The walls of Fengmen Pass are heavily guarded. There is a sentry every ten steps and a patrol every five steps, all to prevent thieves from launching a surprise attack in the middle of the night without anyone noticing.
Patrol teams would occasionally pass by. All of this was arranged by Gu Zhan himself. Even the changing of the guard time was known only to him and the Right General in charge of these matters.
Liu Jun stood under the city wall for a while, made a rough impression in his mind, and then turned and left under the guards' questioning gazes.
Xu Nian was not in the main tent in the afternoon.
Only Gu Zhan and a few other generals were sitting there. When they saw Liu Jun arrive, the person closest to the door hurriedly called him over, "You're too late. The marshal has already explained the plan. If this happened at the dinner table, you would be punished."
"It was my dereliction of duty; I went to check on the situation outside the pass and completely forgot the time." Liu Jun cupped his hands, his expression calm, perfectly reflecting his anxious and fearful state of mind at this moment. "What are the Marshal's plans?"
Gu Zhan glanced at him. "His Majesty can't hold on any longer. We need to end the war before the new emperor ascends the throne. Tomorrow night at 9 PM, when the enemy is exhausted, will be the best time to attack. Let them tell you the specifics. I have something to discuss with the Right General. You should go back now."
"Come, come, brother, let me tell you about the marshal's plan..."
Liu Jun hesitated, unsure whether Gu Zhan's glance just now was out of annoyance at him for being late or had some other purpose.
But his mind was in a mess. All his rationality and composure had vanished since he learned of Jiang Yuanche's death. In addition, a familiar general interrupted him, and he forgot about the matter altogether.
As Liu Jun listened to the man recount Marshal Gu's plan, he became increasingly alarmed. "You mean, Marshal Gu intends to continue using the same plan as last time in Cangque City? This time, with so many people involved, it might not be appropriate."
"Of course, it's not just the plan from Cangque City. How many people were there last time? How many are there now?" The general patted Liu Jun on the shoulder. "The marshal said this is just to lower their guard, and this time the paper figures will be coated with phosphorus powder and will spontaneously combust upon landing. We'll just burn their supplies while they're in the chaos."
"No war?"
“We won’t fight. The princess said that this is called subduing the enemy without fighting. Those Japanese pirates are all at sea, who knows how far away from here. When the time comes, we’ll burn their stockpiles and kill a few of their leaders. The rest of them, leaderless, will naturally scatter.”
He spoke so casually, as if he had already foreseen their success.
Although Xu Nian said that there must be Taoists on their side, these generals didn't take it to heart at all. Even someone as powerful as Elder Xun couldn't beat their Marshal's wife.
What can you do with such a half-baked thing?
Liu Jun frowned, whether from dissatisfaction with the plan or worry, it was unclear. "Why the rush? The enemy won't hold out for long, we can completely..."
The general had drunk a little at lunch today, and his speech was somewhat slurred. "It's not that I'm in a hurry, it's just that when the news of the Fifth Prince's death came from the court, news also arrived. His Majesty won't last much longer. Although we don't need to go back for his funeral—we wouldn't be able to make it anyway—we, the Marshal and the Princess, must return for the new emperor's ascension. Besides, it's so easy to drive people away without losing any of our soldiers, isn't that a good thing?"
If Liu Jun has no ulterior motives and only follows Gu Zhan, that would certainly be a good thing.
But his master is already dead, killed by Gu Zhan and his accomplices. He only realized he'd been deceived by the couple just now from their conversation!
That old man Xun was a fake; the real one had already been sent to the capital and became direct evidence that led to Jiang Yuanche's death!
Liu Jun hated them to the core, and now that he knew their plan, how could he possibly let those two get away with it?!
He wished they would die by his blade immediately, but that wasn't possible. Leaving aside whether his martial arts were as good as Gu Zhan's, Xu Nian's sorcery was something he couldn't easily handle.
He actually looked down on those Japanese pirates, but now that the Fifth Prince was dead, he couldn't care less about anything else in order to avenge him.
The Second Prince was far from the emperor's reach; by the time he returned, the emperor would have already ascended the throne. Liu Jun dared not and could not hate him.
So you can only transfer all your resentment onto Gu Zhan and his wife, hoping to resolve the war quickly and go back? You wish! I'll make sure you don't leave alive!
In the dead of night, when all was quiet, the southwest corner of the Xuan Dynasty army camp was the only place without any firelight.
It was damp and dark, never seeing the sun, and teeming with mosquitoes, so soldiers rarely came here. Even patrolmen only passed by in a hurry.
Liu Jun endured the pain and itching from the mosquito bites on the back of his hand, and only when he saw someone sneaking around in the distance did he withdraw his cold gaze.
"This is Xuanjun's plan for tomorrow. You know who to hand it over to. Remember, there can't be the slightest mistake!"
The soldier nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "We hope you can lend us a hand with the general. Tomorrow we will keep Gu Zhan's attention occupied, and then we will need you to fill the gap behind him."
Liu Jun had no intention of returning alive. As long as he could kill Gu Zhan and Xu Nian, he would have no regrets even if he died!
Without even flinching, he readily agreed to the soldier's request. Just as the next patrol was about to arrive, he slipped away from the area.
The soldier looked around, hid the letter in his pocket, and prepared to return the way he came.
Passing by a dark tent, he looked around to make sure no one was there before lifting the curtain and going inside. "I have explained the situation to Deputy General Liu as instructed, and he has no objections whatsoever."
In the very center of the tent and to the lower right, there were two tables, each occupied by a man whose face was obscured. Upon hearing this, a flame lit up in a lamp beside them.
The person in the center stretched out his hand, "Take the letter he gave you." If Liu Jun were here, he would definitely recognize whose voice it was.
Unfortunately, he had already entered his tent, washed up, and gone to sleep.
The people inside the tent would definitely not tell him about this. The soldier lowered his head and handed the item over. Gu Zhan glanced at it, and after confirming there were no problems, he returned it.
"Just do as Deputy General Liu says. Remember, your family will naturally meet with you after the matter is settled."
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