The next morning, as they broke camp and marched, Hua Cai keenly noticed that the young generals who had gathered in the main tent the day before were all riding behind Yue Chen with their heads bowed and eyes lowered. The way they swayed on their horses was just like how she had traveled day and night from Dadu to Green Willow Manor back then.
After looking around, Hua Cai decisively abandoned the idea of asking Yue Chen to come over for a chat, and called out to Shi Zhong, who was closest to her: "What's wrong with them?"
Shi Zhong had been keeping an eye on Hua Cai's side. When she called out to him, he immediately rode over. Upon hearing her question, his lips twitched: "These people, last night—cough cough, went to do extra training."
Extra training? Hua Cai was full of questions.
"These disciples who were arranged by the clan leaders are actually quite capable, but they have zero practical combat experience. Vice General Yue is doing this for their own good. Even if it's just to gain some experience, the battlefield is not an easy place to survive. Without a few moves, people can really die." Shi Zhong said seriously, looking at Yue Chen with a hint of admiration: "Although the Third Prince doesn't say it, he still cares a lot about the future of Yue Kingdom."
Hua Cai stared blankly at Shi Zhong's serious expression, feeling that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she waved him away.
Shi Zhong respectfully accepted the order and retreated. Once in his seat, he smugly stroked his chin.
Hey kid, I've improved my acting skills a lot for you. Try to shed some tears next time.
Because of Yue Chen's sudden "love training," Hua Cai had no time to connect with the soldiers for the next few days. The only thing she could do after setting up camp each day was to look at the stars and the moon alone, and also to see Yue Chen, who always appeared on time due to the "sight command" and occupied half of her field of vision.
Fortunately, this period of time did not last long, and the cavalry army, which moved at an extremely fast speed, soon arrived at the border town.
The border city's garrison had already received the message by carrier pigeon. When Hua Cai and the others arrived, the border city's troops had already assembled and mustered their strength. Without taking a break, they went directly out of the city to the place where the two armies were facing off.
Hua Cai stood on a high ground, looking at the gently rising peaks in the distance, her gaze involuntarily drifting to Yue Chen standing beside her.
At the same time, Yue Chen also looked at Hua Cai, and the two of them exclaimed in unison, "This terrain looks so familiar."
So, after the Li-Qiu allied forces mocked the Yue general for three whole days for being a woman, thick smoke suddenly billowed from the rear of the Li-Qiu states, making Hua Cai burst out laughing.
"Kid, those guys are indeed much easier to deal with than you. Old Man Wei said that your strategies are unmatched in Yue Kingdom, and I'm starting to believe it." Hua Cai couldn't help but sigh. She recalled how she had spent a long time maneuvering when she went to burn Yue Chen's rear, but she only took three days to deal with the Li and Qiu kingdoms, including travel time.
She wondered how he could have created such a classic and logical terrain so quickly, as if it were modeled after the terrain of the confrontation between Li Yue and Yue.
Four old, cough, three cunning old bastards.
Hua Cai calmly swiped the gold and silver away.
The Yue Kingdom won a great victory, and the cavalry squad that carried out the flanking mission was regarded as heroes. Hua Cai praised them and rewarded them by giving their acceptance speeches in front of the army, allowing these young masters who had worked hard all the way to score points to show off their achievements in front of the generals.
Unlike the jubilation on the Yue side, both Li and Qiu were completely trapped in a predicament.
They hadn't bought any grain from Liang in the first place, and now these hundreds of thousands of troops were still eating grain stored up in Liguo when Jin Yin was still there.
At this critical juncture of stalemate between the two armies, the issue of food supplies was undoubtedly the Achilles' heel of the Li Kingdom. Once the supplies were burned, the morale of the army instantly collapsed.
The two armies of Li and Qiu decisively retreated to the border city of Li, while reluctantly purchasing high-priced grain and fodder from Liang to support the arrival of Li's reinforcements.
Meanwhile, the Yue army pursued the Li army all the way. Hua Cai, who had completely taken over the border city army, gave an order, and 100,000 troops surrounded the city of Lishi.
The main tent of the Yue camp.
"How is it?" Hua Cai, dressed in light silver armor, sat at the head of the table, smiling as she looked down at a lean man in blue to her right.
A glint flashed in the lean man's eyes. He stood up, bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to Hua Cai: "Just as General Jin predicted, Li Qiu came to ask for grain for the second time and indeed agreed to the condition of exchanging weapons and warhorses for Liang. Your country is truly blessed to have a figure like General Jin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the group of people sitting below the lean man chimed in with their own opinions.
Hua Cai's smile remained unchanged as she looked at him with a smile: "The agreement reached with Liang is a promise I, Jin Baozhu, keep. Apart from that, this third batch of grain is only exchanged for warhorses."
He clapped his hands lightly, and someone immediately entered the tent with his luggage: "General, the provisions are ready."
Hua Cai looked at the lean man: "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Chen. Please."
The lean man clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, saying, "Military matters cannot be delayed, so I will not disturb you any longer. Farewell."
After watching the group leave, Hua Cai, as usual, instructed someone to keep an eye on them secretly.
"I have a feeling that Chen Yongchang isn't a good person." Shi Zhong, who had followed the lean man out, quickly returned and complained to Hua Cai.
The remaining people inside the tent nodded in agreement without hesitation.
Chen Yongchang was one of the major grain merchants in Liang Kingdom. He was not particularly outstanding, but he was a notorious swindler in four kingdoms.
So-called unscrupulous merchants only care about profit and nothing else.
With the Liang and Yue states nominally allied, how could Li Qiu be convinced that this was just a normal transaction? Having someone like him, who only cares about profit, was the perfect solution.
In the eyes of everyone in the world, Chen Yongchang of Liang Kingdom was a person who put profit above all else and disregarded even his own family. However, Hua Cai, who had the system at her disposal, knew that this person was nothing more than a bomb planted by the Liang Emperor among the people. Most of his actions were at the behest of the Liang Emperor.
Who would believe that a ruthless businessman who prioritizes profit above all else is actually one of the emperor's men?
In any case, neither Li nor Qiu believed it.
So when Chen Yongchang approached Li Qiu, saying he had a large stockpile of grain and could trade it to them, clearly intending to take advantage of them and fleece them, it actually put both sides at ease. They even brought out weapons and warhorses that they were unwilling to trade with Liang.
After all, according to Chen Yongchang's explanation, exchanging warhorses and weapons and then reselling them for a huge profit was tempting even to them, let alone to this profit-driven businessman.
Until the very end, neither Li nor Qiu had the slightest doubt about Chen Yongchang's appearance.
"What does it matter if he's a good person or not? No one is more suitable than him for this matter." Hua Cai touched the long sword at her waist and looked at Yue Chen with dissatisfaction: "Why do I have to carry a sword? I don't even like using swords."
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