Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 388: The Miserable Prince Huai

When the house leaks, it tends to pour rain overnight; not only did King Chong reject Prince Huai’s plea for help, but even King Anping refused to aid Prince Huai.

King Anping, Chu Ji, was personally quite capable, and in his youth, he was renowned for his talent. A policy essay he wrote garnered great praise from the civil and military officials. After he failed in the struggle for succession with the late Emperor, the then-reigning Emperor bestowed upon Chu Ji the title of King Anping, with a fiefdom in Yanzhou.

Since Chu Ji was well-favored by the Emperor, even when he went out to assume his fief, he received rewards frequently.

The result was that the first stroke of the late Emperor upon ascending the throne to reduce feudal powers struck on Chu Ji’s head, placing the fiefdoms of two capable sons, Prince Huai and King Chong, before and after Chu Ji’s, sandwiching him in between.

Over the decades, they were subjected to suppression by the late Emperor and his sons, so King Anping harbored quite a bit of resentment towards Prince Huai and King Chong.

However, being family after all, when Prince Huai proclaimed to the world to support the Emperor under the pretext of the Emperor’s Blood Letter, to prevent the Chu family’s world from falling into others’ hands and also pressured by the two kings, King Anping did dispatch troops in response.

But at that time, Prince Huai was indecisive, unclear in rewards and punishments, and uneven in distribution, treating his uncle with suspicion, deepening King Anping’s grievances against Prince Huai. After Xu Guozhong moved the capital, King Anping directly disassociated himself from the Loyalist Army.

Later, even when the matter was settled, Prince Huai, who was just nearby, didn’t even show any acknowledgment. Although King Anping had disassociated himself from the Loyalist Army, he had initially contributed both manpower and effort. So now, when Prince Huai seeks his help, King Anping naturally doesn’t bother to respond.

Of course, there’s also a bit of apprehension due to Chen Mo.

...

Inside the military tent.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

The staff officers and military generals were hesitant to speak. Chu Ce, standing behind Diwu Fusheng, tugged at his robe, obviously urging him to take the lead.

After all, in previous instances, it was also Diwu Fusheng who first broke the silence.

"My lord..."

Diwu Fusheng took a deep breath, but just as he was about to step forward and speak, Prince Huai said with a face full of sorrow, "Back then, I received the Emperor’s Blood Letter, dispatched troops to support the Emperor, and princes from all sides responded, honoring me as leader, none dared to disobey, with a mighty army of a million, how exhilarating, how splendid.

Yet in less than three years, it has come to this. King Anping, he’s my real uncle, with thirty thousand elite soldiers under his command, and even he won’t lend a hand."

Prince Huai started reminiscing.

Such glory back then, but now, such desolation. This strong contrast only made Prince Huai increasingly unwilling, thinking every moment about reclaiming his past.

Upon hearing this, the generals felt a sense of lament, recalling how spirited they were, even forcing Xu Guozhong to move the capital.

Diwu Fusheng secretly cursed, when a leader remains lost in their past, it’s extremely detrimental to an organization’s development. He won’t learn from his failures, only thinking about revenge.

This reminded Diwu Fusheng of words from a military book left by his ancestors, that as a person grows stronger, more will follow them, combined with their character, one can see their future achievements. The Fifth Family is made to follow such people.

On the contrary, friends, and family around them will gradually leave.

At that time, Diwu Fusheng followed Prince Huai because he was that first kind of person.

Yet now, these traits appeared in Chen Mo.

Conversely, Prince Huai, from his peak as leader of the Loyalist Army, was now gradually in decline.

This stirred a sense of doubt within Diwu Fusheng, questioning for the first time if his initial choice was wrong?

At that moment, Chu Ce coughed lightly and said, "Sir, didn’t you have something to discuss with the prince?"

Prince Huai’s gaze turned to Diwu Fusheng, pulling his mind from the past, hurriedly asking, "Fusheng, what should I do next?"

Prince Huai felt lost.

Diwu Fusheng bowed to Prince Huai and said, "My lord, now that Chen Mo has seized Huai State and allied with the Jiangdong Wu Family, he controls the entire southern waterway. If he were to advance on Jiangnan, Jiangnan would be hard to defend."

Upon hearing this, Prince Huai was thoroughly panicked.

If Huai State was his base, then Jiangnan was Prince Huai’s lifeline.

The reason Prince Huai had the confidence to dispatch troops to support the Emperor and besiege the Celestial Master Army was all due to the continuous supply of logistics.

And these supplies largely came from Jiangnan, led by the Xiao family and numerous other Noble Families; it was their support that allowed Prince Huai not to worry about consumption at all.

If Jiangnan were also taken by Chen Mo, Prince Huai would not only worry about how to retake Huai State but also about where to source money and grain to supply his troops.

Taxes from just Guangfeng State could not sustain tens of thousands of soldiers.

Seeing the prince’s panic, Chu Ce quickly asked Diwu Fusheng, "Sir, is there a countermeasure for this situation?"

"Yes." Diwu Fusheng pursed his lips, "But the plan is somewhat risky."

"Fusheng, speak quickly." Prince Huai felt that no matter the risk, it couldn’t compare to Jiangnan being seized by Chen Mo.

"Dispatch troops to aid Longyou; once the threat from the Seven Kingdoms in Longyou is resolved, not only would King Chong be free to act, but the Yuezhi Clan would also remember your kindness, my lord, and then the forces of the three parties would dominate Longyou. If Chen Mo does not wish for Yu State to be lost, he would certainly not dare to separate his forces to seize Jiangnan. However, I’m worried that dispatching troops to Longyou would leave Fengzhou’s forces empty. Should Chen Mo attack Fengzhou at that time, Fengzhou would be in danger." Diwu Fusheng slowly explained.

"This..." Prince Huai hesitated; Fengzhou is their current place of refuge, and dispatching troops to aid Longyou would risk losing their only safe haven.

As for relocating to Jiangnan...

That would be equivalent to residing at Chen Mo’s doorstep, which the other party couldn’t possibly ignore.

Even if they truly went there...

It would be actively entering Chen Mo’s encirclement.

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the tent, and a military officer rushed in, saying, "Report, my lord, bad news, the camp suddenly received many letters from Huai State, all from the families of the soldiers, with some missing them, others being ill without care, and some stating wheat is left unharvested at home. In short, the camp is a complete mess; my lord, you must come and see..."

"What?!"

While Prince Huai was still in a daze, Diwu Fusheng’s expression drastically changed.

As a strategist for Prince Huai’s mansion, he knew precisely what would happen when soldiers received letters from home at this time...

...

The most elite Dragon Strategy Army of Prince Huai fared slightly better, while other Bubu Battalions experienced what could be considered a rout, a mess, with conflicts even erupting among themselves.

Since Prince Huai led his troops out to combat the Celestial Master Army, they hadn’t returned home, now more than a year has passed. The soldiers longed deeply for their homeland, coupled with defeat and "home" being occupied by others; now, receiving letters from home, their morale vanished, with their hearts yearning to return.