Chapter 391 Qin Jingsu! Unrivaled in the Army! (4000 words)
Inside the Qin royal palace.
Qin Siyao spent the morning at the palace with her mother, the Empress Dowager, and also visited her father, the Emperor.
While Qin Siyao was accompanying her father, the Emperor, for a stroll in the inner palace,
Suddenly, the King of Qin seemed to sense something and looked towards the ancestral temple inside the palace.
"Father, what's wrong?" Qin Siyao asked, a bad feeling also rising in her heart.
Just like my second brother back then.
"Let's go take a look!"
The King of Qin waved his hand.
In an instant, Qin Siyao followed her father into the ancestral temple.
At the very front of the ancestral temple, among the royal life lamps, the one symbolizing the eldest prince suddenly went out.
"Big brother."
Qin Siyao called out softly, her mind blank.
How could that be?
My elder brother is with his husband, how could he be with his elder brother?
"Your Majesty!"
Just then, a maid's exclamation came from the entrance of the ancestral temple.
Qin Siyao turned around and saw her mother's body go limp and fall to the ground.
"Mother!"
Qin Siyao quickly stepped forward and hugged her mother.
"Jing Su, why are my children like this? Why did God take both of my children away? Why? Why?"
"Mother!" Seeing her mother collapse in her arms, Qin Siyao cried out in distress, "Don't frighten me, Mother!"
On the third day after the Battle of Shuling,
Xiao Mo finally stormed into the capital of Jin.
After entering the city, Xiao Mo still did not harm the people in the imperial city.
However, the Jin royal family was not so lucky.
Compared to the ruler of Chu, the King of Jin was more afraid of losing his life.
The moment the capital was breached, the King of Jin fled under the escort of the Jin cavalry.
However, Xiao Mo would not leave such a major threat behind.
Otherwise, the Jin state would continue to have legitimacy, which would cause extreme trouble in the future.
So Xiao Mo personally led his cavalry to catch up and then personally beheaded the King of Jin.
Apart from the King of Jin, all the princes and crown princes in the Jin capital died at the hands of Xiao Mo.
Although the Jin royal family was not completely extinct and there were still many royal relatives outside the capital, Xiao Mo no longer cared.
Those feudal lords were not of one mind at all.
Even if they introduce a new representative of the Jin royal family, so what?
How many people will agree?
How could the other feudal lords possibly agree?
Ultimately, these feudal lords will only support different puppet rulers for their own benefit.
However, on the very day that Xiao Mo captured the capital of Jin, just as he was about to lead his army to Caiyun City to meet Crown Prince Qin Jingsu, a battle report was delivered to him by a flying sword.
Looking at the battle report, Xiao Mo stood there blankly, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
"General, could it be that something has happened in Caiyun City?"
Seeing Xiao Mo's appearance, Li Dadan and the others also became a little anxious.
Xiao Mo shook his head and handed the battle report to his lieutenants: "Crown Prince Qin Jingsu has been killed in battle."
"What!" Li Jing couldn't believe the news.
"General, what's going on?" Zhao Guang asked incredulously. "Wasn't Caiyun City being defended smoothly? With the large army His Highness the Crown Prince brought and the great formation of Caiyun City, even if we held out for another month, we should be fine, right?"
In Zhao Guang's view, he had defended Yanmen Pass for so long back then, so the defensive formation of Caiyun City was no less impressive than that of Yanmen Pass.
Not to mention that Caiyun City has ample food supplies, and His Highness the Crown Prince is not an incompetent person, so how could it be breached so easily?
“It was precisely the formation of Caiyun City that malfunctioned.” Xiao Mo shook his head, calming himself down. “After His Highness the Crown Prince left Caiyun City, he was worried that the princes of Jin Kingdom would affect us, so he fled while trying to buy time. In the end, His Highness the Crown Prince failed to break through at Shuling and sacrificed himself.”
Everyone fell silent, their eyes filled with grief and indignation!
Despite being the Crown Prince, Qin Jingsu was extremely approachable and had no airs whatsoever.
Moreover, in the past few days, everyone has fought side by side against the enemy, risking their lives together, and everyone has long regarded Qin Jingsu as a brother.
"Li Jing, you are the commander-in-chief, and Xiao Yang and Xiao Gui, you two are the deputy commanders. Defend the capital of Jin well. In addition, our wounded soldiers will be placed in the capital of Jin and you will take care of them."
Yongsheng, you will serve as the recruiter here. Just like in the lands of Chu, Yan, and Wei, you will only recruit people from the land of Jin who are willing to participate.
If no one enlists, that's fine; otherwise, if they go to the battlefield, they won't contribute, they'll break military discipline, and they might even become opportunists.
