"But sometimes being too sharp isn't a good thing. His trip to Xijing this time was his biggest mistake. You think Qin Ze brought back reinforcements? What a joke!"

"Do you think Qin Ze could escape with that army from Tu Yuan? If you ask me, he's probably been routed by the Tu Yuan army by now."

"The day Qin Ze went to Xijing, he had already stepped into a quagmire. Hmph, the court doesn't even need to deal with him; the Tu Yuan army is already enough to keep him in check!"

"Are those Tu Yuan people a weak enemy? If we want to completely resolve the matter in Xijing, it will take at least a year and a half."

At this point, he changed the subject:

"It's normal for His Majesty to be so thoughtful and worried about Qin Ze returning with his army."

"Just wait and see. Once the troops sent by the court arrive, we'll push into Beiliang in one fell swoop. Once we occupy Beiliang, Qin Ze will have nowhere to go, and he'll be dead sooner or later in Xijing anyway."

"Alright, I'm not going to say any more to you."

At this point, Jin Li stood up and walked out.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Fang Cheng quickly stood up and followed him out step by step. He bit his lip, thought for a moment, and then grabbed Jin Li's sleeve: "My lord! What you said makes sense, I understand."

"But the imperial troops haven't arrived yet, and we can't just let the Northern Liang army stay safely at the Northern Liang pass. Please let me go one more time, for my sake..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jin Li interrupted him, narrowing his eyes, "Fang Cheng, do you really want to invade Beiliang that badly?"

Fang Cheng's gaze was firm, and he nodded solemnly.

"I'm already thirty-five, in a few more years I'll be..."

Jin Li interrupted him again, saying calmly, "In that case... let me think about it."

After a moment, he smiled slightly: "I will ask the neighboring cities to send some more troops. Last time, the commanders certainly didn't bring their elite troops. This time, I will personally supervise."

"Last time you went to the Beiliang pass, although you were defeated, you at least killed some of them, right? Maybe ten or twenty thousand?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng's heart tightened.

Last time, we were utterly routed. We had no idea how many people we killed on the other side, but it was definitely not ten or twenty thousand.

To be honest, the number is probably less than ten thousand...

But the thought that if he missed this opportunity, he would never have another chance to achieve fame and success, Fang Cheng immediately said in a deep voice, "There are ten thousand people."

"Now that the Northern Liang forces are fewer, if I have more troops at my disposal, I'm sure I can succeed."

"My lord! Give me another 30,000 elite troops! Make a total of 100,000! This humble general will surely be able to break into Beiliang!"

Jin Li squinted his small, beady eyes, his lips slightly pursed:

"good."

"However, if you return empty-handed this time... hehe."

Fang Cheng understood perfectly well that it was all or nothing!

Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate. At this moment, we must give it our all!

Immediately, he knelt on one knee, his face solemn, and bowed to Jin Li with clasped hands.

"Yes, sir!"

"If we are defeated, I will take full responsibility!"

"But I guarantee! Fangcheng will never be defeated again. I will bring back Yue Fei's head and present the merit of conquering Beiliang to you, my lord!"

Jin Li smiled slightly, patted his shoulder, and leisurely walked away, clutching the jade thumb ring....