Chapter 434: Do Not Judge a Book by Its Cover

The listeners subconsciously straightened their backs, He Lingchuan included, but everyone simultaneously wore a look of bewilderment. Only General Nanke shouted, "Good, good! I think it's good!"

Wen Daolun couldn't help but laugh: "The General's plan is excellent!"

General Nanke gave a thumbs up: "This way, we don't have to wait for the Yuan Nation Emperor's orders; we can leave whenever we want. General Hong is right—we won't accept any of the choices they give us!"

Zhong Shengguang glanced at him, a hint of a smile in his eyes: "The method is not bad; it's worth careful consideration."

Zhao Xianhe couldn't help but say: "Wait a moment, didn't General Hong conclude that we must stay to guard the wasteland and cannot return to our country?" What was the meaning of this? Ling Zhongshui had always been at odds with him, and at this moment, he spoke sarcastically: "So, does Magistrate Zhao want to stay or return?"

"My departure or stay is decided by Commander Zhong." Zhao Xianhe raised his long eyebrows, paused, and added, "The capital secretly sent me a secret order, asking me to volunteer to lead troops to return east along the Jin Xi Corridor, promising me promotions and honors upon my return. I have already reported this matter to Commander Zhong."

Ling Zhongshui was furious: "The Emperor still wants to repeat his old tricks, to take away another one of our Deputy Commanders and tens of thousands of elite troops?!"

The other generals were equally indignant.

The Emperor had no intention of letting Zhong Shengguang return, but he hoped that the elite troops honed in the Northwest Wasteland could be transferred back to the country to stabilize his reign, which was why he sent the secret letter to Zhao Xianhe.

While everyone was condemning the situation in a clamor, Zhong Shengguang tapped the table and said sternly: "Enough, my mind is made up."

Once these four words were spoken, the others fell silent. No one here could shake a decision already made by Commander Zhong.

No matter how many questions they had, they could only swallow them.

"We shall proceed according to General Hong's plan."

Since he had set the direction, the generals began to brainstorm and discuss various details around it.

It was truly a multitude of matters, down to the smallest detail.

He Lingchuan listened attentively, only then realizing how much preparation was needed to fight a war.

It was more complex than he could have imagined.

War is a ledger. And no matter how thorough the pre-war preparations are, they are actually far from enough.

Not to mention that Zhong Shengguang's troop deployment this time was a spur-of-the-moment decision, fast and urgent.

The moment to test Panlongcheng had come again.

After sorting all these out, over an hour had passed. Zhong Shengguang poured a whole cup of hot tea to moisten his throat before exhaling: "In short, this is a tremendous opportunity. Now, let's distribute the tasks."

It wasn't until the sun set that the lights in the Gan Ge Hall were extinguished.

After the meeting, the officials left in a hurry, some to make preparations, others to go home for a meal.

Everyone took the pre-expedition meal very seriously, and most wanted it to be quite sumptuous.

Wen Daolun was going home to eat. As he walked to the door, he smiled at He Lingchuan: "You've worked hard, standing here all day with us old men."

He Lingchuan shook his head: "I was deeply shocked."

He had almost no experience in leading troops in battle, and this kind of eavesdropping was extremely beneficial to him.

He observed Wen Daolun carefully. This strategist, whom Zhong Shengguang relied on heavily, smiled very kindly, as if he had already walked out of the grief of losing his son, but there were a few more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his eyes were a bit cloudier, and there were a few more strands of white hair at his temples.

"It's this late, is there anyone at home waiting for you to eat?"

He Lingchuan said honestly: "No. I originally wanted to go to the Wenxuan Pavilion, but I was summoned by General Hong to stand guard."

"Is that so? That means you are highly valued." Wen Daolun patted his arm, "Keep up the good work, young man, I think highly of you."

For a closed-door meeting of this level, only the personal guards most trusted by Zhong Shengguang and General Hong were qualified to stand guard.

Otherwise, if a single word of the secrets here leaked out, it would cause a stir.

At this time, Zhao Xianhe walked over and called Wen Daolun to leave together. The latter then said to He Lingchuan: "I'll be going first."

Zhao Xianhe's gaze also swept over He Lingchuan, without lingering.

After Wen Daolun left, He Lingchuan's gaze fell on Zhong Shengguang and General Hong, who were passing by behind him.

After experiencing the illusion of the Yuan Nation ruins, he felt more and more that there were even more mysteries surrounding Zhong Shengguang, and his relationship with the god Mitian was also baffling.

Now, where did Commander Zhong hide the Great Fanghu?

Are all the consequences resulting from offering sacrifices to gods this complicated?

Sensing his gaze, General Hong suddenly said: "What are you looking at?"

Even through the mask, He Lingchuan could feel her gaze fixed on him. At this time, the people in Gan Ge Hall had almost all left, so he answered directly:

"If we proceed according to your plan, and the Emperor still orders a relocation, what should we do?"

When he said this, Zhong Shengguang and General Hong looked at each other, knowing he had grasped the line of thought.

General Hong seemed to laugh twice: "What's wrong with relocating?"

"It's not easy to completely open up the road back east." He Lingchuan said bluntly, "Otherwise, we could have returned east long ago, why wait until now?"

Zhong Shengguang stared at him and said: "Do you think General Hong's proposal is inappropriate?"

"What if it doesn't go as planned?"

"The worst result is just returning without success, why can't we bear that?" Zhong Shengguang smiled, "Do you think we have never lost a battle?"

"Military situations are ever-changing; the greatest taboo is seeking perfection." He said word by word, "There is no such good thing in the world."

He Lingchuan lowered his head: "I have been taught."

"Go back, spend more time with your family tonight." Zhong Shengguang said, "We are about to set off, and this battle is of vital importance."

"Yes."