As for those generals from Jin who surrendered to us, I will leave half of their troops to be incorporated into your army, and I will take the rest with me!
"While I'm away on campaign, you must repair the magic array in the Jin capital as quickly as possible and be on standby at any time, understand?"
Xiao Mo gave his instructions.
"It's the general!"
Everyone clasped their hands in a salute and responded.
The next morning, Xiao Mo led his army away from the capital of Jin.
The allied forces of the Jin state, having killed Qin Jingsu, thought they had secured their victory and hurriedly marched towards the Jin capital.
However, soon after they heard the news that the Jin Kingdom had indeed been captured, everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"This is definitely false information deliberately spread by Xiao Mo; it's just one of his schemes," said a vassal of Jin. "Gentlemen, please don't be influenced by Xiao Mo!"
The others nodded in agreement, also believing that the capital city was not so easily breached.
They continued their attack on Yaoqin City.
However, when Xiao Mo led the Snow-Treading Dragon Riders out of Yaoqin City and hung the heads of the Jin Kingdom's ruler and crown prince on the city wall, the allied forces of the feudal lords were thrown into chaos, and the morale of the army plummeted.
After all, the entire royal family of Jin was dead, leaving them wondering what they were fighting for.
This hesitation and doubt caused a brief period of chaos in the allied forces of the Jin state.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, under Xiao Mo's leadership, the Snow-Treading Dragon Riders charged directly into the camp of the allied forces of the feudal lords.
The Snow Dragon Riders completely cut open the camp of the allied forces of the Jin Kingdom.
The infantrymen of the Northern Wilderness formed ranks, their bloodlust soaring to the heavens!
Those Jin generals who surrendered to Xiao Mo did initially have some ulterior motives.
But when they saw Xiao Mo sweeping through the enemy lines as if they were in an empty field, they knew that the Jin Kingdom was truly doomed.
In comparison, the Qin state only lost one crown prince.
But the incredibly wise ruler of Qin was still alive.
Now the capital of Jin has been destroyed, the allied forces of the feudal lords have suffered a great defeat, and countless people have been killed.
The State of Jin is truly gone!
Furthermore, these surrendered Jin generals knew that Qin treated generals from other states equally, and everything was based on military merit. Therefore, they fought even harder on the battlefield, trying to prove their worth.
After defeating the allied forces of the Jin state, Xiahou Nan and Xiao Shi also learned of the fall of the Jin state.
This undoubtedly gave a strong boost to the morale of the soldiers on the other two fronts!
In the following four months, Xiao Mo fought one major battle after another in the State of Jin, making the feudal lords of Jin question their existence.
More and more of the feudal lords of Jin surrendered to Xiao Mo.
Meanwhile, those feudal lords also sent Qin Jingsu's corpse.
As for the lord who killed Qin Jingsu, he was ambushed and killed by other lords as a pledge of allegiance.
On that day, Xiao Mo offered his head as a sacrifice to Qin Jingsu.
"Big brother, I'll show you the whole battle!"
After paying respects to Qin Jingsu, Xiao Mo used a magic array to prevent Qin Jingsu's body from decaying, and the entire army carried the coffin!
Xiao Mo still appointed Li Jing as the chief general, ordering him to lead 400,000 Qin troops and 200,000 Jin troops that had been incorporated into the army to support Xiao Shi.
Xiao Mo personally led 500,000 Qin soldiers and 400,000 Jin troops directly into the heart of Qi.
When the states of Qi and Zhao learned that the state of Jin had been destroyed, they were so angry that they cursed Jin as a useless country.
But after they finished their rant, they also had to face one thing—the overall situation was about to become extremely unfavorable.
Qi general Gu Fei was advancing more and more smoothly, and it seemed that he was about to take over most of Chu territory.
But when a letter arrived from the capital, Gu Fei learned that Xiao Mo had captured three cities in Qi Kingdom within a month, almost one city every ten days. He could no longer sit still!
If this continues, even if I completely conquer the Chu region, I will lose my home.
Despite his reluctance, Gu Fei had no choice but to withdraw his troops.
Upon learning of Gu Fei's withdrawal, before the letters from Xiao Mo's army even reached Xiahou Nan's hands, Xiahou Nan immediately knew what had happened and was about to lead his troops into battle.
Some lieutenants objected, fearing that this might be a scheme by Gu Fei.
But Xiahou Nan disagreed.
He defied public opinion and personally led his troops to pursue Gu Fei.
Over a period of four months.
Xiahou Nan took over almost every city he arrived at, only encountering simple resistance from the Qi army.
This shows just how anxious the other party was.
Soon, Xiahou Nan regained control of the entire territory of Chu.
