Chapter 589.2. Xu Sanshi Trapped
But how could that be easy? That elite army’s commander was a reputed general of the Dou Ling Empire, and though he had turned his army around when he received accurate intelligence, he didn’t return to Dou Ling City immediately, but temporarily stationed himself in a large southern city after entering the Dou Ling Empire’s territory. On the surface, they claimed that they wouldn’t participate in a conflict within the royal family, and that they’d only accept the most outstanding member of the royal family to command them.
They were clearly trying to wait out the conflict to extract any profits that were left over. If the general had some royal blood running in his veins, perhaps the situation would have been worse.
Xu Sanshi was like a roasted pork on a spit under such circumstances, and the situation that he was facing was extremely difficult.
Two of the imperial family’s clans in the north had already started rebellions in the name of assisting the emperor. The Dou Ling Empire’s inner territories were empty in the first place, so these two armies began pushing toward Dou Ling City as soon as was possible. One army began committing unspeakable misdeeds as they started killing and pillaging along the way. They murdered, stole, and robbed continuously to strengthen themselves.
Xu Sanshi’s army on this side wasn’t small, but because Dou Ling City’s elites had been mobilized away before this, only normal soldiers were left in the city. Their fighting strength could only match one of those rebelling armies, and it wasn’t hard to imagine the kind of pressure that Xu Sanshi was under when both armies began pushing against him at the same time.
Xu Sanshi would never hold onto his throne unreasonably, but he wouldn’t give it away just like that. If he handed the throne over to someone incapable or to the wrong hands, that would spell a calamitous disaster for the entire Dou Ling Empire.
Fortunately, the Sun Moon Empire hadn’t launched any invasions against the Dou Ling Empire over the past month. Otherwise, their situation could be a lot worse.
Xu Sanshi had limited strength under his control, and he didn’t have a good solution under such circumstances.
He had displayed excellent capability when he first gained authority over Dou Ling City, and he swiftly handled the situation. However, he didn’t have enough reputation or influence to control the entire empire. He didn’t share the same surname as the royal family after all, and he wasn’t a true heir to the throne.