The De Emperor thought it over for a while but still shook his head and refused!

First, he didn't want the firearm-equipped Dragon Guard too far from the capital.

Second, Ning Chen's men had all gone back to Beilin Pass. Ning Chen had plenty of troops on hand now, and with the Ning'an Army on top of that, the hundred thousand in Lingzhou might not be a match for them.

Third, Beilin Pass wasn't a rich place anyway. There was no point in fighting Ning Chen to the death over it.

Zong Sibo was bitterly disappointed.

Elsewhere, Kang Luo had also received word that Ning Chen had pulled his troops back.

Twenty thousand men, and halfway there they had suddenly turned around and gone back.

Kang Luo, dressed all in white, frowned at the generals under his command, his eyes flickering.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off here!

Ning Chen had wiped out the King of the Right Court and his thirty thousand men to the last man. Now, in the dead of winter, with the Tuoluo Kingdom short of food and clothing, it had the energy to send troops against Beilin Pass?

Ning Chen had crossed the grasslands from the Wu Kingdom's border to reach Beilin Pass. If the Tuoluo Kingdom's Imperial Court really had that kind of nerve, it should have struck while Ning Chen was on his way there.

Kang Luo muttered, "Something's off. Something's definitely wrong... What on earth is Ning Chen up to?"

A dozen or so days later, Ning Chen had led his army back to Xuanwu City.

By the time he got back, the new year had come and gone!

Ning Chen didn't linger in Xuanwu City.

He sent Liang Jingwu to Beilin Pass with a force of men.

Liang Jingwu had held Beilin Pass for more than ten years. Neither his standing nor his ability was in any doubt, and no one was better suited to hold it!

Qi Yuanzhong was back too. Shamefaced, he told Ning Chen that he had failed!

When he set out, Ning Chen had…