Chapter 452 - 378: Wedding Reds and Mourning Whites, Both in the Same Month, Is Not So Bad
Chapter 452: Chapter 378: Wedding Reds and Mourning Whites, Both in the Same Month, Is Not So Bad
But in the end, Yan Liuyun restrained himself.
’Tearing off all pretenses now would do me no good. Once the Qin Kingdom is completely conquered and divided between the three powers, I’d like to see what he can do then!’
"Speaking of which, being stalled here isn’t a solution. I wonder if you have any brilliant plans, Your Highness?" Yan Liuyun asked Qin Jingyuan.
’I refuse to believe it. He can’t possibly be anything but anxious when we’re unable to break through to the Qin Imperial City!’
"I wouldn’t call it a brilliant plan, but I do have a method. The only question is whether you, General, have the courage to act on it," Qin Jingyuan said with a cold laugh.
"Please, Prince Jing, speak freely," Yan Liuyun replied with a smile.
Qin Jingyuan stepped forward and drew a line on the sand table. "By marching through the Black Beast Forest, we can bypass Huai Mountain Pass and strike Huai Mountain City from behind."
"What are you talking about? Do you take us for fools?" Vice General Gai Jing stepped forward and demanded angrily.
"The poisonous miasma in the Black Beast Forest is terrifying! Only Dragon Gate Realm Cultivators can pass through, and only by constantly using their Spiritual Power to shield themselves. Let me ask you, how many Dragon Gate Realm Cultivators do we have in our entire army? If we try to cross the Black Beast Forest, how many of our Jin soldiers will even survive? And even if we make it through, so what? Would we be any match for the Qin forces?"
Qin Jingyuan glanced at Gai Jing as if he were an idiot, then continued:
"It’s true the miasma in the Black Beast Forest is severe. However, while I was in my fiefdom, I made many friends. I was drinking with a traveling Medical Cultivator, and in his cups, he happily told me something: an Elixir, with Dragon’s-Roar Grass and Phoenix-Blood Flower as its primary Spirit Medicines, can be refined to ward off the poisonous miasma for ten hours!
He originally intended to present this formula to my father, but I intercepted it.
As for that Medical Cultivator, I killed him to silence him. He’s probably been reincarnated by now.
Ten hours is more than enough time for us to pass through the Black Beast Forest.
Once we’re through the Black Beast Forest, we’ll be behind Huai Mountain City.
The defenses at the rear of Huai Mountain City are extremely weak, with almost no troops stationed there. We’ll be sure to catch them completely by surprise.
Otherwise, what makes you think you can so easily conquer Huai Mountain Pass?
If you trust me, then use my method.
If you don’t, then feel free to assault the city on your own.
I have already rebelled and am now in the same boat as all of you. I would not sabotage my own future."
"..."
Qin Jingyuan’s words filled the generals in the tent with suspicion.
It was impossible for Yan Liuyun and the others to trust Qin Jingyuan completely.
But, just as Qin Jingyuan had said, he had already rebelled. What turning back was there for him?
As for him faking his rebellion, that was also impossible!
Because it was the Jin Kingdom that had approached Qin Jingyuan, not the other way around.
Not to mention, based on the Imperial Court’s analysis of Qin Jingyuan’s life, they had determined that the throne was as important to him as life itself.
Yan Liuyun refused to believe he was truly content with remaining a mere Prince; he couldn’t believe Qin Jingyuan had no aspirations for *that* position.
"Then let us see the elixir formula," Yan Liuyun said after a moment of thought.
Without hesitation, Qin Jingyuan took out the elixir formula.
After reviewing the formula, Yan Liuyun handed it to his Vice General. "Take this to Elder Hexian in the army. Have him check if there are any problems with this formula. If it’s sound, have the Elixirs refined at the fastest possible speed."
"Yes, sir!" The Vice General immediately took the formula and left.
The next day, the Jin army refined the elixir from the formula. They then had a Qi Cultivation Realm soldier take it and enter the Black Beast Forest.
It was just as Qin Jingyuan had said.
The Elixir truly did have the effect of blocking the poisonous miasma.
Yan Liuyun immediately gathered men, collected the medicinal ingredients, and secretly refined the Elixirs behind the army’s main camp, then transported them to the troops in batches.
At the same time, Yan Liuyun continued the assault on the city.
Two months later, approximately seven hundred thousand Elixirs had all been delivered to the army.
