Su Rong came to her senses.
Indeed, when she first got the news, she also thought that Zhou Gu was taking too much of a risk.
While it was not necessarily safe to stay in the royal capital given the tense situation, such a risk made people feel uneasy as well.
The massive mobilization of the Nangong Family was not something the Crown Prince’s undercover agents could withstand. As for the siege on the Ye Xiang Residence, they nearly died in this mountain valley due to the unforeseen attack. The forces of the Ye Xiang Residence and the Liu’an Prince were at loggerheads, and the power of the Nangong Family was almost able to steamroll their search and pursuit of Zhou Gu.
Given these circumstances, Zhou Gu, carrying the Nanchu King and hiding in various places, how could it be easy?
Especially since the Nanchu King had been in a daze for years, and when he came to his senses and started planning for his daughter, under the watchful eyes of the Nangong Family, the available manpower could only be cultivated through the Ye Xiang Residence. The power cultivated was negligible. It also wasn’t easy to secretly raise an army of 50,000 without the Ye Xiang Family knowing.
Su Rong rubbed her brow, "Before coming to Nanchu, I always thought that the Nanchu King and Ye Xiang, after planning for five years, wouldn’t be so passive. I really didn’t expect..."
If she knew earlier about the situation in Nanchu, under the oppression of the Nangong Family and Liu’an Prince, the Nangong Family even borrowed 50,000 elite soldiers from the Crown Prince of Dawei, and she almost had no power to fight back, she shouldn’t have been so slow in coming to Nanchu when she was in Daliang.
"And Han Yin and the 40,000 Dawei elite soldiers who got away." Qin Ruo said: "Han Yin, knowing that you brought soldiers to Nanchu, should soon find out that you have a large number of soldiers behind you. In this way, he probably won’t dare to flee to the Nanchu capital and is likely to return directly to Dawei. Then, the Crown Prince of Dawei, Yuan Zhao, will also get the news. What if his 500,000 soldiers stationed at the Nanchu border invade Nanchu? You have 300,000 soldiers, who have just entered Nanchu and have not yet adapted to Nanchu’s climate and terrain. We are probably at a disadvantage."
Su Rong immediately sat up straight, startled.
Even though Qin Ruo hadn’t slept for two nights, he was still calm as he analyzed the situation with Su Rong, "Princess, upon entering Nanchu, you’ve gained the allegiance of 30,000 soldiers, and now another 100,000 have pledged allegiance to you, adding up to 430,000 soldiers. However, His Majesty and Ye Xiang have raised 50,000 private soldiers. If they are added up, it’s a total of 480,000 soldiers. This number can barely withstand Dawei’s army, but the influence of the Nangong Family is widespread in Nanchu. Liu’an Prince and the Nanchu Royal Family also have considerable power. The Crown Prince of Daliang’s forces have been mostly eradicated, and we don’t know if His Majesty of Nanchu still has any hidden cards. Ye Xiang did not mention it, so I assume compared to these three families, His Majesty doesn’t have much power to use. In this case, even if the Princess has a comparable army, it’s probably hard to resist if Dawei invades Nanchu."
Su Rong listened quietly, "You’re right, even with these 300,000 soldiers, if we consider the 500,000 soldiers of Dawei, the prospects really aren’t optimistic."
Su Rong sighed, "After rescuing the Ye Xiang Residence with these soldiers in hand, I initially felt confident to face the Nangong Family and Liu’an Prince. Now, your sober analysis is like a bucket of cold water waking me up."
She looked at Qin Ruo and praised him, "Well done, I’m glad I brought you along."
Qin Ruo couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "I owe my future to the princess, naturally, I should be thinking and worrying for you."
Su Rong also laughed, "What do you suggest we do then? Borrow more soldiers from Daliang? I doubt that’s possible, right?"
How could they just keep borrowing? Even if the Crown Prince agreed, the Emperor probably wouldn’t.
They’d already borrowed 300,000 soldiers, she hesitated to ask for more.
"One, send a letter to the Crown Prince of Daliang, not asking for troops, but asking him to dispatch an additional 200,000 soldiers to the Nanchu border. As soon as Yuan Zhao, the Crown Prince of Dawei, dares to bring 500,000 soldiers into Nanchu, Daliang shall immediately send reinforcement. Two, take the shortest route, march quickly, and try to intercept Han Yin and his escaping 40,000 soldiers. Three, it’s been said that Nangong Yin left 50,000 soldiers in the royal capital. We also need to get these soldiers on our side." Qin Ruo, who had obviously deliberated for some time, now gave her these three suggestions in one breath.
"Excellent!" Su Rong clapped her hands, "Let’s do it that way."
She immediately took out a terrain map, spread it out on the table, and studied it with Qin Ruo, "We’ve rested for a day, but Han Yin’s army also needs to rest after their escape. Seeing that I hadn’t pursued them for a day and a half, he probably thinks I won’t chase him anymore, and maybe he’ll let his guard down. Once his guard is down, he certainly won’t be traveling fast. All we need to do is decide which route he’ll take with his 40,000 troops, and where the essential routes to Dawei are. Once we’ve figured that out, we can take the shortest route and chase them down."
"This terrain map may not be the most detailed one. The terrain of Nanchu is full of mountains, forests, and valleys." Qin Ruo said, "Princess, why don’t you ask the second young master Ye to come over? He was born and grew up in Nanchu, he is a real Nanchu person, and he is talented and capable. He may be able to suggest a shortcut unknown to this terrain map."
Su Rong agreed with this idea. She had a terrain map, and so did Han Yin. Han Yin could not have been entrusted with such an important task by Yuan Zhao without a certain level of capability. His immediate decision to retreat when he saw her coming to the rescue was a sign of that.
She said at once, "The second young master Ye is seriously injured; should we go to his carriage instead of having him come here?"
Qin Ruo nodded. It was lucky for servants to have a master who cared for them. Such a princess would surely win the adoration of the courtiers of Nanchu in the future.
Su Rong put away the terrain map, ordered the carriage to stop, and went with him to Ye Guixue’s carriage at the back.
Ye Guiyan had already woken up and was talking to Ye Guixue in his carriage. After he woke up, he had already paid his respects to Su Rong. He didn’t look as good as Ye Guixue, but there wasn’t much of a difference, only older by several years, he naturally had a brotherly demeanor that Ye Guixue did not have.
When someone reported that Su Rong wanted to discuss something, the two brothers immediately stopped talking. The carriage stopped, and Ye Guixue opened the carriage curtain to see Su Rong and Qin Ruo behind her. He hadn’t met Qin Ruo, but since waking up, he’d heard about him. He heard that the princess had a young master named Qin by her side who was the former Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Daliang, Qin Yuan’s son, and now all matters in the army were handled by him and Fen Ling.
He immediately guessed Qin Ruo’s identity and said, "Princess, Master Qin, please get in the carriage."
Su Rong nodded and got in Ye Guixue’s carriage with Qin Ruo.
After they got on the carriage, Ye Guiyan stood up to pay his respects, but Su Rong stopped him, introduced Qin Ruo to them, "This is Qin Ruo, the young master of the Qin family who I specially invited to be by my side before leaving Daliang."
Ye Guixue and Ye Guiyan immediately paid their respects to Qin Ruo.
After Su Rong and Qin Ruo sat down, she directly got to the point with Ye Guixue, explaining their purpose.
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