Chapter 97 When did your grip become so strong? 9
Knowing that her abilities were limited at the moment, Lü Zhi could only protect herself within those limited circumstances. She would not give up so easily in the future.
Zhu Qing'ai saw all of this; he truly deserved to be the "Scroll King" she had chosen.
After Bai Qi's figure disappeared, another figure appeared, and Lü Zhi resumed her studies.
****
After some time, Lü Zhi, fully prepared, entered the trial once again. She had asked all the questions she needed to ask last time, and even took the time to learn about the personalities of her two trusted confidants.
They chatted intimately at this moment, and he spoke to them in a friendly manner, casually asking, "How is things going on the young master's side?"
As the general's most trusted confidant, Confidant A naturally had to be quick to respond to his concerns. He immediately said, "General, the young master... he's been in a bad mood lately..."
Empress Lü nodded calmly. Indeed, no one would feel joy knowing they were surrounded by the Qin army.
Moreover, their defeat was already evident, and their execution was only a matter of time; any idiot like Prince Chengjiao could see that.
"Let's go, come with me to see the young master." Lü Zhi stood up and left her tent. This time, she didn't plan to ask about the details in the army. According to the timeline here, she 'should' know, and based on her first experience, she did know the situation in the military camp.
Thanks to the time she saved, she had enough patience to persuade Cheng Jiao to run away with her, though she wasn't really sincere about wanting to escape with Cheng Jiao.
Rather, they hoped he would serve as a conspicuous target to draw away the scattered pursuers.
However, she certainly wouldn't tell the truth in front of Ying Chengjiao; that would depend on her improvisation.
Once inside Chengjiao's tent, she instructed her two trusted confidants to dismiss the guards outside and have them personally stand guard.
This whole process was done in front of Cheng Jiao and his attendants. After she finished, Lü Zhi looked at Cheng Jiao and paused for a moment. If Cheng Jiao could dismiss his attendants during this pause, it would mean that he had not yet been blinded by fear.
She has ways to deceive fools, and other ways to deceive intelligent people.
Fortunately, Prince Chengjiao was no fool. When he saw Fan Yuqi enter, he ordered his confidants to guard the door, and there were no weapons on his waist, so he knew that the other party had something important to say to him.
He dismissed his attendants and, following the example of Fan Yuqi, had them stand guard at the door. He was careful, though, as he concealed his sword under his clothes.
Since the rebellion, things haven't gone as he expected, so he always carries his sword with him.
Cheng Jiao knew his martial arts skills were inferior to Fan Yuqi's, but he was not so badly defeated by Fan Yuqi when he was unarmed, even with a weapon.
The two sat facing each other. Lü Zhi got straight to the point and made no attempt to hide her intentions, stating directly: "I have come to persuade you, my lord, to break through the siege. Although I led my troops to repel the Qin army's probing attacks twice, the army... has reached its limit and I'm afraid it cannot hold on any longer."
Cheng Jiao's expression changed. As the commander, he naturally knew the situation in his own army.
He remained silent for a moment before speaking with difficulty: "If the general wishes to live, he may take his men and leave. I will not stop you."
Lü Zhi looked disapproving and said, "What kind of person do you take me for, young master? How could I abandon you and run away alone?"
"As long as you're alive, there's always a way."
Upon hearing this, Ying Chengjiao's face immediately showed a look of gratitude, and he said urgently, "General, please speak frankly. What exactly is this breakout plan?"
Lü Zhi explained her proposed escape route and the specific location for it, awaiting Ying Chengjiao's opinion.
She wasn't expressing her true thoughts; she was just presenting the first plan, waiting for Cheng Jiao to offer his opinion so she could then propose the second plan.
As expected, Ying Chengjiao frowned: "Why did you split up and escape..."
Although he agreed to escape, he always felt that the other side was using him by breaking out separately.
Lü Zhi replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, it's to share the danger with you, young master."
Seeing that Cheng Jiao was not very happy, Lü Zhi said, "How about this, if you think there are not enough people, I will give you more of my personal guards."
Ying Chengjiao's expression softened slightly, but he was still not entirely satisfied. Lü Zhi then said, "Look at me, I was indeed a bit too hasty. I forgot that the army cannot be left unattended..."
"Young master, you may find someone of similar stature to you to wear your armor and continue to lead the troops. You will not need to issue orders; they can simply stand on the chariot at the rear."
She volunteered for the last trial, wanting to experience what a real battlefield felt like. This time, for the sake of the plan, she didn't need to take Cheng Jiao's place again.
"My lord, you and I will break out in two different directions. The Qin army will be preoccupied with the main battlefield and will not have many pursuers."
"Moreover, not only will we split into two teams, but we'll also split into two more teams. One team will protect the person wearing your ordinary clothes, and the other team will protect you, my lord. I will also have a team to provide cover." This way, I can minimize my own risk.
Empress Lü thought to herself, then asked, "How is it?"
Once the urge to live subsided, Cheng Jiao became unwilling to give up. Which was more important, the temptation of power or the preciousness of life?
