The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter 748 Your Highness

In reality, Fang Youqun was not truly willing to die, and he was unjustly killed while bearing the reputation of a traitor.

Even though he was unwilling, and even though Hua Mingfu tried to persuade him several times, he never thought of asking the Ming King for help.

The reason is simple: if he asks the wise king to protect him, how can he not pay a price?

He Fang Youqun, no matter what, could not betray the late emperor's great kindness by going to join the Ming King and doing such a disloyal thing.

Now that the King of Light has personally assured him that there are no conditions, he still couldn't help but waver.

Even so, he didn't immediately give up.

He still had concerns. Even if the King of Ming truly had no ulterior motives in protecting him, what would outsiders think?

He knew very well that, many times, the truth was unimportant.

As long as he accepted the protection of the Ming King, in the eyes of outsiders, he would be branded as a member of the Ming King's household.

If he were to say that Fang Youqun did not pledge allegiance to the Ming Prince and had no dealings with the Ming Prince's mansion, probably no one would believe him.

Fang Youqun remained silent, caught in a dilemma.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Mo Bai guessed his concerns and couldn't help but shake his head slightly: "When the Commander-in-Chief resolutely withdrew his troops back then, what decisiveness and responsibility he showed! He dared to accept the humiliation of cowardice and betrayal of the country with a clear conscience. How come now, he is so indecisive because of some rumors?"

Such an obvious attempt to provoke Fang Youqun was not a naive young man, so naturally he wouldn't fall for it.

However, Mo Bai's words did make some sense.

Mo Bai continued, "I have never served in the military, much less as a general. However, I have always believed that one should fulfill one's duties in one's position. As a military officer, no matter how complex the situation, one should first consider the battlefield at hand. As long as the war continues, the sword in the hand of a military officer should not stop. All other external influences should, no, must wait until the war is over before considering them."

Upon hearing this, Fang Youqun raised his head and quietly looked at Mo Bai.

He didn't speak, just stared at Mo Bai until Mo Bai frowned and asked, "Am I wrong?"

"Yes!" Fang Youqun nodded.

After responding to this statement, Fang Youqun shifted his gaze to the outside of the city wall, and then fell silent again.

After a long silence, his voice suddenly rang out: "I wonder how Your Highness intends to protect me? I am now a traitor hated by everyone. Can Your Highness really risk the wrath of the world to protect me?"

Mo Bai was taken aback, somewhat surprised. Judging from Fang Youqun's tone, was he finally letting his guard down?

"If it's just about saving Commander Fang's life, that's not difficult for me. But to let Commander Fang continue to lead troops, I really can't do it on my own. Commander Fang has to clear his name first. As long as Commander Fang can prove his innocence, I will handle things in the court."

Fang Youqun turned around, frowning as he looked at Mo Bai: "Prove your innocence? Your Highness means I should go and fight the Qi barbarians?"

"This is the only way. The commander should know that nowadays, the people of Great Xia are even more hostile towards you than Chen Kezhan was when he fled without a fight in Mingzhu. Why is that?" Mo Bai said in a deep voice.

"Let our land be occupied by foreign enemies, abandon millions of compatriots, and watch them be trampled under the iron hooves of the enemy... No matter how much they hate me, it is only right." Fang Youqun's voice was very low.

Mo Bai paused for a moment, then said, "It's not just that. The reason the people hate you so much is because in the hearts of the people of Great Xia, you are the strongest line of defense against the Qi barbarians. Their expectations of you are far greater than those of Chen Kezhan. Their hatred for you stems more from fear. It doesn't matter if Chen Kezhan escapes; Great Xia still has many capable generals to protect them. But when even the most powerful war god in their hearts escapes, their hopes collapse."

Fang Youqun was still gazing out of the city, his back to Mo Bai, his beard trembling, and his tiger-like eyes slowly closing.

Mo Bai continued from behind him, "But it is precisely because you have such high prestige among the people that as long as you can give them a little hope, they can quickly accept you again, and even take the initiative to defend you. To put it bluntly, the people desperately need a capable person to stand in front of them."

Fang Youqun sighed deeply, turned around, and looked at Mo Bai again.

His slightly reddened eyes regained their composure, and he gently shook his head: "Given the enemy's strength and our weakness, a direct confrontation would be like throwing an egg against a rock. The reason I withdrew my troops from northern Jiangsu was to extend the battle lines and disperse the Qi barbarians' forces. Now the Qi barbarians are showing signs of moving south. If I were to send troops now, it would be tantamount to destroying our own Great Wall. If that were the case, why did we lose northern Jiangsu in the first place?"

Hearing him mention this, Mo Bai couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. After a brief silence, he took the initiative to admit, "I know that I am largely to blame for losing Su Bei."

He was well aware that before the Ninth Prince ascended the throne, he was worried that Subei would not be able to be defended and that once the Emperor ascended the throne, he would lose territory and his prestige would be greatly diminished. Therefore, he secretly ordered Fang Youqun to give up Subei before the Emperor ascended the throne.

At the time, Lao Jiu didn't actually want Fang Youqun to abandon the position willingly and be branded as a traitor.

Instead, he was allowed to fight and retreat, so that even though the enemy had a group to deal with, they would not be in such a sorry state as they are now.

Fang Youqun was willing to offend the new emperor rather than lose the strategic location of northern Jiangsu.

