Chapter 195: The Dove Occupies the Magpie's Nest

Hanzhong City.

The Prince of Yong sat slumped in his chair: "Has the Shu Army truly retreated?"

"They have retreated!"

"Your Highness, the Shu Army has retreated!"

The entire city celebrated.

Shen Manqing smiled lightly, looking into the distance.

She plucked the zither in her hands, but it was no longer the "Ten Ambush," having changed instead to "Golden Snake Wild Dance."

The Prince of Yong stared blankly at Shen Manqing on the city wall, then suddenly sprang up: "Pursue, pursue the Shu Army!"

"The entire army, pursue!"

Everyone was shocked, but they also knew this was the best opportunity to pursue the Shu Army, because Wudu was still in the hands of the Shu Army; if the Shu Army retreated back to Wudu to regroup and strike again, this war would never end...

Everyone knew this.

In this age of cold weapons, it was possible for a war to last half a year, a year, or two years.

In this situation, they could only completely rout the Shu Army and retake Wudu.

Over one hundred thousand Hanzhong Army troops, their morale like a rainbow, finished preparations.

The Prince of Yong was in full military attire, looking quite imposing, and waved a large hand: "Lads, drive that Shu Army out of Hanzhong territory and retake Wudu!"

The crowd roared their assent.

The commoners lined the streets to see them off; their Hanzhong finally had a chance to turn defeat into victory!

However...

Who could have known.

Just at this moment, another military report was delivered.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

"What is it?"

A bad premonition suddenly welled up in the Prince of Yong's heart.

"The Shu Army has been slaughtered by the Yinzhou Army, throwing away their helmets and armor; they are running so fast..."

"We, we are afraid we won't be able to catch up!"

"What?"

The Prince of Yong nearly fell off his horse.

Is this even a game anymore?

This is not leaving Hanzhong a single path to survive!

The officers and soldiers also looked at each other in dismay.

"Your Highness..."

"What should we do?"

The Prince of Yong said angrily: "What should we do? You tell me what to do! Return to the manor!"

"Yes!"

Returning to the Prince's manor.

Another military report arrived, and then another.

Only then did the Prince of Yong learn that the ones who had slaughtered the Shu Army so thoroughly that they dared not even look back were actually just the fifteen thousand troops under his own banner, led by Xiao Kang...

He suddenly felt it.

A massive sense of powerlessness washed over his heart.

He smiled bitterly: "This Prefect Liu, he truly calculated everything, sigh..."

The entire Longyan Dynasty was shocked.

Afterwards, when people received the military reports from here, they learned that the force that had finally slaughtered the Shu Army so badly they dared not even enter Wudu City, and had fled back to Shu overnight, was actually only fifteen thousand troops!

This force of fifteen thousand led by Xiao Kang fought at night and harassed by day.

They stubbornly made the Shu Army anxious and fearful, with no heart to continue the battle; they had no idea how many people this "United Army" actually had, but they knew they were simply too fierce...

Looking at that posture, who would dare to be so arrogant without two hundred thousand men?

And so.

It is said that three days later, when they ran back to Yizhou in Shu with the remaining one hundred and fifty thousand troops, the moment the King of Shu learned that those pursuing them were only a force of fifteen thousand, he fainted on the spot, followed by a severe illness, vomiting blood every day.

The various Feudatory Kings of the Longyan Dynasty immediately summoned their own strategists and advisors.

They began to study this battle.

Why.

Could fifteen thousand pursue and kill one hundred and sixty thousand?

People analyzed it over and over, only then realizing the trickery involved: first was the weather, with wind and rain intermingled and heavy downpours, leading to low visibility; on top of that, Liu Zheng ordered the Yinzhou Army to intercept and kill the Shu Army scouts along the way, which caused the Shu Army's intelligence system to fall into paralysis.

Secondly, it was the momentum. This force of fifteen thousand had morale like a rainbow and were unstoppable; compared to the Shu Army soldiers who had no heart to fight and wanted to go home early, they occupied an absolute advantage in momentum.

Thirdly, the mobility of the Yinzhou Army. Although this Yinzhou Army only had five thousand men, they were extremely eye-catching in this pursuit battle, with all sorts of raids and flanking strikes—hitting and running, then returning again—stubbornly creating the visual impression that five thousand men were actually fifty thousand, because the Yinzhou Army was everywhere across the mountains and plains! This was also the reason they ultimately succeeded in confusing the Shu Army.

They did not know that this was the Guerrilla Warfare of later generations.

Shock.

Beyond shock, it was still shock.

