sword she carried to Yan Lin.

Nan Xing was left behind in the capital city, Ruolan was sent by her to run errands.

Wuji and Wuming were not with her either, so small favors like catching a tossed sword were left to Yan Lin.

Treated like a servant, the prince from Lin bore no anger, instead, he was secretly delighted.

After all, only if she truly cared about him would Hanhan be so casual with him.

Seeing Yan Lin catch Chu Baihan’s sword, everyone took him for her attendant.

Though this attendant was exceptionally handsome, perhaps a bit too much so.

Zhu Liqun hurried to keep up with Chu Baihan and said anxiously, "Reporting to the Grand Princess, Linzhou, Pingzhou, and Xiangzhou have fallen; most soldiers and civilians were captured before they could react, only a small number retreated to Tongzhou. I’m currently trying to find a way to settle them."

"What’s the preliminary estimate of hostages from these three cities?" Chu Baihan paused in her step, asking with a cool tone.

"Reporting to the Grand Princess, at least... sixty thousand people."

Zhu Liqun spoke with difficulty.

Sixty thousand people?

Chu Baihan’s temples throbbed.

The situation was worse than she had imagined.

The one thing feared most in war was the enemy capturing hostages.

And this time, the enemy had nearly sixty thousand hostages.

No matter how they fought, there was no hope of winning.

"How large is the enemy army roughly?" Chu Baihan continued.

"They are encamped ten miles away, with an estimated one hundred thousand men."

One hundred thousand?

Chu Baihan’s expression darkened upon hearing this number.

"Grand Princess, we have tens of thousands of soldiers in Tongzhou, and if the court sends more troops, our forces will definitely exceed one hundred thousand. There’s no need to be afraid," Zhu Liqun quickly spoke up to comfort her upon seeing her grim expression.

Yet hearing his words, Chu Baihan’s face turned even colder rather than improving.

"Magistrate Zhu. First of all, having more troops doesn’t guarantee victory in battle. Also, do you really think... that a coalition of two countries would only bring one hundred thousand soldiers?"

Chu Baihan glanced at him, then faintly asked this question.

Zhu Liqun’s heart sank.

What did the Grand Princess mean by that?

Chu Baihan had no intention of explaining to him, she glanced at the street.

The usually bustling street was now in utter chaos.

Countless commoners sat on the ground, looking disheveled and with blank expressions.

"Reporting to the Grand Princess, these are the civilians who escaped from the three fallen cities. Because there is limited housing in the city, we could only arrange for them to stay on the streets for now," Zhu Liqun explained while carefully observing Chu Baihan’s expression.

Seeing she was still displeased, he quickly added, "I have ordered people to erect tents, and they will soon be relocated."

Chu Baihan glanced at him and did not respond.

Then, she turned her gaze to Yan Lin and asked, "What do you think?"

"Now, immediately summon half our troops to register all civilians in the city, whether from Tongzhou or the other three states. If any suspicious individuals are found, arrest them on the spot," Yan Lin commanded with a cold voice.

"But the enemy forces are bearing down on us from outside, our military is already insufficient, and you want half of our troops to check the identities of the civilians? Isn’t this wasting our military strength? Besides, these people have been scared senseless, those cruel brutes from Dongli Country killed their relatives right in front of them, they are probably too shocked to speak now," Zhu Liqun immediately objected to Yan Lin’s action.

If this suggestion had come from the Grand Princess, he would have supported it without question.

But who was this man? He had the audacity to order around half of Tongzhou’s soldiers.

"His words are my command, Magistrate Zhu. Do you still have objections?"

Chu Baihan’s tone grew colder.

Zhu Liqun’s expression stiffened, and he quickly amended his words, "Grand Princess, I naturally have no objections. It’s just that this plan seems somewhat immature, maybe you might want to..."

"Just do as he said," Chu Baihan dismissed with a cool voice, then turned to observe the situation inside the city.