Chapter 63: The War Ends!

  As news of the alliance between Qin and Chu spread throughout the land, the Central Plains region, which had been in turmoil for over two months, finally calmed down once again.

  In these two months, the states of Han, Zhao, Wei, Qin and Chu took turns to appear on stage, coming and going, fighting incessantly. What was astonishing was that this time the one who got hurt was the invincible state of Qin, while the alliance of the three states of Han, Zhao and Wei laughed in the end.

  Just when everyone thought that the Chu State had been defeated by the Qin State and had become a second-rate power, the Chu State took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to stage a stunning comeback - without losing a single soldier or general, they successfully recaptured their capital, Yingdu. Of course, if more than ten Chu soldiers were injured because they were too excited and sprained their feet, then the Chu State did suffer some casualties.

  There is no doubt that this was a turning point in the history of the Warring States. After Qin's great defeat of Chu, it failed to seize the opportunity to advance into the Central Plains, and its eastern strategy was severely hindered. The six states of Shandong, on the other hand, achieved their greatest victory over Qin, with large tracts of land east of Hangu Pass being retaken by Han, Zhao, and Wei.

  Zhao State finally revealed its ferocious fangs after decades of nurturing and accumulating strength, allying with Han and Wei to heavily strike Qin State's arrogant momentum. It was also through this war that Yan, Qi, and Chu realized a northern giant had begun to rise.

  Zhao's power overshadowed Han, and as the originator of the event, Han quietly recovered a large area from Beiyang to Pingyang in the north and Yiyang in the south. If previously Han was a fragile and slender woman who could not withstand a single blow, now it is a robust man with a tiger's back and bear's waist, whom ordinary people dare not bully.

  Ten days after Qin and Chu declared an alliance, Han moved its capital to Xinzheng.

  On this day, Xinzheng was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and the streets were crowded with people. Every face was filled with happy smiles, because the Crown Prince Ranzhen, who had been away for nearly two months, would be leading his army back soon.

  Time flies, these two months are a kind of torture and expectation for Korea. Originally, Korea only thought about repelling the Qin state and preserving the wild king, but unexpectedly, Prince Yan brought one huge surprise after another to Korea. In the wild king's annihilation of 100,000 Qin troops, taking advantage of the victory to recover Yique, immediately repelling the 200,000-strong Qin army led by Bai Qi, cleverly capturing Yiyang. After that, it was a northern expedition to take Xin'an, Mianchi, Jiancheng, and Pingyang, an eastern advance to capture Xincheng and Yangren, and a southern expedition with a strong military presence reaching NanYang of the Qin state.

  The crown prince looked at the increasingly close Xīnzhèng city, his heart was also more and more excited. It is said that near home, one's heart is timid, no matter how long one drifts, Xīnzhèng will always be one's home. This is the root of Korea, the center of Zhōngyuán. He promised to bring glory to this city, also promised to change the fate of weak Korea, now he has done it. Although the road ahead is still arduous, at least there is a good start now, at least the crown prince knows that he is leading Korea in the right direction.

  "Your Majesty! Your son pays his respects to you!" Seeing King Han lead the officials out of the city for ten miles to welcome him, the crown prince did not dare to be slow and immediately dismounted and fell to the ground.

  "Come, hurry up! Come, lift your head and let the king take a look." King Han said excitedly. The elegant young man from back then had now become a majestic general, and had even helped him achieve his decades-long dream. Truly, heaven did not disappoint me!

  The crown prince nodded and raised his head, and at a glance, he saw King Han with tears in his eyes.

  "The crown prince has lost weight! And he's also gotten darker! He must have suffered a lot this time on the expedition!" The King of Han covered his tearful face with his wide sleeves and said sorrowfully.

  The crown prince looked at his father, the king, feeling the paternal love as boundless as a mountain. He couldn't help but let out tears, and choked back a sob as he replied: "Don't worry! Your son is doing well outside! Father, you see how your son's army sweeps away all opposition, even Bai Qi was defeated by me!" After speaking, he forced a smile.

  Chancellor Zhang Ping looked at the excited King of Han and the Crown Prince, worried that if this continued, the situation would become uncontrollable. He tactfully reminded them: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the officials are waiting in front, and the army has traveled a long distance, why not enter the city first?"

