Hearing the commotion outside, with people shouting and others burning supplies, Xu Di guessed that the two teams responsible for burning the supplies had succeeded. He pressed a knife against the marshal's neck and led his men out of the main tent.

At present, the city gates of Liaodong City are tightly closed. Near the city gates, there are many civilians who are tied up with ropes, dressed in rags and looking pale. When they saw Xu Di pressing a knife against the neck of the commander-in-chief and walking towards the city gate, many people stood up.

Seeing their commander captured, the Jin people dared not make any rash moves. Xu Di gestured to his men, and one of them took out a megaphone made of iron from his backpack and shouted towards the city gate: "Brothers in the city, we are the garrison from Dengzhou. Please ask your prefect to come and speak with us."

As dawn broke, Xu Di spotted a thin figure dressed in a blue robe on the city wall in the distance. Xu Di felt a surge of emotion and squeezed his eyes shut. Xu Rao had already seen Xu Di and was overjoyed, but he couldn't shout out to him now, so he could only wave to Xu Di.

Xu Di glanced around and saw that there were only a little over a thousand Jurchens here. They were standing nervously to the side, holding their swords, because their commander had been captured.

The group that went to burn the grain and fodder not only burned the grain and fodder, but also let the warhorses in the temporary stables run away. Thinking that each of these warhorses could be sold for a lot of money, and remembering Xu Di's earlier instructions, two men rode horses to lead these hundreds of warhorses toward the dock. Although some of the Jin people saw the horses running away and whistled to try to bring them back, special forces soldiers saw this and accurately shot and killed the men with crossbows.

Because of this, the horses quickly disappeared from sight.

Xu Di gestured to the people behind him, and some people began to tie up the Jurchen soldiers with ropes. At first, some resisted, but Xu Di pressed his sword down hard. The Jurchen marshal was half a head taller than Xu Di, and a line of blood was left on his neck along the sword mark. The people around the marshal had no choice but to tell their men not to resist easily.

After everyone was tied up, Xu Di then ordered Xu Rao to open the city gate. The next step was to deal with the people who had been tied up.

Xu Di did not release them, but instead took them directly to the government jail.

Xu Rao was very excited to see his son whom he hadn't seen for a long time. After he had locked up the marshal, he pulled Xu Didao into his study to talk.

On his way here, Xu Di had been wondering why there had been no official reports about Liaodong. He figured that someone must have intercepted Liaodong's distress messages or cut off Liaodong's connection with the capital. Now it seemed that the latter was more likely.

Xu Rao looked at Xu Di, who had grown much taller, sighed, and said, "I really didn't expect you to come, Xu Di. Your arrival has truly saved me from my urgent crisis."

Xu Di frowned and asked, "Father, what's the situation at the border? And why haven't reinforcements been sent from the capital?"

Xu Rao sighed and said, "The border is still holding out desperately. Our Liaodong City has become an isolated island. Not only is the south gate of the city besieged, but the north gate is also guarded by Jurchens. The reason why reinforcements from the border cannot come over is because they are also being attacked from both the north and the south."

Xu Di nodded and said, "Father, don't you feel that this time is actually the same as back in Hexi?"

Upon hearing Xu Di's words, Xu Rao was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed drastically, and he said, "Xu Di, what do you mean?"

Xu Di said, "I've been thinking about this for a long time and I think this arm is the same pattern as when the Northern Di borrowed passage through the Great Yan. Father, do you think it might be the work of the same person?"

Xu Rao pondered for a long time, then sighed and said, "If that's really the case, then Daliang is in great danger."

Xu Di sneered twice and said, "Da Liang is very dangerous, but the Xiao family is even more dangerous. Father, this is all caused by the unworthy descendants of the Xiao family. They have no brains, no sense of responsibility, and only think about whether their own selfish desires can be satisfied. They never consider that the foundation of the dynasty's existence is these ordinary people. They are always high and mighty, looking down on their people like ants. Those people who should be respected are dispensable in their eyes and can be sacrificed at any time."

Xu Rao waved his hand and said, "Xu Di, you're getting too emotional. That's not good."

Xu Di suddenly stood up, walked around the study several times, and finally stood in front of the window, looking outside. The blazing sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light and shadow. A gust of wind came, and the leaves rustled, while the light and shadow danced lightly with the wind.

Xu Di thought of what he had seen on the way from the seaside. Wherever the Jurchens went, they burned, killed, and looted. Many villages had been burned to ashes. These were places where many people had lived for generations, places where many people depended on for survival. Why were the Jurchens able to do this? Wasn't it because someone in the capital had made a secret agreement with them?

Xu Di turned around and said to Xu Rao, "Father, I came here this time with the idea of ​​driving the Jurchens back. Since we were able to beat the Northern Di so badly that they couldn't recover for thirty years, why can't we beat the Jurchens in the same way?"

Xu Rao sighed and said, "Xu Di, the defense of Liaodong is not like that of Yanmen Pass. At Yanmen Pass, Wei Lang alone has the final say. But in Liaodong, there are several generals in charge. I have considered this. This time, we just need to keep the Jurchens outside the border."

Xu Di sneered twice and said, "Father, let me tell you the truth. I've sent many people to inquire about that Han Chinese strategist from the Northern Barbarians back then, and we've made some progress. I've already planned it all out. Once I drive the Jurchens out, I'll bring that man here. I'll use that man's blood to appease the wronged souls of the dead, and I'll also use that man's blood to warn those unworthy descendants in the capital that anyone who wants to gamble with the lives of ordinary people should be prepared to be beaten."

Xu Rao sighed inwardly. He knew his son's personality very well, but when it came to matters of national importance, there were some things he could only say to himself. In front of Xu Di, especially now, he simply couldn't bring himself to say them.

Xu Rao asked him, "You are a local official. Aren't you afraid of being held accountable for leaving without an imperial edict?"

许棣冷笑两声，说：“我来之前就已经给圣上写了信，是急从权，他是想要失去辽东的土地，愧对列祖列宗呢，还是更在意我是不是遵守他的官场规则，真要那我是问，也得等到我把这金人撵出去再说，到时候去了京城，我任打认罚，然后我就辞官归隐，再不问世事就是。”

许棣看着一脸气愤的许棣，叹了口气，说：“你年纪也不小了，怎么还是这般的胡闹？”

许棣一脸认真的说：“我就是个二十来岁的愤青，我看不上那些汉奸的行为，我看不得自己的同胞被人欺辱，但凡是我有一分的能力，就要拿出一分的能力保家卫国，护着我的同胞，这是我心之所向。”