Ma Ming looked at Xu Di with surprise and doubt, and advised, "Young Master, leaving you two thousand men is too few. You should leave all five thousand men with you."

Xu Di shook his head and said, "Brother Ma, Wuzhou is different from Lüzhou. The terrain between Wuzhou and the border river is flat, so only by having an advantage in numbers can we withstand the attack of the Great Yan. Lüzhou is the opposite. The terrain here is treacherous, and some places have been well-defended. A few people are enough. You should take your men back. I estimate that it won't be long before the Great Yan prepares to attack."

Ma Ming wanted to try to persuade him, but Xu Di waved his hand, preventing Ma Ming from speaking. Just then, Zheng Boyuan came over and said from afar, "Brother, General Ma, we just hunted a wild boar on the mountain. The cooks have already slaughtered it. We're going to stew the pork. Come over quickly."

Ma Ming agreed, and Xu Di looked at Zheng Boyuan and whispered to Ma Ming, "Tell your heir to be careful. It seems that the capital is about to make a move against the Wang family. Under no circumstances should the heir be allowed to go to the southwest from Yanmen Pass. Even if he falls off his horse and injures his leg, he must be refused to go."

Ma Ming stared at Xu Di in shock. Xu Di nodded to him and strode towards the camp. It took Ma Ming a long time to calm his fear. He felt as if he were walking on cotton, lightly following behind Xu Di at a distance. His mind was in turmoil, but one thing he was clear about was that Xu Di had not sent a letter or his own people to Yanmen Pass to deliver the message. Instead, he had asked Ma Ming to deliver the message to the Crown Prince Wei Lang. This showed that Xu Di did not want anyone to know about this news.

No one knew the details of what was happening in the capital. When they came from Yanmen Pass, the Crown Prince had instructed Ma Ming to find Xu Di and inquire about the situation in the capital. After receiving this message from Xu Di, Ma Ming disregarded everything else. After eating, he mustered his men and headed towards Wuzhou. The journey from Wuzhou to Yanmen Pass was a day and a night at full speed. After settling the men he brought back, Ma Ming instructed his deputy to prepare for defense, and then, with a few close attendants, he mounted a fast horse and rode towards Yanmen Pass.

Xu Di has been analyzing the situation carefully these past few days. He believes that since the Great Yan has lost the Third Prince, the biggest backer of the Great Liang, the most likely scenario is that they will cause trouble in the southwest and then have the court send Wei Lang, the most powerful general of the Great Liang, to the southwest to stabilize the situation. They will then take this opportunity to break through the Great Liang's defenses.

Xu Di then sent a message to Wei Lang, in order to prevent Wei Lang from leaving the Yanmen Pass-Luzhou line and to ensure the defense of that line.

The Great Yan had prepared for this attack countless times. Although the landmines from the last attack made them wary, nothing could compare to the benefits that invading the Great Liang would bring them. For these benefits, the Great Yan would not easily give up the invasion that it had been preparing for for countless years.

Ma Ming came to deliver provisions this time. Once he returns to Wuzhou with three thousand men, with so much food in Luzhou, they can finally proceed with training step by step, implementing the training plans formulated by Xu Di one by one.

Soon, news came from Wuzhou that the Great Yan army had assembled and launched an attack on Wuzhou. Thanks to Ma Ming and his men's desperate defense, the Great Yan managed to prevent the city from falling. After receiving the news, Xu Di strengthened the patrols along the river, but nothing happened. Zheng Boyuan was puzzled and said to Xu Di, "Brother, do you think we've misunderstood? Is Great Yan really targeting Wuzhou this time?"

Xu Di looked through his binoculars at the tranquil opposite bank of the river, chuckled twice, and said, "No, this is just a feint. Don't worry, there will be at least two more attacks to lull us into a false sense of security. Our Luzhou will always be their target."

Zheng Boyuan had never heard the story of the boy who cried wolf, but Xu Di did. He had talked a lot with the person he captured at sea in Penglai, and now Xu Di had a guess: this strategist of the Great Yan was the leader of the training organization. Not only within the territory of the Great Liang, but also within the Great Yan, the territory of the Northern Di, and even in some deep mountains and forests in the southwest, this person had left behind people. What Xu Di couldn't understand the most was where such a huge organization got the money to support its operation.

Xu Di had inquired about whether the late Crown Prince had left behind any treasure troves, but after a long period of inquiry, he did not obtain any information about the late Crown Prince's treasure troves. However, he did have an unexpected gain.

When the late emperor punished the Zhu family, the men were beheaded and the women were sold into prostitution. Except for one concubine, Zhu, everyone else committed suicide. Xu Di has never given up on inquiring about the Zhu family over the years. Zhu's father was the former Crown Prince's tutor. Xu Di has always believed that the former Crown Prince left Zhu with people. After all, Zhu was already pregnant with the former Crown Prince's child at that time. Even if the former Crown Prince couldn't think about Zhu's sake due to the situation, he should at least think about the child in Zhu's womb.

After learning that Aunt Zhu had switched the child, Xu Di began to inquire about the Zhu family. After all these years, he actually found out something quite interesting.

Aunt Zhu's grandfather was the top scholar in the imperial examination that year. He was an outstanding talent. When he was riding through the streets, he was spotted by a princess and married to her. The two were a harmonious and loving couple, and were well-known in the capital.

However, the Zhu family has a secret: Aunt Zhu's grandfather was not her parents' child. Aunt Zhu's grandfather's parents were her grandfather's mother, who was also his wet nurse. And Aunt Zhu's grandfather's true identity was a descendant of a prince from the previous dynasty who had been separated from his family.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!