The general stationed at the Xizhou camp was Yuan Ye, Pang Lai's deputy. Yuan Ye's father was also a valiant general who had followed the late emperor and was Pang Lai's sworn brother. However, when Emperor Cheng'an purged the court, the Yuan family was not so lucky and could not escape. Emperor Cheng'an's men used a pretext to confiscate their property, and of the dozens of people in the family, only Yuan Ye remained as the sole heir.
Over the years, Yuan Ye had followed Pang Lai and secretly worked for Xue Shen. This time, in order to deceive Xu Qiao, Xue Shen deliberately took away Pang Lai and other well-known veteran generals, leaving only Yuan Ye behind.
The Yuan family had long been buried in obscurity. Yuan Ye was not well-known and was young, so the Xu family naturally had no idea of his strength. They only thought that Xue Shen was too confident and had taken away the main force of the Xizhou camp, leaving only a hothead to guard the camp.
But in reality, those who know Yuan Ye know that he inherited his father’s super strength. Although he is young, his skills are already on par with veterans like Pang Lai.
Otherwise, Xue Shen would not have entrusted him with the command of the Xizhou camp and the safety of Shen Youying and her child.
However, Xu Qiao and his son were completely unaware of this.
Xu Dalang underestimated his enemy and thought he could use a forged letter to trick Yuan Ye into lowering his guard and opening the gates of the military camp.
Little did they know that Yuan Ye had already been sharpening his sword in the camp: "My godfather and the others went on the expedition with the prince, while I stayed in this camp to wait for the rabbit to come to me. After waiting for so long, a rabbit has finally delivered itself to my door."
Yuan Ye picked up the Meteorite that was placed aside and shook it casually. His eyes gleamed, and he ordered, "Let them in tomorrow. I want to see what tricks they have up their sleeves."
*
Xu Dalang in the city quickly received a reply. After reading the letter, he said to Xu Qiao, "It's done. Yuan Ye has invited Cai Wenxuan to the camp for a private talk."
Xu Dalang had been waiting for this opportunity. Although the Prince of Qin was young and impetuous, he was still a capable commander compared to those incompetent ones. The Xizhou camp was impregnable; a direct assault from the outside would require considerable effort. If the situation dragged on too long, and the people in the Xizhou camp secretly relayed messages to the Prince of Qin, it would be extremely detrimental to their plans. Therefore, Xu Qiao decided to outsmart the situation and break through from within.
"Tomorrow, take four or five skilled men and go with Cai Wenxuan. I'll have Sanlang lead troops to ambush you on the outskirts." Xu Qiao reviewed the entire plan again to ensure there were no oversights: "Have the arrangements been made with Cai Wenxuan?"
Xu Dalang replied, "It's all settled. Chen still has two children in our hands, so he wouldn't dare disobey."
Xu Qiao nodded: "Okay, go ahead."
The following day, Xu Dalang disguised himself and, with a few trusted men posing as Cai Wenxuan's followers, went to the Xizhou camp.
Cai Wenxuan's face was ashen, and he was filled with unease: "For just a few of us, going to the Xizhou camp is tantamount to sending ourselves to our deaths."
Seeing his cowardly appearance, Xu Dalang scoffed and said with a contemptuous expression, "You have always been a coward. If we hadn't thought you were easy to manipulate, the Xu family would never have let a coward like you become our son-in-law."
Cai Wenxuan looked angry but dared not speak out.
Xu Dalang patted his face with the hilt of his knife and warned, "You don't need to pretend with that expression. Yuan Ye won't suspect anything if he sees it. But I advise you not to have any other ideas, otherwise Chen Shi and your manhood will both die."
Cai Wenxuan was pale and could only nod in humiliation.
The group arrived at the Xizhou camp in an inconspicuous carriage. Cai Wenxuan lifted the carriage curtain and showed a token to the camp guards. After verification, the guards quickly allowed them to pass.
The carriage traveled all the way to the camp, and Cai Wenxuan finally got off the carriage, his limbs weak.
Xu Dalang, hunched over, quickly helped him up, his voice becoming obsequious: "Please be careful, sir."
Cai Wenxuan looked shaken. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air before taking the other person's arm and saying, "Let's go in."
Inside the military tent, Yuan Ye was already waiting. Seeing him being helped in by a servant, he looked surprised: "What happened?"
Cai Wenxuan gave a perfunctory bow before patting his chest and saying, "The Xu family—"
He stopped short of speaking, glanced around, and looked at the guards in the tent, saying, "General, this... this matter is of great importance and should not be known by too many people. I'm afraid the news will leak out."
Yuan Ye frowned slightly, and finally ordered the soldiers in the tent to leave, and specifically instructed that no one should stay outside the tent.
Seeing this, Cai Wenxuan finally spoke up: "The Xu family harbors rebellious intentions, and their trip to Tamu Mountain is likely a trap."
Xu Dalang's lips curled up. This was his prior arrangement, intended to distract Yuan Ye's people and make it easier for him to take action.
Since ancient times, the strategy has always been to capture the leader first. The King of Qin took several fierce generals with him, but left a young upstart to keep order. If we kill Yuan Ye first, the Xizhou camp will be leaderless, making it much easier to break through.
He stood behind Cai Wenxuan with his head down, and heard Yuan Ye ask in surprise, "What exactly happened? You didn't explain it clearly in your letter, so tell me quickly!"
Following the instructions given by Xu Dalang, Cai Wenxuan recounted the events to Yuan Ye: "In the past two days, Xizhou has seen a significant influx of refugees, all from Taonan on the border. When I had my officials arrange for the refugees, I also inquired about the situation at Tamushan. However, listening to the refugees' words, I found many suspicious points."
"The refugees all said they hadn't actually seen any Northern Rong soldiers; they had only heard about them from others."
"We had never heard of any remnants of the Northern Rong army roaming around the Tamu Mountain area before. After some thought, I felt something was amiss, so I sent people to investigate further. What we discovered was unexpected: just a few days ago, the Xu family had been in contact with the Tubo..."
Cai Wenxuan's voice grew heavier and his face paled as he spoke. With trembling hands, he pulled a letter from his pocket: "This is a letter I risked my life to have intercepted. It is evidence of the Xu family's conspiracy with the Tibetans to murder the prince. The general will understand as soon as he sees it."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ye got up to take the letter.
Just then, Xu Dalang, who had been standing with his head bowed behind Cai Wenxuan, drew a dagger from his sleeve the instant Yuan Ye bent down to take the letter, and stabbed Yuan Ye in a vital spot—
The moment Yuan Ye bent down was when he was completely unprepared.
Xu Dalang's lips curled up, his eyes radiating murderous intent.
But the dagger he was so confident of piercing Yuan Ye's chest was intercepted halfway by a hand as swift as lightning.
Yuan Ye dodged the dagger with an unexpected move, and at the same time grabbed Xu Dalang's wrist with his five fingers forming a claw. Before Xu Dalang could react, he twisted his right hand and easily broke it.
Xu Dalang stared wide-eyed in disbelief before he was about to scream. But Cai Wenxuan reacted quickly, holding him tightly and covering his mouth.
Xu Dalang finally realized he had fallen into a trap. He glared at Yuan Ye with bloodshot eyes, only to see the other man casually stuff a rag into his mouth and then instruct Cai Wenxuan, "Go and call the rest of the men. After that, you can go back to the city and send a message."
Xu Dalang realized what he was about to do and struggled desperately.
But Yuan Ye simply pinched the back of his neck lightly, and the man passed out. He summoned the guards, casually tossed Xu Dalang over, and said, "Lock the brothers together, and with an older one, we'll be all set."
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