Mo Li

At the end of October, the Great Chu officially went to war with the northern border. Almost simultaneously, Prince Zhennan of Xiling ordered his son, Zhennan Wang Shizi Lei Tengfeng, to lead 200,000 troops to the southern border adjacent to Nanzhao. In an instant, nations everywhere began mobilizing their forces, and even the Northern Rong, far in the north during its bitter cold season, showed signs of restlessness. Meanwhile, the military exercises that Prince Ding's Estate had been preparing for months also commenced.

Early in the morning, General Zhang Qilan, stationed at the camp thirty li outside Li Cheng, received an order: lead his troops at full speed to occupy the strategic pass at Jian Tianya, fifty li northwest of Hongzhou. The order came so abruptly that there was virtually no time for preparation. Fortunately, the Mo Family Army had always been well-trained, and given the tense atmosphere of recent days, they managed to avoid chaos.

When the order arrived, Zhang Qilan was having dinner with several subordinate officers while discussing military affairs. Glancing at the delicate yet naturally elegant handwriting on the paper, Zhang Qilan leapt to his feet and shouted at his officers, "Pass the order—we break camp and march in half an hour!" Yet he couldn't help but wonder—why did the handwriting look like Wang Fei's?

The officers were stunned, and the bolder ones quickly asked, "General, what’s happening…?"

Zhang Qilan grinned. "It's begun. Lads, give it your all. We’re going to beat that old fox until he cries for mercy."

The men laughed, and the atmosphere in the tent lightened considerably. Zhang Qilan glared and barked, "What are you waiting for? Get moving!"

The officers immediately scattered to prepare their troops. After dismissing them, Zhang Qilan took another look at the letter, wiped his face, and turned to pack his own gear for the march.

"General Zhang, forgive the late-night intrusion," a refined voice said softly from outside the tent. Zhang Qilan froze for a moment before realizing who it was and hurried to greet the visitor. The tent flap was lifted, and the person stepped inside.

Zhang Qilan quickly clasped his hands in salute. "This subordinate greets Wang Fei."

Unlike usual, Ye Li wore a long gray cloak, her hair tied in a man’s topknot. The white hem of a man’s robe peeked out from beneath the cloak. Zhang Qilan was puzzled but still asked, "Wang Fei, you are…?"

Ye Li smiled. "General Zhang is about to set off. Though I lack talent, I offer myself as an advisor. I hope the general won’t refuse."

"You mean… you’re coming with us on the march?" Zhang Qilan exclaimed in shock.

Ye Li nodded. Zhang Qilan hesitated. "But… Wang Fei, your esteemed status—what if something happens…?"

Ye Li twirled a folding fan in her hand and chuckled. "Nothing in this world is guaranteed, General. Besides, I’ve been on the battlefield a few times. Even if I can’t be of much help, I certainly won’t hold you back."

Zhang Qilan hastily protested, not daring to slight her. He was well aware of Wang Fei’s capabilities—having her assistance would be like gaining an exceptionally skilled strategist and commander. However, her status made him uneasy. Moreover, if they won with her help, even against Lyu Jinxian, it would only mean they had the greater advantage.Ye Li naturally understood the reason for his hesitation and couldn't help but smile. "Actually... General Zhang is at a slight disadvantage in this matter. Do you know who's leading the Western Route Army?" Hearing this, Zhang Qilan suddenly had a bad feeling and tentatively asked, "Could it be...?"

Ye Li nodded with a smile. "Indeed, the commander is Wang Ye (Prince), with Lyu Jinxian as his deputy."

Zhang Qilan's face darkened. Although he was considerably older than Prince Ding, when it came to military strategy, he had to admit he was no match. He had once accompanied Mo Xiuyao on the southern campaign to Nanzhao and never imagined he'd one day face off against him.

Ye Li watched Zhang Qilan with amusement. "General, are you... admitting defeat before the battle even begins?"

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Qilan nodded. "In that case, I'll have to trouble Wang Fei (Princess Consort)." Admitting defeat wasn't an option, so he could no longer afford to stand on ceremony regarding Ye Li's status. Every skilled person counted—even if they couldn't win, he'd make sure to take a chunk out of the enemy. Besides... the thought of facing the prince in battle was strangely exhilarating.

