Jiangling Commandery!
Since Crown Prince Li Qiankun and the Empress went south, Jiangling Commandery has been on full defensive. However, as Guan Yu continues to implement a scorched-earth policy, Li Qiankun has had to keep retreating, and the current situation is very bad.
Guan Yu and Gan Ning had already surrounded him, and he was completely unable to move.
Fortunately, he had previously used the power of the Shangguan Family to forcibly conscript troops from the Yang and Zhao families; otherwise, the current situation would probably be even more difficult. However, as time went by, these two families also became somewhat uneasy.
Li Qiankun was very anxious about this, and couldn't help but seek out his mother, the current Empress Shangguan Yan.
"Mother, has there been any news from Father?"
Now all we can do is hope for a miracle: that my father will display his divine power and drive Lin Yi away.
Shangguan Yan glanced at her son, shook her head, and said in a deep voice, " Qiankun, your father is facing encirclement by a million-strong army. I'm afraid his chances of survival are slim. Otherwise, news would have already arrived!"
A million-strong army besieging a city is no joke; without a million troops, defeating them is practically impossible.
My current situation is probably dire.
"Elder sister, the latest news has arrived. It's probably not a million-strong army, but a million and a half million troops surrounding the capital!" The Empress's younger brother, Shangguan Yundun, said bitterly.
"An army of 1.5 million?"
Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent; no one could utter a word. Under these circumstances, the emperor's chances were practically gone.
Unless the emperor were to become a god and crush a million-strong army in one blow, there would be absolutely no way for them to survive.
"Aaaaaah!"
Upon receiving this news, Li Qiankun was furious. How the hell were they supposed to fight now? If Lin Yi took over the capital, he would inevitably target the south.
When the main army marches south, how can our small force possibly hold them off?
Shangguan Yan took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "We must retreat to an even farther place now, otherwise we may not be able to escape at all. Guan Yu is obviously Lin Yi's man, and he's specifically there to ambush us!"
Previously, Guan Yu and Gan Ning jointly attacked a key pass in Jiangling Commandery. If she still couldn't guess Guan Yu's origins, then she would be incredibly foolish.
With Guan Yu nearby, they had no chance of escaping.
" Guan Yu is also one of Lin Yi's men?" Li Qiankun's face stiffened. If that's the case, he'd probably be trapped in Lin Yi's grasp too. This wasn't a solution.
His mind raced, and finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Mother, what if we seek refuge with the southern chieftains?"
After much deliberation, the only option seemed to be that the southern chieftains could use their geographical advantage to hold off Lin Yi for a while, but their own side couldn't.
Snap!
He had barely finished speaking when he was slapped by Shangguan Yan!
As her phoenix robe unfurled, a chilling murderous intent appeared on Shangguan Yan's face. She sneered, "You are the Great Ning, the rightful heir to this land. How dare you seek refuge with a foreign race?"
If this gets out, not only will the Li Clan be infamous for eternity, but you won't have a good end either. If you want to pledge allegiance to the southern chieftain, your mother will kill you right now!
As the Great Ning, to seek refuge with a barbarian chieftain is utterly shameful; living like that would be worse than death.
Grunt!
Seeing the murderous intent in his mother's eyes, Li Qiankun swallowed hard and quickly forced a smile, saying, "Mother, I was wrong. I was just confused for a moment. Even the Southern Chieftain couldn't stop Lin Yi."
"Report!"
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside, and then the person was seen heading straight for the prefect's residence.
"Your Majesty, the capital of Great Ning has been captured by Lin Yi. He has All Under Heaven the destruction of Great Ning and established the new Great Liang Dynasty, officially issuing an ultimatum to us in the south!"
If we continue to resist, we will face a purge by the Great Liang Dynasty. Don't forget to warn us!
The cleaning process is complete!
These words caused an uproar throughout the room. Everyone turned pale; this was definitely not good news, it was utterly devastating.
With the Great Liang Dynasty already established, what chance does the Great Ning have?
" The Great Liang Dynasty!"
Shangguan Yan swayed twice, almost fainting, and gritted her teeth, asking, "Is there any news of the Emperor? How is he now?"
"Your Majesty, there is no news of the Emperor yet!" the scout said bitterly.
Snap!
Shangguan Yan slumped into her seat, all her last ounce of spirit drained away. The Emperor was gone; did Great Ning still have any hope with her son?
"Sister, you have to hold on!" Shangguan Yundun quickly helped his sister up. His sister was the pillar of support now; relying on the Crown Prince would be disastrous.
Shangguan Yan Yanqiang roused herself and gritted her teeth, saying, "Since there's no news from the Emperor, Lin Yi must be making moves in the south. How many people are involved in this purge?"
" Lin Yi has mobilized the White Horse Volunteers, the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors, and the Wudang Flying Army, totaling 500,000 troops, to march south. Their imposing presence can be felt even across the Tianshui River!" the scout said, his face somewhat pale.
Grunt!
Shangguan Yundun swallowed hard, his voice dry, "We already had 200,000 troops here, and now another 500,000, and they're truly elite! Lin Yi really thinks highly of us!"
What's the point of fighting? How can we possibly win? It's practically suicide.
Zhao Dezhu and Yang Dongyu exchanged a glance, feeling a chill run down their spines. If they stayed here, they would probably be implicated.
"An army of 700,000?"
Li Qiankun was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. This was absolutely terrifying! I'm just a kid!
He stood up as if possessed, gritting his teeth, and said, "Mother, let's break through now! Our 300,000 troops will head south into the sea. In the vast ocean, I don't believe Lin Yi can find us!"
"Cough cough!"
Yang Dongyu glanced at him and whispered a reminder, "Your Highness, Guan Yu and Gan Ning are both Lin Yi's men, and the sea is also Lin Yi's territory. We can't outmaneuver them!"
Holy crap!
Li Qiankun's face turned green. If that meant there was no way out, what the hell was he going to do?
The Empress's eyes flickered as she pondered a solution. Finally, she looked at the person beside her and said in a deep voice, " Ziyun, has Lin Yi done anything about Shenle?"
"Your Highness, the Eldest Princess has been refusing to see us, but the Prince of Xiliang seems to treat her very well. She is also a princess in Xiliang, only she is called the Little Wang." The maid Ziyun whispered.
Little Wang!
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice, "There's finally a glimmer of hope! Send someone to contact Lin Yi's people. We can surrender, we just ask for a way to live!"