The Glory After Rebirth

493 - 495

The Wan army took a heavy blow. Even Shan Congyi narrowly avoided being killed on the battleground.

Every member of the army was badly bruised by the defeat. The morale was dropping to the bottom and there seemed to be no way to stop it.

The defense of Shengzhou Pass was as strong as always, but the Wan army Xue Chi had brought to this place had lost more than half of its men. Thinking about this, Xue Chi was furious but there was nothing he could do that would make a difference. He regretted not having seized the opportunity, and he also regretted having led the army into this war. He had thought that without Yuwen Tong being in command, he would definitely be able to take Shengzhou Pass without much difficulty, but the fact had proved him terribly wrong. His hair grayed overnight as though he had aged ten years, his face covered with wrinkles, making him look senile.

In Shengzhou Pass.

"Pity it's getting late. Otherwise we'll pursue them to their encampment and wipe them out!" said Jiang Xi, a regretful look on his face.

Ling Zhang gave a smile but made no reply. Jiang Ke cast Jiang Xi a glance and sniffed, "Stop nagging. There will be plenty of chances for that. Have you cleared the battlefield? Have you got the injured settled in? Have you done the post-fight pep talk?"

Although the Wan army had suffered heavy casualties, they still had tens of thousands men left, and it wouldn't be easy to wipe them out. It was inadvisable to rush into things when it came to fighting a war. Of course, Jiang Xi was also aware of it. He was just feeling anger smoldering inside him, and it struck him that wiping out the Wan army at one fell swoop was the only way to vent it.

"Be patient. The time is not ripe yet," said Ling Zhang.

Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi both looked at him.

"The Luohai army encamped outside Youzhou Pass is a great threat. Though Nian Feng is absent, his lieutenants are no fools. They would sure as hell take action once the Wan army is exterminated. Only when the news of Mu Hengtian's death and the chaos in their capital reaches their ears will they be too panic-stricken to give these things any more thought," continued Ling Zhang.

"Is Mu Hengtian really going to die?" Jiang Xi looked at him expectantly.

A gleam flashed across Ling Zhang's eyes and with that he replied, "It won't be long before he dies, from illness or otherwise."

The Luohai Kingdom must not make trouble for the Great Wen at this point in time. The South-Western Army had sallied out in full strength. The North-Western Army had split into two groups, most of the troops in Shengzhou Pass defending against attack from the Wan army, those under Shao Feng's command relatively small in number. The Great Wen had been gradually restored to its former prosperity in the past five years, but it would take more than five years to fill the demographic gap caused by the deaths of young and middle-aged men during the many years of war. The number of troops of the Great Wen was also limited. The small number of garrisons stationed in the capital city and provincial prefectures must stay where they were. If the Luohai Kingdom took a hard line and waded in in these circumstances, the Great Wen would be under great pressure. Therefore, on no account should they allow Mu Hengtian to continue to live. Also, they couldn't let him die too easily...

In the Luohai capital.

The capital had become quiet and listless compared with the prosperous and busy city it had been a month ago. All residents were staying indoors, and the security was quite tight, with city patrols marching along the streets from time to time.

Nian Feng had secretly returned to the capital, covertly offered help to the prince he was in support of, and orchestrated several mass murders. All the victims had been members of the faction led by Mu Rongfeng the crown prince. When the blood had been flowing on the ground, everybody in the city had seemed to smell blood.