He didn't know, and he was conflicted, looking at the imposing figure before him...? Hmm? He felt that General Fan was a bit short; was it just his imagination...?
"...Is there really no other way?"
Lu Zhi saw all of Ying Chengjiao's struggles and roughly analyzed his psychology. That's why he committed suicide in the last round when she seemed to be doing well in battle and could hold her own against the enemy's vanguard.
There's something wrong here...
After a moment of contemplation, Lü Zhi cleared her mind; this time, she was truly certain to survive.
She pretended to be troubled: "In that case, it's good to wait until the battle turns against us before breaking out. If we can win, that would be even better. As for supplies, we can rob the enemy. It's just that the plan remains unchanged."
Ying Chengjiao nodded in agreement. If they could defeat the Qin army and receive aid from other countries, that would be the best outcome. If not, they would break out as Fan Yuqi suggested!
****
Empress Lü discussed some details with Ying Chengjiao and received a hint from him: they had already sought help from the nearest country, and there was still a chance to succeed with reinforcements.
On the surface, Lü Zhi agreed with delight, but inwardly she chuckled. If she didn't know history, she might have reluctantly believed it.
However, in order to appease Ying Chengjiao, she still expressed her unwavering belief.
She stepped out of Ying Chengjiao's tent and gestured for her trusted confidant to follow her. Before leaving, she glanced subtly at the two attendants guarding the tent.
Back in her tent, she ordered her personal guards to stand watch at the gate, and then called her trusted confidants to stay inside. She spoke to them in a low voice: "How much of what I said to the young master just now did you hear?"
Observing the expressions of her two unnamed confidants, A and B, she said gently, "I treat you as brothers, as my right and left arms, so there's nothing I need to hide from you. You already know what I'm talking about."
Taking advantage of the look of gratitude and shame on her trusted aides A and B, Lü Zhi said, "You will stay by my side and help me break through the encirclement. Keep the number of people to a minimum, and I will allocate more of my personal guards to protect you, young master."
The trusted aide wanted to persuade him further: "But General..."
"Having more people makes us safer, but it also makes us a bigger target. The points I mentioned don't require a large number of people to get through. In the end, they didn't really surround us."
When she went outside to look, she saw that a military tent had collapsed due to instability. The people who were hit and those who went to help were exactly the same as before, regardless of their routes of movement, conversations, or the reactions of those around them.
She figured that no matter how difficult the trial was, it couldn't be as unpredictable as reality, so the teacher must have taken her in as a novice...
****
Everything was going smoothly until our side started to falter and breaking out became the most logical move. Four groups of people broke out in four different locations.
Empress Lü Zhi didn't bring many people with her. She only brought two absolutely trustworthy confidants and their confidants' confidants. She charged ahead and cut a path with two swords, breaking out from the area with the fewest Qin soldiers before being surrounded.
At this moment, the fake her and the real and fake young master Cheng Jiao's team were right beside them. After successfully breaking through, they immediately split up and fled in four directions.
As she and her men shook off the last pursuer, everything went black, and a line of large golden characters appeared: Congratulations on passing.
When the light returned, the scene before her eyes returned to the peaceful Sishui Pavilion, where He stood before her. He turned around and looked at her when He heard the commotion behind him.
"How was it? Not too difficult, right?"
He smiled, as if he didn't take the difficulty seriously, and his only requirement was to escape, which under normal circumstances would give him a good chance of escaping.
The real challenge lies in observation: who should she take with her on the journey?
This trial tests your ability to recognize people, not your military skills.
If the King of Qin didn't have spies around Ying Chengjiao, why would the army arrive so soon after the rebellion?
Of course, there is another possibility: Ying Chengjiao's rebellion was merely a setup. However, based on her previous observations of Ying Chengjiao, even so, it was at most a case of one party willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.
"As long as you observe carefully during the first trial, it's not difficult to draw the correct conclusion," she said confidently with a smile. "It's indeed not difficult, but E'xu is a little curious, what happened to Gongzi Chengjiao in the end?"
Zhu Qing'ai deliberately retorted, "Of course he died in the chaos of battle. You know perfectly well why."
Empress Lü immediately joined in the performance: "Oh dear, E'xu is just afraid that her guess might be wrong~"
****
When Lü Zhi opened her eyes, someone reached out and pushed her. She instinctively grabbed the other person's wrist and almost retaliated, but fortunately she managed to control her trained instincts.
"E'xu, let go! I am Liu Ji, Liu Bang!"
According to etiquette, the courtesy name is used to address peers, while the given name is used to address elders, superiors, or very close peers. At this moment, Liu Bang, in order to protect his own hands, did not care about such distinctions and used both names.
Lü Zhi quickly released his hand, slightly embarrassed: "Are you alright?"
"I called you a few times and you didn't respond, so I was a little worried," Liu Bang rubbed his wrist, seemingly unconcerned about almost breaking his hand. "But when did your grip become so strong?"
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Author's note: Liu Bang: When did your grip become so strong?
Lü Zhi: I love to lift weights in my dreams!
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