Chapter 92 Why

The light cavalry rested for half a cup of tea, and after everyone had dinner with dry food and cold water, they continued on their way.

At first, the soldiers of the light cavalry looked at Wen Wan with disdain in their eyes.

Although the military advisor and Gao Ling had told them before departure that Miss Xiaowan was very important to this mission, deep down they still felt that this girl was a burden.

However, after the first day, their views on Wen Wan changed slightly.

At least, a girl managed to hold on and keep up with their speed, which in itself deserves respect.

Wen Wan was half exhausted during the ten-day journey.

She had become visibly thinner, and her once rosy complexion was now pale and red from the high altitude caused by the wind and sand. Her lively eyes became a little creepy against the backdrop of her sunken eye sockets.

Agui's heart trembled every time he saw Wen Wan like this.

He didn't dare to think about how heartbroken the general would be if he saw her like this.

At noon, the team stopped by a small river.

Gao Ling rode his horse to Wen Wan's side and said, "Cross this stream and continue for another hour, and you will reach the Forgotten Valley."

Wen Wan responded and said, "Let everyone stop and rest for a while, call the soldiers in the team who are good at strategy, and let's discuss the strategy together."

Gao Ling responded and immediately gave the order.

Soon, he brought the four young men to Wen Wan.

After these days of tossing and turning, Wen Wan is now extremely weak. Even though it is spring and flowers are blooming, she has to wrap herself in a thick shawl to feel warm.

Agui spread a woolen blanket on the ground. After Wen Wan sat down on the blanket, she wrapped her shawl tighter around herself.

The four young men were surprised to see a sheepskin map placed in front of her.

Gao Ling asked everyone to sit down, "From now on, we will follow Miss Xiaowan's arrangements."

This sentence was so profound that the young men were so shocked that it took them a while to come back to their senses.

"Master Gao, you said... let us follow Miss Xiaowan's arrangements?"

They all thought that Gao Ling was wrong.

Gao Ling nodded calmly, "Yes."

A few of them looked at each other, and then felt a little dissatisfied.

"Master Gao, are you kidding me? This is a serious matter. How can we let a woman give orders at random?"

"Yes, although she performed well along the way, she could only keep up with our marching speed. But let alone going to the battlefield, she couldn't even handle a couple of bandits."

"Brothers, there are hundreds of lives at stake. We cannot treat a woman as a joke."

Their reaction was so strong that Gao Ling was caught off guard.

In the past ten days, apart from being a little cold towards Wen Wan, they did not show any other rejection.

One of them spoke the truth, "We originally thought she was a relative of one of our brothers trapped in the valley. She was so worried that she followed them to the Forgotten Valley, regardless of her own safety."

"We privately believe that this girl is a man of integrity and loyalty. Furthermore, with you and the military advisor guaranteeing her, we will all consider her our brother's wife and tolerate this matter."

"But I didn't expect you would let her, a woman, command us?"

"Master Gao, let us make it clear to you that we will not accept her command."

Gao Ling's face flushed with anger, and he immediately kicked one of them in the knee, "Idiot!"

But no matter how he scolded them, the young men refused to give in.

Wen Wan was not surprised at all, and she was not angry, but just looked indifferent.

Gao Ling's face was filled with embarrassment, but he couldn't do anything about these incompetent soldiers.

"Miss Xiaowan..."

Wen Wan waved her hand. "Forget it, it's fine. I wasn't interested in commanding them in the first place. I'm not a member of the border city garrison, and I don't receive a single cent of their salary. If I didn't have someone I cared about in the valley, I wouldn't have risked this hardship."

After a pause, she changed the subject, "But..."

She raised her head and met the gazes of several people with sharp eyes.

"For the sake of everyone in the valley, even if you don't agree, you have to endure it."

When several people heard this, they roared angrily: "Why? Who do you think you are? How dare you let us endure it?"

Wen Wan sneered, "Just because... I was the one who commanded the battle at the Mountain God Temple where we were outnumbered."

The battle at Shanshen Temple where the outnumbered troops defeated the larger force is still considered a miracle by these soldiers.

It goes without saying that the storytellers in the city gave vivid and colorful tales. In the garrison camp, Military Advisor Min broke down the battle over and over again and analyzed it for them.

They still remembered the joyful look on Military Advisor Min's face when he talked about this.

The military advisor said that even he could not guarantee that he could come up with a better strategy under the circumstances at that time.

They all knew that there was a man who became a god in that battle.

They just didn't expect that person to be such a delicate woman.

Several young men looked at each other, then looked at Gao Ling.

Gao Ling spread his hands and said, "No doubt, it's her."

Several people still couldn't believe it.

Wen Wan was too lazy to argue, so she picked up a branch and pointed at several points on the map.

"This is a topographic map of the Forgotten Valley. These three locations are commanding heights. If General Shen and his entourage were truly besieged by the Mobei army, then these three commanding heights must have already been seized by the Mobei people."

"No matter which way we go down the mountain, we will be discovered by them and quickly surrounded by them."

"So, we can't just rush over like that stupidly."

"If we want to break the deadlock, we have to lure them down the mountain and reverse the situation."

"Of course, before that, we need to find out their number and equipment..."

Just a few words made the expressions of several young men become serious.

They are also the best among those who are good at strategy. As the saying goes, the layman sees the excitement, while the expert sees the details.

When Wen Wan said the words "commanding heights", they knew that she was really an expert.

Wen Wan coughed as she spoke, and after she finished explaining her strategy, she was coughing so hard that she was out of breath.

When Agui saw this, he quickly handed her some water.

After Wen Wan drank half a pot of water, her throat felt a little better.

At this moment, the young men were no longer unconvinced and stared at her with burning eyes.

Wen Wan felt a little numb from their gazes.

"Don't look at me like that. My theories are just theoretical. After all, I've never actually been on the battlefield."

"I've only read a few military books and have a basic understanding of them. In this life-or-death moment, I can't guarantee that these theoretical strategies will be feasible, so I asked Brother Gao to call you over to hear your opinions."

"After all, you have extensive practical experience, so you are the ones who have the most say in whether these strategies can be truly implemented."

Since it concerns the life and death of Shen Yu and his group, she has to be extremely cautious.

Therefore, she is willing to take the lowest possible stance and minimize the risks.