Chapter 722
Chapter 722
"Ning Qi, congratulations on winning your wager. Now that you have won the Emperor's favor, the position of Crown Prince is all but in your hands, is it not?"
Ning Qi bowed at the King of Chu's words and replied.
"It is all thanks to you, Royal Brother. I am grateful. Royal Brother, I will leave Ning Zheng to you, then."
"With the capital occupied, what face do I have left as the new King of Chu? Naturally, I will fight to the death, tear Ning Zheng to shreds, and avenge our nation's shame. I will never let Ning Zheng return to the State of Yue."
Ning Qi bowed again, expressing his gratitude.
"I shall rely on your efforts, Royal Brother."
"I will remember your words, Worthy Brother Ning Qi. That we should embrace each other for warmth and advance or retreat as one!"
Ning Qi extended his hand and said.
"Let us share our warmth and decide our course together!"
* * *
The next day, the King of Chu issued an order: the grand army would turn back to retake the capital, slaughter Ning Zheng, and wash away the nation's disgrace. He then let down his hair and donned mourning clothes for the late King of Chu. Biting his finger, he drew blood and wrote two words on a white cloth: 'Avenge'. All two hundred thousand soldiers of the Chu army bit their fingers, drew blood, wrote the word 'Avenge' on white cloths, and tied them around their foreheads. The entire army seemed to be awash in a sea of white.
"Avenge, avenge! Retake the capital, slaughter Ning Zheng!"
The King of Chu and Grand Tutor Li Xuanqi personally lifted the late king's coffin and cried out.
"Father, let us go home, let us go home!"
His voice was filled with profound grief. He then led the two-hundred-thousand-strong army of mourning, marching majestically back toward the capital of Chu.
* * *
Shen Lang remained at the Great Yan Empire's temporary palace for another seven days. Of course, during those seven days, he stayed in his room and did not see the Little Princess again. Then one day, he suddenly awoke to find that the Little Princess, the ten-thousand-strong army, and the countless court ladies and eunuchs were all gone, leaving the entire palace empty. The Imperial Emissary appeared before Shen Lang once more.
"We will escort you wherever you wish to go, Young Master Shen!"
"I will return to the capital of Chu."
"Are you certain you wish to return to the capital? The new King of Chu is leading an army of mourning two hundred thousand strong, charging toward the city as we speak. He has sworn to avenge the nation and slaughter Ning Zheng. To return at a time like this, would that not be courting death?"
Shen Lang smiled and said.
"If it seems I cannot win, I will flee."
"The Empire could send a delegation to mediate."
"If the need arises, I will certainly ask for His Grace's help."
"Do not hesitate, Young Master Shen. We are friends now."
An hour later, several hundred knights of the Great Yan Empire escorted Shen Lang from the temporary palace, heading south toward the capital of Chu. They escorted him for only a hundred li before Jin Mulan arrived with five hundred soldiers of the Nirvana Army to protect him. The knights of the Great Yan Empire entrusted the escort duty to them and departed, while Shen Lang returned to the capital of Chu under the protection of Mulan and Li Qianqiu.
* * *
The King of Chu's two-hundred-thousand-strong army marched with incredible speed. They were an army capable of marching over two thousand li in a month, and the capital was only a few hundred li away. As the capital drew nearer, the killing intent of the two hundred thousand soldiers grew ever stronger. They intended to unleash all their recent humiliation and the bitterness of their late king's sudden death upon the Yue army led by Ning Zheng.
'Our rear guard of eighty thousand couldn't defeat your nine thousand before, but now our two hundred thousand will face you. How could we not win? We will engulf you like a tidal wave. Besides, this is the capital of Chu, which you illegally occupy with a mere nine thousand men. When the new king arrives, countless heroes within the capital will rise up, coordinating with the King of Chu's army from within and without to slaughter the forces of Ning Zheng and Shen Lang.'
Given the circumstances, as the King of Chu's army drew closer to the capital, everyone watched, secretly wondering if Ning Zheng would withdraw his troops.
