Chapter 649
Chapter 649
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince, please make a decision.”
At Zhu Lin's words, Crown Prince Ying Yi sneered inwardly.
*'So now you need my decision? When I first arrived, didn't you subtly hint that I should just keep my mouth shut and sit still like a statue of Buddha, afraid I might command as I pleased? But now that you're facing political consequences you can't handle, you're willing to listen to me?'*
After silently criticizing them for a moment, Crown Prince Ying Yi spoke.
“The grand army must retreat to Sha City at full speed. Eighty thousand will be stationed in Sha City, and the other eighty thousand will withdraw immediately to Tiannan Province to establish a second front within its borders.”
*'So he chose that option after all.'*
Zhu Lin and Nangong Ao were relieved yet disappointed. It was the most moderate approach. Deep down, they had hoped the Crown Prince would make a bolder, more risk-taking decision, but in the end, he had chosen an exceedingly conservative one. The irony was that they had inwardly reached the same conclusion, and had Crown Prince Ying Yi made a riskier choice, they would have tried to persuade him to select the second option anyway.
“Your Highness is wise!”
“Your Highness is wise!”
Crown Prince Ying Yi looked at them and sneered.
*'Wise? Yes, certainly wise. A Crown Prince like this is exactly what you wanted.'*
The decision was made. All that remained was to summon the military officers of thousand-man commander rank and above to announce it. Upon hearing the full report of the situation, the generals were all greatly shocked and broke into a clamor, utterly stunned.
*'Who knew Prince Ning was such a madman? A monarch, risking his own life to seize the capital of the Southern Gull Kingdom with a clever stratagem?'*
However, after hearing Crown Prince Ying Yi's decision, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It aligned with their own thoughts. Indeed, they were all a cautious bunch. Then, Crown Prince Ying Yi suddenly spoke.
“Quickly, send someone to stop the riders who left to announce our victory. They must be stopped.”
If news of a resounding victory was followed by a report of a crushing defeat, the humiliation would be unbearable.
* * *
Among those who heard the Crown Prince's decision, only Zhang Chong held a different view. He was an exceptionally extreme man. He went to see the Crown Prince at once.
“Your Highness, I heard we are retreating directly to Sha City.”
Crown Prince Ying Yi nodded, and Zhang Chong continued.
“Your Highness, we absolutely must not. Prince Ning has barely ten thousand troops in the Southern Gull capital. Why are we not fighting? If we fight, we can eliminate him.”
The Crown Prince asked him.
“And what if Su Nan attacks from the rear with his twenty thousand Sand Barbarian troops?”
Zhang Chong gritted his teeth and pressed on.
“Your Highness, I will take fifty thousand troops to guard your rear and hold off Su Nan's main Sand Barbarian force.”
“Can you hold them off? Do you think you can win?”
At the Crown Prince's question, Zhang Chong shook his head.
“I cannot win... but this general can hold out for a sufficient amount of time.”
“And how long is this 'sufficient amount of time' you speak of?”
“Two days!”
“First, there is no guarantee you can hold out for two days. Second, even if you did, there's no telling if we could take the Southern Gull capital.”
Zhang Chong asked in a trembling voice.
“Your Highness, we would have one hundred and ten thousand troops attacking the city, while Prince Ning has at most ten thousand. Are you saying we still couldn't take it?”
“Have you considered what would happen if we fail? The entire army of one hundred and sixty thousand could be annihilated!”
Zhang Chong couldn't believe it.
*'An army of one hundred and sixty thousand, so terrified of Prince Ning's thirty or forty thousand that they won't even attempt to fight?'*
Crown Prince Ying Yi's face hardened as he stared at Zhang Chong.
*'What is that look on your face? Are you mocking me for being a coward?'*
After a long moment, Zhang Chong spoke again.
“Then why not withdraw from the Southern Gull Kingdom entirely and concentrate all our forces in Tiannan Province? That is our home ground, is it not? Prince Ning is bound to march north eventually, so we can fight a decisive battle there.”
The Crown Prince replied calmly.
“To do that would be to concede the entire Southern Gull Kingdom. It would be tantamount to handing it over to the enemy. Who could bear the responsibility for that?”
Zhang Chong was in agony.
*'Can't we be a little more straightforward on the battlefield? Even Prince Ning, a monarch, takes risks. Why can't Your Highness, who has not yet ascended the throne, do the same? Either fight decisively or retreat decisively. What is this half-measure of neither fighting nor retreating? This indecisiveness could get us all killed!'*
In an instant, Zhang Chong fell to his knees, struck his forehead to the ground, and cried out.
“Your Highness, just give me sixty thousand troops! I will attack the Southern Gull capital and fight a decisive battle with Prince Ning. If I fail, I will forfeit my life. It would be my way of repaying you for the favor of appointing me.”
Zhang Chong simply could not accept such a weak decision. But Crown Prince Ying Yi said coldly.
“Do not speak so lightly. Sixty thousand troops are precious. How can you so easily send them to their deaths?”
Zhang Chong said in anguish.
“Then what about a decisive retreat into the State of Yue's territory?”
