Attacking the mountain

"Why choose this location? There are cliffs on both sides. Wouldn't it be dangerous to set up here?" Cheng Junshi frowned.

“Besides the cliffs, this place also has unique geographical advantages. Look—” Tang Qi said to him while pointing to the map, “This is a rare place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It would be a treasure on the battlefield.”

"While that's true, it would be dangerous if it were actually located here," Ye Qian said calmly, his brows furrowed.

"How so?"

Ye Qian pointed to the map and said, "This place is called 'Fenghe Domain' because of its terrain. It is a place where the wind is most likely to rise from both sides. The wind is strong and powerful. It can be very dangerous if it rains and the wind blows."

“It’s dangerous for them, but for us, isn’t this a golden opportunity?” Tang Qi suddenly laughed, his eyes gradually becoming cunning.

“But Jinan suffers from severe drought every year, and wind and rain are hard to come by. Wouldn’t it be foolish to place our hopes on heaven and earth?”

Unexpectedly, Tang Qi smiled even more: "No, no, it's just borrowing his momentum. As long as there's wind, that's enough."

Everyone: ?

Tang Qi looked at Gui Luo sitting over there: "How many soldiers do you have?"

Gui Luo lazily poured himself another cup of water, as if discussing the weather: "Three hundred elite troops are waiting around. The commander recognizes the token in your hand and will obey your orders." He paused deliberately and looked at Cheng Junshi, "If I'm not mistaken, he probably recognizes you too."

Cheng Junshi was slightly taken aback, then realized: "They are... from the Imperial Guard?"

“Clever.” Gui Luo yawned again. “Your employer has enough influence to mobilize the Imperial Guard. Your background is not to be underestimated. If I were to actually help you escape this calamity, it wouldn’t be a good thing for the Southern Continent.”

"So what do you want? To fight?! Come on! Who's afraid of who!" Gui Luo's words ignited Lu Juezhen's fighting spirit, and he flexed his muscles.

Gui Luo glanced at him, expressionless, and said in a very perfunctory manner, "Oh dear, I'm so scared."

Seeing the other person's face turn red, Gui Luo smiled again and said, "I only said that letting you live would be detrimental to Nanzhou, but I didn't say it would be detrimental to me."

His meaningful words startled Tang Qi, while Gui Luo seemed unfazed and continued calmly drinking his tea.

"I'm afraid it's not that your employer has a lot of influence, but rather that someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes," Tang Qi said quietly.

"Anyone will do. Since they're here, let's make the most of them." Tang Qi felt a little more at ease and continued looking at the map.

With three hundred elite Imperial Guards and a few others, although facing the terrain of Centipede Mountain and the potential enemy force several times their size, the situation was still perilous, but it was not a situation of certain defeat.

Without further hesitation, he quickly swiped his finger across the map.

"If you arrive late, you and Xiaoqing will continue to open the granaries and distribute grain as planned tomorrow morning. The bigger the commotion, the better. Ideally, the entire Jinan should know that the imperial court's disaster relief grain has arrived, and no one should be able to stop it. Organize all the yamen runners, soldiers, and even any civilians willing to help in Jinan, and transport the grain to the most conspicuous place. Distribute it with gongs and drums. We need to make Jinan 'chaotic'."

Ye Qian paused, then immediately understood his meaning: "They are using grain to blackmail us, so we should first cut off their fundamental means of controlling the people with grain. Once Jiao Niang and the others find out that the granaries are wide open, the rear will be unstable, and the morale of the army will be in chaos."

“If they waver, I will make sure they are buried in Centipede Mountain.” Tang Qi’s eyes were burning.

"What do you want to do?" Shen Zhiqing asked.

Tang Qi continued to smile, "It's just an attempt to emulate our ancestors and take advantage of the situation."

"What do you plan to do?" Cheng Junshi asked him.

Tang Qi turned to Centipede Mountain on the map. "Tomorrow at noon, I will personally go up the mountain to negotiate with him."

"No!" He was immediately met with opposition from a group of people as soon as he finished speaking.

"Your body is simply—"

Tang Qi raised his hand to interrupt: "If this were a battlefield, I would only have two choices: fight or die."

He spoke firmly, leaving no room for anyone to advise him.

Military generals have always been this way, both in the past and in the future.

"Lu Juezhen, you and the remaining soldiers of General Wu will listen to my signal. When the time comes, we will launch a strong attack from the front pass into the valley to rescue people. Remember, it must be a 'strong attack,' the more fierce the better. Do your best to make it look like a 'strong attack.'"

He pointed to the pass: "Ah Hu!"

"Here!" Hu Xingche immediately straightened his back.

"Tomorrow at noon, you and he will launch a full-scale attack from the front of the pass. But remember, only engage in close combat on the perimeter and focus on feints. Once the enemy's ambush forces are all deployed, immediately retreat and use the terrain to maneuver and hold them off."

"Yes, boss!"

Lu Juezhen nodded vigorously: "Leave it to me! I'm no good at fighting, but I'm definitely capable of keeping order!"

"As for you," Tang Qi looked at Gui Luo, who was still leisurely and calmly drinking tea. His finger extended upwards along an almost ignored, extremely steep and hidden path on the map, eventually pointing to an inconspicuous cliff behind Fenghe Domain.

"This is Feng Heyu's only escape route. It's difficult for ordinary people, but it shouldn't be difficult for the Imperial Guards. I need you to lead the Imperial Guards to silently climb this cliff before noon tomorrow. If there's no one there, occupy it directly. If there is, then attack. We must take it before noon! Once the ambush troops in the valley are distracted by Ah Hu and the others and their attention is focused on the pass, immediately..."

