Xiao Jingyun bowed again, "Replying to my father, the Emperor, your son believes it should be so. At a time of national crisis, everyone should be loyal to the country."
Xiao An, however, gently shook his head, "No, no, that's not right."
"Since Liu Rumei has given you this formation, then don't let him emerge from seclusion again."
"As long as Wanniang City can hold for three months, waiting for reinforcements from all regions to arrive, the Great Tu Kingdom will surely be defeated."
"This is still the same saying, this act of showing favor must be done by you."
Xiao Jingyun naturally knew his father's good intentions, "But..."
He looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped, wondering what if Wanniang City couldn't be held, wouldn't the kingdom fall?
However, Xiao An looked at Xiao Jingyun, his face showing a sense of relief.
"Isn't the dragon脉 on Qingniu Mountain intact? Zhu Meng stayed there for so long, but didn't damage it, right?"
"Your grandfather told me when I was very young that as long as we guard the dragon脉, our Xiao family can secure the throne."
"When you said Zhu Meng was trapped on Qingniu Mountain, I was always worried he would target the dragon脉!"
"Fortunately, we captured Sun Yuliang in time. Zhu Meng was hesitant to act, and thus did not commit any act that would anger gods and men!"
Alright, with his father's will made clear, Xiao Jingyun could no longer argue. Since his father was resolute, all he could do was take things one step at a time.
"Father, the army marched day and night and just returned, extremely fatigued. To speed up our progress, we didn't bring much provisions. Please arrange for supplies to be sent out as soon as possible."
Xiao An nodded and looked at Bai Han beside him, "Alright, you go and make the arrangements. First, send some food to the army."
Bai Han bowed and left, and Xiao Jingyun also retreated.
Xiao Jingyun didn't even have time to return to his太子 palace before he was rushing out of the city again.
Meanwhile, Xiao An sat at his desk, lost in thought.
Xiao Shunzi, his trusted eunuch, saw this and understood that Emperor Xiao An was also human, with his own emotions.
At this moment, Emperor Xiao An felt a sense of guilt towards the Liu family.
But for the sake of his son securing the throne, Xiao An had no choice but to act this way.
Xiao Shunzi also understood that if nothing was done, the Emperor would not be at peace.
He rolled his eyes and came up with an idea, stepping forward and whispering, "Your Majesty, this old servant has something to say, I don't know if I should say it."
Xiao An looked up at him, "Alright, say what you have to say, no need to beat around the bush."
"Your Majesty, Xiangguo Temple is only fifty li from Wanniang City."
"Zhu Meng knows the importance of this temple in our Great Cang Kingdom. If the Great Tu Kingdom really sends troops to besiege the city, it's hard to say whether Zhu Meng will attack Xiangguo Temple."
Hearing Xiao Shunzi's words, Xiao An couldn't help but smile. He looked up at Xiao Shunzi. Clearly, Xiao Shunzi's suggestion had pleased him greatly.
"Hmm, that makes sense. If they do anything unfavorable to Xiangguo Temple, it might shake the morale of the army."
"In that case, you will depart immediately and personally go to Xiangguo Temple. Bring all the monks within the temple into the city and settle them properly."
At this moment, two hundred li away, at Shizi Slope, just as old Prince Liu had predicted, the Great Tu Kingdom's army camp was quiet all day. No one came out to challenge them.
Prince Qiao Na called Zhu Meng over to discuss strategy.
"Didn't you say Du Bai was in Jizhou? How did he suddenly arrive here?"
Zhu Meng also looked helpless, "Your Highness, although Xiao Jingyun has suffered consecutive defeats, he has been retreating steadily, thus buying Du Bai time."
Prince Qiao Na looked at him, "Then what should we do now? We can't fight them. My two most elite generals have both died by Du Bai's hand. Why don't you try again?"
Zhu Meng looked bitter upon hearing this, "Your Highness, to be honest, I am truly not Du Bai's opponent. If I go out, at most I will just be sending another head."
Hearing this, Prince Qiao Na sighed deeply.
"We have already penetrated over a thousand li into the Great Cang Kingdom. Are we just going to return empty-handed?"
Zhu Meng cupped his fists, "Your Highness, you don't need to be so dejected. I know of a path that can bypass the crossroads ahead. It will add five to six hundred li to our journey, taking at least three days."
Upon hearing this, Prince Qiao Na actually smiled.
"As long as we can bypass Shizi Slope, never mind three days, even five days will do."
Zhu Meng immediately stepped forward and marked the route on the map in front of Qiao Na with a pen.
"As long as we go from here, there's a small path that bypasses Shizi Slope and leads directly to the south gate of Wanniang City."
Prince Qiao Na smiled slightly, "Tomorrow I will leave ten thousand soldiers in the camp to feign an attack, so that the enemy will not be wary."
After speaking, he exchanged a look with Zhu Meng, and both of them laughed.
A thousand li away, in Hetou Village, another scene of hustle and bustle was unfolding.
Today was Chen Xiaowen's wedding day. Most of the cabbages in Chen Xiaobei's vegetable patch had been harvested, so more people could come to help out.
The four mu of land became extremely lively. Cui Hongyu, Qiu Mei, and others were flying with their spatulas, giving it the feel of a banquet.
Chen Xiaobei took the opportunity to enjoy some leisure time and returned to his own home. Since returning from Wanniang City, he had been busy every day and hadn't had a quiet moment to himself in a long time.
Chen Xiaobei locked himself in the old house and began to look around. The several large snakes in the vat had entered hibernation. The wild chickens still scattered and ran when they saw him. As for the two puppies, they now wagged their tails instead of barking.
What made Chen Xiaobei even more delighted was that the little wolf, after so much time, had clearly lost much of its wildness. Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, it did not let out its usual habitual growl. Instead, it looked up at Chen Xiaobei, neither showing any affection nor any malice.
For a wolf, this was already remarkable. Chen Xiaobei was naturally overjoyed.
He tentatively walked forward, crouched down, and gently stroked the little wolf's spine a few times. The little wolf leaned closer to him, even arching its back and rubbing against his arm.
Chen Xiaobei was even happier now. This indicated that the wolf's wild nature had been tamed considerably. This was not necessarily a bad approach. Perhaps in the future, he would treat little wolves in the same way.
As long as they were kept for a few months, a wolf's wildness would be significantly reduced.
After playing with the little wolf for a while, Chen Xiaobei stood up and returned to his old house. Under the lamplight, he inspected the ginseng and lingzhi he had planted one by one.
Cui Hongyu took great care of these little living things. A charcoal stove was lit in the room. Although the charcoal wasn't burning fiercely, entering the room gave a feeling of warmth.
Just then, suddenly the two puppies let out low growls towards the door, followed by a soft knock.
Soon, Liu Rumei's voice came through, "Xiaobei Ge, are you inside?"
Upon hearing it was Liu Rumei, Chen Xiaobei quickly called out in response, "Rumei, I am."