The weather in Qingzhou had become muggy, and mosquitoes were buzzing inside the tents.
Kan Da Dao sat shirtless on a tiger-skin chair, his copper armor piled in a corner, and subconsciously touched the red scab on his neck.
He clutched a secret letter in his hand, his rough knuckles crumpling the paper, but his eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Cousin, this is an opportunity we must seize!"
A short, stout man with a pale face and wide-set eyes knelt beneath the tent.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke, making him look like a human-shaped toad.
He was wearing a dark green brocade robe, and a toad pendant hung from the jade belt at his waist. He was none other than Kan Dajin, the long-lost cousin of the mighty general!
"Jingzhou has a well-developed waterway network, and its granaries are overflowing!" Kan Jinchan spat as he gestured with his short, thick fingers. "My master has made all the necessary arrangements and is just waiting for my cousin to lead his army to garrison the city!"
Footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent. Ling Xian lifted the curtain and entered, his plain blue robe fluttering, and he waved his feather fan slowly and steadily.
His gaze swept over Kan Dajin, his pupils contracting slightly. There was a thin webbing between the man's fingers!
"The strategist has arrived just in time!" Kan Dadao slammed his fist on the table and stood up, the secret letter clattering as he tossed it around. "I'm going to be rich!"
Ling Xian took the letter; the ink was fresh, and it was stamped with a square red seal that read "By the Mandate of Heaven."
The letter promised to grant the Mighty Army independent military power, and upon success, to appoint Kan Dadao as the Grand General Who Protects the Nation. The signature, written in a flamboyant style, bore the name of the missing Liang Emperor!
"General," Ling Xian closed the letter, lightly tapping Kan Jinchan with his feather fan, "how many troops does this valiant warrior's master command?"
The toad-man's Adam's apple bobbed: "Three to five thousand elite troops..."
"Jingzhou is 800 li from here, with seven passes along the way." Ling Xian sneered, "Do you know how much food and supplies our army will consume and how long it will take to get there? It's easy for you to talk when you're not in the situation. Why doesn't your master come to Qingzhou?"
"Moreover, Jingzhou is a strategic stronghold of the Liang Kingdom. How can three thousand men possibly break through it?"
"Of course, it was bribed!"
"Oh?" Ling Xian suddenly leaned down, using his feather fan to lift the other man's chin. "Then why not just spend money to recruit soldiers instead of coming all the way to find my army?"
The golden toad's forehead oozed sticky fluid, and it suddenly launched an attack!
His mouth split open to his ears, and his long, scarlet tongue shot towards Ling Xian's throat like an arrow.
"clang!"
A dagger flew through the air, pinning the long tongue to the pillar. Jiang Dashan stepped out of the shadows, his boots crunching on the sticky ground: "Don't you even look at yourself in the mirror?"
Kan Dadao stared in disbelief as his cousin revealed his true form, which was clearly a toad the size of a tabletop, with pustules on its back gushing out venom!
"A demon, a monster!" He staggered backward, knocking over the weapon rack.
Ling Xian shook out the feather fan stained with poison and said slowly, "Emperor Liang is raising demons and evil spirits, using the pretext of bestowing official titles, but in reality he wants to annex the general's troops."
He kicked the dying toad. "Throw this thing out, so it doesn't dirty our ground."
"Bullshit!" Kan Dadao retorted, his neck stiff. "The Emperor's words are law..."
"Which emperor?" Jiang Er suddenly hung upside down from the beam, his ghost mask almost touching the tip of Kan Dadao's nose. "The one sitting on the dragon throne is a puppet supported by the Grand General of the Nation!"
Kan Da Dao: "..."
He was startled.
"What are you doing up on the roof beams? You scared me in a minute!"
“Dashan, strategist, I admit that Emperor Liang does have ulterior motives,” he said earnestly.
"Have you considered that Emperor Liang currently only has three thousand elite troops? If we go to Jingzhou, we can immediately take him under control!"
"At that time, we will be leading the most orthodox army. Who will dare to rebel against us? Even the imperial army will have to give us some respect!"
"After all, we hold the Emperor of Liang in our hands! Think about it carefully, isn't this the best opportunity? What a rare chance! If we seize this opportunity, we can lead our army there and surely take control of the entire Jingzhou, and then launch an attack on the entire Liang Kingdom!"
It seems Kan Dadao has almost run out of spittle, but the people around him remain unmoved.
"General, it's late. You should rest now, or you won't have the energy to meet your beloved at Chu Lou tomorrow." The strategist glanced at him indifferently, slowly waving his feather fan.
The two Jiang brothers beside them nodded in agreement. The Mighty Army had now been targeted by the Mountain Goddess, and the entire army was basically under their control.
No matter how much the mighty general struggles now, it's all in vain. Why bother?
Kan Dadao realized he couldn't persuade them no matter what he did, so he picked up his sword in frustration, went back to his tent, and started drinking alone again.
People came in, but he angrily drove them out, and eventually no one could even enter his tent.
In the gray tent next door, the strategist looked over thoughtfully.
…
Sure enough, when the third watch gong sounded, the military camp was in turmoil.
Kan Dadao summoned five thousand elite troops, intending to lead them away.
He was wearing leather armor and looked very confident, as if he was about to be promoted and reach the pinnacle of his life.
"General, please think twice!" The lieutenant grabbed the reins. "What that toad demon said is completely unreliable, but he has already seen through their scheme. If we head to Jingzhou now, we'll be walking into a trap!"
"Even if you really want to go, you have to take your strategist with you, otherwise who will advise you in the future?"
"Shut up!" Kan Da Dao lashed out with his whip. "When I become the Grand General of the Nation, the first thing I'll do is kill that bastard Ling Xian!"
Before he finished speaking, torches suddenly lit up all around!
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