To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck - Chapter 874 - Chapter 874: Chapter 371 Difficult Escape
Chapter 874: Chapter 371 Difficult Escape
The carriages and horses shimmered in the light, winding forward like a dragon.
The tens of thousands of Ning Army soldiers formed a long dragon, advancing rapidly eastwards along the imperial road.
They had been traveling for two days and one night straight.
The arduous journey had exhausted everyone, but not a single person complained, because they all knew that this journey was not merely a travel, but a flight for their lives.
Their side had lost the great war.
As a price for their defeat, hundreds of thousands of Chu soldiers were rapidly closing in from all directions, ready to encircle them at any moment.
If they were to be trapped, not only would their lives be at risk, but they would also never be able to return home again.
Facing such a terrifying outcome, everyone suppressed their fatigue, summoning fresh strength within them to keep moving forward.
To survive!
To return home!
At this very moment, the two beliefs that Marquis Wuan had put forward before their departure had become the hope in the hearts of all the Ning Army soldiers, the source of their strength.
In the middle of the long line of the Ning Army, a luxurious and huge carriage was guarded by nearly a hundred golden-armored knights.
Beside the carriage, apart from the knights, there stood tall and burly eunuchs, with delicate and attractive palace maids seated in carriages following behind.
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Without a doubt, in an army rushing along the road, the only one who could still afford such a spectacle was the Heavenly Son of Ning Country, also the commander of the army, Shen Qiu.
“Where have we reached now?”
Inside the carriage, spacious like a small cabin, Shen Qiu lay on a dragon couch, flipping through a Taoist Classic with an unreadable expression on his face.
Next to him were two white-faced, beardless eunuchs attending to him. Hearing the Heavenly Son’s question, they hurriedly replied, “Your Majesty, the vanguard has already arrived in Yongxing territory.”
“Yongxing…”
Shen Qiu pondered over the name and then let out a wistful sigh, “We’re almost at Yuzhang, nearly back to the homeland.”
The young eunuch agreed, “Yes, Your Majesty. Once we cross Yongxin and reach Ruichang, we’ll be within Yuzhang territory. By then, we can return to our country, and the Chu army will not dare to pursue any further.”
“Not dare to pursue?”
Shen Qiu gave a bitter laugh, his mood drooping, “The Chu rogues have already surrounded Nanchang City, and their hundreds of thousands of soldiers are swarming in from all corners of the earth, all to capture me. How could they possibly not dare pursue?”
“Your Majesty, please take heart. Marquis Wuan is adept in war and comes from a family of renowned generals, a man of great talent. In the past few days, the Chu people have attacked several times, but each time they were easily repelled by Marquis Wuan,” the young eunuch comforted the Emperor, seeing his distressed mood, “With him present, he will surely keep Your Majesty safe and ensure our peaceful return to the country.”
“Marquis Wuan, huh…”
Upon hearing this name, Shen Qiu’s feelings grew even more complicated.
In fact, when he first heard that Yuzhang had been sneak-attacked by the Chu army, and even Nanchang was surrounded, with their army’s retreat cut off,
At that moment, Shen Qiu had indeed been furious to the point of fainting.
But after all, he was a Grandmaster of the Inborn Second Realm.
In the current world, with the cultivators of the Nine Provinces having mostly crossed the sea, apart from Lu Yuan, an aberration in combat, Shen Qiu was one of the very few at the pinnacle.
Among the hundreds of Inborn Grandmasters in the Kyushu Ten Domain, there were only twenty or thirty who could reach the Second Realm of Inborn Masters.
Out of every ten Inborn Grandmasters, there might not even be one at the Second Realm.
This showed just how strong Shen Qiu’s power truly was.
In fact, it was because of this power that when the Xiao Family lost the people’s trust and the Coastal Aristocratic Families were looking to elect a new leader,
Shen Qiu, with his Second Realm Inborn Strength, emerged victoriously, replacing the Xiao Family to inaugurate a New Dynasty.
Such was the weight of a Second Realm Grandmaster.
However, it now seemed that being skilled in martial arts did not necessarily make one a good emperor. And those who lacked martial ability did not necessarily lack in other capacities.
At least in terms of warfare, Shen Qiu’s abilities were far inferior to his governance abilities.
A war with Chu State not only cost him the dominance over Yangzhou but was now leading to the loss of half the lands he originally held.
Having suffered such a devastating defeat, how could it not damage his spirit?
How could it not cause disillusionment?
Thus, when he awoke from his faint, Shen Qiu—in his own tent, even before the imperial physician arrived—came to on his own accord.
But after waking and hearing the people around him mention that during his fainting spell, the vice commander of the army, Marquis Wuan Bai Yian, had already taken over the entire army’s command and begun arranging for the various units to break out and retreat,
Shen Qiu, who had been longing to salvage the situation, suddenly fell silent.
In that moment, he recalled Shen Qiu’s many suggestions made to him previously.
Like mustering all the troops in the country for a decisive battle with Chu,
Or ceasing warfare, pulling all troops back to defend the country, extensively fortifying defenses, and enduring a war of attrition with Chu.
Either strategy, had he chosen one at the time, might have changed the current situation drastically.
But in the end, in order to balance the various interests within the country, he stubbornly and arrogantly took a moderate approach, completely ignoring Marquis Wuan’s advice.
Now, having reached this juncture, he was reaping what he had sown.
It was because of this, that Shen Qiu, who had wanted to stand up and correct his mistakes, suddenly felt a fear rising within his heart.
He feared that another one of his decisions would result in the burial of a hundred thousand soldiers.
He feared that another one of his decisions would lead to the downfall of Ning Country.
He feared that another one of his decisions would destroy the foundation built by generations of six clans and seven families over thousands of years.
Continuous defeats, continuous mistakes in decision-making, had stripped away the former confidence and spirit of this once full-of-vim-and-vigor Emperor of Ning.
