His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Mu Yuan was not intimidated by Zhu Zheng at all; instead, he calmly said:

"We have already informed Your Highness that this person's identity is suspicious. If it weren't for Your Highness's sake, he would have been apprehended the moment he approached the military camp. How could we have allowed him to swagger in with Your Highness?"

"Stop giving me those high-sounding excuses!" Zhu Zheng roared, pointing his finger at Mu Yuan's nose. "You're clearly settling a personal score!"

"Settling personal scores? What makes you say that, Your Highness?" Mu Yuan's eyes were full of innocence.

Zhu Zheng's eyes were bloodshot as he vented his pent-up anger in front of everyone:

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You must still be brooding over what happened at the funeral hall a couple of days ago. Now that you have an opportunity, how could you let it slip by? Besides, I've already made it clear that this person is one of my advisors, yet you arrested him on such a fabricated charge as suspicious identity. Isn't that settling a personal score?"

Faced with Prince Ning's displeasure, Mu Yuan did not respond directly, but instead looked at his sister-in-law Qin Hongxiu: "General Qin, how should we deal with unidentified people who have broken into the military camp?"

Qin Hongxiu was unsure of Mu Yuan's intentions, and although she had her doubts, she still replied in agreement:

"Military camps are important military sites. Anyone with questionable identity who trespasses should be executed on the spot!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Wenbin's already pale face turned even whiter. Struggling, he looked at Zhu Zheng with a terrified expression, shouting, "Your Highness, save me! Your Highness, save me!!!!"

Upon hearing that his advisors would be executed on the spot, Zhu Zheng trembled with rage, gritting his teeth as he said, "Mu Yuan, you dare to kill my advisors! I will fight you to the death!!!"

However, Mu Yuan once again ignored Zhu Zheng's threat and shouted in a deep voice:

"Where is the executioner?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man clad in armor strode out from the crowd.

"Your humble servant is here!"

Mu Yuan pointed at the captured Ma Wenbin and slowly said, "This man's identity is unknown. He forcibly entered our Western Prefecture military camp. Take him away and execute him immediately!"

"Your Highness, save me!!!"

Ma Wenbin was so frightened that he became paralyzed on the spot. He was ruthlessly dragged away by the soldiers, and he kept shouting, hoping that Zhu Zheng could save him.

"Mu Yuan, I will not let you off!!!"

Zhu Zheng's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and his dozen or so followers stepped forward, attempting to forcibly rescue Ma Wenbin.

"How dare you commit violence in the military camp! Men, surround them!"

When Yang Dayan saw that Zhu Zheng's entourage still dared to save people, he shouted loudly, and soldiers from all directions surrounded Zhu Zheng and his party.

Zhu Zheng was still angry, but seeing the situation and so many people surrounding him, he instantly sobered up. Wasn't he just courting death by acting wildly on someone else's turf?

The accompanying entourage was also frightened by this scene; some were even so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.

Realizing what was happening, Zhu Zheng looked at Mu Yuan. The current situation forced him to back down, but he didn't want to appear weak in front of so many people, so he forced a brave face and repeatedly confirmed:

"Mu Yuan, do you really intend to execute my advisors?!"

"Your Highness, this is a military camp. If everyone can come in, wouldn't this place become a marketplace? I am acting in accordance with the law. Even if this reaches the Emperor's ears, I believe he will know the truth and will not punish me!" Mu Yuan spoke in a businesslike manner, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Fine, fine, fine!!!" Zhu Zheng gritted his teeth and said "fine" three times, his words filled with resentment: "Mu Yuan, we'll see!"

Given his unfavorable circumstances, Zhu Zheng could only prepare to leave with a belly full of resentment.

However, the Western Army, which surrounded Zhu Zheng in layers, showed no sign of making way for him.

"Mu Yuan, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to harm me?"

Zhu Zheng was already furious at losing a staff member for no reason, and now these Western Army soldiers dared to block his departure, which made Zhu Zheng feel humiliated like never before.

Mu Yuan turned his head and gave Yang Daye a wink.

The latter understood immediately.

"Disperse!"

With just one word, the Western Army, which had been completely surrounding Zhu Zheng, dispersed one after another.

They barely managed to make way for Zhu Zheng, creating a narrow passageway.

Zhu Zheng had never suffered such a humiliation before, and he secretly vowed to avenge himself a hundredfold or a thousandfold in the future.

"General, are we just going to let him go like this?"

Watching Zhu Zheng's departing figure, Yang Daye felt somewhat unwilling.

"Otherwise what?" Mu Yuan's gaze was deep. He knew that the Western Army was resentful towards the court and Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng. But Zhu Zheng was, after all, a member of the royal family. If they attacked him, the court would definitely send troops to suppress them.

At that time, the four southwestern states will be plunged into chaos.

In short, taking action against Zhu Zheng now would be entirely detrimental.

Today, by executing his advisors, we aim to both boost the morale of the Western Army and warn Zhu Zheng not to try to seize control of the Western Army, thus making him wary of taking over military power.

"Let's begin training!"

After getting rid of Zhu Zheng, Mu Yuan focused all his attention on training.

Although this incident served as a warning to Zhu Zheng and boosted the morale of the Western Army, it also created a deep-seated grudge, and Zhu Zheng will certainly not let it go easily.

The most important thing right now is to unite the morale of the Western Army and firmly grasp military power.

This is the only way to negotiate with the imperial court and even with Prince Ning.

Secondly, it's about taking good care of this frail body.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

Only by tempering one's body can one avoid the schemes of villains.

noon.

After finishing a morning of training with the soldiers, Mu Yuan was exhausted and returned to the barracks to rest early without even having lunch.

Why would you do this?

A pang of heartache flashed in Qin Hongxiu's eyes. The rise and fall of the entire Mu family, as well as the burden of hundreds of thousands of Xifu soldiers, all rested on Mu Yuan's shoulders. An ordinary person would probably have gone mad long ago.

In addition, in order to recover their health, they silently endured the excruciating pain.

Such will and perseverance are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Mu Yuan slumped onto the edge of the bed, his right hand trembling as he picked up the teacup on the table beside him and drank the entire cup of tea in one gulp. He wiped his mouth and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"My father and brothers are dead, and my grandmother has entrusted the Western Army to me. How can I fail her?"

After a brief moment of reflection, Mu Yuan changed the subject: "By the way, sister-in-law, there's something I'd like to ask you to do."

"What is it?" Qin Hongxiu asked, puzzled.

"I want you to invite Sixth Sister-in-law to the military camp," Mu Yuan said.

"Lin Xueshang?" Qin Hongxiu was even more puzzled. "Why did you summon her to the military camp?"

Mu Yuan didn't give a direct answer, but instead gave a meaningful smile: "You'll find out when the time comes."