South of Nanyang, on a broad plain called Jiyang, Yang Xuan had stationed his army here for many days.

The Beixia pursuing forces from Nanyang knew that behind Yang Xuan lay Xiangyang, the Xu family’s stronghold built up over decades, and fearing ambushes, they dared not rashly advance south and had stopped their pursuit.

Yang Xuan had long since received secret orders from Xu Mi, commanding him to remain in place maintaining a confrontational stance, forbidding him from immediately withdrawing to Xiangyang, and even more strictly prohibiting him from offering any assistance to the Lu forces.

Yang Xuan was extremely depressed. During the day, after returning from reconnaissance of enemy positions at a high point ahead, he passed through the barracks and saw all the soldiers listless and directionless, which made him even more troubled.

Alcohol was forbidden in the army. As a regional commander who had led troops for years, he had always set the strictest example, but tonight he made an exception, having his trusted deputy Cui Zhen obtain some wine. He sat alone in his tent, drinking by himself.

Though he intended to drown his sorrows in wine, the alcohol only increased his melancholy.

Reflecting on his lifetime of countless battles large and small, though he couldn’t claim complete victory, such devastating defeat with heavy casualties was unprecedented. Not to mention the forces led by Lu Jianzhi—though he didn’t know the details, they had certainly met with disaster. Thinking of Lu Jianzhi penetrating deep into enemy territory and trapped in siege, the tragedy must far exceed his own situation.

Self-blame, helplessness, depression, combined with years of accumulated dissatisfaction and resentment from endured slights, all seemed to surge forth tonight with each cup of wine.

Yang Xuan drank continuously until, becoming agitated, he simply removed his battle robe and carelessly threw it on the ground. Holding up the wine jar and about to drink heartily, he saw Cui Zhen enter and laughed loudly: “Come! Come! Usually I restrict you all from drinking. Tonight let’s abandon all restraint! The brothers all have it hard—do whatever you want! Come drink together! Everyone drink to your heart’s content!”

The deputy quickly approached and whispered something in his ear.

Yang Xuan was startled, hardly believing his ears, and stared at his deputy: “Li Mu has come?”

“Indeed. He’s outside the camp right now!”

Yang Xuan threw down the wine jar and hurried toward the gate. From afar, he saw a figure standing not far from the gate.

He recognized him immediately—it was Li Mu.

Li Mu also saw him and smiled, walking quickly toward him.

Yang Xuan looked at this former subordinate approaching him, thinking of Li Mu’s capture of Chang’an in one battle that made all Nanchao people proud, while he himself had fallen into such a state. He suddenly felt immense shame and momentarily felt he had no face to meet anyone, his steps abruptly stopping.

Li Mu had already walked up to him, smiling: “General, it’s been a long time—I hope you’ve been well?”

Yang Xuan let out a long sigh, suppressing his shame, and replied bitterly: “Jingchen, are even you mocking me now? How well could I possibly be?”

Li Mu firmly gripped his arm.

“Over all these years, others may not know your situation, General, but how could I not? Now that it’s happened, you needn’t blame yourself excessively. Justice lies in people’s hearts.”

In such bitter times, suddenly seeing an old friend arrive brought Yang Xuan considerable comfort. After exchanging pleasantries and noting Li Mu’s wind-weathered face and dust-stained clothes, clearly having traveled day and night to get here, Yang Xuan realized that at such a time, Li Mu’s coming to see him couldn’t be merely for old times’ sake. He led him into the tent and posted guards outside, forbidding anyone to approach.

The tent was brightly lit by candles. Seeing Li Mu enter, Yang Xuan noticed his gaze fall on the wine jar on the ground, quickly put it away, invited him to sit, and said self-mockingly: “I’ve always strictly forbidden my men from drinking, yet now I’m drinking myself. Just as you arrived—I’m afraid you’ll mock me.”

Li Mu’s gaze settled on Yang Xuan’s face, his smile fading: “General, do you know the current situation of the other wing of the allied forces?”

Yang Xuan’s forced smile also disappeared, his expression becoming heavy.

“I’ve been ordered to remain here these days—can’t retreat, certainly can’t advance. Lu Jianzhi’s side… has the entire army been annihilated?”

His hands clenched tightly into fists, almost grinding his teeth as he forced out these words.

