Chapter Eleven: Ningyuan (Part 2)

  The city wall of Ningyuan is 3 zhang and 2 chi high, with a base width of 3 zhang and a top width of 2 zhang and 4 chi. The parapet on the city wall is 6 chi high. The perimeter of the city is 9 li and 120 bu, which is roughly equivalent to the 10 li measured by Xiong Hu. It borders the Bohai Sea in the east and a mountainous area in the west. Zhu Yinglong and others came from there, and the terrain is extremely dangerous. It was a famous military stronghold outside the pass during the Ming dynasty.

  On the fifth day after the Houjin army occupied Juhua Island, taking away tens of thousands of tons of grain and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians retreating, Zhu Yinglong and others saw through binoculars that Ningyuan City opened its city gate to let citizens enter and exit, so they decided to set off for Ningyuan City.

  The war ended, Ningyuan City suffered heavy losses, thousands of soldiers were buried in the yellow soil, sleeping forever under this cold land, white mourning clothes fluttered everywhere in the city, coffins were constantly carried out of the city, such a scene made Zhu Yinglong and his party feel indescribably poignant, war was indeed a meat grinder for humanity, in just three days, tens of thousands of lives were crushed into fragments, scattered on this land.

  "Halt! What are you people doing?" The guard at the city gate stepped forward, cautiously blocking the group from proceeding.

  Following the usual practice, Shen Xi smiled and put silver into his sleeve. Xiong Tingbi knew Yuan Chonghuan's character, under whose rule it was absolutely not allowed to accept bribes. He was about to step forward to stop Shen Xi from making a mistake, but was stopped by Zhu Yinglong beside him, who shook his head at him, indicating that he should not go over. Xiong Tingbi did not understand Zhu Yinglong's intention, but as master and servant were different, he still retreated according to the order.

  Shen Creek's approach indeed raised the suspicions of the city gate guards. Before Shen Creek could even finish speaking, Zhu Yinglong and his men were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers. Seeing this situation, Shen Creek was already frightened pale, his legs trembling, unable to speak. These soldiers had just experienced the Ningyuan War and exuded a strong murderous aura from head to toe, and they were well-trained. At the sound of the small school's order: "Take down these Later Jin spies!" Zhu Yinglong and his men were captured with their hands tied behind their backs.

  They were locked in a huge prison cell, and as soon as the gate was closed, Lu Haotian whispered to Zhu Yinglong: "Your Highness, why didn't you let us bring our weapons into the city? Now look, we don't even have the ability to fight back."

  Xiong Tingbi understood Zhu Yinglong's approach. After the war, the search and inspection in Ningyuan City must be very strict. Carrying a knife or gun would be suicidal. However, he was puzzled by Zhu Yinglong's prevention of Shen Xi's mistake and asked: "Your Majesty, just now when we entered the city, why did you stop me from reminding Shen Zhanggui?"

  Zhu Yinglong smiled slightly and explained, "Firstly, I wanted to test whether Yuan Chonghuan's governance is the same as what we've encountered on our way here. Secondly, if we were to formally request an audience with General Yuan, given his current busy schedule, he would likely not have time to see us merchants, even if we could get an audience, it wouldn't be immediate. So I thought of letting them misunderstand that we are spies for the Later Jin, this way they will surely send someone to interrogate us, and then it won't be difficult for us to meet General Yuan."

  "But what if our identities as spies are exposed and the prince's identity is compromised?" Lu Hao Tian realized, worried.

  Zhu Yinglong burst out laughing and said: "From General Xiong's understanding of General Yuan, he wouldn't wrong any good person, let alone us who aren't spies to begin with. Besides, it won't just be us suspected as spies; without concrete evidence, we'll be fine. Moreover, I'd like to meet this Yuan Chonghuan in person - revealing my identity is one of the purposes of my trip to Liaodong."

  "Prince Wang?" Xiong Tingyi exclaimed in surprise, while Lu Haotian's mouth was wide open in shock and he couldn't say a word.

  "You must be very surprised, why would I want to do this?" Zhu Yinglong asked with a smile.

  Xiong Tingbi and Lu Haotian nodded slightly.

  "This king wants to recruit Yuan Chonghuan for his own use!" Zhu Yinglong said solemnly.

  "Your Highness, it's not possible!" Xiong Tingbi said with a shocked expression, "Yuan Chonghuan is a man of strong character, and the current Emperor has shown him great favor, he will certainly not follow Your Highness."

  "Some things can only be known after trying, even if Yuan Chonghuan doesn't surrender to me, I have the ability to make him keep this secret for me, don't you think so, General Xiong?" Zhu Yinglong asked, staring at Xiong Tingbi's face.

  Xiong Tingbi lowered his head with a gloomy expression under Zhu Yinglong's resolute gaze, saying: "Your Highness already knows?"

  "It doesn't matter whether you know or not, what's important is Yuan Chonghuan himself." Zhu Yinglong shifted his gaze from Xiong Tingxu's face and slowly let out a long sigh.

  Xiong Tingbi only then realized that the young prince standing in front of him had a terrifying mind, but he was also so sincere to others. Sometimes he really didn't know which one in front of him was his true self.

  Xiong Tingbi seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, and he let out a sigh, saying softly: "The life of the end general was saved by the king, so everything about the end general is also the king. Whatever the king wants the end general to do, that's what will be done."

  Zhu Yinglong couldn't help but feel a twinge of reluctance in his heart. He had not originally intended for things to turn out this way, but he saw the immense power of so-called "loyalty" in Sun Shouxing's actions. This idea had already penetrated deep into people's bones, especially those with exceptional talents, who were even more deeply indoctrinated. To change their mindset, one would have to replace their very marrow; ideological remolding was the only way. As for this trip, Zhu Yinglong still had a glimmer of hope. Sometimes, it was just a moment of hesitation that caused one to miss many opportunities. This was why Zhu Yinglong decided to enter Ningyuan City - it could be said to be a gamble. If he won, he would gain a great advantage; if he lost, he could minimize his losses. Why not take the chance?