Chapter 307 She must win this battle.
Shen Qingci stood up, her brows furrowed.
If that's the case, then their ability to make such a decision so quickly in a leaderless situation is indeed quite remarkable.
The Shen family's troops outside the city were what they truly feared, so they decided to eliminate the threat posed by these troops first.
But if they do that, Chu Jichen and she will find it difficult to make a decision.
Although she knew perfectly well that the troops outside the city were not capable of resisting enemy attacks, this matter still involved a choice: whether to rescue them or not.
It would be unacceptable not to rescue them. Those people were all conscripted this time, and most of them came because of the Shen family. They chose to join the army because they trusted the Shen family.
Since they trusted the Shen family, the Shen family naturally wouldn't really put them in danger, letting them die in the power struggle before they even reached the border.
But if they quickly mobilize troops to rescue them...
What if all of this was a feint by the late emperor and his faction to lure the enemy away from their base?
What if the surprise attack on the training camp outside the city was just a pretext, and their real target was actually the palace?
What if they attack outside the city, and she sends people to rescue them, but they immediately attack the palace with even more troops?
What will she choose then?
The most critical issue is that they have no idea how many troops the late emperor has gathered over the years, or what percentage of them actually left the city.
Shen Qingci closed his eyes, his gaze dark and unfathomable.
After a long while, she took a deep breath and suddenly spoke: "Send a message to the palace, telling His Majesty that the late Emperor's troops are gathering outside the city, intending to launch a night attack on the training camp outside the city."
“But I hope he will not mobilize troops to go outside the city.”
"Tell him to defend the palace to the death. Leave everything outside the city to me."
The guard responded in a low voice, hurriedly went out the door, and delivered the message.
Shen Qingci pursed her lips and remained silent for a while before raising her voice to summon the members of the Dark Guard: "Gather everyone, including the Dark Guard, but not just the Dark Guard."
"Send another message to Suzaku, ordering all the troops we can muster, including everyone in her intelligence network, to come with me out of the city to meet the enemy!"
The member of the Dark Guard frowned: "People from the intelligence network? But many of the people Suzaku has assigned to gather intelligence don't actually know martial arts. Should we include them as well?"
“Bring them all along.” Shen Qingci said without hesitation, “Even if they don’t know martial arts, they can still create a grand illusion.”
"The most important thing about these people is that they are completely loyal to our Shen family. There will be no outside spies among them. We just need to put on a show, and even if we have to pretend, we should make it look grand and powerful."
Although she didn't know the other party's background, the other party might not know their strength either.
She had to take advantage of this opportunity to exploit an information gap.
She wanted others to believe that they had accepted the news that the enemy was going to attack the training camp and had mobilized all available personnel to deal with the attack.
Although this move was indeed quite dangerous, if the other side had really mobilized all available personnel to attack the training camp and remove the Shen family as a thorn in their side, then she would have no choice but to fight with all her might.
But she... trusted her own judgment.
Shen Qingci made the arrangements, and the Dark Guard responded very quickly, soon mobilizing nearly two thousand people. Under the cover of night, they followed Shen Qingci out of the city.
Because it was the middle of the night, the city gates were closed.
Shen Qingci summoned the soldiers guarding the city, displayed her imperial decree, and ordered the city gates to be opened.
Then, he led his men straight to the camp.
The secret service was still reporting to Shen Qingci: "This time, the Shen family recruited more than 30,000 soldiers."
"When His Majesty ordered Qingming to train troops at the training ground outside the city, only about 10,000 troops were recruited at that time."
Shen Qingci nodded, so only about ten thousand people trained with Qingming outside the city for four or five days.
Most of the others had just been conscripted into the camp.
They are just ordinary people.
Shen Qingci pursed her lips: "These 30,000 people were all recruited from the common people. With so many people, it's easy for some to take advantage of the situation, and who knows how many of the other side's spies have infiltrated."
"If they manage to infiltrate their ranks, they will naturally find out that there are only a few dozen members of the Shen family's secret service in the training camp."
"They will surely think that the Shen family's so-called private army is most likely fake."
"Moreover, the newly recruited soldiers are completely untrained recruits."
That's probably why they chose to use this feint attack.
They felt that the Shen family's trump card had been fully exposed, and that the 30,000 new recruits outside the city were nothing but a rabble that could be easily routed with a single blow.
That's why they dared to be so bold, trying to use these 30,000 people as bait to lure out the palace guards so they could take advantage of the situation and rescue the late emperor and Huo Yunting.
"Since they want to see us in disarray, then we'll just do the opposite!" A ruthless glint flashed in Shen Qingci's eyes.
"Pass down the order: have Qingming immediately organize men to create a show of force in the camp! Light more bonfires, plant more flags, and get everyone who can move to work. Even if they're just carrying sticks, they have to look like elite troops!"
“Furthermore,” Shen Qingci paused, a cold smile playing on his lips, “let those 'spies' who have infiltrated see for themselves whether our Shen family army is truly a rabble!”
"Yes!" The secret service officer accepted the order and left.
Shen Qingci led her two thousand men at breakneck speed through the night. Her heart was pounding, but her mind was exceptionally clear.
This is a high-stakes gamble.
She was gambling, gambling that the other party wouldn't dare to go all out, gambling that their goal was still the palace.
She was gambling, gambling that Chu Jichen could defend the palace, and gambling that she could protect the lives of these 30,000 new recruits.
The night wind howled, causing her clothes to flutter.
Shen Qingci gazed at the pitch-black night ahead, her eyes as firm as iron.
She must win this battle!
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