Li Mu said: “Slightly better than complete annihilation, but not much better. Facing heavy encirclement, the army was scattered with no way to retreat. Lu Jianzhi could only push forward with full force. Though he captured Yan City as originally planned and gained temporary respite, casualties were severe—only a few tens of thousands remain. Now surrounded by Beixia forces, supplies are scarce, the situation extremely precarious, with the city liable to fall at any moment.”

Yang Xuan hung his head, seemingly frozen, motionless. After a long while, he said quietly: “All Yang Xuan’s fault… Even if I die, I cannot escape this guilt…”

“General needn’t say this. You were controlled by others—the fault isn’t yours. Moreover, now that it’s happened, self-blame is useless. The urgent matter is finding ways to help Lu Jianzhi and those tens of thousands of soldiers escape the siege and return.”

Yang Xuan raised his head: “How to help?”

“Multi-pronged attack, surround Wei to save Zhao. Force the besieging Xia forces to withdraw, creating an opportunity for Lu Jianzhi to lead a breakout, then we provide support and rescue them.”

“What rescue forces are there?”

“Guangling army is one route. After I see you, I must rush to Chang’an to deploy troops—that’s the second route. There’s also a third route…”

Li Mu’s eyes blazed as he looked at Yang Xuan: “This third route is why I came to see you tonight.”

“General Yang, do you dare join Lord Gao and me as the third rescue force?”

Yang Xuan was stunned.

Li Mu continued: “I ask if you dare rather than if you’re willing, because I’m certain that if you could act independently, you would certainly be willing.”

A trace of indescribable sorrow crossed Yang Xuan’s expression as he fell silent.

“I wonder if the General remembers that I once advised you that Xu Mi was not worthy of loyalty. With your wisdom, such words hardly needed my reminder, did they? The Yang family were originally regional commanders in northern Jing Province, only joining the Xu family due to their humble origins and lack of prominence. When your father and grandfather joined the Xu family, they brought troops with them. All these years, without your support, how could the Xu military prefecture have achieved today’s solid position? Not only do you owe the Xu family nothing, but even if you did owe them favors, you’ve long since repaid them. Moreover, this time, with Xu Mi acting thus, don’t you truly feel disheartened?”

Li Mu emphasized his tone: “General Yang! You and I are both military men—war naturally involves death. If soldiers die fighting the enemy on the battlefield, there’s nothing to say! But now, those countless wronged souls didn’t die at enemy hands, but died at the hands of our own Nanchao people due to aristocratic infighting! General, are you not moved at all?”

“Jingchen! You needn’t say more! The mistake is made, and I already regret it deeply. How could I bear to watch soldiers die needlessly at enemy hands due to my errors!”

Yang Xuan’s face flushed red with shame, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Li Mu looked at him and handed over a letter: “General, before I departed, Lord Gao instructed me to give you this letter. He also asked me to tell you that he’ll send people to protect your parents and wife in Jiankang. In the future, as long as you’re willing, Lord Gao will treat you with high position—he absolutely won’t break his word.”

Yang Xuan was startled, quickly accepted the letter with both hands, and before finishing reading it, his tiger eyes grew misty with tears. He bowed toward Jiankang, choking: “In this Northern Expedition, if I hadn’t been timid and hesitant, not daring to resist, allowing others to seize command, how could we have suffered such devastating defeat! I deserve to die! Not only does Lord Gao not blame me, but treats me so generously. If I still only consider my own safety, heaven itself won’t tolerate me!”

He stood up from the ground and turned toward Li Mu.

“Tell me! How do you want me to cooperate? I’ll agree to everything!”

Li Mu stepped forward and firmly grasped his arms.

“With such words from the General, what cannot be accomplished! The situation is urgent—let me discuss the battle plan with you in detail.”

Yang Xuan nodded and immediately secretly summoned his trusted lieutenants, explaining his decision to them.

These trusted officers had long harbored dissatisfaction with Xu Mi and bitter hatred for Xu Chuo. Even during these days of retreat, while Xu Chuo claimed to be recovering from wounds, his tent still had nightly song and dance with beauties, which had long made many soldiers secretly furious. Hearing this, they were all excited and agreed unanimously. So they completed their planning through the night, and during the third watch, a group rushed into Xu Chuo’s tent, bound the still-sleeping Xu Chuo along with some of his confidants, and controlled them all. Yang Xuan then ordered the horn blown, assembled all soldiers, and announced they would join forces with the Guangling army and Li Mu’s forces to rescue the Northern Expedition army still trapped in Yan City.

