At Yuping Pass, on the gate tower.
After receiving his subordinate's report, Prince Ji arrived at the gate tower.
Prince Ji gazed at the distant encampment, a cold glint in his eyes, then asked Master Leng, who was beside him, "Who do you think the imperial court has sent this time?"
Master Leng smiled and replied, "It's most likely that old fellow Pei Ji!"
This wasn't hard to guess.
There were only so many veteran generals in the imperial court.
Aside from those already in the border army, the only one who could be urgently dispatched to replace Cao Yuan and be escorted by the Dragon Rider Imperial Guards was probably Pei Ji, the Minister of War.
"Hm, I also guessed it was that old fellow Pei Ji!"
Prince Ji nodded in agreement, yet his face showed no trace of panic, instead carrying a hint of a smile, "It seems my imperial brother also knows that those people he planted around me are no longer reliable; he's truly anxious now!"
Speaking of this, the smile on Prince Ji's face deepened.
Did Ye Zhang think he didn't know what tricks he would play?
He knew exactly what kind of person Ye Zhang was!
Three of their six brothers had already died by Ye Zhang's hand!
Ye Zhang simply couldn't tolerate any of his brothers!
He had long anticipated that even if he went to his fief, Ye Zhang would plant spies around him!
The only thing he hadn't anticipated was that Ye Zhang had arranged so many spies around him, some even infiltrating his personal army!
If he hadn't been vigilant, he probably wouldn't even know how he died.
"He has no choice but to be anxious!"
Master Leng smiled, "Once the Qiang people attack Su Prefecture, Xiliang and Yong Country won't miss this opportunity to take advantage of the situation!"
What those in the imperial court understood, they naturally understood as well.
This was the imperial court's lifeline!
They now held the imperial court's lifeline!
Prince Ji smiled, then turned to ask, "How do you think Pei Ji will attack?"
"I don't know."
Master Leng shook his head gently, "Pei Ji's military tactics are beyond my prediction! All we can do now is raise our vigilance, hold Yuping Pass to the death, and not give the imperial army any opportunity! If they want to forcefully take Yuping Pass, they must be prepared for mutual destruction!"
He was still quite wary of Pei Ji.
He knew in his heart that in terms of military strategy, he was certainly no match for Pei Ji.
But they had their advantages.
Yuping Pass was strategically located and difficult to attack, and they had ample military provisions, enough to last a long time.
As long as they remained vigilant and gave Pei Ji no opportunity, they could continue to hold out!
Once the Qiang people sent troops to Su Prefecture, their opportunity would come.
"Mm!"
Prince Ji nodded slightly, then said bitterly, "It's all because of that dog Shen Jing! If I hadn't been forced to raise an army in haste, why would we be so passive now?"
Mentioning Shen Jing, Prince Ji couldn't help but grit his teeth in hatred.
Shen Jing!
Damn Shen Jing!
An insignificant small character, yet he had disrupted all his plans.
Although they still had a chance now, they were ultimately in a passive position.
Their fate was largely in the hands of the Qiang people.
He knew in his heart that if the Qiang people didn't dare to send troops, they would eventually be defeated.
This feeling of having his fate controlled by others made him extremely uncomfortable.
If possible, he wished he could tear Shen Jing into ten thousand pieces!
Thinking of this, Prince Ji suddenly had a wild idea, "What do you say, can we falsely claim to negotiate peace with the imperial court and have them send that dog Shen Jing to me?"
Listening to Prince Ji's words, Master Leng was stunned, then looked at Prince Ji in amazement.
After a long while, Master Leng finally recovered, shaking his head with a solemn expression, "I know Your Highness hates Shen Jing, but in this situation, Your Highness should not be preoccupied with an insignificant small character! As long as we keep defending until the imperial court is besieged on all sides, wouldn't it be as easy as turning over one's hand to get Shen Jing's dog life?"
He didn't know what to say to Prince Ji.
How could a person destined for great things be swayed by an insignificant small person's emotions?
"I understand, I just can't swallow this anger."
Prince Ji's face was grim, and he gritted his teeth, "I never dreamed that my grand plan would be ruined by an insignificant small person!"
