Feng Cheng always felt that he was late and blamed himself for it, so he stayed in Duzhou for a while. On the surface, he reorganized his troops and gathered their strength, while secretly sending people to search for Ye Yunfeng's whereabouts.

——Except for him and a few of his confidants, no one knew that Ye Yunfeng was still alive.

The reason why he could tell that the unrecognizable corpse was not Ye Yunfeng was because... the sword on that person was not the one he had given to Ye Yunfeng.

Feng Cheng was both surprised and happy, but he didn't dare show it. He just had the body collected and sent back to the capital with great fanfare, so that everyone would think that the dead person was Ye Yunfeng.

But he always held a glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Is there any news?" Feng Cheng asked.

Several people looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Too many people died in the battle that day. After the Nanhu troops withdrew, we have been cleaning up the battlefield, but..."

The soldiers of the Nanhu who died in battle were buried on the spot, and their own people tried their best to transport them back to the city. Even if they could not be sent back to their hometown, they would erect monuments and tombs as a way of comforting them.

But Ye Yunfeng was not among those people.

Feng Cheng asked again, "Have you checked it carefully?"

The speaker sighed and shook his head. "We've searched both sides of the river, but there's no sign of him. General, could it be..."

He didn't dare say the rest of the words, but everyone understood.

Could it be that Ye Yunfeng is really dead? Is their current search in vain?

Feng Cheng didn't explain too much, only ordered, "Keep looking. Even if you can't find them, you can still find out where the Nanhu people are."

Speaking of this, everyone became excited.

"General, our men did discover the whereabouts of the Nanhu. After they finished fighting, seeing that they couldn't capture Duzhou after a long siege, they simply gave up and chose to withdraw. However, they also suffered heavy casualties, and their advance was slow. In addition, our men have been constantly chasing and intercepting them, so they haven't returned to Nanhu yet. Moreover, for some reason, they seem to have internal conflicts. I heard that several generals were arguing fiercely, and the atmosphere was very tense."

Feng Cheng scoffed, "They attacked first, and now they want to run away after the fight. How could that be that easy?! Since they dared to attack first, they should be prepared to die here!"

He bandaged the wound, then stood up and walked to the map.

——This was drawn in a very short time after Ye Yunfeng came to Duzhou and personally led people to survey the terrain.

Feng Cheng pointed at a certain spot above.

"Tuoba Shan is blinded by his own greed and determined to avenge his brother at all costs, raising an army to attack! But by doing so, he is also putting the entire Southern Hu in danger! He doesn't even consider that his subordinates, the ministers and soldiers under him, will not resent him for such reckless behavior."

Everyone could see clearly that Tuoba Shan wanted Ye Yunfeng's life.

As the king, he does have the power, but others are not fools.

Starting a war rashly is tantamount to sending his soldiers to their deaths!

How could they be willing?

After experiencing the previous war, they suffered heavy losses and internal conflicts were on the verge of breaking out!

"Seeking your own death!"

A soldier nearby asked, "General, if they choose to continue the fight and launch a surprise attack on Xiacheng, what should we do?"

Feng Cheng is not in Xicheng now, so there are still some hidden dangers.

Feng Cheng sneered, "The remnants of the army are defeated, and the morale of the army is low. What is there to fear?"

Several people exchanged glances. Although they knew that what he said made sense, they still couldn't completely dispel their worries.

"If King Yannan can send reinforcements as soon as possible, we won't be afraid. But... I heard that the rebels are quite powerful, sweeping through their territory with unstoppable force. Some garrisons have even surrendered their cities! They're using the pretext of restoring the Great Zhou, but this is truly deceptive. It's going to be difficult to deal with them."

"We can only rely on ourselves. I'm afraid King Yannan won't be able to send troops in the short term."

How could Feng Cheng not know the pros and cons of this?

but……

"Afeng was able to lead 3,000 soldiers to defend Duzhou to the death, so why can't we do the same?"

Feng Cheng was looking at the map and thinking about the next arrangements when suddenly some soldiers rushed in quickly.

"General! Urgent news!"

"Enter!"

Feng Cheng raised his head, looked at the hurried soldiers, and asked in a deep voice,

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"General! For some unknown reason, the Nanhu group suddenly changed direction and headed towards Xiacheng!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

"What!?"

"Are they really going to attack Xicheng?"

"I knew these sons of bitches were always up to no good! Seeing the general stationed in Duzhou, they didn't dare to fight head-on, but instead planned to launch a surprise attack on Xiecheng! Ugh!"

"General! Xiacheng's defenses are weak right now. If the Southern Hu attack with all their might, we'll be in imminent danger! What should we do?"

Everyone looked at Feng Cheng with anxious and worried expressions.

Feng Cheng was very calm, and figured out the answer in a short time. He shook his head firmly:

"They are not going to attack the city, but to take a detour back to Nanhu!"

Everyone was stunned.

Feng Cheng said, "They've already suffered defeats before, with heavy casualties. Their morale is low, and they're a disorganized bunch. They shouldn't be a threat! I believe they're well aware of this. Although I'm not in Xicheng right now, the defenders there are quite experienced and have a strong force. If we really faced them, the Nanhu wouldn't be sure of victory."

He drew a line on the map neatly.

"Instead of risking a fight, it's better to take a detour and return to glory and wealth! As long as they bypass the waterway through Xicheng and completely get rid of our people, they can return to Nanhu as quickly as possible. This! Is their real purpose!"

Everyone understood.

"These Nanhu people are really cunning! How do you plan to deal with them, General?"

Feng Cheng's eyes were sharp and his words were murderous.

"Track them with all your might! Make sure they never return!"

…

At the same time as sending the troops, Feng Cheng ordered someone to send a message back to Xicheng, informing them of the plans of the Nanhu people and asking them to be prepared.

But he soon discovered that this approach did not work.

Because the Nanhu actually divided their troops into two groups, one by land and one by water, and advanced separately!

The mountains are rugged and the woods are shady, so walking is extremely slow.

But traveling by water is several times faster than traveling by land!

"They certainly couldn't have guessed that we had already prepared boats by the river long before we sent out our troops. We only need to wait until we defeat Duzhou and kill Ye Yunfeng before we can set off on our return journey!"

On the river, several boats were connected end to end, sailing along the wide water.

Several Nanhu generals wearing heavy armor stood on the bow deck, chatting and laughing.

"Master Shui is truly a brilliant and resourceful man, able to come up with such a plan. We can simply send a small group of men through the mountains to divert their attention, making them think we're planning a detour. This will immediately draw away the majority of their forces. I'm afraid they'll never guess that we're taking the direct route by water! Naturally, our path will be unimpeded!" (End of this chapter)