For a time, a strange scene unfolded before Jinling Ferry.
The barbarian army to the east was in no hurry to attack the city. Instead, just beyond bowshot, they arranged their siege engines in a long, straight line.
The defending commander atop the tower was perfectly at ease, as though he could not see the barbarian army outside—or did not even care to look at it.
Without the Great General's orders, the soldiers hid themselves away and chatted.
Inside and outside the city, both sides remained at peace. There was not even any distant cursing.
A strange scene had also appeared on the wasteland beyond the western gate.
More than a thousand imperial guards had come from the imperial capital, and they showed no intention of leaving. Instead, they pitched their tents on the wasteland along both sides of the official road.
From the sky, it seemed that Wang Xian's earlier prediction had come true.
To the east and west, the barbarians and the imperial guards from the capital had Jinling Ferry trapped between them in a pincer.
After making a circuit of the two city towers in the east and west, Qin Wentian returned to the City Lord's Residence.
Looking at Wang Xian, he frowned and said, "I don't understand. What are the imperial guards from the capital trying to do? Could it be that they want to join forces with the barbarians from within and without?"
Hua Mantian, seated nearby, gave a cold laugh. "They've calculated that we have no way out. We either die in battle or surrender."
"Do we need a way out? From the day we left the imperial capital, we cut off our retreat."
Wang Xian looked at the two of them and said solemnly, "As long as we don't panic, we can slowly