Chapter 447 - 374: Second Prince Qin Jingyuan Rebels
Chapter 447: Chapter 374: Second Prince Qin Jingyuan Rebels
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion of Gourd City, Nanshan Kingdom, Xiao Mo had led his army to conquer the city after Xiahou Nan and Bai Qi departed.
At this moment, Xiao Mo was sitting in the City Lord’s Mansion, looking at the rosters of casualties and surrenders after the siege.
After the city fell, Dragon Abyss had fought to the death and fallen on the battlefield.
Xiao Mo found it quite regrettable.
After all, it was a time when men were needed. As an old general, Dragon Abyss, if nothing else, had a wealth of battlefield experience.
But Xiao Mo also respected him. After having his body properly recovered, he tasked the Darts Masters of Gourd City with sending it back to the Chu Kingdom.
After conquering Gourd City, Xiao Mo did not immediately push forward to attack the next city.
This was mainly because the situation on Xiahou Nan’s and Bai Qi’s fronts was unclear.
If Xiahou Nan or Bai Qi were to run into any trouble, he needed to be ready to provide timely support.
"Prince, reports have arrived simultaneously from Xiacheng and Celestial Thought City."
Zhao Wei hurried into the City Lord’s Mansion, letters in hand.
Following Zhao Wei were Xu Yongsheng, Hei Daniu, Xiao Yang, and Xiao Gui.
"Let me see."
Xiao Mo stood up, took the envelopes, and opened them.
Zhao Wei and the others watched Xiao Mo nervously, equally eager to know how the battles on the two fronts had turned out.
"Excellent."
Xiao Mo handed the letters to Xiao Yang and the others. The weight in his heart was finally lifted.
"Xiahou Nan has dealt Zhaoyang a crushing defeat. Lian Li led the Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry to shatter their formation, slicing right through Zhaoyang’s Grand Array. Zhaoyang has now retreated to Naihe City in the Nanshan Kingdom.
And Bai Qi did not disappoint me, either.
Bai Qi faced Wu Qi directly and routed the Chu Army.
Wu Qi has retreated into the Nanshan Kingdom, and Bai Qi has written to request permission to launch a direct assault on the Nanshan Kingdom."
After Xiao Yang, Zhao Wei, and Hei Daniu finished reading the letters, they were all overjoyed.
"In that case, with our three fronts advancing together, we can definitely annihilate the Nanshan Kingdom!" Xu Yongsheng said.
"That’s true. However, using three armies to destroy just one Nanshan Kingdom... it’s not enough."
Xiao Mo shook his head. After a moment of thought, he slowly began to speak.
"Send orders to General Xiahou. Have him lead his army through the Nanshan Kingdom and strike directly at the Chu Kingdom. They will coordinate with my army as we invade the Chu Region."
"Prince, what about the Nanshan Kingdom then?" Xiao Gui asked.
Xiao Mo looked at the sand table, the corners of his mouth lifting. "I want to see if this kid, Bai Qi, with all his confidence, can actually swallow it whole!"
Soon, Xiao Mo’s orders were sent via Communication Flying Swords to the two armies’ camps.
The next day, Xiahou Nan and Bai Qi simultaneously broke camp and advanced.
The retreat of the Chu Army greatly alarmed the Sovereign of the Nanshan Kingdom.
The Sovereign of Nanshan had originally thought that with both the Yan and Chu Kingdoms invading the Qin Kingdom, they would surely catch the Qin Kingdom completely off guard.
But who could have known that although the Yan Kingdom’s army had the upper hand, they were also being held in check by Qin’s Prince Who Pacifies the West.
The Chu Army, meanwhile, had suffered a major defeat.
Now, forget about getting a piece of the Qin Kingdom’s pie; his own Nanshan Kingdom might not even exist for much longer.
The Nanshan Kingdom wanted to write a letter to the Frost King to sue for peace.
However, the Chu Kingdom promptly sent an ambassador to the Nanshan Kingdom, after which Nanshan gave up on surrendering.
Spies from the Qin Kingdom learned of this and reported it to Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo found the matter somewhat peculiar.
Although Xiao Mo certainly had no intention of accepting the Nanshan Sovereign’s surrender—he was aiming to annihilate the kingdom this time.
But Xiao Mo knew even better that the Nanshan Sovereign was a timid man. With the very survival of the Nanshan Kingdom at stake, he would not be so easily persuaded.
