Chapter 451 - 378: Red Attire and White Attire, Both in the Same Month, Is Not So Bad
Chapter 451: Chapter 378: Red Attire and White Attire, Both in the Same Month, Is Not So Bad
After Jinzhou fell, the Jin Kingdom’s army had already advanced to Huaizhou.
If Huaizhou also fell, the gateway to the Qin Kingdom’s Guanzhong region would be thrown wide open, leaving even the Imperial City facing the threat of collapse.
At that point, Xiao Mo would be forced to withdraw his army and return to the Qin Kingdom.
But the real trouble would come after his retreat.
After all, if Xiao Mo retreated, the Chu Kingdom would breathe a huge sigh of relief, and the territory he had previously seized would likely have to be given up.
The Chu Kingdom might even regroup and launch a counter-offensive.
When that time came, the front lines would contract, and the armies of three kingdoms would converge on the Guanzhong region. The Qin Kingdom would be in serious trouble.
Yan Liuyun, the lead general of the Jin Kingdom, was naturally aware of this.
Therefore, Yan Liuyun wanted to take Huai Mountain Pass as quickly as possible, advance into Huaizhou, and march straight for the Qin Capital!
However, by the time Yan Liuyun arrived at Huai Mountain Pass, the Eldest Prince, Qin Jingsu, had already reached it as well.
The Eldest Prince had already assembled the Qin Kingdom’s remaining 550,000 troops.
This was all the military force the Qin Kingdom could currently mobilize; even the Iron Tiger Army and the Imperial Guard, which protected the Imperial City, had seventy percent of their forces reassigned!
Qin Jingsu was perfectly clear on his objective: to defend Huai Mountain Pass with all his might and trust that the Frost King, Xiao Mo, and the Prince of the West would create a sufficient advantage before coming to his aid.
Furthermore, while some in the former lands of the Wei Kingdom sought to take advantage of the chaos, Prince Zhenbei was already handling the situation with haste. Once he finished, he too could immediately provide support.
Qin Jingsu ascended the city ramparts and looked down at the million-strong Jin army below. His brow furrowed tightly, especially when he saw his younger brother at the forefront of the enemy formation.
"Younger Brother, we are brothers. How did it come to this?"
Qin Jingsu used his Spiritual Power to project his voice.
"Do you know that since Mother learned of your rebellion, she can barely eat or drink, wasting away day by day? Do you know how our younger sister clutched my sleeve, her face stained with tears, when she heard the news?"
After Qin Jingsu said this, the Jin generals all looked at Qin Jingyuan, wanting to see how he would react.
"How did it come to this? In talent for state affairs, in scholarly knowledge, in aptitude for cultivation—how could I possibly be inferior to you, Eldest Brother! The title of Crown Prince should have been mine, but now it has fallen into your hands. Why?
Is it simply because you were born a few years before me?"
Qin Jingyuan gripped his reins tightly, glaring at his elder brother.
Hearing his younger brother’s accusation, Qin Jingsu sighed, sorrow filling his eyes. "Is the throne really that important to you, Younger Brother? If I had known you would go this far, I would have gladly given up the throne of Qin!"
"Hahaha..." Qin Jingyuan roared with laughter. "How magnanimous you sound. Isn’t that just because the die is cast? Because I have no path of retreat?"
"Jing Yuan! We are brothers, born of the same mother!" Qin Jingsu roared.
"In the Royal Family, the most nauseating thing of all is the word ’brother’!" Qin Jingyuan looked at his elder brother calmly and shook his head. "Qin Jingsu, enough talk. Let’s fight!"
As his words fell, Qin Jingyuan turned and bowed deeply to Marquis Hu, Yan Liuyun. "I implore you, General, to aid me in this assault. When I become the Sovereign of Qin, I will ensure generations of peace between the Qin and Jin Kingdoms. Furthermore, I am willing to cede three of Qin’s prefectures to you!"
"Excellent!" Yan Liuyun waved a hand, his voice booming across the army. "All troops, hear my command! Attack!"
As Yan Liuyun’s words fell, the entire Jin army surged forward to attack.
But Huai Mountain Pass was the Qin Kingdom’s most important defensive line. It was famously easy to defend and difficult to attack; how could it possibly be breached so easily?
Furthermore, Eldest Prince Qin Jingsu was no amateur; he had led troops into battle before.
And with the Eldest Prince personally present on the battlefield, the morale of the Qin soldiers soared!
「In the blink of an eye, four whole months passed.」
The Jin Kingdom had tried every method at its disposal, but had made no progress at all.
In contrast, on the Chu front, Xiao Mo and Xiahou Nan were advancing on two fronts, and the situation for the Chu Kingdom was growing increasingly tense.
During those four months, an untold number of Chu cities had been conquered.
The situation on the Yan Kingdom front was also looking grim for them.
The Prince of the West heavily favored a young general named Bai Qi. It was rumored this general possessed the flair of the Frost King in his youth, with brilliant and often unpredictable battlefield tactics.
The Yan Kingdom army’s initial advantage was gradually erased, and the Qin army even began to gain the upper hand.
"Prince, precious few of your 150,000 troops are participating in the assault. You just watch as our Jin soldiers die on the walls. Is that appropriate?"
Inside the command tent, a man named Jiang Ganling spoke to Qin Jingyuan, his tone filled with the rage that had accumulated over the past few months.
Qin Jingyuan merely shot him a cool glance and said, "Although I have 150,000 soldiers under my command, they are, after all, from the Qin Kingdom. They share the same roots as the soldiers on those ramparts. If they were to fight, how much of their combat strength do you think they would truly be able to exert?
Besides, without me, you lot wouldn’t just be unable to reach the gates of Huai Mountain Pass—you probably couldn’t have even crossed the Qin border!"
"You!" Vice General Jiang Ganling started forward, looking as if he were about to reason with Qin Jingyuan with his fists.
However, Yan Liuyun held Jiang Ganling back. "Alright, that’s enough. General Jiang is hot-tempered, and it’s normal to be anxious when we’ve made no progress in four months. I hope the Prince will be magnanimous."
In truth, Yan Liuyun was also deeply dissatisfied.
After all, throughout this time, it had mostly been his own Jin soldiers charging the front lines. Whenever he asked Qin Jingyuan to put in more effort, Qin Jingyuan would find some way to refuse.
Yan Liuyun also knew perfectly well that Qin Jingyuan was doing this for no other reason than to preserve his own military strength. He was waiting until the Qin Capital fell, believing he would then have a stronger bargaining position.