The Demon Lords

Back in the day, Lord Jingnan of the North-Pacifying Cavalry borrowed passage through Qian State to attack Jin, and after exiting Qian State, he actually borrowed passage through two smaller countries. Of course, arrangements were made in advance, which later led to Emperor Jin opening Tianmen Pass to let the Yan Army enter Jin.

Liang State was closer to Chu State. The royal bloodline of Chu State could be seen in the original ruler, indicating the inclination of both countries’ foundations. However, the coup had already happened, and the original ruler was dead. The new ruler was the original ruler’s younger brother but from another mother. Thus, after ascending the throne, he panicked.

He immediately teamed up with the Prime Minister to send envoys to Chu to explain:

First, our coup occurred because the original ruler was too outrageous and immoral, daring even to insult the concubine left by his father, worse than a beast!

Second, our Liang State remains a vassal of Chu, loyal only to Chu;

Third, could Chu State send another royal maiden for marriage? I wish to become a son-in-law of Chu State.

Of course, the new ruler and the Prime Minister didn’t just sit around waiting. What if Chu State got mad and decided to dispatch troops to punish them?

Therefore, after sending the envoys, they began gathering all of Liang State’s military forces. Liang’s original regular army amounted to just fifteen thousand—compared to Chu, even a Qu Clan could easily crush them with the Blue Luan army.

Then,

they endured the painful wait.

Coincidentally, Xue Three led hundreds of cavalry and provoked the Chu Army to follow them. Xue Three plunged into Qi Mountain, and naturally, the Chu Army didn’t let them go, following suit.

Meanwhile, Liang State’s new ruler and the Prime Minister were already in a state of panic, misinterpreting the appearance of Chu Army in the Qi Mountain range as a Chu State punitive expedition against Liang State.

Despite Liang State being a small country, these two were truly proactive and aggressive; instead of passive defense, they opted to strike first.

The new ruler personally led the expedition, while the Prime Minister managed the rear guard. Originally numbering over ten thousand regular troops, adding temporarily recruited auxiliary and militia, they barely scraped together thirty thousand. This was all Liang State had.

The few thousand Chu troops chasing Xue Three never anticipated encountering an ambush and fell directly into the trap laid by Liang State, catching them by surprise and leading to their defeat, granting the new ruler his first victory in the defense of the nation!

Not only were the Chu people stunned, but even Xue Three was bewildered. His first thought was: Whoa, is the Fan Family that formidable, even capable of controlling a nation’s government?

So, mistakenly believing Liang forces were allies, Xue Three sent someone to contact Liang’s army, and soon he met with Liang State’s new ruler.

Then,

the new ruler, initially immersed in the joy of a great victory, froze upon learning the truth.

He,

what had he done!

Originally, he could have opted to block Xue Three and his group from the Chu Army, earning great merit and potentially gaining recognition from Chu State.

But now...

Capturing Xue Three and his cohort no longer held any significance, as they had already initiated warfare.

However,

Action-oriented indeed.

The new ruler promptly expressed to Xue Three his willingness to "shift allegiance" and follow Yan.

Meanwhile,

Upon learning of the events, the Prime Minister wasted no time in sending envoys to the South Gate of Jin territory to contact the Yan Army there.

Thus, the situation unfolded in an exceedingly bizarre and unexpected manner. The Chu Army began gathering forces on one side of the Qi Mountain range, believing Liang had rebelled and that even the princess might have entered Liang State.

Moreover, despite being a small country, it was still a nation with tens of thousands of armored soldiers. Therefore, subsequent Chu forces chasing them had no choice but to alter their plans, commencing gathering there, with various forces from the Chu border being transferred, and the Qu Clan, whose fief was near this section of the border, dispatched a regiment of Blue Luan regulars to join the battle to subdue Liang State.

This alleviated immense pressure on Siniang and her group, allowing them to preserve themselves to a large extent and return with the assistance of Ruan San.

As for Xue Three,

The military report from South Gate mentioned that Xue Three was appointed as the Chief General by the new ruler and was aiding Liang State in resisting Chu.

Yan State, after all, had no concept of "victory followed by execution," and did not fear war. Reluctance to fight was one thing, but never fearing war was another.

Moreover, Lord Zheng entering Chu was coerced by Lord Jingnan, so whatever consequences ensued, Tian Wujing would never blame it, and he would ensure accountability.

Therefore, accompanied by the Jingnan Lord’s military orders, Yan troops stationed in Quhe City and Li Tian City quickly allocated a portion to gather at South Gate, while thousands of cavalry originally stationed at the South Gate entered Liang to assist.

No one knew when San’er would return, but Lord Zheng was unconcerned; as soon as he received Siniang’s group, he promptly set off back to Snow Sea Pass.

On that day,

amidst the princess’s praises,

Snow Sea Pass,

was reached!

Earlier, when Lord Zheng brought the princess into Lord Jingnan’s camp, he had already sent word back, so the military and civilians at Snow Sea Pass were aware Lord Zheng himself had fetched a real princess from Chu.

Upon hearing this news, the citizens of Yan were overjoyed, akin to celebrating a festival, not to mention the military and civilians at Snow Sea Pass.

Below the city gates, citizens flocked to welcome their lord, creating a sea of people.