Chapter 460: Better to Temporarily Avoid the Edge

Jiang Jinshi's two hundred thousand troops marched toward Luoyang Cheng, and this news was of course known to Wei Wenlie at once, inside the Xiliang royal palace.

Wei Wenlie sat high upon the throne, his fingers gripping the rosewood armrest.

His Highness Si Wushuang stood solemn with hands at his sides, while Cui Yan, Lu Wen Chang and other senior ministers held their breath and bowed their heads, no one daring to look up at the person on the throne.

"Report!"

A scout rushed in, rolling and crawling through the hall doors, his face full of terror: "Your Majesty! Beijiang... Beijiang army! Two hundred thousand! They have set up camp ten li outside the North Gate! Their banners blot out the sun, the encampments stretch for dozens of li! Their banner... bears the Jiang royal flag!"

Wei Wenlie slowly raised his eyes, his gaze gloomy, looking at each of the pallid faces before His Highness.

"Two hundred thousand..."

His voice was hoarse, rasping from between his teeth, "Jiang Jinshi... does he intend to swallow this lonely one, flesh and bone, whole within Luoyang Cheng!"

No one dared to answer, only heavy breathing and the faint clatter of trembling teeth.

Two hundred thousand! This is no longer a raid, no longer a feint, it is a mountain crushing down, an absolute kill!

"Si Wushuang!"

Wei Wenlie's voice was not loud, yet it made everyone's hearts shrink, "Your collective militia, your hostages, your steadfast defense awaiting aid... can they hold back a two hundred thousand horde of tigers and wolves? Hmm?"

Si Wushuang lifted his head, his face still expressionless, but the confidence of old had already vanished from his eyes.

He clasped his hands, his voice deliberately steady, "Prince, though the enemy is formidable, Luoyang Cheng has high walls and deep moats, and its provisions are ample.

Our army still has fifty thousand elite troops; relying on the strong city, we are not without fighting strength. Jiang Jinshi comes from afar, logistics are difficult, and the harsh winter is an even greater foe. As long as..."

"As long as? As long as what?"

Wei Wenlie abruptly cut him off, springing to his feet, "As long as this lonely one curls up like a turtle in its shell, waiting for Jiang Jinshi to grind Luoyang Cheng piece by piece?!"

"Waiting for him to nail this lonely one dead in this cage, letting the world mock me?!"

His chest heaved violently, his gaze sweeping over the ministers before His Highness, silent as chilled cicadas, finally fixing on Si Wushuang's face: "Tell me! How many troops does the old Xiliang homeland still have?"

"Can they come to rescue this lonely one? Hmm?! With Tongguan in between, Qinling blocking, can they fly over?!"

Si Wushuang fell silent; the old Xiliang homeland indeed has over a hundred thousand elite, but Tongguan is lost, Qinling is snow‑bound, beyond reach.

Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; this is reality.

If Xiliang were to send aid, they could only go south via Chuanshu, then head north along the Yunhe River to reach Luoyang Cheng.

With this chain of movements, I'm afraid Wei Wenlie's ashes would have already been scattered by Jiang Jinshi!

"Great King!"

A newly promoted veteran stepped out tremblingly; he is the new head of Fei Ting's unit, and has long been a trusted aide of Wei Wenlie.

"My lord... I think Luoyang cannot be held! Jiang Jinshi comes with surging momentum, intent on victory! Rather than... rather than be trapped in a lonely fortress, both jade and stone burning, it would be better... better to temporarily avoid the sharp edge!"

"Temporarily avoid the sharp edge?"

Wei Wenlie sneered, his gaze toward Fei Tingxiong unkind, "Avoid where? Hmm? Return to Xiliang?"

"Abandon Luoyang, abandon this Zhongyuan glittering world, crawl back to that bitter cold land? Let the world laugh at this lonely one?!"

"Great King!"

Fei Tingxiong fell to his knees, tears streaming, "As long as the green mountains remain, we need not fear lacking firewood!"

Xiliang is my foundation, still possessing over a hundred thousand strong troops!

