Cheng Yun took the letter, read it, nodded, "It is a letter indeed from His Majesty."
Wanniang found her heart pounding. "So, will you do as the letter says?"
No wonder she asked so directly, for she was worried. The leader of Nanchu King’s Jinglu troops, Hen Zhong, had been turned traitor. Now she was looking at Cheng Yun, unsure of his loyalty.
Fortunately, Cheng Yun nodded. "Indeed, His Majesty’s orders are not to be disobeyed."
Wanniang breathed a sigh of relief and immediately instructed him, "You should move quickly, take your troops and block their path. You know Master Xie, right? He brought up the Princess, both as her teacher and her father. He can’t be taken to Dawei. If he is taken to Dawei, it will not be as easy to rescue him."
"Easy to save now?" Cheng Yun shook his head, "It’s not easy now either."
Wanniang retorted, "Nevertheless, it’s better than him being taken to Dawei."
Cheng Yun looked at Wanniang. "You come with me first, the King has ordered me in the letter to cooperate with the princess to rescue Xie Yuan, but the situation is not clear as the letter is too short. Tell me more."
Wanniang nodded, "Alright."
So, Wanniang followed Cheng Yun into Chixia Valley.
The valley was deep and quiet, with layers of forest blocking the way. Half an hour later, they reached the encampment of fifty thousand soldiers.
Wanniang had to admit, it was well hidden.
In a camp, there was one Commanding General Residence. After Cheng Yun led Wanniang into the Residence, he asked her for the details concerning Dawei’s secret agent, Xie Yuan, as well as the Nangong family. Then they discussed how to rescue Xie Yuan.
Wanniang recounted how Xie Yuan attempted to assassinate Nangong Yin, how he was caught by Dawei’s secret agent, and how he ended up in the hands of Dawei’s people. She also mentioned how Nangong’s men had been protecting him along the way, making it impossible for them to rescue him.
Cheng Yun inquired about the situation outside. From the information he could gather in the Chixia Valley, the king had already left the royal capital. The Nangong family was in hot pursuit, even Ye Xiang Residence had left the royal capital. The troops of the Nangong family and Ye Xiang Residence had begun to fight. About the more detailed information, he couldn’t find out.
Wanniang replied: "As far as I know, His Majesty and Lord Thursday were initially trying to come to West Ridge, but when they reached the Lingshui River, they were intercepted by Nangong Zheng. Therefore, His Majesty and Lord Thursday had no choice but to detour through the Zhangdu Forest and return to Daliang."
Cheng Yun was shocked. "His Majesty was here before?"
"About two hundred miles away from West Ridge, but he didn’t make it." Wanniang said.
Cheng Yun suddenly understood, "No wonder the Nangong family was painstakingly searching the region around the Lingshui River a month ago. They had even sealed off the entire Qi Huan Mountain and Dongshui ferry crossing. At that time, I knew something wasn’t right, but those people quickly withdrew. When I sent out people to investigate, they said the Nangong Family were chasing after someone. Turns out they were after the king. How ironic."
Wanniang reminded him, "General Cheng, time is urgent now. You must mobilize your troops as soon as possible. We cannot afford to delay any further."
Cheng Yun nodded, "I know, but have you considered what we would do if they killed Xie Yuan in panic, without having a foolproof rescue plan?"
Wanniang’s face immediately changed color.
"Calm down. You came to see me quickly, at least you came one day ahead of Dawei’s secret agent. This one day is enough. We will now discuss how to rescue him."
Wanniang nodded. She has traveled for a day and a night without rest, and switched horses three times. Therefore, she arrived a day earlier than expected. After all, the secret agents of Dawei, who were not in a hurry like her, walked in broad daylight towards Dawei. With the protection of the Nangong Family in Nanchu, they acted as if they were walking on an unclaimed land.
Therefore, Cheng Yun summoned his subordinates to discuss the matter. Wanniang and the people she brought joined them.
The entire team deliberated for half an hour at the Commanding General Residence, and finally reached a decision. Cheng Yun’s deputy, Vice General Feng Sheng, was to take forty thousand troops and blockade Qi Huan Mountain, which was the only way to Dawei. At the same time, they will contact Zhao Zhan, the guard of Guyuan County, and cooperate with Ye Xiang Residence’s power in Guyuan County to block all passages of Qi Huan Mountain and trap Dawei’s secret agent entirely in Nanchu Territory.
Once they had blocked the way, the real problem of the rescue would be the thorniest one.
Cheng Yun felt they should first deal with the Nangong family. Since Dawei’s secret agent didn’t kill Xie Yuan, they must value him, aiming for something big. If such intentions existed, negotiations could be facilitated and they wouldn’t easily destroy Xie Yuan. However, the Nangong Family was different. Xie Yuan had killed Nangong Yin, and the Nangong family probably harbored deep hatred for Xie Yuan. The reason they had not acted might have been their fear of Dawei’s Crown Prince, Yuan Zhao.
Therefore, Vice General Feng Sheng was only responsible for blocking the way and temporarily avoided direct conflict with Dawei’s secret agent. They would first trap Dawei’s secret agent in Nanchu, and wait for the arrival of the Princess before making a decision. Otherwise, having a direct conflict may force Dawei’s secret agent to kill Xie Yuan out of desperation, which would lead to a disastrous outcome.
Cheng Yun himself would lead ten thousand soldiers, accompanying Wanniang, to box the Nangong family’s men before rescuing Xie Yuan.
If all the people in the Nangong family were captured, would the power of the Nangong family be hesitant about killing Xie Yuan?
Wanniang agreed with Cheng Yun’s thinking. Dawei’s secret agent did not kill Xie Yuan for a reason - to use him as a threat against the princess in order to gain benefits. If a fight broke out directly with Dawei’s secret agent, Xie Yuan could be killed out of desperation - which went against their original intention to save Xie Yuan.
Therefore, to rescue Xie Yuan, they had to deal with the Nangong Family first, preventing them from harming Xie Yuan during the chaos.
Given the immediate urgency, there wasn’t a better solution. Wanniang agreed to Cheng Yun’s suggestion. Once they had discussed and reached an agreement, arrangements were immediately made according to the plan. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
They contacted the Guard of Guyuan County, and the fifty thousand troops moved out from Chixia Valley. Meanwhile, Cheng Yun and Wanniang took a detour to intercept the people from the Nangong Family.
Upon receiving the message, the Guard of Guyuan County, Cu Cheng, didn’t hesitate. He instantly took his men to cooperate with Cheng Yun, blocking all passages.
Therefore, when Dawei’s secret agents arrived at Qi Huan Mountain two days later, they were stopped by the soldiers and kept outside of Qi Huan Mountain.
The people from Dawei were extremely tense. They presented the Nanchu pass token, but Vice General Feng Sheng did not accept it. He claimed that "His Majesty is missing, suspected to have been kidnapped. Upon receiving orders from Ye Xiang, we are in full lockdown." He also ordered the people of Dawei to get off their horses and carriages for a search.
The people of Dawei were clear about the situation. They had captured Xie Yuan, so naturally, they would not cooperate. If a search was to be conducted and Xie Yuan was taken away, what could they do? They felt secure holding Xie Yuan hostage, and thus, a stalemate ensued.
General Feng’s strategy was not to confront them but to avoid forcing Dawei’s secret agents to kill Xie Yuan out of desperation. He abided by the established plan, negotiating while buying time, until the Princess arrived as Cheng Yun had suggested.
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