Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

In this situation, with no morale, no food, and no courage, how can we continue fighting? Everyone in the tent was in mourning, and the air was deathly silent.

"Your Highness, I believe that as long as our provisions are delivered here in time so that everyone doesn't have to worry about food supplies, and we continue with our previous plan to cordon off this area and prevent a single grain of food from reaching the city, we can still achieve victory in the end."

“You make it sound so easy. Where are we going to gather supplies now? Besides, it will take at least ten days to transport them here, and we only have enough food for seven days.” Someone immediately spoke up to refute the general’s suggestion.

"Not enough supplies? Haven't we already captured three cities? The Prince is so benevolent that he hasn't harmed a single person in the city. Now that we're facing a problem, they should do their part to repay the Prince's kindness." The man sneered.

As his words fell silent once more, it was clear that many were swayed by his suggestion. Since the uprising began, the prince, for the sake of his reputation, hadn't touched a single inch of the occupied cities. They were willing to follow the prince even if it meant seeking wealth and status, or a change of allegiance. But now, with the situation uncertain, what they had in hand was the most practical thing.

Mr. Hua glanced at everyone's faces and understood. He then looked at the Prince of Ding'an sitting above, sighed silently, and gave instructions to the crowd.

"You may all leave now. The prince and I need to discuss this matter further."

After everyone had left, Mr. Hua finally spoke and asked Zhou Ji...

"Your Highness, the army's morale is currently low, which is not a good thing. Why don't we retreat to Dingcheng first and then discuss this further?"

"Sir, we have an army of 100,000. Are we going to retreat just because of a few thousand casualties? Wouldn't today's battle make us a laughingstock to the world?" Zhou Ji thought of today's crushing defeat as if a scar had been cut on his face, leaving him utterly humiliated. How could he face the world after this?

“Your Highness, a true man does not concern himself with trifles. In ancient times, King Goujian of Yue endured ten years of hardship and humiliation. Our current setback is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Your Highness should not worry too much. The final result is the most important thing. We lack the right timing, location, and popular support. It would be better to retreat temporarily to preserve our strength…”

Prince Ding'an and Mr. Hua had a private conversation in the main tent that lasted until very late. The sound of breaking cups and saucers could be heard from inside, and no one knew what they were talking about.

Early the next morning, a centurion went to report to his superior.

"General, some soldiers deserted last night..."

The general immediately ordered his men to investigate, and the investigation revealed that more than a hundred soldiers had escaped in one night.

After the desertion incident was reported, the Prince of Ding'an was furious and ordered his men to bring back all the deserters and kill them as a warning to others.

Mr. Hua hurriedly went to persuade them, and it took him a long time to do so, but in the end, the order to pursue and capture the deserter was not issued.

On the third day, more than 300 people deserted, causing panic and instability throughout the camp.

Mr. Hua had a private conversation with Prince Ding'an for more than an hour. After coming out, he summoned all the generals into his tent, saying that the prince had something to give him.

Inside the main tent, Prince Ding'an announced his decision to temporarily retreat to Dingcheng and seek a better opportunity.

"Your Highness, even if we retreat to Dingcheng now, the imperial court will not let us go. It's possible that the court will be the one to besiege us in Dingcheng next time. I think it's better to hold Jialing Pass. As long as we can take down this tough nut, our army can march straight to the capital." A general who was usually not very talkative suddenly spoke up.

The Prince of Ding'an glanced at the man; he was a young general he had recruited a few years ago. The man was very talented, but rather arrogant and disrespectful. The Prince had deliberately ignored him for a few years, but now he was much more composed than before.

"This matter was decided by Mr. Hua after many days of discussion. You all just need to do as he says, there is no need to say anything more."

Upon hearing the words of the Prince of Ding'an, the general lowered his head, clasped his hands in a fist and replied "Yes," and then said no more.

The guards on the Jialing Pass city wall then discovered that the rebel army, which had been stationed outside for nearly a month, had suddenly broken camp and withdrawn. They immediately sent someone to invite General Zhao and Princess Wenfu.

Xia Yu looked at the retreating army and felt puzzled. They had only fought one battle, so why were they retreating? The Prince of Ding'an shouldn't be such a sore loser.

What Xia Yu didn't know was that although the casualties in this battle weren't high, her fighting style was so monstrous that it inspired fear. The thought of a bucket of hot oil falling from the sky while climbing the city wall was enough to terrify anyone.

And so, the people on the city wall watched silently as the people on the other side hastily packed up their things and retreated, then left.

"Princess, we should press our advantage!" Zhao Bei felt an urge to press his advantage as he watched the enemy's hasty retreat.

"Okay, then take five thousand elite troops to take a shortcut and ambush them at Yixiantian. Remember, the main objective is to disrupt them, not to linger in battle. Once the ambush is successful, retreat immediately. They have a hundred thousand troops, so be careful not to get surrounded and killed."

"Princess, please rest assured." Upon hearing that Xia Yu had agreed to let him lead the troops in pursuit, Zhao Bei excitedly ran to the training ground, mustered five thousand elite soldiers, rode out of Jialing City, and took a shortcut to the narrow pass that Xia Yu had mentioned.

Yixiantian is a canyon more than 300 meters long, located more than 50 li from Jialing Pass. It is flanked by high mountains covered with dense forests, making it an excellent location for ambush and surprise attack.

The path up the mountain was scouted by Xia Yu herself, sent by Nineteen and Daniu. After seeing the map at the General's Mansion that day, Xia Yu wanted to occupy that high ground. Her original plan was to burn the Prince of Ding'an's grain supplies, then send men to ambush his grain transport team there, trapping the Prince of Ding'an like the soldiers inside Jialing Pass, without any food supplies to aid him, so that her side could deliver a final, fatal blow to the enemy.

But who could have imagined that after hiding outside for two days, the Prince of Ding'an would quietly retreat? Xia Yu dared not open the city gates to pursue the rebels, given the vast disparity in troop strength. However, sending someone to ambush them on the road and cause trouble was still an option.