Burning with righteous ardour, the vice generals dreamed to defeat Qingyan troops superior in number only with strength. The vice generals might as well ask for the moon. No wonder they were crashed disastrously before Gong Qianyu came back to the camp.
“Your Highness, let’s start the war!”
“I agree, Your Highness. Having been trapped for days, Qingyan troops must be anxious and less vigilant. So it is the best time to launch the attack!”
“Truly. Our troops have had enough rest these days and are energetic enough to defeat Qingyan troops on the hop.”
“Right! Your Highness, please issue an order.”
Desperate to start the war, the vice generals discussed, itching to have a go.
“What makes you so sure about that?” Gong Qianyu suddenly asked with a piercing glance at theimpassioned vice generals.
It sent shivers down theirs spines and killed their passion instantly when they took a glance at Vice General Wang sneakily.
Scared of the arrogant crown prince, Vice General Wang threw caution to the wind with a tight frown.
He forced himself to step forward and said word by word for Nanjiang troops, “Your Highness, we’ve kept our eyes on the movement of Qingyan troops during the training. Meanwhile, we’ve made some comparison and analyses. We all come to the conclusion that Nanjiang troops are capable to defeat Qingyan troops now.”
“Do you all think so?” Gong Qianyu said in a low voice when giving a horrible glance at a vice general.
The vice generals trembled with their eyes sparkling and nodded heavily. “Yes…”
“Then lead the elite troops to launch the attack,” Gong Qianyu said indifferently before turning around and walking off.
The vice generals asked with confusion, “Your Highness, you are not going with us?”
The general in chief played an important role at war. Under the lead of incompetent vice generals, the troops were doomed to die.
“It’s none of my business that you want to risk your lives. I don’t want to die for nothing, like all of you,” Gong Qianyu said when he strode forward.
The vice generals immediately turned ghastly pale. They admitted that they were worse in strategy making than Gong Qianyu, but they were also well aware what kinds of wars they should avoid. But Gong Qianyu teased them for being incapable of making tactics.
The vice generals looked up and shot a piercing glare at Gong Qianyu.
Duan Wuluo abruptly turned around and took a glance over them with his sharp eyes. They all looked down so that he couldn’t read their minds.
Duan Wuluo slightly narrowed his eyes. Tactics rather than strength were decisive for Nanjiang to defeat Qingyan troops, in which there were over 200,000 soldiers.
Gong Qianyu turned down the vice generals’ requirement because he didn’t want to sacrifice Nanjiang troops for nothing. However, the vice generals were too eager to succeed. They urged him to start the war and wished to win honors without a thorough grasp of the situation. They even complained that Gong Qianyu didn’t seize the chance. They were way beyond foolish!
It was the right thing that Gong Qianyu left the camp. Or else, he would have been bothered and pissed off by their foolish deeds.
A slim body in light green came into eyes. When Murong Xue landed gently in front of Duan Wuluo, she asked blandly, “Prefect Duan, any ideas?”
It was not appropriate for her, a person from Qingyan, to enter Nanjiang camp directly, so she had to sneak in.
“The vice generals are horribly arrogant. Lucky me. I’m not the general in chief. Or else, I’ll issue an order and kill them all!” Duan Wuluo said in a low voice with a gloomy look. The vice generals must obey orders in any case. They did so when Gong Qianyu refused to start the war, but they were reluctant to do so as Gong Qianyu perceived.
“Were they responsible of guarding the border?” Murong Xue asked with her bright eyes slightly narrowed when looking at the vice generals’ grim faces.
Duan Wuluo nodded, “Yes, they’ve been guarding the border for years and they still will if Qingyan troops don’t invade our lands.”
Having been local despots for years, the vice generals turned to be arrogant enough to retort upon Gong Qianyu’s decision.
Murong Xue said with a grim smile as if she had concerns, “The vice generals’ hometown is the capital. They must have very complicated family backgrounds.”
“I guess,” Duan Wuluo nodded. As male adults, the vice generals had parents, wives and other relatives and clan members. Duan Wuluo added, “Why do you mention that, Miss Murong?”
“Nothing. I just think the vice generals are self-willed and don’t show respects to Gong Qianyu’s decision,” Murong Xue answered casually with a piercing gaze.
With a faint smile, Duan Wuluo said word by word, “Here is the military camp. Military orders can’t be disobeyed. Since Your Highness has issued an order, they don’t dare to disobey even if it’s against their will.”
“Your Highness, bad news!” A soldier ran breathlessly with his face reddened and beads of perspiration forming on his forehead.
Duan Wuluo frowned unhappily. “What makes you feel panicky?”
“Your Highness, Prefect Duan, we’re attacked by Qingyan troops…” the soldier said with an anxious look, gasping for breath.
A gleam flashed across Duan Wuluo’s eyes. “That’s impossible!”
There was a large area of woods with traps inside between the troops of Nanjiang and Qingyan, which was filled with poisonous mist and swamps. Duan Wuluo had witnessed it and tried to find a way out, but he failed quite a few days later.
“It’s true. You can go confirm it if you don’t believe it,” the soldier said word by word with a solemn look.
Duan Wuluo knitted his eyebrows tightly. Perhaps a talent from Qingyan troops had figured out how to get through the woods.
Suddenly, a figure in black flew past Duan Wuluo. It was Gong Qianyu who trotted to the trap jungle with his black sleeves fluttering like petals of a black lotus.
With a sullen look, Duan Wuluo trotted and followed him.
The vice generals looked at one another with the corners of their mouths curled upward proudly before they caught up with Gong Qianyu. The war between Qingyan and Nanjiang was inevitable. Even though Gong Qianyu was unwilling to start the war, he had no choice but to fight back under Qingyan troops’ attack.