Chapter 450 Sowing Discord

Chapter 450: Driving a Wedge

As evening fell, the Nanyan Army withdrew to Shun City.

Soaked from the pouring rain, every last one of them was drenched.

Xiao Lin’s fox-fur cloak clung to him in wet, tangled strands, making him look like a half-drowned fox—completely pathetic.

“This is outrageous—ah-choo!” Xiao Lin's furious outburst was cut short by a sudden sneeze.

The tent fell silent, everyone keeping their heads down, hardly daring to breathe.

Beaten in battle, losing Changling Mountain, retreating in the rain, and now even his rant was cut short—Xiao Lin had never been so humiliated.

“Hmph!” In a rage, Xiao Lin ripped off his cloak and hurled it to the ground.

“Your Highness, please restrain your anger,” the Left Wing General ventured, risking Xiao Lin’s wrath.

As expected, Xiao Lin seized the opportunity to vent. “How dare you tell me to restrain myself? I was gone for barely a day, and you just handed Changling Mountain back to Daizhao!”

“If you’d held out just half an hour longer, my reinforcements would’ve arrived! But no—you left 20,000 men behind and ran like a coward!”

Xiao Lin kept raging, tearing into the Left Wing General without pause.

The Left Wing General knew—Xiao Lin needed a scapegoat, and he was it.

Losing Changling Mountain and sacrificing 20,000 men had indeed been his decision, so he bore the scolding without protest.

A veteran commander, the Left Wing General understood the stakes better than Xiao Lin.

If he’d obeyed Xiao Lin and made the 50,000 fight to the death, half would’ve been wiped out. Even with Xiao Lin’s 20,000 reinforcements, their combined forces wouldn’t be nearly enough to take on Daizhao.

A last stand would’ve meant total destruction—no coming back from that.

Nobody wanted to lose, but sometimes retreat was the only way.

The other generals understood and cautiously spoke up. “Your Highness, spare him. The Left Wing General had no other choice.”

“Indeed. If not for his quick thinking, we’d all be dead at Changling Mountain.”

“Cowards! If you’re afraid to die, why fight at all?” Xiao Lin hurled a teacup to the ground in rage.

Logically, he understood. But remembering how he’d marched toward Changling Mountain only to run into the Left Wing General’s fleeing troops made him see red.

Retreat was easy—but retaking Changling Mountain would be near impossible.

Months of work up in smoke, half his army lost—Xiao Lin was seething.

If word got back to the Nanyan capital, the emperor would be furious, and the crown prince’s faction would pounce. Years of scheming, wasted…

He refused to accept it.

Xiao Lin issued a cold command: “No word of today’s defeat shall reach the capital!”

“Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!”

“…Yes,” the generals murmured in fearful assent.

Another sneeze racked Xiao Lin as his nose betrayed him again.

The Shuncheng garrison commander said cautiously, "Given the circumstances, your health comes first, my lord. Perhaps it would be best to return to headquarters and rest."

Xiao Lin was clearly coming down with something. If he didn’t promptly bathe, change out of his wet clothes, and drink some ginger soup to ward off the cold, he might run a fever.

With the battle already lost, it would be even more troublesome if the commanding officer fell ill.

Drenched by the rain and chilled by the wind, Xiao Lin felt dizzy and lightheaded, his head pounding painfully.

After considering, he realized there was nothing urgent at hand, so he stood and followed the Shuncheng garrison commander out.

After he left, the other officers frowned and asked the Left Wing General, "General, are we truly to obey the prince's orders—not to report the battle to His Majesty and continue fighting Daizhao?"

Instead of answering directly, the Left Wing General asked in return, "If it were you, after years of suffering invasions from an enemy state and finally defeating them, what would you do next?"

"Naturally, we would push our advantage and hunt them down," one officer replied.

The Left Wing General sighed. "Exactly. It’s not that we insist on resisting Daizhao—it’s that Daizhao will not let us go."

The officers saw the point, but then grew anxious again. "But our forces are no match for Daizhao’s. How can we possibly win?"

"In my opinion, we should report the truth to His Majesty and request reinforcements," another suggested.

The Left Wing General shook his head. "The Crown Prince's people will surely block it. By then, not only will we fail to secure reinforcements, but both the prince and we will be held accountable."

What's worse, the request for aid might never even reach the emperor.

The Emperor of Nanyan had indulged in women in his early years, ruining his health, and in recent years, his condition had worsened. The Left Wing General figured the emperor had maybe a year or two left.

If not for this, Xiao Lin would not have pushed for this campaign, hoping to use military achievements to contend with the Crown Prince.

Now that Xiao Lin had suffered a crushing defeat, it was the perfect opportunity for the Crown Prince to kick him while he's down and consolidate power. He would never let it pass.

"How could this be? Shuncheng belongs to Nanyan, and the army is Nanyan’s army!" an officer exclaimed in disbelief.

The Left Wing General sneered. "Compared to the throne, what's one city and a few troops?"

This prime opportunity was far better spent ensuring Xiao Lin’s utter defeat and securing the throne.

The officers were horrified and fell silent for a long moment before asking, "Then what should we do?"

They truly did not want to become mere pawns in the struggle for the throne.

The Left Wing General’s expression darkened. "For now, we must conserve our strength and wait for the beast forces to arrive before seizing Yicheng by strategy."

He was originally the emperor’s man, sent to oversee the army. But step by step, he had unknowingly become bound to Xiao Lin.

He wanted to turn back, but there was no path left—only to see this through to the bitter end.

Headquarters, Shuncheng

While bathing, Xiao Lin passed out in the bath. His guards hurriedly lifted him out, and the medic rushed to examine him.

"How is His Highness?" the garrison commander asked urgently.

"His Highness has a high fever. I will mix a remedy right away," the medic said before quickly leaving.

The human body was strange—sometimes incredibly resilient, other times fragile as glass.

Xiao Lin hadn’t had a fever in years, but this one struck fiercely, alarming the garrison commander of Shuncheng, who feared the worst. He ordered round-the-clock care, ensuring nothing went amiss.

The sky had darkened unnoticed.

After dinner, Yu Zheng and Zhou Boxu burned the midnight oil, continuing to discuss strategies.

In the end, the two came up with a solid plan.

"Tomorrow, I will have Zhufeng lead men to intercept messages between Mobei and Nanyan, while also sending a letter to my elder brother to coordinate with him," Yu Zheng said with enthusiasm.

Zhou Boxu remarked, "If this plan succeeds, we can effortlessly break up the alliance between Nanyan and Mobei."

At present, capturing Shuncheng wouldn’t be difficult, but the collusion between Mobei and Nanyan was still a dagger at Daizhao's back—something they had to deal with.

Even without Xiao Lin, Nanyan still had the Crown Prince. No matter how formidable Daizhao was, it could not withstand the combined forces of two nations.

Thus, Yu Zheng and Zhou Boxu hashed it out late into the night, determined to shatter the alliance between Nanyan and Mobei.

What do wolves and tigers fear most when conspiring together? Discord.

Yu Zheng and Zhou Boxu devised a plan to drive a wedge between Nanyan and Mobei, undermining their trust and dissolving their cooperation.

However, executing this plan would take some time, requiring patience.

Yet, for those who seek great achievements, patience is indispensable.

But it was almost February, and there weren’t many days left until Yu Lan’s due date.

This was Zhou Boxu’s only concern.