Ye Li smiled faintly. "No need for formalities. I'm Chu Junwei. You may call me by my name."

Half an hour later, the army was indeed ready. Night had already fallen, but the troops prepared for a forced march with soldiers gagged and horses muzzled. Li Cheng was a full three hundred li from Jiantian Cliff. While the Black Cloud Cavalry could manage it, expecting the regular Mo Family Army troops to cover that distance in a day was impossible.

As the army set out, the officers accompanying Zhang Qilan noticed a young man in a gray cloak whose features were indistinguishable in the darkness. "General, who is this...?"

Zhang Qilan's expression twisted slightly as he replied gravely, "This is my strategist. Where's Feng Zhiyao?" Feng Zhiyao was also on the list of commanders for this exercise, but the Third Master Feng, who usually stayed close to Mo Xiuyao, had unfortunately been assigned to the opposing side. Yet Zhang Qilan hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since the start.

Ye Li said quietly, "Feng San has already gone ahead."

Zhang Qilan paused, then quickly understood. With their force of over ten thousand, it was impossible to reach Jiantian Cliff undetected by Prince Ding. Worse still, one of the Western Route Army's units was stationed along their only path to the cliff. The prince certainly wouldn't let them pass unhindered. Having Feng Zhiyao lead the Black Cloud Cavalry ahead to clear the way was far better than being ambushed upon arrival. In the darkness, the group rode forward, followed by the long columns of Mo Family Army soldiers marching double-time.

Western Route Army Camp

Mo Xiuyao, still clad in white with snow-like hair, lounged in the command tent, thoughtfully studying the map before him. Lyu Jinxian, seated nearby, said, "Wang Ye, Zhang Qilan comes from the Black Cloud Cavalry and is known for his speed. They've likely already broken camp and set out."

Mo Xiuyao nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Even at their fastest, they only have ten thousand Black Cloud Cavalry. Thinking they can seize Jiantian Cliff from us with just that is wishful thinking."Lyu Jinxian nodded, frowning as he said, "Although we have fifty thousand Black Cloud Cavalry under our command, our regular forces are clearly weaker than the enemy's. While the Black Cloud Cavalry excels in swift assaults and breaking through defenses, they are somewhat lacking in defensive capabilities. Even if we manage to seize Jiantian Cliff first, holding it against an attack from a hundred thousand Mo Family Army troops with just fifty thousand Black Cloud Cavalry would be quite difficult."

Mo Xiuyao smiled at Lyu Jinxian and asked, "What’s the matter? Is General Lü afraid of Zhang Qilan?"

Lyu Jinxian’s expression changed, and he straightened his chest. "Who’s afraid of him? Wang Ye, rest assured, this general will defend Jiantian Cliff to the death!"

Mo Xiuyao waved his hand dismissively. "No talk of death. Don’t forget, Jiantian Cliff isn’t our final objective. If we exhaust all our forces there, how will we fight the battles that follow?"

Lyu Jinxian looked somewhat embarrassed and asked, "Does Wang Ye have a plan?"

After a moment of contemplation, Mo Xiuyao said, "Zhang Qilan will undoubtedly rush to Jiantian Cliff with all his might. There’s no need for us to hurry there either. After all, we can move faster than him. Let’s slow them down along the way. Also... set up a defensive line twenty miles ahead of Jiantian Cliff. Even if we ultimately can’t hold the cliff, we should at least deplete half their forces."

"This subordinate understands," Lyu Jinxian replied with a nod. Mo Xiuyao nodded in satisfaction. "Then Jiantian Cliff is entrusted to you." Hearing this, Zhang Qilan couldn’t help but freeze. "Entrusted to me? Then what about Wang Ye—?" Mo Xiuyao gave a faint, enigmatic smile. "That’s a secret..."

The Eastern Army’s march was far from smooth. By noon the next day, the troops encountered the first defensive line set up by the enemy, and Feng Zhiyao, who had supposedly gone ahead to clear the path, was nowhere to be seen.

The enemy’s blocking force wasn’t large—just two or three thousand men. On open ground, the hundred thousand-strong army could have trampled them underfoot. But here, the winding mountain paths created a bottleneck, making it nearly impossible to break through. Zhang Qilan was so furious he cursed Lyu Jinxian as shameless and despicable.

