Before she could express her opinion, Jing Zhe nodded confidently and smiled slightly, saying, "We can win, but I'm afraid it's not possible today. The latest we'll have to do it is tomorrow morning!"

It will take quite some time to manufacture a large quantity of powerful grenades.

Jing Zhe planned to call Hanhan over when he got back, and they would work overtime that night to make hand grenades.

"General, Young Master Jing, it seems we can't hold out until tomorrow!"

At this moment, Wang De, whose face was ashen, continued, "Because the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment arrived too suddenly, and they first sent out sentries to clear the way, we were completely unprepared! Some civilians were still outside the city at that time. When they saw the Western Frontier sentries coming, most of them ran back, but a few children were still kidnapped by the Western Frontier sentries and are now being held in front of the heavy cavalry regiment!"

"..."

Upon hearing that a hostage had fallen into their hands, both Jing Zhe and Liu Jinghong's expressions turned serious.

If it were just about fighting these heavy cavalry regiments, let alone five hundred men, even if there were a thousand or two thousand, he wouldn't find it too difficult; he could just use grenades to blow them up!

However, since they have hostages, we must be cautious and not act rashly!

"Deputy General Wang, since they've taken hostages, they must have made demands, right? What are they?"

Anyone who needs to take hostages must have conditions; this is an unchanging truth, hence Jing Zhe's question.

"They've made it clear that if they want the hostages released, we have to agree to one of two conditions!"

"explain!"

Liu Jinghong spoke up.

"First, we must open the gates and distribute grain, and we must give them five times more grain than we did in the previous winter!"

"dream!"

Liu Jinghong slammed his fist on the table and stood up. Even if the grain allocated to them by the imperial court every year was added up, it would not be enough to give five times as much to the barbarians of the Western Frontier. Moreover, even if the people of Liangzhou were skinned alive, it would still not be enough. This was simply an impossible task!

She couldn't possibly agree to that, nor could she agree to it.

"What about the other one?"

"Secondly, they want martial arts manuals! They specifically requested that the leaders of the three major sects in Liangzhou City—the Sand Gang, the Yellow Wind Ridge, and the Crimson Flame Sect—personally deliver the manuals out of the city. Only after they verify their accuracy will they release the hostages!"

"This is outrageous!"

Upon hearing the second condition, Liu Jinghong uttered a sound and then slumped back into her chair, utterly exhausted.

This second condition is even more difficult than the first!

Within the territory of Anguo, the imperial court cannot issue orders to sects, not even the Emperor An, let alone a general like her!

Moreover, the most valuable thing in every sect is its martial arts manual. Which sect leader would willingly hand it over?

Moreover, he personally delivered it to the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment. Liu Jinghong didn't even need to think about it to know that it was impossible!

However, it is obvious that the first condition is completely impossible to meet, and the second condition is theoretically impossible but practically possible. And these Western Frontier heavy cavalry regiments are clearly coming for it!

...

After listening to Liu Jinghong's analysis, Jing Zhe didn't take it seriously.

"They want to copy down the first few pages of the martial arts manual, then scribble something down at the end. He can't read it all in one go, can he? Then they'll find three people to impersonate the three sect leaders and send it out!"

Jing Zhe's suggestion was not very good. After listening to it, Liu Jinghong shook his head and said, "No way! The cavalrymen of the heavy cavalry regiment also practice martial arts. Although their level is not high, most of them are maintained at the second or third level. It is too difficult to find a fake manual to deceive them!"

Moreover, there are more than just these three sects in Liangzhou City, but these three are the strongest! The reason they specifically requested the martial arts manuals of these three sects must be because they sent people to investigate and have some understanding of these three sects. How could they possibly deceive them by sending just three people? If they angered them, they might just kill those children, which would be a huge loss!

"All right!"

Jing Zhe shrugged, his eyes darting around, and exclaimed happily, "I've come up with another great idea!"

Once everyone looked over, he said smugly, "Since they want martial arts manuals so badly, we should just agree to their demands, then drag it out until tomorrow morning, and then I'll kill them all!"

"Young Master Jing, they said that if you don't meet their demands before nightfall, they will kill the child!"

Wang De quickly added.

"You're so stupid! They said before dark, so let's just give them a martial arts manual before dark! Then give them one every three hours, and tell them that it's too difficult to persuade these sect leaders, but since they have one as a backup, they definitely won't suspect anything. By the time we give them the third one, it will already be the next day. Then they can hand over the child, and I can go out and kill them all. Isn't that easy?"

Jing Zhe spoke casually, as if everything was very simple.

Empress Yueyao had been holding back for a long time, but she finally couldn't hold back any longer and said angrily, "Young Master Jing, you also know martial arts, but how come you seem to know nothing about the sects of your An Kingdom?"

Empress Yueyao was somewhat anxious, as the safety of several children was at stake.

"Whether you can defeat those Western Frontier heavy cavalry regiments or not, let's put aside that for now and talk about giving them their secret manuals! I am far away in Yueyao Kingdom, but I have heard that the sects in An Kingdom are not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. Otherwise, with so many sects within An Kingdom, An Kingdom's strength would have long surpassed that of other countries! And all the major sects regard their own martial arts manuals as treasures. How do you expect them to hand them over?"

Empress Yueyao finished speaking in one breath. Because of her anxiety, her large chest heaved. Jing Zhe felt a little thirsty watching her, but he quickly recovered.

"The Queen is referring to this issue, it's very simple!"

It's simple again...

Empress Yueyao had heard this term from Jing Zhe's mouth for what felt like the umpteenth time, and she was utterly speechless.

"Simple? If Young Master Jing really thinks it's simple, then you should hurry up and persuade these three sect leaders to hand over all their martial arts manuals. Oh, by the way, I would also like to remind Young Master Jing that although the Sand Gang, Yellow Wind Ridge, and Crimson Flame Sect are somewhat small compared to the four major sects of Anguo, they are quite famous in Liangzhou City. Ordinary people rarely get to see their sect leaders, so Young Master Jing's primary problem right now is not how to persuade them, but rather to meet them first!"

"Oh? Is that so? Judging from the Queen's attitude, she doesn't seem to think I can persuade them?"

"It's not that I don't think it's promising, it's that I'm extremely pessimistic!"

"What if I could actually convince them?"

"That…"

Empress Yueyao hesitated for a moment, then looked up again and scrutinized Jing Zhe once more: "What does Young Master Jing intend to do?"

"If I can persuade them, the Queen must grant me one request, okay?"

"good!"

The Queen answered without hesitation.

————