Chapter 425
Chapter 425
Qiu Hao’s eyes flashed; he seemed tempted by Wu Mu’s proposal. But just then, An Zaetian suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Qiu Hao, you fool. Wu Mu can’t take Raging Tide City, so he wants to leave you here to keep our Jin Clan in check. Then the State of Wu will retreat and, as a consolation, seize your Heavenly Wind Island. That’s the only way they’ll have something to show for their efforts.”
Hearing this, Qiu Hao’s expression changed drastically. He felt that An Zaetian's words made a great deal of sense. The State of Wu had paid such a heavy price; they couldn’t just leave empty-handed. They would surely seize his Heavenly Wind Island.
“Let’s go, back to Heavenly Wind Fortress! Marquis Wu, I fear something may happen to Heavenly Wind Island, so I will withdraw first.”
He led his five thousand troops in a swift retreat, racing madly toward the docks at the edge of the sea. Wu Mu chased after him frantically, shouting.
“General Qiu Hao, you mustn’t fall for the enemy’s trick! Don’t you want the title of Count?”
At those words, Qiu Hao stopped in his tracks and sneered.
“I may want to be a count, but my life is more important, isn't it? For the past few years, all the tempting offers to win me over have been lies. My territory and the army under my command are all that is truly mine.”
Qiu Hao's army retreated without a trace. He boarded his warship and returned to Heavenly Wind Island without a single look back.
“Foolish, greedy, inept, despicable bastard…!”
Wu Mu furiously cursed Qiu Hao.
‘You pirate, couldn't you have trusted me just a little? At such a critical moment, would I, the commander, really turn on you? I am a dignified marquis of the State of Wu, the King’s cousin, a man of noble status. What I want is the entire Leizhou Archipelago and Raging Tide City. What’s the point of capturing only Heavenly Wind Island if I can't take Raging Tide City?’
But it was useless to reason with a pirate chieftain like Qiu Hao. He was naturally suspicious and cunning, someone who couldn't be persuaded by simple logic. That was why Zhang Chong, when dealing with Qiu Hao, always postured as if he were placing his life entirely in Qiu Hao's hands. Every time, Zhang Chong would board Qiu Hao’s ship with only a few men. When staying on Heavenly Wind Island, Zhang Chong would always bring a much smaller contingent of troops than Qiu Hao, making sure never to give him the slightest reason to feel uneasy. But Wu Mu was young and inexperienced, failing to notice such subtleties. Zhang Chong could handle a suspicious and cunning pirate like Qiu Hao, but Wu Mu was not yet capable of it.
* * *
Wu Mu returned to the main fortress of Raging Tide City. Marquis Jin Zhuo spoke.
“Marquis Wu, will you continue to fight?”
Wu Mu was in utter agony. He had never imagined the battle would collapse so completely. Although his ten thousand elite troops had been annihilated, his and Qiu Hao's forces combined still numbered seventeen thousand, four times that of the Jin Clan. If he led his army to garrison Qiu Yao'er's fortress and Qiu Hao's army garrisoned the eastern fortress, they could surround the Jin Clan.
Moreover, if they continued to blockade the Jin Clan by sea, they could maintain their strategic advantage even without taking Raging Tide City. If the State of Wu then sent another ten thousand troops south as reinforcements, they could attack the main fortress of Raging Tide City once more. This time, they wouldn't hope for someone to open the gates for them; they would rely on their own strength, sacrificing their soldiers' lives to take the fortress. So, while he had lost this battle, it wasn't a total defeat yet.
But Qiu Hao had abandoned Wu Mu's twelve thousand troops and left. Of course, even with just his own army, Wu Mu still had three times the Jin Clan's numbers, but what was the use of that now that he had lost control of the sea? With Qiu Hao's retreat to Heavenly Wind Fortress, the Jin Clan’s fleet would regain control of the waters around Raging Tide City. If that happened, Wu Mu’s twelve thousand men would be cut off from food and supplies, trapped with no way forward or back, and eventually left to die here. What should he do now? Whether to continue fighting or to flee, he had to decide as quickly as possible.
Wu Mu wracked his brain. He couldn't bear the thought of running away like this. He still had twelve thousand troops. Should he send four thousand of them to sea to regain naval control, while the remaining eight thousand captured the eastern and western fortresses of Raging Tide City, maintaining the triangular encirclement of the main fortress? In truth, eight thousand men were not enough for that. They could probably hold the two fortresses if they didn't take the initiative to attack the main one. But what about provisions? The supplies they had brought were limited and would eventually run out. Once the army's food supply was cut, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In contrast, the Jin Clan had no issues with provisions. The amount of food stored within the main fortress was enough to last for years. It would take at least a month and a half for the State of Wu to send another wave of reinforcements south to attack Raging Tide City. Could Wu Mu's army hold out on their current supplies until then? No, they could not.
What if the State of Wu transported supplies? That would also take a long time. What about buying or simply plundering food from within Raging Tide City? That was absolutely out of the question. The merchants residing in Raging Tide City all had armed guards. With the State of Wu and the Jin Clan at war, they had locked their doors and remained neutral. But if the Wu army were to steal their food, they would immediately side with the Jin Clan and rise up to attack the Wu army. At that point, the Wu army would be overwhelmed and crushed by the vast number of merchants.
