"Lord Chen, speak!"
Xiang Tingchun habitually cast his gaze toward him.
"Send the news to Hengkang Prefecture with all haste."
Chen Sanshi stared at the Sand Table and said in a deep voice, "Given the current situation, Anding Prefecture, which holds most of Yun Province's forces, is under siege. Only Hengkang Prefecture might still be able to send reinforcements."
"It's useless."
Xiang Tingchun shook his head. "Long before the Xihe Tribe sent troops to attack Poyang, I wrote to Hengkang Prefecture. They said they were Yun Province's final dangerous pass, and unless they received deployment orders, they would not send a single soldier elsewhere.
"With things as they are, sending the battle report to the Ministry of War in the capital and then waiting for orders to come back down... who knew how long that would take? How could they possibly make it in time?"
"Times have changed."
Chen Sanshi said, "Now that Anding Prefecture is besieged, if Poyang County falls as well, Hengkang Prefecture will be attacked from both front and rear. If we make the stakes clear, how could they refuse to help at all?"
"We can only try."
Xiang Tingchun nodded. "Which of you will go?"
"I will!"
Wang Zhi stepped forward. "I know the commander of Hengkang Prefecture's guard well. If I speak to him, I can at least bring back a thousand men. No—two thousand!"
Chen Sanshi remembered this.
Fatty Wang had gone to the prefectural city twice to visit relatives, staying ten days to half a month each time. Unexpectedly, it had not been Anding Prefecture he visited, but Hengkang Prefecture.
"Good!"
Xiang Tingchun gave his shoulder a heavy slap. "Commander Wang, the safety of Poyang's tens of thousands now rests entirely on your shoulders!"
"Mm."
Wang Zhi wasted no words. He picked up