"Don't worry, Wang Yuluan and I have a life-or-death bond, I won't hurt him!"

As he said this, Zhao Cheng leaned over and put his arm around Wang Yuluan's shoulder, looking very close.

"His sister and my brother are getting married soon, so our two families will still be relatives!"

Zhang Dalian paced anxiously on horseback, asking, "What exactly do you want?!"

Zhao Cheng said, "Everyone knows I'm a businessman. I only like making and counting money, and I have no interest in fighting! If you hadn't wanted to send troops to Changsui this time, my father wouldn't have made the first move. Right now, I would still be snuggled in bed with my wife, sleeping!"

"East Jing and West Jing are both born of the same mother, what's the point of fighting them?"

Zhang Dalian thought for a moment and said, "I can agree to stop fighting, but you have to release the young general!"

Zhao Cheng said, "Dalian, don't you understand the situation? What right do you have to negotiate with me now?"

Zhang Cheng sidled up to Zhang Dalian and said angrily, "Uncle, I can't take it anymore! Let me take some men and fight him! Even if we can't break through, we can't let him get away with this!"

"Shut up!" Zhang Dalian grabbed Zhang Cheng's wrist and said sternly, "Zhao Cheng says he doesn't want to fight, but he actually hopes we will fight, because our losses will only be greater!"

After a pause, Zhang Dalian reminded him again: "Remember this, Zhao Cheng says the opposite of what he really thinks."

Zhang Cheng said angrily, "I can't stand looking at him like this, I want to beat him to death!"

"Who wouldn't want that?" Zhang Dalian exhaled through his nose.

At this moment, Zhao Cheng's voice came again: "Dalian, have you thought it through? Can you straighten out your attitude?!"

Zhang Dalian, his face grim, took a few more steps forward and said, "What do you want?!"

Zhao Cheng said, "If you want to save Wang Yuluan, it's simple! First, stop the fighting! Second, send Wang Ren to pick her up! Oh, and by the way, only Wang Ren is allowed to come!"

"You're dreaming!!!" Zhang Dalian practically yelled.

Zhao Cheng smiled and said, "General Zhang, there's no need to jump to conclusions so quickly. Wang Yuluan is Wang Ren's son; you can't make that decision for him. Take what I said to Wang Ren; whether he comes or not is up to him!"

"It's time, I need to go eat breakfast. I can't have irregular meals, so I'm not chatting with you anymore, bye!"

Zhao Cheng stepped down from the platform, and Wang Yuluan was taken down with him. The two of them disappeared from Zhang Dalian's sight.

"Uncle, what should we do?" Zhang Cheng asked.

Zhang Dalian sighed and said, "This concerns the young general's safety, so I have no choice but to go back and report."

"Withdraw!" Zhang Dalian turned his horse around.

...

Inside Zhao Cheng's command camp.

The aroma of meat filled the air.

Heng Wenhao stood guard outside the tent, while Zhao Hu stood inside. Wang Yuluan had been untied and was sitting face to face with Zhao Cheng.

While grilling the meat, Zhao Cheng said, "See how good I am to you? Have you ever seen a prisoner get to eat meat? And it was grilled by the commander himself! I'm so envious of you!"

Wang Yuluan said in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense, what do you want my father for?"

"I'll pick you up."

“I’m not a child, I don’t need him to pick me up.”

"No, I won't feel at ease if I don't hand you over to him. What a beautiful scene it would be if father and son were reunited!"

“Zhao Cheng, can you tell me the truth?” Wang Yuluan frowned and said, “It’s impossible for my father to come alone. Although I am his son, he commands the Xijing Army and would not put himself in danger.”

Zhao Cheng flipped the meat over, pouted, and said, "That's hard to say, you're his only son."

Wang Yuluan said, "Is this really necessary? Using me as a hostage to threaten him is not manly at all!"

Zhao Cheng said, "It's your own fault for being useless and getting caught by me."

"you!"

"Don't be angry, come on, have some meat." Zhao Cheng handed the meat to Wang Yuluan.

"I won't eat it!"

"If you won't eat it, I will. Mmm, it smells delicious!"

Zhao Cheng chewed on the meat and laughed, "Eat what you should eat. When my fourth brother and Yu Cen get married, won't you, as their brother-in-law, come and have a drink at their wedding? You'll have to eat then too."

Wang Yuluan's eyes widened in surprise. "I understand! I know what you're going to do!"

Zhao Cheng smiled but remained silent.

"You sent my father alone because you wanted to persuade him to surrender!"

"In your family, the smartest is your sister, followed by you, and the dumbest is your brother."

Zhao Cheng tacitly agreed.

Wang Yuluan shook his head and said, "Difficult."

Zhao Cheng handed Wang Yuluan another meat skewer and said, "So you need to persuade your father as well. Your mother and sister are in Changsui now. Wouldn't it be great if you two came back and reunited with them? My old man has already said that as long as you are willing to come back, it's up to you whether you want to continue fighting or stay at home as carefree rich men."

Wang Yuluan took the skewer of meat, took a small bite, and said, "I won't help you persuade my father. On this matter, I'll listen to him."

Zhao Cheng asked, "You mean, as long as he's willing to surrender, you have no objections?"

Wang Yuluan said solemnly, "My loyalty has always been only to my father."

Zhao Cheng clapped his hands and laughed, "See? That's why we need him even more!"

"Zhao Hu!"

"I'm here."

"Get the young general some wine. He's been exhausted these past few days. Let him have a drink and get some rest."

...

At sunset.

Wang Ren's shadow was stretched long, and Zhang Dalian and his nephew stood behind him, relaying Zhao Cheng's words verbatim.

But Wang Ren remained silent, simply gazing at the sunset on the horizon.

Much later.

Wang Ren sighed and said, "After I get there, I'll leave the affairs of the army to you."

Zhang Dalian exclaimed in surprise, "You really want to go?"

Wang Ren said, "Feng'er is gone, and I only have Luan'er as my son."

Zhang Dalian said, "Yu Cen will soon become Zhao Cheng's sister-in-law. For her sake, Zhao Cheng won't kill Yu Luan."

"These are two different things."

Wang Ren shook his head and said, "Whether Zhao Cheng kills Luan'er or not, as long as Luan'er is in Zhao Cheng's hands, she is a prisoner."

Zhang Dalian was stunned. He understood what Wang Ren meant.

“Back when the riots were suppressed in the three counties of New Taipei City, Luan’er was also taken prisoner, but his courage and will erased the humiliation of being a prisoner and even added some points to his reputation. But things are different now.”

Wang Ren raised his head and said, "The Great Jing has split into the Eastern and Western Jing. Luan'er has a bright future in the Western Jing army. I can't just stand by and watch him be destroyed."

Having figured it out, Zhang Dalian stopped trying to persuade him and said, "I'll go with you."

Wang Ren turned around, smiled at Zhang Dalian, and said, "Didn't Zhao Cheng make it very clear that only I am allowed to go?"

Zhang Dalian asked worriedly, "But what if he tries to harm you?"

Wang Ren countered, "Is he that kind of person?"

“He absolutely is!” Zhang Dalian and Zhang Cheng said in unison.

Wang Ren laughed again and said, "Then let it be my fate."

"We have suffered so many defeats in a row."

"I...I'm tired."