Another general, also clad in armor but appearing more rugged and imposing than Lu Yuan, arrived with his own troop and asked Lu Yuan, "What happened? Do you need help?"
As the general asked questions, he glanced for a moment in the direction in which Cheng Liang and the others had been led away, and felt that he vaguely recognized a face in the distance.
Lu Yuan's face clearly showed some disdain as he said, "They're just a few petty thieves, how could we dare trouble General Tuoba!"
The general, seemingly aware that he was not well-liked, began by praising, "I have long heard that the young master of Dragon Tiger City is young and promising, brave and skilled in battle, with the strength to hold off ten thousand men. Indeed, seeing is believing. Even when capturing a few petty thieves on the street, he insists on doing it himself. No wonder he is known as the number one young general in Dongning. He is truly admirable!"
Unexpectedly, Lu Yuan remained unmoved.
However, the man continued defiantly, "But now, no matter what, Young Master, you must face reality. You and I are now on the same side. You are the commander-in-chief, and I am the deputy commander-in-chief. We have a common enemy, which is to work together to take down Western Qin. If there is anything you need, please speak frankly, Young Master Lu, and don't hesitate!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately showed extreme contempt and said, "Hmph, I, the young master, would not stoop to associating with a slave of a fallen nation. Although I do not know what means you used to obtain your current position, you had better put away your inappropriate thoughts. Otherwise, if you reveal any incriminating evidence and fall into my hands, even if your backer is the Heavenly King himself, don't blame me for being impolite to you."
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze curled the corners of his lips, about to say something more.
"Walk!"
Before the other party could speak again, Lu Yuan left with his men, leaving those words behind.
His subordinates, unable to contain their anger, said, "This Lu Yuan is nothing but a mere child, barely out of his teens, yet he dares to speak so disrespectfully to the Crown Prince. With 200,000 troops gathered, we could have attacked Western Qin long ago. It's Lu Yuan who's hesitating, so why don't we lead the troops ourselves…"
Tuoba Ze stretched out a hand in mid-air, interrupting his subordinate, and said, "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. This may be our last chance. We should endure it for now and see how long he can be so arrogant!"
Watching Lu Yuan's departing figure, Tuoba Ze smiled, but his smile was chilling.
"open!"
"open!"
On the other side, Cheng Liang and his group struggled all the way before being led to Lu Yuan's tent by his men.
After entering the tent, Lu Yuan ordered, "Go and change these prisoners into our battle robes!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang immediately glared at him and loudly refused, "Don't even think about it! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Even if we die today, we will never be prisoners and turn our swords and spears against our own compatriots!"
Lu Yuan waved his hand, and one of his men went out to continue carrying out the orders.
Lu Yuan chuckled lightly, sat down, and boiled a pot of water while saying, "I know General Cheng is of noble character and would rather die than surrender. But since you are so principled, then don't fall into my hands. However, if you insist on seeking death, perhaps I can hand you over to the deputy commander who is in charge of attacking your Western Qin with me? The deputy commander is particularly skilled in interrogation, and I believe you are familiar with him."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Vice Commander? Who is that?"
The water was boiling, and Lu Yuan, while brewing tea, said in a seemingly nonchalant tone, "General, you should be very familiar with this man. He is none other than Tuoba Ze, the former eldest prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, who was trampled to pieces by your iron cavalry!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang froze, feeling as if his heart had stopped for a moment, before exclaiming in utter astonishment, "It's him..."
"Utterly foolish, they were discovered long ago but didn't even realize it."
In fact, Tuoba Ze had already discovered them when they first started to gather together.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan was nearby and managed to take them away before they could.
If they really fall into Tuoba Ze's hands, there's no doubt they'll meet a bad end.
At this moment, Cheng Liang finally realized what was happening, clasped his hands in a fist and said sincerely, "So it was Young Master Lu who saved us just now. Thank you, Young Master Lu!"
"sit!"
Lu Yuan invited Cheng Liang to sit down and then pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea in front of Cheng Liang.
He said, "If you want to live, you'll all have to listen to me from now on!"
Cheng Liang hesitated for a moment before speaking first, insisting, "I'm sorry, but no matter what, we cannot be prisoners. Besides, I... I have very important things to do and really cannot stay here."
Seeing that Cheng Liang hesitated several times while speaking, it seemed that he was deliberately avoiding and hiding something.
Lu Yuan was also quite puzzled, so he asked, "There's something I want to ask you. What time is it now? Why are you still completely unprepared in your border areas? Our army has 200,000 troops pressing in this time. What exactly is Prince Qin Xuanyuan Han up to?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang became anxious and hurriedly said, "How could we be unprepared? We have long been prepared for war, but we did not want to give others a reason to say that this war was started by our Western Qin, so we have delayed taking action!"
