TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 885: Chapter 374 Half of Jiangdong_3

Previously, Marquis Wuan Bai Yian presented himself as someone who would live and die with his soldiers, motivating their spirits with slogans like “stay alive” and “return home,” which successfully gathered a large number of loyal followers willing to serve him to the death.

But now, as all these lies were punctured, the many warriors who had their blood stirred and developed a readiness to die for the cause suddenly realized how ridiculous their so-called self-sacrifice had been.

What they believed about the Marquis Wuan stooping down from a high position to interact with them as equals, even to live and die together, was all a deception.

Those emperors, high officials, and nobles had abandoned them early on, fleeing the camp and leaving this deadly place behind.

It was only they, the low-level fools, who thought that the aristocratic families and nobles of the imperial family would live and die with them, fighting for a way to return home.

Upon discovering all this, anyone with a shred of dignity or bloodlust would not be able to tolerate it.

The unrest grew increasingly intense, and in a moment, it suddenly gathered hundreds of people. They carried the corpses of the high-ranking officers and evidence tossed into the camp by the Chu people, surging towards the direction where Bai Yian was located.

Atop the high platform.

When the people from Chu came to shout, Bai Yian sensed something was wrong from the very beginning, feeling vaguely uneasy.

And when the soldiers in the camp began to stir under the Chu’s instigation, that feeling turned into reality.

Looking at the soldiers coming forth in an emotional surge with overwhelming momentum, everyone’s face turned pale.

“General, what should we do?”

The generals, no longer as spirited as before, asked with a hint of panic in their voices as they watched the soldiers approach.

Source: AllNovelFull.com, updated on ƝօνǤο.сο

“Military law states that those who cause an uproar in the army shall be beheaded.”

By then, Bai Yian looked at the mutinous soldiers, his eyes no longer showing the warmth and kindness of before, but filled with cold murderous intent.

He knew.

After the Chu people’s scheming, particularly revealing a large amount of evidence, the trust he had built with the soldiers by stirring them up was completely gone.

Those soldiers who realized they had been deceived would no longer believe in him as Marquis Wuan, nor would they respect and adore him as their Commander.

So, since there was no chance of redemption, he wanted to minimize the losses as much as possible.

“You go immediately to your respective camps, gather the soldiers, stabilize the morale, and quell the disturbances. Then await my command. After the drum beats thrice, each of you shall lead your troops out of the camp in order and fight a decisive battle with the Chu.”

Bai Yian looked at the generals and immediately made arrangements.

The most urgent task was to control the soldiers and prevent the turmoil from escalating further.

Then, while the mood was still not completely fermented, relying on the inertia brought by his former authority, he would quickly drive the still obedient soldiers to attack the Chu camp.

Otherwise, once all the soldiers came to their senses, he would no longer have the obedience he had today when commanding a large army.

“Yes!”

The generals who remained here were all prepared to stay behind and have a final battle to the death with the Chu army.

They were already aware of the details, so naturally, they would not be swayed by the words of the Chu army.

Thus, upon hearing the order, they acted without delay and carried out their duties immediately.

After these people left, Bai Yian also immediately called his personal guards, leading several hundred die-hard loyalists directly towards the noise-making soldiers.

“General, is what the Chu said true?”

“Did the Emperor really run away?”

“Marquis Wuan, you deceitful pretender!”

As the two groups drew closer, the soldiers’ emotions skyrocketed upon seeing Bai Yian.

“You gather here for mutiny, do you wish to defy military law? Retreat at once, return to your camps, and I can act as if nothing has happened, not holding you accountable.”

Bai Yian looked at the many soldiers questioning him, his expression indifferent, showing no intention of answering, and coldly stated, “Otherwise, military law will take its course.”

“You are indeed deceiving us!”

“General, why?”

“Ha! Apply military law then, I’m right here; come and kill if you dare!”

Seeing Bai Yian tacitly acknowledge the truth, the last glimmer of hope in the soldiers’ hearts shattered, and their emotions plunged into madness.

Seeing this, Bai Yian knew these men could not be redeemed, and without hesitation, he gave the order, “Obstinate fools, kill!”

Having said that, he even took action himself, transforming into a dark wind, plunging directly into the midst of the mutinous soldiers.

The dark wind swept through, instantly claiming the lives of dozens of individuals.

The other arriving personal guards didn’t hesitate either, raising their swords to strike down these former comrades.

In an instant, before the Ning and Chu armies engaged in battle, the Ning army fell into a slaughterous internal strife.

A few hundred men’s rebellion was, of course, nothing to Bai Yian.

With him, an Inborn Grandmaster, taking action, and leading a few hundred elite soldiers, he had easily suppressed the unrest.

