Xuanyuan Zhan and Bai Ying exchanged a glance before Xuanyuan Zhan explained to the brothers of Liuying Village, "There is a mission for you to complete, but you cannot do it as members of the Northern City Army. You must do it as bandits of Liuying Village. Moreover, this mission is extremely dangerous and may cost you your lives. Are you all willing to go?"
"Of course we'd like to go!"
The brothers of Liuying Village seemed to agree without even thinking.
"We are Your Highness's soldiers, so naturally we will fight wherever you point!"
"No matter how difficult the task, as long as it is Your Highness's order, we will carry it out together!"
"Your Highness, please tell us exactly what kind of mission it is, we are willing to go!"
"Yes, we are all willing to go, Your Highness, please tell us!"
Seeing that they were willing to accept the mission without even knowing what it was, Xuan Yuanzhan nodded with emotion: "Very good. I want your General Bai to take you to join the Northern Rong."
These words immediately caused an uproar among the brothers of Liuying Village.
"Support the Northern Rong? How can that be!"
"Wouldn't that make us traitors? How could we do such a thing!"
"Yes, the Northern Rong are currently at war with our Eastern Chu. No matter how heartless we are, we cannot betray our country!"
"Your Highness, are you joking with us, or are you testing us?"
"Your Highness, we are utterly loyal to you! How could we possibly pledge allegiance to the Northern Rong!"
Seeing that they had misunderstood him, Xuan Yuanzhan quickly raised his hand to calm them down: "Everyone, please don't get agitated. Listen to me first. I want you to go and join the Northern Rong, not to become traitors. This is a plan your general came up with, and I think it's feasible. Your general will lead you to pretend to join the Northern Rong, luring the Northern Rong soldiers along the mountain path you used to take. Our soldiers will ambush them on the cliff, and we will surely wipe out the Northern Rong soldiers in one fell swoop!"
When Xuan Yuanzhan said this, the brothers of Liuying Village finally understood.
"That's a great idea! The mountain path is lush and green, it's indeed a perfect place for an ambush!"
“We’ve traveled that mountain path many times. If it’s the first time the Northern Rong soldiers have traveled it, dealing with them will be too easy.”
"When the time comes, we'll knock all those Northern Rong soldiers off the cliff. They'll fall to their deaths!"
"General, you are truly wise! Such a brilliant method will surely defeat the Northern Rong!"
Seeing that they were discussing again, Xuan Yuanzhan spoke up once more: "Now you understand why your general told you not to call him general. It's because he was worried that your identities would be exposed when you were carrying out the mission, which would affect the entire mission!"
As soon as Xuan Yuanzhan finished speaking, a brother from Liuying Village immediately chimed in: "From now on, I'm still a bandit from Liuying Village. I've never been a member of the Northern City Army, and I don't know any princes. I only respect our leader, White Eagle!"
"Well said!" Xuan Yuanzhan hadn't expected them to be so quick-witted, and couldn't help but clap his hands in praise: "If you are all this clever, I believe you will be able to complete this mission very well!"
"Your Highness, rest assured, we are all quick-witted and will never cause trouble for the chief or hold back the Eagle Village!"
Xuanyuan Zhan looked pleased: "You have successfully completed your mission and returned safely. I will award you great merit!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!" the brothers of Liuying Village shouted in unison.
Bai Ying looked at Xuan Yuanzhan and said, "Your Highness, I will take them back to Liuying Village to rest first. We should go to the Beirong Army Camp tomorrow night. As for when I can persuade Tuoba Xiong to take the mountain road, I may not know yet. I will try to send you a message when the time comes."
Xuanyuan Zhan frowned: "Sending messages is too dangerous. Now that you have pledged allegiance to the Northern Rong, you should no longer have any contact with this side. You and I will pretend we don't know each other. I will also issue an order to the entire Zhenbei Army camp and the Beicheng Army to pretend they don't know you. Otherwise, if you are discovered, you may be completely wiped out."
Looking at these spirited brothers from Liuying Village, who were ready to be the vanguard in this battle for Eastern Chu, Xuan Yuanzhan felt both admiration and deep emotion.
Although the mission was difficult and dangerous, he still hoped that they could all return safely, rather than die in the Northern Rong while trying to complete the mission.
The prince has considered things very carefully, but if there's no way to send a message, how can it be transmitted?
Just as Bai Ying was struggling with this, Xuan Yuanzhan took out several signal flares from his pocket: "These are signal flares. They have no sound and no color. They only turn red when they are launched into the sky. They are hard to spot day or night. Moreover, these signal flares are very small and easy to conceal. You can give a few to your brothers. You may not be able to fire them yourself. Just have any one of them find a secluded place or have a few people provide cover and fire them. The Northern Rong soldiers won't notice."
Bai Ying received the signal flare and solemnly said, "Then I will send you a signal in advance when the Northern Rong are willing to take the mountain road, and you can then send people to ambush them."
“Alright!” Xuan Yuanzhan nodded: “In a little while, I will lead a team to escort you out of the mountain and, while we’re at it, inspect those vines.”
"Your Highness has gone to so much trouble." Bai Ying bowed to Xuan Yuanzhan again.
"Let's go." Xuan Yuanzhan patted Bai Ying on the shoulder, then called Mu Lingchen and Zhang Debiao and the rest of the Northern City Army.
Along the way, Xuan Yuanzhan told Mu Lingchen about White Eagle's plan.
When Mu Lingchen reached the cliffside path, he finally understood how brilliant Bai Ying's plan was: "This plan is indeed ingenious!"
Mu Lingchen turned around and glanced at the bandit army following behind: "Are you planning to hand over this ambush mission to the bandit army?"
Xuanyuan Zhan also turned around and looked at the bandit army, and laughed: "Don't underestimate them. In terms of organization and discipline, they are no worse than the regular army. Moreover, they have lived in the mountains for many years. This is their territory. They can definitely ambush here with ease!"
Xuan Yuanzhan's words of praise pleased the bandit army behind him.
"Your Highness is right. We can handle this kind of thing. The Zhenbei Army can just guard the city gates!"
"As long as Your Highness is willing to believe in us and give us a chance, I will risk my life to kick those Northern Barbarians off the cliff!"
"We will certainly live up to Your Highness's expectations and guarantee the completion of the mission!"
Seeing how excited these bandits were, Mu Lingchen glared at them and said, "I didn't say I didn't trust you. I was just worried that you didn't have enough men."
These bandit troops, including those from Liuying Village, only number around 40,000. They'll likely attract a significant number of Northern Rong troops. What if they come with hundreds of thousands of men? What if these 40,000 bandit troops can't handle them?
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