He nominally won, and the Ye army chose to concede defeat, but before they did, they unexpectedly obtained four Cangxuan Tokens.
Listen to this: the Ye army, which possesses four Cangxuan tokens, voluntarily surrendered to the Beiyuan army, which only has two Cangxuan tokens. The reason for surrendering was not that they couldn't win, but that the King of Ye suddenly encountered an accident at this critical moment. In order to uphold the greater good of the country, they were willing to give up trivial matters such as winning or losing and reputation.
"No matter what the outcome of the military trials between the six states is, it is not the real outcome. If Commander Hou wants to compete with the Ye army, then let's wait until the real battlefield. This kind of small-scale skirmish is enough." Gongshu Ji Ruo remained calm and composed.
He originally intended to use this trial of military affairs among the six kingdoms to let Zheng Quchi see the gap between Ye Kingdom and other countries, but he did not expect her to be so capable, repeatedly turning the tide of battle. Moreover, an unexpected person appeared along the way—Yuan Xingzhou. As a result, things suddenly slipped out of his control and became complicated and confusing.
That makes sense, Hou Feiqing said. "You didn't expect that, did you? I thought that after winning two matches, she would become arrogant and competitive, but I never expected her to retire gracefully. To be honest, she is indeed extraordinary. No wonder you treat her differently."
Gongshu Jiruo did not respond to this topic. He had his own plans and schemes regarding his relationship with Zheng Quchi, and he did not like to gossip about it.
"The King of Ye is dead, and this matter has also implicated the Queen of Ye. With the power struggle, I'm afraid the Kingdom of Ye is about to change. I can hardly predict what will happen in the future."
"Ha, their Ye Kingdom is only good for clinging to life even after the fall of the kingdom. Do you really think that having Zheng Quchi and Yuan Xingzhou means they have the ability to come back to life? Now that the Empress of Ye is fighting with Yuan Xingzhou, who do you think will be the winner in the end?"
Gongshu Jiru thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say."
Hou Feiqing found it amusing: "Why is it hard to say? Yuan Xingzhou was indeed favored by the Prince of Ye. Upon his return, he was appointed as regent and received the golden seal of the three armies, enjoying unparalleled glory for a time. However, apart from that, he had nothing. He had neither powerful ministers to follow him nor a solid foundation to protect him. On the contrary, the Empress of Ye's power was deeply entrenched in the palace. If she raised her arm and pointed her sword at the enemy, how could Yuan Xingzhou possibly respond?"
He spoke eloquently, but Gongshu Jiruo's rhetorical question rendered him speechless.
"So, this time, the Prince of Ye died suddenly, and the Queen of Ye was caught on the spot. Do you think this was because the Queen of Ye was too stupid, or because she was framed?"
Hou Feiqing paused, "This..."
"Moreover... Yuan Xingzhou has General Zheng Quchi's wife behind him. He has no connections or influence, but Zheng Quchi does."
Hou Feiqing seemed to understand something upon hearing this, and then said, "I had heard about the relationship between Yuan Xingzhou and Zheng Quchi before, and I even witnessed their seamless cooperation at the banquet that night. No wonder she was so eager to leave, and even went so far as to come up with this way to break the deadlock."
Gongshu Jiruo did not believe that Zheng Quchi would have any connection with Yuan Xingzhou beyond official business. Her personality was like a melon that could not be twisted; no one could get sweet from her. However, he did not want her to become more and more entangled with Ye Kingdom, eventually merging into one, where they would share both prosperity and ruin.
"Compared to Empress Ye, she would naturally choose Yuanxingzhou, with whom she has no grudge, as her ally. It's just that I still don't quite believe that Yuwen Sheng is really dead, but if he is still alive, why hasn't he shown up yet?"
Gongshu Jiruo suddenly changed the subject, mentioning a "dead man," which left Hou Feiqing speechless: "You're overthinking it. Julu Kingdom even found Yuwen Sheng's body and brought it over. How could that be fake?"
Whether it's true or false, Gongshu Jiruo has no definitive answer. Perhaps he's overthinking it. But everything has its clues. If there's a doubt in his heart that he can't resolve, then there must be a problem.
Seeing that Gongshu Ji remained silent and lost in thought, Hou Feiqing turned around, his face also showing a heavy expression: "This time, the six states' military trial has almost all failed to achieve the expected results except for Ye. I'm afraid the matter of destroying Ye will be fraught with more twists and turns."
"Actually, I, Old Hou, am not a warmonger. Why must we fight? It would be better if the seven kingdoms could live in peace. Why must we invade other countries?"
If Gongshu heard such naive words, he would only scoff coldly: "The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease; a weak state has no justice. If the State of Ye can survive in the cracks between the six states by relying on the pity of other states, then the State of Ye that survives in the end will be nothing more than a mere puppet."
Sometimes Gongshu Jiruo's words are indeed harsh and unpleasant to hear, but they are precisely the correct answer.
A nation that does not become strong on its own will ultimately either become dependent on others and lose its identity, or be swallowed up and disappear; there are no exceptions.
——
After learning that the Northern Yuan Kingdom had withdrawn its troops and accepted her offer of peace, Zheng Quchi planned to return to the palace immediately, but was stopped at the camp gate.
So she asked Gong Jinniu to find out what had happened, but whether it was because he was incompetent or unable to find out anything, he didn't return for half a day.
So she simply stopped hoping for him. She called Liu Chaiji and the javelin throwers to leave the Golden Egret Hunting Ground. As soon as they left the hunting ground, Lan Yue, Wu Liang and the others returned.
She arranged for Wu Liang and Sixi to go find Wei Yao and Wang Zebang respectively, and also sent Lan Yue to find out about the situation in the palace.
Soon Wu Liang and Sixi returned, but they brought bad news with them – the Wei and Wang families were now surrounded by government officials, and everyone inside was restricted from moving around freely. Wei Zhuang and Wang Zebang had been summoned to the palace long ago and were not at home.
The palace is now surrounded by enemies and fraught with danger. Their summons to the palace was a passive move. It is unknown whether they intend to break off relations and unite with Yuanxingzhou to oppose Empress Ye, or to wait and see and remain calm.
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