knife

Chapter 624 Dilemma
Na Wei looked up at the tall city walls and dazzling lights of Ruyin County in the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

To conquer this fortified city before us, we must pay an immeasurable price.
Whether it's worth it or not is the question he needs to consider now.

As a qualified military commander, he naturally realized that the battle had become somewhat strange so far.

The other party is retreating in a planned manner.

It appears that the enemy is putting up a fierce resistance in every city, town, and county, and the fighting seems quite intense, but that's just a facade.

The enemy always put up a resistance for a while before retreating.

Moreover, they had even evacuated the civilians before the battle began.
They took everything of value, everything edible, and everything usable.

Under the scorched earth policy, Na Wei also had a very difficult time.

Fortunately, Xiong Yi, the logistics manager, was very helpful.

Although it wasn't very lavish, it was just enough.

If we can capture Ruyin County, we should be able to make a fortune.

Intelligence from various sources indicates that Han Tan, the governor of Ruyin County, has indeed evacuated all the people and property he could carry to the county seat, resulting in the city being overcrowded.

Na Wei had always suspected that the other party was intentionally luring the enemy deeper into their territory.

Somewhere around you
There must be a large enemy force hiding there, ready to surround them at any moment.

However, the numerous scouts sent out found nothing.

The surrounding area for dozens of miles was spotless!

This completely stumped Na Wei.

He Zudao was defeated and killed, and Na Wei became nervous, thinking that the enemy must have appeared.

But they didn't come.

Chen Yan's navy suffered a crushing defeat and fled in disarray.

Nawei was extremely worried that the enemy would take advantage of their control of the waterways and send troops to bypass him and cut off his retreat.
But they still didn't come.

According to intelligence gathered, the other side had actually gone to Tong'an County to intercept General Xiang's retreat.

General Xiang is now trapped in Tongan County with 20,000 men.

Was I actually being ignored by the other party?

Strategically speaking, the war has reached this point and is a complete failure.

The enemy successfully thwarted the imperial court's campaign.

What Nawei wanted to do next was to make a graceful exit.

Ironically, Xiong Yi from Danyang City actually sent someone to ask him to take advantage of this opportunity to capture Ruyin County and relieve the pressure on Tong'an.

If we can conquer Ruyin County and completely defeat Kang Zhen on the other side, it will certainly be considered a victory, and the court will not lose face so badly.

But is it even possible to shoot it down?
Na Wei shook his head.

impossible.

It now seems that the enemy retreated step by step to this point, preparing to face our fiercest attack. Even a fool could see that the enemy had made ample preparations within the city.

To use one's own sons' lives to do such a meaningless thing.

Na Wei wasn't that stupid.

Just wanting to back out isn't such an easy thing!

Tens of thousands of troops!
If the enemy still has considerable strength, retreating rashly could easily turn into a rout.

Now I'm really in a dilemma!
"Xiong Yi's order is ill-intentioned!" a hoarse voice came from beside him.

Nawei turned around and saw an old woman leaning on a wooden cane emerge from the darkness.

The old woman, with her wrinkled skin and white hair, was slightly hunched over, making it impossible to tell her exact age. She was dressed similarly to the shamans in the large group, except that her wooden staff was longer, with a snake head carved on the top. Above the wooden snake head was another snake head, but this one was movable—it was a living snake.

“Divine Shaman!” Na Wei looked at the woman, bowed slightly, and paid his respects.

"The other side was prepared all along. Xiong Yi is trying to use someone else to do his dirty work, wasting the lives of the men of the Southwest." The shaman's face was cold and stern. "I told you long ago not to negotiate with a tiger, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on leading your troops north. Now you're in a dilemma, aren't you?"

Na Wei sighed, “Divine Shaman, you are a person above the clouds, detached from worldly affairs, yet you are unaware that the world is constantly changing. The Chu Kingdom has been planning the abolition of the chieftain system for many years, step by step forcing us into a corner. We are not afraid of the heavy external pressure, but we are afraid of the internal disunity! Now, we can still unite the people, but in another ten or twenty years, I am afraid we will be powerless to fight back. I advocated coming out of seclusion because I want to fight for the interests of the Southwest. Even if the abolition of the chieftain system is implemented, the voice of the Southwest in the court must not be quiet!”

"You thought it was all well and good, but look at you now?" The shaman sneered, "Xiang Ying and his men have already failed, and Xiong Yi still wants you to attack Ruyin. They are malicious. They have never considered us as true friends!"

“We were never friends, it was all about interests!” Na Wei said. “Xiong Yi wants me to continue the attack, but I guess he just wants to confuse me and buy some time so he can make his next arrangements.”

"They're afraid you'll withdraw your troops!"

“The shaman is right!” Na Wei laughed. “That’s what I was thinking too. I’d like to go back as soon as possible, but a powerful enemy is watching us, and I dare not make any rash moves. If I’m not careful, I might end up like He Zudao, which would be a tragedy.”

The shaman, carrying his wooden staff, suddenly took a few steps forward. The snake's head on the staff suddenly raised, hissing as it flicked its tongue.

Na Wei was taken aback and asked, "Shaman, what happened?"

"A guest has arrived!" The shaman took another step forward, staring ahead.

Na Wei reached out and gripped the knife at his waist, and the guards behind him tensed up as well.

If the person who came could make the shaman's expression so solemn, then they must be no ordinary person; they must be a master on par with the shaman.

Suddenly, a person appeared in front of me, even though the area ahead was completely empty.

They were several miles away from the city wall, and there wasn't a single tree or blade of grass in between. This was why they dared to get so close to observe the city; if they found anything, they would turn around and leave.

But the person who just appeared was like a ghost, as if he suddenly emerged from underground.

"Who are you?" the shaman asked in a deep voice.

Before the newcomer could answer, Wei spoke first: "If I'm not mistaken, you must be Li Dachui, the Protector-General of the Northern Protectorate, right? Instead of dealing with Xiang Ying in Tong'an, you've come all the way to Ruyin? What, do you think I'm easier to deal with?"

The person who arrived was none other than Li Dachui.

Hearing Na Wei's words, he smiled, looked at the old woman in front of Na Wei, and said, "She is not easy to deal with at all, and even more troublesome. This must be the shaman you worship?"

"You actually know about our offerings?" Na Wei took a step forward, stood up, and faced Li Dachui directly.

"In fact, quite a few of us do business with you in the Southwest!" Li Dachui said. "We've long heard of the great reputation of the sorcerer!"

(End of this chapter)