"The Jing people are quite fast at escaping!"

"The young commander is indeed wise. By advancing upwards with the force of sealing off the mountain, they only have one way to run: east. To the east is the sea. Not to mention whether they can cross this mountain before we catch up, even if they manage to cross it, they will still be doomed once they enter the sea!"

"Of course! The Southern Zhou navy is invincible!"

On the way up the mountain, Bao Sheng and Zhu Weijiang followed Yang Qingzhi. They weren't entirely flattering him; they were mostly just stating the facts.

In terms of pure martial prowess, Bao Sheng and Zhu Weijiang were the strongest among the Seven Generals of Yangmen. They entrusted the task of leading troops to their deputy generals and stayed with Yang Qingzhi in the central army to protect his safety.

Yang Qingzhi suddenly stopped, casually plucked a leaf, sniffed it, and looked around, saying, "Lingshan is not only high in altitude, but also has a strange terrain. The higher we go, the denser the vegetation becomes. General Zhu, let's slow down and send someone ahead to scout out if there are any poisonous areas shrouded in miasma."

A scout returned shortly after.

Zhu Weijiang said, "Young Commander, there is no miasma ahead."

Yang Qingzhi asked, "How are Zhao Cheng and the others?"

"They have already set up camp and are resting."

"Set up camp and rest during the day? What's going on here?"

Zhu Weijiang sneered and said, "Young Commander, you must not compare them with our Yang Family Army. They are just the garrison of Qingdong City. They rarely have the opportunity to fight, and their physical strength and endurance are far inferior to ours. They definitely can't run anymore!"

Yang Qingzhi thought for a moment and asked, "General Bao, what do you think?"

Bao Sheng stood on the slope, leaning on his broadsword, and said, "I agree with General Zhu's judgment. This kind of mountain-searching pursuit is very tiring. Even our soldiers are showing signs of fatigue, let alone the garrison troops."

"Give the order!"

Yang Qingzhi suddenly shouted: "All troops, accelerate forward!"

"yes!"

Zhu Weijiang accepted the order first, then asked, "Why the sudden acceleration?"

Yang Qingzhi said, "These garrison troops are from Qingdong City and have nothing to do with Zhao Cheng. If Zhao Cheng really had a master by his side, he could have easily abandoned these garrison troops and run away. We can't judge Zhao Cheng's situation based on the location of the garrison troops; maybe he has already abandoned them and fled."

“The young commander’s judgment is absolutely correct. Most of these young masters are afraid of death,” Bao Sheng said. “General Zhu, you lead the vanguard to pursue them quickly. I will protect the young commander and follow closely behind.”

Zhu Weijiang said with doubt, "I think I should stay. If Zhao Cheng doesn't run away first, and he's forced into a corner, he might send his best men to assassinate the young commander..."

"General Zhu is overthinking it."

Bao Sheng didn't continue speaking. Instead, he jumped up the slope, raised his broadsword, arched his back, and spun the broadsword around on his back a few times, displaying its powerful and fierce force. Then he straightened up, held the broadsword with both hands, and swung it fiercely at the big tree in front of him.

The tree was as thick as two people could hug, and the broadsword cut into it as easily as cutting through tofu.

Bao Sheng maintained the motion after the chopping motion, splitting the tree trunk in two, with the crown slowly sliding off.

Not only that, the other two trees behind this tree, which are in a straight line, also have the same cuts on their trunks.

Bao Sheng chopped down the three trees with a single stroke.

"General Bao, you...you..." Zhu Weijiang stammered in shock.

Yang Qingzhi smiled and said, "General Bao has already broken through the bottleneck and is a top expert."

Zhu Weijiang quickly clasped his hands in greeting and said to Bao Sheng, "Congratulations, General Bao!"

In the military, strength speaks volumes. To earn respect, one must have military achievements and competence.

Abilities encompass a wide range of factors, including martial prowess, strategy, reconnaissance, and medical skills, but the most direct is martial prowess.

Seeing Bao Sheng's improved martial arts skills, Zhu Weijiang felt genuine admiration.

Moreover, Bao Sheng was the oldest and most senior among the Seven Generals of Yangmen.

Bao Sheng sheathed his sword, stroked his beard, and said, "General Zhu, go ahead and make your mark. As long as there are no Grandmasters on this mountain, no one can harm the young commander."

"good!"

Zhu Weijiang became excited.

Grandmaster?

Whether in Jingguo or Nanzhou, the number of martial arts practitioners who can become grandmasters can be counted on one hand, and each of them is a great figure of noble status and respected by others.

How could there be a Lingshan?

What is a grandmaster doing on this mountain?

Camping?

Zhu Weijiang shouted, "In that case, I will finish what the five generals didn't do: annihilate the Qingdong garrison and capture Zhao Cheng alive!"

...

"Oops, oh oh..."

"Ah hiss ah hiss..."

Before Yang Qing ordered the attack to be accelerated, Zhao Cheng was being stared at by a hundred pairs of eyes, his hands waving like a conductor as he taught the garrison to sing.

"Follow me, one, two, three, four, sing!"

"Oops, oh oh..."

After Xiao Luofeng agreed to Zhao Cheng's request, Zhao Cheng began his plan.

With the initiative of launching a night raid on the Southern Zhou army as the guiding principle, preparations were made in three aspects.

First, the formation taught to the garrison by Yang Taozhi was not a sophisticated formation, but a temporary formation created based on the specific circumstances of the battle.

It's simple and easy to learn; the key is in positioning and movement.

Second, Zhao Cheng taught the garrison soldiers to sing.

In Zhao Cheng's words, it's like giving everyone a rendition of Gong Linna's "Tante".

This song, as its name suggests, can make people uneasy and panicked.

Especially in the dead of night in the mountains, where it's pitch black and you can't see your hand in front of your face, it's hard not to be frightened when you suddenly hear such singing.

Just like the Chu army, who lost their will to fight and only wanted to go home after hearing the Chu song, the Southern Zhou army probably lost their will to fight and only wanted to go home and call their mothers after hearing the "Tantric Song".

"Ah hiss! Ah hiss!! Ah hiss, cluck cluck!!!"

Don't ask, it's just me singing nonsense.

This is also why the song is easy to learn; Zhao Cheng only needs to teach them the melody.

As for the lyrics, it doesn't matter if they're roughly the same. When singing, just grasp the intonation, the yin and yang, and the tone that's deliberately meant to scare people to death.

Third, Zhou Nuo quickly trained the garrison in archery, with those who were not yet proficient practicing more and those who were already skilled reinforcing their skills.

Then, in conjunction with the formations taught by Yang Taozhi, they launched a night raid on the Southern Zhou army using bows and arrows.

As for the bows and arrows, Yang Taozhi had already arranged them with Lian Zhongyi, but she lied to Xiao Luofeng and the others, saying that they were dragged from the bandits' lair.

Zhao Cheng wasn't worried about the results and effectiveness of these three training points at all; it was just a smokescreen.

Moreover, this illusion wasn't aimed at the Southern Zhou army; it was merely meant to blind Xiao Luofeng and his group.

After all, with only one hundred garrison soldiers, even if a god of war descended, there would be no chance of turning the tide.

After most of the day of training, the garrison soldiers went on to practice on their own. Those who had learned to sing practiced archery, those who were proficient in archery practiced singing, and those who felt they were proficient rested freely.

Zhao Cheng found a spot with a view of the distant mountains and sat on a rock, gazing at the setting sun on the horizon.

Zhou Nuo walked up behind Zhao Cheng, stopped beside him, and watched the sunset side by side.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Nuo suddenly said, "Zhao Cheng, you're not just a wandering poet, are you?"