If he were bitten by a tiger, he would have nothing to say.
But to be bitten by an ant, to him, was nothing short of an insult.
"This matter is also my fault!"
Master Leng sighed softly, "However, it's useless to talk about these things now! I believe that while we must defend, we cannot always be passive; we must find ways to create trouble for the enemy army!"
"Well said!"
Prince Ji nodded and asked, "Does Master have any brilliant strategies?"
A cold glint flashed in Master Leng's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "We can wear down the enemy army on the front, continue to find ways to damage their morale, and then look for opportunities to break through the enemy from Yinan..."
The imperial army facing them was numerous and well-equipped.
Although they had previously used tactics to inflict losses on the imperial army, the imperial army's combat power was still far superior to theirs.
Now that Pei Ji, that old fox, had arrived, it was basically unrealistic for them to break through the imperial army here.
Since this side wouldn't work, then they would start from Yinan!
As long as they broke through the enemy on the Yinan side, the imperial army on their front would inevitably split their forces to provide support!
By then, they might have an opportunity to break through the main army on the front.
...
At dusk, Shen Jing and his group returned with a large amount of purchased supplies.
To confuse the enemy, Shen Jing even deliberately bought some useless items.
Before they even reached the encampment, they heard a thunderous clamor.
"Are they fighting?"
Du Heng was surprised, listening carefully.
"Fighting my ass!"
Ning Ji said dismissively, confidently, "It must be a shouting match!"
A shouting match was perfectly normal.
It was simply to lower the opponent's morale.
"Let's go, let's listen!"
As soon as he heard that both sides had started a shouting match, Shen Jing immediately became interested.
Imagine the scene of tens of thousands of people cursing at each other; how spectacular that would be!
Soon, enduring the deafening curses, they arrived at the encampment.
As expected, both sides were engaged in a fierce shouting match.
"Pei Ji, Pei Ji, only fit to pull a plow! When it comes to philandering, he's unmatched!"
"Cao Yuan, Cao Yuan, fallen into the abyss! Without courage or strategy, he occupies a position without performing his duties!"
However, although the imperial army clearly had more people, they were significantly weaker in morale, causing their voices to be almost completely suppressed.
"Shameless!"
Hearing the rebels' curses, Ning Ji couldn't help but curse back loudly.
Shen Jing frowned slightly and quietly asked Ning Ji, "What's the situation with the rebels cursing Duke Qi for philandering?"
Ning Ji paused, then looked troubled, "This involves a shameful past incident concerning Duke Qi's deceased wife; I'm not at liberty to speak..."
Deceased wife?
Shen Jing was astonished.
They were even cursing the dead!
Just as Shen Jing was cursing under his breath, Pei Ji, who had learned of their return, rushed over with a panting Cao Yuan.
Both Pei Ji and Cao Yuan's faces were very grim, clearly affected by the rebels' curses.
"Did you buy everything you needed?"
Pei Ji hurried forward to ask.
"All bought!"
Shen Jing nodded.
Pei Ji clenched his fists, growling through gritted teeth, "Then quickly make that thing! I want to tear these beasts to shreds!"
The rebels were cursing him, Pei Ji, but they were humiliating his deceased wife.
This fueled Pei Ji's rage; he just wanted to quickly break through the pass and tear the instigators into ten thousand pieces.
"Duke Qi, there's no need to get angry."
Shen Jing comforted Pei Ji, "We'll just curse them back."
"Do you think I don't want to curse them back?"
Pei Ji panted, "I'd like to curse Prince Ji's ancestors for eighteen generations, but is that possible?"
He wanted to order his men to curse, "Prince Ji, Prince Ji, I'll screw your mother," but could he curse like that?
Although Prince Ji had rebelled, his identity dictated that many offensive words could not be uttered.
But in a shouting match, if you don't curse their mothers or expose their shortcomings, you lose some momentum.
This put them in a very passive position.
"That's not hard at all!"
Shen Jing chuckled, "I'm not good at fighting, but when it comes to cursing, I'm definitely better than all of you! I'll teach you how to curse!"