Outside Jiankang, in the military camp at Shizi Ridge, when the officers and soldiers heard the news, they were all filled with righteous indignation.

Gao Yin was even more furious beyond measure.

His younger sister was now far away in Chang’an, having nothing to do with the war here, yet Murong Ti had implicated her in such a manner.

Not only that, but clearly his outrageous, almost insane words and actions had but one purpose—to openly insult and provoke Li Mu.

Gao Yin was somewhat worried about Li Mu’s reaction, but when he saw him arrive at nightfall, travel-worn and dusty, skipping even settling in and coming straight to discuss strategy, it appeared that Murong Ti’s outrageous behavior had no effect on him whatsoever. Only then did Gao Yin’s heart settle. He immediately vacated his command tent and gathered the officers throughout the night to discuss countermeasures.

Everyone quickly assembled.

Storming the city wasn’t the most difficult matter. The most difficult was how to ensure they could rescue those hostages before taking down the enemy.

Moreover, besides the court officials, there were countless civilians in the city.

Given Murong Ti’s madness, plus a group of deranged, profit-seeking rebels, if fighting truly broke out, no one could guarantee what would happen.

Everyone was emotionally agitated, speaking over each other in heated discussion, when suddenly from the direction of the city walls came another faint sound of commotion. Soldiers soon brought news that the rebels had seized many civilians and brought them up to the city walls, threatening the forces outside to withdraw, or they would begin a great slaughter.

Everyone was furious. They rode over and saw the city walls blazing with firelight, the rebels dancing like demons, extremely arrogant. The civilians tied up on the walls wept incessantly, their cries unbearable to hear. When they returned, it was like a pot exploding again, the tent filled with curses.

Gao Yin frowned deeply.

He knew many in the army advocated a direct assault.

He also understood the principle that compassion doesn’t command armies.

Though their opponents were just a group gathered for profit, like scattered sand, they were also like beasts. Repeated concessions would not only fail to solve the problem, but would make the enemy even more arrogant.

If there were a method that could both maximize the safety of hostages and eliminate the rebel threat, he would naturally welcome it.

But clearly, such a method didn’t exist.

Even before Li Mu’s arrival, he had already been inclined toward a direct assault.

Even if it came at a cost, the price of some lives was better than doing nothing and watching Jiankang sink into such degradation.

What he needed was just confirmation.

He couldn’t help but look toward Li Mu, saying: “In my view, the only plan now is a direct assault. But I wonder what the Grand Marshal thinks?”

Actually, given today’s circumstances, he shouldn’t still be calling Li Mu “Grand Marshal,” but found it difficult to change his habit. The words slipped out without him realizing.

The others also stopped talking, all eyes turning toward Li Mu.

Li Mu nodded, looking at Gao Yin: “What you say is correct—taking the city must involve a direct assault. But there’s one matter I’d like to confirm with you. Have you ever heard whether there’s a secret passage in Jiankang Palace that leads directly outside the city?”

“If there truly is such a secret passage we could use, coordinating from inside and outside would double our effectiveness. Then while storming the city, we could also minimize casualties within the city as much as possible.”

Throughout history, founding emperors when building their palaces often pre-constructed an escape passage leading outside the city. Especially in these chaotic times, such practices were even more common.

Gao Yin had indeed heard of such a passage in Jiankang Palace when he was young.

It was said that at the beginning of the Xiao clan’s southern migration, Emperor Yuan, considering the weakness of imperial power, secretly built a passage leading directly outside the city when constructing the palace, so that in future emergencies, he could leave himself an escape route. This matter was extremely secret, with only the emperor knowing the location of the entrance and exit. By now, except for very few people, even those who knew of this matter were extremely rare.

If the rumors were true, when it came to Emperor Xingping, he fell ill suddenly and couldn’t speak after collapsing, so this secret was buried with him. Emperor Taikang who succeeded him and the current Gao Yongrong naturally knew nothing of it.

Actually, Gao Yin had thought of this matter during these days. With a “worth trying” mentality, he had sent many soldiers out to conduct extensive searches in places outside the city where an exit might have been built, hoping to find the legendary secret passage exit.

If such a passage truly existed, following the exit, they could enter the city.

But he also knew rumors weren’t necessarily true. Even if they were, this would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, so he held little hope. He hadn’t expected Li Mu to suddenly ask about this. In his surprise, he told him the truth.

After hearing this, Li Mu remained silent, as if concentrating on something.

Gao Yin didn’t dare interrupt him and waited beside him. After a moment, he heard him slowly say: “The rebels are threatening us to withdraw, aren’t they? We might as well first comply with their demands, pull back some, and prepare for both possibilities. Send more people to continue searching for the secret passage exit. In three days, if we still can’t find it, then there’s no other way—we can only attack directly. Quick victory, take Jiankang, and minimize casualties among the hostages in the city.”

The generals had been waiting for just this statement and all agreed.

Gao Yin slowly exhaled the breath he’d been holding.

Finding a secret passage exit within three days seemed impossible to him.

A direct assault was already a foregone conclusion. When that time came, casualties among the civilians in the city, including those Southern Dynasty imperial clan high officials and nobles who had been buried in pits for days, would be unavoidable.

From his position, this was absolutely not a scene he wanted to see.

But he knew this was the only correct choice a commander could make after weighing all options.

He was about to nod when Li Mu seemed to perceive his thoughts and looked at him: “General Gao, if you were the original Emperor Yuan, wanting to construct an escape passage in Jiankang, would you choose the exit on land or near a waterway?”

Gao Yin was startled, pondered a moment, then said: “If it’s for escape, naturally taking the waterway would make escape easier.”

“Correct, I think the same. Moreover, the palace is near the north of the city. Building a secret passage would naturally be best if short and direct.”