Without the slightest hesitation, Yan Liuyun gave the order: meals would be served at three in the morning the next day, and the army would depart at four. As for their destination, no one knew except for the high-ranking generals.
"General, are we really going to cross the Black Beast Forest tomorrow?" The night before they were to depart, a Vice General named Liu Ying came to Yan Liuyun’s tent. "I just feel like something is off about this whole affair. Something I can’t quite put my finger on."
"Don’t overthink it." Yan Liuyun stood up and patted Liu Ying’s shoulder. "Since the decision has been made, don’t question the reasons. Here, take a look at the latest war report."
Liu Ying took the latest war reports from the Chu and Yan fronts and was suddenly shocked. "This... That General Xiang from the Chu Kingdom surrendered? And Bai Qi routed the Yan Kingdom’s army, annihilating three hundred thousand enemy troops?!"
"That’s right..."
Yan Liuyun sighed.
"The Qin Kingdom’s martial prowess is too strong right now. It’s as if the heavens themselves favor Qin, producing two young geniuses like the Frost King and Bai Qi one after another. Even Xiahou Nan and General Xiang Wen have surrendered to Xiao Mo.
If we keep dragging this out, our situation could become even more precarious.
We can’t delay any longer.
Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, all our previous efforts will be for naught, and our only choice will be to withdraw our forces back to Jin.
But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
If we can carve up the Qin Kingdom, we will achieve unparalleled merit!
If it were you... what would you do?"
Liu Ying lowered his head and said nothing.
’After all, who wouldn’t want such military glory? Not even I am an exception.’
"Alright, go and get some rest. As for that Qin Jingyuan, I’ll be taking precautions against him. I refuse to believe the man actually has a death wish!"
Yan Liuyun clasped his hands behind his back and stared out of the tent with a cold smile.
...
Late at night, in the tent, Ji Yue was already asleep. She lay flat on the bed, her breathing steady.
Qin Jingyuan got up from the bed. By the moonlight, he took out a brush and ink and wrote character after character on a sheet of Xuan Paper.
When he was finished, Qin Jingyuan blew the ink dry and placed the letter in an envelope.
Lifting his head, Qin Jingyuan looked at his wife, who wasn’t far away, a complex expression on his face.
"Meeting me in this life... you really are unlucky."
Qin Jingyuan smiled as he gently brushed a strand of hair from her ear.
He then placed the envelope by her pillow.
Finally, Qin Jingyuan took off the Jade Pendant from around his neck.
Chanting the incantation for a Technique, the Array within the Jade Pendant manifested, covering the bed where Ji Yue slept.
This Jade Pendant was a coming-of-age gift from the Sovereign of Qin.
No one besides Qin Jingyuan could break it, not even a Jade Realm Cultivator, unless its owner died.
However, Qin Jingyuan had modified it slightly, and now the Array also had the ability to induce a deep sleep.
After he had done all this, Qin Jingyuan moved a chair and sat beside the wife he had always berated.
Qin Jingyuan watched her for a long, long time.
At three in the morning the next day, the entire Jin army was served their meal.
Among them, seven hundred thousand soldiers took the Detoxification Pills.
At half-past three, the entire army set out for the Black Beast Forest.
"Prince Jing, you can just guard our rear from here. There’s no need for you to accompany us," Yan Liuyun said to Qin Jingyuan with a smile before they departed. "Furthermore, the remaining two hundred thousand troops will stay to assist you, just in case anything happens that you can’t handle alone."
"Then I thank you, General. I wish you a smooth journey," Qin Jingyuan replied with a smile and a bow.
’Of course I know,’ Qin Jingyuan thought. ’Yan Liuyun isn’t letting me go because he’s afraid I’ll turn on them mid-battle and throw the army into chaos, or that I’ll try to pull some other trick. And those two hundred thousand troops he left behind? He called it ’assistance,’ but it’s just surveillance.’
"I’ll count on your good wishes, Prince Jing." Yan Liuyun swung himself onto his horse, his voice, amplified by Spiritual Power, echoing throughout the army. "Move out!"
Following Yan Liuyun’s order, the vast and mighty army marched towards the Black Beast Forest.
Qin Jingyuan sat on his horse, watching the seven hundred thousand troops march away.
A summer breeze blew past. Qin Jingyuan raised his head and looked at the pale blue sky:
"The seventh month is almost here again..."
Involuntarily, Qin Jingyuan thought back to his wedding day.
"Wedding reds and mourning whites, both in the same month... I suppose that’s not so bad."