Xue Yan snorted coldly and said contemptuously: "Autumn grasshopper."
The black-robed military advisor sat across from Shen Xu. He quickly closed his folding fan and gently patted it with his hands. He said in a gentle tone, "The court directly sent the Grand Marshal and the female Prime Minister to negotiate peace. Isn't this a risky move?"
"It's just a title. It can be me or anyone else."
She spoke calmly, "This demonstrates the importance the court attaches to this matter. We have brought you a personal order from His Majesty, stating that if you withdraw your troops, all consequences will be forgiven."
Xue Yan sneered and said contemptuously, "What bargaining chips do you have to negotiate with us? Our army is now at its peak. In no time, we will be able to defeat the royal army and capture Rock City. When that happens, your Majesty will kneel before us."
Shen Xu replied calmly, "Rock climbing mechanism and power spring crossbow."
The black-robed military advisor ordered someone to bring back the things that Shen Xu had placed in the carriage.
It is a power spring crossbow and a set of climbing mechanisms.
The black-robed military advisor reached out and took the crossbow, carefully examined its appearance, then snapped off the buckle and removed the outer shell.
He fiddled with the mechanism on it, observed it for a moment and said, "So this is the design. It even has a crosshair on it. No wonder it can hit its target without missing a beat. It's really a good killing weapon.
You are the one who shot the Imperial Master with this crossbow?"
Shen Xu frowned slightly, feeling secretly uneasy. This military advisor was very skilled in dismantling the crossbow, and he must understand the principle behind it.
The black-robed military advisor had his wheelchair pushed to the side of the table, took out the tools, disassembled the crossbow, and spread the parts on the table.
He exclaimed in admiration, "It's truly ingenious! Are the four sets of reeds responsible for the power? This way, the crossbow string isn't limited by distance. This crossbow's range is at least half that of an ordinary bow, right?"
Shen Xu nodded, "The military advisor also knows how to make crossbows?"
"Yeah, I understand a little bit." The black-robed military advisor skillfully assembled the crossbow, then reached out to move the rock climbing unit to study it.
"So that's how it is. Miss Nuxiang is truly amazing. She's even capable of making something as complex as a rock climbing machine. If you equip it in the hands of the Southwestern Army in due time, you might even be able to capture Xiling City in Yanyang Nation."
Chen Xu said calmly, "Then, Master Military Advisor, do you think these things we have are sufficient to negotiate peace with you?"
The black-robed military advisor raised a smug smile and continued, "It's a pity, this thing is very complicated to operate. It will take at least half a year for the royal cavalry to fully adapt to it and then cross the mountain to attack us.
Given the current situation of the royal cavalry, they cannot hold out for even half a month.
And this power spring crossbow is truly exquisitely crafted."
Shen Xu leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face, his eyes moving to his hands. He was writing and drawing on paper while speaking gently.
"Unfortunately, this type of equipment is extremely time-consuming to produce and requires specialized arrowheads. I'm guessing you don't even have a thousand of them. How can you use them to kill our 400,000-man army?"
The black-robed military advisor picked up the paper and unfolded it, revealing a diagram of the power spring assembly of the crossbow.
He immediately understood the working principle of the crossbow.
Pei Zhiyuan felt something was wrong. These two things were originally intended to be used for negotiation after they had seen them, but unexpectedly they became weapons delivered to their doorstep.
They immediately figured out the principle and then mass-produced it to attack the royal army.
Wouldn’t that make victory even more hopeless?
Shen Xu nodded slightly, praising the black-robed military advisor very much, and admitted: "Master Military Advisor's analysis is really accurate, and the schematic diagram of the crossbow's structure is also very accurate, but we still have other killer moves."
"Hahaha..." The black-robed military advisor suddenly laughed. He asked someone to push him in front of Shen Xu. Through the hollow butterfly-wing mask, his eyes were fixed on Shen Xu's face, as if he wanted to capture some expression from her face.
"Speaking of killer moves, I really admire you. How did you come up with that?"
Shen Xu asked in surprise, "Has the military advisor already guessed it?"
"Miss Female Prime Minister, are you planning to have the Royal Army's Iron Cavalry disguise themselves as the Southwestern Army and play a Southwestern Tiger game with us?"
Pei Zhiyuan was shocked. He was indeed found out!
Shen Xu pretended to be confused and asked, "What's so particular?"
"I guess the young lady used paint to paint the armor of the royal cavalry blue, printed tiger stripes on it with a golden seal, and then painted the spearmen's weapons white, disguising them as the White Spear Squadron of the Southwest Tiger.
When our army's scouts spy on the enemy, they will mistakenly think that the Southwestern Army has come to support your other cities, causing us to misjudge that you have reinforcements, feel that victory is hopeless, and thus retreat and surrender.
Isn't that right, smart and beautiful Miss Xiang?"
Pei Zhiyuan took a deep breath when he heard this.
The military advisor's judgment was absolutely correct; he saw through all her schemes.
Wouldn’t the royal army be in danger and doomed to failure?
Shen Xu seemed very calm. She did not deny it and nodded directly, saying, "Oh? You have seen through it all. The military advisor is really one step ahead."
Xue Yan, who was standing nearby, snorted lightly and said disdainfully, "I didn't realize you were quite capable. Are you trying to bully us by pretending to be powerful?"
Unfortunately, no matter how much you bluff, when the real battle comes, how can you compete with our 400,000 real soldiers and horses? "
The black-robed military advisor smiled gently, "But someone who can come up with such a clever plan...
So, it was Miss who broke my Queyue Formation, right?"
Shen Xu nodded and asked, "How did you see through my strategy of deceiving the enemy?"
The black-robed military advisor said truthfully: "You are just this many people in total. How many soldiers are stationed in a city? The daily food and grass consumption will not lie.
Miss Xiang, you are wasting your time."
"Oh, Master Military Advisor, you are so observant." Shen Xu said calmly with a calm smile on his face, "You have seen through all this. Then we are doomed to be defeated."
The black-robed military advisor said softly, "It's more than just a crushing defeat, Miss Shen. You are so bold, but you will bring 250,000 royal cavalry to their deaths."
Shen Xu pretended to be panicked and said, "Then, what should I do? You've seen through me. Is it too late for me to beg for mercy now?"
"Miss, you are so smart. So, you have a back-up plan when you come to the enemy camp as an envoy, right?"
"No, you saw through all my little tricks, didn't you? My Lord Military Advisor, your foresight is truly brilliant. I'm convinced."
As soon as Shen Xu finished speaking, a soldier came hurriedly to report: "There's a battle report from the Xiangyangling front. Wang's troops have cut off the main road. A large number of soldiers and horses have appeared in Xiangyang Mountain. Our troops were ambushed and have lost nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses. Advancement is difficult."
The black-robed military advisor's face darkened, and the corners of his mouth tightened with smugness. He asked, "How many troops do they have left in Xiangyang Ridge?"
"At least 120,000 remain."
The military advisor turned to look at Shen Xu, thought for a moment, and gave the order: "Leave 50,000 troops to continue the feint attack on Xiangyangling, and immediately mobilize 100,000 troops to join the rebels in storming the two cities of Yudu and Tianmen, and attack from the side."
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