Chapter 374: Chapter 14: Counterattack (Second Update)
Once again, facts proved the reason guerrilla warfare has been passed down for thousands of years.
The Hami Guard retreated to Puli, and Hong Sheng led the Vanguard Camp to commence a guerrilla warfare journey.
The "Wuqi Scripture" written by the Yellow Emperor’s Wind Minister states: "The form of guerrilla troops is to be sporadically active and still, to avoid the strong and attack the weak, to watch for opportunities, to break formations and seize territory, and to outmaneuver from four directions."
Chairman Mao further summarized it with a sixteen-character policy: The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.
Hong Sheng, combining the core concept of "war is deceit" from "The Art of War by Sun Tzu," executed guerrilla warfare to perfection.
Meanwhile, Governor Liu gathered fifty thousand Qin Family Army to start counterattacks, significantly relieving the severe situation of the Hami Guard.
Urgent battle reports sped through the eight-hundred-li relay to the Capital, and the previous case about border smuggling sent to the Capital was now negligible.
Those former high-ranking officials who maliciously slandered Prince Ke and Hong Sheng were now regretting their actions to the point of despair.
It turned out Prince Ke had set a trap using himself as bait from the beginning.
This operation netted not only the Bai Family and Batraj but also resulted in the Eldest Prince—Prince Jing being confined by the Emperor.
Because Batraj was flattering two sides and also collaborating with Prince Jing, the traitors under Prince Ke had been bought by Prince Jing.
Those "refugees" fleeing at the border were indeed under Batraj’s orders, but he hadn’t planned to start the war so soon; he wanted to wait at least until the supplies prepared by Prince Ke reached him.
However, due to Susu, these people were caught by border patrols right after an operation.
Batraj knew well that the excuse of "refugees" was utterly unconvincing; Hong Sheng was no fool, nor was Governor Liu, but with the help of Prince Jing and Prince Ke, he convinced the Emperor of his "innocence," then swiftly launched the war to seize the initiative.
Neither his collaboration with Prince Ke nor Prince Jing was genuine, and now, he couldn’t care less who fell into the trap—all were targets.
The severity of internal strife within Great Chu is thanks to the contributions of the founding eighteen families!
Now, Prince Ke, initially involved in treason, was hailed as a hero willing to use himself as bait for the country’s sake;
Prince Jing, who slandered Prince Ke, was the real traitor, not only confined by the Emperor but even his mother was sent to the cold palace awaiting punishment.
As for Bai Lili, no one mentioned her.
But Susu knew that this woman was executed by Prince Ke.
After learning of the Capital’s affairs, Susu was shocked by Prince Ke’s cunning and tactics.
Back then, she had not only caused him minor trouble but had even threatened him!
Seeing how Prince Ke treated Bai Lili now, Susu couldn’t help but shiver.
However, she originally wanted Sister Ten to become Empress Dowager, making her and Prince Ke enemies, and now this only strengthened Susu’s resolve to have him killed!
The reinforcements from across the land finally arrived one after another, and the Emperor’s decree to have Governor Liu crush the Tartars followed.
In Great Chu, those who knew that the Founding Saint Martial Emperor was sworn brothers with an ancestor Great Khan of the Tartars, even establishing such an "illogical" alliance, were few beyond the Emperor of Great Chu and select individuals from Duke Zhen’s Mansion.
Presumably, few knew about it in Tartar either.
However, with the current Emperor’s reckless nature, and even Batraj, he is not one of those "dutiful descendants".
The current Emperor was already infuriated by Batraj’s betrayal.
If the Tartar Khan weren’t Batraj, if someone else were to lead an army against Great Chu, the Emperor wouldn’t be this furious.
But who was Batraj?
He was the Emperor’s personally acknowledged adopted son, breaking the rule in Great Chu of not having an Alien King, to confer him as Prince Yong.
Even his Great Khan throne was won by Great Chu soldiers, and his wife was sought by the Emperor for him.
Now, just three years later, Batraj united with Wala to invade Great Chu, his breach of trust can no longer be described by any word.
The most distressing to the Emperor wasn’t the secret dissatisfaction of the eighteen founding families toward him but that the whole world was questioning his original decision.
Especially since Old Madam from Duke Zhen’s Mansion fell ill upon hearing the news of the Tartar’s attack on Great Chu, neither old Duke Zhen nor the current Duke showed up at court.
For what?
Is it not for Qin Miao, who married into Tartar, and who knows what disgraceful and unfaithful actions Batraj might take against her?
...
The Qin Miao worried about by Great Chu’s friends and relatives was not actually in the dire situation people imagined.
No matter if Batraj married Qin Miao for her beauty or to drive a wedge between the Qin Family and the Emperor, after marriage, he indulged her in every way.
In Tartar, Qin Miao was synonymous with luxury without limits.
Her food, clothing, and items were all exquisite; Batraj even built a Han Street for this Queen from Great Chu.
Besides the merchants and customers being Tartars, everything else there came from Great Chu or was learned from Great Chu, even the restaurant dishes mimicked seventy percent of those from Great Chu.
Even the palace maids accompanying Qin Miao to Tartar said they hadn’t seen such an affectionate ruler before.
Even the secret reports to the Emperor of Great Chu described Batraj as someone who loved beauty over power.
This explains why, when "refugees" crossed the border, the current Emperor believed Batraj’s excuses.
If she were an ordinary woman, she would likely indulge in some unnecessary concerns, such as how romantic it would have been to enact a tragic Romeo and Juliet scenario if not for national grudges, if there were no one else in her heart.
However, Qin Miao was not an ordinary woman; her father might have been harsh with his sons, but he adored his daughters.
Moreover, his way of showing love differed from other fathers.
While other fathers might buy pretty clothes, exquisite jewelry, or give more pocket money to pampered daughters,
But her father showed his love by having her recite "The Art of War by Sun Tzu" and the "Thirty-Six Stratagems", and learn all he knew about military formations and tactics.
Qin Shidao might be incompetent in other fields, but when it comes to warfare and understanding the enemy’s mind, he was exceptionally gifted.
Thus, Qin Miao, who inherited her father’s true talents more than her brothers, was not a mere pretty face without brains.
While others only saw how Batraj pampered this Queen from Great Chu, Qin Miao saw his wolfish ambitions and his covetous eyes towards the Central Plains from Han Street.
After Batraj ascended the throne with the support from Great Chu, the Tartar nobles were so frightened that they wouldn’t mention invading Great Chu again for at least a decade.
But Batraj couldn’t wait ten years, so he built Han Street.
Through dealings with Prince Ke and Prince Jing, foods, luxurious clothes, exquisite jewelry, charming beauties, seductive music, and alluring dances of Great Chu were brought in.
In name, this was to soothe the homesickness of Princess Yonghe, but in reality, it was to stir the Tartars’ aristocrats’ greed and desire for the Central Plains, rekindling the courage of those tribal leaders and nobles to attack Great Chu again.
Indeed, greed is the original sin!
