Chapter 2139: Words and Deeds Align

"So, he's likely to take what he can get." Zhao Ke Duo continued, "If he achieves his goal and has no intention of staying, it's only reasonable not to impose harsh conditions."

If Ji You were to make a lion's demand, both sides would inevitably exchange envoys and negotiate back and forth, while the war continued—how much time and how many lives would that consume?

Ya Wang said nothing.

Zhao Ke Duo noticed his hesitation and added, "You could also wait for Mu Guo's reply, but I imagine Mu Guo's terms won't be this lenient."

"No need." Upon saying this, Ya Wang made his decision, "Then agree to Cang Yan's demand and let them withdraw from Bai Qiu Yuan as soon as possible!"

Every day the Shen Long Army lingers in the holy land is another day they trample the dignity of Ya Guo's royal family.

We must get them to return Bai Qiu Yuan as quickly as possible, minimizing destruction. Especially since the Bai Long tribe guards the holy spring—I wouldn't be at ease even with a hundred reassurances!

Wan Ji Song's temper is explosive, and Ya Wang knows it well—this old stubborn ox, once roused, might even secretly destroy the Ke Lin tribe's holy spring!

Moreover, Zhao Ke Duo is right: the terms Mu Guo offers cannot possibly be better than Cang Yan's, so waiting longer serves no purpose.

This cannot even be considered a multiple-choice question.

Afterwards, he convened a military council and announced his decision to all.

Civil and military officials were somewhat surprised, but after reviewing the terms proposed by the Ji You Emperor, they had no objections. Ya Wang then sent envoys to the Shen Long Army to finalize the agreement.

This time, while signing the treaty, they also clearly demarcated the border between Ya Guo and Cang Yan to prevent future disputes.

As expected, the Ji You Emperor kept his word—on the day Ya Guo fulfilled its obligations, he withdrew from Bai Qiu Yuan and retreated northeast into Cang Yan territory.

They left faster than they came—just two days to depart cleanly and completely.

The Ya people rushed into the holy land to inspect everywhere, finding only damaged trees, while the holy spring and holy stream remained unharmed—only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Cang Yan Guo claims to uphold "integrity as foundation," and at least this time, they truly lived up to it.

With this major threat eliminated by the Shen Long Army, Ducheng is also secure, the eastern threat to Ya Guo is removed, and they can finally free up forces to resist the Mu army.

Don't think the agreement was easily signed—regarding the Shen Long Army's invasion from start to finish, Ya Guo has gritted its teeth and swallowed the blood. They lost six or seven senior generals, over forty-six thousand casualties, especially the royal main force suffered heavy blows, and the royal family lost face due to the occupation of Bai Qiu Yuan.

Were it not for the imminent threat from Mu Guo, Ya Guo would not have swallowed this humiliation so lightly.

After this heavy blow, the army's morale is indeed somewhat low. Ya Guo can no longer delay—it immediately redeployed troops to the northwest border to confront the Mu army!

￥￥￥￥￥

Does Bailie, the patriarch's residence.

After a morning rain, several riders galloped through the city center, mud splashed by horse hooves drenching passersby.

The swift horse raced to the patriarch's gate, and Lu Lu Qingan, without waiting for his mount to stop, leapt off and strode quickly into the house.

These past few days, Lu Zhen Sheng's right eyelid has been twitching nonstop; just now, after swallowing a calming pill, he heard his eldest son's loud shouting:

"Father, father!"

"Here I am. What's wrong?" Seeing Lu Lu Qingan stride over, Lu Zhen Sheng's heart skipped a beat.

Did we lose in the south?

I never imagined that after the Shen Long Army drove Ya Guo's forces out of Does Bailie territory, they would pursue them into Ya Guo's borders and keep advancing southward, cutting a bloody path!

I've seen fierce tigers, but never one this ferocious!

Earlier, I discussed this with my eldest son, and we both believed the Ji You Emperor was using the pretext of aiding Does Bailie to take harsh revenge for Ya Guo's earlier invasion of the western Shan Jin region.

