That night, within Dingnan City, the three armies were rewarded.
After Su Rong and Zhou Gu had slept, they were both in good spirits, sitting with everyone in the hall, toasting to one another.
Of course, most of them were still unable to drink. Even though they raised their cups, it was only tea standing in for wine. Moreover, it was ginger jujube tea specially made by the kitchen’s chef. In winter, it could warm the body and dispel the cold.
Zhang Mao, sitting next to Ning Ze, could always smell a scent of flowers on him and wondered, "What’s the pleasant smell on you?"
Ning Ze leaned in close, whispering, "It’s from the flowers Yanjin gave me. She told me to bathe in the petals, saying that it could ward off bad luck. I rushed over here immediately after my bath. Brother Zhang Mao, you have a good nose."
Zhang Mao understood, "No wonder it smells so good."
Ning Ze grinned, "I’ve saved some for you too, enough for one bath."
Zhang Mao coughed lightly, "I don’t need it."
"Come on, Brother Zhou Gu bathed in it today too. Yanjin got the idea from him," Ning Ze chuckled. "Those petals are from several rare species. When I was back in the Marquis Nanping Residence, my mother kept them and cherished them a lot. She would even slap my hand if I touched them. But now, I never thought that I could pull them off and indulge in a petal bath. I feel like I’m worth its weight in gold."
Zhang Mao: "..."
Ning Ze nudged him, "After the feast, go back and use those petals. They are not wilted yet. Don’t waste them."
Zhang Mao: "..."
He really didn’t feel the need for it. He had never heard that bathing with precious flower petals could bring good luck.
Because they still had to attack the city on the following day, everyone went back to rest after having their fill of fun and food.
Ning Ze urged Zhang Mao to take the bath. After all, he didn’t want him to waste the remaining petals from the flower bath. Zhang Mao, who had a discerning taste, didn’t feel like he had become more valuable after the bath, but instead felt like it was a waste.
The next day, the army continued to advance, attacking the next city, Fengyang.
Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng, leading twenty-seven thousand troops, retreated to Fengyang City after sending an urgent message to Crown Prince Yuan Zhao. It’s not that they couldn’t fight to the death, but once the city gate was breached, they would lose even if they decided to hold their ground. It was better to retreat to Fengyang.
After ten days of defending the city, they had lost eighty thousand soldiers by the time the city was breached. The loss was heavy.
Helan Jue was deeply affected, his face grey and extremely unsightly, "I’ve never lost a fight before."
Nangong Zheng looked at Helan Jue but said nothing. He had several injuries on his body, but fortunately, they were not life-threatening.
"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Helan Jue asked him.
"What do I say?" Nangong Zheng really didn’t know what he should say. Nangong family brought itself to this point, he didn’t expect. If his grandfather was still alive, he could have asked him whether the Nangong family regretted their ambition and betrayal of Nanchu. But his grandfather was dead, and there was no one he could talk to or ask.
"The Nanchu Princess is very tough. If the Crown Prince had been able to kill her, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to strike back. Now, she is counter-attacking to take revenge. Do you regret joining Dawei? If your Nangong family hadn’t joined Dawei, you wouldn’t be chased and attacked." said Helan Jue.
Nangong Zheng expressionless, "General Helan has always been biased against me. What is the point of saying these things now? The path chosen by the Nangong family was chosen by my grandfather, I had no say."
Helan Jue said, "You’re sincere. I admit that I used to have a bias against you. Do you know why it changed? Because the Crown Prince has favored you since you were young."
Nangong Zheng made a tight-lipped smile, "General Helan should not say such things. Our foremost task is to defend Fengyang City."
Helan Jue nodded, gritting his teeth, "Yes, defend Fengyang City. But I’m afraid we won’t be able to."
Nangong Zheng fell silent.
Fengyang, a city far less fortified than Dingnan City, on the border of Dawei and Nanchu, was just an ordinary city and didn’t have many troops. When the frontline was defeated and Nanchu breached Dingnan City, Fengyang immediately fell into panic and prepared for war. But it could only hold out for three days.
Three days later, Fengyang City was breached. Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng led the defeated soldiers and retreated to Yanxi City.
Su Rong led the troops into the city, planted the Nanchu flag on the city walls, ordered to take control of Fengyang, and rewarded the three armies.
After a day of rest, the army continued its attack on Yanxi City.
Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng were in disarray, and the Dawei soldiers were also demoralized. Yanxi City only held out for two days before Nanchu broke into the city.
Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng continued to flee. Not far behind was Wuyin Mountain. Helan Jue gritted his teeth, "We can lay an ambush at Wuyin Mountain. There, we can bring down Nanchu with us."
Nangong Zheng disagreed, "Although filled with barren hills and rocky ravines, Wuyin Mountain is not a natural fortification. Now our soldiers are demoralized and our military force is greatly outnumbered. We should retreat to Xinqi City. At the very least, we can hold out for at least three days there. If we start a battle with Nanchu here, we may lose all our soldiers. The Crown Prince would not be pleased to see this. Remember when your nephew Helan Ying failed to hold the border city of Rong between Dawei and Daliang and retreated? Although he retained seventy thousand soldiers and sent back news, the Crown Prince didn’t blame him."
Helan Jue clenched his fists, "But can we keep retreating like this? We’ve already lost three cities."
"We have no choice but to retreat. Otherwise, if we are defeated here and our troops scattered, there will be no other soldiers to defend the city, then Nanchu can march straight in. Dawei will fall rapidly and lose numerous cities," said Nangong Zheng calmly. "The Crown Prince already knows about Nanchu’s troops. He is rushing to confront the Crown Prince of Daliang. Under this situation where war is raging on both fronts, he won’t allow it to continue...."
He paused for a moment, "If I’m not mistaken, the Crown Prince will make a prompt decision and negotiate peace with Daliang and Nanchu. We are just waiting for a messenger from the Crown Prince."
Helan Jue was greatly surprised, "Negotiate peace?"
"I’m only guessing. How else can we break the current deadlock?" said Nangong Zheng. "Dawei has plenty of supplies, while Daliang and Nanchu don’t. Nanchu and Daliang can’t absorb Dawei at this moment. Dawei also won’t allow the two countries to swallow it up. Therefore, if we keep fighting, the internal supply of the two countries would be drained and Dawei lands would be devastated. In the end, none of us will benefit."
Helan Jue isn’t a stubborn person after all. After pondering for a while, he nodded and gritted his teeth, "I’ll listen to you."
Then, the two of them led the defeated soldiers and retreated to Xinqi city. However, before they arrived at Xinqi City, Helan Jue couldn’t swallow his pride and sent troops with ten thousand soldiers to set up an ambush on Wuyin Mountain.
After Nanchu had seized three cities consecutively, the soldiers were greatly encouraged and their morale was tremendously boosted, breaking the gloom they had been in from being suppressed by Dawei at Heiya Pass.
As soon as Su Rong led the troops into the city, he inserted the Nanchu flag onto the city wall, issued an order to take over Yanxi, and rewarded the three armies.
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