Chapter 53 Thinking of Him the Next Day "If we go straight to the Northern Frontier Camp...

"If we go straight to the Northern Frontier camp, the Northern Frontier cavalry is so brave that even if we offer all our lives, we may not be able to defeat them. It is better to take a roundabout approach, even though our army is not as strong as theirs."

"But the Dagan soldiers were born near mountains and rivers. They have extraordinary bones and sharp minds. They have been able to see and hear everything since they were young. If we attack by force, wouldn't it be a waste of the talent given by God?"

"Since we can't defeat them head-on, why don't we be softer and use softness to overcome hardness, how about that?" Song Youning smiled, with dimples faintly visible on her cheeks.

Prince Zhenbei suddenly understood, and his frown relaxed: "Your Highness means... to use a trick?"

"Xiao Lin! What are the fourth, thirteenth, and sixteenth strategies in the Art of War? Recite them to the King of Zhenbei?" Song Youning suddenly called out to Xiao Lin who was deep in thought, scaring him so much that he trembled all over, as if he was back to the time when they entered the Imperial College together.

At that time, he and Li Funing, along with several noble royal family members, followed His Highness to the Imperial Academy to study. At that time, Song Youning was highly expected by the Emperor, so the old scholar Li Taifu took good care of her, but Song Youning never reviewed her lessons after school.

When the Grand Tutor asked questions, she was completely clueless, and then she opened her bright eyes and asked for help everywhere. The old conservative Li Funing never helped her, and the other princes of the royal family were all playboys picked by Song Youning, so he was the only unlucky guy left who was not smart but was relatively hardworking.

If it were the Four Books and Five Classics, he might have forgotten them long ago, but this is the Art of War. If he still can't remember...

He stole a glance at the King of Zhenbei who was sitting beside him, and saw that he was silently looking at him.

He blurted out "The fourth strategy is to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out; the thirteenth is to alert the enemy by making a move; the sixteenth is to play hard to get..." He looked like a poor student who wanted to perform well in front of the tutor.

At this moment, he was too lazy to find fault with the matter. His eyes fell on Song Youning on the eaves again: "Your Highness wants to trick them out of the camp, and then..."

"No!" Song Youning refused firmly, with the corners of his mouth raised cunningly, "We will go in and attack Huanglong directly!" Although the girl's face is young and pure, the majestic aura emanating from her body cannot be underestimated.

Prince Zhenbei's eyelids relaxed, and in her clear, dark almond-shaped eyes, he could sense a wolf-like sense of aggression. After not seeing her for many years, she had changed so much. The murderous aura emanating from her whole body was even more powerful than that of her father.

He glanced at his son who was sitting beside him with starry eyes. Although he was tall and strong and looked not to be bullied, he could still catch a trace of childishness in his battle-hardened body.

Out of a soldier's survival instinct, when he saw Song Youning's eyes, he knew that this... no, the situation of the three kingdoms should change, and his original idea of ​​conspiring with Master Chen also disappeared.

After all, he conspired with Grand Tutor Chen just to consolidate his own court.

He just wanted to gain military power to avoid being excluded by those sour Confucian scholars, but if he met a wise leader, everything would be fine.

As a general, he was nostalgic for the battlefield in his heart. Compared with his status in the court and the power of his own army, nothing could compare to expanding the territory with a wise leader and being remembered as a famous general for generations.

He stood up and saluted Song Youning heavily, his heavy armor creaking with the amplitude of his movements. "Your Highness, I would like to ask for your advice. How do you plan to take over the northern border this time?" Although he was obviously middle-aged, there was no sign of fatigue from the years on his body.

Song Youning sat on the couch and did not stop him. She knew that this was an insignificant gift in the eyes of others, but it was a true submission from a soldier.

Sure enough, there is no need for too much explanation when smart people get along with each other. She hasn't said anything or done anything yet, but just by exchanging eyes, you can see the ambition and responsibility of this person.

"I know that the prince has a private soldier named Feiying. He is agile and fast, and his light skills allow him to appear and disappear without a trace, hence the name Feiying."

"But on the battlefield, strength is king, and speed is slightly less important. Therefore, although this Feiying is very useful, it has nowhere to display it. Because of its superb Qinggong skills, it is often used by the prince to spy on and monitor the battle situation before the battle. This time, it is wasted, which is a bit of a pity..."

King Zhenbei was startled, but his face remained calm. Although Feiying was his private soldier, many people knew about it, so it was not a big deal.

But how did she even know her own military tactics so well? On the battlefield, letting the enemy know your tactics is a huge taboo.

"Your Highness!" King Zhenbei lowered his eyes, glanced at Xiao Lin, and glared at him fiercely. He really said everything...

Xiao Lin shook his head vigorously to signal, fearing that the King of Zhenbei would not see it! This time, he really didn't!

