"He did this on purpose to provoke me. So I just went along with it and passed the buck to him, letting him suffer."

The man in the gray robe said, "A shameless person like him probably won't feel uncomfortable."

"That's not important."

Yang Qingzhi said, "The important thing is that he can't provoke me."

At this moment, Zuo Zhu walked in.

Yang Qingzhi asked anxiously, "How is it?"

Zuo Zhu hesitated before saying, "The imperial grain supplies stop moving once they leave Kangye."

What is the reason?

"They said the vehicle broke down, and that the soldier transporting the grain suddenly fell ill."

"This is just shirking responsibility. Who is the grain transport official?"

“The Prince’s people.”

"Zhou Jinghuan deserves to die!" He Biao roared. "When we get there, I'm going to kill that scoundrel!"

Yang Qingzhi frowned and said, "He Biao, you are being insolent. Prince He is a member of the imperial family. Stop talking nonsense."

He Biao said, "But he's clearly trying to scam you!"

Yang Qingzhi shook his head and said, "Since the court has agreed to provide grain, Zhou Jinghuan has no choice but to make arrangements. Now that it has been transported out of Kangye, they are not sending any more. That's just for show. Would Zhou Jinghuan do something like that?"

The man in the grey robe interjected, "He has someone behind him giving orders."

Zhou Jinghuan was the younger brother of the Southern Zhou emperor, holding a prestigious position. It is easy to imagine who could give him instructions.

He Biao plopped down on the ground, lamenting, "We risked our lives on the front lines, while they feasted in the palace and treated us like playthings. We might as well not fight this war!"

Yang Qingzhi did not complain and continued to ask Zuo Zhu, "How is the situation in Hechong County?"

Zuo Zhu said, "In the previous grain transports, those who had good relations with the Yang family helped out, but now they really can't afford it anymore."

Yang Qingzhi stopped talking, let out a long sigh, and closed his eyes.

Li Yunqing said, "With a formidable enemy in front and an internal traitor behind, the Yang family army is doomed!"

He Biao said, "We're going to die anyway, so let's do what Zhao Huan did and launch a campaign to purge the court of corrupt officials and kill our way back!"

"You two stop talking."

Yang Qingzhi said weakly, "Without supplies, everything is in vain."

As he spoke, Yang Qingzhi slowly opened his eyes and said almost silently, "Let's retreat..."

He Biao genuinely didn't hear clearly and asked in confusion, "What did you say, Little Commander?"

"I said retreat! Retreat! Retreat!!"

Yang Qingzhi suddenly overturned the things on the general's desk, and the cat on his lap was so frightened that it quickly shrank into the corner of the military tent.

Everyone fell silent.

Yang Qingzhi's personality is different from Yang Zhanbei's. He has always been gentle and refined, only becoming stern at the most crucial moments, but no one has ever seen him so irritable.

This time they were really in a hurry.

When no one dared to speak, only the man in gray robes walked up to Yang Qingzhi and said in a hoarse voice, "If we retreat, we'll lose everything. If the Yang family army is gone, the Yang family will probably be gone too."

Yang Qingzhi sat down and bowed to the gray-robed man, saying, "Strategist, no matter the outcome, you have been kind to me. If it weren't for the court's obstruction, or if Zhao Cheng and I had switched places, with your assistance, we would surely have been able to unify the world."

"Strategist, you should leave. Don't let me implicate you and cause you to be punished by the court."

The gray-robed man suddenly burst into laughter, but his vocal cords were burned, making his laughter sound particularly unpleasant, like a groan while dozing off.

Why is the strategist laughing?

"I originally thought that the person I chose was someone with a strong will, someone who could fight again and again until the goal was achieved. But what I saw today was just a hypocrite who gave up easily."

Zuo Zhu said sternly, "Strategist, you mustn't berate the young commander like that!"

The man in the gray robe looked at the crowd and said, "If we give up now, we'll all be a bunch of people who are going to die when we get back. Why care about what others say?"

Yang Qingzhi suddenly stood up, slammed his hands on the command table, and shouted, "But what can we do if we don't give up now? We don't have enough supplies, what other options do we have?"

The man in the grey robe shouted, "If the imperial court won't give it to us, and the Hechong County won't lend it to us, are we helpless? If they won't give it to us or lend it to us, can't we just rob them?!"

"Rob?"

Where to rob it?

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

Yang Qingzhi, however, understood the implication and calmed down somewhat, saying, "Strategist... do you have another brilliant plan?"

"It's not exactly a brilliant plan, but it's our only chance to turn our lives around."

Yang Qingzhi quickly stepped out from behind the desk, bowed to the strategist, and said, "Please help me, strategist!"

"Sand table".

The man in the gray robe led the way to the sand table, and the other generals quickly gathered around him.

"After Zhao Cheng went to war, the government of Dongjing was entirely in the hands of Zhao Huan and his son Zhao Zhan. In addition, Zhao Cheng had a commercial empire supporting him, so I believe Zhao Cheng was not lying and that he must have plenty of supplies."

"Given Zhao Cheng's cautious nature, he wouldn't hoard a huge amount of grain in one place. There should be another granary outside Nantong City. That way, even if Nantong City falls, he can still fight again."

The withered fingers of the man in the gray robe landed on a spot on the sand table. He said, "This place is called Silver Valley. It is backed by Jing Mountain to the west and surrounded by mountains on three sides. There is only one entrance, and that entrance happens to be in the southeast, directly facing Nantong City, which is convenient for Zhao Cheng to transport grain. If I were Zhao Cheng, I would choose this place as my granary."

Yang Qingzhi nodded and said, "The strategist is right. If it were me, I would also choose this place. But the problem is, how are we going to plunder the grain here?"

He Biao, being impatient, also said, "Yes, strategist, Nantong City is in between, and we can't fly!"

The man in the grey robe said, "Our supplies will only last for a few more days. Tomorrow, the young commander will personally lead the central army, while General Li Yunqing and General He Biao will lead the left and right wings. All three armies will attack Nantong City simultaneously. But we must conserve our soldiers' supplies. If we fail to capture the city in one attack, we should immediately retreat and continue our fierce assault the next day!"

"Tighten the soldiers' supplies and provisions; if they fail to capture the city in one attack, retreat immediately..."

Yang Qingzhi analyzed the gray-robed man's words and exclaimed in surprise, "Does the strategist mean we should launch a feigned attack?"

"right!"

The man in the gray robe said in a deep voice, "Young Commander, lead the three armies in a feigned attack. You must make it look like you're fighting to the death, so that Zhao Cheng will think you've gone mad and won't think of anything else."

"At the same time, please ask the junior commander to transfer three thousand elite soldiers to Zuo Zhu, so that Zuo Zhu can follow me and Cui Wuming."

The man in the gray robe pointed to a river to the west of the sand table and said, "We'll quietly follow the north and south rivers and attack from the west of Silver Valley."

Yang Qingzhi asked doubtfully, "Strategist... are you mistaken? To the west of Silver Valley is Jing Mountain, and there is no road. If we were to cross the mountain, firstly, there wouldn't be enough time, and secondly, the mountain peaks are too steep for the soldiers to descend to Silver Valley."

"Who says there's no road?"

The man in the gray robe used his finger to poke a small hole in the thorny mountain on the sand table.

"There is no road because you don't know the way!"

"Back then, Su Wansan, the richest man in Yanchuan, had been secretly trading with the Southern Zhou for a long time. Those batches of illicit goods traveled from Hechong County along the North and South Rivers to Yunjing County, then through the mountains into Yingu, and finally into Jiangyang. This was the route they took!"

"This road was opened up by Su Wansan as a trade route!"