'Withdrawing would be the wise move; otherwise, his entire army will be annihilated, dying violently in a foreign land. Besides, the news of his great victory has already spread throughout the State of Yue. He can sufficiently boast of the brilliant miracle of capturing the capital. Ning Zheng, if you withdraw now, no one will complain. You have already achieved your strategic objective, and the State of Yue has won this war for the nation's fate, has it not?'
However, Ning Zheng showed no intention of withdrawing, continuing to occupy the capital of Chu, a sight that astonished everyone.
'Ning Zheng, are you truly mad? Do you really want to die? Do you want to die along with your nine thousand men? Why are you wasting time in the capital of Chu instead of rushing back to the State of Yue to seize the Crown Prince's position? Aren't you worried that if you don't return quickly, Ning Qi will take it from you?
'Ning Qi is also returning to his capital after a brilliant victory.
'Moreover, His Imperial Majesty has made it very clear that he supports your ascension to the throne of Yue. Instead of hurrying back to fight for the crown, you remain in the capital of Chu, merely waiting to die?
'I don't know whether to call you steadfast or foolish. The enemy is an army of two hundred thousand.
'No matter how formidable your nine thousand men are, you cannot win.
'If you fight and lose in the capital of Chu, your soldiers will have no place to be buried.
'And if you lose the position of Crown Prince of Yue to Ning Qi, you, Ning Zheng, will also have no place to be buried.'
* * *
As the Chu army drew ever closer to the capital, Ning Zheng's nine-thousand-strong force still showed no sign of retreating or fleeing. The killing intent of the Chu army intensified with each passing day, and every night, the King of Chu would keep watch over his father's coffin, sometimes letting out wretched wails. Every night, he performed a sword dance before the late king's coffin. Every night, he would smash his forehead until it bled, swearing to avenge his father and retake the capital.
Everyone witnessed the King of Chu's resolve; his killing intent truly pierced the heavens. The Chu army even replaced their archery targets with portraits of Shen Lang and Ning Zheng, loosing tens of thousands of arrows at them madly each day. Wherever the King of Chu went, he had the names 'Ning Zheng, Shen Lang' written in red blood. They were the King of Chu's greatest enemies. It was said that Shen Lang had a habit of writing his enemies' names on walls, and the King of Chu was now doing the same. Moreover, he not only wrote their names in red blood but also carved them with his sword. Heaven and earth could feel the depth of his hatred.
* * *
That night, the King of Chu once again wailed before his father's coffin, then launched into a frenzied sword dance.
"Kill, kill! Retake the capital! Tear Shen Lang and Ning Zheng to pieces!"
The walls of the room where the coffin lay were densely carved with the names of Ning Zheng and Shen Lang.
'Die, die!'
The King of Chu was alone in the room. Every night, he would send everyone away, wishing to be alone with his father. As he danced with his sword, cried out for revenge, and then began to wail, a shadow slipped into the room. It was Grand Tutor Li Xuanqi.
"Your Highness, he has come. He asks to meet at the Pavilion of Gratitude, thirty li from here!"
The King of Chu nodded and left the house through a secret underground passage. Yet, even after he had gone, the sounds of loud wailing could still be heard from the room where the late king's coffin was kept. The cries were so heart-wrenching that many of the generals who heard them shed tears.
'Our king's filial piety is enough to move heaven and earth!'
Over a month had passed since the late king's assassination, yet every night, the King of Chu wailed before his coffin, and in that month, he had coughed up blood three times. Fortunately, the king's fighting spirit seemed to be growing stronger, his mind sharper. The number of times he carved Shen Lang and Ning Zheng's names each day also increased, a testament to his blood-soaked grudge.
* * *
The Pavilion of Gratitude, thirty li away.
It was midnight, and the mountains were deserted. Escorted by Li Xuanqi, the King of Chu ascended the mountain and arrived at the pavilion. A man stood outside the pavilion—it was the Sword King, Li Qianqiu. The King of Chu entered the pavilion, while Grand Tutor Li Xuanqi remained outside. Inside, someone was seated. To his surprise, it was none other than Shen Lang. The very same Shen Lang whose name the King of Chu had carved countless times on the walls, the enemy he swore to tear to pieces at every turn.
