Bazahan and others couldn't understand why the Crown Prince had suddenly become so cold, nor why he wasn't particularly happy even after such a great victory.
They didn't understand that Qiao Na was now filled with regret. It was only now that he realized that this so-called Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array was essentially a strategy of amassing troops from various places to support one area. With his own move of attacking in four directions simultaneously, the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array was rendered ineffective.
Thinking of this, Qiao Na shook his head helplessly. He had truly underestimated Xiao Jingyun.
However, he couldn't entirely blame himself. After all, in his understanding, battles between armies were always soldier against soldier, general against general. There were almost no situations where attacks came from all sides. This was the fundamental reason why the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array could exist.
In modern terms, Liu Xiangnan's creation of the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array was, to put it bluntly, exploiting a psychological blind spot.
In Wanniang City, Xiao Jingyun soon received the report. The Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array had been broken, and Du Bai had retreated into the city. This was within his expectations.
After all, the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array was merely a defensive formation, and his troop strength was insufficient. Deploying a formation with over a hundred thousand men against an enemy force of four hundred thousand would be difficult to sustain in the long term in this era of cold weapons.
Therefore, when facing Du Bai's plea for punishment, he smiled and waved his hand, "Alright, it's not your fault. Go back and rest. Organize your men to defend the city walls; just make sure they don't breach the city."
Seeing that Xiao Jingyun was not blaming him, Du Bai was deeply moved. How could he dare to rest easily? Upon returning, he immediately arranged for the city's defenses, making thorough preparations to ensure absolute security.
After Du Bai left, Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun immediately ordered someone to summon Zhou Quan. "Take your men and go around to help Du Bai. He has just retreated into the city and might be overwhelmed trying to manage everything alone."
Meanwhile, Zi Yan, leading her men, quietly arrived in front of a civilian residence. Instead of knocking, she leaped directly into the courtyard.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she heard the sound of sharp blades cutting through the air. Zi Yan's mind raced, and she leaped up, landing on the rooftop and then letting out two bird calls.
Following the sound of the bird calls, the lights in three rooms flickered on. Figures emerged, and five or six people stood in the courtyard, bowing respectfully to Zi Yan. "Greetings, Commander Zi Yan."
Zi Yan then descended from the rooftop and stood before them, scrutinizing them before asking sternly, "Tie Niu, why the slow progress? Do you know you almost ruined the Crown Prince's important plan?"
The leader, a sturdy middle-aged man, was Tie Niu. He cupped his fist and replied, "Commander, it's not that we haven't tried our best. It's just that Xiao Jingyun is extremely strict about military intelligence. Ordinary participants have no understanding of the array's secrets."
Zi Yan waved her hand. "Enough. The array has already been broken. It was actually very simple. As long as we attacked from all four sides, he wouldn't be able to defend himself, and it would naturally be broken!"
Hearing Zi Yan's words, everyone present exchanged glances. Perhaps they hadn't expected that breaking the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Array would be so simple.
"Commander, you are right. We truly didn't expect breaking the array to be so easy."
Zi Yan waved her hand again. "Alright, it's not your fault. Who could have predicted it would be like this? Also, have you found out Xiao Jingyun's residence?"
Tie Niu bowed respectfully. "We have already found out. I have a detailed layout map here."
Zi Yan nodded. "Good. Show it to me now."
The group led Zi Yan into the main house. Tie Niu took out a large map, spread it on the table, and began to explain the layout of Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun's residence to Zi Yan point by point.
Zi Yan listened and nodded.
"Good, excellent. You all rest here; I'll be right back."
With that, Zi Yan left and swiftly disappeared into the night.
Arriving at the entrance of Xiao Jingyun's Crown Prince's Mansion, Zi Yan crouched on the rooftop, surveying the surroundings.
There were thirty to forty guards around the mansion, with four or five at the gate. The rest were mostly stationed at the corners. The perimeter was heavily guarded, but the mansion itself was silent, with no patrol teams. This wasn't due to Xiao Jingyun's carelessness, but rather that the Crown Prince's Mansion had always maintained this level of security. In Xiao Jingyun's view, guarding the outside was sufficient.
After entering the Crown Prince's Mansion, Zi Yan was initially cautious. However, after a short while, her boldness grew. Based on her earlier reconnaissance, Xiao Jingyun resided in the central room of the third courtyard. Zi Yan even dared to move freely on the rooftops, yet none of this attracted any attention.
Zi Yan landed on the rooftop of the third courtyard and became much more cautious. She knew that the Captain of the Guard and other close bodyguards would be nearby.
However, she was unaware that Zhou Quan had already been dispatched by Xiao Jingyun to patrol the city defenses with Du Bai. It was precisely this arrangement that provided Zi Yan with an opportunity.
Zi Yan lay on the rooftop, observing carefully, and finally confirmed Xiao Jingyun's residence.
But Zi Yan did not rush to act. Instead, she chose a hidden spot and remained there, waiting for dawn.
Dawn broke quickly, and the courtyard began to buzz with activity as people came and went. At this time, Zhou Quan also returned.
Upon entering, he first reported the progress of their mission to Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun.
"Your Highness, all four city gates have been inspected. The defenses are tight, and the soldiers change shifts every hour, ensuring absolute security."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Next, we must hold our ground. I see the sky is about to snow. If we can hold on for a few more days, with the harsh winter and cold, Da Tou Guo will not be able to sustain their efforts and will withdraw."
With that, Xiao Jingyun walked out of the room and into the courtyard, stretching his limbs.
Zi Yan had been waiting for this opportunity. She had seen Xiao Jingyun's portrait and knew that the person before her was Xiao Jingyun, the Crown Prince of Da Cang, and the only son of Emperor Xiao An.
Just then, a gust of strong wind swept through, carrying fallen leaves and dust, momentarily obscuring the courtyard.
Zi Yan seized the opportunity, flicked her wrist, and several cold stars flew towards Xiao Jingyun.
As for her body, she used the gust of wind to rapidly drift out of the courtyard.
Xiao Jingyun saw the swirling dust and instinctively covered his eyes with his sleeve. Suddenly, he felt a slight numbness in his body.
It felt like something cold had entered his body.
However, the sensation quickly disappeared.
Xiao Jingyun assumed it was the cold wind seeping into his body and instinctively pulled his clothes tighter. "It's a bit cold outside; let's go inside."
Xiao Jingyun entered the room, seemingly unaware of any abnormality in his body, and began to eat.
But after only a few bites, he felt something was wrong. His eyelids felt heavy, and his body was stiff.
Zhou Quan obviously noticed something was amiss.
"Your Highness, what is wrong?"
Xiao Jingyun waved his hand slightly. "I don't know what's wrong. I just feel very tired, as if I can't wake up."
He put down his chopsticks. "I'm going to sleep for a while longer." With that, he stood up and walked towards the inner room, but after only a few steps, he suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.