Two Qin soldiers brought over a seven-foot-tall, somewhat ugly young man with a face full of pimples. They asked curiously, "Who is this? If he is a Wei official, just kill him."

One of the Qin soldiers quickly said, "Reporting to the general, this man came from outside the city and said he has important business to discuss with you."

"oh?"

The wicked man glanced at the ugly young man and casually asked, "What business do you have with this general? Aren't you afraid of having your head chopped off?!"

That casual glance, however, was accompanied by an overwhelming chilling killing intent, which made the ugly young man's heart pound. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "I am Li Balang. I have come here only to surrender to the Qin Kingdom. Ke Lan, the garrison commander of Anyi, has sent 200,000 troops to reinforce Juancheng!"

"Li Baliang?"

"Two hundred thousand reinforcements?"

The wicked man was stunned for a moment, then laughed and asked, "Are you a member of the Wei army, or an official from Anyi City?"

Seeing that Li Balang had become interested, he knew that his surrender was almost certain. So he pushed aside the Qin soldier beside him and said in a deep voice, "I was originally a staff member of Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji..." He slowly recounted the inside story.

Upon hearing this, the wicked man laughed and said, "You think you can convince me to let you enter Qin with just a few words? That's unrealistic."

"Now that Juan City has been breached and all 100,000 defenders inside have been killed, even if the Wei reinforcements do go, it will all be for nothing."

Li Balang swallowed hard and asked in surprise, "Juancheng has indeed fallen. Are you that wicked man from Qin?"

"Oh? You know me, and you even predicted the fall of Juancheng?" The wicked man revealed a hint of amusement. Had his reputation already spread?

Li Balang nodded. "Spies are everywhere between countries, and there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Your deeds will naturally be spread by the spies."

"The wicked man is about fifteen years old. Although young, he acts ruthlessly and violently. During the Battle of Jinyang..."

Li Balang recounted the events, both major and minor, from his rise to power in great detail, as if he knew them by heart.

He continued, "Zhang Ning, the garrison commander of Juancheng, is arrogant, domineering, and self-important. He is truly unfit for any important task. If you send the Black Dragon Armored Army to attack first, it will surely arouse his contempt..."

"After we get back... we should clean up these spies. But you've really impressed me." The wicked man's words sent a chill down Li Balang's spine. He wondered how many more people would die now.

Even though this man was somewhat cunning, after a moment of contemplation, the wicked man shook his head and said, "I came here in a hurry. If I am tricked by you, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

Annihilating an army of 200,000 is indeed more impressive than sweeping through a few cities, but it's not very reliable. What if we get fooled by this Li Balang? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?

A hint of disappointment flashed in Li Ba's eyes. "I thought the wicked husband was different from ordinary people, but I didn't expect him to be just like Meng Ao. It's true that you were right to stand out and rise from under his command."

What the hell?

These words made the wicked husband laugh in anger. This kid spoke with barbs and sarcasm, actually comparing himself to Meng Ao, who suffered from a fear of insufficient firepower.

"General, if I am deceiving you, you will only lose some time, at most no more than a day. If I am not deceiving you, I can help you annihilate 200,000 Wei troops."

"You decide for yourself which is more important!"

After Li Balang finished speaking, he stood with his hands behind his back, adopting an attitude of "do whatever you want with me."

What he said was indeed correct. At most, it would only delay things by a day, but if they could actually encounter 200,000 Wei troops and annihilate them in one battle, it would be far more impressive than conquering a few cities.

"Then I'll believe you this once. If this is true, why not take you as my retainer?" The wicked man finally couldn't resist the temptation, but he didn't take the task of helping him destroy an army of 200,000 seriously.

This confidence comes from strength!

Upon hearing this, Li Balang suddenly looked at the wicked husband and said with a serious expression, "I know your Black Dragon Armored Army is very strong, but it is unrealistic to expect to wipe out an army of 200,000."

Just as the wicked man was about to speak, he raised his hand to stop him and continued, "I know you still have ordinary Qin soldiers in the city. They are not as elite as the Black Dragon Armored Army. Even if they can defeat 200,000 Wei soldiers, it is a pipe dream to annihilate them all."

"Even if we succeed, less than one in ten of the ordinary Qin soldiers in the city will survive."

Looking at the confident composure on that ugly face, the wicked man wished he could crush it under his feet, but what he said was indeed true.

He suppressed his anger and asked, "Then what brilliant plan do you have?"

Li Balang laughed, his smile lewd and sinister. "Although it's less than a hundred miles from Anyi to Juancheng, the journey involves crossing mountains and valleys, and with the blizzard last night, Jian Zhang will definitely not set off until this morning."

"It took me a whole night to get here alone, so imagine how long it would take for an army of 200,000. This gives us an opportunity!"

At this point, his expression became even more excited and exhilarated. He picked up a wooden stump from the ground, squatted down, and explained while drawing: "This is the only way to enter Juancheng. It is less than 20 miles from Hucheng. The snow on the mountain is quite deep. To detour, one must cross a large river. Jian Zhang will definitely pass through the mountain gorge."

“We can ambush them in the mountains and gorges, using rolling logs and falling rocks, along with a rain of arrows, to kill them. Then we can cut off their retreat and block their path from the front, and wipe them out completely.”

The wicked man's eyes fell on the terrain map he had casually drawn, and he thought to himself that this plan was indeed feasible. He immediately decided, "Order the army to assemble and have Zhang Han come to see me!"

A short while later, Zhang Han arrived.

"Zhang Han, quickly lead a thousand Black Dragon Armored Soldiers to the southeast. If you encounter any mountain gorges, send someone to report."

Although Zhang Han did not know what the wicked man intended to do, he still obeyed the order and left quickly.

The wicked man sensed Li Balang's eager gaze and immediately promised, "If this matter is truly accomplished, I will lead you to Qin to serve as my retainer and advisor. You will be treated with the utmost respect and wealth."

Having received the promise and having essentially achieved his goal, Li Balang burst into unrestrained laughter in high spirits.

"General, I implore you to exterminate the entire Wei army!"

Li Balang cupped his hands in greeting, his face revealing a murderous intent. He snarled, "King Xi of Wei exiled me, Ke Lan, the garrison commander of Anyi, ostracized me, and even the Wei army looks down on me. I will not have peace of mind until I avenge this!"

Seeing that he was filled with hatred and gnashing his teeth, the wicked man stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a soft laugh, "I never keep prisoners alive under my command. I agree to your request."

Li Balang bowed respectfully, then followed the wicked husband out of the city.

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the Qin troops inside the city had assembled outside the city, and the wicked man immediately led his troops out without saying a word.

After traveling less than ten miles, they received a message from Zhang Han saying that they had stopped at the mountain gorge. The wicked man was overjoyed and ordered the army to speed up their advance.

Upon arriving at the gorge, the wicked man looked the place up and down and found it to be just as Li Balang had said, extremely suitable for an ambush. He immediately ordered his soldiers to cut down trees and gather stones to ambush at the mountain peak.

To demonstrate his importance, Li Balang revealed the entire ambush plan in great detail, making it seem perfect.

"You're very good!" The wicked husband was very satisfied with his plan and didn't hold back his praise.

Li Balang smiled calmly and said softly, "I have a wide range of interests, but I only have a superficial understanding of them all..."

Everything was ready; they were just waiting for the Wei army to fall into their trap.