"Lang pays his respects to Your Highness, the King of Chu!"
The King of Chu sat down inside the pavilion and said nothing. He could meet with Shen Lang in secret for the benefit of the State of Chu, but treating him with any semblance of cordiality was an exceedingly difficult task. After all, the man before him had captured his capital and burned down the royal palace of Chu.
"I do not have much time. I must return before dawn."
"Your Highness, the world is about to change."
The King of Chu quietly acknowledged it. Yes, the world was changing.
"His Imperial Majesty intends to assert his dominance and has begun his march to unify the world. We all knew he prioritized imperial power excessively, but none of us expected his ambitions to be this vast. In his forty-odd years on the throne, not only did he eliminate Prince Jiang Li and complete his New Policies, but now he seeks to unify the world and pass on a complete Great Yan Dynasty to the Imperial Crown Prince."
"First, you do not need to tell me that the true culprit behind my father's assassination is His Imperial Majesty."
Shen Lang nodded. It was something anyone in the upper echelons knew, and the Emperor had not tried to hide it, so there was indeed no need to state it.
"Second, I want to know if Ning Zheng's ascension to the throne is more aligned with the interests of our State of Chu."
Ning Qi was cunning and fickle; joining hands with him was like feeding meat to a tiger. Ning Qi's current path was clear. He was clinging tightly to the Emperor's coattails. After inheriting the throne, he would become the second person to be enfeoffed as a Prince of the Blood by the Great Yan Empire. Not only that, but he would also eagerly use the Great Yan Empire's authority to expand his territory southward. In any case, while Ning Qi might rebel against the Great Yan Empire, he would only make a move after the State of Qin and the new State of Qian rebelled alongside him. Another state would be the first to be attacked by the Great Yan Empire, and he intended to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. If Ning Qi ascended the throne, he would undoubtedly do everything in his power to prevent the State of Yue from being swallowed by the Great Yan Empire. For the King of Chu, a King of Yue who could stand against the Emperor was most aligned with the interests of his state.
The King of Chu continued.
"But I am not Ning Zheng. I will not oppose His Imperial Majesty; I will walk a path similar to Ning Qi's."
"There are indeed too many clever people in this world. His Imperial Majesty has begun to assert his dominance and devour the world, yet everyone wants to sit back and reap the rewards, hoping someone else will be the first sacrifice, do they not?"
The King of Chu fell silent.
"But that will only lead to you all being defeated one by one. In the end, you will all be swallowed by the Great Yan Empire."
The King of Chu remained silent.
'Who doesn't understand that logic? But what good does knowing it do?'
Shen Lang knew this all too well. Back when the State of Qin unified the world, did the other six states not know they should unite and jointly resist and attack Qin? But what was the result? Su Xun's *On the Six States* clearly described the situation.
Now, under the Great Yan Dynasty, there were similarly six great states. Yue, Chu, Qian, Qin, Wu, and the Great Rong. Among these six, the smallest in area was the State of Wu, at approximately 430,000 square kilometers. The largest was the Khanate of the Great Rong, with an area of over three million square kilometers, but as a northern nomadic kingdom, its land was vast and its population sparse. The most powerful was the State of Qin, with an area of over 1.5 million square kilometers and a population exceeding thirty-five million. The new State of Qian, re-established after being fragmented, also had an area of over one million square kilometers and a population of over twenty million. The combined area of the six states was slightly larger than that of the Great Yan Empire.
However, their combined total population was less than that of the Great Yan Empire, and their national strength was also weaker. Thus, the situation these six states faced was far more dire and hopeless than that of the six states during the Warring States period. After the completion of the New Policies, the Great Yan Empire was so powerful that the very thought of resistance seemed futile. Therefore, although the rulers of the vassal states wished to resist the Great Yan Empire in their hearts, they had no choice but to compromise.