The middle and lower-ranking officers and soldiers in Xu Mi’s military prefecture had always obeyed Yang Xuan. Those higher-ranking officers who looked down on him and had seized command with Xu Chuo were now all controlled. Moreover, during the previous defeat and entrapment, if Yang Xuan hadn’t led his personal guard to fight their way out and led the retreat, everyone would probably be dead by now. Seeing him commanding with authority, with Li Mu standing beside him, all obeyed without question.

After a busy night, by dawn all affairs were completed. Li Mu and Yang Xuan agreed on the date for military deployment, then continued north toward Chang’an.

Yang Xuan escorted him for over ten li before stopping, watching him and his entourage gallop away, their figures becoming blurred in the yellow dust kicked up by flying hooves, gradually disappearing into the distance. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat moved.

How long ago was it that Li Mu was merely a deputy commander under his command?

The scene of Li Mu seeking to marry into the Gao family, when Yang Xuan, upon learning of it, thought it presumptuous and earnestly advised him to abandon the idea, seemed still vivid in memory.

Unknowingly, Li Mu now held the rank of General, had captured Chang’an, established his authority and achievements. His name had become the embodiment of a war god in Nanchao people’s hearts.

Even Yang Xuan, his former superior, now felt an unconscious sense of authority emanating from Li Mu’s every gesture and dared not be presumptuous.

After this defeat, he had voluntarily written to Xu Mi requesting punishment, prepared for retribution, never expecting Li Mu to personally come here to persuade him to jointly deploy troops.

Yang Xuan knew that after this affair, Xu Mi would certainly not spare him.

He had always been indecisive and overly cautious, but at this moment, he suddenly felt relieved, even grateful to Li Mu for giving him such an opportunity to finally disobey Xu Mi and follow his heart in doing something he truly wanted and needed to do.

The worst outcome would merely be compounding his crimes.

With Lord Gao promising to protect his family, he had no more worries. Even if beheaded, what was there to fear?

Yang Xuan looked up to the sky and let out a long, clear whistle. The whistle seemed to finally release all the dissatisfaction and depression that had accumulated in his chest over the years. He felt all burdens lifted, thinking only of giving his all to join Lord Gao and Li Mu in rescuing the trapped army from siege, thereby redeeming himself.

…

These days, Gao Qiao had become extremely busy again, inevitably unable to properly care for Xiao Yongjia. Seeing her belly growing larger and even walking becoming difficult, Gao Qiao sometimes felt very guilty.

Xiao Yongjia now was extremely understanding of her husband, not only telling him not to worry about her but feeling sorry for his toil. She knew advising him was useless—it wasn’t that he deliberately kept busy, but that affairs came to him.

Xu Mi and Lu Guang now both seemed to have vanished. Xu Mi claimed illness and rarely attended court, seldom seen by anyone, his exact condition unknown. Lu Guang, after that previous incident, had been bedridden, his condition truly precarious. Gao Qiao had personally visited him several times, returning each time with deeply furrowed brows.

With two of the court’s three pillars gone, leaving only Gao Qiao, the daily workload was imaginable. Moreover, the Emperor treated him with exceptional respect, requiring his consultation on all court matters large and small. Her husband was like a spinning top that couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. Seeing him unable to eat properly or sleep well, his every waking moment consumed by court affairs, Xiao Yongjia could only focus on improving his daily nutrition and hope the rescue campaign would end successfully soon.

If the mother hoped thus, Luoshen hoped even more so. Staying home to accompany her increasingly pregnant mother, she waited over a month until July, when good news finally reached Jiankang.

Li Mu, Gao Yin, and Yang Xuan’s three-pronged allied forces had agreed to simultaneously attack Beixia, indeed achieving their anticipated goal.

Especially Li Mu’s route—because the campaign began without warning, it was initially unstoppable, quickly breaking through Tongguan and directly threatening Hulao City.

During that period, the skies over Luoyang were filled with news that Li Mu’s army would arrive any day, with people discussing it everywhere in streets and alleys.

Since Beixia lost that major battle originally intended to invade the south, their national strength had greatly diminished. Over these two years, fighting on multiple fronts, the court was overwhelmed and people’s hearts unstable. Upon learning the news, they treated it as a major threat, immediately recalling the forces previously concentrated in Yuzhou to respond with full strength. Combined with simultaneous counterattacks by Nanchao forces in Xu and Qing provinces and the Nanyang direction, their forces were further scattered.

