There were four sub-counties in Chengde County: Jinmen County, Fenghu County, Red Lotus County, and Qiuyu County.

If the plan went smoothly, taking down Jinmen County would be easy as pie.

But Jinmen County was not enough to satisfy Jiang Pengji’s appetite. Her ambition was much greater than that.

“…The Red Lotus Group believes that they can beat us at our own game, so why don’t we copy their example?” Qiguang Rang gave a sardonic smile, for he loved to trick others with his schemes. “According to my lord’s estimation, how long would it take to take down Jinmen County?”

Jiang Pengji squinted her eyes as she calculated. After some time, she said, “Although it would be a hurried march and we would not be able to carry any effective weapons with us for the siege, we could capture Jinmen County within two hours if no soldiers are guarding it. If we include the time spent traveling on the mountain road, it will take about one day. Wenzheng, what are your thoughts?”

Qiguan Rang pinched the feather fan that he always kept with him and waved it gently.

Beside them, Yang Si saw Qiguan Rang and shuddered subconsciously, silently moving away.

He had seen the peculiar and the pretentious, but he had never seen someone waving a fan in the dead of winter.

Qiguan Rang asked, “According to the news from the informants, the Red Lotus Group wants to annihilate us and has formulated a series of measures to that end. They have worked so hard. If we don’t give them a chance to perform, wouldn’t that be mean of us? ”

Since the Red Lotus Group wanted to set them up, naturally, they could also set the Red Lotus Group up in return.

Jiang Pengji raised her eyebrow, indicating that Qiguan Rang should continue.

He said, “The Red Lotus Group believes that we will focus our attack on Fenghu County. If we do not show up for a long time, I’m afraid they will become suspicious. Why don’t we dispatch some scouts to confuse them and make them think that our intentions are directed at Fenghu County instead of Jinmen County? We’ll stall for as long as possible, and when my lord has taken down Jinmen County, we’ll turn around and attack Fenghu County… After all, the road to Fenghu County is very short.”

Yang Si heard this and thought that there was something strange about it.

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t our army get weary? We’ll be on the mountain road. According to the plan of the Red Lotus, we’ll be surrounded and trapped on the mountain road which is difficult to break through,” Dian Yan couldn’t help but say. Realizing that everyone’s eyes had focused on him, he quickly shut his mouth.

Jiang Pengji smoothed over the situation by saying, “The words of Vice-Captain Dian make sense, but none of Wenzheng’s plans are ever that simple.”

Sure enough, Qiguan Rang continued. “As Vice-Captain Dian said, if that happens, our army would indeed become weary. If we were besieged on the mountain road, it would be difficult to escape the situation unless we all grew wings. However, what if we besiege the Red Lotus Group on the mountain road? That situation would be completely different.”

Dian Yan felt like he was listening to some incomprehensible book sent down from the Heavens.

Clearly, they were the ones who would be besieged. How did the prey turn into the Red Lotus Group?

Jiang Pengji smiled and said, “According to the Red Lotus’ petty calculations, they’re also planning to capture the small town, enter the mountain road, and surround us at both ends. In that case, why don’t we throw out some bait to lure them into the mountain road, surround them, and then kill them? ”

Dian Yan’s mind was not quick enough to follow. Only after thinking about it for a long time did he suddenly realize that the gist of the plan was to pretend to be weak in order to get close enough to the target to deliver a fatal blow!

First, they would get their larger group of soldiers to attack Jinmen County. At the same time, they would have the scouts carry out investigations in the vicinity of Fenghu County. This would create the illusion that they intend to attack Fenghu County, which would mess up the judgment of the Red Lotus Group and also help them to stall for time. Once the army had taken down Jinmen County, they would turn around and return to lie in wait. In addition, they would send a team onto the mountain road to create another illusion that the larger group of troops had entered the mountain road and were headed towards Fenghu County.

In fact, they would still be hiding on the mountain road leading towards Jinmen County.

Seeing the situation, the Red Lotus Group would think that their prey had fallen for their trap.

