Mo Xiuyao stood up, the faint smile on his face turning into a solemn and serious expression. The generals who had been sitting immediately stood up in unison and respectfully listened to the Prince's orders.
Mo Xiuyao gazed into the distance at the blue sky outside the hall. His voice was hollow and solemn. "Order the entire army … all the tribes fighting with Nanzhao and Xiling to retreat. Move closer to Ruyang. With Feihong Pass as the boundary, I want to see all the Mohist army gathered in ten days! "
"Yes, Prince." Everyone accepted the order. They did not have any doubts about this decision. Feng Zhiyao stepped out and asked, "Prince … the court troops in Ruyang …"
"Expel them all. Kill those who do not obey!"
In the tenth month of the 12th year of Emperor Jing's reign in Da Chu State, Princess Ding had defeated Jhennam Of Gojoseon of Xiling and Princess Ding in succession. At the end of the month, the Mohist army that had been fighting with Xiling, Nanzhao, and King Li in various parts of Da Chu State quietly retreated, leaving behind the stunned troops and the leaders of the three allied forces who were hesitating whether it was a trap or if the Mohist army had truly retreated. When they confirmed that the Mohist army had completely retreated from the battlefield, the overjoyed allied forces did not hesitate to charge toward the rich lands of Da Chu State. Even Xiling, who had been defeated in the northwest, did not hesitate to send reinforcements to Eastern Chu. However, this time, they tactfully avoided the land in the northwest that was completely controlled by the Mohist army. Instead, they circled around to the south and then went north. At the same time, the Northern Tribes army on the northern border began to move. If not for the fact that winter was not suitable for war and they wanted to see the attitude of the Mohist army, the north of Da Chu State would have started fighting again before the smoke of war had died out in the south.
Naturally, the Emperor was furious about this. That day, he issued an edict to the world: Prince Ding, Mo Xiuyao, was unrepentant and resentful. He withdrew his troops to Da Chu State without permission and did not care about the country. He will be stripped of his title, stripped of his military power, and sent back to the capital for further punishment. In response to this decree, Mo Xiuyao only smiled faintly, then casually crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into an unknown corner. The one hundred thousand elite soldiers of the Mohist army obeyed the Prince's orders and charged toward all the cities within Feihong Pass at lightning speed. The Da Chu State soldiers guarding the city naturally did not dare to surrender the city to the enemy, so they rose up in resistance. The battle in the northwest of the Da Chu State spread from outside the Great Pass to inside the Great Pass. However, last time, it was the Mohist army protecting the Da Chu State fighting the invading Xiling Army. This time, it was a battle with the Da Chu State's troops. Mo Jingqi issued a series of edicts, reprimanding Mo Xiuyao for deceiving the emperor, committing treason, etc. For a moment, the world was in an uproar. Then, the person standing in the middle of this storm was standing at the edge of a cliff in the Stopped Cloud Mountain Range, gazing at the empty wilderness in the distance. That direction was where the flames of war were raging and blood was raining. Then, there was no sympathy or pity in those calm eyes.
"Prince."
Xu Qingze and Feng Zhiyao walked out of the forest and bowed to the man who was lost in thought standing at the edge of the cliff. Mo Xiuyao turned his head and saw Xu Qingze's gaze waver slightly. He said, "Qingze … is there any news of Li?" A trace of sadness flashed across Xu Qingze's cold and stern handsome face. He said in a low voice, "Not yet …" Mo Xiuyao nodded and didn't say much. He only said, "Continue to search. It's been hard on you." It had already been a month since Ye Li fell off the cliff, but none of them were willing to give up the search. Previously, after the two people who were responsible for leading troops to search for Ye Li were punished by Mo Xiuyao, Xu Qingze put down the matters that he originally needed to handle and took the initiative to take on this responsibility. And they all knew that Xu Qingze definitely wouldn't be negligent in the search for Ye Li. It was just that before they saw Ye Li … before, none of them were willing to accept the fact that they didn't want to admit.