Tang Qi slammed his finger into the center of the valley floor: "Smash it! Use rolling stones and dead wood, smash it hard! Disrupt their formation and create chaos."

The corners of Gui Luo's mouth seemed to slowly curve upwards beneath the mask: "Then you'll have to give me more manpower. I won't do hard labor for free."

"Cheng Wang," Tang Qi said, turning to the person beside him one last time, his voice low but filled with unquestionable trust, "You take your people and go with him."

The moment Cheng Junshi looked over, Tang Qi whispered very quickly in his ear, "I don't believe him."

Cheng Junshi silently grasped Tang Qi's hand under the table and said briefly in a low voice, "Okay. Just trust me, and I will definitely take down the cliff before noon tomorrow."

"And what about you?" A slightly abrupt voice rang out; it was Hu Xingche, who had been silent until now. He looked at Tang Qi, his expression complicated: "Boss, you go and negotiate with them. When we launch a full-scale attack, how are you going to escape?"

Tang Qi smiled slightly and said, "Then we'll have to take advantage of the favorable wind."

"Besides what I've told you, there's one more thing I need you to do during the assault," Tang Qi said slowly.

After he finished speaking, everyone was shocked. Gui Luo suddenly sneered, "You stole my tactics."

"That's called applying what you've learned. General Killer." Tang Qi smiled at him.

“But boss! Your plan is too risky! How about we switch? I'll deal with them!” Hu Xingche then spoke up.

Tang Qi looked at him, his eyes calm but his tone leaving no room for refusal: "Ah Hu, a feint attack from the front is just as dangerous. You must protect yourself and Lu Juezhen. As for rescuing people..." He paused.

He couldn't possibly not hate Wu Shunyi.

Tang Qi even considered paying with his life; he could personally kill Wu Shunyi here to appease the spirits of the Wolf Strategy soldiers.

Wu Shunyi is not innocent; he can die, even at the hands of Tang Qi.

However, he absolutely cannot be abandoned because of hatred after saving Tang Qi.

The person must be saved.

He must live.

"I'll save them, I'll save them myself."

Only by surviving will Tang Qi have the chance to take revenge himself.

Hu Xingche wanted to say something, but when he met Tang Qi's indifferent eyes, he suddenly couldn't utter a word. He understood that this was destined to be a fight to the death between the two of them. So he could only nod heavily and whisper, "...Yes! Then, boss, be careful!"

Gui Luo watched all this with great interest, his gaze lingering for a while on the two people's loosely clasped hands under the table, before casually looking away and lazily saying, "The plan is good. However, the group of people on the valley top who can put you in such a predicament are no simpletons. If you drag your crippled body in, whether you can rescue them or not is another matter. Don't let yourself die in there first."

Tang Qi gave a slightly roguish smile: "Then I'll have to trouble you, General Killer, to smash things up there harder and relieve some of the pressure on me."

“I’ll do my best,” Gui Luo shrugged and smiled deliberately. “If you die on the mountain, it won’t be a good thing for me either.”

Gui Luo's words were full of teasing, and Tang Qi stared at him and gradually fell silent.

“However,” Gui Luo’s gaze shifted to Cheng Junshi, but his words were directed at Tang Qi, “with him here, do you still need to worry about things not being done well?”

Cheng Junshi's heart skipped a beat, as if he had sensed Gui Luoxiao's meaning. His gaze turned cold, carrying a threatening undertone.

However, Gui Luo naturally ignored it and did not restrain his expression at all.

"It's a deal." Tang Qi stopped looking at Gui Luo and turned to the crowd, his gaze sweeping over each face, whether tense, resolute, or eager: "Everyone, tomorrow we will break the deadlock, so please give it your all."

With the plan set, no one lingered any longer, and soon only Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi remained in the room.

Tang Qi sat back on the bed, his wound, which had tightened from the tension of seeing Gui Luo, reopened. Cheng Junshi naturally took over the task of re-bandaging him. His movements were gentle yet as attentive as ever. Tang Qi leaned against the headboard, watching Cheng Junshi's actions, and couldn't help but deliberately laugh out loud, saying, "Not running away this time?"

Cheng Junshi paused, looked up at him. Tang Qi spoke in a soft voice, cold sweat beading on his forehead, clearly enduring excruciating pain, but he still had a smile on his face, showing no sign of dejection.

"Are you confident you'll survive?" Cheng Junshi suddenly asked, not answering Tang Qi's question, but instead throwing it back at him.

Tang Qi frowned. Cheng Junshi's voice was low, but his eyes were earnestly seeking an answer. Although he hesitated, he still sat up straight and looked at him with the same seriousness, forcing a smile as he said, "Of course. I didn't come here to die, and besides, aren't you here?"

He's acting silly again.

"You trust me that much?" Cheng Junshi looked directly at him, his tone serious: "Do you believe I can take down the cliff in time and create chaos? Do you believe I can... protect you?"

Tang Qi was silent for a moment, then gently covered Cheng Junshi's bandaged hand: "Cheng Wang, I believe in you more than I believe in myself." He paused, his voice slightly hoarse, "Wu Shunyi... he must live. He cannot die here because of saving me. His life and death should be decided by my own hands. This is my explanation to the Wolf Army, and also my explanation to myself."

Cheng Junshi gripped Tang Qi's hand tightly, so hard that Tang Qi's knuckles ached. "Remember what you said. You have to survive. To me, your life is a thousand times more precious than his! I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself to save him, do you understand?" His tone was filled with unprecedented harshness and...fear.

Tang Qi felt a slight tremor in his heart as he looked at the intense emotions surging in Cheng Junshi's eyes. In the end, he simply nodded slowly and chuckled softly, "Yes, sir."