Yan Huisheng, along with the Old Guard, retreated ten li swiftly with the Daliang troops after Crown Prince Yuan Zhao of Dawei arrived with reinforcements at Lanwan River.
Holding a telescope, Xie Lin glanced towards the Dawei military camp and said, "Crown Prince, Old Duke, Dawei has sent a sizable force that seems to be hundreds of thousands strong. What should we do? Should we continue to fight or retreat and defend Fanling City?"
Having fought for such a long time, he was now capable of clearly analyzing the pros and cons on the battlefield, understanding that this place could only serve as a temporary garrison spot and was not a position suitable for offensive or defensive purposes.
Yan Huisheng turned to the old duke, "Old Duke, what do you think?"
"Let’s retreat to Fanling City. Judging by this, Dawei’s reinforcements consist of no less than three hundred thousand men. I’m afraid we would be at a disadvantage if we tried to fight. If we retreat to Fanling City, we can defend or attack as needed. If Dawei decides to initiate another battle once they have recuperated, we would be able to handle it," the old Duke stated.
Yan Huisheng nodded and promptly gave the order for the entire army to retreat to Fanling City.
Fanling City was a hundred li away from Lanshui City, where Lanwan River was located.
As soon as Daliang began to retreat, Crown Prince Yuan Zhao of Dawei received the news. Relieved, he sighed lightly; he wished for peaceful negotiations and naturally didn’t want to wage a war that could lead to mutual destruction against Daliang and Nanchu. Even though he currently had the military force to fend off Yan Huisheng and the old Duke, leaving an opening for Su Rong to thoroughly take advantage would be undesirable, wouldn’t it?
Yuan Chen was closely monitoring the movement of Daliang’s troops and immediately said, "Brother, Daliang has withdrawn their troops."
Yuan Chen looked at him, "They’ve only retreated to Fanling City. Given the disparity in military strength, Daliang wouldn’t dare advance any further."
Yuan Chen clenched his fist and said, "Brother, should we take advantage of Daliang’s fear and pursue them? Do we necessarily need to negotiate for peace?"
"We could pursue them, but what happens after we attack? Are we to wait for Nanchu’s army to invade us?" Yuan Zhao said, "Unless we can kill Yan Huisheng and the old Duke. Without the siege cannons now, I have no such confidence. If we fail to kill Yan Huisheng and can’t completely defeat Daliang’s army with our cavalry, we’ll end up facing Su Rong leading his troops through Yuezhu City. With Nanchu and Daliang joining forces, we would be caught between them and Dawei would be trampled. Is that what you’d like to see?"
Yuan Chen closed his mouth and shook his head. Naturally, that was not the outcome he wanted. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Yuan Zhao, without saying anything more, immediately wrote two letters: one sent to Nangong Zheng and Helan Jue in Dingnan City and the other to the Crown Prince of Daliang, Yan Huisheng.
In both letters, Yuan Zhao carefully chose his words, stating the advantages and disadvantages of Dawei, and of Daliang and Nanchu’s situations respectively. He also clearly indicated that if Daliang and Nanchu were willing to negotiate peace with Dawei, the latter was willing to make concessions. If Daliang and Nanchu refused to negotiate, Dawei was prepared to fight to the bitter end with ample provisions and military payroll, he guaranteed that all parties would be mutually damaged and no one would come out unscathed.
After the two letters were sent, Yuan Zhao tiredly rubbed his forehead. Only then did he find the time to ask Yuan Chen, "You clearly could have saved Helan Ying, why didn’t you? Because he’s my man? Don’t you realize that Helan Ying’s death is a loss to Dawei’s younger generation, he hadn’t even had the chance to grow up. He was cut down so early in life. Given some experience and time, he could have been a second Helan Jue. You shouldn’t have sacrificed Dawei’s legacy to vent your personal feelings."
Although Yuan Chen was indeed dissatisfied with Helan Ying and wanted to punish him, he later felt somewhat regretful that he didn’t order his men to protect Helan Ying in advance.
He didn’t argue, but simply said to Yuan Zhao, "Though I hold some resentment towards you, brother, it’s mainly because the Emperor favors you. I’m aware that I don’t possess your abilities for the throne and I don’t have the support of the Emperor either. I didn’t foresee Helan Ying’s death. The battlefield situation was extremely dangerous at that time. I wanted to personally go down to the city wall but was blocked, so Helan Ying led the charge himself. He didn’t need to die on the battlefield, but he had sent all his guards to destroy the siege cannons. He was left unguarded and was killed by Yan Huisheng, who personally led the attack. Since I didn’t ask my men to protect him in advance, they naturally wouldn’t."
Yuan Zhao looked at him, "And now?"
Yuan Chen was taken aback, "What do you mean by now?"
"Are you still resentful of me? Do you still desire my position?"
Yuan Chen hung his head, "I, your brother, am incapable and dare not covet it any longer. I will assist you, brother, in the future to protect the Great Dawei."
Yuan Zhao nodded, finally patting his shoulder, "We are brothers. It’s best if we can stand together, don’t forget the calamity from sixteen years ago where the brothers Yang Qiang caused turmoil in Dawei, allowing Princess Zhenmin to fake her death and escape, giving Daliang a chance to negotiate peace. Compared to the demise of the nation, you should understand what the right thing to do is."
Yuan Chen nodded, "Brother, you are right."
"Also, the Emperor’s favoritism towards me is because he does not want to repeat the past mistakes. Over the years, I’ve always tolerated you. You should understand, it’s not because I can’t tolerate you, or can’t deal with you, but because you haven’t really made any irreversible mistakes. At the root of it, I feel that there’s no reason why we brothers can’t get along and together, protect Dawei," said Yuan Zhao.
Yuan Chen was touched, remembering how, over the years, despite his small schemes, Yuan Zhao had always given him light punishment. Since he never gambled Dawei’s sovereignty to satisfy his own ambition and personal desires, he couldn’t cause trouble for Yuan Zhao anymore.
He bowed, resolute, "Rest assured, my brother, I’ve understood. From now on, I’ll only follow your commands."
When he sent an urgent report to Yuan Zhao immediately after Helan Ying’s death, he knew what he had given up. Compared to Dawei’s sovereignty, his personal feelings were insignificant. He truly couldn’t cause trouble for Yuan Zhao anymore.
Yuan Zhao was relieved, "You must be tired too, go and rest! Take some time to recuperate."
Yuan Chen nodded.
The brothers had never been as amicable as they were that day. Yuan Chen returned to his own residence, his mood both complicated and relaxed. After a while, he released a long-held sigh, fell onto his bed, and fell asleep in an instant. Only he knew how long it had been since he’d had a good night’s sleep.
Now that Yuan Zhao was here, although the crisis was not yet resolved, everything was handed over to him, allowing him to finally relax.
Barely had Daliang’s troops retreated to Fanling City than Dawei’s messenger arrived at the foot of Fanling City, delivering a letter from the Crown Prince of Dawei, Yuan Zhao, proposing peace talks.
Yun An had the messenger tied up and thoroughly examined the letter for any possible issues before handing it over to Yan Huisheng.
Taking the letter, Yan Huisheng broke the seal, read it and couldn’t help but laugh, "I didn’t expect Yuan Zhao to be so decisive. He brought reinforcements, and yet instead of fighting, he wants to negotiate peace with me." He handed the letter to the old duke, "Old Duke, what do you make of this? Logically, since he has brought so many reinforcements, even though it would be tough, it wouldn’t be impossible to retake the twelve cities."
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