Qi Country's Royal Capital.
Qi Prince Mansion.
Qi Prince stared at the map on his desk, pondering on how to fend off the invasion from the North Country.
Just then, a guard entered the study and said, "Your Majesty, there's terrible news!"
The guard's voice was so loud it directly interrupted Qi Prince's train of thought, and seeing the guard's flustered appearance, Qi Prince spoke with so displeasure, "What's the panic!"
The guard hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Ziyang City has fallen!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Prince was imdiately stunned.
"What! Ziyang City has fallen?"
"How many days has it been?"
"How could it be so fast!"
The guard imdiately handed over the intelligence collected by the scouts to Qi Prince, "Your Majesty, this is the intelligence from the front line scouts, please look it over."
Qi Prince snatched the letter and began to read it earnestly.
As he read the intelligence recorded in the letter, Qi Prince's face grew increasingly grim.
The next mont, he tore the letter to shreds, cursing loudly as he did so, "Incompetent fool! This Du Yongyuan is nothing but a waste!"
"An army of two hundred thousand, just gone like that!"
"He didn't even have the face to see His Majesty, and took his own life!"
Qi Prince had originally planned to coordinate with Du Yongyuan to defend so crucial cities, but now, in just a few days, Ziyang City had fallen, and Du Yongyuan had committed suicide.
How could the court send such a good-for-nothing to Qi Country!
After venting his rage, Qi Prince quickly cald down and then said to the guard, "Summon all officials imdiately!"
Now that the court's two hundred thousand army was gone, and it was impossible for the court to send additional forces to support Qi Country in the short term, they had to rely on themselves.
They must, at all costs, prevent the soldiers of the North Country from advancing south.
When the officials of Qi Country learned that the court's two hundred thousand army had been defeated and Du Yongyuan had killed himself, they were all frantic.
An army of two hundred thousand, unable to hold even for half a month before being defeated—and that was the court's army. If it had been their own Qi Country's army, would they have been able to withstand the North Country's military onslaught?
Although they were extrely panicked, so far, very few officials in Qi Country entertained the idea of surrender.
The reason was simple: behind these officials were various aristocratic families and large landlords, who would never allow the North Prince to rule. If the North Prince took power, their lands would be confiscated.
For their own interests, they had to resist to the death.
Eventually, after the deliberations, Qi Prince dispatched an army of one hundred thousand, planning to intercept the North Prince's two hundred thousand army in Dichang Valley.
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Of course, Qi Prince did not entertain the idea of annihilating the North Prince's two hundred thousand army; he rely aid to stop the North Country's military forces and prevent them from advancing further south.
South of Dichang Valley was Wanchang City. By holding Wanchang City, the North Country's army would have to take a detour if they wanted to move south, and the routes in other areas were difficult to navigate, considering the many mountainous regions within Qi Country's territory, which would significantly delay the North Prince's army from advancing south.
This ti, the one hundred thousand army was equipped with Piercing Cloud Bows and Piercing Cloud Arrows, and Qi Prince believed they would certainly stop the North Country's army from moving southward.
To ensure no chances were taken, Qi Prince also dispatched another one hundred thousand army to garrison a key city near the coast. If the North Country's army failed to take Wanchang City, they might try to bypass it from the east and hence would co around to the sea.
However, clearly, Qi Prince was overthinking it.
Let alone one hundred thousand soldiers, even if all the soldiers within Qi Country were assembled together, they could not stop the North Country's army from moving south.
anwhile.
Inside Anping City, Lu Chen was holding a military eting with a group of military generals.
What they discussed that day was how to capture Qi Country.
At that mont, Xuanyuan Chen suggested, "Your Majesty, why don't we divide our forces into two, one marching south along Dichang Valley to attack Wanchang City, drawing Qi Country's attention, while the other takes a detour through the mountains, heading straight for Qi Country's Royal Capital."
"Once we capture the Royal Capital of Qi Country and take Qi Prince, we can force most of Qi Country's military forces to surrender."
Hearing Xuanyuan Chen's suggestion, Lu Chen thought for a mont, then said, "If we go through the mountains, it may be difficult to transport heavy artillery, and I'm not sure how much ti it would waste."
After thinking it over, Lu Chen continued, "The best strategy is to gather our forces at one point, rapidly take down Wanchang City, and then advance towards the Royal Capital."
Xuanyuan Chen said, "Your Majesty, if we do that, we are giving Qi Prince plenty of ti to escape. Our army might not even have reached Qi Country's Royal Capital before Qi Prince flees south."
Lu Chen spoke indifferently, "What I want is Qi Country's land; if he wants to flee, then let him flee."
Xuanyuan Chen's concern was that, as a seignior, Qi Prince had a certain influential power in Qi Country. If they didn't capture Qi Prince and allowed him to escape, once the North Country's army occupied Qi Country, Qi Prince would surely secretly contact his forr subordinates and incite them to stir up trouble within Qi Country's borders.
Xuanyuan Chen's thinking had no fault, but his perspective was different from Lu Chen's. Lu Chen planned that, after taking Qi Country, he would not rush south imdiately but would first stabilize the situation in Qi Country and pacify its people.
As long as they could calm the people of Qi Country, even if Qi Prince managed to escape, it would not be easy for him to make a coback, as the hearts of the people would have changed.
At this ti, Lu Chen said, "I am aware of General Xuanyuan's concerns, but after occupying Qi Country, I will not leave imdiately; I will stay in Qi Country for a while. Once I have dealt with the unstable elents, I will continue moving south."
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