Zhou Ping was half a year old when Nanchu and Daliang joined forces and dispatched troops to Dawei.
It was the King of Nanchu and his husband who personally went to war, while Yan Xiang took charge of ruling the state. For Daliang, it was the Emperor leading the three brothers of the Duke Residence into battle, with Su Xingze and several elder court officials jointly taking charge of the state affairs.
Upon hearing that the two countries had dispatched troops and the border was in urgent danger, Emperor Yuan Zhao of Dawei shot up from the Dragon Throne, his complexion drastically changing. He had not received the slightest hint beforehand, nor had he heard of any meetings between Su Rong and Yan Huisheng—how had they suddenly joined forces to go to war?
Especially since he had never dreamed that Nanchu and Dawei, in merely five years, would tear up the pact and unite to dispatch troops.
He gnashed his teeth in anger, "Well played, Su Rong. Well played, Yan Huisheng."
They hadn’t even given him ten years.
The court officials of Dawei were also terrified; the defeat they’d suffered a few years prior still haunted their nightmares.
Prince Chen, Yuan Chen, clenched his fists, "Emperor Brother, your subject requests to lead the battle against Nanchu."
He actually knew his own capability very well; even though he had tried to be a diligent and capable prince during these five and a half years, after five years of refinement, he was still no match for the King of Nanchu and his husband personally going to war.
Emperor Yuan Zhao was also aware that Yuan Chen was no match for Su Rong and Zhou Gu, just as he himself was no match for Yan Huisheng. He turned to Nangong Zheng, "Beloved Minister Nangong, what is your opinion?"
Nangong Zheng, young in age, had already risen to the position of a third-rank official. Like the other court officials, his expression was also unsightly. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, your subject requests to lead the battle against Nanchu."
Emperor Yuan Zhao asked, "How confident are you?"
Nangong Zheng clenched his teeth, "Your subject is willing to die defending Dawei."
He did not specify his level of confidence, and such words were even more credible because even Emperor Yuan Zhao himself did not know how confident he could be.
Emperor Yuan Zhao nodded. He believed in Nangong Zheng because he had an irreconcilable hatred for Su Rong and Zhou Gu. He would spare no effort in fighting against Nanchu. "I grant you five hundred thousand soldiers. You will join forces with Prince Chen and confront Nanchu." He paused before adding, "I will lead another five hundred thousand soldiers to confront Daliang’s Yan Huisheng."
After speaking, he emphatically added, "Remember what you have said."
Nangong Zheng bowed his head, "Your subject will keep it in mind."
Thus, Dawei urgently mobilized its forces, with troops divided into two fronts: one led by Nangong Zheng and Yuan Chen to the Nanchu border to confront Nanchu, and another led by Emperor Yuan Zhao himself, together with the Grand General Helan Jue, heading to the Daliang border to confront Daliang.
Luo Yan was eager to kill Su Rong and Zhou Gu, so she led her people from the Poison Doctor Sect and followed the forces under the command of Nangong Zheng and Yuan Chen.
Su Rong and Zhou Gu returned three hundred thousand soldiers to Daliang and consolidated all of Nanchu’s military forces, which also happened to be five hundred thousand.
The massive army of Nanchu rolled in like a tide, swiftly capturing three of Dawei’s cities, with the defense commanders dying in battle. When Nangong Zheng and Yuan Chen arrived at the border with their troops, the three cities had already fallen. Nangong Zheng ordered the army to rest where they were.
Luo Yan’s eyes blazed with fury, "Why not initiate the battle?"
Nangong Zheng replied, "Our army has hastened here and is very wearied. We must rest first, for this initial battle is crucial. Queen Mother, no matter how urgent you are, this is a battlefield, not child’s play; we cannot be hasty."
Luo Yan suppressed her impatience and demanded, "Tomorrow, I shall fight in the first battle."
Nangong Zheng nodded, "The battle begins tomorrow; I shall not stop you."
Luo Yan was satisfied; she still remembered the vengeance of the past. Her Little Red was killed by Zhou Gu, and her Poison Doctor Sect had suffered a heavy blow. For these five years, she had been studying poison arts and martial skills day and night, all for the sake of avenging that past grudge.