Lu Yuan thought about it carefully and said, "No, this young master has already ordered people to sneak into the city many times to conduct a thorough investigation, and we have indeed not found any special arrangements! Are you lying?"
At this thought, Lu Yuan suddenly had a premonition, so he pressed Cheng Liang again: "Hurry up and tell me what happened? If you don't tell the truth, I, the young master, will immediately order my troops to launch a full-scale attack on Western Qin!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang immediately became anxious and raised his voice to stop him, saying, "No!"
Lu Yuan shouted, "Then speak quickly, my patience is limited!"
At this very moment, with his master out of contact and his country in peril, the truth is in his hands—to speak or not to speak.
"I……"
"I……"
Cheng Liang remained hesitant and stammering, unsure of what to do next...
Seeing this, Lu Yuan decided to give him, and himself, one last chance to make a decision: "Issue my order: prepare for battle immediately..."
Hesitant and indecisive.
Finally, Cheng Liang steeled himself, closed his eyes, and revealed the truth: "My lord has disappeared!"
Lu Yuan was utterly stunned when he heard this.
"What did you say?!"
"King Xuanyuan Han of Qin..."
"The King of Qin has disappeared?!"
"What exactly is going on?"
A dignified, seven-foot-tall, passionate man like Cheng Liang was so anxious he was almost in tears.
"His Highness disappeared just a few days after we arrived here..."
Upon hearing Cheng Liang's words, Lu Yuan froze on the spot, motionless, letting the boiling tea churn right before his eyes.
Cheng Liang was extremely anxious: "Therefore, I cannot stay here. I must go find my prince. The Western Qin Kingdom can do without anyone else, but it cannot do without the prince."
It took Lu Yuan an unknown amount of time before he slowly came to his senses.
But with a hopeful look on her face, she asked again to confirm: "So you're saying that the King of Qin went out because he saw our princess here, and then never came back?"
Cheng Liang nodded.
Lu Yuan then asked, "After the princess returned to Western Qin from the grasslands, did she never return to the Qin Prince's residence again?"
Cheng Liang shook his head.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "That's right! I heard that your prince has married a new woman, from some academy. They were childhood sweethearts, and their relationship was innocent and pure. That so-called princess is better off not being a princess!"
Cheng Liang explained, "Don't make wild guesses. That concubine was forced upon our prince by the Empress Dowager. Our prince has always only had the princess in his heart, but she no longer wants him!"
Lu Yuan was shocked: "What? Our princess doesn't want your prince anymore?"
Cheng Liang nodded.
Lu Yuan immediately started brewing tea again and said with a smile, "That would be perfect. There are plenty of outstanding men in my Dongning Kingdom. What's so great about that Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han? The princess should have looked at the other people around her long ago!"
Seeing Lu Yuan suddenly become overjoyed, Cheng Liang said, "The other people around you? You're not talking about yourself, are you?!"
Lu Yuan glanced at him sideways and said arrogantly, "So what if it is? What is it about me that makes me inferior to your prince?"
Cheng Liang was speechless for a moment, so he picked up the teacup on the table and thought to himself, "So he's another little fanboy of my princess!"
However, considering the current situation in the Dongning court, Lu Yuan was also deeply worried.
"In fact, the Third Prince's power in the Dongning court is growing stronger and stronger, and his actions are becoming increasingly chaotic and reckless. This time, he actually listened to Princess Yongle's recommendation and promoted that wolfish Tuoba Ze to deputy commander. If the two armies go to war and Tuoba Ze leads his men to defect, it will be no laughing matter. If the princess does not return to take charge of the court, Dongning Kingdom may really be doomed."
At this point, Cheng Liang finally understood Lu Yuan's concerns: "No wonder we didn't see any Dongning soldiers harassing the people along the way. Fortunately, it was Young Master Lu who was in charge of leading the troops this time."
Lu Yuan took a sip of tea and said, "Don't be too happy yet. If our two countries are really destined to fight, I, Lu Yuan, will show no mercy. This young master will only listen to the princess!"
Cheng Liang said confidently, "Don't worry, my lady will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!"
Lu Yuan immediately retorted, "What do you mean, 'your empress'? She's not anymore!"
At this moment, the guards brought in the battle robes of the Dongning soldiers.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang still objected: "Could you... not wear it?"
Lu Yuan said, "If you want to attract the attention of my deputy commander, this young master has no objection!"
When Cheng Liang and his group had no choice but to change into their new battle robes, Lu Yuan instructed the guards: "These people will be with you from now on. Take good care of them and never reveal their identities. Anyone who does so will be punished according to military law."
Cheng Liang was extremely grateful: "Thank you, Young Master Lu!"
Lu Yuandao said, "Alright, you owe me, and I'll collect on that later. Right now, the most important thing is to find the princess and your master. Now, tell me the whole story in detail, word for word..."
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