Several days later, at the south gate of a city called "Yuhe City," an elderly man dressed in a blue robe spoke earnestly to Qin Ze:
"Your Highness, since you are in such a hurry to leave the city, I would like to offer you some advice."
Although the tyrannical ruler was incompetent and always yielded in dealing with foreign invasions, she always harbored the utmost malice towards those who sought to harm her.
"The reason why this damned imperial court has not yet sent troops is because they have already prepared to fight the prince at Baili Plain. As far as I know, they have deployed a large number of troops at Baili Plain."
"Those are heavy cavalry!"
Upon hearing this, Dian Wei, standing to the side, asked, "Hmm? Is the information reliable?"
The old man nodded and said in a deep voice, "Not a single word of it is false!"
"This message was specially sent by my old master, it cannot be false."
Qin Ze nodded slightly, and the old man continued:
"Your Highness, you have come all the way from Beiliang to the south, and you have overcome many obstacles along the way. Both I and the people of the world have witnessed it. Now you are only one step away from stepping into Jinling."
"Take care on your journey ahead, Your Highness!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man bent down and bowed deeply.
His words were earnest, and his wrinkled face, even his eyes, were red-rimmed.
Qin Ze helped him up, and looking at the hunched old man, a look of emotion appeared in his eyes:
“Mr. Zhu, when I first met you in the capital, you were a high-ranking official of the fourth rank. Two years have passed since then, and you have come to Yuhe City. This place is too small; I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to fully utilize your talents.”
The old man shook his head and said, "Zhu Ming's family was poor. He didn't even have the money to travel to the capital for the imperial examination. If it weren't for the official who helped me when he passed through Yuhe City on his way out of the capital, I would probably only be a farmer. How could I be where I am today?"
"Fortunately, I had read many books in the past few decades and still had a strong desire to serve my country. I was able to pass the imperial examination in my fifties. I was also fortunate to have my mentor's help and become his disciple. In the past few years, things have gone smoothly."
"However, the higher the official rank, the more the tyrant did, the more I realized that no matter how much one sacrifices oneself, it is only for the benefit of the tyrant, and how much benefit can the common people get?"
Qin Ze nodded, "The tyrannical ruler has been acting perversely and has caused great trouble. Now the country is becoming increasingly weak."
The old man shook his head and sighed, "Yes, if the ruler is not a ruler and the minister is not a minister, there is no use in staying in the court. That's why I resigned and returned to Yuhe City."
"Before I left, I had a chat with my mentor. He was loyal and righteous, and he even scolded me, saying that it was really wrong of me to have talent and not become an official. In his heart, he still had some hope for that tyrannical emperor."
Upon hearing this, Dian Wei frowned.
"That's not right. If that's the case, then wouldn't it be possible that your mentor is sending false information to harm someone?"
The old man quickly waved his hand and said:
"No, no, no, General, you are overthinking it."
“My mentor has now come to his senses. He sent me a message earlier, saying that when the prince comes here, we must not stop him, but open the city gates to welcome him. We must not be accomplices to the tyrant and go against the wishes of the people.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Ze smiled slightly, recalling what Zhang Li had said when he left the capital.
Seeing Qin Ze smile, Zhu Ming added, "Speaking of which, this change in our mentor is truly a good thing."
"However, he is still by the side of this tyrannical emperor. Your Highness, please do not make a fuss. My mentor is a loyal and patriotic man who is devoted to the people. This is..."
At this point, Zhu Ming's expression froze, and he suddenly realized that his use of the words "loyal to the emperor" might be a little... inappropriate.
But Qin Ze didn't take it to heart and said:
"Yes, I understand Zhang Li's character."
"It's getting late. Since they're waiting for me at Baili Plain, I'll go and meet them."
Having said that, Qin Ze cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to the gray-haired Zhu Ming and said:
“In the future, you will have a place to display your talents.”
Without another word, Qin Ze mounted his horse.
Zhu Ming was flattered and bowed, saying:
"Your Highness! Take care on your journey!"
"When you step into Jinling, this old man will have a couple of drinks and celebrate with the people of the city!"
Qin Ze turned his head, simply cupped his hands in greeting, and then led his army away.
As is customary, the scouts Qin Ze sent out had already taken the lead and were at the forefront.
If the scouts' findings are as Zhu Ming said, and Bailiyuan does indeed have a large force, and it is heavily armored cavalry, then we must make reasonable arrangements of our troops to deal with them.
The troops I currently command are indeed formidable, with most of them being members of the Wudang Flying Army, who are highly skilled in mountain warfare.
However, if they were to fight at Bailiyuan, they would not be able to utilize their strengths.
In order to minimize battle losses, we must reconsider and choose the most suitable tactics to annihilate the enemy.
Qin Ze, riding on his horse, was lost in thought.
As the most expansive area in the Central Plains, launching a war here can be said to have laid the foundation for future victory.
Since Yanlu Mountain, the people of these cities have surrendered to their own troops upon seeing them, which has intimidated many people.
Once the Battle of Bailiyuan begins, its impact will continue to expand, which means that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the imperial court will likely have no one left to fight and stop it.
As the war progressed, Qin Ze sensed that it was nearing its end.
Now, before the New Year, according to the plan, we will definitely be able to set foot in Nanjing before the end of the year!
After entering Nanjing, the next step was to rebuild this vast, ravaged land!
The vast land has nurtured countless people, and its glorious history has given birth to numerous heroes and outstanding figures.
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