The Empress’ Livestream

They had limited time, so Jiang Pengji couldn’t possibly spend too long dilly-dallying with the Red Lotus Group. The longer it dragged on, the more detrimental it would be for her.

So… She got an idea…

Jiang Pengji’s eyes twinkled. Wei Ci felt his heart beating. He had a bad feeling.

He knew her all too well. Every time she wore that expression and had that look in her eyes, she was coming up with something bad in her mind.

Yang Si had expected that Jiang Pengji would ask him to come up with a plan.

He naturally wouldn’t have opened his mouth unless he was prepared.

“Look at this place, Magistrate Liu…” Yang Si said as he pointed at the map in the government office. “In my humble opinion, we can launch the attack from here.”

Jiang Pengji looked at where Yang Si pointed and realized that it was a small abandoned town at the border of Chengde County.

On the surface, there didn’t seem to be anything special about the terrain. Had it been, Yang Si wouldn’t have recommended it.

“From here?” she asked.

She furrowed her brows. The rest also deeply pondered Yang Si’s idea.

Like Yang Si, Qiguan Rang liked to employ cunning strategies. Their minds were “in sync,” and he quickly understood Yang Si’s plan.

Yang Si wasn’t aiming for a small town with a weak defense. He was aiming for the mountain trail behind the small town.

Meng Hun looked down, scratching at the flaking dead skin on his hand, occasionally turning his head to talk to Luo Yue. They were experienced and knew that, with their limited knowledge, they weren’t able to provide opinions of much use. But Dian Yan and Li Yun, the two curious youngsters, were different.

In the past six months, Dian Yan had been promoted repeatedly by Jiang Pengji. He had already advanced to the position of lieutenant among the recruits and was considered a hot-shot newbie.

If everything went well, he would lead some troops into the battle against the Red Lotus Group this time around.

But his personality was more reserved and staid, and he kept his questions at the back of his mind, waiting to seek clarification in private.

In comparison, Li Yun was more outgoing. He got along pretty well with everyone present and would ask straightaway if he had any questions.

He said, “Mr. Yang, despite looking hard, I can’t seem to find anything special about this place.”

Yang Si laughed lightly and said, “No, Hanmei, look again at this place. Do you still think that there is nothing special about it?”

He shifted his finger. Just as Qiguan Rang had suspected, Yang Si was aiming for the mountain trail behind the small town.

Li Yun still didn’t understand what he meant. Yang Si explained, “Elite troops alone will not be enough when it comes to conquering the Red Lotus Group quickly and ruining their morale. If the Red Lotus Group is determined to defend one place and consolidate its troops to fight against Magistrate Liu, the longer they drag on, the more detrimental it will be for Magistrate Liu. Furthermore, it is near the New Year, and the slightest setback will severely damage the morale of our troops. Under such circumstances, we can only concentrate our forces to attack one place and surprise them. Only then will we have a high chance of winning.”

Yang Si had a good impression of Li Yun. Previously, the young fella had even woven a warm pair of gloves and a circular neckwarmer for him.

So, Yang Si, who had always been rather reluctant to entertain other people, was surprisingly patient with Li Yun.

He continued, “The mountain trail was first built during the chaotic era of the 16 countries. At the moment, it has fallen into disrepair and is difficult to cross, so it has been abandoned for a good while. People prefer safe and even official roads. Before the official roads were built, the mountain trail connected Fenghu District and the Jinmen District.”

The way the great Xia Dynasty had partitioned the land was similar to the system of prefectures and counties the audience of the livestream knew, but there were differences between the two.

Dongqing, Nansheng, Beiyuan, Xichang, and Zhongzhao. The five countries all claimed to be the rightful descendants of the Xia Dynasty, and many of their systems were continuations from the previous dynasty.

However, they’d modified it in the process as well.

Fengyi County contained Chengan District, Jiaoping District, Maolin District, and Xiangyang District. All of them were in Jiang Pengji’s hands at the moment. Let us waste no more words on them.

