Prince Xiping reclined on his chair, covered with white tiger fur, his deerskin boots resting atop the tiger’s head.

Previously, the Great Zhou cities in Yan territory experienced plague, which then triggered civil unrest. The troops that came were likely meant to suppress the civil disorder. Later… I heard that the Great Zhou’s Loyal King and the Great Zhou Emperor split their forces, heading to various cities to pacify the people. After that… this Great Zhou Emperor left behind some soldiers at each city he passed through to assist the local garrison commanders in maintaining order!” The strategist dressed in black robes spoke slowly. “The Great Zhou cities within Yan territory have benefited from proper measures taken by Shen Tianzhi, the Minister of Works, and the plague has been stabilized! Those soldiers should also return to Shequ and go back to Great Zhou together with the Great Zhou Emperor!”

“Indeed, there’s no reason to scatter battle-hardened soldiers and leave them in cities that belong to Yan but are merely lent to them for governance!” Prince Xiping’s lips curved upward as he leaned forward, extending his hands to warm them over the brazier. “Unless… The Great Zhou has already made plans that even if they lose the wager, they won’t honor it, and still intend to use force to seize Yan territory! Therefore… taking advantage of this opportunity, they’re scattering these elite soldiers across various cities, waiting for the day when…”

The black-robed strategist lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, then spoke: “What Your Majesty suspects is not without possibility!”

“But regardless, we cannot let the Great Zhou Emperor reach Shequ, or even get close to Shequ!” Prince Xiping raised his head to look at the black-robed strategist kneeling at the lower seat. “If the Great Zhou Emperor reaches Shequ or gets too close to it, it would be extremely easy for him to send people to pass information, which would be disadvantageous to us!”

“Then does Your Majesty plan to immediately deploy troops for an ambush?” the black-robed strategist asked.

“I’ve already chosen the ambush location!” Prince Xiping was not a weakling who relied solely on strategists. He withdrew his hands that had been reddened by the charcoal fire and slowly stood up. “Deploy immediately. We must reach the ambush point before dawn tomorrow and catch the Great Zhou Emperor completely off guard.”

The black-robed strategist also stood up, supporting himself against the table in front of him, and asked: “How many troops does Your Majesty plan to deploy?”

Prince Xiping said, “All of the Xiping Army will depart!”

The black-robed strategist’s eyes widened: “Your Majesty… do you mean to send out the thirty thousand soldiers who haven’t been reported to the court as well? That would be fifty thousand soldiers!”

Prince Xiping nodded: “When dealing with someone like the Great Zhou Emperor, how can we be careless? All will depart. In this battle, I will personally lead the troops… seeking only to kill the Great Zhou Emperor! At any cost!”

The black-robed strategist could see Prince Xiping’s determination to kill the Great Zhou Emperor. He bowed deeply to Prince Xiping: “Your Majesty fights for Yan. The late emperor’s spirit in heaven will surely protect our Yan soldiers. Your Majesty will surely return triumphant!”

Prince Xiping had truly rolled through mountains of blades and seas of fire. When chaos erupted in the Yan imperial palace years ago, it was Prince Xiping who protected the late emperor’s escape from the palace. Before Nanyan was recovered, Prince Xiping had been stationed at the Yan border, fighting many battles against Nanyan over the years. But as time went on… seeing other vassal princes hiding behind the lines, each growing “fat and lazy,” Prince Xiping’s mindset changed. He became increasingly reluctant to sacrifice his subordinate soldiers, not only hiding troops but also fighting battles with decreasing effectiveness.

But this time was different. After killing the Great Zhou Emperor… after killing the Regent, with the emperor still young and himself holding military power, becoming a regent was still feasible. Naturally, he had to reveal his full hand.

The Great Zhou Emperor’s reputation was too great – invincible in battle!

These four words alone were enough to make countless Yan vassal princes tremble with fear. If he could kill this invincible Bai Qingyan, no one would dare to confront him head-on anymore.

That night, Bai Jinzhi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She simply lifted the bed curtains and got up, took the glass lamp from the high table, came out from her inner chamber, and poured herself a cup of tea.

The tea was cold, but Bai Jinzhi didn’t mind. When marching and staying in tents, conditions were much more difficult than this.

For some unknown reason, Bai Jinzhi had been feeling anxious these past few days – a sensation she had never experienced before.

She touched her forehead: “Don’t tell me I’ve caught the plague?”

Feeling her forehead wasn’t hot, Bai Jinzhi couldn’t sleep anyway, so she changed clothes and prepared to go to the training ground to properly practice the archery that her eldest sister had taught her. It was on the road to Nan Jiang that her eldest sister had picked up the Sun-Shooting Bow this way.

The next morning, the army departed…

Bai Jinzhi hadn’t slept well and rode her horse behind Bai Qingyan’s carriage while yawning, rubbing her eyes with her hands. She should have drunk a cup of strong tea before leaving to at least wake herself up.

“Bai Jinzhi, did you go thieving last night? Your eyes can barely stay open…” Lu Yuanpeng pulled out a cooling balm box from his chest and handed it to Bai Jinzhi. “Apply a little to your temples – it’ll wake you up!”

This cooling balm was a treasure for students who hung their heads from beams and stabbed their thighs with awls while studying. It was made from borneol, bezoar, musk, coptis, and other substances, and was very effective for alertness and mental clarity.

Bai Jinzhi released her reins, used her finger to scoop out a little, and applied it to her temples, then returned it to Lu Yuanpeng. Complaining that it had no effect, she spurred her horse forward to catch up with Bai Qingyan’s carriage and simply climbed into it, planning to curl up inside for a good sleep.

Seeing Bai Jinzhi enter the carriage, Bai Qingyan, who was reading memorials sent by Great Zhou, didn’t look up: “Didn’t you say riding a horse was impressive? Finally willing to get in the carriage!”

“I don’t know what’s been wrong with me lately! I keep feeling anxious in the middle of the night and can’t sleep. Last night I went to practice martial arts, and now I’m exhausted!” Bai Jinzhi rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Elder sister, I want to nap here for a while.”

Bai Qingyan glanced at Bai Jinzhi, who still seemed like a child, and pushed the cup of hot sheep’s milk that Wei Zhong had brought her toward Bai Jinzhi. She dipped her brush tip in the ink on the inkstone and smiled: “Drink this and sleep!”

Liu Pinggao had already sent people ahead to scout the route before departure. They would soon pass through a valley between two mountains. Although it wasn’t wartime, Liu Pinggao was now protecting His Majesty and naturally had to be cautious.

Soon, the forward scouts returned on horseback. Liu Pinggao spurred his horse to meet them: “How is it?”

“Reporting to General Liu, we climbed the mountains to investigate. The snow drifts are very deep. We stabbed our blades down at various points along the route and found no ambushes or bandits. However, we did see some half-leg-deep footprints, and we could vaguely make out that the shoe sole prints were all different.”

Before departure, Liu Pinggao had inquired with local people about whether there were any fierce bandits active near this valley. Lu Yuanpeng had even laughed at Liu Pinggao for being overly cautious, saying that no matter how capable bandits might be, seeing their Great Zhou force of nearly ten thousand elite soldiers, they would have been scared witless long ago. What reason would they have to come out seeking death?

Since they could see that the shoe sole prints were different, it was likely not from standardized military boots, so it was probably those roadside robbers. Seeing their ten thousand elite troops, the bandits would naturally retreat and avoid them.