Li Yuexi and her child had a great time in Luzhou.

Because Luzhou is a relatively new place, there aren't many man-made attractions, but the natural scenery is beautiful. The mountains are covered with bamboo forests, and now there's a new irrigation canal that draws water from the border river. The canal is simply surrounded by stones on both sides, and the clear, shallow water flows gently along it. Sometimes you can even see one or two lively fish swimming in the water.

Because of this irrigation ditch, the villagers would often bring their dirty clothes in basins to wash them whenever they had time. The village children especially loved this ditch, playing in groups of three or five by its edge. Since the ditch wasn't deep and posed no danger, the adults didn't seem to mind. The two children didn't stay there long before finding a playmate: Gouwazi from Zhou Erzhu's family.

Zhou Erzhu and his wife are both working in the workshop now. Zhou Erzhu is busy following behind Xu Zhi, overseeing everything, while Zhou Er's wife does what she can. Every day, the two of them leave home early and are always the first to arrive at the workshop. After opening the door and cleaning, they begin their day's work. They go home at noon, eat a simple meal, rest for a bit, and then go back to work. In the afternoon, after finishing work, they go home and cook a good meal to reward the family.

Since his parents went to the workshop, Gouwazi has become exceptionally sensible. He eagerly takes on household chores and later even stays by his mother's side, helping with small tasks. When Li Yuexi brought her two children here, Gouwazi was initially hesitant to approach the two adorable little bundles of joy. But children are always like that; they like to play with older children. The two children followed Gouwazi wherever he went. After only a couple of days, Gouwazi took the initiative to lead the two children, showing them around the workshop's large courtyard. Later, the two children, no longer satisfied with just the courtyard, wanted to explore the outside. Coincidentally, Li Yuexi and Granny Lu also wanted to go for a stroll outside, so Gouwazi became their little guide.

While they were having a great time, things were getting a bit complicated at the Luzhou Garrison.

Wei Lang dispatched 5,000 men from Wuzhou and Yanmen Pass. With so many people crammed into the garrison in Luzhou, both accommodation and meals were extremely crowded. Because the grain supplies had not been delivered, they were even having trouble getting three meals a day. Zheng Boyuan had done his best to transfer grain from the Luzhou government office, but with thousands of people here, feeding them suddenly became a problem.

When Xu Di learned of this, he divided these people into three groups. One group trained normally each day, one group patrolled the riverbank, and the other group searched for food around Luzhou, regardless of whether it was something that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, or swam in the water, as well as any edible wild vegetables and fruits. He instructed the cooks to do their best to prepare these things.

In the first few days, everyone was still not quite used to it, but later they started to enjoy it, and the atmosphere in the camp gradually improved.

As for the quiet on the other side, Xu Di thought it was because the Third Prince was dead, and the strategist had no support in the capital. It would be difficult for him to cause trouble, but we can't let our guard down. Who knows if he might want to do something to Luzhou?

Xu Di stood on the cliff, the highest point and the narrowest part of the border river. Just like when Xu Di smuggled himself across the river here last time, the Great Yan also chose this place as the crossing point for their surprise attack on the Great Liang. Unfortunately, the plan was ruined by the landmines that Xu Di planted. He wondered if the Great Yan was still making preparations for crossing the river.

Xu Di gazed at the opposite bank from afar. The riverbank there still bore the marks of the day the landmines had been detonated. Xu Di now needed to prepare for two possibilities. One was that the Great Yan would not invade the Great Liang again, thus ensuring peace between the two countries. The other was that if the Great Yan made a new plan and continued to cross the river from Luzhou or somewhere else, especially from Wuzhou, if the Great Yan launched a desperate attack, it would be quite difficult for the Great Liang to withstand such an attack.

Ma Ming rushed over from Wuzhou and was very happy to see Xu Di. He said, "I heard from the Crown Prince that you have returned from the capital. Since the Crown Prince cannot easily leave Yanmen Pass, he sent me to come and see you."

After Xu Di thanked him, he asked Ma Ming about the current situation in Wuzhou.

Ma Ming's expression was somewhat grim. He said, "The situation is not good. Scouts who scouted the riverbank reported that the Great Yan has reinforced its troops in Wuzhou. I analyzed the situation with the general and concluded that either the Great Yan is going to fight a desperate battle in Wuzhou, or they are preparing a feint attack on Wuzhou, and their real target is actually Lüzhou."

Xu Di nodded and said, "The latter possibility is very likely. Even if Wuzhou is captured, the terrain is inconvenient if we want to continue advancing into the territory of Daliang. But what about Lüzhou now? Before, it would have been difficult to attack because of its complex terrain and mountainous forests. But now it's different. I have built a road that can take you from Lüzhou to Miaozhou in half a day by fast horse and fast boat. Most importantly, it is very close to the Jiangnan region from Miaozhou by water. I think the elite troops of Da Yan should be on the other side of the river."

Judgment is crucial on the battlefield, and Xu Di trusted his judgment. However, he could no longer sneak across to the other side under the cover of night to take a look and explore as he had done before.

Looking at the opposite bank, Ma Ming said, "Young master, why don't we go explore it again?"

Xu Di shook his head and said, "It's one thing for them to underestimate us once, but do you think they'll let us slip past them every time? Besides, their strategist is no ordinary person. We have to be careful in everything we do. Otherwise, if they seize the opportunity, they might actually succeed in launching a surprise attack on Luzhou. Alright, when you leave later, take three thousand men with you and leave two thousand for me. I'm going to put on an empty city ploy for them."

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