Chapter 697
Chapter 697
A few days ago.
Mulan had indeed led the Second Nirvana Army toward Great Southern City, preparing to attack it in coordination with her husband's strategy. However, State Preceptor Sha Yin politely invited her into the city and even prepared a banquet.
"Lady Mulan, Young Master Shen Lang has already come and gone. He even had a cup of tea with this old man. The struggle between Young Master Shen Lang and our prince has already ended, with the young master winning a great victory. If my predictions are correct, His Highness has already withdrawn his forces. If you are not in a hurry, why not wait here for Young Master Shen Lang? He will be here soon to join you."
Upon hearing this, Mulan was mortified. But as she remained suspicious, State Preceptor Sha Yin explained the entire course of events in detail. Thanks to him opening the gates of Great Southern City completely, she was able to occupy it immediately without needing to attack. Soon after, Mulan led the Second Nirvana Army out of Great Southern City. Just as they had for Shen Lang, women came out from the city and offered them countless vegetables, fruits, and meats. Shen Lang had accepted them before, but Mulan did not. She would rather send her army to hunt for provisions than eat the food they offered.
Furthermore, Mulan's army retreated into the jungle but did not leave, securing a position from which they could seize Great Southern City at any moment. She was determined to prevent any army from approaching the city. But indeed, no army approached, and the entire Shaman Tribe seemed to have no plan to save their capital. This finally convinced the still-skeptical Mulan that State Preceptor Sha Yin's words were true.
A few days later, Shen Lang arrived at Great Southern City with five thousand elite archers from the Shaman Tribe. The moment Mulan saw Shen Lang, her eyes reddened.
"I know I was incredibly foolish, so don't you dare laugh at me."
She immediately pushed Shen Lang down.
* * *
The next day, Shen Lang, Jin Mulan, and the Shaman Queen led the Second Nirvana Army and the five thousand elite Shaman archers secretly through the jungle. After days of crossing mountains and rivers, they entered the territory of the Qiang Kingdom. There, Ning Zheng and two thousand soldiers of the First Nirvana Army were waiting for them in a village. After a day of reorganizing their forces, Shen Lang and Ning Zheng embarked on a truly epic expedition with an army of ten thousand.
They left the State of Yue and entered the Great Snow Mountains, intending to launch a surprise attack on the capital of Chu, thus beginning the prelude to a truly miraculous battle. This battle would undoubtedly send tremors throughout the world and leave the people of Yue utterly astonished.
* * *
When Arujiang was King of Qiang, he waged war almost every year. He attacked the State of Yue, the State of Chu, the Shaman Tribe, and various nations of the Western Regions, plundering anyone who caught his eye and sustaining his kingdom through these raids. The nations bordering this Qiang Kingdom were fated to a lifetime of bloodshed. The nations of the Western Regions were plundered annually, and the former State of Yue was extorted by the King of Qiang year after year. At that time, the Shaman Tribe was not yet unified, and the tribes bordering the Qiang Kingdom were situated on relatively flat terrain, making them suitable targets for cavalry raids. Consequently, Qiang cavalry often attacked the Shaman Tribe.
However, these constant clashes and battles between the Qiang Kingdom and the Shaman Tribe were purely to vent frustration. It was simply because they couldn't stand the sight of each other. Did they not plunder? Apologies, but the Shaman tribes were even poorer than the Qiang Kingdom.
The Qiang Kingdom also raided the State of Chu at times, but not frequently. The terrain was harsh, making raids to the north unprofitable. The border between Chu and Qiang stretched for nearly two thousand *li*, a sight that was enough to drive the State of Chu to despair.
But perhaps the heavens took pity on them. That nearly two-thousand-*li* border was almost entirely composed of the Great Snow Mountains, with only two narrow, strategic mountain passes. If the Qiang army marched north swiftly over a long distance, they could easily enter Chu. To prevent the Qiang Kingdom from launching frenzied raids, the State of Chu spent decades building fortresses at these two strategic points. One was Pingnan Pass, the other Pingxi Pass. The combined garrisons of these two fortresses numbered only thirty thousand, but they were incredibly solid and formidable strongholds, easy to defend and difficult to conquer.
Attacking such fortresses was exceedingly difficult. Both were built on high, rugged mountains, with walls reaching thirty meters at their highest and fifteen meters at their lowest. The terrain at these two strategic points was as perilous as a crouching tiger and a coiling dragon. A defending force of just a few thousand could hold off an enemy several times its size. Moreover, the terrain was so treacherous that a large army could not even fully deploy its formations, let alone launch a cavalry charge. Thus, after these two fortresses were built, the Qiang Kingdom had no choice but to cease its large-scale raids on Chu.
Nevertheless, small-scale raids still occurred. Occasionally, small bands of Qiang warriors would cross smaller mountains and rivers to plunder within Chu's borders. However, the gains were minimal, and it was far more profitable to raid the nations of the Western Regions. Therefore, for more than a decade after the fortresses were built, King Arujiang of Qiang focused primarily on plundering the Western Regions and extorting the State of Yue. Furthermore, the King of Chu at the time had made significant concessions to support Su Nan's rebellion and independence, which greatly eased relations with the Qiang Kingdom. In other words, there had been no major conflicts between Chu and Qiang for over ten years.
But this time, a major battle erupted. Queen Aru'nana of the Qiang Kingdom led an army of fifty thousand to attack Pingnan Pass with fierce and murderous intent. Normally, such an attack would likely be a fruitless endeavor. While the Queen's fifty-thousand-strong army was impressive, the pass was situated in a narrow, treacherous mountain valley, where less than ten thousand troops could be deployed at once. Despite this, the situation in this battle was completely different from before.