Yet no matter how shameless the enemy was, the battle had to be fought, and Zhang Qilan was no reckless brute who only knew how to shout and curse. He immediately dispatched a detachment to flank the enemy from the rear, attacking from both sides. Even so, they lost nearly three to four hours dealing with this obstacle. By the time they encountered two or three more similarly treacherous blockades along the way, Zhang Qilan had already realized that Lyu Jinxian was deliberately trying to delay them.

Ironically, such an obvious and straightforward stratagem was impossible to counter. Even knowing that Lyu Jinxian had set up ambushes to stall them, they had no choice but to press forward along this path—because taking a detour would only cost them even more time.

The ultimate objective of this military exercise wasn’t Jiantian Cliff, but a small town dozens of miles away from it. The town was garrisoned by forty thousand troops, and the Western Army, led by Mo Xiuyao, was tasked with capturing it. Ye Li and Zhang Qilan, on the other hand, were to reinforce the town and annihilate the Western Army.

Jiantian Cliff, however, was the most critical location, as both the Eastern and Western Armies had to pass through it to reach the town. If Mo Xiuyao had enough troops, he could have simply charged through Jiantian Cliff and taken the town directly. But his Western Army consisted of only fifty thousand Black Cloud Cavalry and forty thousand Mo Family Army troops, while the Eastern Army had ten thousand Black Cloud Cavalry and a hundred fifty thousand Mo Family Army soldiers, including the city garrison.The current defending general of the small city was also not to be underestimated—it was the veteran General Yuan Pei, former garrison commander of Jiangxia City, who was exceptionally skilled in defensive warfare within the Mo Family Army. Therefore, if Mo Xiuyao were to deploy all his forces for the siege and failed to capture the city within three days, the Western Route Army would find itself encircled by over a hundred thousand Mo Family troops. Thus, he had no choice but to leave a portion of his forces under Lyu Jinxian's command to slow down the enemy reinforcements, though this inevitably weakened the strength of his siege forces.

Originally estimated to take three days, the Eastern Route Army's journey was delayed by ambushes along the way, taking a full five days to reach a small town twenty li outside Jian Tianya. Seeing the enemy's formidable formation on the hillside—flags fluttering and blades gleaming coldly—Zhang Qilan gave a cold laugh and ordered his troops to set up camp on the spot. His subordinate generals, eager for battle after days of pent-up frustration during the march, clamored for immediate engagement. Zhang Qilan waved his hand to silence their requests—attacking head-on in broad daylight while the enemy held the high ground would be suicidal.

"What does Mr. Chu think?" Zhang Qilan turned to ask Ye Li, who sat quietly to the side.

The others also quieted down and turned their attention to the white-robed young master. Though many in the army had seen Ye Li before, few were familiar with her. Dressed in male attire and slightly disguised, she rarely spoke, so none of the generals recognized this quiet young man as their Princess Ding. Of course, this was also due to the generals' pride and disdain for this suddenly "parachuted" outsider, which meant few bothered to engage with her in conversation.

"General Lü seems intent on blocking us outside Jian Tianya. By now... Prince Ding must have already led his troops to attack the city," Ye Li mused. Someone below couldn't help but scoff—anyone could say that. The current situation made the enemy's intentions obvious. However, Zhang Qilan pondered thoughtfully, "Mr. Chu means... Prince Ding isn't at Jian Tianya now? If it's only Lyu Jinxian... he likely doesn't have many troops. Perhaps I could break through Jian Tianya within three days."

Ye Li shook her head. "At what cost in casualties? Jian Tianya is called a natural stronghold precisely because it's easy to defend and hard to attack. If we exhaust our forces here, what will we have left to reinforce General Yuan?"

A young officer below couldn't resist interjecting, "But if we don't break through, how do we advance? Taking a detour would take at least seven or eight days. Going south means traversing mountains and rivers—by the time we arrive, who knows if we'll even be fit to fight? Going north leads to vast marshlands we can't cross."