“I have already told you. Can you bear the responsibility for losing the entire Southern Gull Kingdom? I alone would have to bear it! Enough. My mind is made up. Say no more and carry out your orders.”
Zhang Chong struck his head on the floor until it bled, his voice cracking as if he were about to weep.
“Your Highness, you absolutely must not do this. You must either fight or retreat decisively. There is no middle ground in war!”
Zhang Chong pleaded, repeatedly striking his head, his forehead quickly becoming a bloody mess. Annoyed and agitated, Crown Prince Ying Yi gestured for him to be removed.
“Drag him out!”
Instantly, two warriors from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion stepped forward and dragged Zhang Chong away.
“Your Highness, you mustn't! You must either retreat or fight decisively...!”
After Zhang Chong was dragged out, Crown Prince Ying Yi felt a wave of nausea and quickly took a sip of tea.
“Li Nanfeng, do you think I was wrong?”
The captain of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion warriors replied.
“I do not know.”
He was a martial artist and paid no mind to military or state affairs. Hearing the answer, Crown Prince Ying Yi felt how difficult it was to be a ruler. He realized that making any decision was an incredibly heavy and arduous task. He then stared blankly at his teacup. Everyone said he greatly resembled Ning Yuanxian. In some ways, they were indeed similar. They looked alike, and both had harsh personalities, sparing little kindness. However, Crown Prince Ying Yi was more somber than Ning Yuanxian, who possessed a somewhat romantic nature.
But now, Ying Yi could see the difference between himself and his royal father more clearly. Ning Yuanxian had great courage and could make risky decisions at crucial moments. Like a gambler with bloodshot eyes, he could bet everything with only a forty percent chance of success. Ying Yi, however, was very conservative. This was partly due to his personality, but also because he had been too heavily influenced by the Zhu Clan. The Zhu Clan considered everything meticulously and preferred to solve problems through political means.
“Enough, enough. Whatever the outcome, I will take responsibility.”
Gritting his teeth, Ying Yi hurled the teacup in his hand, shattering it.
* * *
The next day, following Crown Prince Ying Yi's orders, the remaining one hundred and sixty thousand troops of the State of Yue set off in a grand procession. Zhang Chong led thirty thousand troops to guard the rear, ready to fend off an attack from Su Nan at any moment.
The grand army not only refrained from attacking the Southern Gull capital but also circled wide around it, determined not to give Prince Ning any opportunity for a surprise attack. Having made a conservative choice, they had to see it through to the end.
The one hundred and sixty thousand troops marched cautiously, like a turtle with its head tucked in, taking three or four days to cover a distance that would normally take two. As they passed the Southern Gull capital, though they kept a great distance, they constantly watched the city from afar, wary of an enemy attack.
Crown Prince Ying Yi was filled with boundless regret and shame.
*'Prince Ning, you madman, to take such a risk. You must be standing on the city walls right now, watching our army and laughing. You're laughing at me for being as timid as a mouse, for not daring to attack the Southern Gull capital even with one hundred and sixty thousand troops. Laugh all you want. I won't give you the chance! You may be a madman, but I am not. I will show no weakness, leaving you no opening to strike.'*
Zhang Chong, in the rear, repeatedly sent scouts to report that Su Nan's main force showed no signs of pursuit. But the more this was the case, the more Crown Prince Ying Yi believed there had to be a hidden conspiracy behind their lack of pursuit.
*'That insidious Su Nan has a large army. It would be normal for him to constantly harass us from behind. His absence must be a ploy to lull me into a false sense of security, to make me attack the Southern Gull capital so that he and Prince Ning's forces can encircle and annihilate our army. I will not fall for it!'*
As they passed the Southern Gull capital, Zhang Chong pleaded several times to attack it, but the Crown Prince dismissed him every time. Zhu Lin and Nangong Ao were furious with Zhang Chong.
*'That Zhang Chong, does he have no sense? A military order is as weighty as a mountain; how can it be changed overnight? No wonder this man never advanced and remained in a minor post for so long.'*
Because they had marched in a wide arc to avoid the Southern Gull capital, the journey took a full three and a half days, and they were still several dozen li from Sha City to the north. Fortunately, there was no pursuit from Su Nan and the main Sand Barbarian force, so Ying Yi and the others finally began to relax. Once the army entered Sha City, they would be safe. Then, by withdrawing eighty thousand troops into Tiannan Province, under the protection of the great city of Tiannan, they would have nothing to worry about. This would not only ensure their safety but also mean they had not completely withdrawn from the Southern Gull Kingdom. The war was far from over, after all. It was perfectly normal for one side to move about after the other won a battle. Now, they would have the civil officials launch a propaganda campaign, laying the groundwork for the necessity of a decisive battle in Tiannan Province.
*'We'll spin it so that it wasn't my incompetence that lost the Southern Gull Kingdom, but that fighting a decisive battle within the borders of Tiannan Province is more beneficial to the state and more advantageous for annihilating Prince Ning. The war reports can be written with a selective pen. It's a bit awkward, but there's room to maneuver. If we use the shameless methods that scholars are so good at, we can surely package this retreat favorably.'*