“What’s happening!” Liu Qi yelled out in alarm as she took 1 hand off her reins and pulled out her sword.

“Looks like there’s a battle up ahead.” Wen Ping said as she pulled out her long spear.

“I’ll protect you, my lord.” Zhou Cang as she rode up to me and pulled out a large machete that was at odds with her slim figure.

I really don’t know how her slender arms are able to wield that machete so effectively. It looks like it’s even heavier than both my twin swords. But despite that, her hands are steady and she looks calm as though the weight was nothing to her.

“Wen Ping, what’s up ahead?”

“If I’m not wrong, Jiangxia should be about 2km out.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, doubtful because Wen Ping said that without even looking at the map.

“Don’t worry. Wen Ping grew up on this side of Jing state and after she joined the army, she served as a courier for some time. There’s n.o.body who’s more familiar with the geography in this area.” Liu Qi said with full confidence in Wen Ping.

“My lord! Lord Liu Qi!” Just then, a voice came from afar. I looked over and saw that it was Chen Dao.

“Chen Dao, what’s happening up ahead?” I hurriedly asked when I saw her galloping back.

“My lord, Jiangxia city is up ahead and the Jiangxia garrison has begun fighting with Jiangdong troops!”

“Is it a siege battle or a battle below the city?” Liu Qi asked.

“n.o.body’s sieging the city. There are a lot of flags all over below the city so it should be the latter!”

“d.a.m.n it! Huang Zu must have succ.u.mbed to taunts and left the city to meet the enemy! And we don’t know what the numbers on both sides are like now…” Liu Qi cursed as she slammed her fist on the saddle. It’s the first time seeing her lose herself to rage since we met, “Wen Ping, tell the main body to get ready. We’ll reinforce them at once.”

Wen Ping bowed when Liu Qi finished and went to give the orders to Chen Gong and Yi Ji.

“Uncle, what about you? What will you do? Will you reinforce with us or do you have other plans?”

“Me?” I was a little surprised at this question but then I remembered that I held one half of the command token which meant that 2,500 troops were under my direct and legitimate command.

“Then I’ll…” I was about to answer immediately, but I immediately stopped and changed my reply, “Liu Qi, you go and reinforce them directly. I’ll see if there is another way to help.”

“Un, alright. I’ll be at ease with uncle taking charge.” She didn’t say any further agter this, and led half of the troops in a fast march to the battlefield.

“My lord, why aren’t we attacking together?”

“Yeah, dispersing your forces is a really bad move.”

Chen Dao and Zhou Cang voiced their doubts after Liu Qi went off.

If it were me from before, I would have probably done as they said, and charged in along with Liu Qi. But I’m quite different now. I’ve learnt a lot from Zi Long and the rest.

For e.g., if you want to attack a cavalry unit, you need to have a cavalry unit of your own.

“We don’t have a solid grasp on the enemy yet so attacking headlong will be dangerous. It’s best to get some intelligence first before making our move.”

“But Lord Liu Qi and the rest have charged ahead already? What will we do about them?” Zhou Cang frowned.

“That won’t be a problem. The reinforcing troops will charge in and combine with the garrison so they won’t be decimated so quickly.” I paused and thought for a moment, “Moreover, the enemy won’t think that there will be another reinforcing army after one has already appeared.”

“Oh! My lord is so smart! You actually thought so far ahead!” Chen Dao jumped up as she exclaimed very exaggeratingly. If she weren’t on a horse, she might have begun dancing.

“No, this is thanks to Zi Long’s teachings. She taught me to always think before I act.”

Of course, the methods I choose in the end may not be the right ones.

“Oh? I think it’s worthy of praise that Imperial Uncle didn’t attack immediately.” Just then, some light claps could be heard. When I turned around, I saw that Chen Gong had made her way here from the main body.

“Have the troops been divided already?”

“Yes, Yi Ji has taken command of half of the main body.” Chen Gong said, not forgetting to send a jibes my way, “By the way, I spoke with Yi Ji earlier, and learnt that Jing state treats its officials well and promotes them quickly. Won’t my lord learn from this?”

She never forgets that huh.

“I’ll do my best.” I gave some patronising words for now, and looked at our surroundings, “Chen Dao, where did you observe the battle?”

“There’s a slightly steep precipice up ahead which provides a good vantage point to see everything happening outside Jiangxia city.” Chen Dao reached out and pointed at a point in the distance. When I looked in the direction she pointed at, I saw a small hill.

“Alright, we’ll head there first and see what’s going on.” I said as I swung my reins and made for the cliff.

“Ah, my lord!” Everyone else was caught off guard by this and hurriedly caught up.

I didn’t dare to tarry for too long, as Liu Qi and the rest have already charged in. If something untoward were to happen to Liu Qi and the rest because I dilly-dallied, then I would become the devious and evil person.

