Waaaaah!
The envoy from the Jushi Kingdom had never seen anything like this before. He couldn't even deliver the money and was even punched. Who could he complain to?
He didn't care about anything else, grabbed the cartloads of money and ran. It was too dangerous here; if he didn't leave soon, he'd probably be torn apart alive.
When he brought the news back to the palace, the King of the Jushi Kingdom's face immediately turned extremely grim.
While awaiting the outcome, the entire palace remains brightly lit, and even the ministers have not left.
I never expected this would be the final result.
Before the king could speak, the third prince couldn't hold back any longer and cursed, "Those despicable barbarians from Xiliang! They don't even care about a million strings of cash! How many merchants would I have to rob to get that much money? Are they crazy?!"
Snap!
Upon hearing this, the King of the Jushi Kingdom slapped him across the face and roared, "Fool! Is this a matter of one million strings of cash?"
This good-for-nothing only cares about money. He has robbed passing caravans time and time again, and this time he has finally caused a disaster. The consequences this time will probably be unimaginable.
"Father, you hit me?"
The third prince's face immediately turned ugly, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes. This father of his had actually embarrassed him in front of everyone.
When we were dividing the money, why didn't you say I was the one who caused trouble? Now that someone's come knocking on our door, you're trying to pin the blame on me, aren't you?
"You unfilial son!!!"
The king was furious; how dare his good-for-nothing son talk back!
How come the son of the Prince of Northern Liang is so capable, becoming a regional lord at such a young age, while I have such a useless son?
Fortunately, Tu'er stepped in time to stop the conflict between the father and son, explaining to the third prince, "Your Highness, Lin Yi probably doesn't just look down on this million, but has his eyes on our entire country! Once we conquer Jushi Kingdom, everything will be his."
"They're all his?"
The third prince was dumbfounded. Lin Yi's appetite was far too big; he actually wanted to swallow the entire country.
You bastard, what about mine?
He had finally outmaneuvered his two elder brothers and was just waiting to inherit the throne, but now his kingdom was about to perish. This was far too cruel.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "According to our intelligence, Lin Yi only has 150,000 troops, right? They've been locked in a stalemate with Great Ning, so why would they dare to send 100,000 troops to attack us?"
This was an outcome he never expected, nor did he want to accept!
I originally thought that messing around with Northern Liang and Xiliang would be nothing more than a minor skirmish, and there wouldn't be any major losses, since Northern Liang wouldn't be able to launch a full-scale attack on my side.
Besides, he has the Great Ning Dynasty as his backer, so he can ask the Great Ning Dynasty for help in times of crisis, which means he has a way out.
But to my utter surprise, Lin Yi was so ruthless, arriving so quickly, actually fighting his way all the way from Northern Liang, and now he's refused reconciliation. He's determined to take me down.
"I'm afraid everyone in the All Under Heaven has been deceived by Lin Yi. He definitely has more than 150,000 troops. This guy is hiding his true strength. Even Great Ning has been fooled by him! But none of that matters now. The key is that we must defeat his 100,000 troops. That's the crucial point!" The king said with a gloomy face and an embarrassed expression.
It's a waste of time to dwell on inaccurate intelligence now; the key is how to repel the enemy.
He looked at Tu'er and said in a deep voice, "General, what's the situation with our reinforcements? Is there any news?"
"Your Majesty, the 30,000 reinforcements from the Shachi Kingdom have arrived. The other countries are remaining on the sidelines, waiting for news from the Frostwest Empire and the Great Ning Dynasty!" Tu'er said with a wry smile.
When everyone heard that reinforcements had arrived, they were initially overjoyed, but their excitement quickly faded.
The expected reinforcements failed to arrive, and for the combined forces of the Shachi Kingdom and Jushi Kingdom to defeat Lin Yi was practically impossible!
Although there are many countries in the Western Regions, they are not very united, and many even have conflicts. The only ones truly capable of repelling Lin Yi's 100,000-strong army are the Great Ning Dynasty and the Frostwest Empire.
Both countries possess formidable military strength and territory, and are more than capable of defeating an army of 100,000. However, whether they would intervene to help the Jushi Kingdom against such an attack remains to be seen.
Seeing his men's low morale, the king said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, do not panic. We only need to hold out for a while, and we will surely make Lin Yi back down. Great Ning will not abandon us; they need our presence to curb the development of Northern Liang!"
Tu'er remained silent, for he knew the hope was slim. Even the two superpowers had fewer than 100,000 troops stationed in the Western Regions, and they might even get bogged down if they came!
Therefore, to be absolutely certain, they will probably turn a blind eye.
Now all we can do is hope for a miracle and wish they would send reinforcements.
However, before that, the Jushi Kingdom needs to hold out for at least seven days until they appear.
Seven days!
Can it be held?
Everyone was filled with doubt. They had been driven back to their hometown in just one day. How could they possibly defend it for seven days?
The next day!
Just as dawn was breaking, commotion broke out outside the city, causing the Jushi Kingdom's garrison to change color drastically. Forgetting that it was still early morning, they shouted loudly.
"The enemy is preparing to attack the city!"
When everyone looked down, they couldn't help but gasp. Sure enough, a densely packed army was advancing, and a large amount of engineering materials were being transported over. They were preparing to take action!
They didn't even have time to wash up or eat; they immediately notified the soldiers guarding the city to be on high alert.
The king was also alarmed and rushed up.
Looking at the dense array of siege equipment below, his face turned extremely grim. The enemy wasn't giving him a single chance and was going to attack the city directly.
This is a huge problem.
"All troops, be on high alert! Eat some dry rations to stave off hunger, the enemy may attack at any time!" he ordered.
"Something's not right!"
Beside him, Tu'er looked at the siege equipment ahead and felt a chill run down his spine.
He'd seen those siege crossbows and those massive catapults before in Great Ning, and now they were being used on their own battlefield. He was afraid their city walls wouldn't hold up.
Furthermore, it's somewhat illogical that they didn't immediately launch a war.
Logically speaking, the opponent has already set up their formation and could easily catch us off guard by coming directly at us. Why not just strike now?
This was very unusual, and it made him feel uneasy.
He couldn't help but mutter, "What are they waiting for?"
"Yes, what are they waiting for?" the king pondered, finding it quite illogical.
"Damn it, what's Jia Xu up to?"
Not far away, Lin Rusong was jumping up and down, wishing he could personally go down and command them, to show them what real warfare was like.
After picking up a lot of equipment earlier, he caught up without stopping, wanting to see if there was anything he could do and also to get a firsthand look at the strength of his son's army.
As dawn approached, there was finally movement from Xiliang, which excited Lin Rusong immensely. Catching the enemy off guard was definitely a brilliant move.
But to his utter surprise, he was just sitting there doing nothing, which made his head spin.
Wang Ziwen's lips twitched. Those fighting weren't in a hurry, but the onlookers were. The prince was just too worried!