After quelling the mutiny, Bai Yian didn’t delay.

Seizing the moment when a recent slaughter had just intimidated everyone and when many soldiers were still obeying commands, he immediately gathered the central army, struck the heavy drums, led his troops out of the camp, and marched towards the Chu camp.

However, during the internal strife of the Ning Army, the Chu forces had already made preparations and gathered troops early on.

And after several hours of preparation, even the Chu forces led by Lu Yuan, who arrived last, had almost completed the construction of their camp fortifications.

So when the Ning Army attacked, tens of thousands of Chu soldiers, relying on their camp defenses, unleashed a barrage of arrows and a hail of rocks, instantly dealing a heavy blow to the charging Ning forces.

Before the several tens of thousands of Ning soldiers could get close to the Chu camp, over a thousand had already fallen midway.

By the time they reached the vicinity of the camp, the well-rested Chu forces, who had been at the ready since dawn, easily slaughtered those survivors who had luckily broken through to their front.

The Ning Army had only fifty thousand men, while the defending Chu forces in the camp amounted to a full eighty thousand.

Morale, physical strength, condition, armor, and weapons, among other aspects, all heavily favored the fresh Chu Army over the weary Ning forces who had been in prolonged combat.

Not to mention that, before the battle started, the Ning Army had suffered a disturbance, causing widespread unrest among the troops, alienation between officers and soldiers, and low morale throughout the army.

In such a situation, Bai Yian’s hope for a last stand and to break through the Chu camp was merely a joke, an impossibility.

After less than half an hour of battle, the Ning Army, having lost over five thousand men, could no longer hold on.

After the deaths of the most capable and willing die-hard Ning soldiers.

The remaining troops, whose loyalties were wavering, naturally did not want to continue sacrificing their lives for high-ranking officials like Bai Yian who had deceived them.

Moreover, after charging for a while and losing over five thousand men, they hadn’t even breached half of a Chu camp.

With the fortifications to rely on, the Chu losses were minimal, while their own were devastating.

It was clear to anyone that even if they were wiped out to the last man, the Ning forces could not break through the Chu defenses.

Just at that moment.

From within Ruichang City behind them, Huang Xuan seized the opportunity when the majority of the Ning forces were out attacking, and the main camp was vulnerable, leading tens of thousands of soldiers to take the Ning Army Camp, completely severing the opponent’s retreat.

When the main camp behind the lines erupted in massive flames and the fleeing defenders made it to the front lines, the last bit of the Ning Army’s determination to fight to the death completely dissipated.

A massive rout ensued with the appearance of the first deserter, quickly spreading through the entire army.

The remaining thirty thousand plus Ning soldiers either surrendered on the spot or threw down their weapons and armor and fled for their lives.

This trend could not be stopped by Bai Yian even as he led his personal guard to once again kill hundreds.

And by the time he had finished, all the remaining Ning soldiers were avoiding him, leaving him completely isolated.

Lu Yuan, Han Hua, Huang Xuan, and Sun Siwen had already led their forces to surround him from all sides, trapping him in the center.

…

On the second day of the fourth month of the eleventh year of Shenwu.

The Chu forces surrounded Marquis Wuan Bai Yian and his fifty thousand troops beneath Ruichang City.

That day, when the two armies clashed, Bai Yian led his troops to assault the Chu main camp, losing thousands without success, leading to the dissolution of the Ning forces.

Amid the turmoil, Marquis Wuan Bai Yian was captured by the King of Chu.

The King of Chu, admiring his talents, wished to enlist him.

Bai Yian refused to surrender, asked to face death, and the King of Chu granted his request. He was allowed to cut his own heart vein and died with an intact corpse.

With that, the last remnant of the Jiangxia main camp of Ning Country’s eastern campaign was annihilated.

Earlier that month, news from the two prefectures of Luyang and Hengyang indicated that the defenders, with the assistance of Public Kunhai, Li Xiong, had successively defeated the invading Ning forces.

Ten thousand soldiers from the two routes of the Ning Army were wiped out, with only the leading Innate Martial Marquis managing to narrowly escape and hasten back to Ning Country due to his formidable strength.

Mid-month, the commander of the Chu State’s southern forces, Qingyunzi, led the army to break through Jian’an County City and captured Jian’an County, once again sending back victorious news.

Following this battle, half of the lands east of the Yangtze River had fallen into the hands of Chu State.

Ning Country was left with only Linhai and Guangling prefectures and a last breath in the corner of Yangzhou, no longer able to sustain its dominant position.

This war, which began in September last year and ended in April this year, lasting for over half a year, concluded with a victory for Chu State, temporarily coming to a pause.

Ning Country turned out to be the utter loser.

As the news spread, the Nine Provinces trembled.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!