Since then, father and son have paid special attention to southern battle reports.

The Shen Long Army has invaded Ya Guo's borders;

The Shen Long Army successfully seized the Hu Lu River banks;

The Shen Long Army captured the strategic town of Zhi Gang Cheng!

The Lu father and son, from initial doubt, have turned to later astonishment.

On Ya Guo's territory, can the Shen Long Army really advance with such unstoppable force? This seems impossible!

Ya Guo's bandit-like strength is something Does Bailie knows all too well.

Afterwards, the Shen Long Army just went on to occupy Ya Guo's Ke Lin tribe's holy land, Bai Qiu Yuan!

Lu Zhen Sheng spent an entire day digesting this information.

What on earth is happening—is the Shen Long Army too strong, or has Ya Guo encountered internal problems?

Since the Shen Long Army entered Does Bailie, subsequent events have become increasingly fantastical and unreal.

The Lu father and son have discussed this countless times:

Is the Shen Long Army really that strong? It's only been organized for over a year!

But no matter how conflicted they feel inside, father and son must admit that the Shen Long Army's repeated victories in Ya Guo are a great thing.

For Does Bailie, it's also fortunate.

Lu Zhen Sheng fears the Shen Long Army, but fears even more that it suffers a major defeat in the south.

Lu Lu Qingan shot dead Ya Wang's son, and Ya Guo nearly invaded Does Bailie's capital;

This time, the Shen Long Army directly penetrated Ya Guo's heartland—still under the guise of aiding Does Bailie—if it were defeated, would Ya Guo vent all its anger on Does Bailie?

By then, how would Does Bailie face Ya Guo's surging wrath?

So when he saw his eldest son rushing over in panic, his heart leapt to his throat.

"Several major things!" Lu Lu Qingan's feet seemed to tread on wind and fire wheels, "The Mu army entered Ya Guo from A Fu Hai and joined the war!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhen Sheng clutched his chest and let out a long sigh:

"Good, truly ancestral blessings! Good!"

The Mu army has finally re-entered the war, and is actively invading Ya Guo's territory—this battle likely won't end without heaven-shaking, earth-moving upheaval.

Ah, isn't this exactly the ideal state I, Lu Zhen Sheng, have in mind?

If Mu Guo and Ya Guo fight a major war, Ya Guo will surely lose vitality, and for a long time thereafter, they wouldn't dare move against Does Bailie, right?

This isn't just my wishful thinking—it's happened before, as historical fact.

"Also, the Shen Long Army has withdrawn."

"Huh?" Lu Zhensheng blinked, "It's over already? They fought the Ya army, uh, who won in the end?"

"The details aren't clear yet. We only know that after the Battle of Baiqiuyuan, the Ya king sent out another large army, but the fighting there wasn't fierce." The intelligence from that side was incomplete, so the overall picture was vague, "Then the Dragon God Army withdrew."

"Did the Ya army pursue?"

"It seems... not."

"What's going on?"

Lu Qing'an said softly: "The detailed intelligence from the day of the Battle of Baiqiuyuan just arrived. The Ya army suffered a crushing defeat, four senior generals died, including the Ge brothers, one was seriously wounded, and another general was captured. Over forty thousand troops were killed or wounded in total."

These numbers made Lu Zhensheng suck in a breath of cold air.

"Was it that fierce?" "Is the Dragon God Army that ferocious?"

Before this, he only knew the Ya army lost at Baiqiuyuan, but he hadn't expected this battle to be so tragic.

Logically, a strong enemy like Ya suffering such a blow, its strength greatly weakened, Lu Zhensheng should have been happy.

But he just couldn't bring himself to feel happy.

The area around Does Bailie originally had two major powerful neighbors: to the west was Mou State, to the south was Ya State.

Ya State constantly raided, Mou State constantly demanded tribute.

Although Mou State didn't come to Does Bailie to plunder, the tribute it demanded was no small amount.

Now, a new great power has risen in the east.

(End of chapter)