Xiao Qing walked forward and took the bowl of noodles from Chen Xiaobei’s hand. “Young Master, let me do this.”
Chen Xiaobei did not refuse. He handed the bowl to Xiao Qing and then followed Liu Rumei into the main room.
“Rumei, after breakfast, go feed the tiger.”
Chen Xiaobei made small talk, and Liu Rumei simply replied.
The three of them sat in the room, chatting idly. Before they had spoken a few words, they heard someone shouting from outside the courtyard, “Miss, Miss.”
It was Liu Zhiming. Liu Rumei quickly got up to go out and greet him. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard Liu Zhiming say, “Miss, we received a letter from Brother Liu Tie. They arrived at Wannian City last night.”
“What about my father? Did they mention him?”
“Yes, they said the Master has been exposed by the Emperor at the post station in Wannian City, but it might be difficult to meet him.”
Hearing this, Liu Rumei let out a long sigh. “That’s good. At least this old emperor has some conscience.”
“They also said the Crown Prince has been practicing your Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Formation, centered around Wannian City, for some time!”
“Furthermore, according to them, Wannian City will be sealed from all four gates starting today. The troops of the Great Earth Kingdom will likely arrive soon.”
After hearing these words, Liu Rumei’s delicate brows furrowed, and she remained silent for a long time.
“Very well. If we can hold Wannian City, I can consider it my contribution to the nation.”
Liu Zhiming bowed and turned to leave. In fact, Chen Xiaobei had heard their conversation from inside the house.
He walked out of the inner room, saw that Liu Zhiming had already left, and quickly approached Liu Rumei, asking in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Is the situation there not as expected?”
Liu Rumei nodded slightly. “I didn’t expect the Crown Prince to retreat to Wannian City directly.”
Chen Xiaobei’s heart tightened. Their capital was surrounded; they were at a disadvantage.
This was like a siege with the aim of intercepting reinforcements; the other armies could only come to their rescue.
“Alas, the Crown Prince might be making a mistake out of confusion.”
Liu Rumei was very surprised by Chen Xiaobei’s lament. She turned to look at him and then asked, “Holding their ground and waiting for reinforcements should be a good option. Why do you say he’s confused?”
Chen Xiaobei shook his head. “Although I don’t understand warfare, I know the principle of constant retreat. There must be several strategic locations within a few hundred li of Wannian City.”
“Even if Wannian City is to be besieged, preparations should be made first.”
Hearing this, Liu Rumei suddenly understood Chen Xiaobei’s meaning.
“You mean the Crown Prince shouldn’t have stayed in the city.”
Chen Xiaobei nodded emphatically. “Yes, with the Crown Prince in Wannian City, contact with the outside world is cut off. This is likely detrimental to the war effort.”
Liu Rumei pondered for a moment and nodded. “It seems to make some sense. Then I’ll quickly have Zhiming tell Liu Ce and the others. I hope it’s not too late for tonight.”
Liu Rumei’s wishful thinking was, in fact, already too late.
A thousand li away in Wannian City, Xiao Jingyun had just finished breakfast when Captain of the Guards, Zhou Quan, rushed in.
“Your Highness, Du Bai just sent someone to report that vanguard troops of the Great Earth Kingdom have been spotted. They are only twenty li away.”
Xiao Jingyun nodded, put on his coat, and headed outside.
As he walked, he asked, “How many troops do you have under your command?”
“Reporting to Your Highness, I’ve gathered about four to five thousand men. They are all household guards from various families. Their skill levels vary, but at least they all have some foundation.”
Xiao Jingyun was clearly a little surprised that they could gather so many men. “Good, it’s good that they have a foundation. Training will be faster. By the way, go and spread the word to all the families. From now on, if you have nothing to do, don’t wander around on the streets. Also, tell those shopkeepers not to raise prices arbitrarily.”
In reality, what Xiao Jingyun said was as good as saying nothing. Ever since the news spread that the Great Earth Kingdom was going to attack, the common people had already stockpiled essential food and vegetables.
Xiao Jingyun rode his horse at full speed out of the south gate and went directly to Du Bai’s camp. Du Bai had set up camp five li outside the city.
Seeing Xiao Jingyun arrive, Du Bai quickly bowed. “Crown Prince, it is dangerous here. If there’s anything, you can just send someone to convey the message.”
Xiao Jingyun waved his hand. “What is the situation ahead?”
“Oh, there have only been small skirmishes with enemy troops ahead. Your Highness, please rest assured, I will not retreat an inch.”
Xiao Jingyun nodded and got back into his carriage to observe from a distance. He could only faintly see figures moving in the distance, but could not see anything else clearly.
“Du Bai, has the enemy’s situation been ascertained? How many troops have arrived?”
Du Bai cupped his fist. “Your Highness, based on the intelligence from our scouts, the enemy has at least increased their forces by over a hundred thousand. They now have at least four hundred thousand men.”
“And according to reliable sources, their reinforcements are still on the way, with at least another one to two hundred thousand.”
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun’s brow furrowed. “To save the Supreme Daoist Master, we only mobilized two hundred thousand troops back then. Now, we need to deploy five to six hundred thousand. This clearly indicates they are mobilizing their entire nation!”
Du Bai, however, appeared very heroic. He patted his chest and said, “Crown Prince, please rest assured, I will make sure they come and never return.”
Xiao Jingyun did not respond. Instead, he waved his hand, signaling Zhou Quan to lead the guards a few steps back. Then, he lowered his voice and said to Du Bai, “The Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Formation, although marvelous in its changes and capable of defeating more with less, cannot be activated if the enemy concentrates their forces on a single point when they number four to five hundred thousand.”
After hearing Xiao Jingyun’s words, Du Bai nodded. “This subordinate understands. Defeating more with less also has its limits.”
Xiao Jingyun nodded. “If the battle situation is unfavorable, you can retreat into the city first. As long as we hold out for a month, reinforcements will arrive.”
At this moment, Zhu Meng also received news that the army of the Great Chang Kingdom had camped outside the city.
Hearing this news, Zhu Meng was somewhat surprised. He had expected that with Wannian City’s high walls and thick fortifications, Xiao Jingyun would have retreated into the city early on.
But he had not expected Xiao Jingyun to deploy over a hundred thousand troops outside the city.
After much deliberation, he could not figure out Xiao Jingyun’s strategy.
At this moment, advisor Zhang Liao spoke up. “General, we have fifty thousand troops. Du Bai guarding the south gate has only thirty thousand. I think we should go and probe their strength first!”
Zhu Meng nodded. “Yes. Although we have been busy since attacking the Great Cang Kingdom, we have achieved nothing. If this continues, we may lose our status in front of the Crown Prince.”
“General, we can order the soldiers to set up camp first, and then at midnight tonight, we’ll launch a surprise night attack to show Xiao Jingyun what we’re made of.” Zhang Liao said, cupping his fist.
After speaking, the two of them looked at each other and laughed.
Zhu Meng immediately issued orders, instructing people to set up camp, and sent messengers to inform Crown Prince Qiao Na in the rear.
Crown Prince Qiao Na saw the map sent by Zhu Meng and was surprised to find a defensive line outside Wannian City.
Seeing him frowning, a man stood up beside him. He was his trusted subordinate named Bazahhan.