Chapter 1304

First Volume, Chapter 1304: Imperial Court Schism

After suffering massive losses, Zhao Yuxiong could only choose a reluctant military retreat.

Ning Hu and Zhao Zhenhai did not pursue, for a simple reason: their forces were too large; rash pursuit might scatter their formation and invite unpredictable risks.

Moreover, behind Zhao Yuxiong lay Dingtao County, still garrisoned by substantial troops; even if they forced pursuit, they could not prevent Zhao Yuxiong from retreating back into Dingtao County.

Yet this great battle was won, and won with a high casualty ratio, sufficient to shatter the morale of the imperial army.

Additionally, the imperial forces invading the Northern Border had already been blocked by various Northern Border units, even the Three Great Generals had dispatched troops to engage, halting the invaders south of the Northern Border and preventing further escalation.

Thus, Zhao Yuxiong's options were now severely limited.

Either launch another fierce assault, staking everything on a single gamble.

Or immediately retreat, declaring the North Expedition a failure.

And the final, worst outcome: waiting until logistical supply lines falter, turning against the entire army and inflicting immeasurable damage upon Shedynasty.

Although the yizhans near the battlefield had been struck, the news still reached Jingdu.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Court had become extremely oppressive.

Every official remained silent, quietly awaiting the Liang Emperor's declaration.

The Liang Emperor himself felt as if sitting on needles, forced to seek broad counsel from his ministers.

"The situation on the Northern Front is extremely unfavorable for our forces; we cannot break through the front line, and the plan for full-scale invasion of the Northern Border has stalled."

"Our rear supply lines have suffered heavy damage!"

"If we cannot find a way to turn the tide, this war will end badly."

Hearing this, all officials kept their heads bowed, silent, yet filled with resentment.

Turn the tide? Throughout all of Shedynasty, the one man most capable of turning the tide has already been driven into enemy hands by the Liang Emperor—other than Qin Feng himself, who else could reverse this catastrophic situation?

Ministers who had already secretly coordinated their stance all turned toward Chen Zheng.

As their representative, Chen Zheng naturally had no choice but to speak out boldly: "His Majesty must immediately order a full retreat and declare the North Expedition a failure."

"If we continue fighting, Shedynasty will suffer the bitter fruits of Bo Bing Du Wu."

The very thing the Liang Emperor feared had finally come to pass: his ministers were beginning to pressure him.

The Liang Emperor did not wish to retreat—he could not retreat; a humiliating withdrawal would leave Shedynasty unable to recover its national strength in the short term, making it even harder to deal with Qin Feng.

At that point, imperial authority would be severely damaged; even without Qin Feng lifting a finger, the Liang Emperor would reap the consequences of his own actions.

He could not allow this to happen, and immediately retorted: "This war concerns the fate of the state—how can we retreat in haste?"

"Chen Zheng, since the war began, your stance has been inconsistent—do you intend to obstruct state policy?"

Facing the Liang Emperor's accusation, Chen Zheng's gaze remained unshaken, his voice still resolute: "My stance has never wavered."

"From the outset, I opposed this war."

"Though Shedynasty's national strength surpasses the Northern Border, we are still deploying our entire nation against a single region—and even 'entire nation' is merely a facade of strength with hollow core."

"Can we disregard the lives of our people, dig up the earth three feet deep, squeeze every last ounce of wealth, and concentrate it into a Heavenly Thunder Strike, one-strike victory to crush the Northern Border?"

"No! We cannot do it!"

"The forces we can send to fight in the Northern Border can at most reach two percent of our national strength—and even that is enough to plunge all of Shedynasty into misery."

"Yet two percent of our national strength cannot possibly shake the Northern Border—it is the dream of a fool."

"Has His Majesty still not realized how high the armor penetration rate is in the Northern Border?"

"Since His Majesty does not know, let me tell you: in every ten thousand troops of the Northern Border Army, three thousand are heavy armor infantry; the rest are all half-armored soldiers."

"And the warhorses!"

"The Northern Border has twenty thousand pure cavalry; beyond the cavalry units, even their infantry forces, including warhorses and draft animals, allocate one to two thousand horses per ten thousand troops."

"Moreover, each ten thousand troops are assigned five thousand to twenty thousand logistical personnel, the size of which depends on the mission."

"Tell me, Your Majesty—how are we supposed to fight such a war?"

Faced with Chen Zheng's relentless questions, the Liang Emperor was left momentarily speechless.

Under Qin Feng's meticulous management, the Northern Border was not merely wealthy beyond measure—it was armed to the teeth.

The Northern Border, positioned between us and the Di, has ensured a century of peace between Shedynasty and the North.

Such a prosperous and powerful region cannot be seized by force unless our strength exceeds seventy percent of theirs—let alone match it.

Yet Shedynasty, exhausting its entire national strength, can only muster two percent to attack the Northern Border—this is not warfare, it is suicide.

The Liang Emperor is gambling—and a high-stakes one at that—he bets that Zhao Yuxiong can crush Qin Feng, and that Qin Feng, bound by concern for civilian welfare, will not fight with full force.

But reality has proven: everything the Liang Emperor imagined, Qin Feng foresaw as well.

Qin Feng launched only one counterstrike, nearly destroying the entire Northern Front's supply lines and communication routes; had Qin Feng been more ruthless, those twenty thousand cavalry could have surged straight toward Beijing, plunging Heaven into chaos.

But Qin Feng did not do so—he waited, waiting for Shedynasty to exhaust itself.

Or waiting… for a political strongman to arise and depose the Liang Emperor outright.

Clearly, that strongman has already appeared: it is Chen Zheng.

The Liang Emperor could only turn to Zhao Li: "Grand Commandant Zhao, what is your view on Chen Zheng's words?"

Zhao Li had long since stopped wanting to fight—or rather, he never wanted to fight at all—but now, like the Liang Emperor, he was riding a tiger, unable to dismount: his son Zhao Yuxiong stood firmly on the opposite side of Qin Feng; to retreat now would make things impossible to resolve.

Zhao Li, with no choice, could only force himself to respond: "I believe we cannot retreat. As the saying goes: one-strike victory, second strike weakens, third strike exhausts."

"If we fight, we must seize the Northern Border in one decisive blow—if we retreat, we will never get another chance."

With Zhao Li's support, the Liang Emperor immediately regained confidence.

Chen Zheng had anticipated Zhao Li's backing; he did not argue further, only bowed: "If His Majesty refuses to retreat, let time prove how wildly mistaken today's decision is."

Saying this, Chen Zheng bowed again, and before the Liang Emperor could speak, he said firmly: "Your servant withdraws!"

As Chen Zheng left, half the court instantly followed him out.

This scene amounted to a final ultimatum to the Liang Emperor; he felt immense pressure, yet still believed the situation remained under his control.

After Chen Zheng left the palace, he went directly to visit Li Yong, who had been under Soft Detention.

Li Yong, who was fishing, couldn't help but smile slightly and chuckled, "After waiting so long, has my East Mountain rise finally come?"

"Hehehe!"