Half a month ago, just when provisions in the army were scarce and city residents also lacked surplus grain, forcing Lu Jianzhi to order the slaughter of horses, scouts suddenly reported that the besieging enemy forces were beginning to withdraw in waves.

Within just a few days, the vast camps that had densely covered the mountains and plains outside the city were greatly reduced. Subsequently came news that the court was mounting a rescue, drawing away enemies to give them a chance to break out.

Lu Jianzhi’s feelings upon receiving this news were indescribable.

Just last night, when he quietly climbed the city wall and gazed south, he could still faintly hear somewhere in the distance a defending soldier’s homesick weeping.

Subsequently, as if infected, everywhere on the city wall soldiers could be seen holding their weapons, crouching and weeping together, their cries rising and falling in endless succession.

As the commanding general, his feelings at that moment were imaginable.

He didn’t punish these soldiers, but quietly left alone.

At this moment, hearing this news, he felt like a drowning person suddenly pulled from the water by a heaven-sent helping hand.

He immediately spread this news.

His soldiers who had survived bloody battles all the way, endured siege, repeatedly repelled attempts to storm the city, but finally faced starvation, had already fallen into complete despair, thinking their fate would be the same as their fallen comrades—merely to die here.

They never imagined this court wouldn’t abandon them.

War drums sounded again with unprecedented vigor, military morale was unprecedentedly united. The city gates opened wide, and Lu Jianzhi led his soldiers out of this city that had besieged them for over half a month, engaging the remaining Xia forces. During the bloody battle, Yang Xuan finally arrived with his army.

These two forces, originally allied for the Northern Expedition but separated by betrayal and deception, united once more, annihilated nearby Beixia forces, then quickly withdrew and embarked on their journey home.

In mid-August, Lu Jianzhi returned to Jiankang.

Lu Guang ultimately couldn’t survive to see his eldest son’s return, dying in hatred while Lu Jianzhi was still on his way back to the capital.

It was said that in his final moments, his mind was somewhat unclear, only continuously cursing Xu Mi viciously. After death, his eyes remained open, no one able to close them, until a clever servant shouted “Xu Mi is dead, his head was chopped off!” and boldly went to close his eyes, finally succeeding.

After Lu Jianzhi’s return, he busied himself with funeral arrangements.

As the Lu family was a major aristocratic clan and Lu Guang had been prominent in court his entire life, though the last two years had been unfortunate, with his death the court didn’t pursue responsibility for the Lu family’s Northern Expedition failure, offering much consolation. According to the contemporary custom of extravagant funerals, the funeral should have been grand.

But the Lu family funeral was quite simple. So simple that many of Lu Guang’s former friends among the aristocracy found it unseemly, privately criticizing Lu Jianzhi for being unfilial. Lu Jianzhi offered no defense, saying nothing, only submitting a remarkable memorial to the court after the funeral was completed.

Lu Jianzhi requested to resign from all official positions, escort his late father’s coffin back to their ancestral land in Wu Prefecture, relocate the entire family, and observe three years of mourning for his father.

The tens of thousands of troops he brought back were incorporated into the Guangling army through voluntary recruitment.

From then on, Nanchao no longer had a Lu military prefecture.

The mourning period request was acceptable, but the latter decision to voluntarily dissolve the Lu military prefecture caused an uproar in court, with ministers discussing it extensively.

This decision reportedly met with strong opposition from the Lu clan.

Lu Jianzhi had always been famous for his gentle temperament. But this time, he seemed like a different person, extremely resolute, brooking no opposition.

With Lu Guang’s death, he was the rightful head of the Lu family. Having spoken thus, the Lu clansmen argued for a while but were helpless. Some, unwilling to accept this, secretly led away some troops. Lu Jianzhi didn’t prevent this, ultimately meeting personally with the remaining majority of soldiers to explain his decision.

Having barely escaped death, except for a few who wished to retire, the rest were willing to join the Guangling army.

This evening, Luoshen saw her father rarely return home early.

She knew that tomorrow Lu Jianzhi would escort the coffin back to his hometown.

Today he had sent a calling card—tonight he would come to their home to bid farewell to her father.