How shameful!

Qin Xuan had already said this, so Qin Shu said no more: "Mobilize the troops."

Qin Xuan nodded and turned to Lu Xingchuan: "Please trouble you, Lord Lu."

Lu Xingchuan silently agreed to the general direction of "foreigners first".

He took a step forward and said in a cold voice, "The aliens' origins are unknown, their purpose is unknown, and the battle will extend over a hundred miles. Between warriors and ordinary soldiers, one is worth ten."

He glanced at the two princes and continued, "The Imperial Guards will not leave the Imperial City, and the Dragon Guards of Shengde Temple should not be deployed. I have 20,000 men at my disposal. Your Highnesses, how will the remaining troops be arranged?"

Qin Shu took out a "general's token" and placed it in the order bucket on the commander's desk.

The 'Commander's Talisman' spontaneously combusted and transformed into five command sticks. Qin Shu spoke calmly, "The four guards of Taihe, Dingyuan, Jingbei, and Yanqi, 60,000 men."

Qin Xuan also burned a 'command talisman' on his fingertips, transforming it into three order sticks, which he handed to Lu Xingchuan: "Linchuan, Zhennan, and Gu'an three guards, 40,000 men. At your disposal, my Lord."

Lu Xingchuan lowered his eyes to look at the map, his gaze deep, his tone concise and calm:

"To the north, in the direction of Taixuan City, the Dingyuan Guard and the Jingbei Guard will be deployed to defend the North Gate. You must defend the gate to the death."

He waved his hand casually, and the stick drew a neat arc in the air and landed on the defense map on the desk.

Lu Xingchuan pointed eastward and said, "In the Taicang Pass area, the Linchuan Guard and the Gu'an Guard will work together to diagonally penetrate the southeast side to protect the east gate of the imperial city and the storage area to prevent foreign tribes from raiding the grain route."

Then it landed in the direction of Shengde Temple: "The terrain around Shengde Temple is flat, easy to attack but difficult to defend. The entire Yanqiwei army will be moved to the direction of Shengde Temple."

Lu Xingchuan raised his eyes and looked at Lu Jie. "Minister Lu, the safety of His Majesty is paramount. Please arrange for the troops to set up a battle array around Shengde Temple in advance. If necessary, you can set up a folding defense line and resist layer by layer."

Lu Jie nodded in response.

Lu Xingchuan pointed towards the central axis of the Imperial City and said, "Leave the Imperial Guards to guard the four gates of the Imperial City. The Yanshan and Changling Guards will be stationed in the southwest corner."

Finally, he raised his eyes to look at Qin Shu and said, "Since Your Highness has set up his headquarters here, the defense of the area south of the Imperial City will be handed over to Your Highness. What do you think?"

Qin Shu raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this: "Of course. But the Marquis seems to have missed the west."

Lu Xingchuan lowered his eyes and looked at the defense map on the table.

His expression remained unchanged, his voice as deep as iron: "There comes a man and a horse from the west. I am Lu Xingchuan, and I will lead the military law."

Qin Shu raised his eyebrows and glanced at him, saying, "Then I'll trouble you, my Lord."

Qin Xuan stood aside, his eyes swept back and forth between Lu Xingchuan and Qin Shu twice, and he sighed inwardly.

The tension between these two people is... a bit strong.

However, Qin Xuan maintained the gentle demeanor expected of a crown prince, and said calmly, "Since the deployment has been finalized, then we shall proceed accordingly. As for the foreign tribes, we are still undecided. Everyone, please stay in your place and perform your duties."

Suddenly, there was a sound of wind outside the tent, and someone lifted the curtain and walked in quickly, his robe fluttering and he looked hurried.

Lu Xiyun quickly scanned the scene, rushed forward in a few steps, opened his arms and hugged the person tightly.

The young man hugged Qin Shu tightly, as if he was frightened a little: "Chu Ming said that you were surrounded by aliens."

Qin Shu was stunned for a moment, then patted the other person's back soothingly, and even his voice softened: "It's okay."

Qin Shu slightly turned his body, his eyes fixed on a very shallow bloodstain on the young man's cheek.

"Injured?"

Lu Xiyun shook his head: "It's not my blood."

He paused and added, "On my way from Shengde Temple, I encountered a group of foreign cavalry."

Ren Xuan beside him coughed dryly and reminded him, "Ahem...Prince."

The entire court is watching you.

The scene was quiet for a while.

Lu Jie finally couldn't help it, and angrily said with a flick of his sleeves: "How shameless!"