  "I apologize for my rudeness." King Huan of Han wiped away his tears, adjusted his clothes and hat, and then pulled up the hand of the crown prince, saying: "Come, Crown Prince, let's ride together in one carriage back to the palace. Along the way, you must tell me all about how you defeated the Qin army."

  "Yes!" The crown prince responded in a deep voice.

  Along the way, King Hwan and Crown Prince Ren received the worship of officials and civilians on both sides of the road. The ten-mile journey was filled with cheers, and Crown Prince Ren didn't say a word about the war as he had promised to recount.

  After entering the King of Han's bedroom, the Queen had been waiting for a long time. Looking at this only son, the queen mother's maternal affection was stirred up, and she asked about his well-being in a flurry of questions, not letting the King of Han get a word in edgewise. Because there would be a celebratory banquet an hour later, which all officials and meritorious generals would attend, actually the three people only had a short half-hour to communicate.

  Within this half-hour, the Crown Prince briefly recounted his two-month experience, of course, glossing over the most perilous parts. Even so, both King Hwan and Queen Mother felt their hearts racing. Behind the seemingly effortless great victory lay such a tortuous process. Korea had invested 200,000 troops in this grand battle, the outcome was indeed gratifying, but the price paid was heavy, with over 80,000 casualties, Korea could not afford a second battle of this scale.

  Therefore, what Korea needs to do next is to rest and recover as soon as possible. The newly recovered cities need to be managed by sending people, and troops need to be sent to garrison them, a lot of things that make the king and prince of Korea tired but happy.

  The Queen of Korea was only forty-five years old, and she didn't know much about the major events of the country. But looking at the two most important men in her life being so happy, she felt both relieved and worried. The King of Korea had an eldest son born to him in his old age, whom he loved and spoiled dearly. Seeing that the Crown Prince was doing well and making great contributions to Korea, the King's burdens were greatly reduced, but his days were already numbered. Who knows how long this happy family life can last? Thinking about this, the Queen couldn't help but secretly shed tears.

  "Empress Dowager, why are you crying? Is it something I, your son, have done wrong and angered you?" The Crown Prince looked at the Queen Mother in surprise.

  "Silly child, the empress dowager is delighted. It's all right, it's all right! You two have chatted enough for now, let the crown prince go and take a bath and change his clothes, there's still a celebratory banquet later!"

  "Alas, I'm all confused! Someone come! Attend to the prince's bath and change of clothes. I should also change my clothes, this journey has been exhausting, I've grown old and useless, I've broken out in a sweat." King Han complained to Queen Han.

  "The great king is in his prime, who says he's old?" The queen comforted him and then turned to the foolish-looking crown prince standing beside her and said, "Prince, aren't you going to withdraw? If you're late for dinner, your father won't forgive you."

  "Yes! Your son takes his leave."

  After a refreshing bath, Prince Yeon felt invigorated. For two months of fighting outside, Prince Yeon's heart was always tense, worried about defeat and worried about the enemy's reinforcements. Almost all the pressure was borne by Prince Yeon alone, because only he knew that for Korea today, any failure could become a disaster. If it weren't for his sudden appearance, Korea would have lost the Upper Party County in no time, leaving only one county. Now with several major victories, Korea has three counties, and things are more or less under control.

  Surviving in the cracks is exhausting, requiring both sides to be resourceful and struggling hard. The Crown Prince clearly knows that this time he is the greatest contributor on the surface, but in fact, Fan Yu has made an immortal contribution. However, after the defeat of the Yi Qu army, Fan Yu's news was cut off, and now the Crown Prince doesn't know where Fan Yu is either. He silently prayed that his first trusted advisor would be safe and sound.

  The banquet was a great success, not even the last one to celebrate the defeat of Zhao and Wei's allied forces could compare to this one. King Han was overjoyed and everyone received rewards, not just the meritorious officials, but even ordinary citizens were given a dou of rice as a reward.

  The next day, the King of Han led the Crown Prince Ran and the officials to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, reporting the great victory of Han and the recovery of their former territory. On the same day, the King of Zhao sent an envoy to Xinye and Daliang, inviting the Kings of Han and Wei to meet with him at Chong'er ten days later.

  (I revised all the previous chapters today, and I'm exhausted. The update is late, sorry about that. Thanks to Hai Chengfeng and Bailinniao for their Qingming rewards. Tomorrow's chapter will be a forced update, begging for good karma.)