Chapter 81: Shi Chaoyi Murdered His Father and Claimed the Throne

The Zhang River, swollen by unseasonal rains, surged through the broken ramparts and flooded the city. Wells brimmed to their stone lips, and the rebel soldiery—half amphibian now—built wooden galleries to dwell above the mire. From the east through to the vernal quarter, the city was occupied. An Qingxu, grim and unflinching, clung to hope, awaiting the arrival of Shi Siming like a man staring down fate. Provisions were exhausted; a single rat fetched four thousand coins in the starving streets. Yet none doubted that the city must fall within days—if not hours. All heaped praise upon Yang Muzhi’s parting stratagem, calling it a stroke of unexampled genius.Alas, the empire’s nine military governors were like hounds without a master. Yu Chao’en, by temperament a courtier and no man of war, had neither the acumen nor the instinct for command. No one could say when the imperial troops should press forward or sound retreat; no voice rose above the din to direct the nine armies, who drifted into disarray, each blind to the movements of the next. Within the city, those desperate to surrender found themselves imprisoned by the floodwaters—escape impossible in the choking depths. As days stretched and victory failed to materialise, the soldiers of the empire grew restless, their discipline waning beneath the sunless skies.Shi Siming, upon learning that Yang Muzhi, Liu Chengyuan, and the other heroes had withdrawn