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

night.

In a secluded courtyard in Haizhou City.

This place is secluded, far from the central military tent, and rarely visited by anyone. It is a hidden place that even the Crown Prince does not know about.

The Third Prince, Xiao Jingyu, sat by the bedside, holding a bowl of medicinal soup in his hand, and was feeding it to Xiao Yichun, who was lying on the bed, spoonful by spoonful.

Xiao Yichun's face was still pale, and his lips were almost bloodless, but he was much better than when he was first rescued.

He leaned against the pillow, drank a few sips of his medicine, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Father."

Xiao Jingyu put down the bowl without saying a word, but reached out to feel his forehead and tucked the blanket around him.

On the bed next to him, Xiao Yidong was sitting cross-legged, holding a piece of dry food in his hand and stuffing it into his mouth.

His injury healed the fastest; although his left arm was still bandaged, he could move around freely.

He said as he chewed, "Brother, you should drink a little more."

"If you keep dragging this on, I won't be able to carry you when the Dongyi people attack."

Xiao Yichun tugged at the corner of his mouth, wanting to laugh, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to wince in pain.

"Who wants you to carry me? I can walk by myself."

Xiao Jingyu watched his two sons bickering without interrupting, but his gaze softened slightly.

For the past ten days or so, he has stayed by his two sons' side without leaving them for a moment. Although the food was coarse and bland, he never complained.

For him, the fact that his two sons were able to come back alive was already the greatest blessing from God.

Han Shixun concealed their whereabouts, and the Crown Prince is still unaware that the three of them have returned to Haizhou City.

Xiao Jingyu knew perfectly well that the Crown Prince's refusal to send troops to meet him stemmed from his intention to have him die at the hands of the Dongyi people.

Now that he's back, if the Crown Prince finds out, it will likely cause another uproar.

……

"Your Highness..."

Han Shixun walked in from outside, looking hurried and frowning, as if he had encountered something very serious.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened."

Xiao Jingyu put down the bowl in his hand, signaled Xiao Yidong to take care of his brother, then stood up and walked towards Han Shixun.

"What happened?"

Han Shixun's face turned pale.

"A scout reports that the 30,000-strong Eastern Barbarian army has set off from Ninghai City and is advancing at full speed towards Haizhou City."

"The vanguard has already passed Wanhu City and will be at its gates in two days at the latest!"

Xiao Jingyu's pupils contracted slightly.

He walked to the low table beside him, bent down to pick up the unfolded map, and examined it carefully.

The location of Haizhou City is clearly visible on the map.

The city is bordered by the sea to the east, a river to the west, a flat official road to the south leading directly to the heart of Jiangnan, and Ninghai City, which has been occupied by the Dongyi people, to the north.

If the Dongyi people advance from the north, Haizhou City will be the last line of defense in the East China Sea.

"What's the Crown Prince's attitude?"

Han Shixun gritted his teeth, his tone filled with undisguised disappointment.

"The Crown Prince ordered the entire army to defend to the death and not to go out of the city to meet the enemy, saying that he would wear down those Eastern barbarian bandits."

Xiao Jingyu remained silent for a moment.

He did not immediately comment on the Crown Prince's decision, but instead went outside to the courtyard and looked towards the distant city wall.

After a moment, he turned around, looked at Han Shixun, and said, "At this critical juncture, it is indeed the safest approach to not leave the city to meet the enemy and defend the city to the death."

"The Dongyi people have just won a battle and their morale is high. Our army has many wounded soldiers and low morale. If we rashly go out of the city to meet them, I'm afraid we'll be playing right into their hands."

Han Shixun was taken aback, seemingly not expecting the Third Prince to speak up for the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, do you mean...?"

"My intention is..." Xiao Jingyu continued, "but the problem is, simply holding out won't solve the problem."

How much food supplies are left in the army?

Han Shixun replied, "General Xu has taken inventory; the city's food supplies will last at most a month."

One month...

Han Shixun raised his head, looked at Xiao Jingyu, gritted his teeth, and spoke his mind.

"Your Highness, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"explain."

"Your Highness, although Yichun and Yidong are not fully recovered from their injuries, Yidong is already able to walk."

"Tonight, under the cover of darkness, I can arrange a small boat to take the Prince and his two sons out of the South Gate, along the waterway around Haizhou City, and straight to the Nanjiang Pass."