That's really not what he said. Although he tells His Highness everything, he also has priorities!

This matter concerns military affairs, and he will never say anything!

"Your Highness, you're worrying too much. This matter was reported by my spies and has nothing to do with Prince Xiao!"

Song Youning knew how much the King of Zhenbei meant to Xiao Lin. He hadn't had any lofty ambitions since he was a child. One was that he hoped to stay by her side forever, and the other was that he hoped the King of Zhenbei would look up to him and would definitely not fall for such a thing.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Hearing Song Youning's explanation, the other party nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, fearing that if the amplitude was too small, the King of Zhenbei would not be able to see it.

The Prince of Zhenbei glanced at him, then relaxed his eyelids and cleared his throat. "This matter is not a big deal. Why don't you discuss with me how to deal with the Northern Frontier? Let's discuss it together."

"Chun Tao!"

Song Youning raised his chin towards the newly drawn defense map on the table, and whispered to Chuntao who was standing on the side, "Present this defense map to the prince!" Chuntao stepped forward lightly, rolled up the map on the table, walked quickly to the eaves, gave a copy to the father and son respectively, and then returned to Song Youning's side.

"This..." When King Zhenbei saw the blueprint, his eyes suddenly lit up. This was much more detailed than the border defense map he had hung in his tent!

This map not only depicts the garrisons of the Three Kingdoms, but also includes everything from the detailed addresses of the garrison troops of the Three Kingdoms to the narrow roads hidden in the countryside.

His eyes fell inquiringly on the figure on the couch, wanting to speak but stopping himself. Where had she gotten this Three Kingdoms defense map? This map was so detailed it looked as if she had traveled through every part of the Three Kingdoms, not even including some forbidden areas. Who on earth could possibly travel so openly among the Three Kingdoms?

Chuntao frowned, thinking to herself, when did her brother acquire these abilities?

She glanced sideways at Song Youning's desk and saw that the defense map her brother had sent her a few days ago was squeezed to the side of the desk eaves. If it were not for the fence, it would have fallen to the ground. The cowhide map in the center of the desk almost covered the entire eaves, with densely packed flags and symbols painted on the map. The defense map of the Three Kingdoms that her brother had spent several years drawing was just the tip of the iceberg!

"It's not something special. It was drawn by a businessman friend of mine who loves traveling. Seeing that I'm interested in it, he gave it to me..." Song You took a sip of the Mingqian tea, which really refreshed him. He was so sleepy just now, but after drinking it, he felt very awake.

She looked reluctantly at the sleeves of Zhenbei King's servants. It was a pity that the remaining cake was given away in order to please Zhenbei King. If she had known earlier, she would have said that only half a cake was left, and she would have secretly hidden the other half, and Zhenbei King would not have known!

I was careless! Next time, I'll ask the shops in Jiangnan to send more!

"How can you be so casual? I dare to ask, who is this person?" The King of Zhenbei kept asking, vowing to reveal all the details of this person.

Song Youning on the eaves glanced at him sideways, but because the speed was too fast, the people below didn't see it at all.

She wondered to herself, why was this man so insistent on getting to the bottom of this? If she didn't want to talk, then she didn't want to ask. She couldn't just say she was young and playful, disguised as a businessman, and, driven by a desire to see the world's beauties, traveled all over the Three Kingdoms, could she?

But when he saw those two pairs of eyes below, which were eager for knowledge, he was furious. Why did Xiao Lin follow his father to learn? If his father didn't know, then wouldn't he guess after following him "all over the country"?

If Li Funing were here, he would know it immediately without her having to explain anything!

Thinking of this, Song Youning felt like something was blocking his heart and he couldn't breathe at all.

"He's a merchant I met in a restaurant while I was out and about. He usually does some small business, traveling around the Three Kingdoms and selling his wares."

"Because she was straightforward and enthusiastic, her business was doing quite well. The items she sold happened to be in short supply in the northern and southern borders, so the garrisons at the border didn't stop her. And so, she traveled all over the three kingdoms..."

"I know what the prince is worried about. This person is just a wandering merchant. He has no ambitions or patriotism... He survives by running small businesses. Therefore, I can vouch for the authenticity of this defense map. It is absolutely trustworthy!"

After hearing what she said, King Zhenbei felt relieved and stopped pursuing the matter.

Seeing that all the things he needed to worry about had been resolved, he said, "Then what are your plans for the future, Your Highness?"

"I will immediately transfer Feiying's current mission to another camp and hand Feiying over to Your Highness!"

This was the first time Xiao Lin had seen his father being so attentive and servile...

He said, like father like son. Before, he hadn't found his father's weakness. Now, his Ning Ning has bribed this rigid old man with just a defense map. He's not as good as him...