Nangong Zheng wanted to take a gamble, to kill Su Rong, Xie Yuan and all in the name of avenging his grandfather.
But the price of revenge would be the loss of every single member of the Nangong family. Before Su Rong’s reinforcements arrive, he would have to finish off her fifty to sixty thousand troops and corner her here.
He asked himself, Could I do this?
He had three hundred thousand soldiers. If he were to gamble, how long would it take?
While he was lost in thought, there came the sound of hooves from behind Su Rong’s force, as if a large number of reinforcements were approaching.
Su Rong showed a smile at the corner of her mouth and said to Nangong Zheng, "Here come my reinforcements." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Nangong Zheng’s pupils contracted slightly.
Su Rong added, "Not many, probably just short of a hundred thousand."
Ye Guixue and Nangong Yun were fighting on Fengming Mountain with fifty-thousand soldiers. At most, they had as many as Nangong Yun, leaving forty thousand. The troops in Zhou Gu’s hands were won by him in Death Valley of Wanren Mountain from the Liu’an Prince, forty-five thousand in total. Combined, they still fell short of a hundred thousand.
But these fewer than a hundred thousand soldiers had now become an overwhelming force for Su Rong. Nangong Zheng would find it challenging to deal with her and these soldiers. And more reinforcements were still on the way, so it was still uncertain who would stand victorious in the end.
Indeed, as she finished speaking, the troops behind her began to show. The flag of Nanchu was clearly visible. It was the combined force of Ye Guixue and Zhou Gu, just as Su Rong had estimated, they numbered eighty-five thousand.
The reinforcements arrived, shocked at the sight of the flag of Dawei and the three hundred thousand soldiers, and increased their speed.
Ye Guixue’s wounds had not yet fully healed, and he stayed alongside Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun in the wagon. His convergence with Zhou Gu had taken some time, which was why it had taken them longer to arrive than Nangong Yun’s troops, missing them by a hundred miles or half a day.
Zhou Gu was grievously injured, and they had been on the move for several days. Fortunately, they had good medicine to keep him going. Zhang Yun was in a similar state. Neither of them could walk independently yet. They were being carried and ridden in wagons to convalesce every day.
As the troops approached, Zhou Gu pushed open the wagon’s curtain, sticking his head out to overview the dark mass of Dawei soldiers ahead. He said nothing.
Zhang Yun also looked out, took a deep breath, and whispered, "It’s a good thing we got here in time."
While they were talking, Ye Guixue got down from the wagon and came to Su Rong to salute her. "Princess."
Su Rong gave him a faint smile. "Guixue, your timing is impeccable."
Ye Guixue also revealed a smile. "It’s not just me, Lord Thursday and Mr. Zhang joined forces with me to rush here."
Su Rong had already seen them. She nodded to Ye Guixue and told him, "I’m currently negotiating with Nangong Zheng. It’s good that you are here. You should be more adept at negotiating than me." She pointed subtly, "I have no intention of fighting Nangong Zheng at the moment. Negotiate with him, use the lives of all Nangong family members for my Uncle Xie’s life. I will let the Nangong family go, let him take the Nangong family’s people and retreat from Nanchu to Dawei. I won’t stop him. However, if he ever dares to infringe upon my territory with Dawei’s troops in the future, I will kill him quickly."
Ye Guixue nodded without any objection. "Alright, I will negotiate with him."
Su Rong entrusted the matter to Ye Guixue, she had no desire to talk to Nangong Zheng, and her heart was drawn to Zhou Gu. She immediately headed towards the wagon where he was.
Seeing Su Rong leave while Ye Guixue was approaching, Nangong Zheng held a stern face. "Second Young Master Ye."
Ye Guixue nodded. "Lord Zheng, the Princess has another three hundred thousand soldiers on the way. She told me that she has no intention of fighting you. Her offer is the lives of the entire Nangong family for Master Xie’s life. She will spare the Nangong family, and you can lead your people out of Nanchu and swear loyalty to Dawei. If you lead Dawei’s troops to infringe upon her territory again, the Princess will show no mercy."
Nangong Zheng held a stern face. "Is it me sparing the Princess or is it the Princess sparing my Nangong family? The Princess might have been mistaken. Although the Princess still has three hundred thousand soldiers, they are still on the way and can’t be here anytime soon. At this time, she has fewer than one hundred and fifty thousand. If it really comes to a fight, I will be her match."
Ye Guixue said, "It’s true that you have twice the number of soldiers, but are you sure you want to sacrifice all members of the Nangong family? If there are hills, you don’t have to worry about the lack of firewood. If your Nangong family is wiped out in one swoop, then you will be the only Nangong left in this world." He continued, "Even with your talent, without your clan’s support, how far can you get even if you join Dawei?"
He looked at Nangong Zheng. "You are not a child, and you should understand that the members of the Nangong family are the basis upon which your family has stood for hundreds of years. If you lost your kinsmen, how would the Nangong family stand? The Nangong family revolted against the King and the Princess, but what is it all for? Could it be for the extinction of your family?"
Seeing that Nangong Zheng was silent with a stern face, Ye Guixue said coolly, "If you insist on having a bitter fight with the Princess, then she will be ready to fight. As to who will win, it’s still uncertain. I hope you won’t regret it, Zheng."
Nangong Zheng clenched his fists, feeling pangs in his heart. He remained silent.
Ye Guixue was not in a hurry and patiently waited for his decision.
Elsewhere, Su Rong had arrived before Zhou Gu’s wagon. Seeing the two heads peeking out from the wagon, she couldn’t help but laugh, "Haven’t you two recovered from your injuries yet?"
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be staying inside the wagon obediently and not showing themselves like Ye Guixue.
Zhou Gu made a sound of acknowledgement, his eyes fixed on her.
Zhang Yun touched his nose, "Well, Princess, what did Nangong Zheng say?"
"He will agree to negotiate." Su Rong said.
If Nangong Zheng were impulsive, he would’ve ordered the attack the moment he caught up. He didn’t kill her when she was eating the roasted rabbit, nor when they were talking afterwards. Now that she had reinforcements, she had an ace up her sleeve, forcing him to weigh the pros and cons.
Zhang Yun nodded, feeling relieved. They had been fighting for so long, they were sick of it, and he didn’t want to fight anymore. It was a relief that Nangong Zheng could negotiate. Whether he left or not didn’t matter, the important thing was getting everyone from the Nangong family out of Nanchu.
Knowing it wasn’t the time for him to chat with Su Rong, although he had a ton of things to say, he immediately signaled his men and had them help him out of the wagon, making room for Su Rong and Zhou Gu.
Zhou Gu was pleased with Zhang Yun’s discretion. After he had been helped out of the wagon, Zhou Gu caught Su Rong’s wrist and told her in a low voice to get in.
Su Rong looked at him with a smile and obediently got into the wagon, carried by the force of his hand.
As soon as the curtain fell, before she even took her seat, Zhou Gu pulled her into his embrace.
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