Hedong County was neither a key military location nor a border region of the country, so its standing army numbered no more than 20,000. However, due to the chaos of the times, the county and prefectural governors had all participated in conscription.
The total number of soldiers in Hedong Commandery is about 50,000, but not all of them are in Yizhou. Yizhou only has 30,000 soldiers.
Therefore, they were confident in attacking Yizhou, which was one of the reasons why Bai Jiao decided to attack Yizhou immediately.
Since we're going to fight, we should fight a resounding victory.
After finalizing the battle plan, Qi Nuan went to find Bai Jiao.
After Qi Nuan left, Yan Gong looked at Ji Jin, who hadn't said a word the whole time, and nodded. Although Ji Jin didn't talk much, he was very useful at crucial moments.
Qi Nuan was also the most loyal.
"During this troop deployment, you must stay by Anuan's side at all times and protect her."
Ji Jin nodded, indicating that he would naturally protect Qi Nuan without Yan Gong needing to say more.
Although Yan Gong possesses some extraordinary talent, his martial prowess is somewhat lacking. In daily life, he can easily handle two or three ordinary burly men, but on the battlefield, he can only hide in the rear.
Fortunately, he had read all kinds of books in the world, and although he wasn't interested in martial arts manuals, he would still read them if he came across them.
Therefore, in the past two years, he has created special martial arts training techniques tailored to the two of them.
Both Qi Nuan and Ji Jin have made great progress in their martial arts. However, Qi Nuan's body was still fundamentally injured. Although her martial arts skills are still good, they are ultimately affected.
It's fine against ordinary people, but when you encounter a master, you'll have to back down.
He turned to look at his other disciple, Wang Mingxin, and said, "Go to Dayao County and give this letter to your clan uncle."
"Yes, sir." Wang Mingxin took the letter from Yan Gong and then withdrew.
Wang Mingxin was naturally a member of the Wang family, and Yan Gong was well aware of the Wang family's intentions. But how could one live a life without desires and wants? It's just that their desires were different.
Seeking survival amidst chaos is certainly not something to be criticized.
Although the Wang family knew that Qi Nuan and Bai Jiao had a subtle discord, they had arranged people around both of them. Some of the Wang family members followed Bai Jiao's lead, while others were biased towards Qi Nuan.
Regardless of the final outcome, the Wang family can profit from it.
Bai Jiao and Qi Nuan could see it clearly, but that didn't stop them from using the Wang family.
However, some things that were too secretive were also kept from the Wang family, so it can only be said that there are advantages and disadvantages.
Wang Mingxin is only thirteen years old this year, two years older than Qi Nuan. He has a first-class temperament and character. Although he is not a genius, he is still quite intelligent.
Meanwhile, Qi Nuan also arrived at Bai Jiao's study.
Bai Jiao seemed to have anticipated Qi Nuan's arrival.
"Tell me, how many people do you need?"
"Five thousand."
Bai Jiao flipped through the documents in his hand, his eyes fixed on Qi Nuan, but he did not answer Qi Nuan's question.
Seeing Qi Nuan staring at him without saying a word for a long time, he finally said, "You know this is impossible, reduce it again."
Bai Jiao only had 20,000 men under his command. In this attack on Yizhou, in addition to the men for Qi Nuan, he also had to send 10,000 men to fight in the rear. He also had to leave people to guard Wutu County, so it was impossible for him to send out all his soldiers.
Qi Nuan knew Bai Jiao's worries and said, "Each county can allocate a certain number of troops."
How about I give you the soldiers and households drawn from various counties?
Qi Nuan laughed, "Even if I dare to ask for it, you wouldn't dare to give it to me."
Vanguard operations are fought with flesh and blood; those without experience and courage will surely perish. And how can soldiers drawn from various counties compare to these well-trained men who have seen countless battles?
Bai Jiao also laughed, but his smile was extremely cold. "Why wouldn't I dare? War always involves sacrifices. In this chaotic world, how many people don't die every day? Since I've given them a period of peace, it's only right that they fight for me."
As he watched Qi Nuan's smile fade, his own smile deepened.
"You and Ji Jin are always so naive. What kind of fairness is there in this world?"
A deep resentment flickered in his eyes as he looked at her, but it vanished quickly. "Just like you, have you ever been fair to me?"
Before Qi Nuan could speak, he pulled a letter from the drawer and threw it in front of her.
Qi Nuan recognized that this was the letter she had written to A Yu. She picked up the letter expressionlessly; there was nothing important in the letter.
She brushed away the dust before saying, "You've gone too far. We've always just been business partners."
Bai Jiao lay back and closed his eyes.
"Is cooperation all there is? What about the life-saving grace I gave you? Haven't I treated you well? I've supported whatever you want to do, no matter how much others oppose you. You want to build your own army, and I've done that for you. Why won't you trust me?"
He really didn't understand. He had treated her better than she ever had. Why did she always want to leave him? Wouldn't it be better if they built their own empire together?
He trusted her so much, willing to share his power with her, so why treat him like this? Ji Jin was the same.
They don't deserve his true love.
This was an unsolvable problem. Qi Nuan looked at him. She had never thought of staying with him forever. As for the life-saving grace, she would repay it, but never in this way.
As for trust, didn't he never trust her either?
When they captured the city, he no longer allowed her to interfere in politics.
It's a bit ridiculous to talk about this now.
"I will lead my troops ahead in three days. I hope the county magistrate will allocate the troops as soon as possible."
Upon seeing her letter to Jiang Yu again, Bai Jiao was furious and vented his anger on her, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Five thousand won't do, unless you're going to draw people from various counties."
When the topic turned to business, Qi Nuan breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw that Bai Jiao seemed to be relenting.
"four thousand."
Bai Jiao stared at Qi Nuan.
"No, it's still too much."
"Three thousand five hundred is the lowest I can go. You decide for yourself."
Seeing that Qi Nuan was determined to have so many people, Bai Jiao pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, but you have to sign a military pledge. If you lose, you will have to hand over the troops under your command."
Hearing this, Qi Nuan frowned. "Impossible. Yizhou has 30,000 troops. Even if you give me 3,500 men, plus the 3,000 men I have, it's only 6,500. Your request is a bit excessive."
She looked at Bai Jiao and said, "The battlefield is ever-changing, and I cannot guarantee that we will win."
"But this time, we must win."
If they fail to win this time, they will be severely weakened. Time is of the essence, and with various forces vying for supremacy, Bai Jiao has no time to rest and recuperate.
To not win is to lose.
With Yan Gong by her side, he didn't believe she didn't have good plans.
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