At the stroke of midnight, the Lingnan navy launched another attack.

Their morale soared, and they became like tireless puppets, causing the Jiangnan navy to panic and struggle to cope.

Most importantly, the Duke of Qi was willing to spend a lot of money, using five large warships to clear the way, charging straight ahead and almost reaching the center of the enemy's fleet.

With his secret guards still not back and the Lingnan navy launching another frenzied attack, Gu Yufan knew he had failed once again.

However, none of these are the most important things.

Most importantly, the Lingnan Navy has truly gone mad.

They started their attack in the middle of the night, showing no signs of fatigue, and maintained a high-intensity offensive until dawn.

Several large ships rushed into the fleet, completely disrupting the formation of Gu Yufan's warships.

Moreover, the Duke of Qi ordered his men to fire arrows from the shore, capturing the small, light warships of the Jiangnan navy.

The entire river was filled with shouts of battle, and the scene was one of utter devastation.

It wasn't until nightfall that the Duke of Qi sounded his horn to signal the end of the campaign.

Having gained a brief respite, Gu Yufan hurriedly ordered his men to clean up the battlefield and tally the number of casualties for the day.

Upon learning that tens of thousands more had been killed on his side, Gu Yufan could no longer contain his anger. Ignoring his advisors' attempts to dissuade him, he stormed into General Chen's room.

General Chen, having learned of the day's battle situation, naturally couldn't stay in bed any longer. He quickly got up, wanting to find the others to discuss countermeasures.

No sooner had he finished dressing than the door was pushed open forcefully.

General Chen turned his head and quickly clasped his hands in salute: "Your Highness, your subject..."

Without thinking, Gu Yufan went up and kicked General Chen, sending him staggering back two steps.

He looked utterly bewildered, clearly not expecting that Gu Yufan, as his subordinate, would treat him like a servant: "Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?"

What do you mean?

Gu Yufan pointed at his nose and scolded, "Why don't you tell me, General Chen, what do you mean by pretending to be sick and bedridden with a major battle imminent?"

"You don't think I don't know what you're thinking, do you? Are you hoping to go back and curry favor with Gu Yuchen to save your lives?"

"I'm telling you, don't even think about it! Forget about your families being in Jiangzhou, the military pay you've embezzled over the years is enough to wipe out your entire family and make you die a hundred times over!"

"This king..."

"Your Highness!"

Ling Jinhua listened outside the door for a while, and seeing that more and more people were about to arrive, she hurriedly went in, looking worried, and interrupted Gu Yufan's reckless remarks.

She gave General Chen an awkward smile: "Your Highness did not mean that. Today's battle was fierce, and the navy suffered heavy losses. Your Highness wanted to check on your physical condition."

She tugged at Gu Yufan and whispered, "General Chen has almost recovered, Your Highness. Why don't you tell them to go to the council hall together?"

Gu Yufan sneered, not intending to give Ling Jinhua any face at all. But when he looked up, he saw General Chen's calm face, and his heart skipped a beat. He realized that he had indeed been a bit impulsive.

Then he said, "Since the concubine has said so, General Chen, please pass on the word that we shall meet in the council hall within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

After Gu Yufan finished speaking, he turned and left without showing any remorse.

Ling Jinhua hurriedly chased after him to the door, watching Gu Yufan walk further and further away before turning back and saying, "General Chen, you shouldn't be so willful. General Zhou went to the battlefield despite his illness before the war was even over, and you..."

She shook her head slightly, as if to say that General Zhou was responsible for your scolding.

Ling Jinhua said softly, "After two consecutive defeats, the morale of the army is already unstable. Even in the short distance to General Chen's room, I have already heard a lot of gossip. If this continues, the soldiers may surrender without a fight."

After she finished speaking, she sighed, turned around and left, leaving General Chen in the room to ponder.

General Chen had given up all hope for this battle!

Two consecutive defeats have indeed affected the morale of their troops.

The conflict between the navy and the private soldiers was growing, but the prince's heart was clearly leaning towards the private soldiers.

General Chen closed his eyes tightly, turned around and went to the other people's room, and whispered about his experience: "His Highness is increasingly dissatisfied with us, and I'm afraid he will only listen to the slander of those people surnamed Zhou in matters of war."

The other generals were filled with indignation: "That Zhou fellow has never even commanded a bandit suppression operation. He's just good at saying nice things. If he were really on the battlefield, he'd be the fastest runner to escape. If Your Highness believes him, I think we don't need to fight this battle. We should just surrender!"

“But His Highness trusts him!” General Chen said. “The war has been over for so long, why did His Highness only come to my room after I got up?”

The crowd, which had been in a state of high agitation, suddenly fell silent.

In truth, His Highness's heart has always been biased.

Because they are the navy, the imperial army, His Highness cannot trust them as much as he trusts his private soldiers. When they are in charge of suppressing bandits, the private soldiers reap all the benefits.

But they have already pledged allegiance to the King of Chu, what can be done?

General Zhou and the others exchanged glances, clearly no longer wanting to waste any more time in this battle.

Since the new emperor ascended the throne, their lives have become increasingly difficult.

The King of Chu withheld their military pay, but his private soldiers' pay was always paid in full.

General Zhou had made a fuss before, but the answer he received was that the private soldiers were kept in his private treasury, while they were soldiers of the imperial court. If the imperial court didn't allocate funds, there was nothing he could do.

General Zhou and the others never suspected anything before, but now that I think about it, they were really stupid.

Everyone understood the matter, and the room became even quieter.

One of them asked, "What do we do?"

Resistance means death, but if they don't resist, the Emperor won't spare them even after the King of Chu's army is defeated!

General Chen paused for a moment and then said, "Let's take it one step at a time."

He stood up and patted the others on the shoulders: "The King of Chu has summoned us to the council hall. Let's go and see what to do next."

Unbeknownst to General Zhou and the others, their conversation had been overheard by the private soldiers hiding outside the door, and it quickly reached Gu Yufan's ears.

His anger, which he had barely managed to suppress, flared up again, but this time it was clear that his anger would not be so easily extinguished.

One of the advisors whispered, "Your Highness, General Chen and the others are already considering surrendering. They are not to be trusted. It would be better to deal with them sooner rather than later."

These words were exactly what Gu Yufan wanted to hear!

So when General Chen and his men entered, General Zhou and his men suddenly attacked, binding the unsuspecting General Chen and his men tightly.

General Chen, his eyes bloodshot, looked at Gu Yufan: "Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?"

Gu Yufan sneered, "What do you mean? You don't think I won't find out you're having a secret meeting in your room, do you?"