They would wait for the Red Lotus Group to enter the mountain road and surround Jiang Pengji in concert with the troops from Fenghu County. Then, Jiang Pengji’s hidden forces would make an appearance.

The main forces would cooperate with the soldiers who had entered the mountain road one step earlier and work together to devour their enemy as they tried to launch a sneak attack on them from behind.

Dian Yan had obediently stopped talking. Indeed, each one of these literati had more guts than the last.

Others were still at a stage of “it’s difficult to defend against this.” They were already thinking about how to kill the enemy in a counterattack.

Qiguan Rang said, “This is not a difficult plan. The only thing that’s a little harsh on us is time. The timing of these maneuvers will be very tight”

Jiang Pengji laughed and said, “What’s the big deal? Wenzheng, you just wait. Watch me take down Jinmen County.”

Yang Si wanted to make a couple of caustic remarks, but an image of Jiang Pengji leading the charge against the enemy aptly appeared in his mind’s eye. He chose to remain silent.

Qiguan Rang added, “We can occupy Jinmen County via unusual schemes, but the effectiveness of that occupation would be reduced if the same move is used a second time. We would still have to fight with real weapons in the other three counties to decide who is the clear winner…”

Jiang Penji did not agree with Qiguan Rang.

Yang Si’s scheme could only be used once, but there was still room to further play on the idea.

Opportunities should be fully utilized once seized.

Jiang Penji pursed her lips and said, “Because the mountain road is fragile, we cannot carry any equipment with us for the siege on Jinmen County. However, the situation will be different once we take down Jinmen County. I’ve personally ordered Xiaoyu to prepare the equipment for a siege before I go on the expedition. Let him seize the opportunity and transport the equipment to Jinmen County. After the time spent on the road and one day of rest following our counter ambush on the Red Lotus Group, Xiaoyu’s siege equipment will be delivered. While the Red Lotus Group is running around like a headless chicken, we’ll attack Qiuyu County!”

They could not afford to be remiss or lazy about anything on the battlefield.

The window of opportunity was fleeting. They needed to take immediate action.

Jiang Pengji understood this logic, so she was more thorough in her thinking than anyone else.

If she ordered Xu Ke to transport the siege equipment only after Jinmen County had been conquered, it would be a few days of back-and-forth before they got their equipment. By that time, they would have already missed the best opportunity to battle.

Her fighting style was very distinct, fast-paced and coupled with rigorous and detailed scheming.

Others acted according to a step-by-step process that was methodically followed.

However, she carried out multiple processes simultaneously, full steam ahead. Each phase followed on the heels of another, thereby creating an intense sense of urgency.

Communicating over long distances was inconvenient in ancient times, and Jiang Pengji’s combat style appeared to be even more intense and pressing because of this. This fact, more often than not, created a sense of psychological oppression on her enemies.

Not only could this kind of oppression disturb the hearts of her enemies, but it could also destabilize their morale.

Everyone was astonished. “Attack Qiuyu County directly after the battle at Jinmen County?”

Jiang Pengji said, “The military forces of two counties have gathered in Fenghu. Red Lotus County is the headquarters of the Red Lotus Group, so their defenses in Red Lotus County will not be weak. What other options do we have besides Qiuyu County? What’s more important is that the public road from Jinmen County to Qiuyu County is even and wide. The distance is also short, which is conducive to the transportation of the siege equipment. With Qiuyu County as the target of our attack, we can save a lot of time…”

A big loss was often enough to send already disorderly mobs like the Red Lotus Group into chaos.

Before the Red Lotus Group could regain its composure, Jiang Pengji wanted to seize the moment and cause them to suffer one blow after another!

As long as they could secure their hold on Jinmen County and Qiuyu County, the Red Lotus Group would never be able to bounce back.

She never thought that An Cui, an ultra-capable teammate, could also bring her another surprise.

Night fell, shrouding the earth.

A spotless full moon hung in the sky. Jiang Yanji was taking a short breather when a sudden clamor arose in her conscious mind.

She swiftly opened her eyes. The mechanical voice of the system sounded from within the depths of her mind.