First, Queen Aru'nana had over a dozen catapults. Undoubtedly, these were all supplied by the State of Yue, and even the soldiers operating them were from Yue. She also had dozens of siege crossbows. But the most formidable of all was the force of Shaman mercenaries under Aru'nana's command. Due to Prince Gong's appeal, most of the Shaman mercenaries had returned to serve under him in the Great Southern Army. However, some remained in her army out of gratitude to the Queen, and among them was Ying Yang.
Their greatest fear was a war between the Qiang Kingdom and Prince Gong. In the end, that dreaded event did not occur; Aru'nana announced she was leading her army to attack the State of Chu. This was something they could accept, allowing the ferocious combat prowess of the Shaman mercenaries to be unleashed once more. They scaled the mountains on either side of the treacherous pass like monkeys, repeatedly inflicting terrifying casualties on the Chu defenders. The State of Chu desperately tightened its belt and reinforced its troops, determined to hold the two passes at all costs. But Queen Aru'nana's army continued its relentless, frenzied assault on the two fortresses day after day, as if tireless.
* * *
When Queen Aru'nana initiated the battle, the already volatile situation boiled over. The people of Yue were overjoyed, while the people of Chu cursed loudly. Everyone knew that Queen Aru'nana had dispatched her troops because of Shen Lang, and that Shen Lang's request was to help Ning Zheng in his fight for the throne. Prince Gong had withdrawn his forces from Yue, and the King of Wu had halted his army's advance to await an opportunity. Thus, the war with the King of Chu became a stage for the two princes to compete in demonstrating their kingly qualities.
"Is that pretty boy Shen Lang really that amazing? Did he have such a satisfying night with Queen Aru'nana that she sent fifty thousand troops to attack Chu?"
"What skills could a pretty boy like Shen Lang possibly have? He's clearly all looks and no substance. It must be because he's handsome and knows how to please her."
"Look at this. It's as if the Queen of Qiang is bending over backward to please Shen Lang. Being handsome is truly a powerful thing."
These rumors spread so widely that no amount of explanation could clear his name. No one believed that Queen Aru'nana was genuinely in love with Big Dummy; everyone thought he was just a pretext. They were all convinced that Aru'nana and Shen Lang were having an affair, a deeply unjust accusation. But Queen Aru'nana and Big Dummy were truly in love with each other. Moreover, Aru'nana trusted Shen Lang implicitly and stood by his side without hesitation. However, every time they met, it took less than an hour before Aru'nana felt the urge to beat him to death. An affair with him?
*'I'm sorry, but this is Aru'nana you're talking about. Even a hundred Shen Langs would just get on my nerves.'*
* * *
Inside the Chu army's barracks.
"Traitors! They're all traitors!"
The King of Chu was furious.
*'That damn Prince Gong, that damn Wu Qi. We agreed that three nations would unite to destroy the State of Yue, and what's the result? You both ran away, leaving me to fight alone. And that shameless woman, Aru'nana, is even worse. Didn't she agree before? That she would never use her troops against our State of Chu? But the moment Prince Gong withdraws his forces, she comes rushing to attack our Pingnan Pass? You're willing to spill the blood of your soldiers just to please that seductive man-witch, Shen Lang.'*
The King of Chu received reports daily. They said that Aru'nana was not just feigning an attack on Pingnan Pass but was assaulting it with desperate ferocity, and the battle was growing more intense by the hour. Feeling the pressure, the King of Chu continuously sent reinforcements.
"That foolish woman. Doesn't she realize that attacking Pingnan Pass is actually helping Ning Qi?"
But while the King of Chu was angry, his heart was also filled with grand ambition, and he was in high spirits.
*'So what if Prince Gong withdrew his forces? So what if the King of Wu's army isn't advancing at all? Isn't the war still going smoothly for our State of Chu?'*
He was not wrong. For the past month or so, the King of Chu's campaign had been a series of successive victories. He had captured four counties north of Tiansi Province and pushed the border forward by some three hundred *li*. Less than half a month ago, Chu's army of three hundred thousand had laid siege to Zhenxi City, the stronghold of the Zhong Clan and the true capital of Tiansi Province. Capturing it would mean the fall of the entire province. Although the current situation made it seem difficult to completely destroy the State of Yue, he was confident there would be no problem in forcing them to cede the whole of Tiansi Province.
Zhenxi City was the third-largest city in the State of Yue. Its fortitude and scale surpassed that of the capital of Tiannan Province, and thanks to a century of management by the Zhong Clan, it was one of the most fortified cities in the world. However, its population and prosperity were less than that of Tiannan City. It took the King of Chu over half a month to completely encircle Zhenxi City. He had surrounded not just the army but also its defense lines, valleys, and temporary fortresses.
The walls of Zhenxi City stretched for over forty *li*, so the siege line established by the King of Chu covered an area of more than one hundred square kilometers. Looking down from the sky, one would have seen the Chu army stretching endlessly, as if connecting heaven and earth, with camps, fortresses, and defense lines densely packed in all directions.
The Nangou Kingdom was surrounded by jungles and high mountains, making it extremely difficult to find large plains, and an army of hundreds of thousands could not properly deploy there. Tiansi Province, however, apart from a large mountain in its center, was a vast plain where horses could gallop freely, making it the most suitable battlefield for a large-scale war. To fight this battle, the King of Chu had poured in almost everything he had; this was truly a war that could topple a nation.
So, did the King of Chu borrow money from the Hidden Yuan Society to wage this war? No! The King of Chu was greedy and miserly; unlike Ning Yuanxian, he had not squandered his family's fortune, so his national treasury was more plentiful than that of the State of Yue.