At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Early morning, Ninghai City, the training ground of the Dongyi army.

The Dongyi soldiers, shirtless, brandished their samurai swords at the sound of commands, their blades flashing like snow, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Ryunosuke Shimazu, mounted on his horse, clad in dark red iron armor, arms crossed, gazed intently at the soldiers who were drilling.

Beside him, generals such as Otomo Tetsumaru, Takenaka Hyōe, and Murakami Kaito stood on either side, watching the soldiers train.

Otomo Tetsumaru laughed, "General, look at these soldiers, how's their training? After the last battle of Ninghai City, they're all itching to march on Haizhou City right now!"

Ryunosuke Shimazu nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips, and replied, "Good, morale is good. After a few more days of rest, we can attack Haizhou City."

"Taking Haizhou City and Donghai will be just around the corner."

Just as they were looking to the future.

A series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the direction of the training ground entrance. A Dongyi soldier, covered in sweat, stumbled over, his face pale and full of terror, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Report!"

"General, esteemed generals, something terrible has happened!"

Ryunosuke Shimazu frowned sharply and snapped, "What is it? Why are you in such a panic? What kind of behavior is this?"

"General! General Saki's... head has been... hung on the city wall!"

"What?" Shimazu Ryunosuke and the others' expressions changed instantly, utterly astonished.

Otomo Tetsumaru was surprised, grabbed the soldier by the collar, and glared angrily.

"What did you say? Saki's head?"

"How could he have led his troops out to suppress those guerrillas... how could his head be hanging on our own city wall?"

Takenaka Heibei's expression also darkened, and he gripped the iron fan in his hand.

"General Sasaki's three thousand troops were completely wiped out? How is that possible? Those were three thousand elite soldiers!"

Ryunosuke Shimazu didn't ask any further questions.

He suddenly turned his horse around, spurred it on with his legs, and galloped wildly toward the city gate.

The generals behind them also mounted their horses and followed closely behind.

……

The morning light was dim at the city gate.

A bloody human head hung in the center of the city gate, with a hemp rope threaded through the hair bun, suspended high like a trophy.

The human head had a grotesque face, with its eyes half-open and half-closed, its mouth slightly agape, and its face frozen in the expression of death.

It was an expression that combined resentment, shock, and fear.

That head belongs to Musashi Saki.

Otomo Tetsumaru was the first to pull on the reins, dismount, and rush to the city gate. He looked up at the severed head, his face ashen with shock.

He slammed his fist on the city wall and roared angrily.

"It really is Saki... he's dead!"

"How...how could he have been killed? He led three thousand elite soldiers, how could he possibly have been killed by those defeated remnants?"

Murakami Kaito stood to the side, his face also extremely gloomy.

Looking at Sasaki Musashi's head, Takenaka Hyōe pondered for a long time before speaking, "So, the three thousand soldiers that General Sasaki led have... been completely wiped out."

"The guerrilla force of Daqian was not only not broken up, but became even more terrifying."

Murakami Toto suddenly gasped.

"Damn it, will this Daqian guerrilla force take advantage of our deployment to Ninghai City to attack Wanhu City?"

"General, we must be on guard against this."

Ryunosuke Shimazu, mounted on his horse, stared unblinkingly at Musashi Sasaki's severed head, his eyes blazing with fury.

"I will remember this debt."

"I must wipe out this hateful guerrilla force."

"Pass down the order to increase security."

He turned around, looked at Murakami Kaito, and ordered, "General Murakami!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Village head Haidou stepped forward.

"You shall immediately lead five thousand troops back to Wanhu City and take precautions to prevent any incident from occurring there."

"Send several smaller teams into the surrounding mountains and forests to conduct a thorough search and find traces of those people."

"Once discovered, immediately dispatch troops to encircle and annihilate them."

"Your humble servant obeys!"

Half an hour later,

Village head Haidou led 5,000 soldiers out of the military camp and marched out of the city in a grand procession.

……

Meanwhile, on a hillside in a dense forest some distance outside the city, several figures watched as the mighty Eastern Yi army marched out of the city.

Qin Hao smiled with satisfaction.

"Third Prince's plan is brilliant!"

"Now the Dongyi people should not dare to make any rash moves. They will have to divert their forces to deal with the 'guerrillas' in the rear. The rhythm of their frontal offensive has been disrupted for at least half a month."

Xiao Jingyu smiled and replied, "Yes, this can tie down a lot of the Eastern Barbarian troops."

"By the time they realized what was happening, we had already safely arrived in Haizhou City."

"I learned this trick from Master Su."

Qin Hao nodded.

"Next, they will definitely send people to search the mountains and forests. Our mission is complete, it's time to leave."

So the group headed towards Haizhou City.

……

At dusk that day, Qin Hao and the others escorted Xiao Jingyu and the others to the outskirts of Haizhou City.

Qin Hao looked at Haizhou City and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Third Prince, our mission has been completed. Elder Su instructed us to return to the Northern Territory immediately after rescuing you, without delay."

