CHAPTER 722: CHAPTER 308: PREPARING TO DEPLOY TROOPS (THIRD UPDATE)

Ye Qichi discovered a flying dart on Zhang Hezhi’s body, identical to the one used to kill the grain warehouse guards.

The flying dart was found.

Bai Moyi’s complexion turned even uglier.

Ye Qichi had just publicly questioned that leader about using flying darts.

He had even mocked Ye Qichi.

But he never expected that this person was indeed his own trusted aide.

And he did know that Zhang Hezhi was skilled with flying darts.

It was precisely because of his expertise in throwing darts that he had appointed him as the leader of the trusted aides, in order to ensure his own safety.

If at the time Ye Qichi voiced his suspicions, he could have thought of Zhang Hezhi and captured him earlier, perhaps he could have caught his accomplices as well!

At this very moment, it was clear that Zhang Hezhi had walked into the trap of his own accord, and even more so, his surrender was meant to cover for others.

Giving other people the chance to hide...

The more he thought about it.

The more embarrassed Bai Moyi’s face became.

At this moment, it was as if he had been harshly slapped in the face.

His cheeks burning hot.

Ye Qichi stood up from the ground.

So.

The only clue involving the flying dart had now been severed.

Zhang Hezhi’s sudden "confession" at this moment, apart from causing the troops to be anxious and everyone to feel endangered, was clearly to give his accomplices time to escape successfully.

Indeed.

Always one step too slow.

Xiao Jinsen’s cunning and shrewdness cannot be taken lightly.

The army’s tents were extinguished.

It was already dawn.

Nearly a hundred tents were lost.

Thirty-five people died.

For an army of hundreds of thousands, these casualties might be negligible.

But such an accident had a huge impact on the morale of the troops.

Plus the deliberate remarks made by Zhang Hezhi.

Xiao Jinxing said in a cold voice, "Comfort the wounded, proceed with normal training."

After finishing his words.

Xiao Jinxing then ordered, "Continue to discuss military matters back in the tent."

And then he led the way ahead.

The others followed behind him.

Because the spy came from Bai Moyi’s personal soldiers, Bai Moyi became quiet at this moment.

Also knowing he had nothing to say.

But his heart was filled with even more anger.

He wished he could immediately conquer Beimu Country, to have Xiao Jinsen and their generals dismembered and torn apart by five horses.

"How do you all perceive the matter of today?" Xiao Jinxing asked.

Song Yanqing spoke, "I believe the priority is to root out all the spies. I even suspect that among the military camp, the spies may hold significant identities. Otherwise, why would Zhang Hezhi, as General Bai Moyi’s leader of trusted aides, willingly embrace death to protect a comrade? It is conceivable that the spy behind him is of considerable importance."

Upon hearing what Song Yanqing said,

Bai Moyi’s face grew even more unsightly.

He utterly disregarded the main point of Song Yanqing’s words; he only heard that the traitor was one of his people.

He felt like Song Yanqing was deliberately mocking him, targeting her.

"However, I believe that the number of spies cannot possibly be as many as Zhang Hezhi claimed, even quite the opposite," Song Yanqing continued, "The King of Chu indeed had his influence among the court officials, so it’s natural and expected for him to arrange his people within the military camp. But the King of Chu must not be at the border. The army is still under General Bai’s command, so the King of Chu couldn’t possibly have placed so many people. I suspect Zhang Hezhi deliberately exaggerated to create discord within our ranks. Precisely because they are short-handed, they chose such a radical approach to undermine the morale of our troops! If there really were many, the enemy wouldn’t have hesitated and would have already initiated battle! Therefore, I consider it imperative to ferret out the spies first, addressing both symptoms and root causes to stabilize the troops’ morale anew!"

"But under the current circumstances, we’re utterly clueless. A widespread search might only increase the soldiers’ panic and fail to unite their hearts," Bai Mowan logically argued, without showing the same deliberate hostility as Bai Moyi, "Once mutual suspicion arises within the military camp, the army’s strength will be immediately weakened, inevitably leading to disarray."

Song Yanqing remained silent.

What Bai Mowan said did make sense.

Xiao Jinsen truly knew how to manipulate people’s hearts.

This point was indeed challenging to swiftly overcome.

"I wonder if Beimu Country will take this chance to attack us now that our camp is in turmoil," Bai Mowan said, "I support the proposal just made by Lord Song, and I also believe that finding the spies is crucial. However, we’re currently facing two specific issues: one is as I just mentioned, that the spies are difficult to identify, and secondly, we must be prepared at all times for Beimu Country to launch an offensive. Should we ready ourselves for military deployment now?! If we deploy our troops at this moment, to what extent has the army been affected?!"

"Prepare for deployment!" Xiao Jinxing suddenly spoke.

Bai Mowan looked surprised.

The others also turned their gaze toward him.

"Based on my understanding of Xiao Jinsen, as long as there are spies in the camp, he will continue to disrupt the troops’ morale, and the longer it goes on, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us. Deploying troops now is our best option while the situation hasn’t fully escalated. If we scrutinize for spies at this moment, it would be as if announcing to the entire army that there are indeed spies within the camp, and deeply hidden at that! If, on the contrary, we show no concern, the soldiers, seeing our lack of worry, would not harbor as many suspicions. Therefore, deploying now is the best timing I can think of; the longer we wait, the more likely issues will arise."

"We should have deployed at the outset!" Bai Moyi couldn’t help but blurt out, "Song Yanqing is nothing but a stumbling block. If it weren’t for his suggestion of a cease-fire, none of these subsequent events would have occurred. Now look, in the end, we still have to take the offensive and storm their city, all the while having affected our troops’ morale."

Song Yanqing pressed his lips together.

Since Xiao Jinxing had already issued the order, he could say no more.

He could only choose silence.

"I thank everyone for their hard work today. From now on, we start to deploy and arrange our formation!" Xiao Jinxing declared coldly, "I will make Xiao Jinsen realize that even if he has laid a trap as dense as a net of heaven and earth, I will still break through and conquer Beimu!"

"Yes." Everyone accepted the command.

And with Xiao Jinxing’s words, they were filled with confidence.

Everyone began to discuss how to launch the offensive.

A discussion that lasted a day.

Effectively a sleepless day and night for everyone.

Before leaving, Xiao Jinxing said, "Our camp has lost over a hundred tents, equivalent to those soldiers losing their tents being integrated into others, to avoid disrupting the distribution within the original unit, General Bai, you should find a way to free up some tents from the officers to supply as support until additional tents can be delivered later to restore the original arrangement."

"Yes, I will make arrangements immediately," Bai Wenwu accepted the order and quickly expressed his stance, "First and foremost, my son Bai Moyi’s tent can be freed up, and he can stay with me."

"Good," Xiao Jinxing nodded, "In that case, I shall set an example too; my tent can accommodate one more person."

Bai Mowan quickly spoke up, "My tent can be freed up."

The implication couldn’t be more obvious.

Meaning she could move into Xiao Jinxing’s tent.

Ye Qichi, however, was composed.

After all, she was already sharing a tent with Xie Ruotong.

Not really taking up any resources.

So it seemed only natural.