It was already dark when he left Gan Ge Hall, and the Wenxuan Pavilion was closed, so He Lingchuan had to walk back with two books in his arms.

On the way, he took a detour to the South Gate Square to visit that Juluo tree.

The small tree was growing well, oily green, with a nest of sparrows in its crown and a new branch growing on the main trunk.

Compared to its abrupt appearance, its performance now was too ordinary, as if there was no difference between it and an ordinary tree.

What did the Great Fanghu want with a Juluo tree? He Lingchuan could never figure it out.

Since he was already here, he simply went to the Shuanghe Restaurant for a sumptuous dinner. It was still bustling with noise, and everyone was laughing and talking, completely unaware that a new major battle was about to begin.

This time, it was Panlongcheng that initiated it.

In the middle, several comrades-in-arms came over to drink, one of whom was Duan Xinyu, who had explored the Flesh Fortress with He Lingchuan.

By this time, Duan Xinyu was already married, and his new wife was the girl who had been angered by He Lingchuan's remark, "You're either stupid or dull."

Duan Xinyu's married life was quite happy, and his young wife would gnash her teeth whenever He Lingchuan was mentioned, which made him feel very comfortable. Therefore, he was quite enthusiastic when he saw He Lingchuan, grabbing him and thanking him repeatedly.

He toasted a few cups, others toasted a few more, and He Lingchuan had to extend this meal to two hours.

After all, he knew very well that after the next long-range raid, some people might not be around anymore.

Returning home, as soon as he pushed open the door, he saw the light coming through the low wall: the neighbor's lights were on.

Sun Fuling was back?

He Lingchuan hurriedly washed his face and rinsed his mouth with clear water, smoothed his hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, and then leaned over the low wall to tap on the tiles:

"Is Teacher Sun at home?"

"Not here."

"..."

With a creak, Sun Fuling pushed the door open and came out, dressed in white, her long hair half-damp.

She looked up at He Lingchuan, the moonlight shining on her beautiful face like grease jade, hazy and glowing.

He Lingchuan immediately remembered the moonlight that night at the Yuan Nation ruins, also shining brightly like this.

"What's the matter?" Sun Fuling waited for him for a long time, and had to ask.

"I thought you weren't here tonight."

"I was supposed to be on duty at the Shumin Academy tonight, but an order from the Commander came in the evening, requiring the academy to take a temporary holiday, so I came back." Sun Fuling sighed, "Is there going to be a war again? Every time before a big battle, the students are sent home to reunite with their families."

He Lingchuan nodded.

"Then when are you leaving?"

"Very soon, maybe tomorrow, or in two days." He Lingchuan scratched his head, "It depends on Commander Zhong's order."

The wall fell into silence.

After a long time, Sun Fuling said "Oh": "So soon?"

"Yeah." He Lingchuan stared straight at her, "See me off?"

He pointed to the wine jar in the corner of the yard. Sun Fuling shook her head: "You smell too much of alcohol, be careful not to be unable to get up tomorrow if you drink too much. Let's replace wine with tea."

As she spoke, she returned to the room to get tea leaves and an iron pot, and jumped over the wall directly.

"This was sent by a student. Her family are tea farmers in the Red Silk White Garden, and they gave me the first batch of spring tea picked from the garden this year."

He Lingchuan moved the stove to the yard and boiled water to make tea.

"You must have heard a lot of rumors about the relocation order in the city these past few days, right?"

"Yeah, everyone is discussing it." Sun Fuling sat down, "I didn't expect the Emperor to be willing to take the risk of accepting foreign aid. It clearly hasn't reached the point of exhaustion."

"Not yet?"

"Not yet, there are at least two routes of loyalist armies near the capital, and the Imperial Guard." Sun Fuling said lightly, "They boast of unparalleled combat power, but I don't think they are that great, otherwise why not use them at this time?"

"After all, it's the capital, these forces have to guard the capital's fortresses, they can't actively go out to suppress the enemy, right?"

"These armies haven't fought a war in twenty or thirty years, who knows if they can still fight."

He Lingchuan knew that the residents of Panlong, including her, all hated their motherland for not living up to expectations, so he hurriedly changed the subject and picked some interesting news to talk about.

Sun Fuling also shared the daily life in the Shumin Academy.

As they chatted, the night grew deep.

The street preaching had ended long ago, the road outside was quiet, and no footsteps had passed by for a long time.

Just at this moment, strange noises came from the neighbor's house.

The commoner's bungalow was too small, and the soundproofing was poor, so the noise leaked into their ears without missing a bit.

He Lingchuan remembered the ventriloquism performance he heard in Shi Huan City, which didn't seem as intense as this. The neighbor's bed wasn't of very good quality either, creaking and groaning desperately.

Sun Fuling's smile slowly faded.

Creak, creak.

The two looked at each other in silence, neither knowing what to say.

Creak, creak.

Why pick this night? He Lingchuan listened carefully for a few times, the guy next door had good waist strength, not as short and stubby as he looked on the surface.

Do not judge a book by its cover.

I see some people saying that the points given for long reviews are not generous enough, only a few thousand. Ahem, this can only be blamed on Dian Niang; the identification and distribution of rewards are handled by Dian Niang, it's a benefit it gives to everyone, not paid by the author. So you can fleece it as much as you want, it doesn't hurt me.

Currently, there are not many comments, and everyone who writes one gets a share. A long review is worth a few dozen yuan, which is equivalent to Dian Niang paying out of its own pocket to treat everyone to read books for a month or a month and a half, which is actually quite cost-effective.

I see many children with strange ideas in the chapter comments, why not come out and show off?

Remember to add the title 【Immortal Pointing the Way】, there is a special "Title" tag in the bottom right corner of the input box, once added it will be bold, if you have already posted without a title, just modify it.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 435 =====