Within the commander's tent, Geng Lie was absorbed in admiring a painting and calligraphy scroll.

"My advisor, look here, this is a genuine work left by the great master Xu Ziming from the previous dynasty. The brushwork is flowing and unrestrained; merely observing it makes one feel as if they could float away like an immortal," Geng Lie exclaimed in wonder.

The advisor beside him hastened to agree.

Having spent a long time together, he naturally understood his master's temperament.

Normally, he seemed fine but in reality he was tyrannical, prone to fits of rage and possessed a strong sense of jealousy. Fortunately, his abilities were decent, and he had a fair amount of knowledge, which helped conceal these flaws.

If he were in Liang City, where the court was filled with many old foxes, he would have been somewhat suppressed, but upon arriving at the border, his true nature became increasingly apparent.

Twenty days prior, it was said he had detected the whereabouts of the Northern Wei's new army and wished to emulate Wen Yue to gain renown in a single battle.

Who would have thought that he would merely observe for a moment before rapidly retreating, directly abandoning the Marquis Annan's flank?

This caused the Northern Wei army to tear open a gap, severing the central army from the flank.

The Northern Wei's move was extremely risky; if their main force and flank had been caught in a pincer movement, encircling them like dumplings, the Northern Wei would have been ripe for the picking. Who would have thought Geng Lie had no such intention and simply fled on his own?

Wen Yue grew more and more furious the more he heard.

If you don't know how to fight, then stay honestly within the city.

Didn't Geng Lie just want military achievements? Wen Yue was willing to share some of his great victories with Geng Lie, allowing him to partake in the spoils. Was that still not enough?

"Report!"

"Commander, General Wen requests an audience."

Geng Lie hastily put away the painting and calligraphy, straightened his posture, and swept a covered food box to the side.

"Quickly, invite him in."

"No need."

Footsteps sounded as Wen Yue strode into the main assembly hall of the commander's manor.

He had not yet removed his armor, which was caked with dried wind and snow.

Upon entering the main hall, which was warmly heated by underfloor heating, the frozen frost on his body immediately melted, turning into cold water that streamed down through the gaps in his armor.

Wen Yue looked at Geng Lie, who was completely unharmed and showed no signs of fatigue and immediately felt a surge of anger.

However, he couldn't resort to violence; the immediate priority was to quickly rescue his father-in-law from Jiangyun Valley.

Wen Yue cupped his hands, speaking in a cold, hard tone: "Commander."

"Give me twenty thousand troops; I need to go to Jiangyun Valley to rescue someone."

Geng Lie, however, did not seem to mind Wen Yue's attitude. Instead, he revealed a troubled expression and sighed, saying, "General Wen, you may not know, but there are only forty-five thousand defenders left in the city. If you wish to go, I can only allocate five thousand troops to you."

"Five thousand troops? Do you take me for a beggar?"

Wen Yue's voice immediately rose sharply.

What use would five thousand troops be to him? How could he tear open a gap in the Northern Wei army without twenty thousand troops?

Moreover, for this battle, the Tong Pass army would need to contain the main Wei force, otherwise, the rescue would be difficult.

"When Commander Chang left, he left behind ten thousand troops. We brought forty-five thousand troops from Liang City, and we also recruited fifteen thousand troops from among the people of Tong Pass."

By this calculation, the standing garrison in the city should have at least seventy thousand troops.

If one were to also count the personal guards of those generals.

Wen Yue alone had three hundred personal guards, and he was among those with fewer.

High-ranking generals had over five hundred personal guards, and there were at least thirty or forty generals in total.

These elite troops would number around fifteen thousand.

How could Tong Pass not produce a mere twenty thousand troops now?

"Are you accusing this commander?"

Geng Lie's face immediately turned cold.

He had lost at least twenty thousand men, naturally causing him to lose face.

Now, hearing Wen Yue's reproaches, how could he possibly maintain a pleasant expression?

Immediately, his face darkened, and he rebuked, "How dare you! Does this commander's battle report need to be shown to a mere vanguard officer like you?!"

Wen Yue was already in a foul mood and became enraged. He immediately pulled out an imperial edict from his bosom: "By His Majesty's decree!"

"Geng Lie, do you not kneel to receive the imperial edict?"