’For them to give up on surrendering means one thing—the Chu and Yan Kingdoms likely still have a card up their sleeve, and this card convinced the Nanshan Sovereign.’
But for now, all Xiao Mo could do was act according to the original plan.
「Six months later.」
Xiao Mo and Xiahou Nan, each leading their own army, overcame every obstacle and pierced through the Nanshan Kingdom like a long saber, stabbing into the heart of the Chu Kingdom.
At the same time, Bai Qi’s offensive against the Nanshan Kingdom grew ever more ferocious.
The Nanshan Kingdom had no way of dealing with the armies of Xiao Mo and Xiahou Nan cutting through its heartland.
Just dealing with Bai Qi alone was an immense struggle.
By this time, the army led by Bai Qi had already swallowed more than half of Nanshan Kingdom’s territory.
Moreover, the morale of the Nanshan Kingdom was plummeting, nearing collapse, and an unknown number of deserters had already defected to Bai Qi’s army.
Now, the Sovereign of Nanshan could only pin his hopes on the army led by Wu Qi.
If not for Wu Qi’s army, the Nanshan Sovereign’s head would have long since been presented to Xiao Mo by Bai Qi.
But in a great battle a month later, Wu Qi clashed head-on with Bai Qi. He personally led the charge into the fray and was severely wounded.
Wu Qi was an old general, already saddled with numerous hidden injuries, and his Realm was not high.
This severe injury, combined with the crushing defeat, became the final straw that broke the old general.
After the old general passed away from illness in his campaign tent, Vice General Kong Quan took command of the army.
But Wu Qi had already lost to Bai Qi more often than he had won; how could Kong Quan possibly be his opponent?
Due to a major tactical blunder, Kong Quan was lured into a vast mountain valley by Bai Qi.
The allied Nanshan and Chu armies surrendered.
But Bai Qi, on the grounds that "the people of Chu and Nanshan are fickle; if not all are killed, they will surely cause rebellion," had the roughly four hundred thousand surrendered soldiers of the allied armies buried alive, sparing only 240 of the youngest. Not a single soul was left.
When news that the 400,000-strong army had been massacred reached the Nanshan Sovereign, he fell right off his Dragon Throne.
The Sovereign of Nanshan knew he had no choice but to surrender.
But Bai Qi still refused the surrender.
One month later, Bai Qi breached the capital of the Nanshan Kingdom. Abiding only by the ironclad rule Xiao Mo had previously set—that he must not oppress the common people—he left no one else alive. The Sovereign of Nanshan, his concubines, and the entire court of civil and military officials were all executed. Their entire clans, down to the third degree of kinship, were exterminated.
When Xiao Mo learned of this, he remained silent in his campaign tent for a long time.
But according to Qin Law, Bai Qi’s actions could not be faulted.
Such things were not even uncommon on the battlefield; it was simply that Xiao Mo managed his own army more strictly and with more benevolence.
"According to Qin Law, I have no grounds to question what you have done. However, Heaven itself cherishes life. If you do not restrain your murderous aura, it will inevitably turn back to harm you one day. I hope you reflect on this."
Xiao Mo wrote a letter to Bai Qi with these words, then sent a memorial to the Sovereign of Qin explaining the matter.
Xiao Mo could not blame Bai Qi any further.
After this battle, Bai Qi had made a name for himself. He would be given great responsibility by the Sovereign of Qin and would soon lead an army of his own.
’His path is his own to walk.’
「Three days later.」
The Sovereign of Qin issued a decree recalling Bai Qi to the capital, leaving Zhao Guang and Li Jing to garrison the Nanshan Kingdom.
After Bai Qi returned to the capital, he was ennobled as Lord of Martial Peace. The Sovereign of Qin then ordered Bai Qi to assist the Prince Who Pacifies the West in resisting the Yan Kingdom.
"Prince, I will prove to you that I was right!"
Standing outside the city gates, Bai Qi bowed deeply in Xiao Mo’s direction, then mounted his horse and departed for the border.
Meanwhile, Xiao Mo and Xiahou Nan were pushing their attack deep into the Chu heartland.
Because the Chu Kingdom had suffered repeated defeats, and because their opponents were the world-renowned Frost King Xiao Mo and the famed Wei Kingdom general Xiahou Nan, many cities lost the will to resist and surrendered outright.
But just as Xiao Mo’s army was advancing smoothly,
an urgent message was delivered into his hands—
"Second Prince Qin Jingyuan has rebelled!"