This could also be considered… him doing Bai Qingyan a favor!

If the Nanyan commander in Feng County learned that Nanyan’s provisions had been seized by the “Bai Family Army,” his fear of the Bai Family Army would escalate to another level, and he would surely collapse without a fight.

Then, the Nanyan elite retreating to Nanyan would certainly fear being pursued by the Bai Family Army, and would have no choice but to take the Yao Pass route.

This time, Nanyan dared to commit the full strength of their nation to join forces with Western Liang in attacking Jin, only because they believed that Great Yan had suffered too many natural disasters this year and was too preoccupied with its troubles to have the strength to gather troops and provoke Nanyan!

It was precisely because of this that Great Yan had to strike unexpectedly!

The waters had already been muddied. If Great Yan didn’t take this opportunity to destroy Nanyan’s brave elite forces, once Nanyan recovered, they would certainly devour Great Yan!

Rather than sit and wait for death, it was better to take this chance… to destroy Nanyan’s main force, then lead the army directly to attack Nanyan’s capital!

Once Nanyan was captured, there would be a continuous supply of grain and weapons flowing to Great Yan, and Great Yan’s people would be saved.

“Young Master, but our Great Yan’s national strength is really…”

“Uncle, just go and give the orders! Trust me!” Xiao Rongyan’s eyes, as beautiful and resilient as Empress Ji’s, looked at Feng Yao.

Feng Yao knew he was merely a servant, and only appeared to have a transcendent status because he had saved Xiao Rongyan. Naturally, he would not go against Xiao Rongyan’s wishes.

Moreover, His Majesty had already handed the military tally to Xiao Rongyan, clearly intending to place this new army under Xiao Rongyan’s command!

“Young Master, this old servant has one concern!” Feng Yao spoke out of loyalty, “The new army hidden in the Linchuan mountain range was originally meant to prevent Jin from sending troops. If Young Master takes away our heart’s disease, what if Jin learns that we attacked Nanyan’s army and turns to attack us?”

“Jin is currently facing the allied forces of Nanyan and Western Liang, and can barely take care of itself! The capable and battle-tested Bai Family Army has already been completely lost in Nan Jiang by that incompetent prince! Right now, Jin would be delighted for us to go to war with Nanyan! It would give them a chance to catch their breath!” Xiao Rongyan stroked the jade cicada in his hand, speaking unhurriedly, “This time is the best opportunity for our Great Yan to reclaim lost territory. Once we miss it! There will inevitably be a battle with Nanyan next year, and we won’t be able to reclaim lost territory as we can today!”

Feng Yao quickly bowed and said: “This old servant will immediately take the military tally to give orders to Xie Xun!”

Watching Feng Yao mount his horse, Xiao Rongyan added, “Uncle, when you see Xie Xun, give him the military tally! Tell him… giving him the military tally means elder brother and I trust him! As long as he can annihilate Nanyan’s elite forces at Yao Pass, Nanyan will be an open road for him to gallop across! Tell him he must take advantage of this great chaos… to reclaim as much of our Great Yan’s lost territory as possible! After he departs for Yao Pass, please, Uncle, ride swiftly back to the capital and have elder brother mobilize troops to garrison at Tianqu River. All troops stationed at Tianqu River must obey the military tally’s commands and cooperate with Xie Xun without error!”

Tianqu River was the border between Nanyan and Great Yan, with Great Yan to the north of the great river and Nanyan to the south.

After Empress Ji’s death, when Jin attacked Great Yan, Prince Su’s illegitimate son took advantage of Tianqu River’s natural barriers, seizing the opportunity to split away from Great Yan and proclaim himself Nanyan.

Xiao Rongyan and the Emperor of Great Yan had once sworn before Empress Ji’s tomb to reclaim all of Great Yan’s lost territories and wash away past humiliation.

Later, in order to enable Great Yan to survive in the narrow gap between nations, Xiao Rongyan traveled among all the countries, finally understanding why his mother Empress Ji had previously wanted to unify the world!

When Empress Ji was young, she came from poverty and deeply understood that only when the world was unified could there be peace across the four seas.

Although Great Yan now occupied only a corner, despised by all nations, Xiao Rongyan and his elder brother still wanted to inherit their mother’s will, unify the world, create a prosperous empire, and comfort their mother’s spirit in heaven.