If the Great King returns, reorganizes, perhaps someday we can rise again!

If... if we stubbornly defend Luoyang to the death, once the city falls... the Xiliang dragons will be leaderless, surely Jiang Jinshi will defeat them one by one!

Then... my Xiliang foundation would truly be... lost for ten thousand calamities!

He kowtowed heavily, his forehead instantly stained red.

"Rise again?"

Wei Wenlie seemed to hear a colossal joke, "Veteran General Fei Ting, tell this lonely one, if I abandon Luoyang and leave, will Zhongyuan, Jiangnan, the hearts of the world still recognize me as the 'Xiliang King'?!"

"Will Jiang Jinshi give me a chance to rise again?!"

"He will only crush me like a dead ant, chasing my heels, grinding me from Jiangnan to Chuanshu, then from Chuanshu back to Xiliang!"

"Warm water boiling a frog... he intends to simmer this lonely one, the whole of Xiliang, piece by piece in a pot!"

Wei Wenlie was not wrong; Jiang Jinshi aims to swallow not only Wei Wenlie and his southern forces, but also his Xiliang foundation.

Wei Wenlie has been rooted in Xiliang for years; that place is like an iron bucket. If Wei Wenlie dies, the remaining Xiliang factions would likely launch an attack on the Ming Army under the banner of some revival.

Therefore, to avoid future trouble, Xiliang must be gradually devoured by Jiang Jinshi; that is the best choice.

For Jiang Jinshi, a living Wei Wenlie is far more valuable than a dead one.

If he dies, that Xiliang land's cost‑less 'revenge' would be suppressed by the Ming Army, but at the cost of some manpower.

If he lives and slinks back to Xiliang, it would be a major blow to morale and popular sentiment.

Wei Wenlie suddenly pointed outside the hall, "Do you think he besieged the three palaces and left the South Gate out of mercy? To give this lonely one a way out?"

"Nonsense! That's a poison plot! A Yang scheme! He wants to force this lonely one out of Luoyang, driving me like a bereaved dog fleeing south!"

"Let the world see how Wei Wenlie was chased by Jiang Jinshi like a rabbit, from Luoyang to the ends of the earth!"

"What he seeks to crush is not my troops, but my backbone! My final ambition to rule!"

The hall fell into dead silence; they all understood these points, yet dared not speak.

"Staying means waiting for death. Fleeing is a slow suicide, dignity being torn apart piece by piece. This choice suffocates more than a blade at the throat."

"Si Wushuang!"

Wei Wenlie's blood‑red eyes fixed on him again, "Speak! What should this lonely one do now?!"

Everyone's gaze converged on Si Wushuang; this Xiliang Military Advisor had become the sole lifeline.

Si Wushuang slowly raised his head, meeting Wei Wenlie's near‑mad gaze, "Prince, General Fei Ting's words... are the only lifeline right now."

Wei Wenlie's pupils contracted sharply, his fists clenched with a crackling sound.

Si Wushuang ignored the gaze that seemed ready to tear him apart, and continued, "Jiang Jinshi left the South Gate not out of benevolence, but as a poison plot. Its poison lies in precisely calculating human hearts."

He was certain the Prince would not willingly abandon the Luoyang inheritance and feared that on the road of flight his dignity would be completely lost. He wanted the Prince to torment himself between "die defending dignity" and "humiliating survival", exhausting his will, collapsing without a fight.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the bewildered faces in the hall: "Although this scheme is poisonous, it is not without a solution. The key lies in… how the Prince chooses."

"How to choose?" Wei Wenlie's voice was hoarse.

"Choose 'advantage'."

Si Wushuang paused at each word, "Luoyang is a death trap, a dead end. Even with the ability to pierce the heavens, staying here can hardly withstand the relentless assault of two hundred thousand troops day and night. The day the city falls, both jade and stone will be reduced to ash; the Prince and Xiliang will both be ground to powder! This is the worst of choices!"

"Moving south may appear humiliating, may seem to lead step by step into Jiang Jinshi's scheme, yet it preserves the 'advantage'."