Luo Wen's case was quickly resolved. Emperor Zhaowu spared Luo Wen's death sentence because of his family's loyalty and military achievements, but sentenced him to five years of corvée labor without pardon. As for Luo Ruoxin's failure to educate his son and to govern his subordinates, which led to the theft of the armory, this crime would be settled after the Battle of Taiyuan.

This corvée labor was such a hard job that the pampered Young Master Luo would definitely not be able to endure it. But Emperor Zhaowu probably knew that Shen Hexuan was not easy to deal with, so he played a trick here and did not mention where he would be sent to perform the corvée. If he was exiled to a bitter and cold place, he would probably spend the rest of his life there. Yuan Nanyu almost died in a quarry in the northwest. But since he did not say where he was going, it was fine for him to stay in Taiyuan to perform the corvée labor. In this way, when the storm was over, with Luo Ruoxin's protection, he would be able to hide the truth.

Shen Hexuan was not satisfied with the result, and he knew that the emperor was trying to smooth things over. He could not openly disobey the emperor's will, but he also could not tolerate the matter being left unresolved. He naturally knew what the final result would be if he performed corvée under Luo Ruoxin's nose, so he proposed that as a military supervisor, he would personally watch over Luo Wen, who had stolen military weapons, and obey the emperor's order without any leniency.

Luo Ruoxin could only watch helplessly as her son cried and begged for mercy while doing the lowest job for the common people, being ordered around by the dog officials and exhausted every day. She felt distressed and resentful, and hated Shen Hexuan with a vengeance.

The case seemed to be gradually settled, but Luo Ruoxin's dissatisfaction with Shen Hexuan began to intensify. He knew that as long as Shen Hexuan did not leave, he would be constrained and his every move would be under the surveillance of others. Not only could he not save his son, but he could not even control the troops in Taiyuan. So he began to oppose Shen Hexuan everywhere.

Although Shen Hexuan was a military supervisor, he had no real power. If Luo Ruoxin listened to him, they would work together to fight the enemy. If he did not listen to him, he could only complain to the emperor. However, he was a man of few flexibility and complained to the emperor every other day, which annoyed the emperor. In addition, Fengye did not dare to attack, and Taiyuan was temporarily peaceful. Instead, Chen Yi gradually gained power and began to cause more headaches for the court. Therefore, no one could "take charge" of his discord with Luo Ruoxin.

This news is great news for Yan Sikong and Feng Ye. Winter is coming, and the weather will be colder, which will make the battle more difficult. They are looking forward to the opportunity to capture Taiyuan day and night, but these opportunities never fall from the sky, they have to create them themselves. They secretly contacted Zhou Ke and asked him to find a way to kill Luo Wen. After the success, he would immediately send his relatives out of the city.

This move can not only verify Zhou Ke's loyalty, but also completely break up Luo Ruoxin and Shen Hexuan.

At that time, Taiyuan City was following Shen Hexuan's idea to build an extended tower outside the city wall, which could serve as a sentry and a city defender. This project naturally required a lot of corvée labor, and Luo Wen was assigned to work there. Luo Ruoxin began to find excuses to make trouble, saying that Taiyuan was already a well-known strong fortress in the world, and building a tower was unnecessary and would waste people's money and labor.

But the construction of the tower had already started, and he had agreed to it before. Now that the construction was to be stopped, he and Shen Hexuan naturally started arguing with each other, and no conclusion could be reached for a while.

On a dark and windy night, the corvées were still toiling under their supervisors when a piece of unstable reinforced stone fell from the sky and landed squarely on Luo Wen's head, smashing the young man, who had only done seven days of corvée, to pieces.

The news spread throughout Taiyuan City before dawn. It is said that Luo Ruoxin vomited blood on the spot when he heard the news.

In order to find out who pushed the boulder down, Luo Ruoxin arrested everyone who was present last night. The city was in chaos. An ox cart carrying golden juice quietly sent Zhou Ke's wife and daughter out of the city.

The construction of the tower was indeed stopped, but Luo Ruosin's only son was dead and could not be resurrected. Luo Ruosin was filled with grief and anger. A man in his prime became old and fell ill in bed.

Feng Ye knew that the time had really come, so he wrote a letter to King Yong, saying that he would be able to capture Taiyuan before the New Year. After the New Year, he would welcome the King of Chu into the Central Plains, and the King of Chu's ascension to the throne was just around the corner. If he did not respond now, he would never have another chance in the future.

Yan Sikong teamed up with spies and Zhou Ke in Taiyuan City. When Luo Ruoxin and Shen Hexuan were fighting and people were in panic, they took advantage of the opportunity and bribed Taiyuan soldiers with a large sum of money. This battle must be decisive. If Luo Ruoxin and Shen Hexuan turned against them and shared the same hatred, then things would go back to the way they were before.

