Chapter 1125

Chen Ruoshui hadn't even arrived at Wuxi City when she received news that Wuxi and Sandu's two cities had already been captured, urging her to quicken her march to take over these two cities. Chen Ruoshui, who had been eager and ready to show off her strength, instantly went numb.

"Old Cui, it seems I really don't have the fate to be the main force!" she said with a wry smile to Cui Ying beside her, "By the timeline, Chen Baojia should have just arrived at Wuxi City, yet he already captured the two cities—how did he manage it?"

Before the news of Wuxi and Sandu cities being captured arrived, she and Cui Ying had been discussing how to breach these two cities in the safest and swiftest way possible.

Now it's fine—we no longer need to consider it.

Chen Baojia has already very thoughtfully resolved her worries.

Cui Ying said with a wry smile: "It's not that the general lacks this fate; it's simply that General Chen Baojia is too formidable in battle. The lord appointed him as vanguard, and I had already suspected that when he cleared paths through mountains, he might not be able to resist the urge to stir things up, striking at some city's enemy troops."

"But I never imagined he would strike so decisively—actually flattening Wuxi and Sandu's two cities in such a short time. How he did it, I still can't figure out; it's utterly incomprehensible. Judging by the timeline, he seems to have captured the cities through forced marches."

"But while marches can be forced, how can sieges and camp breaches be done by forced march? This makes me think—I truly cannot imagine it. Unless the defenders of these two cities didn't want to live, actively sticking their heads out for General Chen Baojia to chop off."

Chen Ruoshui pondered for a long moment, then suddenly said: "Could it be that our army is now too strong?"

"Our army has actually always been quite strong, but the lord has always believed we are still far from true elite troops." Cui Ying said slowly.

He doesn't know what Chen Wuji means by elite troops, but based on his experience, the armies of Nan Jun now all bear the appearance of elite troops.

After everyone completed their martial training, they can even be considered as standing at the peak of today's elite troops.

"No, what I mean is, our several military units have now all completed the full transition to martial artists, so martial artists besieging cities will naturally be easier." Chen Ruoshui said, "If thousands of internal-strength martial artists launch a surprise assault, they should be able to capture a city in a short time, right?"

Cui Ying startled, then said: "Certainly can!"

"Moreover, given General Chen Baojia's temperament, he likely wouldn't use stealth tactics but would instead storm the city by force. With nearly thirty thousand troops, even if only half were deployed, General Chen Baojia could, without any siege equipment, in an extremely short time, slaughter Wuxi and Sandu cities."

"Martial artists who have reached internal strength, though they cannot fly, can leap onto city walls with borrowed force—this is easy. I fear Lady Li Na, the lord, has not yet realized our army's true strength after the martial artist transition, which is why she remains so cautious in deploying troops."

Chen Ruoshui shook her head: "The lord will not overlook this."

"The lord has always been cautious in military affairs; perhaps this is a trial, using these five cities to test our various units' true strength under the full martial artist condition, as well as tactical coordination."

"After all, our several units now consist entirely of martial artists; old tactics no longer apply, so we must also transform our previous fighting methods to adapt to the current situation."

Cui Ying nodded, then suddenly realized: "So, the lord deliberately didn't inform us in advance, just to see how we would act on our own. These five cities are not only meant to intimidate Jiannan and Shangfang's two commanderies, but also to test us?"

"I think that's exactly it! Even if the lord truly overlooked this, there's still Mr. Xu and others—those people are as sharp as anything, how could they miss this issue!" Chen Ruoshui wore a look of self-reproach.

"The lord never overlooked it, but we... seem to have overlooked it, failing to realize we are no longer as we were before, still marching by the old methods."

Cui Ying smiled wryly and nodded: "Seems to be the case."

"After becoming martial artists, the soldiers' combat power and endurance have greatly improved in all aspects; we should no longer march by the old speed, but can try to squeeze out the soldiers' limits, then formulate a new marching plan according to the new circumstances."

"This is probably the gap!" Chen Ruoshui sighed lightly, "Chen Baojia surely realized this issue long ago and has already adjusted his marching style and siege tactics."

"Looks like it is!"

Chen Ruoshui curled the corner of her mouth, "Cui Commander, issue the order to march at full speed. Although we won't get to fight, the new marching method and siege tactics still need to be tested."

"Yes!"

……

When Chen Ruoshui arrived at Wuxi City, another intelligence report arrived from the front.

Zhangde had fallen; since Chen Ruoshui's unit was currently the closest unit, Chen Baojia personally wrote a letter asking Chen Ruoshui to dispatch one or two reliable officers to lead troops northward to garrison Zhangde.

Upon receiving this news, Chen Ruoshui's mindset instantly balanced.

She sent someone to hurriedly summon Cui Ying and Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chao is a deputy general under Lü Ji's command.

Not long after, the two received the news and hurried to Chen Ruoshui's temporary residence at the Wuxi City General's Mansion.

"Both of you, there's new intelligence from the front—it's Chen Baojia's personal letter." Chen Ruoshui raised the letter in her hand, "Zhangde City has fallen; Chen Baojia has very subtly asked us to detach part of our forces to garrison Zhangde. Which of you two is interested?"

"General Hu Bugui will also be beating his chest and stamping his feet—he's still behind us!" Cui Ying laughed.

"He has more troops and more supplies; even if he realizes his unit is no longer as before, he probably won't get anywhere fast—slowness is certain." Chen Ruoshui said, "So, tell me, which of you wants to help General Chen Baojia with this?"

Jiang Chao said: "General, I suggest leaving sufficient garrison forces at Wuxi and Sandu's two cities, and we all march north. According to General Chen Baojia's current speed, Generals Hu Bugui and Wu Bu Yong likely won't have much chance to shine."

"General Chen Baojia clearly means: having taken one city, he'll just casually take the others too—these five cities will likely all become his objectives."

"I agree!" Cui Ying said.

Chen Ruoshui thought, and it seemed so too.

"It really seems to be this—let me arrange it; we'll march north tomorrow!"

"Understood!"

……

Central Army.

Chen Wuji stared at the battle report sent from the front, his whole body feeling a bit dazed.

"In the past half month or so, this Chen Baojia fellow actually captured five cities..."

Chen Wuji didn't know for a moment whether he should be happy or speechless.

As the vanguard who opened the way, he actually captured all the target cities, leaving the three following armies wondering what to do.