Xiao Rongyan and his elder brother were not like the Emperor of Jin. Both he and his elder brother could trust those they employed without suspicion. Since they were using Xie Xun… they dared to entrust the entire nation’s military strength to Xie Xun for his command!

With the general strategy decided, Xiao Rongyan watched Feng Yao lead a team of cavalry away swiftly, ordered people to escort grain and weapons back to the capital, then quietly left Great Yan’s territory with his men, venturing dangerously into Nanyan to coordinate with Xie Xun from within.

Weng City was extremely close to Tianmen Pass. When Bai Qingyan led two hundred brave warriors around Tianmen Pass through mountain paths to reach the Western Liang military camp, the timing was just right.

She led her men to hide in the mountain forest, her sharp eyes like torches fixed intently on the brightly lit Western Liang military camp, her gaze falling on the head that the Western Liang army had hung high in the center of their camp, swaying in the wind. Her blood boiled with rage, wishing she could charge over immediately to reclaim her father’s head.

Her bitter, scalding tears filled her eyes, but she had to forcibly suppress herself and wait a little longer, wait until news of Yun Poxing’s disgraceful defeat spread throughout the entire Western Liang military camp, then it wouldn’t be too late to lead her men in the attack.

She turned to Xiao Ruojiang and said, “Milk brother is familiar with the Western Liang camp, so please trouble milk brother to take ten men and quietly infiltrate the Western Liang camp to burn their weapons depot!”

Yun Poxing’s group had walked a long way on foot, finally managed to get a few horses, and returned to camp in disgrace. The Western Liang military camp immediately erupted into chaos, with several fierce generals shouting for military physicians.

Yun Poxing’s grandson cried out, calling for his grandfather…

Yun Poxing, with arrows in both knees, was surrounded by generals and soldiers as they helped him back to the commander’s tent. He bit down on a wooden stick, his mind filled with that woman radiating overwhelming murderous intent, and roughly ordered the military physician to remove the arrows.

Yun Poxing’s grandson knelt before Yun Poxing’s bed, wiping away tears with the back of his hand: “Grandfather…”

The military physician had just cleaned his hands and removed the arrows from Yun Poxing’s shoulder and both knees, even extracting the bone fragments from his kneecaps, before immediately having someone sprinkle hemostatic powder and apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

Yun Poxing’s face turned red from the pain, the veins on his neck bulging, but he bit hard on the wooden stick, not allowing himself to cry out in agony.

Because their commander had returned in defeat, the Western Liang camp was already full of rumors, and people were panic-stricken.

Suddenly, a flaming arrow struck fiercely into the wooden board in front of the commander’s tent.

Instantly, panicked shouts rose one after another throughout the Western Liang camp.

“Someone’s raiding the camp!”

“Put out the fire! There’s a fire!”

“Get weapons! Someone’s raiding the camp!”

Yun Poxing was startled and tried to stand up, but the excruciating pain from both knees made him collapse back down.

“Grandfather!” Yun Poxing’s grandson quickly supported him.

“Father, rest assured and treat your wounds. Your son will go out and see! See who dares to raid our Western Liang military camp!” Yun Poxing’s eldest son drew his curved blade and led the generals out of the commander’s tent.

When Yun Poxing’s son reached outside the tent, he saw twenty to thirty people on horseback charging into their Western Liang camp and shouted: “Release arrows! Release arrows! Turn these people into pincushions!”

“Deputy Commander!” A Western Liang soldier ran over in panic, saying, “We’ve run out of arrows! Our army’s weapons depot is on fire, the bows and crossbows are all inside, and the fire is too fierce to enter! There are still people setting fires outside!”

“Damn it!” Yun Poxing’s son cursed, “Use long spears to stab them down!”

Hearing this, Yun Poxing could no longer sit still and shouted, “Help me outside!”

“But grandfather… father told grandfather to rest assured and treat his wounds!” Yun Poxing’s seventeen-year-old grandson choked out.

“What are you crying for?! The Bai family’s ten-year-old boys didn’t even blink before dying! You’re already seventeen… how much longer do you need Grandfather to protect you?! We Western Liang warriors shed blood but not tears! Wipe away your tears! Help me outside!” Yun Poxing shouted.