The two of them secretly planned to cooperate with Zhou Ke inside and outside to break through Taiyuan City. However, although Zhou Ke had been completely bribed and even his wife and daughter were in their hands, Zhou Ke's injuries had not healed yet and he could only barely get out of bed. He was also demoted and could not mobilize any troops. However, he offered a better plan.

Ever since the previous keeper of the armory was beheaded for the Luo Wen case, the new keeper has been close friends with Zhou Ke. Both of them climbed up step by step from the ranks, but this man is not as brave as Zhou Ke and has not been reused so far. His biggest problem is greed, which is exactly what they want.

Zhou Ke used Feng Ye's money to bribe this man and prepared to blow up the armory. When the city was in chaos, he would take advantage of the situation and attack the city. That would be their only chance to capture Taiyuan.

Although the plan was detailed, they still could not avoid a siege. Their troops were twice as many as those of Taiyuan. Even if they destroyed the armory, they would not have a complete chance of winning unless King Yong sent troops to help.

They agreed on a date to blow up the armory, but there was no news from King Yong for a long time. Feng Ye finally sent a letter to King Yong and ordered Yuan Nanyu to lead troops to support them.

Yan Sikong asked with some worry: "You mean, we won't wait for King Yong?"

"No more waiting. If he comes, that would be the best. If he doesn't come, we can't delay any longer. As long as he doesn't come, our chances of winning this battle will greatly increase."

Yan Sikong nodded: "Now that the situation in Qingyang is stable, Pingliang and Fengxiang have already been taken under his command, and Quewang can finally withdraw." He said with some emotion, "I haven't seen him for almost a year."

Feng Ye glanced at him: "Do you really want to see him?"

"Why not?" Yan Sikong thought to himself, could it be that Feng Ye thought that he would be wary of Quewang because of his status? Thinking of this, he suddenly felt annoyed.

Feng Ye did not answer, but said: "It will be soon, I am waiting for him to do great things for me again."

"Quewang has learned a lot from following you." Yan Sikong whispered, "He was just a man of the world before. Without your guidance, he would not have been able to lead the army. You two have accomplished each other."

"Of course." Speaking of Yuan Nanyu, Feng Ye's face was full of satisfaction. "He helped me with all his strength when I was in trouble and followed me till death. It's hard to find a person like him in a lifetime, so whatever I have, he will definitely be a part of it. Now he is helping me to capture cities and strongholds, and I will promise him the highest honor in the future."

Yan Sikong felt a little bitter when he heard this. This was obviously a good thing. He wished that Yuan Nanyu had the best of everything in the world. But when Feng Ye said this, he felt bad. He also helped Feng Ye with all his strength and followed him till death. He could also disregard everything for Feng Ye, just because he had deceived Feng Ye before. No matter what he did, it would never be as pure as Yuan Nanyu. No matter how many merits he made, he could not get Feng Ye's praise for Yuan Nanyu.

When Yan Sikong realized that he was jealous of Yuan Nanyu, he broke out in a cold sweat.

What was he thinking? It was because of his selfishness that he was unwilling to share Feng Ye with Yuan Nanyu that the misunderstanding between the two of them came about. He had already tasted the bitter fruit. He owed Yuan Nanyu something that he could never make up for in his lifetime. He could actually still have such thoughts, and it was all because of Feng Ye. He was simply stupid!

Yan Sikong took a deep breath and forced himself to pull his thoughts back. He said, "That's great. As long as we have his help, whether King Yong comes or not, we can take Taiyuan!"

Feng Ye made no secret of his ambition: "Yes, once we conquer Taiyuan, we'll make him regret it!"

"Then Chen Yu won't have to risk attacking the old capital Chang'an, and can go straight to Taiyuan." Yan Sikong secretly clenched his fists, "If you two join forces, no one in the world will be able to stop you!"

Feng Ye, who was full of ambition just now, suddenly looked gloomy when he heard Chen Yi: "I haven't even sent out the troops yet, and you're already thinking about welcoming Chen Yi into the Central Plains?"

Yan Sikong knew that Feng Ye didn't want to hear about Chen Yi, especially before this anxious battle, but he still said it. Deep down, he realized with horror that he might have done it on purpose, deliberately using Chen Yi to provoke Feng Ye, just like Feng Ye's generous praise for Yuan Nanyu...

Yan Sikong's heart was beating very fast. He pinched his thigh hard to calm the confusion in his chest and said softly: "I am just looking forward to our victory. I have no other intentions."

Feng Ye snorted coldly and stood up: "Prepare for the battle intensified these days. I don't want to hear anything that is not related to this battle. I must win. Do you understand? I must win this battle."

"I understand." Yan Sikong took a deep breath, and with a feeling of guilt and self-blame towards Yuan Nanyu, he said solemnly, "I've said before that I will definitely take Taiyuan for you, and I will never break my promise."