Zhang Qilan looked at Ye Li and asked, "What does Mr. Chu suggest?"Ye Li pointed at the map on the table and said, "General Yuan excels at defending cities. Even Prince Ding might not be able to breach the walls in a short time. My idea is... to completely annihilate the troops at Jiantian Cliff." Everyone was startled. Zhang Qilan frowned and said, "But the time it would take... What if we can't reinforce in time and the city falls..." Without batting an eye, Ye Li replied calmly, "If it falls, we'll just take it back." A deputy general hesitated, "But... once the city is breached, the exercise will be over." Ye Li said indifferently, "Unless one side surrenders or both are severely weakened, it's not over. Do reinforcements turn back just because a city is taken by the enemy in real battles?" The group fell silent, deep in thought.

After a long silence in the tent, Zhang Qilan slapped the table and stood up. "Good! We'll follow Mr. Chu's plan. The success of this operation is in your hands, Mr. Chu. Do you have a strategy to break the enemy?" Ye Li smiled at Zhang Qilan's eager expression and slowly said, "Still thinking."

"......"

Nights on the battlefield were never peaceful. Dark nights with high winds were perfect for killing and arson—this held true even during exercises. So when Ye Li was awakened for the third time that night by noises outside, it wasn't entirely unexpected. She got up, dressed, draped a cloak over her shoulders, and stepped out of the tent. Qin Feng immediately appeared at the entrance. "Young Master." Ye Li frowned slightly. "Why aren't you resting?" Qin Feng replied, "Wei Lin is resting now. He'll relieve me in an hour." This time, Ye Li hadn't brought Zhuo Jing or Lin Han but had chosen Qin Feng and Wei Lin instead. With Prince Ding, the king, and the city's generals all absent, Zhuo Jing and Lin Han had stayed behind to assist Xu Qingchen. Ye Li said, "Both of you should rest. Just assign two random guards for night duty. There are important matters tomorrow." Qin Feng shook his head. "This subordinate will rest soon. It won't affect tomorrow's tasks."

Knowing persuasion was futile, Ye Li didn't press further. Curious, she looked toward the flickering lights in the distance and asked, "Whose men are causing that commotion?"

Qin Feng suppressed a smile. "A few junior officers under General Zhang. They seem to have planned nightly raids on the forward defenses, each taking turns for an hour before retreating, win or lose. This is already the third wave tonight. The defenders on that hill probably won't get any sleep."

Ye Li raised an eyebrow, listening to the faint sounds of combat in the distance, and chuckled. "Interesting. Was this their own idea?" Qin Feng nodded. "They likely discussed it with General Zhang after dinner. He must have approved, or they wouldn't have acted on their own."

It seemed Qin Feng had some fondness for these impulsive young men. Though he didn't defend them outright, his explanation made it clear their actions weren't against military rules. Smiling, Ye Li walked out, remarking, "It's good for young people to have their own ideas. Making mistakes in exercises is better than making them on the real battlefield."

"Wang Fei means...?" Qin Feng frowned.

Ye Li said, "A raid or two is fine, but if they keep going like this, do they think Lyu Jinxian is a pushover?" Qin Feng fell silent. Ye Li laughed. "Come, let's go take a look."

Qin Feng hurried after her and asked curiously, "Wang Fei thinks they'll run into trouble?"Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Lyu Jinxian is a seasoned veteran on the battlefield. How could he be toyed with by a few reckless youngsters? If they stopped after one or two attempts, the other side would remain cautious and vigilant, and tonight would probably not be peaceful. But with such repeated tricks, how could Lyu Jinxian not take action? As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little."

"Then..." Qin Feng frowned. "Should we send someone to inform General Zhang?"

Ye Li shook her head. "General Zhang and General Lü have known each other for decades. He must understand him well and will surely be prepared. There's no need for us to meddle. Just wait and see."

As they spoke, Zhang Qilan's hearty voice came from behind. "Hmm? Mr. Chu, you're still up so late. Were you disturbed by those youngsters?" Turning around, they saw Zhang Qilan striding toward them, clad in armor and a battle robe, looking every bit ready for war. Ye Li couldn't help but chuckle. "General Zhang, what brings you here so late?"

Zhang Qilan feigned annoyance. "Those brats have no sense of self-preservation, provoking Old Lü. I have to fetch them back before they lose their limbs."

Hearing this, Ye Li laughed brightly. "In that case, we appreciate your efforts, General Zhang."

Zhang Qilan clasped his fists. "I'll take my leave now."