Hou Ye's palm heart is a black lotus

Chapter 796 Taking a Detour? (First Update)
Feng Cheng felt he had arrived too late and was filled with remorse. So he stayed in Duzhou for a while longer, ostensibly to reorganize his troops and gather strength, but secretly to send people to search for Ye Yunfeng's whereabouts.

—Apart from him and a few close confidants, no one knew that Ye Yunfeng was still alive.

The reason he could tell that the disfigured corpse was not Ye Yunfeng was because... the sword on the man's body was not the one he had given to Ye Yunfeng.

Feng Cheng was both surprised and delighted, but dared not show it. He simply ordered the body to be collected and sent back to the capital in a grand manner, so that everyone would believe that the dead person was Ye Yunfeng.

However, he always held onto a sliver of hope.

"Any news?" Feng Cheng asked.

The group looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Too many people died that day. After the Southern Hu troops withdrew, we have been clearing the battlefield, but..."

The soldiers who died in the battle of the Southern Barbarians were buried on the spot, while their own people were transported back to the city as much as possible. Even if they could not be sent back to their hometowns, they were given a monument and a tombstone to comfort them.

But Ye Yunfeng was not among those people.

Feng Cheng then asked, "Has the investigation been thorough?"

The speaker sighed and shook his head. "We've searched both banks of the river, but we haven't found any trace of him. General, could it be..."

He didn't dare say the rest aloud, but everyone understood.

Could it be that Ye Yunfeng is really dead? Is their search in vain?

Feng Cheng didn't explain much, only instructing, "Keep searching. Even if you can't find them, you can at least find out where the Southern Hu people are."

Everyone perked up at this.

"General, our men have indeed discovered the whereabouts of the Nanhu people! Seeing that they couldn't capture Duzhou after a long siege, they simply gave up and chose to withdraw. However, their casualties were also quite heavy, and their progress was slow. In addition, our men have been pursuing and intercepting them, so they haven't returned to Nanhu yet. Moreover, for some reason, there seems to be internal conflict among them. I heard that several generals are arguing fiercely."

Feng Cheng scoffed, "They attacked first, and now they want to run away? Do you think it's that easy?! Since they dared to do that in the first place, they should have been prepared to die here!"

He bandaged his wound and then got up and went to the map.

—This was drawn by Ye Yunfeng himself after he arrived in Duzhou, when he personally led a team to survey the terrain.

Feng Cheng tapped a spot on it.

"Tuoba Shan is blinded by greed and is willing to do anything to avenge his brother, so he has raised an army to invade! But by doing so, he is putting the entire Southern Hu in danger! Doesn't he realize that with such reckless behavior, which of his ministers and soldiers would be willing to accept it?"

Everyone could clearly see that Tuoba Shan wanted Ye Yunfeng dead.

As the ruler, he certainly had the power, but the others weren't fools either.

To rashly start a war is tantamount to sending one's soldiers to their deaths!

How could they be willing to accept this?

Having suffered heavy losses in the previous war, internal conflicts were on the verge of erupting!
"Seek death!"

A soldier beside him asked, "General, if they choose to continue fighting and launch a surprise attack on Xiacheng, what should we do?"

The fact that Feng Cheng is not currently stationed in Xiacheng poses some potential risks.

Feng Cheng sneered, "A defeated army with demoralized troops, what is there to fear!"

The group exchanged glances, knowing that what he said made sense, but they still couldn't completely dispel their worries.

“If the Prince of Yannan can send troops to support us as soon as possible, we will naturally have nothing to fear. But... I have heard that the rebel army is quite powerful, sweeping through everything in its path, and some garrisons have even surrendered and offered up their cities! They are using the name of restoring the Great Zhou, which is indeed misleading people. It will not be easy to deal with them.”

"Moreover, the King of Yannan is unlikely to be able to send troops in the short term, so we can only rely on ourselves!"

How could Feng Cheng not understand the implications? But...

"If Ah Feng could lead three thousand soldiers to defend Duzhou to the death, why can't we?"

Feng Cheng was looking at the map, pondering his next move, when suddenly a soldier rushed in.

"General! Urgent news!"

"Enter!"

Feng Cheng looked up at the hurried soldiers and asked in a deep voice,

What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?

"Reporting to the General! The Nanhu people have suddenly changed direction for some unknown reason and are heading towards Xiacheng!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

"What!?"

"Are they really going to attack Haining?"

"I knew these sons of bitches were all tricks! Seeing that the general was stationed in Duzhou and dared not fight head-on, they instead plotted a sneak attack on Xiacheng! Bah—!"

"General! Xiacheng's defenses are currently weak. If the Southern Hu launch a full-scale attack, we will inevitably be in danger! What should we do?"

Everyone looked at Feng Cheng, their expressions anxious and worried.

Feng Cheng remained remarkably calm, quickly arriving at his answer and shaking his head decisively:

"They're not going to attack the city, they're going to take a detour back to the Southern Hu!"

Everyone was stunned.

Feng Cheng replied, “They have already suffered a defeat and heavy casualties. In addition, their morale is low and they are a disorganized mess! I believe they are well aware of this. Although I am not in Xiacheng now, the garrison there is quite experienced and its strength is not weak. If we really face them, the Nanhu may not be able to win.”

He simply and decisively drew a line on the map.
"Instead of continuing to risk fighting here, it's better to take a detour and retreat back to Nanhu! As long as they pass through Xiacheng by waterway, completely shaking off our people, they can return to Nanhu smoothly as quickly as possible. That's their real objective!"

Everyone understood.

"These southern barbarians are truly cunning! How does the general plan to deal with them?"

Feng Cheng's gaze was sharp, and his words carried a murderous intent.

"Track them with all your might! Make sure they never return!"

……

While sending troops out, Feng Cheng ordered someone to send a message back to Xiacheng, informing the Nanhu people of his plans and telling them to prepare.

But he soon discovered that this method wouldn't work.

Because the Nanhu actually split their forces into two routes, one by land and one by water, and advanced separately!

The terrain was rugged and the forests were shady, making the journey extremely slow.

However, traveling by water is several times faster than traveling by land!
"They'd never guess that we had already prepared boats on the riverbank long before we even set out. We're just waiting to finish off Duzhou and kill Ye Yunfeng before we can head back!"

On the river, several boats were lined up end to end, traveling along the wide waterway.

Several Nanhu generals, dressed in heavy armor, stood on the bow deck, chatting and laughing.

"It is indeed the Water Clan Chief's wisdom and decisiveness that allowed him to come up with such a plan. As long as we send a small team to travel through the mountains to distract them and make them think that we are going to take a detour back, we can immediately attract most of their fighting force. I'm afraid they will never expect that we dare to take the waterway directly! Naturally, we will have no obstacles!"