Once such an incident occurs, it will greatly threaten her rule.

After all, her ascension to power was not entirely legitimate but was achieved by stepping over countless corpses, and although she has strategized within the court for years, compared to the old aristocratic clans, her foundation is still shallow.

Therefore, the defeat in today’s battle must not be reported back home.

Yue Yuxi took a deep breath and said, "In today’s matter, I indeed underestimated him. I didn’t expect he would use so many Song Army lives as bait, nor did I expect his injuries to recover so quickly, but..."

Yue Yuxi changed her tone and continued, "Although we lost today, our army still holds the upper hand. We have more troops and supplies than the Song Army. As long as we can hold out for some time, the Song Army will collapse on its own."

Yue Yuxi’s words were not just to bluff them; it was indeed the case.

Firstly, in terms of current national strength, the Great Song cannot compare to Loulan.

The Great Song is plagued by internal strife and people living in misery, with incessant rebellions, and its national treasury has long been depleted.

Now, the Great Song can dispatch so many troops, but this is already its limit. The longer the time drags on, the worse it is for the Song Army.

Yet Loulan is much better off. Although there are many conflicts, none have erupted yet, and Yue Yuxi can currently suppress them. In the years of preparation for the invasion of the Great Song, Yue Yuxi is not lacking in money or grain, living long-term in the Northern Lands, resisting the cold. They can continue to drag on with the Great Song.

The generals did not speak, all nodding slightly, but with different thoughts.

After the assembly ended, two generals immediately found Wu Muling. These two generals were placed within the army by the aristocratic clans of Loulan, and at this moment, they sought out Wu Muling to persuade him to rebel against Yue Yuxi, for the opportunity had finally arisen.

Wu Muling did not directly refuse nor agree to the aristocratic clans’ solicitation but said, "The king is right. Despite today’s heavy defeat, our military strength is indeed superior to the Song Army. As long as we hold out, we might not necessarily lose to the Song Army."

One of the generals refuted, "General Wu, you are mistaken. Although our troops indeed outnumber the Song Army, the Song Army possesses a powerful weapon capable of repeatedly defeating Innate Martial Artists. How long can we hold out?

If we follow the king’s strategy, you and I will both end up here. Has General Wu forgotten the fate of General Ling and General Barbaro? They died without their bodies being intact, and their corpses remain in the hands of the Song Army.

As long as General Wu acts according to our plan, you can entirely avoid this outcome. Upon returning home, the patriarch will not treat you unfairly. Moreover, the king is cruel and unpredictable; even if General Wu can hold his ground, if an unintentional mistake is made afterward, the king will still blame the general. General Tuoba is an example..."

These words spoke directly to Wu Muling’s concerns. The king might be good at many things, but her temperament is too difficult to grasp and too hard to get along with.

Additionally, with the Song Army possessing such a powerful weapon, holding out is futile, especially since they were defeated today; dragging it out will only lead to an ending similar to Ling Zhi’s.

However, Wu Muling was still worried that if he acted in this way, upon Yue Yuxi’s return to Loulan, she would definitely seek retribution.

He did not believe that the aristocratic clans of Loulan could contend with Yue Yuxi, as they had failed once before.

As if knowing Wu Muling’s concerns, the general, after triple-checking that no one was eavesdropping, said, "I know General Wu’s worries, but please rest assured, as long as the general... subordinate guarantees she cannot return to Loulan..."

Wu Muling widened his eyes in astonishment, "You want to..."

"Shh, it’s not us. We wouldn’t dare commit such a treasonous act; leave it to the Song Army."

"..."

On Yue Yuxi’s side.

The reason she believed they could hold out was that she thought the Song Army’s powerful weapons must have been depleted.

Even if they were not yet exhausted, she had to take a gamble.

She ordered a complete lockdown on the news of today’s defeat, not allowing a single piece of information to reach Loulan.

Furthermore, she sent a confidant back to Loulan to dispatch another reinforcement to completely crush Chen Mo and his forces.

And the reason for mobilizing troops was that the Song Army suffered an overwhelming defeat, and the occupation of the Great Song by their troops was a foregone conclusion. However, due to the vastness of the Great Song’s territory and the current lack of manpower, they required reinforcements urgently to accelerate the occupation pace.

...

Day 206 of the Great Turmoil.

Seeing the timing was right, Chen Mo led the army to launch a full-scale attack on Sa City.

Yue Yuxi wanted to hold Sa City and wait for reinforcements from home. Having held out for a day and seeing that the Song Army did not use their powerful weapons against the city, it reaffirmed Yue Yuxi’s belief that holding out would eventually turn the tide in her favor.

Day 208 of the Great Turmoil.

Just as everything seemed to be moving in a favorable direction, and Yue Yuxi was about to retaliate, she suddenly received news that Wu Muling and Tuoba Zhi had led their troops, a total of 250,000 men, out of Sa City, burning the grain and supplies of her Personal Guard.

Upon hearing this news, Yue Yuxi was struck as if by a heavy blow; it was evident that while guarding day and night, a domestic traitor is hard to guard against.

The last thing she expected at such a critical moment was for Wu Muling and Tuoba Zhi to stab her in the back.

The reason Wu Muling and Tuoba Zhi could easily withdraw so many troops was because Moon Slave had also betrayed her.

Everyone in the army knew that Moon Slave was her confidant, so in the eyes of those below, Moon Slave’s words equated to the king’s words. With the counterfeit Military Talisman orchestrated by Wu Muling, the two managed this coup smoothly.

Yue Yuxi trembled with anger. The feeling of betrayal by subordinates was intensely uncomfortable, yet she understood that neither Wu Muling nor Moon Slave would have had such audacity; there must be someone behind them pulling the strings.

The first group she thought of was the old aristocratic clans back home.

Though the first Queen of Loulan unified the various tribes, founding Loulan, these tribes did not disappear entirely but existed in the form of aristocratic clans and gradually developed to this day.

Since these people were making moves, the worst-case scenario she had anticipated must be beginning.

These people absolutely intended to overthrow her rule.

Yue Yuxi’s beautiful face turned icy cold, her fingers clenched tightly. She had to return to Loulan to take charge before it was too late.

This time, she would no longer be merciful, even if it meant destabilizing the foundation of Loulan or causing it to split; she would make sure to cleanse it of these people.

...

At a quarter past noon.

On the plain five miles away from Sa City, Li Weiqiu gazed at the city walls from afar, furrowing his brows, "Sir, something seems off here; our Vanguard Army is already approaching Sa City, and yet these barbarians of the Desolate Kingdom haven’t made a move."

"Sir, could it be a trap?" Gao Zheng said.

"Report—"

"Reporting to you, sir, and all generals, our subordinates have discovered a large number of Desolate Kingdom barbarians withdrawing from behind Sa City..."

At this moment, the scout rushed in front of Chen Mo’s party with a report.

"What?!" The crowd exclaimed in shock.