Deploy Troops to the Northern Frontier

"Yes!"

Sun Xiang agreed with difficulty.

It wasn't out of dissatisfaction with the military order, but rather a feeling of disbelief. Still, he immediately went to execute it.

"Wait a moment!" Ren Tianye stood up. "I will go with you. I am also curious whether this Ye Fan can actually make it out of Yunji City."

The two of them left the General's Manor together and soon arrived at the base of the Yunji City wall. Sun Xiang arranged for his men to search every inch of the area.

Over an hour later, the soldiers reported the results to Sun Xiang, who then came trembling to report back to Ren Tianye.

"G-G-General..."

"Did you find any traces?"

"Yes, yes..." Sun Xiang's teeth were chattering. "Traces were found at the base of the wall. It should be Ye Fan, who took Su Xiu and escaped by scaling the city wall."

After saying this, Sun Xiang fell to his knees with a thud. "General, it is my dereliction of duty. I failed to guard the city walls strictly and let that bastard Ye Fan escape."

"Please punish me, General!"

Sun Xiang buried his head on the ground, kowtowing heavily.

His heart was filled with remorse and torment.

From the General's demeanor, he could tell how highly the General valued this Ye Fan. The General had sent him to keep a close watch on the Yunji City walls.

It was just a single wall, yet he had actually let the man get away!

This was more than just a dereliction of duty!

According to military law, he should be beheaded!

The soldiers following Sun Xiang also dropped to their knees one after another.

Their faces were filled with overwhelming shame.

With so many of them, they still let a mere Ye Fan carry someone on his back, scale the wall, and escape. The General had treated them with mountain-heavy grace, and Yunji City was already their home; how could their hearts not churn with turmoil?

"Get up!" Ren Tianye said in a mild tone. "Ye Fan is no ordinary man. I don't blame you."

"Let's go. Take me to see the traces of Ye Fan's escape."

They soon arrived at the spot. There were obvious marks at the base of the wall, and more marks leading up the wall, including the path taken to descend, all clearly visible.

In other words, this was exactly how Ye Fan had scaled the wall to escape.

However...

Ren Tianye took a look at the Yunji City wall.

After being reinforced and heightened by Zhan Shubai, it was over a dozen meters tall. Even the siege ladders of the Imperial Army couldn't reach the top. The surface of the wall had also been made incredibly smooth by Zhan Shubai; any arrows shot at it by the Imperial Army would simply slide right off.

Furthermore, there were always soldiers guarding and patrolling the wall. Following his orders, Sun Xiang had even intensified the patrols.

Yet Ye Fan, carrying a large box on his back with Su Xiu stuffed inside, under the brightly lit city and in a situation where soldiers could have spotted him at any moment, had scaled the Yunji City wall like a gecko!

Hah!

"Makes perfect sense! Total sense!"

"Female-oriented novels are just so logical!"

Just then, the dispatched scouts returned to report, "Reporting to the General! The group of twenty-two people has stopped to rest. They lit a campfire for warmth. We could see clearly that it is undoubtedly Ye Fan and Su Xiu."

"The twenty men following them are all burly and strong; they should be soldiers."

The scouts arrived one after another.

"Reporting to the General! Ye Fan's group has mounted their horses and is heading south."

"Reporting to the General! Ye Fan's group is heading in the direction of Qiniu Town."

"Reporting to the General! Qiniu Town has sent out a hundred men to receive Ye Fan!"

...

Ren Tianye's gaze turned cold and sharp.

Qiniu Town!

He knew this place. It was a dilapidated little town not far outside the city. It had no walls to defend and no soldiers stationed there. It was a completely perilous location.

Ye Fan went in that direction?

Did he have some sort of backing there?

Or was he merely passing through Qiniu Town?

However, none of that mattered anymore.

He ordered all the men in the scout camp to continue their reconnaissance and report back, ensuring that no trace of Ye Fan's movements was missed. Meanwhile, Ren Tianye ordered Sun Xiang, "Beat the drums! Send orders to the three armies to assemble!"

"Assemble?" Sun Xiang was momentarily stunned.

Generally, unless something monumental happened, the three armies would not casually assemble. After all, beating the drums to transmit orders was equivalent to issuing the highest directive.

Once the drums sounded, any soldier of Yunji City, no matter what they were doing, had to immediately come and gather; otherwise, they would be subjected to military punishment.

Right now, there was neither a barbarian invasion nor a threat from the Imperial Army. Assemble?

Sun Xiang didn't understand.