Looking out over the territory of Qi, Xiahou Nan felt extremely pleased.
I've been holding back for two years in this great battle! It's finally my turn to counterattack!
However, the State of Qi is wealthy and powerful, with a vast territory, well-trained soldiers, many famous generals and loyal ministers, and the people also recognize the current King of Qi.
So when Gu Fei returned to Qi and the Qi court calmed down, they began to carefully deploy defenses.
Xiahou Nan and Xiao Mo only captured a total of eight border cities, so their offensive slowed down.
However, during this period...
Li Jing led his army to successfully relieve Xiao Shi's siege, and then joined forces with Xiao Shi to launch a counterattack against the Zhao state.
The Zhao state comprised fifteen provinces, five of which were occupied by the Qin army.
Although Xiao Shi was seriously injured and unable to go to the battlefield, he still had little problem commanding in battle.
The two were confident that they could annex the State of Zhao within the next year.
Just when everything was going smoothly, the King of Zhao unexpectedly colluded with the Xigu Kingdom and Liuhuo Kingdom, which were ruled by the demon race.
The kingdoms of Xigu and Liuhuo dispatched a large army of demons, which temporarily stabilized the situation in the kingdom of Zhao.
If that's the case, then it's not so bad.
Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi remained confident that they could gradually conquer Qi and Zhao; it was only a matter of time.
But at that very moment, a secret letter arrived from the Qin capital—
[I am unwell, and now Jing Su has passed away. The court needs to be stabilized. All of you, temporarily halt your offensive, guard the passes, and return to the capital as soon as possible.]
After receiving the secret letter from the capital, Xiao Mo ordered Xiahou Nan to lead a large army to garrison Haiyan Pass in Qi State, while Xiao Shi ordered Zhao Guang and Li Jing to garrison Yan Pass and Xuzi Pass in Zhao State respectively.
These checkpoints are all places that are easy to defend but difficult to attack.
As long as it is not lost, the Qin state can attack the Qi state and the devastated Zhao state again at any time.
Both Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi used the excuse of "rest and recuperation" to lead their troops back to Qin, so as not to arouse suspicion from others.
Two months later, Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi returned to the Qin capital.
Not far from the capital of Qin, Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi's armies met.
Xiao Mo saw his father sitting in the carriage.
Xiao Mo knew that his father had suffered serious injuries.
Although I later heard that my father's condition had stabilized.
However, Xiao Mo also knew that things were probably not that simple.
However, because his father, Lion, had concealed his injuries with a magical artifact, Xiao Mo couldn't see the extent of his father's injuries.
Two days later, the King of Qin personally led his civil and military officials to welcome the Xiao family father and son outside the city.
Compared to the joyous expressions of the Qin king and his officials when Xiao Mo and Xiao Shi returned in triumph in the past, everyone's eyes were now filled with sorrow.
Although they won this great battle, regardless of the circumstances, the only crown prince of Qin, who was also the next ruler who satisfied everyone, passed away.
"Your subject is Xiao Shi."
"Your subject is Xiao Mo."
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Shi and Xiao Mo dismounted and addressed the King of Qin at the same time.
"Please rise, my two ministers."
Qin general Xiao Shi and Xiao Mo helped him to his feet.
The King of Qin's expression was equally unreadable, giving the impression that he was feigning illness simply to summon Xiao Shi and Xiao Mo back to the capital, as if he feared they might rebel.
However, Xiao Mo knew that the King of Qin would not be so "bored".
Moreover, Xiao Mo felt that, based on his understanding of the King of Qin, no matter what happened, he would remain calm and would never show any unnecessary emotions in front of outsiders.
But what Xiao Mo didn't expect was...
At this moment, the King of Qin's hand, holding Xiao Mo's, trembled slightly.
Xiao Mo looked up and saw the eyes of the King of Qin moving.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't closed them for a very long time.
"Frost King... Has my child... returned?" The King of Qin forced himself to suppress his grief and slowly spoke.
At this moment, he no longer resembled a king; he was merely an ordinary father.
"The Crown Prince is back."
Several soldiers carefully carried the coffin over and gently placed it beside the King of Qin.
When the coffin lid was opened, Qin Jingsu's body lay quietly inside, a smile on his face.
The King of Qin knelt down and gently stroked his son's face, while all the civil and military officials bowed their heads.
"Frost King, my child, is he brave?" After a long while, the King of Qin asked, trembling.
Hearing the question from the King of Qin, Xiao Mo clenched his fists, clasped his hands in a salute, and spoke in a heavy yet firm voice:
"Reply to Your Majesty!
Qin Jingsu!
Unrivaled in bravery among the three armies!
(End of this chapter)
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