Feng Zhiyao said in a low voice, "Prince, these days, Mo Jingqi has issued several edicts to slander Prince's reputation. Shouldn't we do something?"
Mo Xiuyao said indifferently, "Before we take down Fei Hong Pass this year, we don't need to do anything else."
"But …" Feng Zhiyao said disapprovingly, "In this way, the reputation of the people towards Prince and the Prince Ding Mansion will be greatly affected. I just received news from the Shadow Guard. The people in the capital and many other places seem to have been confused by Mo Jingqi's edicts. They are prejudiced against the Prince and the Mohist army. "Mo Xiuyao smiled coldly and said," So what? The views of the people … are just tools that the people in power can control. Didn't Mo Jingqi always think that the Ding King's Residence was a hindrance to him, hindering his great ambition of becoming a mighty ruler? Now, I will give him a chance to throw away the obstruction of the Ding Mansion and the Mohist army. Let's see what ability he has to turn the tide and achieve his great ambition! " Feng Zhiyao frowned slightly and said, "Prince, then we …" Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly, "The Mohist army … temporarily stop at Fei Hong Pass. Next spring … lead the troops to the west. Feng San, I want this world … to be in chaos. Don't they like to fight? Then no one should think about being idle! "
Feng Zhiyao's heart trembled. He suddenly remembered the man in front of him with a head of white hair and his indifferent and emotionless words that morning. He really wanted to drag the world into the flames of war, using the mountains and rivers as a sacrifice … the departure of that gentle woman had probably become a scar in the Prince's heart that could never be erased.
In the winter of Emperor Jing's twelfth year, the Mohist army occupied Fei Hong Pass and expelled all the Da Chu State troops stationed in Fei Hong Pass. Those who resisted were killed without mercy. In the spring of Emperor Jing's thirteenth year, the Northern Tribes cavalry also began to stir at the border of Da Chu State. At this time, Mo Xiuyao, who was already in Ruyang City, did not react at all. Instead, he gave another order. He ordered Lu Jinxian and Zhang Qilan to be the left and right marshals. They each led two hundred thousand troops to attack the border of Xi Ling. This news seemed to give a signal to everyone. At the beginning of February, the three hundred thousand Northern Tribes cavalry officially knocked on the border of Da Chu State. Nanzhao once again sent two hundred thousand troops to suppress Da Chu State. Xi Ling was also in a state of chaos because of the Mohist army's decision. However, Xi Ling was still a powerful country that could stand side by side with Da Chu State. At this time, Jhennam Of Gojoseon ordered another five hundred thousand troops to the border. The troops led by Jhennam Of Gojoseon's Crown Prince Lei Tengfeng, who had originally been in Da Chu State, had no intention of withdrawing from Da Chu State. Clearly, they were not willing to give up the benefits they had already obtained in Da Chu State. It seemed that in a short period of time, the world had really been thrown into chaos.
At the time, it was difficult for people to truly understand the situation. It was not until countless years later, when this period of history had been buried in the annals of history, that the meddlesome historians and scholars were surprised to discover that every change seemed to be vaguely related to the man who had supposedly only made the decision to lead the troops to Xi Ling. People also clearly discovered that all these changes originated from the seven thousand Da Chu State soldiers who had died at the foot of Mount Tingyun. On that same day, the Ding Princess who had personally led two hundred thousand Mohist army to wipe out the Xiling Army and plotted to stop the three hundred thousand reinforcements from Xi Ling fell off the cliff and disappeared. Scholars and literati often recited poems and wrote their own conjectures here. There were also countless charming and romantic legends circulating among the people. There were even some who listed the Ding Princess as one of the top ten femme fatales in history. This also made Princess Ding of Ye Li the only legendary woman to be listed as a female general, an extraordinary woman, a beautiful woman, a virtuous empress, and a femme fatale in history. This war that had lasted for several years and engulfed the four countries was also called the Hongzhou Incident because it had originated from Jhennam Of Gojoseon's defeat in Hongzhou. What circulated among the people was an even more beautiful and legendary name — the City-toppling Chaos. As for how many stories of love and hate had evolved into, there were even more legends.
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