Liu Bei POV

“a.s.suming Yuan Zhi’s a.n.a.lysis was on the mark, could it mean that the enemy only has 20,000 troops?” I asked softly as I looked at Yuan Zhi, who had a troubled look on as she muttered ‘It should be 20,000’ over and over under her breath.

“Yuan Zhi?”

“Ah,” Yuan Zhi finally realised I was calling out to her and blinked when she looked at me, “Un, I got it, I got it.” Yuan Zhi then nodded a few times before walking along the edge of the tower.

“Ah… Yuan Zhi…” I began to feel nervous and could not figure out what was going on? I decided to go up and grab her but when I saw her looking into the distance and thinking, I decided against it.

“Lord Liao Hua, where are the enemy troops now?”

I stood beside Yuan Zhi as Liao Hua frowned and looked at me. I pointed at Yuan Zhi as I returned her gaze and Liao Hua responded, “The enemy is moving very fast and should be pa.s.sing through the valley by now.”

“How many hours before they get here?”

“About 2 hours or so.”

“2 hours huh…” Yuan Zhi spoke to herself and stopped speaking.

“Yuan Zhi,” I thought for a long while before I finally decided to speak up, thinking that someone else would do so even if I did not, “Could it be that the enemy decided not to move out with all their–”

“No, that is impossible.” Before I could finish, Yuan Zhi replied definitively. I looked at her and saw a firm resolve on her airheaded face, “The enemy will definitely move out with everything they have. If they only number 10,000 then that means that Cao Cao’s entire vanguard is only 20,000 strong.”

“But…”

“Liao Hua.” Liao Hua wanted to add on but I held out my hand and stopped you. I know what Liao Hua is thinking, that it’s getting riskier. But this strategy was inherently risky to begin with. And besides, as Yuan Zhi said, if we only stay and defend Xinye, there is no way for us to advance.

“Yuan Zhi, are you sure?” I asked as I stood beside her and looked into the distance as well. However, I could not feel confident in the strength of the bricks and could not lean against them like she did, “If you don’t, we can still get Yun Chang to return.”

“…” Yuan Zhi did not speak and continued to look ahead. I do not know if it’s just my misconception but it seems like she has wavered significantly. Just then, Yuan Zhi looked at me and nodded, “I’m sure. Everything will proceed as it should.”

“Alright.” I nodded. Since she is going to go that far, I will not say anything else.

“Besides, judging from our present circ.u.mstances, it will fine even if the enemy has left behind a sizeable garrison.” Just then, Yuan Zhi seemed to have backed up a little. When I looked at her, it seemed like she had weakened her stance slightly, “Neither side has an overwhelming advantage over here. If Lord Guan Yu finds that there is a sizeable garrison in the city, she will definitely return. When the time comes, we can even engage in a pincer attack.”

I do not know if it’s because her stance has weakened but she never looked at me as she said so. But I have to admit that what she said is true. Even if we cannot take Fan city, we will not lose our advantage. There is also the possibility that the enemy’s numbers are really just 20,000.

“Alright, I got it.” I nodded and looked at Liao Hua, “Liao Hua, send a messenger to Feng Xian and the rest. Tel

l them to get ready to leave the city in a bit.”

“Yes.” Liao Hua saluted me. She seemed like she still had more to say but she left it be and bowed before leaving.

As for me, I continued to stand at the city tower with Yuan Zhi as we looked outside. There were times when I thought I caught a glimpse of enemy troops in the distance in between the leaves of my gra.s.s circlet but when I blinked, I found that it was just an optical illusion.

It was clear that this battle has far more uncertainties than the last one. That said, battles are unpredictable to begin with and I, as a man from the future who does not have much of an understanding of this era, has no choice but to count on my talented companions at this time.

And so, I have chosen to believe in Yuan Zhi, who has brought us victory. At the same time, I will pray for Yun Chang and the rest to safely return.

Yun Chang POV

*Shashasha*.,,

After leaving Xinye city, Guan Ping, Zhou Cang and I made our way at top speed along with our light infantry to the off-road. We then dismounted, dismantled our siege weaponry and made our way into the forest.

