Three days later, a scout reported that the allied forces of Dayuan and Xiqiang had withdrawn their troops.

"I don't believe they can just leave so easily. Are they up to something again?" Qin Shen said, his face full of disbelief upon hearing the news.

Lu Yanzheng pondered for a moment and said, "Let the spies continue to keep an eye on things, so we can be informed of any unusual activity."

"General, please rest assured, our spies are all well-trained. Without your orders, they won't come back; they'll definitely try to find out more information," Qin Shen said confidently.

He was willing to make that guarantee, since the scout battalion was under his command.

However, Lu Yanzheng thought more deeply. Although the enemy suffered heavy casualties this time, they had already blown up the city gates. If they continued to attack, the border troops might not be able to defend against it.

But they withdrew their troops after waiting for a few days, which seemed rather strange.

After returning to his residence, Lu Yanzheng told her about it.

"Do you think they're plotting something?" Jiang Qinyu pondered. "Is it possible that their food and water supplies are running low? And the rocket launcher's destructive power was too great for them; perhaps they need to go back and recuperate?"

And you know what? She guessed part of the reason.

The defeat a few days ago instilled fear in the combined forces of Dayuan and Xiqiang. Moreover, since the death of their commander, the Dayuan forces that were sent afterward have been somewhat cautious, and they dare not let their troops charge forward during battles.

Seeing that the border troops had such powerful weapons, the people of Dayuan kept clamoring to withdraw their troops.

The situation in the Western Qiang region was similar, except that the Fifth Prince of Western Qiang suppressed their behavior, preventing them from openly revealing it.

In addition, they now have no water, and they have killed thousands of horses, drinking horse blood and even urine. The conditions are extremely harsh, and no soldier is willing to waste any more time here.

If we can't win a fight and we have no food or water, why not withdraw our troops?

The fifth prince of Western Qiang originally planned to find experts to infiltrate the city, capture Jiang Qinyu, and then continue the attack, but the emperor of Western Qiang issued an order to recall him.

On the return journey, Yu Hanyan was left with the Fifth Prince of Xiqiang and rode in a carriage drawn by six horses, speeding towards Xiqiang.

“Your Highness, there’s no need to worry,” Yu Hanyan said, patting the Fifth Prince’s chest. “Once we return and make full preparations, the border town will surely be yours.”

The Fifth Prince of Western Qiang's expression was uncertain. After a long while, he grabbed Yu Hanyan's chin and said, "Tell me everything you know about that woman, or else..."

“Your Highness, I have a grudge against her, so I will naturally tell you everything I know. You can rest assured.” Yu Hanyan mustered her courage and grasped the hand of the Fifth Prince of Xiqiang. “Other things may not be of much use to Your Highness, but she has two children…”

After listening to Yu Hanyan's words, the Fifth Prince of Western Qiang had many thoughts, but ultimately kept one to himself.

Since we can't break through, let's try another method.

Jiang Qinyu, is it? He wants this woman.

...

Three days later, Lu Yanzheng received another message: the Dayuan and Xiqiang allied forces had broken up and gone back to their respective homes.

"It seems they really have withdrawn their troops!" Qin Shen clicked his tongue in amazement. "I thought that damned Fifth Prince of the Western Qiang would not rest until he had breached our border city! He's nothing special."

Lu Yanzheng glanced at him and said, "If we really break through, you won't have the chance to say anything here."

Qin Shen chuckled and said, "I was just saying something casually. By the way, General," he quickly changed the subject, "is Madam going back to Dingshui Village in a few days?"

"You care a lot?" Lu Yanzheng raised an eyebrow, his fist already clenched.

Qin Shen quickly waved his hand and said, "No, I just wanted to thank Madam in person. You said our sweet potato harvest was bountiful, even higher than the previous yield in Dingshui Village. Isn't that all thanks to Madam? I definitely have to thank her properly!"

Hearing him mention this, Lu Yanzheng couldn't help but smile and a beautiful curve appeared on his lips.

The sweet potatoes planted in the border town in the past few days have been harvested one after another, with a total yield of 800,000 jin!

Using 10,000 jin of sweet potatoes as seed, we harvested 800,000 jin, which was unimaginable in the past.

Everyone involved in sweet potato cultivation, including those who knew about the yield, was ecstatic.

If his status allowed, Lu Yanzheng would also like to go crazy.

The 800,000 jin of sweet potatoes gave the people of the border town hope of having enough to eat. In addition, Jiang Qinyu brought rice and winter wheat seeds that Village Chief Li and his team had previously sent. The hearts of every person and soldier in the border town were filled with excitement.

In the past, when these ordinary soldiers were asked to farm, they wouldn't disobey orders, but they weren't very motivated.

Even before Lu Yanzheng has given any orders, a bunch of people are already scrambling to help clear wasteland and plant crops.

Their exact words were: "Most of our border town is flat land, but it's too barren. If we could cultivate it all and plant high-yield crops like sweet potatoes, then we wouldn't have to pitifully rely on the government's meager stipends anymore."

Because of this, after the city walls were repaired and the defensive fortifications were completed, the remaining 70,000 to 80,000 border troops began to take turns reclaiming wasteland and farming.

These words were naturally overheard by the Seventh Prince, who was temporarily residing in the General's Mansion.

But Jiang Qinyu noticed that the Seventh Prince had become much quieter lately.

Just like now, she specially took out some fresh vegetables from the system to cook, such as spicy chicken cubes, pork belly strips, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried pork with green peppers, etc. Uncle Chen and the others were all secretly swallowing their saliva and whispering together.

"My goodness! So many delicious dishes, where did you get them, Madam?"

"Oh my god, Lao Zhao, give me a hand! In all my years, I've never seen a dish more hearty than Madam's! It's all meat!"

"All you can see is meat, can't you see anything else? Smell this, isn't it pungent? Do you even know what kind of dish this is? I suspect Madam used something we don't have here..."

Old Zhao is a cook, so he's quite sensitive to seasonings and such, and he tends to overthink things, which leads to some speculation.

However, the Seventh Prince did not say a word among them, only silently sitting down when Jiang Qinyu invited them to eat.

Seeing this, Lu Yanzheng exchanged a glance with Jiang Qinyu.

"Seventh Prince, these are all home-style dishes prepared by my wife. I hope they suit your taste," Lu Yanzheng said politely first.

He had been busy with military and field affairs these past few days and had no time or energy to properly entertain the seventh prince until today.

Uncle Zhao was going to cook, but Jiang Qinyu was a little hungry and thought she would splurge on a meal and cook a good dish for everyone to try.

Originally, Uncle Chen and the others were naturally unwilling to sit down, but Lu Yanzheng forced everyone to sit, and the dishes Jiang Qinyu prepared smelled so delicious that they simply couldn't resist...