164. Question

Han Mingxi sat in a corner and quietly looked at the woman sitting in front of him, listening attentively to the opinions of the generals. In such a purely military meeting, he naturally had no say. He just sat quietly, looking at Ye Li's beautiful face with a calm smile, and occasionally expressed his own views and opinions on the opinions of the crowd. Somehow, Han Mingxi's thoughts gradually drifted to the time when he first met Ye Li a long time ago. At that time, the handsome young man in men's clothes and the woman in front of him who calmly commanded hundreds of thousands of troops overlapped, and Han Mingxi suddenly had an indescribable bitterness in his heart. If at that time... the idea in his mind had only popped up, Han Mingxi smiled bitterly and shook his head to kill the ridiculous idea in his heart. Even if they knew each other earlier, Jun Wei would not have chosen him...

"clear?"

Han Mingxi came back to his senses and blinked his eyes to find that the study room, which was originally noisy, had become quiet. The generals who had finished their meeting had already left. Only Zhuo Jing and Wei Rui were still sorting files in the side hall not far away. Ye Li looked at him with a smile and said, "What are you thinking about? It's rare to see you absent-minded." Han Mingxi smiled and looked her up and down and said, "The war is about to start. You are different now. Will there be any problems?" Ye Li was startled and unconsciously stroked her flat belly and smiled lightly, "Did Feng San tell you?" Han Mingxi nodded and asked, "Can't I know?"

Ye Li shook her head. "It's not a secret. It's just that if the news of the battle between the two armies got out, it would not be good. You don't have to worry. I'm in good health. And now I don't have to charge into the battle line myself."

Han Mingxi glanced at her and said, "You still want to charge into the battle formation now, you will scare Feng San to death." Mo Xiuyao kept Feng Zhiyao not only to help Ye Li fight, but more importantly, Feng Zhiyao was the one Mo Xiuyao trusted the most, and the main reason for keeping him was to comfort Ye Li. Ye Li smiled and sighed softly, "I hope this war can end soon." Han Mingxi said, "I can't help you much, just ask if you need me to do anything."

Ye Li looked at him and smiled, "I really need your help with something." Then she took out a file from the secret cabinet of the bookshelf behind her and handed it to Han Mingxi, saying, "You and Leng Haoyu are not here, so we can only postpone this plan. But now that you are here, it's just right. Take it and have a look." Han Mingxi took the sealed file, opened it and flipped through it, raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Is it worth it for you to do so much for Mo Xiuyao?" Ye Li smiled lightly and said, "I am the Princess of Dingguo. We share the same fate. How can it be considered as doing it for him?" Han Mingxi's expression changed, and he sighed after a while, "I know, I will handle this matter. This will also be good for the Han family, right?" Ye Li smiled lightly, "Thank you for your hard work."

"I thought we were friends."

Ye Li smiled, "Yes, we are friends."

In early October, the King of Zhennan personally led an army of 200,000 to attack Hongzhou, and the Mohist Army also fought with all their strength. The Northwest War has been going on for nearly three months since its inception, and this time it is a real life-and-death fight. It also really made the Xiling soldiers understand that the soldiers of Dachu are not as weak and useless as they imagined before. The Mohist Army, which has been guarding Dachu for a hundred years, is still a sharp sword that drinks blood. Originally, the difference in the number of troops of the two armies was not too big, but unlike the Xiling Army, which focused on attacking one place, the Mohist Army needed to defend the entire northwest. Therefore, the Xiling Army still had the advantage in terms of numbers. Although the Xiling Army was slowly advancing, it continued to advance and gradually approached Hongzhou City.

The originally peaceful Hongzhou City seemed to have become uneasy because of the coming storm. Many wealthy businessmen and ordinary people left Hongzhou City with their families and went to the border. The whole city no longer had the hustle and bustle of the past, showing a solemnity and depression before the war. On the tower, Ye Li sat quietly against the wall, the warm sun of early winter sprinkled on the light blue cloak, making people drowsy. Ye Li had a chess set in front of him, and he was thinking slowly with one hand holding the black piece. The soldiers stationed in the tower watched from a distance, feeling only peace and tranquility in their hearts.

Han Mingyue stepped onto the tower and looked at the woman leaning against the wall in deep thought for a long time without saying anything. Ye Li raised her head and looked at him with a smile, "Mingyue, is there anything wrong?" Han Mingyue walked to her in silence and sat down, staring at the chessboard for a long time before asking, "What are your plans?" Ye Li raised her eyes and asked in confusion, "What plans?" Han Mingyue frowned and said, "The 200,000 troops of the King of Zhennan are approaching Hongzhou, don't say you don't know!" Looking at Han Mingyue who was rarely angry and lost his composure, Ye Li smiled and said, "Mingyue, don't worry, even if Hongzhou is broken, I will have someone send you and Miss Su away before that."

Han Mingyue stared at her and said in a deep voice: "Have you predicted that Hongzhou City will be breached?"