Ren Xuan's eyelids twitched. Even Lu Jie couldn't stand it anymore. He was probably going to be pissed off to death later. "Tsk, I suggest that you, the Minister, raise your bottom line."

Qin Shu's gaze passed over Lu Xiyun in his arms and fell on Minister Lu. There was a chill in his eyes, and three words were almost written on his face -

Any comments?

Lu Jie gritted his teeth and kept silent.

After Lu Xiyun's nervousness passed, he seemed to finally realize that his actions were too ostentatious.

The young man hurriedly let go of Qin Shu and took two steps back. When he looked up, he happened to meet Lu Xingchuan's sub-freezing gaze.

Prince Lu was stunned on the spot and almost had the urge to run away.

Qin Shu was not used to Lu Xingchuan. His eyes narrowed, and he protected him behind him. His voice was slightly cold: "The deployment has been decided. If you don't want to go and organize the troops, do you want to stay here for dinner?"

Lu Xingchuan gritted his teeth, finally suppressing the anger surging in his heart, and asked in a cold voice: "Xiyun, in which direction did you encounter the aliens? How many people were there?"

Lu Xiyun quickly replied sternly, "There were about three thousand people in the south, in the direction of Wu'an County. They were all warriors. I didn't get involved with them."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xingchuan's eyes darkened. He quickly walked to the commander's desk and tapped his fingertips on the map. "The Changyuan Ridge to the north of Wu'an has complex terrain and is very easy to set up an ambush."

He glanced around and said, "If we eat these three thousand men, the overall situation will be settled."

Qin Xuan took a step forward, his eyes as calm as water: "Between Wu'an and Changyuan, there is also Liyang Town."

Qin Xuan raised his eyes to look at Lu Xingchuan, his voice steady but to the point: "If we want to set up an ambush at Changyuan Ridge without alerting the enemy, we will have to sit back and watch the foreigners plunder Liyang Town."

Upon hearing this, the generals in the tent looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although Liyang Town was small, it still had two to three thousand households. If the foreigners were allowed to plunder, it was not difficult to foresee another round of devastation.

Lu Xingchuan lowered his eyes for a moment, his tone as cold as iron: "If we give up this advantageous location, tens of thousands of lives will be sacrificed."

He raised his eyes, his gaze fixed on Qin Shu, and said in a low voice, "What does Your Highness say?"

Qin Shunian's expression remained unchanged, his eyes as clear as a pool of water. "With military power ahead, sacrifice is inevitable."

Ren Xuan couldn't help but complain in his heart. Qin Shu and Lu Xingchuan usually didn't get along, but on this matter, they were surprisingly consistent.

Qin Xuan frowned, clearly disagreeing: "The people cannot be abandoned. Although Liyang Town is small, it has two to three thousand households, and they are also our people."

He paused, his eyes sweeping over Qin Shu and Lu Xingchuan, and he said in a deep voice, "Liyang Town is just a town on the way of the foreigners' march, not a strategic location. Their target is the Imperial City, so they won't stay here for long."

Qin Xuan's eyes were deep. "Send out appropriate reinforcements, disguised as the Liyang Town garrison. When the foreigners encounter obstacles, they will most likely avoid a fight and bypass them. This way, we can protect the people while maintaining the overall deployment."

Qin Shu lowered his brows and eyes, as if thinking. After a long moment, he spoke with a mixture of innate coldness and suspicion: "What kind of support is considered appropriate? Can it be used to deal with the aliens and protect the town, but not so strong that it would arouse their suspicion?"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. Indeed, sending too few troops would make it impossible to defend the city; sending too many would alert the aliens, alerting them and disrupting the entire plan.

This move is easier said than done.

Qin Xuan seemed to have anticipated that he would not be able to convince everyone, so he simply said calmly, "I'll go."

The young man's eyes were gloomy: "I will take all the responsibility."

Behind Lu Xingchuan, Qin Huaizhang, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up: "Let's try it as the second brother said. There's nothing wrong with that. Thousands of lives are at stake. How can we just sit back and watch?"

Lu Xingchuan frowned when he heard this, turned around and said coldly: "Stop making trouble."

Lu Xingchuan turned his gaze back to Qin Xuan: "Using the few to support the many, in the final analysis, is a gamble that the alien race will not entangle. Your Highness is a precious person, how can you easily put yourself in danger?"

The generals under his command were already slightly shaken, but after hearing this, they fell silent again.

