Chapter 1086

A person's nature is indeed hard to change, but this matter cannot be taken lightly. In my view, we should still let the Spy Camp go themselves, take a look, and get a clear grasp of everything that needs to be felt out.

Xu Zengyi scanned the crowd, drawing out his tone long and steady: "In any case, the Spy Camp must inevitably head for Hezhou. If General Guo is to raise his lord's banner on the city walls to defend Hezhou, the forces within the city will likely need the Spy Camp to clear them out."

Chu Xiu followed closely: "I believe it's not just the Spy Camp; the Central Army also needs to send a crack unit. This general need not interfere with Guo Jin'ge's normal military orders—only assist. But if some mishap occurs, he can still promptly secure the situation."

"Impossible!" Lu Chuan immediately retorted, "Employ without suspicion, suspect and do not employ. If we send another commander, Guo Jin'ge will surely grow resentful, thinking the Marquis does not trust him."

"Lu Simu is overthinking it." Chu Xiu shook his head. "General Guo's surrender, with the lord sending someone to assist—this has been common practice from ancient times to now, with nothing unreasonable about it."

"This is surveillance!"

"Where does this talk of surveillance come from? This general is a bridge!"

"Enough, let's set this issue aside for now and discuss other matters!" Chen Wuji interrupted the two.

During council meetings, conflicting opinions and noisy arguments had long become the norm.

The one thing Chen Wuji was grateful for was that his advisors still observed a modicum of martial virtue—they wouldn't resort to fists just because words failed, using punches to bolster their arguments.

"The Spy Camp will certainly be dispatched—not only to Hezhou, but also to Jiannan Commandery and Shangfang Commandery!" Chen Wuji said.

"What forces are actually in these two commanderies, and how many troops precisely? If we can't get a clear picture, I won't feel at ease."

"As for who to send to Hezhou, how many, and whether to go south or hold fast—I just suddenly thought: should we ask the person directly involved for their opinion?"

"We should ask!" Xu Zengyi said.

"If Guo Jin'ge chooses to go south, we can later raise sending reinforcements and whether he can hold fast. I also agree with Yuangong's view: we need to dispatch a crack force, which could be done under the name of the Scout Camp."

Lu Chuan this time offered no rebuttal, head lowered, unknown what he was pondering.

Zhao Chen frowned: "My lord, if Guo Jin'ge insists on going south, our army will vainly lose the chance to control Hezhou—this is greatly disadvantageous!"

"Guo Jin'ge will not go south; he should choose to attack!" Lu Chuan suddenly spoke up.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

"Where does Lu Simu's remark come from?" Chu Xiu asked.

Lu Chuan raised his head: "From my understanding of him."

"I just carefully thought it through: given Guo Jin'ge's character, what he now wants is merely a name—the Marquis's name. Once he has that name, what he most wants to do should be to raise the Marquis's banner, crush Hezhou's other forces, and then launch outward campaigns."

"His surrender is his own retreat, and that of his subordinates; otherwise, military morale would waver, and he could accomplish nothing. With a name, military morale becomes usable; with usable morale, Guo Jin'ge's talent gains room to shine—he will not hold fast, nor go south, but will attack at the first opportunity."

"Unless the Marquis explicitly orders him not to act rashly, or to go south."

Chen Wuji clenched and unclenched his palm repeatedly, then asked: "You're this confident?"

"I am willing to stake my position on Guo Jin'ge!" Lu Chuan said in a deep voice.

"Good, then let's proceed in two steps with shěngsuàn!" Chen Wuji declared loudly.

"No need to consider going south anymore—regardless of Guo Jin'ge's opinion, I have decided on Hezhou City. Regardless of his concerns, we will prioritize dispelling them and focus on defensive strategy."

"If Guo Jin'ge already harbors ideas of outward campaign, we must also devise a feasible plan. Additionally, estimate how many troops our army can at most divert for northern reinforcement."

Chen Wuji had thought everyone's opinions would be conservative, but after hearing them all, it turned out he had become the most conservative—where could he even reason this out?

As the lord, he was actually a conservative!

……

The military camp, which had just enjoyed a few days of tranquility, boiled over again due to the sudden news Lu Chuan brought.

That day, Kong Jianshi and Yuan Lao Liu led hundreds of elite Spy Camp troops, disbanding them into dozens of groups heading north to Jiannan Commandery.

Led by Kong Jianshi and Yuan Lao Liu, this was recommended by Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan.

After strolling around outside, these two had become thoroughly convinced.

They recognized their own shortcomings and witnessed the formidable foundation of Ciji Zhai in intelligence, strongly urging Chen Wuji to make full use of former Ciji Zhai personnel.

To this end, they even drafted a proposal: split the Spy Camp into two parts, with Qin Zhanhong and Kong Jianshi each commanding one, and Lu Wanwan and Yuan Lao Liu serving as deputies.

In fact, even without Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan's suggestion, Chen Wuji had already been doing this.

It's just that Ciji Zhai's sphere of influence is too vast, and Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan have always been responsible for specific local affairs, seeing only what was immediately before them, so they hadn't noticed.

After Ciji Zhai and the Spy Camp were thoroughly merged, the Spy Camp already had the rudiments of two divisions, with Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan consistently responsible for Chen Wuji's sphere of influence and the areas about to be used for military action.

Meanwhile, Kong Jianshi and Yuan Lao Liu were responsible for intelligence throughout the Great Yu Realm.

This is somewhat akin to an internal and external distinction.

Chen Wuji had deliberately not informed them of this, having withdrawn these two ladies from the front lines.

Now that they proactively raised the matter, Chen Wuji simply went along with it.

Not long after the Spy Camp departed, Chen Wuji personally wrote a letter to Guo Jin'ge.

This letter gave Chen Wuji no end of trouble to write.

As one who had accepted a surrender, yet seemed to be preparing to find someone to surrender to, he weighed his wording again and again.

Everyone speculated too much, which tangled his thoughts, and he gnawed on his pen shaft, wasting much time and paper, before finally sorting out what was in his mind.

The day after sending the letter, Xu Zengyi alone found Chen Wuji pretending to fish by the riverbank to clear his mind, actually considering Jiannan Commandery.

"My lord, what leisurely elegance!" Xu Zengyi joked, sitting down casually by the river.

Chen Wuji turned his head and laughed: "Sir, how do your words sound like they carry resentment?"

"No resentment—just that your lord's offhand remark yesterday caused some concern." Xu Zengyi said, "I only realized it when I was about to sleep last night, and I couldn't sleep all night."

"What remark?" Chen Wuji was genuinely confused.

"My lord, are you again desiring multi-front campaigning?" Xu Zengyi asked.

"When? What have I ever said like that?"

"My lord, don't play dumb—yesterday you asked how many troops could still be diverted, isn't that exactly what you meant? My lord, you can't keep doing this—those Uyghurs are not the Court Army's trash!"