Wu Mu strained his mind as hard as he could, but not a single perfect strategy for capturing Raging Tide City came to him. This was enemy territory, the Jin Clan's home base. Besides, even if the Jin Clan's navy couldn't defeat Qiu Hao's fleet, could they not defeat Wu Mu's? Both sides were novices in naval warfare. Once he lost control of the sea, Wu Mu couldn't even dream of escaping back to the State of Wu. What good would having three times the Jin Clan's forces be then? He couldn't stay, yet he didn't want to retreat. Wu Mu was in absolute agony. On top of that, he hadn't slept for days and nights and was at his physical limit. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he fainted on the spot.
* * *
After more than two hours, Wu Mu quietly awoke. He lifted his head and looked around, meeting more than a dozen pairs of extremely anxious eyes.
“What happened? Did something else happen?”
One of his subordinate generals spoke.
“The Jin Clan has released all seven thousand prisoners.”
Wu Mu was startled.
‘Isn't the return of the prisoners a good thing?’
The general continued.
“All seven thousand have suffered severe burns. They are also running fevers. If they aren't treated quickly, they will all die.”
Wu Mu then understood. The seven thousand prisoners were, in fact, a burden. A burden that could drag his twelve thousand troops down to their deaths. If they remained in Raging Tide City, the seven thousand wounded prisoners would surely die.
Wu You spoke.
“Furthermore, seventy percent of our provisions have been burned.”
Wu Mu asked in a shocked voice.
“What? How did that happen? Weren't the provisions heavily guarded? We placed water barrels all around to extinguish any fire at a moment's notice. How could they burn?”
Wu You replied.
“We don’t know what kind of weapon the Jin Clan used, but when it touched our provisions, an eerie green flame erupted. After that, dousing it with water didn't put it out; it continued to burn even underwater.”
It was one disaster after another. Having just regained consciousness, Wu Mu suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Though he didn't vomit blood, he coughed up phlegm streaked with it. But now, at last, he could make a decision.
“Withdraw the troops.”
A subordinate general asked.
“Where should we withdraw to?”
At that question, Wu Mu let the tears he had been holding back fall.
“Retreat to the State of Wu.”
“Are we not retreating to Heavenly Wind Fortress? We could kill Qiu Hao and seize Heavenly Wind Island.”
Wu Mu shook his head and sighed.
“As long as we cannot take Raging Tide City, what is the point of having Heavenly Wind Island? The island is far more useful in the hands of a scoundrel like Qiu Hao than in ours.”
Looking back, Wu Mu realized how immature he had been. After the battle began, he hadn't actually made any mistakes. Even losing ten thousand elite soldiers to the Jin Clan's scheme was more a testament to Shen Lang's superior skill than a fault of his own. A seasoned commander, after the annihilation of ten thousand elites, would have immediately thought of the variable that was Qiu Hao. They would have made an instant decision to either appease him or kill him and seize his fleet. The Jin Clan had also seen that weakness and swiftly driven a wedge between him and Qiu Hao.
“Withdraw the army…”
Wu Mu ordered, tears streaming down his face. Just then, Wu You suddenly spoke.
“Grand Marshal, with seven thousand wounded among us, won't retreating be a problem? It will slow down the speed at which the army boards the ships, and that will be when we are most vulnerable. Won't the Jin Clan use that opportunity to launch a surprise attack?”
Wu Mu shook his head.
“They will not.”
After this battle, he had come to understand a few things. If it weren't for the seven thousand prisoners, the Jin Clan might have attacked them as they boarded the ships. But with seven thousand severely wounded men, the Jin Clan would not attack. Because Jin Zhuo's character was truly noble, he would never attack an army burdened with so many wounded.
A few hours later, Wu Mu's twelve thousand troops, divided among several dozen ships, began their retreat northward. Less than half a month ago, he had led an army of thirty thousand south with majestic grandeur, his spirit so fierce he could have swallowed a tiger whole, thinking he would achieve a historic feat that would be remembered for ages. But now, his retreat was a pathetic sight, like a stray dog that had lost its home. In the short span of half a month, he had tasted both heaven and hell.
Wu Mu lay on the deck, a pained expression on his face, gazing at the sky and the setting sun. He had learned many lessons from this battle, learned so much. But would he be given a chance to correct his mistakes? Could he ever recover after such a major defeat?
‘Your Highness, this servant has been defeated and has betrayed your trust. This servant deserves to die a thousand times over!’
In truth, his defeat in this battle was not the most important thing, nor was the impact this failure would have on his future.
‘The crucial issue is the blow Your Highness will suffer. How fierce will the counterattack from the conservative old officials at court be? How much damage will this defeat do to Your Highness’s prestige?’
As his thoughts reached this point, Wu Mu’s chest tightened as if in a vice.
‘Your Highness, this servant deserves to die ten thousand times over!’
Though he hadn't coughed up blood after the two previous major blows, when he thought of the immense setback the King of Wu would face, he could no longer hold it back and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.