Sending a few to support a larger force was inherently a risky strategy. If the gamble went wrong, not only would the town be lost, but the elite troops dispatched would also be decimated.

Qin Xuan slowly shook his head: "To change a situation that is certain to end in death, it would cost the lives of thousands of people."

He raised his eyes, his tone calm and clear: "In my opinion, this risk is worth taking."

Qin Shu narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Qin Xuan for a moment, and said in a light tone: "What does my royal brother want?"

Qin Xuan didn't hide anything and said frankly, "Formation Master. Using formations to defend can not only resist the alien races, but also avoid alerting them due to excessive military strength."

Qin Shu glanced at the people in his tent and said calmly, "Minister Bai, Minister Du, Minister Xiao, and Minister Lu, who among you is willing to accompany my brother to Liyang Town and set up a defensive formation?"

With just one sentence, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became gloomy.

The Bai family, the Du family, the Xiao family, and the Lu family all started out with formations and are well-known in the art of formations.

But now, everyone was silent.

Formation masters are extremely vulnerable to being attacked by a group on the battlefield.

This time, the plan was to use a small force to support a large one and advance deep into the enemy's territory alone. They had to withstand the attacks of foreign tribes and protect thousands of households in Liyang Town. Any mistake would lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

This is really too risky.

There was dead silence in the tent.

At this moment, Lu Jie, who had hesitated for a long time, slowly stepped out, bowed, and said in a steady voice: "I am willing to go."

When these words were spoken, even Qin Xuan's eyes flashed with surprise.

...Lu Jie, was actually willing to help him.

After a long moment, Qin Xuan calmed down and clasped his fists in greeting. "Thank you, sir."

Ren Xuan, who was watching the show on the side, was also stunned and couldn't help cursing in his heart.

I give in, Lu Jie, you are so noble.

Ren Xuan also stepped out and clasped his hands together, saying, "Your Highness, I am also missing a battle master."

Qin Shu's eyes flickered slightly, and he saw through his plan at a glance: "Royal brother, Lord Lu will accompany you to Liyang. How about loaning Lu Shaoqing to General Ren for a while?"

Ren Xuan felt relieved: They have a tacit understanding, that's quite considerate.

He nodded slightly and continued simply, "Thank you, Your Highness."

···

Relying on Qin Shu's tacit cooperation, Ren Xuan successfully brought Lu Shian back to his territory.

Along the way, Ren Xuan silently made up his mind: let Lu Jie be as aloof as he wants, but his family member Shi'an will not accompany him this time.

Lu Shi'an spent most of the day doing nothing in the general's tent.

For half a day, generals in the army came in and out.

Finally, Jiang En came in from the tent: "General, they are starting to retreat south."

Ren Xuan nodded. He was lucky in his position. With an army of tens of thousands, he only encountered a small force of less than a thousand men.

Ren Xuan didn't even raise his head, and simply replied, "No need to chase."

Jiang En nodded and gave orders to the soldiers.

Lu Shian finally couldn't bear it anymore.

Lu Shian was completely baffled: "Aren't you the absentee master?"

——The battle is almost over.

Ren Xuan was processing the military report leisurely, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened: "Yes, we are short of it."

Lu Shian: “…”

I really didn't notice that at all.

Ren Xuan gave him a meaningful look and said in a gentle and persuasive tone, "Shi'an, on the battlefield, the formation master is the easiest target to be focused on."

He paused, as if afraid the other party didn't understand, and added, "I'm a traditional person. If the battle is less than 1 to 5, I will never send a formation master to the front line. For someone like your uncle who dares to go to the front line without asking about the battle situation, I can only say that your Lu family is more numerous."

Lu Shian: “…”

I feel like cursing, but I can't find the words to refute.

Ren Xuan looked at him amused and patted his shoulder: "You're new here. It will take time to assign guards, so for now, just stay in the general's tent."

Jiang En followed suit, adding seriously, "Yes, Lord Lu, don't worry. Our generals can take on five of us, no problem."

Lu Shian had the illusion that he was on a pirate ship.

Lu Shian changed the subject: "Do you like to use command soldiers? Formations and inquiry talismans will make the transmission of orders faster."

Ren Xuan lazily said, "This kind of battle, with only a few thousand men, can be completely covered by our troops. Why make it so complicated?"

Lu Shian: "...You are truly traditional."

Ren Xuan read a hint of disgust in the other person's words, which probably meant "You are a bit behind the times."

Ren Xuan: “…”