Chapter 806 - 51: The Aftermath of Five Generations’ Strife, Kyushu United (Part 2)

The situation in Kyushu is almost changing in an instant.

With the rise of the Great Song.

The clouds move from all directions, but the atmosphere of battle is completely different from before.

The tense atmosphere has disappeared completely.

Almost all the common people are prepared to welcome the Great Song Royal Army.

This is acting according to the trend!

After five generations of efforts by the Gu Clan, the situation in the world is already vastly different from what it was.

Whether it is Western Xia or Liao.

Both nations have lost the support of the people.

Even if their emperors personally lead campaigns of resistance, ultimately they cannot stop the popular sentiment that resembles ocean waves.

The people of the world lean towards Great Song!

This is, indeed, inevitable.

When the nobles of Western Xia and Liao aimed their slaughter at their own people, their fate was actually already sealed.

With the presence of Gu Clan.

Almost all the people of Kyushu would naturally side with Great Song.

This point might not have been evident when there were still paths to survival, but the current situation is inevitable!

....

In the year of Huanji, June.

The progression of the war is happening faster than the world could imagine.

Even though the defenses of both nations have been set up swiftly, under this overwhelming momentum, the perimeter defenses had almost no effect, being crushed by the Song Army in an instant.

Helan Mountain.

The young Western Xia Emperor Li Qianshun personally led the campaign, indeed stirring the last wave of desperate resolve among the Dangxiang soldiers on the Shizhou front.

However, in the face of absolute strength disparity, valor cannot be transformed into victory.

Song Army commander Wang Shao advanced steadily, using layered formations of heavy infantry to fend off the Western Xia iron cavalry charges, while the Divine Arm Bow camp covered the battlefield with an unprecedentedly dense rain of arrows, causing severe losses to Western Xia’s proud cavalry under such a comprehensive and brutal strike, repeatedly thwarting their charge.

Meanwhile, Liu Changzu led thirty thousand light cavalry, bypassing all fortified points, using extraordinary mobility to miraculously cross the desert, suddenly appearing below Xingqing Prefecture city.

This is the key of popular sentiment.

When almost all Western Xia’s elite forces were resisting and fighting in Shizhou, Liu Changzu faced virtually no obstruction.

Even the people were helping Song Army swiftly cross the territory.

With the capital besieged, news reached the Shizhou front, causing the Western Xia army’s morale to collapse instantly.

Even more deadly, the Huigu from Gansu State in West River, which had long been secretly contacted and promised great benefits by Song Court, along with some Tubo tribes, seeing the tide had turned, switched allegiance and announced their submission to Great Song, cutting off the Western Xia’s western retreat route.

The cries of slaughtering rang loudly.

Below Shizhou, blood soaked the yellow earth.

Li Qianshun stands alone on the crumbling city tower, looking at the forest-like banners of Song Army outside the city.

For the first time, this seventeen-year-old young Emperor truly understands the weight of despair.

After days of bloody battles, Western Xia’s elite "iron hawks" have lost more than half, and the remaining city provisions are only enough to last ten days, with no hope in sight.

Now the capital is being besieged, further cutting off all his escape routes.

He couldn’t think of any way to continue holding out.

Even maintaining the army’s morale is exceedingly difficult now, and it’s only because of his status as Emperor that they’ve managed to hold on until today.

Compared to Liao with its vast territory.

The situation Western Xia is facing now is indeed too difficult.

The forces from the Western Regions... Great Song’s army... domestic rebel forces.

All of these are unstoppable.

Do not forget—

The core power of Western Xia, the Qiang people, originally had a very special relationship with the Gu Clan.

Previously, they might have refrained from aligning with Gu Clan due to interests, but now it is completely different; as long as Gu Clan gives them an opportunity, who would forsake this chance for survival?

And of course, Gu Lin will give them this opportunity.

Gu Clan never intended to cause large-scale slaughter, and this is the final blow Gu Clan gives to Western Xia.

When Western Xia’s core forces begin to face rebellion from within.

This, indeed, can no longer be stopped.

Stone City.

Li Qianshun stands alone at the battlement, letting the hot, burnt-smelling wind blow his blood-stained war robe.

Below the city, the Song Army campfires stretch as far as the eye can see, like a river of stars.

This seventeen-year-old young Emperor gently traces the arrow scars on the city wall, the rough texture against his fingertips reminding him of the mottled bronze ritual vessels in the Grand Ancestral Temple, making his already complex expression appear even more intricate for a moment.

"Your Majesty, it’s time to dine." The eunuch’s voice sounded behind him, with a tremor that was hard to conceal.

Li Qianshun did not turn around, just gazed south towards Xingqing Prefecture.

He remembers that on the day he left the capital, his mother secretly handed him a parcel of soil from beneath Helan Mountain, saying to smell it if he ever missed home. Now that parcel is still in his bosom, but hometown has become unreachable.

Truthfully, his relationship with Empress Dowager Liang has always been poor.

Both parties have constantly been in a state of power struggle.

Yet today, faced with this overwhelming momentum, those grudges that once seemed unforgettable now seem trivial.

"Listen." The young Emperor suddenly spoke, his voice so light it seemed afraid of disturbing something.

The remaining guards on the city wall pricked up their ears as faint horn sounds from the direction of Xingqing Prefecture are carried on the wind—an alarm signal for the Song Army’s full charge.

Several veteran soldiers couldn’t help but turn their faces away, using torn sleeves to wipe the corners of their eyes.

The breezes blowing through carried endless smoke and the stench of blood.

At this moment, Li Qianshun suddenly recalls the stories his teachers told him as a child about the Central Plains.

He thinks of those legendary ancient kings.

He thinks of those descendants of the Gu Clan who carry endless tales.