Chapter 2105: Desperate Situation

"If the situation escalates further, not only will you and I be implicated, but Bai Lie will also suffer," Lu Qingbang said, stopping his sister, yet frowning. "On the day of the battle, I felt that Xianda Ye had already dodged my arrow, but he still took an arrow to the eye and fell from his horse."

Something just didn't feel right.

Lu Feiyan asked him, "Are you sure?"

"It was a chaotic battle, and the sky was dark; how can I be sure?" Lu Qingbang said with a wry smile. "That feathered arrow was indeed mine. With so many witnesses, I can't shirk this responsibility."

Hearing this, Lu Zhenxian's heart sank to rock bottom.

As it turned out, the Lu clan chief had predicted the enemy's moves with uncanny accuracy this time.

News of Xianda Ye's death on the battlefield reached Ya, and the entire nation mourned. The King of Ya was furious, demanding that Bai Lie hand over the culprit, or he would march his forces all the way to the capital.

Even if the Lu family was considered weak, they knew Lu Qingbang had done nothing wrong. Defending their homeland, killing an enemy general on the battlefield—which of these was wrong?

Lu Zhensheng quickly wrote to his second son, and Lu Qinglin also sought help from the Mou court. Consequently, Mou negotiated with Ya while simultaneously sending troops to support Bai Lie, leading to fierce clashes with Ya.

Negotiations made no progress, nor did the war turn in their favor. Ya's conditions were not only a large indemnity from Bai Lie but also the surrender of the killer, Lu Qingbang!

Lu Qinglin, on whom the Lu family had placed great hopes, served Mou and had been away from Bai Lie for many years. Thus, Lu Qingbang took on the responsibility of defending Bai Lie, becoming the main force resisting Ya's invasion, truly earning his distinction through hard work. No matter how thick-skinned Lu Zhensheng, the clan chief, might be, how could he possibly sacrifice Lu Qingbang to take the blame?

To put it bluntly, if they handed over Lu Qingbang, who would defend Bai Lie if Ya invaded again in the future? With Lu Qingbang as a deterrent example, which Lu family member would be willing to go to battle again?

Mou asked Ya to change its terms, but Ya refused. Negotiations broke down, and the fighting continued fiercely.

Ya became enraged and continued to send more troops to Bai Lie. The initial force that entered Bai Lie to extort money was only seven or eight hundred; later, when fighting Lu Qingbang, it increased to over two thousand. Now, Ya had sent over 30,000 more troops in one go! In the past, when attacking the western part of the Golden Plains, Ya had only deployed this many troops. Now, with all of them concentrated on the Bai Lie front, not only Bai Lie but even Mou was struggling to cope.

Recently, Beijia's offensive had been particularly fierce, especially with General Hong Chenglue of Qingwu excelling. Mou had gained no advantage on the western front; instead, it had suffered several significant losses, leading to deep adjustments in its strategy and tactics. If the conflict with Ya continued on the eastern front, fighting on two fronts would be too draining in terms of resources and energy. Ya was currently quite idle, with plenty of patience and energy to continue entangling Mou.

Mou also clearly understood that such a grand display of force by Ya was unnecessary for merely dealing with Bai Lie. The King of Ya, using his son's death as a pretext for war, was clearly coordinating with Beijia to tie up Mou on the eastern front and deplete its strength. Therefore, its wisest course of action was to withdraw in time and escape this quagmire. Directly withdrawing troops from the battlefield would be tantamount to admitting defeat and fleeing, which Mou could not do. Thus, it had to refocus its efforts on the negotiation table.

Ya's stance was firm: the indemnity could be reduced, but the killer must be handed over; otherwise, the war would not cease.

So, Lu Zhensheng came to Lu Zhenxian's family. He simply couldn't bring himself to tell Lu Qingbang to tie himself up and go to his death, so he had to find a different solution:

"The King of Ya only wants to save face and have an explanation for his people. We can disguise Ah Bang and send him out of Bai Lie. Then, we find a look-alike here, claim he committed suicide for the cause, and hand his body over to Ya. I doubt they'd have much to say then."

Before Lu Zhenxian could speak, Lu Feiyan, standing nearby, interjected, "If it were Second Brother who killed Xianda Ye, would you handle him this way, Clan Chief?"

"If Qinglin had killed him, this matter wouldn't even involve Bai Lie!" Lu Zhensheng said, displeased, rapping on the table. "Alright, let's stick to the facts! What I'm proposing is the best way to save Ah Bang's life!" Lu Qinglin's most important identity was that of a general of Mou; if he had killed Xianda Ye, Mou would naturally protect him. Could Lu Zhenxian's son compare to him? In the past, Mou had killed countless soldiers and generals of Ya; that account was simply too large to tally, so it was never settled. Life-and-death grudges on the battlefield were to be settled on the battlefield; that was the logic of war. Why was Ya so insistent on holding Bai Lie accountable? Wasn't it because Bai Lie was easy to bully? That was how the world worked. At this critical juncture, what was the point of a young girl talking about fairness to him? Solving the problem was Bai Lie's top priority right now. Lu Zhensheng had keenly sensed Mou's impatience; if the stalemate continued, Bai Lie would inevitably suffer the consequences.

Lu Qingbang stated solemnly, "If I feign death, I can no longer use the name Lu Qingbang in this world, nor can I continue to protect Bai Lie. If Ya comes to plunder again in the future, who will stop them? If Ya escalates its demands, seeking not just money or goods, or even people, but the very land of Bai Lie itself, who then will stop them? Second Brother?"

Lu Feiyan sneered, "If Second Brother were reliable, why isn't he here now?"

Normally, when she spoke like this, Lu Zhenxian would scold her. But now, he remained silent.

Lu Zhensheng didn't bother arguing with the two youngsters. He looked at Lu Zhenxian and asked, "Laoliu, what do you say? You should be thinking about Ah Bang, shouldn't you?"

Lu Zhenxian, who usually greeted people with a smile in business, was unusually serious now: "Big Brother, Bai Lie has been bullied by Ya long enough. Ah Bang killed an enemy general on the battlefield; he is meritorious, not at fault. Yet you want him to feign death to escape blame! What crime has he committed?"

Lu Zhensheng's face hardened as he said, "We are all family; what's the point of discussing merit or fault? The most important thing now is how to resolve Bai Lie's crisis! Why should these millions of innocent citizens suffer the hardships of war?"

"Big Brother, if you let Ya take whatever it wants, they will only become more aggressive! Ah Bang is right: before, they wanted grain and money, and you gave it; now they want a person, and you're willing to give him; if they demand an inch and take a mile in the future, asking for Bai Lie's land, can you refuse?" Bullying, in essence, is incrementally trampling on your bottom line. If you don't rise up and resist, you'll only lower your standards again and again, sacrificing your integrity.

Lu Zhenxian gestured outwards, "Sooner or later, these millions of citizens will have nothing to do with you or me."

Lu Zhensheng was displeased. "Nonsense, why would it come to that?" His words seemed to disregard Mou's position.

Lu Feiyan exchanged a resolute glance with her brother and declared, "Death comes to us all sooner or later. We would rather die on the battlefield, perishing with the Ya people!"

Lu Zhensheng's face turned as black as charcoal. Finally, he could not restrain himself: "What good will it do if you die on the battlefield? Can you stop the Ya army? Can you prevent them from burning, killing, and plundering? Ya can field at least 200,000 soldiers; how can Bai Lie possibly contend with that force?" What was the use of mere sentiment? Ultimately, the military strengths of the two sides were vastly unequal. If this war continued, they were bound to lose, and the people of Bai Lie would surely die!