At this very moment, a soldier suddenly entered to report, "Reporting to Your Highness the Crown Prince, Captain Zhou Quan has returned."
Upon hearing that Zhou Quan had arrived, Xiao Jingyun sprang to his feet.
"Quick, quickly let him in."
Soon, Zhou Quan entered the large tent and knelt on one knee, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
When Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun saw that Zhou Quan had returned alone, his heart sank immensely, and he fell back into his chair with a thud.
"Zhou Quan, you've returned alone."
Zhou Quan bowed again, "Yes, Your Highness, I have returned by myself."
"Miss Liu, she..."
Xiao Jingyun nodded slightly, "I know, I know. This matter cannot be blamed on her. It is my father, the Emperor, who has been too ruthless."
Zhou Quan reached behind him, unstrapped the bamboo tube he was carrying, and held it above his head with both hands, "Your Highness, Miss Liu has brought you a parting gift."
"This is the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Formation she drew."
"She said that this was something Lord Liu studied his entire life. Although it is not an offensive formation, it is flawless for defense. By using this method to maneuver against the enemy, one can remain invincible."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingyun's face lit up with joy, "Oh, quickly bring it here, I want to see it."
Zhou Quan stood up, held the bamboo tube with both hands, placed it on Xiao Jingyun's desk, and helped him open it.
Inside were dozens of diagrams, including the main formation, individual sub-formations, troop formations, and various signal coordination methods, all written in great detail.
After examining these diagrams, Xiao Jingyun was overjoyed.
"Excellent, this is wonderful! With this, how can we worry about not being able to defend Wannian City?"
Du Bai, standing nearby, was inwardly surprised and quickly bowed, asking, "Your Highness, are you saying you wish to retreat to Wannian City?"
Xiao Jingyun nodded, pointed to the formation diagrams on the table, and said to Du Bai, "General Du Bai, come and look at this formation drawn by Ru Mei. It is based on the four directions and eight directions, with various changes."
"Our Wannian City is precisely a square city. If we use this as a foundation, wouldn't it perfectly suit this formation? Offense and defense would be combined, wouldn't that be magnificent?"
After hearing his words, Du Bai fell silent. "Your Highness, the enemy is pursuing so closely, we may not have enough time to train this formation."
At this moment, the white-haired Lord Liu let out a hearty laugh.
"Your Highness, I have a plan."
He then looked at Du Bai and then at Xiao Jingyun.
Xiao Jingyun's expression brightened, "Oh, esteemed old minister, quickly tell me, what method do you have?"
Lord Liu cupped his fists, "Your Highness, you and General Du should lead the main army to retreat tonight. Leave me ten thousand men. I will hold this place for three days. You should be able to complete the preliminary deployment of the formation by then, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingyun repeatedly waved his hands, "No, no, that is too risky."
Old Lord Liu laughed heartily, "Your Highness, please rest assured. Zhu Meng will surely inform the Crown Prince Qiao Na of the Great Tugu Kingdom of General Du's might."
"I believe they will not dare to challenge us again unless they have absolute certainty of victory. Perhaps they will also try to take a detour."
"To bypass us and reach Wannian City would take at least five to six hundred li, and at least three more days of travel."
"Therefore, after three days, I will abandon the camp and head to Wannian City to rendezvous with you."
After listening to the old lord's words, Xiao Jingyun glanced at Du Bai. Staying here now meant great peril.
Du Bai naturally understood Xiao Jingyun's meaning. He cupped his fists to Old Lord Liu, "Old Lord, you and the Crown Prince should return. If I stay, they would not dare to provoke us again."
Old Lord Liu waved his hand, "I am an old man, and I cannot do much if I return. You should go back and organize the formation, train the troops quickly, and familiarize them with it. Defending the city still depends on you."
After exchanging another glance with Xiao Jingyun, both of them stepped forward to Old Lord Liu, bowed, and said, "Old Lord, please take care. We will depart tonight."
Soon, Xiao Jingyun and Du Bai led the army and left that night.
Xiao Jingyun was indeed benevolent. He gave Lord Liu thirty thousand troops and issued a strict order to the commanding officers: in case of any emergency, they were to fully protect Lord Liu's retreat and disregard everything else.
With thirty thousand men left behind, Xiao Jingyun could only take twelve thousand men with him.
The twelve thousand men marched rapidly through the night and reached outside Wannian City by dawn.
Xiao Jingyun and Du Bai had no time to rest. They assigned their soldiers to each city gate, with thirty thousand per gate, and handed over command to Du Bai to quickly train the soldiers and familiarize them with the formation. Xiao Jingyun himself entered the city to meet his father, Xiao An.
Upon hearing that Xiao Jingyun had returned, Xiao An was both shocked and delighted.
He was delighted that his son had returned safely, but worried that he had not received any good news lately, and his son's return likely meant something major had happened.
As soon as Xiao Jingyun entered, before he could even bow, Xiao An eagerly asked, "Jingyun, has the war on the front lines gone unfavorably for you to return this time?"
Xiao Jingyun cupped his fists, "Father, on the contrary, Du Bai has already arrived with reinforcements and has beheaded two generals of the Great Tugu Kingdom, stabilizing the situation."
Hearing this, Xiao An's face finally showed a hint of relief.
"Excellent! Du Bai is indeed worthy of being the foremost general of our Great Chang Kingdom. With him here, what about Zhu Meng and his ilk?"
Xiao Jingyun shook his head slightly.
"Father, one cannot speak like that!"
"Although Du Bai can still hold Cross Slope for now, the Great Tugu Kingdom has three hundred thousand troops..."
"We only have one hundred and fifty thousand, and the troops I brought earlier are already very tired."
"Therefore, our ability to hold Cross Slope is only a temporary measure."
"Given time, if the Great Tugu Kingdom's troops bypass us and surround Wannian City, we will be in an even more passive position."
Hearing this, Xiao An pondered for a moment and nodded slightly, "So you have returned directly, intending to defend Wannian City?"
Xiao Jingyun bowed again, "Father, I once sent Zhou Quan to invite Liu Rumei to come out of seclusion, but Rumei did not come. Instead, she drew me a Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Formation."
"This formation is infinitely variable and profoundly mysterious. I intend to use our one hundred and fifty thousand troops to defend Wannian City and await reinforcements from various regions."
Upon hearing this, Xiao An slowly stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the study. "I never expected that Liu Rumei would still contribute to the court."
After speaking, he raised his head and let out a long sigh.
"It is I who have wronged them."
Xiao Jingyun by his side opened his mouth to speak, but saw Bai Han shake his head at him.
Xiao An clearly understood Xiao Jingyun's thoughts. He turned his face to look at his son.
"Jingyun, do you feel that I have been too harsh? That now is the time to invite the Liu family back and reinstate them to their positions?"