Xiao Jingyu turned his head, looked at Qin Hao, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply.

"General Qin and my brothers, I, Xiao Jingyu, will remember your life-saving grace for the rest of my life."

"If my brothers ever need my help, I will go through fire and water for them without hesitation."

Qin Hao quickly supported Xiao Jingyu's arm: "Your Highness is too kind. We were acting on the orders of Elder Su."

"Besides, if you hadn't cared so much about the North back then, it wouldn't have been so easy to reclaim it."

"This friendship is something our brothers will always remember."

"Alright, enough of this mushy talk. You and the two young masters should take good care of your injuries. Until we meet again."

He waved to his brothers and said, "Let's go back to the North!"

Then, everyone turned and left together.

Xiao Jingyu stood on the hillside, watching those figures disappear into the distance, his gaze lingering for a long time.

Only after Qin Hao and the others disappeared from sight did he lead his two sons and the few remaining soldiers toward Haizhou City.

……

The city gate of Haizhou.

The soldiers guarding the city spotted Xiao Jingyu and his group.

Han Shixun was squatting by the city gate, idly scratching the ground with the tip of his knife.

Since he disobeyed the Crown Prince's orders and ordered a charge without authorization, he was demoted from the vanguard deputy general to a centurion, responsible for guarding the city gates.

He was seething with anger, and even considered leaving and returning to the imperial court.

But if he did that, he would be considered a deserter.

He would rather die in battle than be a cowardly deserter.

"General Han! Look! Someone's coming over there!"

A soldier pointed outside the city and shouted.

Han Shixun raised his head and squinted at the distance.

Upon seeing those familiar figures, he suddenly stood up and stared intently at them.

After confirming the visitor's identity, he immediately shouted:

"Open the city gates! Open the city gates quickly! It's the Third Prince! The Third Prince is back!"

The city gate opened, and Han Shixun stumbled out, rushing to Xiao Jingyu in a few quick steps. He looked Xiao Jingyu up and down, his voice filled with excitement.

"Your Highness...Your Highness, you're still alive! You're really still alive! This humble general...this humble general thought..."

Xiao Jingyu chuckled and patted his shoulder: "Shixun, I'm tough, I won't die."

Han Shixun's eyes were red, and he wiped them hard before turning around and shouting into the city.

"Medic! Quickly, call a medic! The Third Prince is back!"

"General Yichun's injuries are severe, hurry!"

……

In the wounded soldiers' camp, Xiao Jingyu leaned against the bed as the military doctor bandaged the deep, bone-revealing wound on his left arm.

Xiao Yichun lay on the bed next to him, his face still pale, but his breathing was much more steady, and he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Xiao Yidong sat by the bed, quietly watching over his brother.

Xiao Jingyu's gaze fell on Han Shixun, and he looked him up and down before his brows slowly furrowed.

"Shixun, why are you wearing a centurion's uniform? Where is your vanguard lieutenant's armor?"

Han Shixun gave a wry smile and shook his head: "Your Highness, I was demoted by the Crown Prince from the deputy commander of the vanguard to a centurion, and now I am in charge of guarding the city gate."

Xiao Jingyu was extremely surprised and asked, "Why?"

Han Shixun did not hide anything and told the truth.

"Because this humble general disobeyed the Crown Prince's orders."

"In that battle, the Crown Prince forbade me to go out and rescue General Xu, but I did not listen to him."

"The Crown Prince said that I had no respect for military discipline and had led troops out of command without authorization, so he demoted me three ranks and reduced me to the rank of centurion."

Xiao Jingyu remained silent for a long time, his fists clenched tightly.

Then he snorted coldly, his voice filled with disappointment and anger: "Xiao Yunfeng! At this critical juncture, he's still pulling this stunt!"

"While the soldiers at the front are fighting desperately, he's suppressing loyal and virtuous officials from behind! What right does he have to be a commander-in-chief?"

Han Shixun raised his head, looked at Xiao Jingyu's angry eyes, and lowered his voice to say, "Your Highness, to be honest, General Xu has joined forces with several generals in the army to submit a memorial to His Majesty, impeaching the Crown Prince."

"They want His Majesty to remove the Crown Prince from his position as Marshal, and then... invite General Su, the Duke of Zhenbei, to return to service!"

Xiao Jingyu's fingers trembled violently, utterly astonished.

He never expected that Xu Cheng would also come to this point.

This also shows that the crown prince is not popular with the army.

"Why, after I submitted my memorial, did His Majesty not summon General Su?"

"His Majesty has not responded."

After listening, Xiao Jingyu slowly nodded: "In that case, General Xu is right. This battle cannot be allowed to continue with the Crown Prince."

"I will write another letter, earnestly requesting Your Majesty to invite Elder Su to serve in the government."

"If we want to win this battle against the Eastern Yi, then Elder Su must replace the Crown Prince and become the Grand Marshal of the Eastern Expedition."