The war between Liang Country and Ye Country had lasted for a year, with the Liang army failing to advance one step further into Yu City of Ye Country.
Inside the main tent of the Liang army, several generals were seated, having almost exhausted their patience after fighting for nearly a year.
"Have you noticed that whenever we launch a massive attack, they come up with all sorts of unpredictable formations, not only beating our troops badly but also having an exceptionally brave division that takes on ten of our men at a time?"
"It's the division under that female general of Ye Country. I heard last year when she was sent as an envoy to Liang Country, she had three contests with our country in martial arts, archery and tactics, and defeated our side single-handedly in all three."
"There was such an incident? If what you said is true, then she must have contributed tremendously to us being unable to capture the city after a long siege."
"Yes, Your Highness. If this drags on for another year, by the time Wei Country conquers the capital city of Ye Country, it would be too late. I'm afraid His Majesty would punish us for missing the opportunity!" Liang Country's military adviser analyzed.
"We have to come up with a way to capture this city quickly, lest we miss the good timing. Military adviser, do you have any good strategies?"
"The best way is to lure away the Xiyuan Army under that female general. But how to lure them away, we need to think of a foolproof plan."
"Report. There is news from the northern battlefield between Ye Country and Wei Country."
"Bring it here."
"Yes."
The messenger entered the tent and handed the letter to the military adviser, who then passed it to King Runan.
"The opportunity may have just come." King Runan gave the letter back to the military adviser and said.
Inside the main tent of Ye Country's Commander-in-Chief, General Chen gathered Qin Chuyuan and generals from various divisions to discuss military affairs.
"The situation on the northern battlefield does not look optimistic. We have lost five cities consecutively. Also, the General of Northern Defense Army died in battle. Currently there are no more troops to dispatch from the imperial court. His Majesty hopes that we can transfer some men from our armies to support the northern battlefield."
"What do you all think?"
Hearing this, the few generals started discussing, but ultimately could not reach an agreement.
After a long while, a voice sounded: "I think we should transfer the Xiyuan Army." It was Qin Chuyuan who made the suggestion.
"Why does Supervising General Qin make such recommendation?" General Zhang asked anxiously upon hearing the suggestion to transfer away the Xiyuan Army.
With the Xiyuan Army here, it was like everyone had a backbone. He worried that after the Xiyuan Army was transferred away, morale would be greatly reduced and it would be unfavorable for the battle.
As the Supervising General, Qin Chuyuan was responsible for supervising the generals to prevent abuse of power, and reporting the battle situations to King Ye one by one.
This position could only be assumed by those who had gained absolute trust from His Majesty. Moreover, Qin Chuyuan, as the future Prime Minister, had unparalleled talents himself, so his words carried tremendous weight.
"This is our best chance to defeat the Liang army."
Hearing what the Supervising General said, everyone looked at Qin Chuyuan in confusion, waiting for his following words.
"The battle situation in the north must be known to the Liang army. They have been stationed at Yu City for a year and should be even more anxious than us. I speculate they will soon launch a large-scale attack on us. We can just pretend to transfer the Xiyuan Army away, but actually flank the Liang army from behind and ambush them together with the main force. We can catch them totally off guard."
"Supervising General Qin truly lives up to his reputation as the most outstanding young noble in the capital city. If we can achieve a major victory over the Liang army this time, you will surely gain tremendous credit." General Chen said delightfully. He wanted to keep the Xiyuan Army in place, but did not oppose Qin Chuyuan. The two were on different career paths, and moreover with such a major victory, General Chen would also gain considerable credit.
Everyone else also thought it was a clever scheme without any dissenting opinion. Then they continued discussing the specific arrangements.
After the discussion, Gong Xiaohua returned to her own military tent, with Qin Chuyuan trailing a few steps behind her and entering as well.
Although it was his suggestion to transfer the Xiyuan Army away, he still worried about Xiaohua's safety.
Gong Xiaohua looked deeply into his eyes. Qin Chuyuan thought about their current relationship.
He could only sigh helplessly and said, "As the Supervising General, I have the authority to know about your deployment arrangements."
Only then did Gong Xiaohua withdraw her gaze and asked her men to summon her subordinate commanders into the tent for a military meeting.
"The situation on the northern battlefield is not optimistic. Five cities have already fallen, and the General of Northern Defense Army is dead. General Chen has decided to transfer our troops to the north to provide support."
Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by He Lianyu.
"That Northern Defense Army is so useless to lose five cities in a row. If it was our Xiyuan Army, we would definitely have defeated them thoroughly!" He Lianyu said arrogantly.
Gong Xiaohua was annoyed. She glared coldly at him and rebuked harshly,
"They had an army of 600,000 men. Just how big is your Xiyuan Army? You have only won a few small battles and you already become complacent and arrogant. Without General Chen and the Western Defense Army, your tiny Xiyuan Army would have been obliterated in seconds."
Seeing Gong Xiaohua's stern eyes, He Lianyu felt unconvinced in his heart and argued back, "I didn't say it was the Xiyuan Army who won the battles! And I wasn't wrong either. If not for our army defending this Yu City, it would have fallen long ago."
However, the tiny bit of unease in his mannerisms still revealed his guilty conscience, afraid that the she-devil would come up with some twisted punishment for him if he went overboard.
He didn't know how her brain worked, coming up with all kinds of vicious tortures beyond count.
"Absurd. This is teamwork. Where does the talk of strong or weak divisions come from? Have you forgotten what I taught you guys daily?" Gong Xiaohua scolded loudly.
Seeing the general so furious, no one dared to respond.
Gong Xiaohua then warned He Lianyu and several other regimental commanders,
"Arrogance, complacency and recklessness are the biggest taboos of military strategy. If you want to die, don't harm other people. Remember my words tightly!"
"Yes, General!" Upon seeing this, everyone immediately stood up and responded.
This was the first time Qin Chuyuan saw Gong Xiaohua reprimand her subordinates with a strict exterior but caring heart.
How should I put this? The Xiyuan Army was completely different from other armies he had interacted with over the past year.
In this one year, he had sufficient understanding of the various armies.
The Xiyuan Army had its own set of military laws and regulations. Their daily activities, training plans, studying plans were scheduled meticulously. Even their speech and conducts in ordinary times had regulations.
Moreover, as long as someone violated the rules, they would receive corresponding punishment - light punishments like running laps, heavy ones such as caning and expulsion from the army, or even beheading directly.
The strictness of this army was unmatched by other armies. No wonder the Xiyuan Army had grown into the tiger and wolf division today.
"The transfer of the Xiyuan Army is just a cover. We will actually flank the Liang army from behind and launch a pincer attack together with the main force to defeat them completely." Gong Xiaohua continued on her earlier words that were interrupted by He Lianyu.
Hearing the general's words, everyone started becoming serious.
Gong Xiaohua took out a map and spread it out on a big table, with the crowd standing around it, discussing their routes and strategies for the next phase.
When the discussion was nearing the end, Gong Xiaohua asked Qin Chuyuan, "Does the Supervising General have any suggestions for our deployment?"
"No. The general's arrangements are perfect."
"Very well. Everyone go prepare yourselves. We set off tomorrow. This is a matter of utmost importance. Do not leak one bit of our discussion today to the outside."
"Yes."
