No one knew why Chu Qianli, under such disadvantageous circumstances, still dared to lead a mere fifty thousand soldiers to attack the city head-on.
This was undoubtedly courting death!
"It seems the legendary Princess Qianli is, after all, just a young girl, too childish."
When Chang Ming received the news and reported it to Long Tianliu, his face was filled with joy.
Previously, they had sent people to investigate. The reports indicated that Chu Qianli was an exceptionally skilled commander.
However, there was another rumor, suggesting that she was always associated with Prince Xuan.
This implied that Prince Xuan might have been secretly helping her all along.
Whether she truly possessed talent or not, even Long Tianliu himself couldn't be sure.
But this time, leading fifty thousand troops directly to the imperial city was a complete act of suicidal folly.
Chang Ming was exceptionally excited: "Your Majesty, please allow your subordinate to personally lead the troops and capture her!"
Long Tianliu, however, kept frowning, feeling that the matter was not as simple as it seemed.
"Did someone personally witness Chu Qianli in the army?" Such a suicidal act was too bizarre!
"She is! Not only her, but Wei Qiong and Long Ziyue are also present. Your Majesty, they have truly gone all out this time, intending to capture Long City."
Chang Ming had no particular thoughts on this.
He said, "Your subordinate speculates that it's because Prince Xuan has left, and their army in Ji City is suffering continuous defeats. Chu Qianli is likely cornered."
"Now, by pouring all their efforts into capturing Long City, they realize that Ji City will soon fall."
"Once Ji City falls, and Long City is not captured, their army will have no choice but to retreat."
By then, far from Long City, they might not even have a chance to attack again.
It wasn't at any time that their army could approach Long City.
Long Tianliu understood this logic.
The reason Chu Qianli's army had reached the gates of Long City this time was because Feng Yexuan had previously helped her capture Ji City, clearing a smooth path for her.
But now, with Ji City about to return to the hands of her royal army, Chu Qianli had to either retreat or fight; there was no possibility of staying put.
Once Ji City fell, the royal army would advance towards them along with the army from Long City.
In other words, if she missed this opportunity, Chu Qianli might never have another chance to lead her army to approach Long City in her lifetime.
So, was this Chu Qianli's own attempt to seize the last opportunity?
But it seemed too risky.
There was simply no chance of winning.
Indeed, she was too competitive.
Compared to Long Xiyue at a similar age in the past, she was not even close!
"Good!" Long Tianliu finally smiled after figuring things out. "Chu Qianli, since you've come to seek death, I will send you on your way!"
"Your Majesty..." Chang Ming was somewhat surprised. What did His Majesty mean?
Long Tianliu stood up and said sternly, "This time, I will personally lead the troops and bring back the head of Long Xiyue's daughter!"
...
Her Majesty the Empress personally led the troops.
Let alone Chu Qianli's army approaching Long City, their retreat route was now almost completely sealed off.
Three days later, as the army retreated, they discovered there was no way out.
"Your Highness, our brothers have suffered heavy casualties..."
Wei Qiong returned with injuries again, but this time, the previous valor and passion were gone.
She no longer hoped to attack the city, only wishing to lead her brothers to escape safely.
"Your Highness, retreat immediately. Ji City is about to fall. If we don't retreat now, there will be no way back."
Wei Qiong knelt before Chu Qianli with a thud.
She said hoarsely, "Your Highness, your subordinate knows this is your only chance to approach Long City, and you are unwilling to miss it, but... but our brothers truly cannot hold on any longer!"
Long Ziyue, seeing this, also knelt beside Wei Qiong.
"Your Highness, as long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn. If we retreat now, we may not have another chance to attack Long City in the short term, but at least we can preserve most of our strength."
"As long as we protect our army, we will surely have opportunities to fight back in the future!"
Wei Qiong also quickly nodded, "Your Highness, please consider your brothers' unwavering loyalty to you and retreat!"
If they didn't retreat soon, once the only escape route from Ji City was blocked, they would truly have nowhere to flee.
Tens of thousands of brothers would shed blood and die without a whole corpse in this place.
"Your Highness..."
"Why retreat?" Chu Qianli looked at them, displaying the terrain map in her hand.
"This Fox Ridge Mountain range is so vast, it can hide people. Why can't we hide in it first and preserve our strength?"
Even now, Chu Qianli's spirit and energy were the same as at the beginning, as if she had never suffered a defeat.
She said, "As long as we hide in there, we can properly reorganize the army. This place is still very close to Long City, and we will soon have opportunities to continue attacking."
"Your Highness, the Fox Ridge Mountain range is treacherous and difficult to attack..."
"Difficult to attack, isn't that advantageous for us?" Chu Qianli smiled.
Long Ziyue and Wei Qiong exchanged glances, their faces looking extremely grim.
Long Ziyue said, "But Your Highness, what you can think of, Long Tianliu can naturally also think of. She must have already stationed a large number of troops in the Fox Ridge Mountain range."
"That's right. If we go in, the ambushing forces inside and the pursuing troops outside will cooperate, surrounding us heavily, and we will become trapped like fish in a jar!"
Wei Qiong was somewhat disappointed.
She had always believed in her judgment, thinking Chu Qianli was definitely a formidable figure.
But why had she recently... become so foolish and incompetent? Did she even lack basic judgment?
Were the legends of her brilliant battlefield foresight in the past merely due to Prince Xuan's presence behind her?
Otherwise, why were they victorious when Prince Xuan was here?
But once Prince Xuan left, they were completely in a desperate situation?
"Your Highness..."
"There's no need to say more. I have decided, the army will immediately retreat into the Fox Ridge Mountain range!"
"Your Highness..."
"Wei Qiong, do you intend to disobey military orders?"
How could Wei Qiong dare? She looked at Long Ziyue, hoping that Long Ziyue could speak up for everyone.
After all, she and His Highness were once good friends, and perhaps Long Ziyue could persuade His Highness.
Unexpectedly, after a moment of silence, Long Ziyue nodded and said, "Yes! Your subordinate will now go and organize the army, and immediately retreat into Fox Ridge Mountain!"
... Chu Qianli actually led the army into the Fox Ridge Mountain range.
When Long Tianliu received the report from the scout, she finally felt completely at ease.
Previously, she had thought everything was Chu Qianli's stratagem, but she hadn't expected that the young girl had no such stratagem at all.
She was completely a fool.
Chang Ming smiled with great delight: "I heard that General Wei Qiong disobeyed military orders and was beaten twenty large boards, and is still recovering! Your Majesty, this time, it is truly heaven-sent!"
Long Tianliu snorted and smiled, "My personal guards have long been lurking in Fox Ridge Mountain, waiting for them! Good! Deploy the troops immediately. I want to trap Long Xiyue's daughter to death in Fox Ridge Mountain!"