Cheng Jing frowned slightly. His obsidian-like eyes flared.

“Since Magistrate Liu stepped up to endorse Liu Xi’s action, they have probably successfully gone around Jiamen Pass by now.”

Fang Jue smiled. “I agree.”

They were right. After a whole night of running, marching, and climbing, Jiang Pengji and her men had finally gone across the border of Chenzhou. The early morning sun was blinding.

“Let’s have the guys take a break and get something to eat first. They need to get their energy back.”

Fang Zhen rubbed his shoulders. The night before, he’d fallen asleep on Li Yun’s back. That didn’t mean he’d slept too well. He had obvious dark circles under his eyes.

“Are you not gonna compete with Yang Jian to see who can get to the meeting spot first anymore?”

Jiang Pengji gave Feng Zhen a sulky look. “At this point, what’s more important? Winning the bet or our men’s well-being? I was just saying that to impress Yan Lin when I told him we were gonna beat them.”

Hurrying on with their journey the whole night, although they had avoided most of the detours under Jiang Pengji’s command, everyone was still exhausted. Jiang Pengji didn’t want them to keep going like that, so she decided to spend some time letting her guys get some rest.

“We appreciate your consideration, my lord.”

Feng Zhen cupped his hands and put on a sly smile. Looking at his cunning face, Jiang Pengji simply shrugged it off.

Although they couldn’t make a fire and cook, the soldiers had enough solid food like rice balls and sliced pickles packed with them to eat. They also had adequate water with them, so everyone had a decent breakfast.

What the soldiers had to eat was not much different than what Jiang Pengji and her advisors and generals had.

“I can’t believe the rice balls are still a little warm. I expected them to be ice-cold…”

Li Yun’s rice balls were wrapped in layers of cloths, tucked under his armor and kept warm by his body temperature. That’s why his food was not cold.

Rice balls alone would be too bland. It was Jiang Pengji’s idea to put sliced pickles inside them to add some flavor.

On a military mission, that was not bad for food. Nobody complained except the audience of the streaming room.

Li Wushuang: Aw… Yang Si baby has always been the pickiest! Now it’s so tough that he is even enjoying the rice balls!

Fengsheng Shuiqi: I feel bad for him too! Watching him like this, I suddenly find the lobster entree in front of me so bland!

Xuanyuan Mingjing: Haha @ the comment above… Do you really feel bad for Yang Si or you are here to sabotage the streamer’s mission?

Jiang Pengji deliberately avoided the bullet screen. Based on her understanding of the audience, they were probably showing off all kinds of gourmet food.

Of course, she wouldn’t torture herself like that.

Everyone was nearly full when they finished eating. They took another break of two zodiac hours. By the time they were prepared to hit the road, the sun was right above their heads.

“It’s pretty much time. Let’s go meet with them,” Jiang Pengji said.

The meeting spot was only about one zodiac hour away. Jiang Pengji was not in a hurry. She let her men take their time to accommodate their conditions.

By the time they got there, Yang Jian’s men had been waiting and resting for a while.

Seeing that they had arrived, Yan Lin gave them a surprised glare.

He had assumed that because they were not familiar with the area, they would have to take some detours along the way. Despite this, they had already arrived. Gazing at the soldiers’ faces, he realized that, despite traces of fatigue, they didn’t look like they had traveled nonstop for more than a dozen zodiac hours. That meant that they had already taken some breaks on their way here.

If they had not taken any breaks, they would have arrived earlier than Yan Lin.

Yan Lin would not underrate them anymore. The importance he attached to Jiang Pengji and her men went up a whole level.

Since they were teaming up, it was important to share some information.

Inside Chenzhou, besides the imperial court, there were also Prince Changshou’s men to consider. To strike Prince Changshou’s army, they would not only have to act fast, but they would also have to keep the mission a secret. If their enemy had a chance to prepare, they wouldn’t have much of a chance at success.

How could they guarantee that their whereabouts and plans would stay safe?

Their priority was picking the best routes to avoid possible exposure without wasting too much time.

It was not the time to be picky. The leaders and top generals and advisors of both forces randomly picked a spot to have their meeting.

When it came to strategic decision making, Yang Jian and Yang Tao never had much of a chance to pitch in. They didn’t mind at all leaving it all to Yan Lin.

On Jiang Pengji’s side, her generals all had their own responsibilities. They also fully trusted their lord and advisors, so they didn’t try to get involved either.

Yan Lin started to realize that Liu Xi was different from other lords.

Most lords would wait until all the advisors had provided their advice before making a decision. However, she would participate in the discussion from the beginning. She sounded like she knew her stuff.

Seeing what Jiang Pengji was capable of, Yang Jian let out a particularly heavy sigh.

Comparisons could be depressing.

If his own son had half of what Liu Xi had, he would be so comforted.

If it had not been for Yan Lin, Yang Jian would have more often wished that he could have Yang Tao somehow reborn to see if he would turn out to be a brighter bulb.

The group had already made their plans by the time the alliance finally found out that they were gone.

Liu She had suggested that the alliance would not be able to break through Jiamen Pass by themselves. They didn’t want to believe that, so they’d decided to break through it to show Liu She their true strength.

It turned out that they had shown their true strength… They had been defeated by the defensive army at Jiamen Pass, just as Liu She predicted.

The opener lasted for more than one zodiac hour. In that time, the alliance had dropped 2,000 dead bodies before retreating.

Everyone’s face dropped.

Sitting at the main seat and listening to the lords blaming each other for their own failures, Xu Pei’s head was about to explode.

Finally having dealt with those lords, Xu Pei went to Liu She for advice at night in the hope of breaking the Pass.

Liu She’s response was shockingly unexpected.

“I have no idea,” he said. “If you ask me to govern a city or a county, I’ll consider myself pretty well off. But if you ask me to lead an army onto the battlefield, that will be hard.”

Xu Pei dropped his jaw and was speechless. If Liu She had no secret plan to break the Pass, why had he acted like the prospect was nothing to him earlier that day?

He didn’t ask, but “you gotta kidding me” was written on his face. Liu She burst into laughter.

Liu She then put on a serious face and said, “If I hadn’t said that, those guys would have kept verbally attacking your leadership and Lanting. How could I let that happen?”

Well, that demonstrated one thing…

Liu She ignored the consequences when he was trying to impress the lords, but now Xu Pei had to face the consequences head-on.

Xu Pei didn’t know what to say.

“If there’s no good news in half a month, what do you plan to do, Magistrate Liu?

What was said couldn’t be unsaid. This was like a slap in the face. If Liu She’s face was slapped, his reputation as a magistrate could be considered lost.

Liu She secretly rolled his eyes. “In half a month, with 40,000 men, even if we attack directly, it will be about time to break the Pass. Just because I said they couldn’t do it, are they so eager to prove me right? Also, even if they can’t break the Pass in half a month, I still have my confidence in my boy, Lanting. There will be good news within half a month. In case neither plan works out, we will simply come up with something else. No worries.”

Xu Pei didn’t say a thing.

Liu She wasn’t worried, but Xu Pei was.

He hadn’t expected Liu She to act like this!