Chapter 577

Chen Wuji repeatedly went over the letters Lu Ping'an had written, examining them carefully several times, then handed them to Chen Li, instructing him to arrange for people to send them out the next day.

Given that it is known that the two Negotiation Colonels of Qingzhou have already been bribed, Lu Ping'an's two letters can be considered cautious, clearly written after careful wording.

In dealing with these two people, Lu Ping'an used completely different means; all the tactics that could be reflected in the letters—drawing big promises, exchanging feelings, sowing discord—he had tried them all.

Regardless of whether these two letters can achieve the result of making these two people surrender, they will certainly cause them to develop suspicions and distrust each other.

Wang Ce hastily finished his dinner, wiped his mouth vigorously with his hand, and with a sense of urgency said to Chen Wuji: 'Chen Jieshuai, I, your humble subordinate, have some ideas about attacking Lu Ping'an; I want to mention them.'

Lu Ping'an, who had been calmly drinking tea, suddenly lifted his head, his face full of bewilderment.

Chen Wuji glanced at him, chuckled lightly, and asked: 'Go ahead and speak!'

'Lu Ping'an came this time with the purpose of allying with the general, so on the surface he must certainly have some trust in the general.' Wang Ce said.

'I, your humble subordinate, suggest that the general send someone to secretly cut off Lu Ping'an's supply line, and then, under the pretext of meeting to drill the Bīngmǎ, move the Bīngmǎ into Lu Ping'an's Daying, incite a camp uprising, and find a pretext to launch an attack.' Wang Ce said.

Chen Wuji gave a slight nod: 'Not bad, continue.'

Upon hearing this evaluation, Wang Ce's confidence surged.

This idea came to him spontaneously while he was just finishing his meal.

In his view, if he cannot quickly display his talent, he fears it will be hard for him to be given important responsibilities in a short time.

Wang Ce does not know exactly how many talents Chen Wuji has under his command, but he is sure the number is not small; to stand out, he must produce some genuine skill.

'As long as a sufficiently large camp uprising is stirred up, the general can openly pressure Lu Ping'an on that pretext; to appease the general's anger, he will inevitably have to kill some people.' Wang Ce continued.

'After that, the general can send people to spread rumors in the army, first to disturb Lu Ping'an's morale; during this period there may or may not be a camp uprising, but it doesn't matter.'

'The purpose of the rumors is merely to throw Lu Ping'an's morale into disarray; the general can send people to secretly get close to Lu Ping'an's commanders, exchange feelings, observe their reactions, and gauge who is dissatisfied with Lu Ping'an and who is truly loyal to him.'

Lu Ping'an listened to Wang Ce's eloquent talk, his expression becoming increasingly amused.

However, his demeanor then became calm again.

It seemed as if he were listening not to his own story, but to that of an insignificant person.

Wang Ce had no idea of Lu Ping'an's true identity; the more he spoke, the more enthusiastic he became, his thoughts flowing smoothly: 'Once we determine who is dissatisfied with Lu Ping'an and who is loyal to him, Chen Jieshuai can consider taking action.'

'Win over those dissatisfied with Lu Ping'an, use them as vanguards to attack those completely loyal to Lu Ping'an; the best time for this is at night or in the early morning, allowing a sudden uprising to catch the enemy off guard and quickly pacify the battlefield.'

Chen Wuji nodded quite satisfied: 'Your tactic is indeed not bad.'

'Thank you for the praise, Chen Jieshuai; I just happened to think of these and threw them out for a brief mention.' Wang Ce modestly said, but the satisfaction on his face was evident and impossible to hide.

'Although the tactic is not bad, it may not be usable for the time being.' Chen Wuji laughed.

'Why?' Wang Ce asked strangely.

Chen Wuji smiled and looked toward Lu Ping'an: 'Old Lu, what do you think of this tactic?'

'Indeed quite good and extremely cunning.' Lu Ping'an shook his head with a light laugh: 'But this young master's information may be delayed; he doesn't know that I have already surrendered to the general.'

Wang Ce:???

What does that mean?!

Chen Wuji laughed and pointed at Lu Ping'an: 'Wang Ce, do you know who this is?'

Lu Ping'an set down his teacup and said solemnly: 'General, perhaps I should introduce myself.'

I am the Lu Ping'an you just mentioned, formerly the Nan Jun Jinglue Shi, now serving as a low-ranking soldier under General Chen's command, temporarily as a staff officer.

Wang Ce's pupils contracted sharply, his gaze incredulous as it swept back and forth between Chen Wuji and Lu Ping'an.

When did this happen?

Hasn't Chen Wuji's great army just arrived at Po Feng Ridge?

How did this battle already end?

How did he fight?!

Wang Ce's mind was full of question marks; he simply couldn't figure it out.

If a large-scale war had broken out, the local populace would certainly have known.

But he hasn't heard any wind of it these past two days, and yet the battle is already over?

Lu Ping'an established two Dayings at Wenkou Town, with reportedly over ten thousand troops; such formidable strength was defeated just like that, and Lu Ping'an even ended up with the same status as him.

This…

How on earth was this accomplished?!

Wang Ce had always considered his talent and strategy absolutely outstanding, but faced with this problem he truly couldn't figure it out; after thinking over many possibilities, none seemed realistic.

'I, your humble subordinate, may I dare ask: how did Chen Jieshuai fight this battle?' Wang Ce couldn't think of an answer, but he really wanted to know the process, so he plucked up his courage to ask.

Lu Ping'an answered on behalf of Chen Wuji: 'Let me explain this; it's not appropriate for General Chen to explain it, so I'll speak. I attempted to assassinate General Chen at night, failed, and then willingly submitted to his command; that's all there is to it.'

Wang Ce:???

He had just gone over possibilities in his mind, but the only thing he hadn't considered was that Lu Ping'an would actually come up with such a muddle-headed idea—could a person really devise such a thing?

Coming up with such a lame idea is bad enough, but he actually went ahead and personally carried out the assassination?

Wang Ce looked at Lu Ping'an with an expression like constipation; this guy is big and burly, indeed big and burly.

'Lu Jinglve deeply understands righteousness and has far-sighted vision!' Wang Ce bowed with clasped hands.

He really didn't know what to say, so he just gave a half-hearted compliment.

Lu Ping'an had actually been sizing up Wang Ce for a while; seeing him as a youth but speaking with such maturity, he had initially thought this kid was the legendary prodigy.

But after listening more carefully, he felt otherwise.

'I also think this is the wisest decision I've made in my life!' Lu Ping'an accepted the compliment openly, and finally asked indirectly, 'Young man, may I ask your age?'

'No need for formalities, I'm already in my thirties!' Wang Ce said.

'Huh? You really don't look it. You have a somewhat enviable build; it would be nice if you were a bit taller.' Lu Ping'an said.

Wang Ce gave a wry smile and said: 'I really don't deserve the Strategist's envy; if I hadn't met Chen Jieshuai, I'd probably be stuck in this body for my whole life.'