Because once northern Jiangsu was lost, the Qi barbarians could easily invade. Fang Youqun was willing to hold out and delay the inevitable, hoping to wait for the joint resistance against the barbarians to be implemented.

However, Fang Youqun ultimately chose to withdraw his troops, even earning himself a reputation for cowardice and treason.

The reason he changed his mind was because the Ming King and the Ninth Prince openly went to war during the coronation ceremony that day.

In the end, the Ninth Prince was defeated, his prestige was greatly damaged, the court was unstable, and the people were thrown into chaos.

The Qi barbarians used this opportunity to attack the morale of their troops, causing their morale to waver, which ultimately forced the generals to retreat.

Therefore, the fact that Fangyou Community has reached this point today is related to Mo Bai.

"There's no point in saying more now that things have come to this." Fang Youqun didn't intend to elaborate on the matter, but insisted, "Sending troops is definitely not an option. The timing is wrong. I, Fang, have spent my life on the battlefield; I'd rather die than disregard the nation's war for my own selfish reasons."

"It's not about letting Fang Shuai and Qi Man fight to the death. What we need now is an attitude, a willingness to fight..." Mo Bai explained.

Fang Youqun waved his hand dismissively: "Your Highness need not be perfunctory. I am not a fool. What Your Highness wants is not just an attitude, but a large-scale battle, and one that must be won decisively. Putting aside whether we can gain any advantage by fighting the Qi barbarians now, even if we could, what would it mean for the nation? We cannot recover northern Jiangsu, nor can we weaken the Qi barbarians. On the contrary, our strength will be further diminished, and if things go wrong, even Xijiang will be in danger."

"General, you're too pessimistic. How can you be so sure that the Qi barbarians will abandon their southward strategy and start targeting you again just because you went out of the city to fight a battle?" Mo Bai asked.

"I can't be sure, but there is a risk. Now that the Qi barbarians have the intention to move south, our army certainly cannot cause any unnecessary trouble," Fang Youqun said in a deep voice.

Mo Bai shook his head and pondered, "General, have you ever considered that the Qi barbarians might not have realized your intention to lead them south?"

"So what if they figured it out?" Fang Youqun said in a deep voice, "After they take over northern Jiangsu, they only have three choices: either go south to fight Lin Huayao, go north to fight me, or go west to fight the two Lius. Let's talk about going north first. Now that I'm under investigation, they'd rather wait for me to be punished by the imperial court than fight me to the death. As for going west, the southwest is a poor and remote place with scarce resources, which doesn't fit the strategy of the Manchu people to sustain their war effort through war. Moreover, although the Liu brothers are poor, they are brave and daring, and they are definitely a tough nut to crack."

"In this way, after considering all the options, their only choice is to go south and attack Guangdong. Firstly, Guangdong is near the sea; secondly, Guangdong is quite wealthy; and thirdly, Lin Huayao is the least influential and an easy target."

Fang Youqun's analysis is certainly correct.

But Mo Bai continued, "The commander-in-chief also knows that the Qi barbarians are deliberately waiting for you to be brought to justice by the imperial court. So if you go out of the city to cause trouble now, they will naturally know that you are trying to prove your innocence. Will they fight you to the death?"

Fang Youqun was taken aback upon hearing this, and his gaze calmed down.

Mo Bai pointed again at the faintly visible banners of the Qi Man outside the city: "The Qi Man are still reinforcing their troops outside the city. Their purpose is naturally to deter us from interfering in their attack on Nan Yue. What does this mean? It means that we want to sit back and watch the tigers fight, and they are happy that we don't make a move."

Mo Bai continued, "We are scheming against ourselves, and they are scheming against themselves. Southern Guangdong is not a piece of dead meat for them to slaughter. They must also be worried that Southern Guangdong will be forced to side with the Imperial Dynasty under pressure. Therefore, if they want to take Southern Guangdong, they must be quick and will not give Southern Guangdong a chance to negotiate terms with the Imperial Dynasty to join forces. Therefore, my view is exactly the opposite of the Commander-in-Chief's. I think that sending troops now will not only prevent the Qi barbarians from refocusing their attention on Xijiang, but will also make them even more eager to move south."

Fang Youqun gazed at the banner of the Manchus, his brow furrowed into a deep frown. After a long while, he slowly nodded: "What Your Highness says is not without reason."

"Even if we were to concede that the Qi barbarians would abandon Nan Yue and retake Xi Jiang because of our entanglement, then let's fight. The Qi barbarians came with the intention of destroying our country, and we're going to fight until our land is shattered." Mo Bai's voice suddenly became sharp: "From the day the Qi barbarians invaded Mingzhu, I never thought that I could drive them away by retreating. Losing a city is not a big deal, but if we are truly afraid to fight, then we are truly without hope."

Fang Youqun was suddenly jolted when he heard Mo Bai's last words. When he looked up, he saw Mo Bai staring directly into his eyes.

"Alright, I'll send out the troops!" Fang Youqun took a deep breath.

Having said that, he turned around.

Mo Bai looked at his back and said slowly, "In a large-scale battle, although I have some martial arts skills, there is probably not much I can do to help. However, I can assure you that if the Qi Man really decides to take Xijiang with all their might, I will never let you fight alone like you did in Subei."

Fang Youqun paused, turned around, and bowed deeply to Mo Bai: "This old minister thanks Your Highness on behalf of my men."