"What is your position and name?" Wang Xiaohai asked the silver-armored general under his feet.

"Commander of ten thousand men, Guan Zeyuan." General Silver Armor replied.

"General Guan Zeyuan, right?" Wang Xiaohai asked. "How many soldiers are left in the Yulin Army?"

"A total of 90,000 Yulin troops from the front and central armies have already left. I am in the tail army, with only 10,000 soldiers and ten thousand captains under my command." General Guan Zeyuan answered every question.

"So you are the general of the rear army!" Wang Xiaohai pulled Guan Zeyuan up and said, "Excuse me, let's go into the tent and talk." After that, he pulled Guan Zeyuan into the military tent without saying anything.

All the soldiers of the Yulin Army surrounded the tent at the same time, with swords and spears pointed at the tent curtain.

There was a long square table and several old chairs in the tent. Wang Xiaohai pulled Guan Zeyuan to a chair and sat down himself.

"That tiger talisman actually belongs to Princess Shu." Wang Xiaohai said.

"We don't care who it belongs to. We only follow the orders of the person who brought it." said Guan Zeyuan, the captain of ten thousand men.

"If the emperor and Tiger Tally give orders at the same time, will you listen to Tiger Tally or the emperor?" Wang Xiaohai asked.

"Of course it's the Emperor's," said Guan Zeyuan, the commander of ten thousand men. "But normally the Tiger Tally is in the Emperor's hands, so there's no such thing as the Emperor disobeying the Tiger Tally's orders."

"Okay, is your life more important, or is the order from the tiger talisman more important?" Wang Xiaohai asked from a different angle.

"Of course... Tiger Talisman's orders are more important," said Captain Guan Zeyuan. "If I lose my life, I lose it, but if I don't obey Tiger Talisman's orders, my entire family and clan will lose their lives."

"Even if you listen to the tiger talisman, your entire family will be dead," Wang Xiaohai said. "Did you know that the late emperor has passed away?"

"I know, so what?" Guan Zeyuan said, "We'll obey whoever holds the tiger talisman."

"Even if a thief comes to you with a tiger talisman, will you listen to him?" Wang Xiaohai continued to ask.

"Of course, this isn't my fault. The fault lies with the person who kept the tiger talisman," Guan Zeyuan said. "If anyone is held responsible, it certainly won't be because we followed orders."

"Then let me tell you, this is the one who really stole the Tiger Tally." Wang Xiaohai placed his left hand on the table. "If the new emperor knew about this, he might not kill the soldiers, but if you generals knew about this, your entire family would definitely be executed."

"You're talking nonsense!" Guan Zeyuan said, "Do you think I'll believe it?"

"As far as I know, the Third Prince, Zhou Jian, is about to become the new emperor. If you don't know him, you've probably heard of him. He's a ruthless character," Wang Xiaohai said. "If he knew you were tricked into attacking Qizhou and murdering its officials and civilians, would he spare you? Even for the sake of the people, he would have you executed, and your family would most likely be executed along with you, or even exiled as slaves."

Guan Zeyuan was shocked. He felt that what Wang Xiaohai said made sense.

"What do you think we should do now?"

Guan Zeyuan was now at a loss and had to turn to Wang Xiaohai for help.

"Now you have no choice but to choose a prince or princess to join. If you take a gamble, you still have a chance. If you don't, you will die!" Wang Xiaohai's words hinted very clearly.

"How to bet?" Guan Zeyuan said.

"Submit to Princess Shu, take your 10,000 soldiers into the city, and attack the palace." Wang Xiaohai said the answer he had already thought of, "After Princess Shu seizes the throne, you will become the Protector of the Nation!"

"Let me think about it."

Guan Zeyuan felt that Wang Xiaohai's statement was unreliable. To seek refuge with a princess? Zhou Guo had never appeared since its founding. He had no confidence in this.

"Don't worry about it. All the princes in the royal family, except Princess Shu, are now under house arrest by the Third Prince, Zhou Jian," Wang Xiaohai advised. "In the entire country, only Princess Shu is willing to oppose the Third Prince. This means there are only two factions. You can either choose death or a glimmer of hope." Wang Xiaohai had actually concealed a lot of information—he didn't know whether all the princes in the palace were present, and not only was Princess Shu against the Third Prince, but many of his fellow traitors were also against him. This wasn't a lie, just a concealment. Besides, he wasn't wrong. Given the Third Prince's personality, he would most likely kill Guan Zeyuan.

The two people in the tent didn't speak for a while.

Wang Xiaohai was waiting, while Guan Zeyuan was analyzing and considering.

Three minutes later.

Guan Zeyuan clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and stared at Wang Xiaohai, saying, "I'm joining. What should I do?" He joined in part because of Wang Xiaohai—Wang Xiaohai gave him such a strong impression. He hadn't had time to react to that kick before he was knocked down! He was one of the best warriors in the Yulin Army. While individual prowess in the military didn't guarantee victory, it was a powerful deterrent to the enemy. When an invincible general charged into battle, the enemy couldn't find a worthy opponent, and their momentum was greatly diminished!

"Have your men pack up and travel overnight. We'll ambush in the woods outside the capital, recruit a few experts to infiltrate the city, open the gates, and lower the suspension bridge." Wang Xiaohai outlined his long-planned plan. "There are only a few hundred soldiers guarding the gates. We'll then quickly storm the palace. The Zhengyang Palace in the imperial city is likely gathering civil and military officials for a meeting, leaving the gates unguarded. We can charge in."

"What will happen if we rush in?" asked Guan Zeyuan, the captain of ten thousand men. "Will we be killed? The palace has 20,000 guards! A frontal attack would give us no chance!"

"It's not like we don't have a chance," Wang Xiaohai said. "Think about it. Although there are 20,000 imperial guards, most of them are scattered throughout the palace. I guess the Zhengyang Hall, where officials hold meetings, has only a few thousand people. We should first attack the guards at the city gate and subdue them. Then we can attack the guards elsewhere, and finally attack the Zhengyang Hall."

Wang Xiaohai's plan is very feasible.

"You are brave and resourceful. Why weren't you famous in the Zhou Kingdom before?" Guan Zeyuan said.

"Don't you know that some hidden talents won't come out until times of chaos?"

Wang Xiaohai looked mysterious. He only mentioned those hidden talents, not himself, but this gave Guan Zeyuan a hint.

"I understand!" Guan Zeyuan has made up his mind to follow Wang Xiaohai to do this.

"Don't worry, if you work with us, even if you fail, I will keep you safe." Wang Xiaohai said, "I can still rescue one person from an attack by a thousand people."

Wang Xiaohai persuaded the commander Guan Zeyuan.

"I'll gather ten of my captains first," Guan Zeyuan said, "and then we'll talk to them together." Now that he's already joined, he no longer hesitates!

"That's right, we should explain the situation to the middle-level generals and see their reactions." Wang Xiaohai agreed.

"Messenger, call all the captains in!" Guan Zeyuan stood up, pulled open the tent curtain and shouted outside.

The two of them sat together at the head of the military tent, waiting quietly.