“Xu–” Seeing the end of the cliff, I pulled on the reins and made the call for the horse to stop. It seems like my horseriding skills have improved as I was able to get the horse to stop with just 2-3 tugs.

I looked out, and saw that not far from the foot of the mountain, there was an area that was covered by swirling dust and dirt. I couldn’t make out the people inside but I could the yells, roars and other sounds of slaughter which helped me identify that area as the battlefield. Further out was a city with tall and st.u.r.dy walls. The walls were large, thick and dark; you could tell that they were strong just by looking from afar, and they even seemed like they were as strong at Liu Biao’s Xiangyang city.

If a city like that were to be guarded by a general who specialises in defending, it should be difficult to break it. Which begs the question of why Huang Zu would leave the city and meet her enemies in battle in the plains?

“My lord, can you not be so hasty? There won’t be anyone to protect you should there be a stray arrow flying here.”

Chen Dao, Zhou Cang and Chen Gong just caught up, and expressed their dissatisfaction at my actions.

“Ah, sorry. I was just… In a bit of a hurry.”

I changed my words mid-sentence as I myself didn’t know what was up with me. On one hand, I was conflicted over having to help Liu Biao against Sun Quan. On the other, I was a little excited at my personal growth. But no matter what, I can’t tell them about these 2 emotions as wars are evil and one shouldn’t be expressing an infatuation with wars.

“Chen Gong, can you see what the situation is like?”

“The dust blown up by the wind is too thick and I don’t think my estimates will be very accurate. But if you look at the southwest side, you can see that Lord Liu Qi’s troops have joined the fray.”

I looked at the southwest side, and saw that there were indeed ‘劉’ flags flying about. Elsewhere, there were only ‘黃’ (HYPY: Huang) and ‘朱’ (HYPY: Zhu) flags.

黃 should be Huang Zu’s troops so 朱 should be Sun Quan’s side. But… Zhu? Who is that?

“Chen Dao, can you make out the numbers on either side?”

“24… 25…” Chen Dao was already halfway through counting. If I’m not wrong, she should be counting the 朱 flags. “My lord, I did a quick calculation and if the organisational structure of Jiangdong hasn’t changed, then the enemy should be about 5-7,000.”

“Additionally, that guarding general Huang Zu’s troops aren’t numerous. All the flags are gathered at the north, and it looks like there are about 1-2,000 troops.” Zhou Chang added as she pointed into the distance, where Jiangxia city was. Looks like Huang Zu doesn’t intend on making this a decisive battle.

But 2,000 plus 2,500 against 5-7,000 huh. That means that if my 2,500 here joins in…

“The numerical difference between both sides isn’t too despairing. We can win.” I thought for a moment before coming to this conclusion.

Next, all we have to do is charge down from this slope. The other side will never expect a 2nd wave of reinforcements and descend into chaos. Thereafter, we just need to strike decisively into the heart of the enemy’s formation and link up with the garrison and Liu Qi and the rest, and victory will be ours.

“Well then, we’ll–” I thought of a plan and after I was satisfied with it, I raised my hand and got ready to give the order. But just then, a long grunt interrupted me.

“Un…” This grunt was naturally from Chen Gong. She was frowning and looking at me disdainfully with a finger supporting her chin. From how she looks, she has probably guessed what I’m thinking about.

“Chen Gong, why do you always…”

“Zhou Cang,” I stopped Zhou Cang, and walked to Chen Gon and asked politely, “May I ask what Chen Gong has to share?”

“Un… Looking am Imperial Uncle, you wouldn’t be thinking about charging down from here directly right?” Her words were shockingly accurate. I was impressed at how sharp she was, and how she was able to nail down my thoughts with just 1 line.

“That is so,” I nodded, “Looking at how things are like now–”

“Un, I understand. I know where you’re coming from, and normally speaking, this would be the right decision. By doing that, Imperial Uncle should be able to turn the tide of battle.” She paused for a moment, which told me that what she was about to say next was what she really thought.

When she saw me stay silent, she reached out and pointed at the point where Liu Qi was charging at and continued, “But the enemy isn’t so simple. Look at Liu Qi and Huang Zu’s troops, Imperial Uncle.”

Un? Is there something wrong? I looked at where she was pointing and saw that 2 sides were embroiled in battle with the sign of a recent charge.

“If all armies continue as they are, Liu Qi’s troops will be able to join up with Huang Zu’s troops, which will greatly help Huang Zu’s side. They can also take the chance to decimate the enemies on the western side which have been cut off.” I said, but Chen Gong didn’t say anything, and stared at me for a moment before she continued.

“… Will that really happen?”

Eh?

“Ah! Look, my lord!” Chen Dao suddenly yelled out frantically and flailed her arms as she pointed at a point, catching my attention and I instinctively looked at where she was pointing at.

What!

I got a shock at what I saw.

Less than half of Liu Qi’s troops were still in formation with the rest completely scattered about even they were in a distinct formation just moments ago.