Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Cai Guozhong was in a dilemma. The internal purge was not yet complete, and many generals who were involved with Partridge Di had been arrested and imprisoned. The internal situation was in turmoil. At this time, he should have been sitting firmly in the Baron's Mansion, suppressing all doubts and disturbances.

Once he leaves, with the current strength of Ravenburg, it is likely that the chaos will not be able to be suppressed and the main camp will be destroyed.

In order to suppress the rebels, Cai Guozhong has dispatched his four elite troops overnight to pursue and kill the rebels. Currently, the number of troops in the city has been reduced to less than two thousand. These two thousand soldiers are responsible for defending the city, arresting people, patrolling, interrogating, and investigating, in order to stabilize Cai Guozhong's base.

This basic population base has 200,000 people, which seems very small, but in reality it is quite large. At its peak, the entire No Man's Land had a population of one million. After more than ten years of war, plague, and famine, the old, weak, sick, and disabled were basically all killed.

The rest, regardless of gender, are all teenagers and young adults. These people can be easily taught some skills and given some weapons and equipment, and then sent to the front lines to fight. In other words, as long as resources are supplied without limit, a large number of low-level cannon fodder and elite cannon fodder can be mass-produced at the lowest possible rank.

If Crow Fort falls, Cai Guozhong will lose his source of recruits and will soon be left with no troops. Moreover, most of the soldiers' families live in Crow Fort, which means that his soldiers are unlikely to turn around and fight their own families.

At this crucial juncture, Tsai Kuo-chung simply cannot leave.

At the very least, no one should know that he has left Ravencrest, otherwise there will be riots in the rear, which is almost a foregone conclusion.

Once Cai Guozhong recalls his elite troops, the rebels will immediately break free and wreak havoc throughout the territory controlled by Cai Guozhong. They may even flee north and launch surprise attacks on the rear of the front-line troops, resulting in losses that Cai Guozhong cannot afford.

"I must go!" Cai Guozhong cast aside his fantasies and concerns, his expression dignified, his tone calm yet firm: "A wife who has shared hardship cannot be abandoned. My wife and I are deeply devoted to each other, and we are bound by fate. How can I abandon her?"

"Back then, I was powerless, defeated and fleeing for my life, and we were separated in the wilderness. I couldn't save her, but now I have the ability to save her and I won't. I have no face to live in this world, and I can't face Nianxiong. Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Jiang. I will be more careful."

Outsiders cannot understand Cai Guozhong's feelings for his wife.

She was his lawfully wedded wife, brought into the family with great pomp and circumstance. She was his virtuous and capable assistant who accompanied him from a lowly soldier to the position of garrison general. After repeated defeats, she helped him rally his remaining troops, boost morale, and even sold her dowry to raise funds for his military campaign, enabling him to make a comeback.

Without his wife's help, he would have been finished long ago, and he wouldn't have the wealth, glory, and promising future he enjoys today.

To put it bluntly, in Cai Guozhong's eyes, no matter how beautiful a woman is, no matter how much he likes her, she is at most a concubine, a plaything to pass the time. Toys should be put in their proper place, and anyone who dares to covet the position of the principal wife has been buried alive by him.

Even if the principal wife dies, it's not her turn for the concubines to take her place. Don't even think about it; thinking about it is a sin, and they deserve to die.

In Cai Guozhong's heart, there will always be only one legal wife, and she is irreplaceable!

To ensure that Tsai Nien-hsiung's position was secure and that he could smoothly inherit the family business created by Tsai Kuo-chung and his wife without being robbed or harmed by his other siblings, Tsai Kuo-chung never even considered having any more children born out of wedlock with his concubines.

Zhou Qingfeng said, "Duke knew this might be a trap, yet he still jumped in?"

Cai Guozhong said, "Mr. Jiang seems to be very concerned about my safety."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "We are friends, isn't it normal for us to care about each other's safety?"

