"Not long ago, at the New Year's court meeting, the King of Yunzhong stood up to publicly support the King of Chenliu, and confronted the faction of the Grand General and the Commandant of the Capital Region."

"Although His Majesty ultimately designated the Prince of Hongnong as the Crown Prince, the Grand General and the Prince of Yunzhong are now mortal enemies throughout the court and the country!"

"Rumor has it that the Prince of Yunzhong was demoted to Shuofang to serve as his fief six months ago, and it was Empress He who was behind it!"

In an instant, many things swirled in Li Ying's mind.

He was merely a neutral party, content to simply be the Prefect of Henan and remain loyal to the Emperor.

Unexpectedly, they were drawn into the factional struggles within the imperial court.

Judging from what happened last night, it must have been the King of Yunzhong who killed the General's younger brother, He Miao, which led to their conflict.

Li Ying unknowingly joined the general's ranks and got on the Crown Prince's side.

"My lord, even if we are like fish in a pond right now, we can't let them do whatever they want to us!"

At this moment, the subordinates who had previously urged him to pursue were already terrified and panicked upon seeing the imposing and powerful enemy cavalry.

He wanted Li Ying to capture the assassin and gain merit, so that he himself could also rise in rank and benefit from it.

Unexpectedly, the assassins they were looking for were accompanied by so many well-equipped cavalry.

If the other side wanted to kill them, it would be as easy as turning their hand. They would have been beheaded before they even had a chance to rise in rank and make a fortune with Li Ying.

So, seeing the wind blowing, he hurriedly advised Li Ying, "Why don't we take advantage of their rest and quickly enter the Mengjin ferry fortress, join forces and defend the wall together? Only then will we have a chance of survival."

"If we stand here in formation to protect ourselves, the lives of you and your three hundred brothers will be in the hands of others."

Li Ying knew this perfectly well: "We can't act rashly now. They just told me to get out of the way!"

“If we make a move, they will surely think we have ulterior motives, and we will end up losing our lives.”

"Sir, aren't we just sitting here waiting to die?" the subordinate said with a bitter face.

"There's no other way! We can only pray they won't attack us!"

Li Ying also looked worried.

However, the Marquis of Hequ and his hundred soldiers in the Mengjin Ferry fortress did not experience the same pressure as Li Ying.

With their high walls and fortifications, they had a natural advantage against cavalry, allowing them to sit back and relax.

Now, they absolutely will not open the door to let these soldiers in.

As soon as the gate opens, before these infantrymen can even enter, the cavalry from the hillside will rush in first, and they will be the ones who suffer!

Better to die for your fellow Daoist than for this one!

They looked at the three hundred infantrymen on the plain with pitiful expressions, while secretly gloating.

......

At Mengjin Ferry, a mysterious and subtle atmosphere permeated the air.

At this moment, the winter sun has risen in the distance.

Further away, a large number of vehicles and people were heading towards Mengjin Ferry.

They were merchants and common people who were about to cross the river at Mengjin.

They could see soldiers here, but none of them dared to approach. They watched from a distance, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

Liu Wei stood atop the hill, unmoved, his face as calm as still water.

Wang Fangyi was very confused; what was Liu Wei's intention?

The three of them met just now and already knew each other's situation.

On the Beiman Mountain side, a hundred guards and eighteen Yan Yun cavalry killed three hundred enemy soldiers and successfully withdrew from the north slope.

Meanwhile, the blind eunuch Du, who stayed behind to guard the Beimangshan Palace, was temporarily placed in a safe place and will return after the storm has passed.

Following behind Wang Fangyi and Yan Da were 1,300 infantry and cavalrymen, about five or six miles behind them.

They've been here for a while now, so they should catch up soon.

The enemy force from Luoyang consisted of only three hundred infantrymen, but it is possible that Liu Wei cleverly used He Yong to transmit false information, and He Jin, who had been pursued to Fuxian, would soon realize something was wrong and immediately turn his horse around to Mengjin.

In this case, Liu Wei and his men would face 1,300 infantry and cavalry coming from the southwest and 1,000 infantrymen coming from the southeast.

Behind them is the fortress at Mengjin Ferry.

It seems they are besieged on three sides and are in a deep predicament!

Therefore, Wang Fangyi was unsure how to deal with the current situation.

"Commander Wang, what do you think?"

Liu Wei seemed confident. Instead of answering Wang Fangyi's question, he asked a question in return.

"With fortresses ahead and pursuers behind, my subordinates believe we have already regrouped. Let's take advantage of our cavalry's mobility and head east or west along the Yellow River to find another crossing point!"

Wang Fangyi shared his thoughts.

Liu Wei remained noncommittal, then turned to Yan Da and asked, "Commander Yan, what do you think?"

"My lord, I agree with Commander Wang's suggestion. The enemy is currently very powerful, so we should avoid their sharp edge for now."

"However, if our lord wishes to fight, we will not hesitate to stain the yellow sand with our blood."

A bloodthirsty fervor flashed in Yan Da's eyes.

They hadn't shed blood for a month, and their small test on the northern slope of Beiman Mountain wasn't enough to satisfy them.

Upon hearing Yan Da's words, Wang Fangyi immediately replied, "My lord, it is not that I am afraid of war, but rather that I have kept your words firmly in mind: in a foreign land, preserving our strength is of paramount importance!"

Hahaha!

Liu Wei laughed upon hearing this: "Both commanders' words make sense, and I have not blamed them in the slightest."

"However, Commander Wang said we should preserve our strength, but the other side keeps sticking to us and refuses to let go. The only way we can make them give up is to weaken their private forces!"

"What does our lord mean..." The two were completely bewildered.

"If Father Emperor knew that He Jin was mobilizing the imperial army near the capital to hunt me down, he would absolutely not agree! And Empress Dowager Dong and the Ten Attendants would take this opportunity to launch an attack on He Jin in court!"

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