Beyond the details, it was still details.

At this battle, everyone in the world gasped.

Just who is this Prefect Liu?

Regardless of how others see it.

Here in Hanzhong, they have finally vented their pent-up anger.

"Finally, we won!"

"General Xiao is mighty!"

The commoners spread the news to one another; in just a few days, Xiao Kang had been written into the stories of the storytellers, effectively becoming the number one hero of this Hanzhong city.

In taverns, on the roadside, and in casual conversation, everyone was talking about this earth-shattering battle.

The Prince of Yong was very melancholy.

Indeed.

Although the outcome was perfect, he knew that this Xiao Kang had been sent by that Prefect Liu, and it had absolutely nothing to do with his Hanzhong city!

This was equivalent to... the moment Prefect Liu appeared and took control of the overall situation, he handed you a victory on a silver platter.

He gave you a great gift.

Nothing more.

This gave the Prince of Yong'an even worse headache.

These past few days, he had been thinking that if this Yinzhou Army came to Hanzhong and did not retreat, he would harden his heart and lead his troops to expel them; surely these 50,000 Yinzhou Army soldiers were no match for Hanzhong's 200,000-strong army, right?

However...

With this move by Liu Zheng, things had become complicated again.

In this battle, Wudu was recaptured; Hanzhong had been besieged for two months, and the most difficult things to deal with were the sentiments of the Powerful Clans and the commoners in the city. Therefore, to appease these sentiments, Hanzhong needed to establish the image of a hero.

Who was this hero? Without a doubt, it was Xiao Kang!

However...

All of Xiao Kang's advancement plans had been arranged by Liu Zheng.

During the days since Xiao Kang returned to Hanzhong, his words were full of admiration for that Prefect Liu; at this time, if the Prince of Yong wanted to move against the Yinzhou Army, would Xiao Kang agree?

This was now the hero of Hanzhong, the number one general...

The Prince of Yong still had to consider his opinion.

It's over.

It's over.

The Prince of Yong was once again on the verge of tears. At this moment, the Yinzhou Army had already occupied Shangcheng Port for three days. They had returned all other ports and checkpoints in their entirety; this Yinzhou Army was certainly not greedy.

But...

This Shangcheng Port was the true gateway to the Northwest!

Shangcheng Port was the largest port adjacent to the direction of Yinzhou, capable of accommodating thousands of ships, and it was accessible from all directions, leading to the north and south of the Great River, and could even bypass Hanzhong city, following the Jialing River directly to the Shu territory. This was also why the Prince of Yong had sent his most capable general, Xiao Kang, to guard it; he was worried that the Shu Army's navy would suddenly invade, and if Shangcheng Port were lost, this Hanzhong city would truly be in imminent danger.

And at this moment.

The Yinzhou Army was stubbornly occupying the place, refusing to leave, under the pretexts of "borrowing the land to rest" and "preventing the Shu Army from invading again."

"Your Highness, that Prefect Liu said he would come to pick up Shen Manqing tomorrow..."

"Your Highness, we must think of a Method!"

"Your Highness!"

A bunch of good-for-nothings had started again.

The Prince of Yong scolded angrily: "What do I keep you all for, hmm? Tell me! I think of a Method, what Method, you tell me, what Method?"

The crowd was silent as cicadas in winter, bowing their heads without a word.

At this time, the Yinzhou Army had already occupied the moral high ground. More importantly, with the support of Xiao Kang, the commoners also had a favorable impression of this Yinzhou Army, which "passed their home three times without entering," was strictly disciplined, did not take a single needle or thread from the masses, and returned the checkpoints and ports in full.

Several Powerful Clans even petitioned, suggesting that the Prince of Yong invite Prefect Liu to Hanzhong as soon as possible, and Hanzhong should reward him handsomely!

Furthermore, since the Yinzhou Army had already arrived.

Then we in Hanzhong should even more so marry the daughter of Sima, Sikong Jing, to that General Qin, to show the friendship between the two houses.

The Prince of Yong sighed: "What a Prefect Liu, what a Prefect Liu indeed!"

"His gift list is going to take away one of my Shangcheng Port dowries!"

He suddenly laughed out loud, laughing until he was doubled over.

"King of Shu, oh King of Shu... do you feel the threat?"

He suddenly felt.

Himself, or rather including the King of Shu, and even including that King of Wei, were all already old.

Batch after batch of young people were emerging.

The times are changing...

He took a deep breath and stood up tall: "Pass down the order, prepare the Feudatory King's ceremonial guard for tomorrow, and welcome Prefect Liu into the city!"