The capital was over nine hundred li from Yuping Pass.
They covered the distance in just four days, arriving at the front-line camp of Yuping Pass after a forced march.
Along the way, Pei Ji even directly found a post station to swap out the horses for Shen Jing and his companions, ensuring their mounts could keep up with the army's pace.
Their journey primarily consisted of marching, eating, and sleeping.
During their breaks, Pei Ji would also impart knowledge on troop deployment and formations to Pang Suo, which Shen Jing and the others also listened to.
After several days, the three of them had indeed learned quite a lot.
It had to be said that this old man, Pei Ji, truly possessed a wealth of knowledge.
At dusk, they arrived at Cao Yuan's main camp.
As soon as they reached the camp's entrance, Pei Ji's expression soured.
Upon entering the main camp, Pei Ji looked around, his face growing even uglier.
Upon learning of Pei Ji's arrival with his men, Cao Yuan hurriedly brought several generals to greet him.
Among them, there was even a female general.
Shen Jing also spotted a familiar face.
Ning Ji!
Ning Ji looked at Shen Jing with some confusion, but seeing Pei Ji's expression, he dared not ask too many questions.
Cao Yuan appeared to be in his forties; although he wasn't wearing armor, his body looked exceptionally robust, and a white cloth was wrapped around his arm.
"Greetings, Duke Qi!"
Seeing the Longxiang Imperial Guards accompanying him, Cao Yuan's heart involuntarily tightened.
He had just suffered a defeat; had the Emperor already sent someone to arrest him?
"Let's discuss this inside the main tent!"
Pei Ji had no superfluous words, but his grim face made the hearts of several people even more uneasy.
"Yes!"
Cao Yuan dared not delay, quickly leading the way.
Outside the main tent, Pei Ji, with a dark expression, said, "Shen Jing will enter the tent with this old man. Pang Suo, lead your troops to guard a hundred paces away. Anyone who dares to approach will be killed without mercy!"
With that, Pei Ji, his face dark, strode into the main tent.
The others followed, filing in.
The moment he entered the main tent, Pei Ji suddenly turned around.
Bang!
Without any warning, Pei Ji kicked Cao Yuan to the ground.
This sudden turn of events startled even Shen Jing, who had followed him into the tent.
Shen Jing secretly clicked his tongue, looking at Pei Ji in surprise.
Throughout the journey, Pei Ji had been all smiles and laughter with them, just like an ordinary old man.
He hadn't expected this old man to have such a fiery temper.
Cao Yuan didn't even dare to groan, quickly got up and stood straight, "This humble general is guilty!"
"This humble general is guilty!"
As Cao Yuan spoke, the other generals quickly followed suit, confessing their guilt.
Pei Ji said nothing, kicking each of the generals to the ground, one by one, with only the female general escaping.
However, Pei Ji's decision to spare her alone made the female general feel somewhat awkward.
Pei Ji coldly scanned the group, sharply demanding, "So tell me, where exactly are you guilty?"
Cao Yuan lowered his head, remorsefully saying, "This humble general underestimated the enemy, failed to seize a great opportunity to break through Yuping Pass in one fell swoop, and even fell into an enemy ambush, losing troops and generals. This humble general..."
"Bang!"
Before Cao Yuan could finish speaking, Pei Ji, disregarding Cao Yuan's injuries, kicked him again.
Cao Yuan, despite looking big and burly, was so thoroughly kicked by Pei Ji that he had no temper left; the other generals were all as silent as cicadas in winter.
When Cao Yuan got up again, Pei Ji pointed directly at their noses, scolding them furiously, "Victory and defeat are common in warfare!"
"But look at all of you, one defeat, and it's broken your spines?"
"Look at the morale in this army; this old man is ashamed for you..."
Pei Ji erupted in a furious tirade, scolding them mercilessly.
Honestly, the several men felt quite relieved by Pei Ji's scolding.
Pei Ji's furious scolding meant that he hadn't brought people to arrest them and take them back to the capital for questioning.