By right, a 10,000 strong force ought to make its way through the dirt road but to avoid detection, I specifically made us go through the forest at the side of the road.

Just in case, I also gave Zhou Cang command over 5,000 troops and told her to have some distance between mine and her troops. Additionally, the troops were also instructed not to march in dense formations and have some distance between each platoon to minimise the probability of being detected.

Though we learnt that the enemy had chosen to go by the valley route, we still cannot lower our guard. While the situation is still unclear, it is best that we act prudently and take it slow if need be. If we were to get found out, it would be impossible to seize the advantage and we would just waste troops for no reason.

“Hu…” This is the first time that I am conducting a covert mission, and with such a large number of troops too. Honestly, my style of doing things is to do them openly and fairly. But now, I have to adapt to the situation and slow down my breathing as much as I can.

“Guan Ping, let the thousand-man generals relay the order to disperse our troops further. Our troops are still too densely packed together. There must be at least 5 paces between each person.” I said in as soft yet audible a voice as I could. There was still a long distance to go before we got to Fan city but I had to take as many precautions as I could. The enemy is on the other side of the valley and might have scouts running along the mountain range.

“Yes, mother!” Guan Ping yelled back. Though she had made sure to control her voice, it was still rather loud and made the now timid and fearful me sweat.

I hurriedly turned and pulled her close, “Softer, Guan Ping!”

“Yes, mother…” She said in a softer voice. It was not softer by much but it was at least better than before.

And how many times must I tell you not to call me mother? I thought as I turned back to see Guan Ping relay the order to the respective officers. However, now was not the time to be talking about such matters so I could only sigh as I continued advancing.

It was a good thing that the forest was really dense over here. It’s already past mid-autumn but there has not been much wind so there are a lot of leaves still stubbornly stuck on the branches. Our troops’ uniforms have been covered with dirt and ash while Guan Ping, Zhou Cang and I have draped on brown cloths as well for camouflage. Since a while ago, there has been a light breeze blowing through, making the leaves sway, helping to hide our movement.

The only problem is that we are too slow. I turned back to look while making sure that I did not make too much noise and felt that it would be a long while before we got to Fan city.

“Mother, when will we get to Fan city?” Guan Ping asked as she returned to my side after relaying the order. She too bent her body forward like me, revealing a much better figure than me, her mother, albeit in name only.

Naturally, I would never mention this to her.

“If we keep moving like this, stopping here and there, and adding breaks, then we will only reach Fan city late in the night.”

“At night huh…” Guan Ping said as she grimaced. I know full well too that even a late night arrival estimate is an optimistic projection.

“Oh well~” Guan Ping said as she smiled after a moment.

I did not understand this especially when I saw how excited she looked and decided to ask, “You, did you really want to join me on the battlefield that much?”

“Of–”

“Softer…”

“Of course…”

Guan Ping was about to exclaim in reply but I hurriedly stopped her. It seemed like she was really excited and it took a lot of effort for her to suppress the impulse to yell.

“Hai,” I sighed as I looked at how excited and energetic Guan Ping was and felt helpless, “You could have chosen to stay out of battle.”

“No, I’ve already made my resolve!” Guan Ping said as she placed her hands at her waist and made a stabbing motion, “I know what battle means from the time when I was a militia so I hope mother doesn’t worry too much.”

“So what is it that you are fighting for?” I asked as I turned back to look at Guan Ping. Her smile receded and she frowned as though she did not understand what I said so I explained further, “Everyone has a reason to join the battlefield, something they want to achieve. What is your reason?”

“To help mother!” She replied with no hesitation.

Hai, I was afraid of an answer like that. Fighting for someone else is not a reason you can count on to take you through the hards.h.i.+ps and terrors one faces on the battlefield.

“You don’t actually need to–”

“And besides…”

Un? I was about to say something but I found that Guan Ping still had more to say. And her expression had become austere and was much more serious than before.