The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu and Yan Li left, and Xi Ya and the others did not continue their conversation with Song Xian and Lü Si.

This unexpected situation completely disrupted their negotiation plans, and Xi Ya casually made up an excuse to end the negotiations.

Back in the courtyard, Xi Ya immediately discussed countermeasures with the Chu envoys.

"The current situation is completely beyond our expectations; we must report it to His Majesty and the Crown Prince immediately!"

"We definitely need to report this, but we also need to come up with some solutions!"

"Now that the Ning army and the Yan army have joined forces, what other options do we have besides paying an even greater price?"

"Yes, we've already lost 70,000 troops, so we definitely can't start a war with them right now..."

"But Qin Yu's appetite is so huge, how can we satisfy it? If we truly satisfy Qin Yu's appetite, our Chu Kingdom will probably be hollowed out!"

The group of Chu envoys were completely panicked, their faces filled with confusion and helplessness.

The intervention of the Yan state undoubtedly made their already disadvantaged position in negotiations even worse.

Although everyone knew this was a threat from Qin Yu and Yan Li, no one could guarantee that the threat wouldn't become a reality.

If the State of Chu were to go to war with the States of Ning and Yan, even if it won, it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory.

Moreover, the possibility of even a Pyrrhic victory is extremely slim.

Looking at the panicked crowd, Xi Ya felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

They considered all sorts of possibilities, but they never expected Qin Yu to bring Yan Li over.

Qin Yu was indeed a cunning scoundrel!

This move truly caught them off guard.

After trying to calm herself down, Xi Ya turned to look at one of the men and asked, "Are you sure that person is Yan Li, the third prince of Yan, and not someone Qin Yu hired to impersonate him?"

He couldn't understand why Yan Li would be so short-sighted and choose to help Ningguo so resolutely.

He's a prince, after all!

Don't you understand the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold"?

If Ning becomes powerful, what benefit will it bring to Yan?

"Why aren't you sure?"

The man smiled wryly: "I saw him in the Ningguo capital this year during the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration! At that time, he was being snubbed by Ningguo and stood out among all the envoys. I could never have mistaken him!"

Upon confirming Yan Li's identity, Xi Ya gritted his teeth and cursed, "Shortsighted fool, he'll never amount to anything!"

"Young Master, what should we do now?"

An envoy, looking flustered, asked Xi Ya.

Xi Ya remained silent, trying her best to stay calm.

After a long silence, Xi Ya asked Baili Yunshan with a grave expression, "Do you think we can withstand the combined forces of Ning and Yan if we mobilize the entire nation's resources?"

"There is definitely hope, but it's slim."

Baili Yunshan sighed softly, "The best outcome would be for us to abandon Gongzhou and focus all our efforts on defending Mangkou Gorge and Mengtang Pass..."

Despite his aggressive demeanor during negotiations, he's actually quite insecure.

Qin Yu has already driven this thorn into the heart of Chu.

If the two countries really send more troops here, the 60,000 troops in northern Gongzhou will be in grave danger.

If they didn't want their 60,000 troops to be wiped out, they either had to send reinforcements or retreat to the Mangkou Gorge and rely on the terrain to block the advance of the two armies.

Reinforcing troops isn't that easy either.

The enemy forces crossing the river could directly threaten their supply lines.

Once the supply line is cut off, those 60,000 troops are practically beyond saving.

Therefore, if war is to be decided, the safest course of action is to have the 60,000 troops retreat to the Mangkou Gorge to establish a defense, and to send reinforcements to Mengtang Pass.

As long as we hold these two places, no one can destroy the State of Chu!

However, doing so would inevitably greatly deplete the national strength of Chu, and might even lead to large-scale internal strife in Chu.

Xi Ya's heart sank, and he asked again, "If you were the commander-in-chief, were you confident you could hold out?"

"this……"

Baili Yunshan, feeling guilty, smiled wryly and said, "In the past, if the Junior Tutor had asked such a question, this humble general would have been full of confidence! But now, this humble general dares not make any guarantees! This humble general can only say that this humble general may die, but will not retreat!"

Xi Ya's heart sank again, and she asked in a low voice, "Are you afraid of Qin Yu?"

"We are wary, but not afraid!"

Baili Yunshan's reply was firm and resolute: "What I fear is the low morale of our army, and that Your Majesty and the court officials lack the determination to fight to the bitter end!"

Undeniably, Qin Yu was indeed an outstanding general and a formidable opponent.

But not to the point that he was too afraid to fight Qin Yu.

The problem is, he wasn't afraid, but the soldiers of Chu were!

Just as Yan Li said, their fight in Min was utterly disgraceful!

The 70,000-strong army was as fragile as paper!

A complete and utter defeat!

Hearing Baili Yunshan's words, Xi Ya sighed inwardly, but he still had to try to appear calm on his face.

Since Baili Yunshan has put it this way, this battle is definitely out of the question.

But he really didn't know what price he would have to pay to satisfy the appetites of Ning and Yan!

Just then, an envoy from Chu suddenly suggested, "Grand Tutor, why don't we find an opportunity to talk to Yan Li, offer him some benefits, and perhaps we can..."

"What benefits are offered?"

Xi Ya turned to look at the man, "Our passage to Yan is completely cut off. Even if we offer benefits, will they even reach Yan?"

"this……"

The man's face stiffened, and he immediately fell silent.

The land route is blocked!

The sea route is worth trying, but the chances of being intercepted are very high.

Unless a shipping route that can bypass the coastal waters of Min Kingdom is reopened!

However, just opening up shipping routes takes a lot of time, and the further away from the coast, the more dangerous it is.

It's possible that their ships might be swallowed up by the sea before they even reach the Yan Kingdom.

Suddenly he understood why Yan Li preferred to cooperate with Ning Ren rather than directly ask them for benefits.

"call……"

Xi Ya let out a long sigh of relief and waved weakly at everyone, "You may all leave now! Let this old man have some peace and quiet..."

Everyone looked at Xi Ya with concern, wanting to comfort him, but not knowing how, so they could only silently retreat.

Xi Ya returned to her room with a solemn expression.

After preparing the four treasures of the study, he hesitated to put pen to paper.

Compared to others, he also saw more crises within the State of Chu.

Min Guo's bow not only shattered their morale, but also crushed the Chu Emperor's ambition, causing him to vomit blood.

If anything were to happen to the Chu emperor, and a new emperor were to ascend the throne, the power struggle between the ministers of the old and new dynasties would certainly be very intense.

At that point, let alone defending against foreign enemies, we'd be lucky if things didn't fall into chaos internally.

They could gamble on the determination of the states of Ning and Yan to wage a full-scale war against the state of Chu.

But if the gamble is lost, the State of Chu will likely be in grave danger!

However, the thought of the enormous price Chu would have to pay for a brief period of peace caused him great distress.

If the negotiations succeed, he, as the mastermind behind them, will inevitably be condemned by the entire nation!

"well……"

Xi Ya sighed repeatedly, his heart filled with melancholy.

He picked up his pen several times, but hesitated to put pen to paper, only heavy sighs echoing in the room...