Chengde County, which was opposite it, consisted of four districts. They were the Honglian District, Jinmen District, Fenghu District, and Qiuyu District respectively.

The founder of the Red Lotus Group was born in Honglian District, so the cult he founded was named after the red lotus [1].

The small town that Yang Si had pointed out was actually at the borders of Fenghu District and Jinmen District. At first, it had been a simple remote village. As the mountain trail connected the two places and allowed trade activities to take place, it was frequented by businessmen. The village gradually prospered and slowly became a small town.

However, the mountain trail was difficult to pass through. Halfway through the Xia Dynasty, the government chose another place to build the official road, and the mountain trail was gradually abandoned.

Without the economic activity brought about by the businessmen, the once prospering small town started to decline.

In the present, it was bustling with life once more as a sentry post of the Red Lotus Group.

But the mountain trail had long been ignored.

Even though it was still drawn on the map, who would consider it military or commercial purposes?

After Yang Si explained, Li Yun finally understood what he was thinking.

He said, “Mr. Yang, is your plan to launch surprise attacks on Jinmen District and Fenghu District separately using this mountain trail?”

Yang Si shook his head and said, “Even though the Red Lotus Group consists of the uneducated masses, they have plenty of men. If we separate our troops to attack different spots, we might face detrimental obstructions. Based on the situation of the mountain trail, I suggest that we focus on attacking the Jinmen District first. Look at this spot; even though the trail leading to Jinmen District is longer, it is less steep. This can help the soldiers conserve energy, and it would be easier for them to attack later…”

According to his plan, it would be better if they concentrated their troops to launch a surprise attack at one district and only consider the others after conquering it.

They had fewer troops than the Red Lotus Group, so it would be risky to separate their troops.

Li Yun “mhmmed,” then came up with another question. “If we use the mountain trail to get there, what about the siege equipment? Since the mountain trail had been abandoned for many years, it probably isn’t very firm. The soldiers can still cross if they are careful, but if they are carrying scaling ladders or siege engines, it will be dangerous. Without siege equipment, even if we send all 20000 elite troops there, they can still drag the battle on by relying on the city walls.”

Even if they could win, it would probably cost them dearly.

All their soldiers had been well trained and were elites, treasures in the eyes of their generals.

It would be a waste if they died in a siege with no siege equipment.

Seeing as Yang Si had dared to propose such a plan, of course, he had also prepared a reply for that.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly as he turned and faced Jiang Pengji.

He said, “The matter would have to be settled by Magistrate Liu, naturally.”

Li Yun was surprised. “What has this to do with our lord?”

Jiang Pengji raised an eyebrow slightly, her manner calm. Faced with the issue Yang Si had suddenly tossed her, she handled it steadily.

She said, “Just as Hanmei said, it is difficult to transport siege equipment through the mountain trail. If that’s the case, let’s not transport the equipment.”

Li Yun was anxious and hurriedly said, “But, my lord, without siege equipment, how can the soldiers make their way up the dozen-foot tall walls?”

Meng Hun, who was sitting beside Li Yun, quietly tugged at his sleeves, motioning for him to not be so agitated. Only then did Li Yun realize that he had stood up in his agitation, and as a result, he somewhat resembled a stork among chickens.

He blushed and obediently sat back down in his seat.

He apologized, “I forgot myself just now. Please forgive me, my lord.”

Jiang Pengji didn’t fault Li Yun for it. “Hanmei, you are a genuine person, why should you have to apologize for that? You have all probably heard that I planted a spy in the Red Lotus Group. He can help us spread false intelligence. We just need to make the Red Lotus Group believe that we are going to focus on attacking Fenghu County and scare them into deploying the troops stationed near Jinmen County. Then we’ll launch a surprise attack on Jinmen County… The plan has a very high chance of working.”

[1] “Honglian” means “red lotus” in Chinese.