Chapter 651

Chen Wuji's long‑craved chicken leg mushroom soup was just soaked in broth.

The two brigades of the Zhongjun stayed in Liulin with that tragic, heroic posture—let alone eating chicken leg mushroom soup, he now didn't even have the thought of eating rice.

Upon learning that the Military Merit and compensation for the fallen soldiers had not yet been arranged, Chen Wuji flung his basket aside and returned to the camp.

He personally supervised the calculation of Military Merit, staying busy until late at night without feeling any sleepiness; after finishing, he pulled Xu Zengyi and Hu Bu Gui to start studying the map of Yushan Prefecture and Zhong Qiang's territory.

Chen Wuji felt a surge of anger inside; Xu Zengyi understood clearly—even if he was so exhausted his soul was about to leave his body, he said nothing more, just kept drinking strong tea to forcefully stay awake.

But Hu Bu Gui didn't know what had happened to the two brigades of the Zhongjun in Liulin, nor what Chen Wuji was thinking now; after a while he urged Chen Wuji to rest early, saying the matter of settling the Yushan Prefecture campaign was not urgent at this moment.

Xu Zengyi didn't stop him, thinking it would be best if Hu Bu Gui could persuade him; he also felt it was already late, and after lying on the map for a while, dawn was approaching.

But seeing Hu Bu Gui advise two or three times, Chen Wuji remained unmoved, so Xu Zengyi gave up as well.

He poured Hu Bu Gui a cup of his own strong tea, saying, "General Hu, don't even think about resting tonight—drink some tea to perk up, or better yet, think hard about how we should fight this battle."

Hu Bu Gui suddenly seemed to wake up, glancing at the tea cup on the table, and said, "Military Advisor, what happened?"

Xu Zengyi sighed and recounted to Hu Bu Gui everything that had happened in Yushan Prefecture.

After hearing it, Hu Bu Gui launched into no long speech, not even a sigh; he merely glared with his fierce eyes and snarled, "Damn it!"

Afterward, he lay down on the map and studied it carefully.

His tiger‑wolf eyes stared so intently it seemed he wanted to devour the map.

Chen Wuji's tactics for capturing Zhong Qiang's territory had already been settled.

It was to advance steadily, slowly nibbling away, occupy a place, and establish a military colony there.

What now needs to be settled is how to quickly capture Yushan Prefecture, and where to choose as the first breakthrough for attacking Qiang Land.

Yushan Prefecture borders Qiang Land over a large area, making this position not easy to choose.

The military colony needs rear‑area strength as a guarantee; it cannot become an isolated enclave.

"Commander, how about this place?" Hu Bu Gui jabbed his finger hard onto a spot named Jiazi Ling, saying, "I've been here once before; it's less than fifty li from Jie Jia Zui. If our troops station a force at Jie Jia Zui City, we can support the rear Luggage and Supplies and also promptly aid Jiazi Ling."

Chen Wuji leaned over with a stern face.

Since the news from Liulin City arrived, his face has remained this expression.

Chen Wuji carefully examined the situation around Jie Jia Zui, shook his head, and said, "The area where Jie Jia Zui borders Qiang Land is too large—larger than its border with Yushan Prefecture—leaving it vulnerable on three sides."

Jie Jia Zui's name contains a 'mouth', and its shape also resembles an eagle's beak, arrogantly protruding into Qiang Land, bordering Qiang Land on three sides, almost a semi-encircled state.

It is said that Jie Jia Zui was renamed because the Former Dynasty's Emperor toured this area; previously its name was the same as Jiazi Ling, and it seemed to be a farming tool as well.

Xu Zengyi looked for a moment and said, "My lord, Jie Jia Zui really is a fine place."

If we take all of this surrounding Qiang Land, my lord's worries will be gone; we will station a military colony on each side of Jie Jia Zui, forming a triangular support. No matter where the enemy attacks, the rear will face two reinforcing columns. If the enemy offensive is too fierce, our army can also retreat smoothly through Jie Jia Zui.

Chen Wuji looked again seriously for a moment, nodded, and said, "Then it's settled; let's look at Yushan Prefecture."

Xu Zengyi:?

"My lord, you have no other opinions?"

"No, you're all right; what else could I say?" Chen Wuji said, "After this analysis, Jie Jia Zui is indeed a very suitable choice, so naturally there's nothing more to ponder."

Xu Zengyi: ……

The my lord who no longer speaks nonsense is overly decisive and efficient, leaving him momentarily a bit unaccustomed.

"The Guardian General is already in Liulin, and the Qiang People remaining in this area shouldn't be many. But, my lord, aren't you going to deal with the enemy in Wuyang City?" Xu Zengyi asked.

Chen Wuji glanced and said, "You really think I'm angry to the point of losing my mind?"

Xu Zengyi very much wanted to nod.

He had always felt it was very similar.

If he weren't angry to the point of losing his mind, how could there still be tens of thousands of Qiang enemy troops around him unresolved, and how could he stay up late poring over maps of Qiang Land and Yushan Prefecture?

Chen Wuji said, "The Qiang forces at Wuyang City remain our top priority, but we also need to finalize the route for attacking Qiang Land and Yushan Prefecture as soon as possible, send scouts deep into the interior to map it and understand the enemy's movements."

"No matter how angry I get, I couldn't possibly treat the nearly sixty thousand Qiang people of Wuyang City as nothing; if I did, I'd be either crazy or stupid. We haven't reached that point yet, so don't worry."

Frankly, Xu Zengyi had indeed been nervous for a while just now.

He kept worrying that Chen Wuji would at this moment suddenly split troops to take Yushan Prefecture.

If he really did that, things would probably become a big mess.

Although we had won two major victories earlier, the strength gap between us and the enemy still exists; those earlier victories may not continue in future battles, and if we split troops again now, the situation will become extremely difficult.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.

Xu Zengyi then continued, "My lord, for attacking Yushan Prefecture, we might as well still go through Liulin City."

"As for sending scouts to investigate Yushan Prefecture and Jiazi Ling and such, we might as well leave it to Commander Chen, the Guardian General, since he's already sending people deep into Qiang Land to capture folks; let him detach some personnel to handle this as well."

"Alright, that's settled, sleep!" Chen Wuji thought briefly and readily agreed.

Xu Zengyi, Hu Bu Gui:???

The two were still dazed, and Chen Wuji had already gone around to the back of the tent.

Xu Zengyi and Hu Bu Gui exchanged a glance, both looking bewildered.

"General Hu, do you have any wine?" Xu Zengyi asked quietly.

"Yes, the fine liquor of Dingzhou."

"Come on, let's go to your place."

"Yes!"

The two left the Zhongjun Camp on tiptoe, and Xu Zengyi quietly said to Hu Bu Gui, "In the battle at Wuyang Mountain, our army lost over ten thousand soldiers; my lord's mood was already not great. Now, two brigades of soldiers have perished in this tragic manner outside Liulin City, adding insult to injury for my lord—General Hu, don't take it to heart."

Hu Bu Gui shook his head, "Sir, you don't need to explain this to me; I can quite understand my lord's… uh, the Commander's feelings. Having served as Prefect of Dingzhou for so many years, I've experienced too much of such things."