However, not understanding didn't mean he wouldn't obey. He immediately ordered men to beat the drums. Instantly, a booming sound like muffled thunder echoed from the military camp in the inner city of Yunji City and spread far and wide.

Yunji City was still brightly lit. Countless soldiers who had gone out to search for Ye Fan hadn't even returned to camp yet. Upon hearing the drumbeats, they immediately turned their horses around and hurried back.

None dared to delay for even a moment.

The drumbeats also startled half of Yunji City.

Yunji City was already restless tonight. Once the drums sounded, even more people couldn't sleep, terrified that some catastrophic event had occurred.

Inside the Su Manor, Su Hong rushed out.

He gazed into the distance toward the direction of the drums, his face turning pale.

"W-What is going on?"

"Is it a barbarian invasion?"

"If it truly is a barbarian invasion, then it would be a great opportunity for our Su Manor. Without having to place my hopes on my two nieces, I can also make the Su Manor regain its former glory and rise to an even higher level!"

...

After three rounds of drumbeats ended, all the soldiers of Yunji City had assembled.

On the massive open training ground at the inner city military camp of Yunji City, Ren Tianye stood upon the commander's platform. His gaze swept over the troops, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Over this recent period, through the continuous recruitment of new soldiers, the number of troops in Yunji City had reached a scale of ten thousand.

Having undergone training, and especially... with the motivation of high monthly salaries, this ten-thousand-strong army could already be considered elite.

Clad in the equipment of the Imperial Army, with most of them having experience fighting against the Imperial Army, it could be said that these ten thousand men were a force not to be underestimated.

They might not compare to the former Chifeng Army, nor could they quite match the Great Yu Imperial Army, but they were absolutely a formidable force!

"I am here to announce a few matters..."

Ren Tianye's voice rang out. "Zhang Shi!"

"This general is here!"

"I order you to muster one thousand five hundred light cavalry, one thousand five hundred heavy cavalry, and take the Eight Hundred Army. You will follow me out of Yunji City!"

Zhang Shi was taken aback for a moment.

Was this a campaign to sweep across the Northern Frontier?

But to sweep across the Northern Frontier, wasn't this number of troops a bit too small?

Furthermore, hadn't the General said that the barbarians were about to attack? Going out to sweep the Northern Frontier at a time like this?

He didn't understand.

But that didn't prevent him from executing the military order immediately.

"Yes, sir!"

"Sun Xiang!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"During the time I am away from Yunji City, the defense of the city is entrusted to you. The barbarians are highly likely to invade during this time. You must be extremely cautious and absolutely cannot afford the slightest negligence or carelessness!"

"You must defend Yunji City well!"

Sun Xiang felt a loud boom echo in his head.

His first reaction was panic and fear.

It wasn't that he was worried about failing to hold the city. After all, having experienced the previous siege by the Imperial Army, he understood clearly that with Yunji City's location and the city walls built by Zhan Shubai, even seventy thousand elite imperial guards would suffer a crushing defeat, let alone the barbarians who were unskilled in siege warfare.

The General had even left him with seven thousand men.

He was very confident in holding off the barbarian attack with seven thousand men.

His panic and fear stemmed primarily from the anxiety of being left without Ren Tianye's personal command.

He initially followed Ren Tianye because, among all the guerrilla generals, Ren Tianye was the most unique and the most capable of commanding respect.

Later on, every single thing Ren Tianye accomplished only deepened his sense of awe and trust in the man.

But now, the Great General was leaving the city.

He would be left without his pillar of support.

"Sun Xiang, I believe in you!"

"Great General!" Sun Xiang gritted his teeth. "Your subordinate will definitely defend Yunji City!"

"Even if I have to lay down my life, I will keep Yunji City safe."

"Good!" Ren Tianye nodded in satisfaction. He valued Sun Xiang the most and had entrusted many matters to him; the man was already more than capable of taking charge on his own.

Sending Sun Xiang to Shanhe City to escort the families of the Eight Hundred Army had been a deliberate test to temper him.

The results proved that Sun Xiang had been tempered exceedingly well.

Now...

It was time to give Sun Xiang an even greater trial.

Pausing for a moment, Ren Tianye shouted, "Soldiers of the three armies, hear my command! After I leave Yunji City, you are to obey General Sun Xiang's orders without fail!"

"Furthermore..."

"Zhang Shi, order the three thousand men accompanying me to each pack seven days' worth of dry rations. We depart in half an incense stick of time. There must be absolutely no mistakes!"

...