Chapter 648
Chapter 648
“What is it? Out with it!”
As Zhu Lin pressed him with a furious voice, Premier Lu Zhu of Nanguo spoke, his voice trembling.
“The capital of Nanguo has fallen to Gong. Princess Ning Luo has also been captured!”
“What?!”
General Zhu Lin asked in disbelief. Nangong Ao was still seated, but a loud crack echoed as the chair beneath him shattered into pieces. As for Crown Prince Ning Yi, his vision went black, and a chill ran through his entire body. He had felt a sense of foreboding at Gong’s absence but had prayed his premonition would not come true. But for it to end like this.
‘The capital of Nanguo is the largest city and the greatest stronghold capable of stationing a large army in the country. How could it have fallen? Is it possible? Did I mishear? How could something so preposterous have happened?’
Zhu Lin cried out in a hoarse voice.
“How is that possible? Where did Gong get his soldiers? The capital of Nanguo was defended by a garrison of fifteen thousand, and Princess Ning Luo returned with an army of ten thousand. Where on earth did Gong muster the forces to take the city?”
Premier Lu Zhu of Nanguo said.
“Gong had fewer than two thousand men! But those two thousand had long been hiding in the villages and mountains around the capital, disguised as common folk. Moreover, there were several hundred collaborators inside the capital. With them coordinating from within and without, the fifteen-thousand-strong garrison collapsed in less than an hour. Furthermore, five thousand of the fifteen thousand were loyal to Nanguo, and they all surrendered to Gong.”
“Then what happened to the ten thousand soldiers from Yue?”
At Zhu Lin’s question, Lu Zhu replied.
“They surrendered immediately but were all slaughtered by Gong’s army. Every official, soldier, and merchant from Yue in the capital was killed.”
Gong was utterly ruthless. Perhaps he believed that those not of his own kind would inevitably harbor dissent, for he had them all killed. Zhu Lin asked Lu Zhu again.
“Princess Ning Luo returned with an army of ten thousand. Why was there no word of this?”
“After retaking the city, Gong kept the flags of Yue flying and manned the walls. He and Yong Meng were forced to put on an act to deceive Princess Ning Luo into entering the city. She fell into Gong's ambush, and her entire army was virtually wiped out. The princess was taken prisoner.”
Zhu Lin asked, his voice trembling.
“Yong Meng betrayed her? Isn't that impossible? She grew up with Princess Ning Luo; they were like sisters. And she was the princess’s most trusted lieutenant. How could she betray her?”
Lu Zhu replied with a shaky voice.
“She had been involved with Gong for some time. Besides, is she not a woman of the Shaman Tribes? She just didn't know it herself at first!”
Zhu Lin felt so dizzy he could barely stand. Crown Prince Ning Yi, already unable to remain on his feet, sat in a chair and asked with a quavering voice.
“How many of Gong’s troops are in the capital of Nanguo now?”
“Ten thousand. And their numbers are still growing. You gentlemen may not have seen it, but after Gong captured the city, countless lowly commoners of Nanguo acted as if possessed, and many young men flocked to join his army.”
Crown Prince Ning Yi said.
“If Gong already had collaborators inside the capital, why didn't he use them during the previous battle?”
Zhu Lin answered.
“There were too few collaborators, and our garrison in the city was too large back then. A few hundred men would not have made a significant difference.”
Nangong Ao gasped for breath and said.
“That… that man is a true madman! He deliberately lost the battle at Sha City over a month ago. Then he immediately handed his army over to Su Nan and went into hiding near the capital of Nanguo by himself. He is a thorough madman. How could anyone execute a feint to that degree? To seize the capital of Nanguo alone, leaving his main army to an outsider like Su Nan… He is even more of a madman than Shen Lang. Who would dare to act in such a way? He is unpredictable, a madman who leaves no trace. It’s truly astonishing.”
Crown Prince Ning Yi asked with a trembling voice.
“Th-then what does he intend to do now?”
Zhu Lin spoke in a chilling tone.
“He intends to swallow our two-hundred-thousand-strong army whole, retake all of Nanguo, then attack Tiannan Province and ignite a war between the Four States. He plans to ally with Chu and Wu to carve up our State of Yue and avenge his father!”
Hearing this, Crown Prince Ning Yi could no longer contain the churning in his stomach. Despite all the wine he had drunk tonight, he had felt nothing until now. But now, his stomach roiled violently, and his vision swam.
“Blech…”
Ning Yi opened his mouth and vomited everything in his stomach. The most despairing, worst-case scenario had come to pass.
Only now did Zhu Lin and Nangong Ao truly grasp Gong's capabilities. His unpredictable imagination, his spirit of adventure, and his sheer audacity—even as enemies, they couldn't help but shudder at the thought of him. In truth, there were no truly divine strategies in this world. Shen Lang's ability to eliminate his enemies time and again certainly seemed like the work of divine strategy, but it, too, was a result of exploiting a civilizational gap. Whether it was annihilating the Xu Clan, later blasting a tunnel to flood a pit with seawater and wipe out the Pirate King’s army, or using explosives to trigger an avalanche.
Indeed, Shen Lang had done the unexpected. The people of this world had never encountered such knowledge, existing in what was essentially a primitive state of civilization. That was why Shen Lang's plans had such dramatic effects. Beyond these instances, he had no truly miraculous strategies, only plots and schemes that others could also conceive. The key difference was whether one possessed the courage and mettle to execute them.