Cai Guozhong is involved in the strategic layout of Sword Tower in the no-owner territory. He is an important piece that is temporarily irreplaceable. This is a set strategic plan and an inescapable trend. We can only follow the trend and not go against it, otherwise we will be crushed.

If Zhou Qingfeng hadn't been involved in the Cai Zhe dispute, he could have remained completely uninvolved.

But now that he has already made enemies with the Partridge Di, if the Partridge Di succeeds and becomes too powerful, he will be the one who suffers.

Moreover, ensuring Cai Guozhong's continued power would also protect his interests in the no-man's-land to a certain extent. In the future, if he wanted to support the resistance and seize military power, there would be many more opportunities to deal with Cai Guozhong. Now that he had made Cai Guozhong owe him a great favor, he would eventually have to get it back.

After a moment's thought, Cai Guozhong had an idea and pleaded, "Mr. Jiang, since we are friends, please stay and help me break this deadlock."

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head and said, "I have to leave today, so I really can't stay here."

Upon hearing this, Cai Guozhong looked regretful.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back and smiled faintly: "My lord, although I cannot stay to help you, I have three strategies that can help you break through the predicament and safely rescue Madam Cai. I wonder if my lord would be willing to listen?"

Cai Guozhong was immediately invigorated, and bowed respectfully, even changing his self-address: "If you are willing to offer advice, sir, Guozhong is of course willing to listen."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled and said, "Alright, please take notes, Your Excellency, and I will explain everything to you in detail so as not to miss anything."

Upon hearing this, Cai Guozhong immediately went behind his desk, picked up his pen, and looked at Zhou Qingfeng, saying, "Please speak frankly, sir."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "The first strategy is to confuse the public."

"You can create the illusion that you haven't left. Arrange for a trusted confidant to handle daily affairs and another person to meet your subordinates. This will make the enemy believe that you are still in command at Ravenburg. This will confuse the enemy and prevent them from taking advantage of the situation."

Cai Guozhong quickly wrote it down and continued, "It can indeed confuse the public, but it can only fool people for a while, and it may not be able to hide it from those who are interested. If it is discovered, someone may take the opportunity to cause trouble and seize Raven Castle."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "The second strategy is to deceive everyone and secretly mobilize a cavalry unit stationed outside to quietly return to the vicinity of Ravenburg to stand by. In case of any emergency, this cavalry unit can quickly provide support and ensure the safety of Ravenburg."

Cai Guozhong's eyes lit up: "And then, and then..."

Zhou Qingfeng said, "The third strategy is to lure the snake out of its hole."

“Send Cai Nianxiong to lead a team of personal guards to the Badger's Labyrinth to rescue Madam Cai. Your Excellency, you can change into the personal guard armor and disguise yourself as a personal guard. No one but you can know that you are Your Excellency, so as not to arouse suspicion.”

"Another team of secret guards will be dispatched to provide support from the shadows. Once Madam Cai is successfully rescued, the Duke will immediately protect Nianxiong and Madam Cai as they evacuate. If Partridge Di and his men try to take advantage of the chaos to kidnap Madam Cai and Nianxiong, the Duke can strike back from the shadows at any time."

"At that time, the personal guards and secret guards will surround him, and Partridge Di will be trapped in a deadly situation."

Cai Guozhong couldn't help but praise: "Brilliant! Mr. Jiang's talent is worth a thousand troops. If I had Mr. Jiang's help, let alone a mere partridge barbarian, even if the Northern Allied Army of 50,000 troops marched south, I would be confident that they would never return!"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "You flatter me, sir. They are just some trivial skills."

Cai Guozhong put down his brush, his expression fervent. He couldn't help but grasp Zhou Qingfeng's hands and said excitedly, "Mr. Jiang is too modest. I wonder if Mr. Jiang would be willing to stay and serve in my army? I would like to treat him as my chief strategist, and my thousands of troops would be at your command."

Zhou Qingfeng naturally withdrew his hand and politely declined with a smile: "I appreciate your kindness, Your Excellency, but I have other important duties to attend to and I am afraid it will be difficult for me to serve in Your Excellency's army."