On the second day, as the two armies engaged in battle, Luo Yan, leading the people of the Poison Doctor Sect, proved to be incredibly ruthless, while Cui Yanjin, accompanied by the members of the Evil Ghost Sect, displayed equally strange and unpredictable moves. The two major Jianghu sects fought fiercely on the battlefield, neither side able to secure a decisive victory.
Sitting at the rear and observing the battle was the Old Duke of Protectorate.
Over the years, the Old Duke had seen everything go his way; his health was well-maintained. Now that the second ruler was leading the charge himself, he naturally wanted to see for himself the history of Dawei being devoured and rewritten.
Su Rong and Zhou Gu didn’t even show their faces, sitting inside the central military tent, leisurely reading miscellaneous books. Zhou Gu, at least, was reading a childcare manual, whereas Su Rong was looking at a book of paintings.
When Zhang Yun found a moment to enter the central military tent and took in the sight, he was speechless to the extreme, and in a lowered voice he said, "Both of you lords, do you really believe that Nangong Zheng will truly betray Dawei?"
"We believe." Su Rong, although she hadn’t communicated with Nangong Zheng in five years, believed that he would betray Dawei for the sake of the Nangong Family.
Hearing this, Zhang Yun also sat down, "Ah, if only I had known, I should have gone to bolster Daliang. If this battle is too easily won, I feel like I won’t be able to fully enjoy myself."
Su Rong looked up at him and smiled, "The Emperor of Daliang and I have already agreed that whoever takes more cities counts as their victory. This isn’t some gentleman’s agreement to divide Dawei equally; it’s a case of the more you eat, the more you take, understand?"
Zhang Yun’s eyes lit up, "Understood!"
His spirits lifted immediately, "Then what are we waiting for? We should aim for a swift and decisive victory."
Su Rong waved her hand at him, "So, you lead the Hidden Guard and charge forward. You can start by cutting off the Empress of Dawei’s head and then annihilate everyone from the Poison Doctor Sect."
Zhang Yun touched his nose and politely declined, "That poisonous woman, better leave her to Little Yanjin! I shall wait until he and the people from the Evil Ghost Sect have dealt with that venomous woman, and then I’ll put in full effort."
Su Rong clicked her tongue and baited him, "I have promised Nangong Zheng a title of King Consort indeed, but it wouldn’t do to only bestow one person with the title. If you distinguish yourself greatly, I could grant you the position of a Marquis."
Zhang Yun stood up abruptly, "Is Your Majesty serious?"
"Serious."
Zhang Yun turned and left.
Zhou Gu looked up at Su Rong with amusement, "Are titles of Prince and Marquis so cheap in your view?"
"How could they be?" laughed Su Rong. "Xingzhi and Yanjin are still too young. Zhang Mao, Jiang Zhu, and Ning Ze are not formidable enough. If someone in the court could balance Nangong Zheng in the future, only Ye Guixue and Zhang Yun could. Ye Guixue has the backing of the entire Ye Family, and Nangong Zheng has a large family of his own. Only Zhang Yun is comparatively weak, but if his military merits are great enough for him to be ennobled as a Marquis, that would be sufficient for him to hold capital that is not inferior to the other two."
Zhou Gu sighed, "Your understanding of the Emperor’s Art, the way of checks and balances, truly does justice to what Uncle Xie taught."
Su Rong hummed and muttered, "Isn’t it because I want to make things easier for Chu An in the future? She has the Cui Family to rely on, and if she has the support of the Zhang Family as a marquis’s house, even if the Ye Family and the Nangong Family continue to be powerful, she will not fear them."
She said with a smile, "It’s not that I don’t trust Ye Guixue. If I didn’t trust him, I wouldn’t have allowed him to govern in my stead, securing our rear. It’s the descendants I don’t trust. Just like the Nangong Family, at the beginning when Southern Chu was founded, the Nangong Family too swore loyalty and behaved themselves. But didn’t a wildly ambitious Nangong Yin emerge later on? Having control over things is never a bad idea."
"That’s true," Zhou Gu put down his childcare manual. "I’m going to go out and take a look. Do you want to come?"
Su Rong looked sideways at him, "Do you want to join the battle?"
Zhou Gu replied, "Luo Yan is after me; I should at least let her die with her eyes closed."
Upon hearing this, Su Rong also put down her book of paintings and stood up, "Let’s go. I’ll join you."
The two of them left the central military tent together.
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