Chapter 727 – In Front of Jameng Pass (Part Seven)
Cheng Jing slightly furrowed his brows, and a glimmer of light flashed in his obsidian-like eyes.
“Since Liu Xi dares to step in for Liu Zhi, he must have safely bypassed Jameng Pass by now.”
Feng Jue chuckled, “We’re on the same page.”
The two weren’t mistaken. After a night of rushing and climbing, Jiang Pengji had finally led the troops around Jameng Pass and into Chenzhou. The dawn light was bright and glaring as Jiang Pengji rubbed her sleep-deprived eyelids, shaking off the drowsiness.
“First, let’s settle the troops to rest for a moment, have some military rations to regain strength, and refresh ourselves.”
Feng Zhen stretched his shoulders; he had directly slept on Li Yun’s back until midnight, but his slumber was restless, leaving him with dark circles under his eyes.
“Aren’t you going to race with Yang Jian and the others to see who arrives first?”
Jiang Pengji shot him a glare, not very pleased.
“What’s more important, this prideful competition or the well-being of the troops? I only said that to get under their skin.”
After a night of rushing, even with Jiang Pengji managing their course to ensure they didn’t take any wrong turns, the exhaustion among the troops was still staggering. Jiang Pengji didn’t want them to continue on such a negative note, preferring to take the time to recuperate.
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, my lord.”
Feng Zhen smiled and cupped his hands, a slightly sly grin on his face, making Jiang Pengji unable to stay angry.
The army rested, and although they couldn’t light a fire to cook, they had prepared some dry rations before leaving, having made numerous rice balls with finely shredded pickled vegetables wrapped inside. With the water from their canteens, it could barely be considered a breakfast.
The soldiers had such rations, and there was no special treatment for Jiang Pengji and the others.
“Still a bit warm… I thought I’d have to eat icy lumps of rice.”
Li Yun’s rice balls had been wrapped in several layers of cloth and stuffed into the layers of armor, warmed by body heat; when taken out, they still had some warmth.
Eating them straight was dry and tasteless, so Jiang Pengji had them add the shredded pickled vegetables inside. In the mouth, it surprisingly had a hint of saltiness.
Given the conditions in which they were marching and fighting, it was already quite good, and nobody complained, though the audience in the live stream felt a pang of sympathy.
【Li Wushuang】: Waaaah—my precious Yang Si is the pickiest eater! Now in such harsh conditions, even a rice ball tastes so flavorful.
【Feng Sheng Shui Qi】: Feeling the same angst! Looking at the live stream, suddenly my lobster feast feels so bland.
【Xuanyuan Mingjing】: Haha, you’re toxic. Are you genuinely feeling sorry, or are you just throwing shade?
Jiang Pengji deliberately avoided glancing at the live stream comments. Knowing the viewers, they were probably showering her with various food displays.
She wasn’t going to seek out torment.
After the crowd had eaten to about seventy or eighty percent full, they rested for two hours, and the sun climbed high overhead.
“That should be enough; let’s head to the meeting point,” Jiang Pengji said.
The designated meeting place was just an hour’s march away, and Jiang Pengji wasn’t in a rush, trying to accommodate the soldiers as best as she could.
By the time they arrived, Yang Jian’s troops had already settled at the destination.
Yan Lin noticed them, and a flicker of surprise crossed his gaze.
According to his estimation, facing an unfamiliar terrain, even if they hadn’t gotten lost, they should’ve made some detours and wouldn’t arrive on time. But here they were, not just arriving—but Yan Lin observed that the soldiers, while weary, didn’t seem like they had marched overnight for over ten hours without rest… In other words, they should have stopped to rest midway.
If they hadn’t taken a break, they might have arrived even earlier than them.
Thinking this, Yan Lin no longer underestimated them, and his regard for Jiang Pengji’s party rose significantly.
With the collaboration in mind, certain information had to be shared naturally.
Within Chenzhou, aside from the imperial forces, there were also the forces of Changshou Wang. If the two sides wanted to thwart Changshou Wang’s influence, they not only had to be quick but also ensure their information didn’t leak. Otherwise, if the enemy were on guard, achieving their intended effect would be incredibly difficult.
How could they ensure their movements wouldn’t be leaked?
Naturally, they had to come up with the optimal marching route, avoiding any potential spies while ensuring no time was wasted.
With the conditions being sparse, the higher-ups of both sides simply found a place to huddle together and brainstorm.
On matters that required thinking, Yang Jian and his son usually didn’t butt in and didn’t mind leaving everything up to Yan Lin.
On Jiang Pengji’s side, the military generals each had their roles, and they trusted their military adviser and lord’s experience and strategies, so they stayed silent.
At this point, Yan Lin realized that “Liu Xi” was a quite different leader compared to typical lords.
Ordinary lords waited for the think tank to discuss before making decisions; she participated in the discussion directly and wasn’t faking ignorance.
Seeing this, Yang Jian sighed even more heavily.
Comparing goods, one tosses the inferior; comparing people, one tends to die.
If only his son were half as worry-free as Liu Xi, he would feel immensely gratified.
If it weren’t for Yan Lin being there, Yang Jian often had the urge to stuff this kid back into the oven for a re-bake!
They had already mapped out a plan, just as the allied forces discovered that two factions had gone missing.
Liu Zhi mocked the allied forces for failing to conquer Jameng Pass. They didn’t believe it and insisted on taking it down to show Liu Zhi otherwise.
Then, they were decisively slapped in the face by the guards of Jameng Pass.
After more than an hour of the initial battle, leaving over two thousand corpses, they had to retreat in disgrace.
Seeing this, everyone’s faces darkened to the color of cooking pot bottoms.
Xu Pei sat at the head, listening as the other lords below pushed responsibility onto each other, and he nearly felt his brain explode.
Having barely dealt with those people, Xu Pei rushed to Liu Zhi that night, wanting to secretly seek advice on how to break the pass.
Liu Zhi’s response left Xu Pei dumbfounded.
He said, “I can’t help you; if you ask me to govern a state or a county, I believe I’m not inferior to anyone, but giving orders in battle? That’s difficult.”
Xu Pei was so surprised he almost couldn’t close his mouth; Liu Zhi had no clever plan to break the pass; what had he been gloating about in the daytime?
He didn’t say it out loud, but his expression clearly read, “Are you kidding me?” Liu Zhi looked dumbfounded.
Liu Zhi sternly replied, “If I hadn’t said that, those people would have continued to attack the alliance leader and Lan Ting. How could I let that slide?”
Overall, it comes down to this—
Showing off feels great for a moment, but the aftermath is a funeral pyre.
Xu Pei had no words to retort.
“What if… after half a month there are no good news? How will Liu Xi handle it?”
Once spoken, words are like spilled water; if one isn’t careful, it could backfire. If they were slapped in the face, would the dignified governor still have any face left?
Liu Zhi rolled his eyes inwardly and said, “In half a month, even if the allied forces throw their forty thousand people against the wall, they should be able to break Jameng Pass. If I say they won’t amount to anything, do you really think they’ve resigned themselves to defeat? Besides, even if they can’t break the pass, I still have faith in Lan Ting; there will definitely be good news in half a month. If both of these guesses fail, we can figure it out then. I’m not in a hurry.”
Xu Pei: “…”
You may not be in a hurry, but he is!
Never thought you’d be such a Liu Zhi!
