Zhou Shen and Zhou Che, leading two hundred thousand troops, rested for a day at Heiya Pass. On the second day, at Su Rong’s command, the army left Heiya Pass and headed for Dawei.
Dawei Crown Prince, Yuan Zhao, was unaware that no sooner had he left, Su Rong left Heiya Pass three days later, not returning to the Nanchu Capital, but waiting for the arrival of Daliang reinforcements to follow him and attack his Dawei.
After he had led his army back to Dawei’s border, even before he could command someone to explore Dawei’s situation after he left, he received an urgent report sent by Helan Ying.
As he opened the emergency report, his face changed. It was then he learned that ten days ago, the old Duke of Daliang had led two hundred thousand troops to attack Rong City, a border city of Dawei guarded by Helan Ying. He had left one hundred thousand troops that day explicitly as a precaution against Daliang, but he didn’t anticipate that the old Duke of Daliang would launch an offensive against Dawei as soon as he arrived at the border.
Without Yuan Zhao harboring any lucky thoughts, he clearly knew that Helan Ying’s one hundred thousand troops, if seriously battling against the old Duke, could not compete with the veteran. Especially under the conditions of a significant disparity in military strength, he could hold out at most for three to five days.
Nowadays, ten days had passed. One could easily imagine that the old Duke probably led Daliang’s troops, took over Rong City, and pushed straight ahead.
Because eight hundred thousand troops from Dawei’s Imperial Court had all been taken away by him, apart from the border city of Rong, which had left one hundred thousand troops to guard, and the Royal Capital of Dawei, which had left three hundred thousand troops to prevent other Princes from creating chaos, other cities had few troops, ranging from several thousand to twenty thousand at most.
His original plan was to exploit the time difference, and before Daliang got news of his attack on Nanchu, attack unexpectedly and catch them off guard to take over Nanchu. But who could have guessed that his attack on Nanchu would be so time-consuming and strenuous? Even though he had lost six siege cannons, he couldn’t kill Su Rong or even get past Heiya Pass.
Yuan Zhao’s face darkened, "Leave two hundred thousand troops to garrison Dingnan City. Helan Jue, you stay here. The rest of the troops will follow me and march quickly to the frontline."
He estimated the time and feared that the old Duke had now captured three or four cities.
Helan Jue immediately said, "Your Highness, I would rather follow you. Nanchu should not take any action in a short time. Su Rong was so exhausted from our battles, how could she make waves again?"
"You stay. With the previous experience with Daliang, I cannot assure their safety, " said Yuan Zhao. "Don’t underestimate Su Rong."
"All right!" Helan Jue could only bow his head, "I shall follow your command."
Therefore, Helan Jue led two hundred thousand troops to stay at Dingnan City on the border between Dawei and Nanchu. Yuan Zhao led five hundred and fifty thousand troops and rushed to the frontline.
Each day of the journey, Yuan Zhao received an urgent report from Helan Ying. Several days later, the urgent report from the Imperial Court finally arrived late in his hands, which stated that Dawei had lost seven cities. His father had sent the second prince, Yuan Chen, to lead three hundred thousand troops and take the only remaining two siege cannons to intercept the old Duke.
Yuan Zhao sighed slightly. Although he looked down on his brother Yuan Chen, he had to admit that Yuan Chen was a person who considered the overall situation and would not neglect Dawei’s national fortune because of his own ambition.
The letter was dated, and he estimated the time. By the time the urgent report reached him, Yuan Chen might have already confronted the old Duke and blocked him.
He had been rushing on his way for consecutive days and was too exhausted, as were his soldiers. Therefore, he slightly loosened up and ordered the troops to set up camp and rest for a night without rushing on the road.
Following his order, the army set up camp right there.
In the middle of the night, while Yuan Zhao was sleeping soundly, an urgent message came, "Your Highness, the Hawk Messenger brought a letter."
Yuan Zhao abruptly sat up, "Bring it in."
The palace guard handed a letter to Yuan Zhao. As Yuan Zhao opened it, his face turned pale. This letter was from Yuan Chen. It stated that Daliang Crown Prince, Yan Huisheng, led two hundred thousand troops to assist the old Duke. Yan Huisheng had many skilled warriors with him, and Yuan Chen’s warriors were no match for them. They could not protect the two siege cannons, and to prevent them from being destroyed and then falling into Daliang’s hands for research, Helan Ying ordered to destroy the siege cannons completely. Also, he himself was killed by Yan Huisheng and died on the battlefield.
Helan Ying died, and the two siege cannons had been destroyed. He feared that he might not be able to defend Qiangli City and urgently asked the Crown Prince to return and rescue Dawei.
Yuan Zhao gripped the paper tightly. He didn’t expect that Daliang Crown Prince, Yan Huisheng, would lead an attack on Dawei. This letter could reach him at the fastest speed, but it has already been five days. In these five days, Yuan Chen was probably forced to retreat.
He immediately gritted his teeth, "Order the entire army to set out immediately, march quickly, and go to Lanwan River."
He was now too late to reach Qiangli City in time, so he could only rush to Lanwan River, hoping to stop Daliang’s troops at Lanwan River.
Just as the army was on its way, another urgent report came, "Crown Prince, urgent report from General Helan."
Yuan Zhao’s heart sank. He reached out his hand, took the urgent report in his hands, and opened it. Indeed, it was an urgent message from Helan Jue stating that five days ago, Su Rong led six hundred and fifty thousand troops to attack Dingnan City. Even if he defended Dingnan City to death and lost all the two hundred thousand troops, he feared that he wouldn’t be a match for Su Rong.
Helan Jue knew very well how tough Su Rong was since he participated in the battles with Yuan Zhao for such a long time. This Nanchu Princess was not a pushover. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have attacked Dingnan City of Dawei right after the Crown Prince had withdrawn his troops from Nanchu.
She took revenge as soon as she had the chance without waiting for the next life. That was a bit too fast.
Yuan Zhao almost gritted his teeth. Daliang Crown Prince, Yan Huisheng, had four hundred thousand troops. Even if they had lost some in the past few days, the losses would not be significant, while it was uncertain whether or not Yuan Chen could preserve the number of his three hundred thousand troops.
If he wanted to drive back Yan Huisheng and the old Duke and retake the cities captured by Daliang, he would likely need at least six hundred thousand troops.
At this point, he only had five hundred and fifty thousand troops.
Therefore, he immediately gave the order, "Nangong Zheng, you lead one hundred and fifty thousand troops, go back to Dingnan City, rescue Helan Jue. There is no need for you to defeat Su Rong, just maintain the situation for me, don’t let Nanchu step in, I will bring four hundred thousand troops to assist Yuan Chen against Daliang." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Yes." Nangong Zheng accepted the order.
Luo Yan, who had recovered half of his injuries by this time, approached, "Crown Prince, I want to go with Nangong Zheng."
Yuan Zhao shook his head, "You stay with me."
Luo Yan said: "I want to kill Zhou Gu, kill Su Rong, and avenge Hongying."
"You can’t kill them. Now that Nangong Zheng is going back to rescue Helan Jue, he will only defend, not attack. Listen to me, stay with me," Yuan Zhao said. "Daliang Crown Prince Yan Huisheng is quite powerful, I need you with me. By killing Yan Huisheng, we also cut off Nanchu’s assistance."
Luo Yan bit his lip, "Alright!"
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