"Once you cross the Nanjiang Pass, you will enter the Jiangnan region. Once there, you can embark on your journey back to the capital safely."

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince asked me about your condition again yesterday."

"Although I managed to evade the question vaguely, I am worried that... the Crown Prince will find out you have returned sooner or later."

"If he harbors any further thoughts then, Your Highness..."

Han Shixun didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was crystal clear: the Crown Prince didn't want the Third Prince to come back alive.

If he knew that the father and his two sons were in the city, he might take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Suddenly, Xiao Jingyu seemed to have thought of something.

He immediately picked up the map again, examined it carefully, and then his expression changed drastically.

"Nanjiang Pass, Nanpanjiang Wharf..."

He muttered to himself as he fumbled with the map, his gaze suddenly fixing on something.

"Shixun." Xiao Jingyu's voice suddenly changed, becoming urgent and alert. "You just said that we can bypass Haizhou City and go directly to the Nanjiang Pass by boat, right?"

Han Shixun nodded: "Yes, the Nanpanjiang Wharf is located about ten miles south of Haizhou City. You can board a boat there and sail downstream to Nanjiang Pass in less than a day."

"Could the Crown Prince send men to guard the Nanpan River wharf?"

Xiao Jingyu's voice suddenly rose, as if he had suddenly thought of something terrible.

Han Shixun paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, the Crown Prince is currently focused on frontal defense, and all his troops have been deployed to the North and East cities."

"At the Nanpanjiang Wharf... there are only a few dozen old, weak, and disabled soldiers originally sent by the general guarding Haizhou City, watching over a few old ships."

Xiao Jingyu shouted, "That Crown Prince is a fool! How could he overlook such an important place?"

He walked quickly to Han Shixun, his voice urgent and low.

"Shixun, listen to me..."

"The Nanpanjiang Wharf is a crucial waterway hub between Haizhou City and Jiangnan. If the Dongyi people send a troop of soldiers to sail around the sea and go straight up the Nanpanjiang River, they can seize the Nanpanjiang Pass while our army is unprepared, and the entire Haizhou City will become an isolated city!"

"With no reinforcements in front and no way to retreat, even our food supplies will be cut off!"

Han Shixun's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Although he didn't have the same military insight as the Third Prince, he immediately understood the danger behind those words.

"If the Nanjiang Pass falls, Haizhou City will be a dead city!"

"Therefore, we must immediately send people to guard the Nanpanjiang Wharf!"

"Shi Xun, go see the Crown Prince immediately and tell him about this! Instruct him to dispatch troops at once to guard the Nanpan River wharf! It must be done quickly!"

Han Shixun gritted his teeth and clasped his hands in a deep fist salute: "This subordinate will go immediately!"

He turned and rushed out of the tent.

……

An hour later, Han Shixun returned.

His face looked even worse than when he left; his lips were tightly pressed together, and his cheeks were bulging, as if he were holding back a fire.

Xiao Jingyu was changing Xiao Yichun's bandages when he saw his appearance and his movements suddenly stopped: "What did the Crown Prince say?"

Han Shixun took a deep breath, utterly disappointed.

"This humble general didn't even get to see the Crown Prince."

Xiao Jingyu frowned sharply: "What's going on?"

Han Shixun replied through gritted teeth, "I was stopped by the guards as soon as I arrived at the entrance of the main tent."

He said the Crown Prince was discussing matters with General Xu and other generals, and no one was allowed to disturb him.

"This humble general said I had urgent military intelligence and needed to see the Crown Prince. The captain went in to report once, and came out to tell this humble general..."

He paused, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger.

"The Crown Prince said that he is discussing important military matters and has no time to pay attention to the nonsense of a centurion."

"Send this subordinate back to guard the city gate. If he dares to abandon his post again, he will be dismissed and investigated!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingyu was furious and almost smashed the medicine bowl in his hand to the ground.

After a long while, he let out a long breath, as if he wanted to expel all the resentment and disappointment in his chest.

"Incompetent! Foolish!"

"He actually turned a blind eye to such an important checkpoint as the Nanpanjiang Wharf!"

"He's just piling his troops up on the city walls, leaving no way out! He's leading his last 20,000 troops to their deaths!"

"Now we can only hope that the Dongyi haven't discovered this waterway yet, and haven't come up with this plan."

After saying that, he fell silent.

Xiao Jingyu raised his head and looked out the window at the southern night sky.

"General Su..."

Where are you?