Chapter 654: with translation of chapter title

This letter, after Chen Wuji read it through, was not only gratifying, but even a little moving.

Langdu is a reasonable and understanding Linglu; toward him, this enemy, it can be said to be very considerate.

The only serious flaw is his suggestion of surrender.

How could such a reasonable and understanding person come up with such a base idea as urging surrender?

Isn't this basically slapping his own face?

What further leaves Chen Wuji speechless is that this guy didn't even accept his invitation to meet, and didn't even mention it in the letter—what the hell does this old brat mean?

Chen Wuji's mood then was not good at all; he was quite angry.

"He actually mentioned meeting matters to me, yet not a single word!" Chen Wuji angrily threw the letter on the table, "Sir, do you think he looks down on me, or is he scared and dare not meet me?"

"I'm sure it's the latter!" Xu Zengyi said with absolute certainty.

Chen Wuji: ……

How to put it, Old Xu's flattery still has some technical skill.

Very resolute!

"But I really want to meet this person, sir, can you think of a plan?" Chen Wuji sat up straight and took a sip of tea.

He isn't joking; he is genuinely very interested in this Linglu named Langdu, and talking face‑to‑face could help him quickly grasp the situation in Qiang Land, facilitating the arrangement of subsequent strategy.

What Langdu reveals in a few words might outweigh the results of sending many people to scout Qiang Land; the level differs, the standpoint differs, and the weight of the words differs as well.

Xu Zengyi thought seriously, then said with great certainty: "My lord, if you wish to see this person, it's actually easy—defeat the Qiang People of Wuyang City and capture him."

Chen Wuji looked at Xu Zengyi speechlessly: "Old Xu, your joke is completely cold; think of something serious for me—I'm not joking with you, I really do want to talk with him in person."

Xu Zengyi said: "My lord doesn't care about his own safety, but this Langdu obviously does; he deliberately omitted this matter in the letter, clearly avoiding the important and focusing on the trivial, unwilling to mention it."

"My lord asked me to speak frankly; I do have a not‑yet‑mature suggestion: my lord could readily accept his proposal to urge surrender, propose a meeting to discuss it in detail, and perhaps he would agree."

Chen Wuji gave a slight nod: "That does seem like a decent idea; we can give it a try. But surely it wouldn't spread rumors that I'm making peace with the Qiang People, would it?"

"Does my lord still need to fear this?" Xu Zengyi laughed.

Others dare to do what they dare not; this person does it all, yet now he actually worries about this.

If Chen Wuji weren't the lord, Xu Zengyi would hardly have kept from laughing.

Chen Wuji nodded in deep agreement: "Indeed, worrying seems unnecessary. If anyone wants to talk, let them; I'm thick‑skinned."

"Then let's do that—write him a letter to discuss cooperation properly."

Chen Wuji rolled up his sleeves, picked up his brush, and began to write a reply to Langdu, while asking: "This letter going back and forth will likely take at least three days; does that mean my troops can't move?"

"Seems so."

Chen Wuji abruptly halted his gesture: "That's not very wonderful—it's a bit of a waste of time."

"My lord might as well rest a few days; the troops have been fighting nonstop since leaving Hezhou, enduring several battles, all major. The battle at Wuyang Mountain was especially brutal; they should be given time to rest and relax."

"I know my lord deeply hates the Qiang People's deeds and wants to breach Yushan Prefecture early, with the spearhead pointing straight to Jiazi Ling. But my lord, war cannot be rushed; we need steady, step‑by‑step progress. Haste is a great taboo on the battlefield; logically I shouldn't need to remind my lord, but now I must overstep my bounds."

Chen Wuji's expression stiffened slightly; after a moment of silence he said softly: "Sir, you should remind me. I'm merely a mortal, a vulgar mortal to the bone; I lack such far‑sightedness and cannot consider everything."

"What I think and ponder ultimately stems from myself, is self‑centered, and thus inevitably partial. Everyone's view of the world is limited, whether they are nobles and officials or common folk; people are all like that."

"Just as I said earlier, I truly hadn't realized that the troops, after successive campaigns, are already exhausted; they need to recover their strength and their morale."

Xu Zengyi gave a slight nod: "My lord's words, I have taken note."

"Sir, relax a bit; I am not that Western King." Chen Wuji said earnestly.

Xu Zengyi merely gave a faint smile, saying nothing.

Chen Wuji took note of his attitude, but also didn't say anything further.

Such matters require actual action; the power of words ends up being somewhat pale and ineffectual.

The letter to Langdu was quickly finished.

Chen Wuji stuffed it back into the envelope, sealed it with lacquer, and then affixed his seal.

The ancient anti‑counterfeit technique, though somewhat outdated, is actually quite fine and rather effective.

After sending someone to deliver the letter, Chen Wuji forcibly suppressed his inner restlessness, dragged Xu Zengyi along, and ventured into Wuyang Mountain with bow and arrow.

As he walked out of the Lìng gate, he ordered the troops to take turns being off for three days.

Taking turns on duty and patrol, aside from these two tasks, they could move freely.

But with only three days, this meant the troops could only move freely near the Daying; they couldn't do anything else, and had nowhere to go for leisure.

Chen Wuji's way of passing the time was hunting.

Since he began hunting the enemy, he hadn't entered the primordial forest for a long time, nor crossed blades with game; his skills were getting rusty.

Although Wuyang Mountain stands before Shenxian Ling, it is merely a petty grandson.

But to humans, it is still quite large.

It's basically the meaning of not knowing the true face of Lushan while being in the mountain itself.

From afar, thanks to its nearly flat terrain, the mountain looks very conspicuous, as if it were just that; but once you truly enter it, it turns out to be another world entirely.

Only the mountain is sizable, while the game is sparse, somewhat pitiful.

Chen Wuji and his companions walked in the mountain for nearly an hour; apart from the occasional flutter of a few birds overhead, they didn't even find a decent wild chicken or rabbit.

"What the hell is going on? Did our fighting scare these little critters in the mountain, causing them to move house overnight?" Chen Wuji muttered.

Xu Zengyi, who doesn't understand hunting, then asked: "Is that possible?"

"Actually I don't know either, but given how lush the vegetation is here, logically we shouldn't have walked this long without encountering a single game." Chen Wuji said.