Liu Yuanwen sighed, "So be it. Go prepare yourself, and I will go see the Crown Prince."
After finishing his lunch, Xiao Jingyun was about to rest when he heard that Liu Yuanwen requested an audience. He quickly received him in his main hall in a proper manner.
Upon meeting, there were no pleasantries. Liu Yuanwen got straight to the point.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I heard that Xue Feng is deploying troops along the Daqing River. I have a few words I wish to speak with you."
Xiao Jingyun nodded and gestured for him to continue.
Liu Yuanwen went on, "Although the ice on the Daqing River is not yet solid and it's a defensible position, the enemy has more men. Sooner or later, they will be able to break through."
"If they do manage to break through, those thirty thousand troops will likely be in grave danger."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun inwardly marveled. A tiger's cub is a tiger indeed. Although Liu Yuanwen couldn't fight, he saw things very clearly.
"Indeed, Young Master Liu speaks wisely. What then should be done? Please continue."
Liu Yuanwen bowed again, "You could order General Xue to hold for three more days, and then retreat under the cover of night. This would at least preserve the strength of our Great Cang nation, and also achieve my objective."
Upon hearing these words, Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun was filled with mixed emotions.
He had considered these aspects himself and had even spoken to Xue Feng about them individually.
Among his many generals, no one had brought this matter up to him, yet Liu Yuanwen did.
And the Liu family was currently suffering such unfair treatment.
Liu Xiangnan had been forced by his father to become a monk at Xiangguo Temple, and Liu Rumei had married into a small mountain village. Even when he had shamelessly asked for her, she hadn't come, yet Liu Yuanwen himself...
Thinking of this, Xiao Jingyun's face was filled with immense gratitude. He clasped his hands in a salute towards Liu Yuanwen, "Ah, hearing your words has enlightened me greatly. I hadn't thought of this. Thank you, Young Master Liu."
Liu Yuanwen said no more. He stood up and bowed again, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is busy with state affairs, so I shall take my leave."
Xiao Jingyun gestured to Zhou Quan, instructing him to escort Liu Yuanwen all the way out of his palace.
As they left the Crown Prince's palace, Liu Kai approached and helped Liu Yuanwen into the sedan chair. He then instructed people to head back. After they had traveled a considerable distance, Liu Kai tentatively asked, "Young Master, how did the matter go?"
Liu Yuanwen recounted the entire event from beginning to end. Upon hearing it, Liu Kai shook his head slightly.
Liu Yuanwen, sitting in the sedan chair, couldn't see Liu Kai's expression, but he could feel Liu Kai's sudden silence.
"Head Steward, why are you so quiet?"
Liu Kai quickly clasped his hands again, "Young Master, from your conversation with the Crown Prince, I suspect that the matter we were thinking of, the Crown Prince had already considered. Yet, he still put on a show of being delighted."
Liu Yuanwen fell silent upon hearing Liu Kai's words. After a long while, he let out a long sigh, "You are right. His Highness the Crown Prince possesses great foresight, and would surely have thought through such matters thoroughly."
"It seems that if we want my father to be reinstated, we will have to work even harder."
Liu Kai said nothing further. Sometimes, such matters had nothing to do with effort. It was simply Xiao An's way of maintaining his son's reign.
Then, Liu Yuanwen sighed again, "It's a pity I cannot fight on the battlefield..."
Liu Kai understood the meaning behind Liu Yuanwen's long sigh. The young master was still thinking about calling Liu Rumei back. However, the letter he had written to Liu Rumei last time had no effect...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. By the Daqing River, Xue Feng's defense was precarious. The Great Tu kingdom's army launched more than ten attacks a day. Countless soldiers stood on the prows of their ships, firing arrows as they crossed the river. If not for Xue Feng's position, facing north and using the force of the north wind, he might not have been able to hold.
Finally, they managed to hold on until nightfall. The cold north wind blew, and a thin layer of ice formed on the river again.
Xue Feng retreated to his main tent. After a simple sip of hot soup, he kept recalling Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun's instructions: hold for three days, then retreat under the cover of night. Today was the third day.
However, if he were to retreat, he had to make it look convincing, at least so that the enemy soldiers on the other side wouldn't discover it and follow closely behind, cutting off his escape route.
After much thought, Xue Feng ordered men to quickly fashion dozens of straw figures, dress them in clothes and armor, and place them around his main tent, just like standing guards.
He also ordered more wood to be added to the bonfires, enlarging them so that they would at least last until dawn without extinguishing.
Once everything was prepared, Xue Feng gave the order for a quiet retreat.
Thirty thousand men retreated silently, and the Great Tu kingdom's soldiers on the other side remained completely unaware.
The next morning, as the sun rose.
Zhu Meng was the first to arrive at the riverbank. He had volunteered to take a detour and attack Wannan City, but to his surprise, he was held up at the Daqing River. He hadn't managed to cross after two days of attacking, which was quite embarrassing for him. Therefore, he had to quickly find a good solution. He squatted by the river, watching the opposite bank, and soon Zhu Meng felt something was amiss.
Logically, with the sun now up, the other side should be preparing breakfast. After all, his own army camp was already filled with rising smoke from cooking fires, but there was no sign of life on the other side. Even the bonfires around the main command tent had been extinguished, and the sentries stood motionless.
Suddenly, he realized what had happened and slapped his thigh.
"Damn it, we've been tricked! The enemy on the other side has retreated."
Hearing his shout, the surrounding soldiers quickly gathered and looked towards the opposite bank.
The Daqing River was only twenty zhang wide.
In winter, there was a thin layer of mist on the river.
As the sun rose, the mist dissipated slightly, making the opposite bank dimly visible.
After a careful inspection, the soldiers present also let out cries of surprise.
"It's true! They seem to have retreated. Look, those soldiers aren't moving."
"Alas, those are fakes, of course they wouldn't move."
Listening to the chatter of the crowd, Zhu Meng felt very disheartened.
After all his efforts over the past few days, he had been fooled again. But there was nothing he could do. The deed was done. Zhu Meng could only brace himself and go to see the Great Tu kingdom's Crown Prince Qiao Na again.
Upon meeting, he quickly bowed, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, the enemy defenders on the other side seem to have retreated. Should we pursue them?"
Looking at Zhu Meng's dejected appearance, Qiao Na did not speak immediately. After all, Zhu Meng had been very busy these past few days. Qiao Na simply nodded gently.
"General Zhu, there's no need to worry about this. Once our army crosses the Daqing River, it is less than two hundred li to Wannan City. We can reach Wannan City in just one day and one night."
Hearing this, Zhu Meng was filled with gratitude. The Crown Prince did not hold him accountable and, with great trust, ordered all soldiers to advance immediately.
Soon, the Great Tu kingdom's soldiers became busy.
Dozens of small boats were linked together, forming a pontoon bridge.
Following the pontoon bridge, they soon reached the north bank of the Daqing River.
The soldiers at the forefront shouted loudly towards Xue Feng's camp, but there was only silence from the other side.
Someone else cautiously shot arrows, but the sentry soldiers on duty remained unmoved!