CHAPTER 854: CHAPTER 513: SETTING OUT TO WAR

Is the name not true to reality? The generals in the tent were stunned.

However, soon another general suddenly shook his head: "Even now, do you still dare to underestimate this Lord Zhao? Although you and I are in the local areas, in the military, and are not very familiar with many things in the court, even if we only peek through the fragmented rumors we hear, we should understand that Lord Zhao is by no means someone who fishes for fame and reputation."

"So? You think it’s true? That the key person to this great victory is him?" the previous military officer asked.

He nodded solemnly and looked sincerely at Xue Shence, sitting at the top: "Secretariat Envoy, although I also can’t understand how someone who has never led troops or fought battles can achieve this, I believe that Your Majesty wouldn’t need to deceive everyone at this time, to gild such a major matter, there’s simply no need."

Xue Shence glanced at the general, remembering that the opposite was the Deputy General of the Linfeng Military Mansion.

Back when the Taicang Silver Mine case occurred, he once led elite troops, following beside Zhao Douan to investigate the case and blockaded the Prefecture.

"Junior Guardian Zhao is an extraordinary hero. Besides, I have also witnessed the power of the new weaponry from the Divine Mechanism Camp, achieving such feats is not surprising. I do not wish to hear similar, questioning voices again." Xue Shence concluded decisively, leaving those originally unconvinced with no choice but to swallow their words, the shock in their hearts growing deeper.

How many in the entire court, civil and military, can receive such praise from Minister Xue?

"Spread the news extensively. This great victory suffices to boost the entire army’s morale." Xue Shence made arrangements and then returned to the main issue: "The crisis in Qingzhou has been resolved, the Capital Camp reinforcements will arrive soon. Now in Linfeng’s east and west lines, Prince Jing is posing a defensive partition strategy, yet Prince Mu still harbors desires of annexing lands, we must gather troops to repel the enemy. Since I have come, I will not permit the rebel’s claws to extend even an inch further!"

All the soldiers were filled with passionate enthusiasm, standing up to echo: "I will strive with all my might to defend Linfeng!"

...

...

South of Taicang Prefecture, Ningjiang County.

As a strategic point on the Huai River Western Front, this county town has fallen into the hands of the Yunfu Prince Mu’s rebel army for several days.

Yet, if walking in the town, one would find that, aside from the slightly heavy atmosphere inevitably overshadowed by the clouds of war, the entire county still operates, shops on the streets remain open as usual, and the citizens walk about as normal.

The order within the town is perfectly maintained, not a trace of chaos appears.

At this moment, the main road within the town echoed with the sound of gold-clad roars, a squad of Yunfu soldiers entered the town in mighty formation, heading straight for the county government.

The citizens instinctively retreated, avoiding to the sides of the road, watching this army with respect and awe.

In the center of the army, a middle-aged civil officer sitting on a chestnut horse stood out remarkably, surrounded by fierce soldiers in iron armor holding rifles and halberds.

Except this person was strikingly garbed in scarlet scholar’s robes, wearing a Confucian crown, gripping reins with both hands, with a soft armor draped over the scholar robe.

Within the gaps of the two-layered soft armor, there was space for storing items, revealing a corner of a blue-covered military book, its edges frayed, indicating the book had been frequently read.

Suddenly, a swift horse arrived from the front of the troop, the middle-aged man raised his hand, halting the marching squad.

The messenger dismounted swiftly, holding a letter in both hands: "Reporting to the General! The scouts report that Xue Shence has arrived from the Eastern Front at Taicang Prefecture..."

Is Xue Shence here? Su Dan’s expression immediately intensified, glancing at the few generals beside him who changed color, calmly unafraid, sneering: "Don’t be intimidated by the title of ’Military God’, he is stretched thin, managing neither the East nor West lines efficiently, summon the generals to the county government..."

In the distance.

On the black roof of a certain four-story tavern in the city, a woman dressed entirely in black, with cold and almost ghostly features, stood on a projecting ridge.

The sun was blazing, the sky clear, yet somehow the pedestrians below seemed oblivious to the black-clothed woman, as if unable to see her.

The woman calmly gazed from afar at the General Su Dan within the army, expressionless.

But if Zhao Douan were here, he would surely be shocked, for the black-clothed woman’s appearance surprisingly closely resembled the second disciple of the Heavenly Master Mansion, "Yu Xiu".

Except Yu Xiu, being a Daoist Heavenly Master, bore an ethereal and light aura.

Whereas this woman was sinister and eerie, her gaze extremely cold.

"Hehe, Sister Rong, this Su Dan does indeed have some ability, no wonder Prince and Zhao Shixiong fought over him, how long has it been? Already he has Ningjiang firmly in his grasp, able to suppress those border armies blurrier than soldiers... No wonder entrusted with important duties, standing at the forefront of the Western Front, could he really face off against Xue Shence? It’s a pity, just weirdly enough, clearly a military general, yet likes posing as a scholar all day."

On the edge of the roof ridge, a teenager’s hands grasped tiles, effortlessly leaping up with an agile figure.

Likely seventeen or eighteen, the boy was thin but bore long arms, his eyes lively and full of spiritual energy, squatting monkey-like on the roof ridge, swiftly flipping an unhandled dagger like a butterfly, marveling at the galloping official in the distance.

The black-clothed woman named Nie Yurong turned back, her gaze chilling: "Though our Embroidered Robe Envoy path differs from Su Dan and his generals, we all serve Prince Mu, considered as half colleagues. Now, we are commanded to lie low in the city, both to secretly aid the army in siege and territory capture and to supervise Su Dan and his men, if harboring treachery, to assassinate ahead of time. Therefore..."

The teenager squatting unrestrainedly on the roof ridge pouted, sinking down more: "I know, to hide properly, not to reveal myself, lest noticed. But Sister Rong, you stand more conspicuously than me, right?"