“That’s right!” Gao Yin was suddenly reminded.

“North of the city is Lake Yuanwu! After Emperor Yuan’s southern migration, when building the palace, he specifically mobilized civilian laborers to connect Lake Yuanwu with the great river, widening the waterway!”

Li Mu nodded: “Therefore I deduce that if there truly is a secret passage extending from the palace, eight or nine times out of ten, the exit should be in the Lake Yuanwu area. These few days, don’t search anywhere else. Let’s take this gamble—send people to search near Lake Yuanwu. Not one inch of ground can be overlooked!”

The Guangling army generals in the tent had already greatly admired Li Mu. As soon as he arrived, Gao Yin, who held the position of commander, naturally yielded the central position to him. Gao Yin did this naturally, and others watching felt nothing unusual—as if this was only right and proper. As long as Li Mu was present, he was everyone’s focus and soul, and all people, whether consciously or unconsciously, naturally acted this way.

Hearing his words now, everyone showed enlightened expressions and agreed unanimously.

Time was pressing. Gao Yin immediately ordered more personnel to be deployed to go to Lake Yuanwu for careful searching through the night. He also kept several generals to work with Li Mu throughout the night, formulating plans for a direct assault.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Preparations for storming the city were complete, and the search at Lake Yuanwu had also progressed to its final stage.

According to a deputy general responsible for this matter, he had led people to search everywhere as ordered. In some possible locations, they had even dug three feet deep, finding several caves buried by earth and stones. But going inside, the walls were all shallow stone caverns with no underground passages that could extend outward.

This result was already within Gao Yin’s expectations. Though disappointed, he could only give up. He again summoned several important generals to review tomorrow’s city assault, ensuring that when the time came, everything would be foolproof and they could control Jiankang at the fastest speed according to plan.

During these past three days, fires had been constant in the city. The rebels had looted almost the entire city clean. Their celebratory sounds continued day and night, audible even from a great distance outside the city. But according to scout reports, defenses near the city gates hadn’t slackened—the rebels continued monitoring every movement outside.

After all, having money was only useful if you had the life to spend it. Everyone understood this principle.

Tomorrow’s battle would certainly not be easy.

Using the entire city as hostages—in all the battles Gao Yin had experienced, he had never faced such a difficult situation.

Once fighting began, without question, there would certainly be bloodshed and casualties among non-combatants.

Among those people, though some deserved death, more were innocent people who shouldn’t have been drawn into such tragedy.

His mood was very heavy. He also increasingly understood why Li Mu, despite his advice, had personally gone to Lake Yuanwu tonight.

After the review, it was already late at night. Seeing that Li Mu still hadn’t returned, Gao Yin thought for a moment, then rode over himself.

The large contingent of soldiers originally sent to search here had already withdrawn to prepare for tomorrow’s assault. Only a small squad remained, still staying here with Li Mu.

When Gao Yin found Li Mu, he was standing on a barren hill, gazing toward Jiankang, his figure motionless.

Gao Yin hesitated, then said from below the hill: “Grand Marshal, it’s getting late! Time to return to camp and rest.”

Li Mu turned his head, glanced at him, and asked: “Are the officers and soldiers all prepared?”

Gao Yin replied: “The Grand Marshal can be assured—everything is ready. We’ve specifically arranged for soldiers to rescue the civilians in the city as much as possible.”

Li Mu was silent for a moment, then called out to the dozens of soldiers still searching scattered around below the hill.

Everyone heard the summons and knew it was time to return to camp, so they all ran back. One soldier, passing through a wild area overgrown with weeds, was suddenly tripped by something underfoot. He fell to the ground, his chin hitting a sharp stone buried in the weeds, immediately opening a gash that bled profusely. His companions saw this and hurried to help him.

Li Mu and Gao Yin walked over to ask about the soldier’s injury.

The soldier felt deeply ashamed. While covering his wound, he said it was nothing serious.

Li Mu had someone help stop the bleeding, then glanced at the ground that had tripped the soldier. By moonlight, he saw what appeared to be a piece of evenly carved stone. His eyes moved slightly. He went over and pulled away the weeds and vines growing over it, revealing a broken remnant of a stone tablet.

Li Mu crouched down to examine the inscription, which seemed to be erected for a temple.

He stood up, looked around, and asked Gao Yin if he knew what this place used to be.

Gao Yin had also looked at the stone tablet and said: “If this was formerly a temple, it should be Xingshan Temple.”

“Exactly, it’s definitely Xingshan Temple! But it’s been gone for decades!”

A local guide who had been summoned couldn’t help but interject. Seeing Li Mu seemed interested, he quickly continued: “This humble citizen also heard from his father in childhood. He said Xingshan Temple had flourishing incense, but unfortunately, just two years after the court’s southern migration, it suffered a fire and the temple collapsed. At that time, they were coincidentally expanding the imperial palace. The people all hoped the court would rebuild the temple as well, but the court refused, saying this place pressed down on the dragon’s head and wasn’t suitable for construction. They rebuilt the temple in another location, leaving this place to decay, and even ordered that no one could approach. Anyone who dared trespass and was caught would face severe punishment. Only in recent years has this rule gradually been forgotten, though people from the surrounding countryside still don’t dare come here much…”

The man was still speaking enthusiastically when Li Mu and Gao Yin exchanged glances and immediately ordered excavation of this area.

Half an hour later, several soldiers working together moved aside a stone slab buried by earth and weeds, and suddenly shouted loudly: “There’s a hole here!” Their voices were full of excitement.

Gao Yin’s heart leaped, and he rushed over in quick steps, arriving before the hole that had been exposed above ground, bending down to look.

The opening was very narrow and pitch black. Just as he bent down, a cold wind carrying a heavy, musty smell rushed up to meet him, making his entire body shiver.