However, Pei Ji's scolding also made them deeply ashamed.
Morale!
Pei Ji was not furious because they had suffered a defeat, but because of the morale issue in the army.
Since the defeat, the army's morale had indeed been somewhat low.
After scolding them, Pei Ji, with a dark face, angrily declared, "I'll only give you one day. If, by this time tomorrow, you haven't solved the morale problem, all of you will go feed horses for this old man!"
"This humble general obeys!"
The several men immediately straightened their backs.
Pei Ji coldly scanned them, then asked Cao Yuan, "How are your injuries?"
"It was just a scratch from a stray arrow, nothing serious!"
Cao Yuan endured the pain, patted his injured hand, and then asked, "Has Duke Qi brought us a strategy to defeat the enemy?"
"Hmm!"
Pei Ji pointed at Shen Jing, "This is the strategy to defeat the enemy."
"Ah?"
The several men were stunned, looking at Shen Jing in surprise.
Ning Ji was even more astonished, secretly wondering if Su Yourong's husband was a great talent.
Meeting their gazes, Pei Ji then introduced Shen Jing to them, "His name is Shen Jing, and he is Grand Tutor Su's son-in-law! He says he has a way to breach the walls of Yuping Pass."
"What?"
Cao Yuan exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Shen Jing's arm, "Really?"
"I only have a certain degree of confidence; I can't guarantee that the walls will definitely be breached."
Shen Jing smiled and replied, "Tomorrow, I will first examine the surrounding terrain before I can give a definitive answer."
"That's wonderful!"
Cao Yuan was incredibly excited, his eyes glinting.
"Don't be too quick to celebrate!"
Pei Ji stopped Cao Yuan, "I warn you, if Shen Jing breaches the walls and you still fail to take Yuping Pass, don't blame this old man for being ruthless!"
Cao Yuan nodded heavily, gritting his teeth and growling, "As long as the city walls are breached, if we can't take Yuping Pass, this humble general will offer his head!"
Breach the city walls!
As long as Shen Jing could breach the walls of Yuping Pass, they would surely be able to take it.
"Good, remember your words!"
Pei Ji nodded in satisfaction, "Have someone bring us some food. We'll discuss the rest while we eat!"
"Yes!"
Cao Yuan accepted the order and immediately dispatched someone to prepare food.
During this time, Pei Ji also introduced the several generals to Shen Jing.
"Her name is Liang Hongqiao, and she is one of the few female generals in our army! Her father is Liang Jinzhong; you should have heard of him."
Pei Ji specifically gave a more detailed introduction of the female general, Liang Hongqiao.
Shen Jing suddenly understood!
Wasn't her father the one recruited by his mother-in-law?
"General Liang, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Shen Jing cupped his hands to Liang Hongqiao.
"My father and Madam Su are old friends, so calling me General Liang feels too formal!"
Liang Hongqiao laughed heartily, "Everyone in the army is used to calling me Young Master Qiao. If you don't mind, you can call me that too."
"Alright, Young Master Qiao!"
Shen Jing said, then looked at Ning Ji with a smile, "You suffered a defeat here; you wouldn't blame it on running into us on the road, would you?"
"Nothing of the sort!"
Ning Ji gave an awkward smile, "The defeat was our own incompetence; we don't blame anyone!"
Pei Ji was curious, looking at the two in confusion, "What's going on here?"
Questioned by Pei Ji, Ning Ji immediately felt guilty and quickly gave Shen Jing a look, signaling him not to mention that matter.
Shen Jing understood, smiling, "We happened to encounter General Ning leading his troops to reinforce this area on our way back to the capital. I was thinking that when we entered the capital's city gate previously, the soldiers at the gate avoided You Rong as if she were a plague god, so I just made a joke with him..."
Listening to Shen Jing's words, Ning Ji couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, then cast a grateful look at Shen Jing.
If Pei Ji knew that he had led two thousand elite cavalry to avoid the Su Family mother and daughter, he would probably get another two kicks...