Ye Li shook her head and said, "No, Hongzhou City will not fall. Hongzhou is the last pass in the northwest of Da Chu. Behind it is the vast Central Plains... and there are hundreds of thousands of Mohist soldiers fighting. Even if all 200,000 Mohist soldiers in the northwest are killed in battle, Hongzhou will not fall into the hands of Xiling." Once Hongzhou is lost, it means that they will hand over the backs of hundreds of thousands of Mohist soldiers in the pass to the people of Xiling, and the consequences will be disastrous. Han Mingyue raised his eyebrows and looked at the quiet woman in front of him in confusion. Although he didn't know much about military tactics and battle situations, he was good at analyzing intelligence and could still understand some things. "If you didn't want Hongzhou to fall, why did you let the Xiling army keep advancing? Although the Mohist army has been consuming the strength of the Xiling army, it has not really fought desperately. You don't have to lie to me. Although Tianyi Pavilion did not participate in wars between countries before, it does not mean that it has not studied it." The reason why the Mohist army was able to shock the various countries was not only because of the military skills of several generations of Dingguo princes. More importantly, the Mohist army soldiers were not afraid of life and death and marched forward bravely. There were many historical records recording the deeds of the Mohist army soldiers. In order to defend an unimportant small city, they could all die in battle and never retreat a single step. In order to capture a pass, they can attack day and night, and will not waver even if the city is piled with corpses. The current Mohist army may be brave enough in the eyes of outsiders, but it is definitely not at their true level.

Throwing down the chess piece in her hand, Ye Li propped up her cheek and looked at the handsome man in front of her with a half-smile, "Mingyue, are you worried about the Mohist Army?" Han Mingyue paused for a moment and said calmly, "Mingxi is my brother. I have to know whether he can survive if he follows Prince Ding's Mansion."

Ye Li clapped his hands, stood up and said with a faint smile: "Mr. Mingyue, don't worry about this problem. I know what's going on in my mind." Han Mingyue said coldly: "I don't see how you can know. The Mohist Army is clearly capable of blocking the Xiling Army outside Hongzhou..."

"No." Ye Li shook her head, looked at Han Mingyue and said seriously: "The Mohist Army is indeed capable of temporarily stopping the 200,000 Xiling troops. But... it's only temporarily. Master Mingyue should know that the total number of Xiling's troops invading Da Chu this time is only about 500,000. However, the number of troops in Xiling itself is more than 1.5 million. The people of Xiling are brave and can be recruited at any time. They don't need much training. In a short period of time, at least another 100,000 can be recruited. Ten thousand people. By then... even if the Mohist army fights ten to one, they still can't resist so many people. Moreover... the Xiling people are not weak. In these days, two of our soldiers can only exchange three people for the other side. "Han Mingyue frowned and said, "If that's the case, isn't it inviting wolves into the house if you put people into Hongzhou?" The smile on Ye Li's lips was light and clear, like frost flowers on branches in the early winter morning, "Now the King of Zhennan will not send reinforcements to the northwest for a while."

Han Mingyue raised her eyebrows.

"Now the whole world knows... I am the commander of the Northwest Mo Army, a woman under 18 years old. If the King of Zhennan wants to send troops from Xiling to help... even if he wins, his reputation will be completely ruined." A Xiling God of War who has been fighting for decades, and a teenage woman who has never been on the battlefield. The two armies have similar numbers. If the King of Zhennan wants to send more troops, it means admitting to the whole world that he, Lei Zhenting, is not only inferior to Mo Liufang, but also inferior to Mo Liufang's daughter-in-law. From now on, the title of King of Zhennan will probably become a laughing stock.

"You intend to ..."

The smile on Ye Li's face gradually faded. He looked sideways at the wilderness in the distance and said calmly, "I want all the 200,000 troops of Xiling to stay in the northwest!"

Han Mingyue's heart was shocked. He clearly heard the murderous aura and bloody smell in Ye Li's words.

"You want all 200,000 Xiling troops to stay in the northwest! How dare you think so..." For the first time in her life, Han Mingyue clearly felt her voice trembling. Wanting to annihilate the entire 200,000 Xiling troops, how could such words be said by a woman who has never been on a battlefield? No... maybe it is precisely because of people who have never been on a battlefield that they can say such arrogant words. Ye Li leaned against the city wall and looked at him and smiled, "What is there to be afraid of? These days, the Xiling army has been fighting for days, and the most that can reach Hongzhou City is no more than 100,000. This city... will be the final place to bury them."

Han Mingyue trembled unconsciously, and a burning feeling rose in her chest. Looking at Ye Li steadily, Han Mingyue said: "Now I finally understand why Xiu Yao fell in love with you."

Ye Li raised her eyebrows and smiled at him. Han Mingyue said with some nostalgia: "I still remember that year... when Xiu Yao first went to the battlefield, he seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. He said that if he was given three or four years, he might be able to pacify Nanzhao and make the southern part of Da Chu peaceful for a hundred years... It's a pity..." After hearing his words, Ye Li seemed to be in a good mood and smiled: "So I am the Princess of Ding... The King of Zhennan, I have been hiding for so long and I am looking forward to this battle."