The Young Swordsman of Dalu

News of Helian Ming's defeat at Pingcheng quickly reached the royal court. Nabulu Khan knew that he was like an arrow released from a bow, impossible to take back, and he had to launch an attack on the Great Lu Kingdom no matter what.

Inside the imperial palace of Yulu City, Zhou Shiyao watched the news from the northwestern border with unease. Li Linlie was like a thorn in his side, impossible to remove, yet painful to pull out. The rumors spreading throughout Yulu City, along with the secret reports from the northwestern border, all pointed to Li Linlie's intention to betray the Great Lu Kingdom.

Zhou Shiyao stood up and jumped up twice to relieve his anxiety. He then ordered someone to summon Yunze to the palace.

Yunze soon arrived at Fuyuan Palace and met Zhou Shiyao.

"Your Majesty! What brings you to my court?" Yunze asked.

"Prime Minister Yun! News has come from the northwest border that Bulu Khan is leading an army of 300,000 from the Western Regions toward our northwest border. Do you think we can hold our northwest border?" Zhou Shiyao asked.

"Your Majesty! General Li Linlie has always been stationed and guarding the northwestern border. For many years, the defenses have been impeccable, and the northwestern border has remained peaceful. Now, Your Majesty has appointed Minister Yuan as the Grand Marshal of the Northwestern Army, leading 200,000 troops to the northwestern border. With the addition of 200,000 troops on the northwestern border, no one can hope to break through our strong northwestern defenses. Your Majesty should rest assured," Yunze said.

“I have been feeling uneasy lately, which doesn’t seem like a good omen,” Zhou Shiyao said.

“Is Your Majesty still affected by rumors? Li Chaoyang has personally gone to Beijiang City. The loyalty of the Li family to our Great Lu Kingdom is evident. Your Majesty should rest assured and wait for the good news from the front!” Yunze said.

"I hope so!" Zhou Shiyao said.

Li Linlie received an imperial edict from the court, informing him that Grand Marshal Yuan Hui and the grain officer Cao Yong were already on their way to the northwest border.

“General! With you here, why would the court send another marshal? Besides, that Cao Yong is no good either. I can guarantee that he has spoken ill of our Northwest Army to His Majesty!” Jiang Han said.

"Let him be! Let's just focus on doing our job well and not let him find fault with us," Li Linlie said.

“Cao Yong should arrive soon! He’s a grain and provisions official, so he should arrive a little earlier than Minister Yuan,” Jiang Han said.

"When he arrives, we should treat him well. You all must not talk too much, lest you cause trouble," Li Linlie instructed.

“I’ll give the order!” Jiang Han said.

“Nabulu has advanced another fifty kilometers. The great victory at Pingcheng did not deter him; on the contrary, it strengthened his fighting spirit. We must win this battle! Otherwise, the Great Lu Kingdom behind us will be in imminent danger!” Li Linlie said.

"I will obey the general's orders!"

Cao Yong arrived outside Ningcheng at dusk, where Li Linlie led his men to greet him and invited him to stay in Ningcheng.

"General Li! I won't go into the city. I'll wait here for Commander Yuan to arrive!" Cao Yong said in a sinister tone.

Li Linlie and his subordinates tried to persuade Cao Yong for a long time, but he refused to enter the city. In the end, Li Linlie had no choice but to send 5,000 troops to Ningcheng to strengthen its defenses.

Li Linlie returned to the Ningcheng border defense camp without saying a word. As soon as he entered the door, he took off his sword from his waist and threw it aside.

"General! What does Cao Yong mean? Does he expect us to eat him? What nonsense!" Jiang Han said angrily.

"We offered our warm welcome but were met with a cold shoulder!" Liu Lin said.

"I'm tired! You should all go back and get some rest!" Li Linlie said.

After everyone left, Li Linlie sat alone in the room, his anger rising as he recalled Cao Yong's rejection. He had long heard that Cao Yong was a bad person; as the emperor's father-in-law, he always liked to stir up trouble in front of the emperor and form cliques in the court. Many ministers joined his faction out of fear of offending Cao Yong. Now that he had come to the northwestern border, Li Linlie would not allow someone like Cao Yong to act recklessly.

On the night Cao Yong arrived, he contacted his informant, who was hidden in the Northwest Border Army. He learned from the informant that Li Linlie had actually let Yuchi Liang and his party go. The informant also told him that Li Linlie was going to submit to the Western Regions. Cao Yong was so frightened that he couldn't sit still.

“Li Linlie is incredibly audacious! He has actually betrayed His Majesty! Send a message by carrier pigeon immediately. I want to report what happened here to the court and let His Majesty decide!” Cao Yong said.

Li Chaoyang arrived at Beijiang City. As soon as he entered the city, he saw that all the people in the city were actively preparing for war, which made him very gratified.

Shangguan Chenxing rushed back to Beijiang City from the border. Upon seeing Li Chaoyang, he immediately dismounted and strode to Li Chaoyang's side. He excitedly grasped Li Chaoyang's hands and said, "Sect Leader Li! You've arrived! I finally have someone to rely on!"

"Sir! What's the situation at the border?" Li Chaoyang asked.

"Let's go inside and talk!" Shangguan Chenxing pulled Li Chaoyang into the barracks.

They arrived at the troop deployment map, and Shangguan Chenxing explained the troop distribution to Li Chaoyang, and then finished explaining the situation of the Northern Dynasty.

After listening, Li Chaoyang said, "Shangguan! In this battle, we must give Murong Bo a good beating. Only when he feels the pain will he behave."

“The Pavilion Master is right! We must teach him a lesson!” Shangguan Chenxing said.

"Oh, right! These are all the young heroes of our Wenxian Pavilion. I'm entrusting them all to you!" Li Chaoyang said, pointing to a group of young people behind him.

"Great! Your arrival is a great help to us! Pavilion Master Li! Wenjie and the others are also in Beijiang City," Shangguan Chenxing said.

"Is Wenfei still there?" Li Chaoyang asked.

"Wenfei! That kid was quite unhappy when he heard you were coming! He was worried that Senior Ji would be tricked by Murong Bo, so he went to the far north to find Senior Ji a few days ago," Shangguan Chenxing said with a smile.

"Oh! This kid runs pretty fast! And he runs pretty far!" Li Chaoyang said.

“Sect Master Li! I think Wen Fei is genuinely afraid of you, sir,” Shangguan Chenxing said.

“That kid isn’t afraid of me, he’s just annoyed by this old man!” Li Chaoyang said.

"Grandpa!" Li Wei rushed into the barracks from outside and buried her face in Li Chaoyang's arms. "Grandpa, I missed you!"

"How did your grandfather teach you? You don't even know how to restrain yourself in front of others," Li Chaoyang said affectionately.

"Grandpa! General Shangguan loves me and Sister Shangguan just as much, he won't say anything! Right, General Shangguan?" Li Wei said mischievously.

“You and Yun’er are both children in my eyes,” Shangguan Chenxing said kindly.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master Li!" Liang Feiyan bowed.

"Uncle-Master Li! You've arrived!" Wenjie said happily.

"I'm relieved to see that you're all alright," Li Chaoyang said, looking at the young people.

"It's a pity that Sister Shangguan and that rascal Wenfei aren't here," Li Wei said.

"You'll meet again soon," Li Chaoyang said.

Li Chaoyang and Shangguan Chenxing were surrounded by a group of young people in the barracks, who were actively offering suggestions for the upcoming battle. Looking at the young faces, Li Chaoyang felt a surge of hope.