In the past, when Ning Yuanxian was the Crown Prince of Yue, he had single-handedly entered Bian Wu’s military camp to persuade him to abandon Wu and surrender to Yue. That, too, could be called mettle. And now Gong, paying such a high price for his act, entrusting his main army to Su Nan, and, despite being the monarch of Danan, personally risking his life to infiltrate enemy lines and take the capital of Nanguo with his wits. It was enough to make one sigh in admiration. To carry out such feats required not just imagination, courage, and mettle, but also immense personal charisma.
Consider Zhu Lin and Nangong Ao. They were undoubtedly great generals of their generation, exceptionally skilled in battle and highly adept at politics. It wasn't that they weren't intelligent, but their imagination had been worn down. They judged everything through the lens of their own worldview and values, always considering the political factors first whenever anything happened.
Zhu Lin suddenly sighed.
“Gong is truly remarkable. It’s no wonder a monarch like him could unite all the Shaman Tribes!”
Nangong Ao agreed.
“A normal person’s thinking would never have brought things to this point.”
Often, we are astounded by historical figures, thinking their stories are too exaggerated, that not even fiction could be written this way. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was nothing more than an old vagrant until the age of forty-seven, yet he became emperor at fifty-six. The story of Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, the first emperor of the Eastern Han, sounds even more exaggerated. A man who was farming at twenty-seven became the emperor of the Eastern Han at thirty—does that sound reasonable?
Two years ago, Gong was no better than a stray dog. When Nanguo was occupied by Yue, he fled to the Shaman Tribes alone. Two years later, he had united all the Shaman Tribes, returned with an army of a hundred thousand, and become the monarch of Danan… His domain was now larger than Yue’s. In the past, Zhu Lin and Nangong Ao had privately thought:
‘Are the chieftains of the Shaman Tribes all fools? To be united by a scrawny brat like Gong, not even thirty years old?’
But now, they too felt Gong’s intense personal charisma. Even as his enemies, they couldn't help but be astonished by his greatness; no wonder the savage chieftains of the Shaman Tribes had all bowed to him. This type of enemy was truly terrifying. To a normal person, he seemed like a madman, his thoughts impossible to fathom, but in reality, he was exceedingly clever—an utterly unpredictable foe. Now they understood that the enemies who had faced Shen Lang in the past must have felt this same torment.
***
After the shock and even fear inspired by Gong, they had to consider what to do next. The Crown Prince, Zhu Lin, and Nangong Ao looked at each other, silent. Finally, Zhu Lin spoke first.
“We have three options moving forward. The first is for the grand army to set out tomorrow. We strike the capital of Nanguo while Gong has yet to establish a firm foothold and retake the city, no matter the cost. However, if we do that, there's a high probability that Su Nan's twenty-thousand-strong army of Shaman warriors will attack us from behind again. They will likely coordinate with Gong to annihilate our one-hundred-sixty-thousand-strong army.”
It was somewhat humiliating to say. Even combined, Su Nan and Gong's forces numbered only thirty to forty thousand. In contrast, Zhu Lin's forces still numbered one hundred and sixty thousand, yet they were worried about being annihilated by the enemy.
“The second option is to abandon the capital of Nanguo and even Luoye City, and retreat to Sha City.”
Sha City was the northernmost city in Nanguo; further north lay the territory of Yue.
“The third option is to withdraw completely from Nanguo and defend the lines in Tiannan Province. That is our home ground.”
Zhu Lin’s proposal of these three options was entirely because he had been provoked by Gong into becoming much bolder. Otherwise, he would never have presented such choices. After Zhu Lin finished speaking, the three men fell into silent contemplation. Their decision could have severe consequences, so no one dared to make a choice. Choosing the first option risked the annihilation of their army; choosing the third would lead to severe political repercussions. It would mean losing all of Nanguo, a complete and utter failure. Zhu Lin couldn't decide, and Nangong Ao was even less able to. Finally, both men's gazes turned to Crown Prince Ning Yi. The battlefield could change in an instant; a decision had to be made now.
Ning Yi closed his eyes, desperately trying to calm himself.
‘If I were Gong, what would I do next? As the Crown Prince of Yue, what choice must I make?’
Instinctively, Ning Yi chose the third option: abandon Nanguo and retreat into Yue territory. Tiannan City was the capital of Tiannan Province, with high walls, deep moats, and formidable defenses—it was the third-largest city in Yue. Tiannan City was a much better place to fight than the capital of Nanguo. Moreover, Zhu Rong was in Tiannan City, the absolute base of the Zhu Clan, with abundant supplies and military resources. But if they retreated that far, it would mean this war was a thorough failure, and the Crown Prince's infamy would soar.
‘Before you went, Yue had the upper hand. But the moment you, Ning Yi, arrived on the battlefield of Nanguo, we suffered an irreversible, devastating defeat, and even the capital fell. This is clearly a case of your incompetence, not only failing to achieve anything but making things worse, isn't it?’
For the sake of Yue's interests, they had to preserve the one-hundred-sixty-thousand-strong army and retreat to Tiannan City. But for Ning Yi's own interests and reputation, he had to fight. So, should he choose the first option? Lead one hundred and sixty thousand men to attack the capital of Nanguo? But they no longer had the courage. Ning Yi, Zhu Lin, Nangong Ao, and even the army of Yue had developed a fear of the enemy after their battles. Though Gong had only about ten thousand soldiers in the capital now, they were terrified. Furthermore, there was a high likelihood of Su Nan's army attacking from the rear. After considering all angles, they were left with only the second option. They couldn't risk the one-hundred-sixty-thousand-strong army, nor could they bear the political consequences of completely losing Nanguo. So, station the army in Sha City