Geng Lie saw the imperial edict, his expression turning pale and green. He stared at Wen Yue with wide eyes but in the end, he reluctantly knelt down.

"Your subject, Geng Lie, receives the edict."

"Geng Lie, Commander of Tong Pass, advanced recklessly out of greed for merit..."

Wen Yue immediately read out a long string of words for Geng Lie. However, Wen Yue, who had initially appeared normal, now wore a solemn expression.

Emperor Liang had only said to "endeavor to rescue," not "rescue with full force." This meant that the priority was to secure the great city of Tong Pass, and only then consider rescuing the Marquis Annan.

Geng Lie's expression was grave. Only after the edict was read and he received the decree did he reveal a sneer: "General Wen, His Majesty also said to 'endeavor to rescue.'"

"This old man still has the important duty of defending the city."

Geng Lie flicked his sleeve: "Twenty thousand troops are out of the question. At most, I can give you ten thousand. You can do as you see fit."

Without the commander's tiger tally, he simply couldn't mobilize troops.

These ten thousand troops were only due to Emperor Liang's imperial edict; otherwise, Geng Lie would only have given him five thousand.

What could five thousand troops accomplish?

Ten thousand, however, still offered a chance to fight.

Jiangyun Valley was not far from Tong Mountain, and both sides of Jiangyun Valley were narrow paths, preventing large armies from entering. This, to a certain extent, avoided a large-scale battle.

If the battle involved only a thousand troops, Wen Yue felt he had a chance to snatch his father-in-law from Jiangyun Valley.

He snatched the command tally from Geng Lie.

Wen Yue stared at Geng Lie, then let out a cold snort and departed.

Geng Lie likewise showed no good humor. Since the pretense had been dropped, it was fine. He simply would not send troops; as long as he remained in command of the great city of Tong Pass, there would be no mistakes.

Furthermore, it remained to be seen whether Wen Yue would return from this expedition.

Stepping out of the commander's manor's main hall.

Wen Yue looked at the sky; it hadn't darkened yet, so he should still have time to mobilize the army.

Ten thousand troops would be enough for him to operate.

Moreover, he was a cultivator himself, so with the army's support, there should be no problem.

His three hundred personal guards, who had accompanied him on the long-distance raid, were resting.

They were truly exhausted and had barely rested on the journey.

A rare one or two hours of sleep was already a wonderful time for them.

"Gather the army."

Under the command, ten thousand troops quickly assembled.

When people number over ten thousand, they are boundless.

Ten thousand could already be called a large army.

The strategic pass of Jiangyun Valley must be heavily guarded, and since there had been no news of his father-in-law's death for so long, Wen Yue had already determined that the Wei army intended to use the Marquis Annan, Song Hao, as an anchor to tie down the Tong Pass army.

Even if Geng Lie didn't go to rescue him, would he, as a son-in-law, go?

Yes, and he had to.

This was a blatant open plot, laid bare for all to see.

The Wei army even explicitly told him that Jiangyun Valley was bait, and dared Wen Yue to take it.

If he didn't, then good; the label of "unfilial Wen Yue" would be forever affixed and in the future, let alone becoming a general or prime minister, he would be drowned by the spittle of the common people even if he returned to Liang City.

Furthermore, if Wen Yue lost power, leaving such a large void, and ideally died, then the enormous credit for annihilating one hundred and fifty thousand enemy troops could be divided among these scholar-officials, and they could all get a few bites of Wen Yue's warm corpse.

Moreover, for Wen Yue, that was his father-in-law.

He was a person who valued loyalty and righteousness. Even if he knew it was a trap, he would bravely leap into it.

Because he was Wen Yue.

"Young Master, I'll bring the brothers and go with you," Tietou said, walking up to Wen Yue.

Wen Yue shook his head: "No need. You and the brothers stay in Tong Pass and keep an eye on Geng Lie. I'm afraid he might try to trip me up."

Tietou was steady and Wen Yue trusted him.

Even if Tietou hadn't said anything, Wen Yue would have arranged for someone to keep an eye on Geng Lie.

He didn't ask for Geng Lie to play a major role, only that he not hinder him.

The mighty ten thousand troops departed.

On the Tong Pass city wall, Geng Lie watched the departing army's back, his expression cold, a chilling glint in his eyes.

Then, he descended the city wall.

(Chapter End)