Chapter 694: with translation of chapter title

Once the defensive bottom line loosens, Zhezhi Elder instantly becomes forthcoming, telling everything he knows.

Moreover, he is extremely proactive.

To get a quick death, there was absolutely no need for Chen Wuji to ask him proactively; he racked his brains and poured out all the information he knew in one go.

After a round of itchy scratching and hole-digging, his psychological defenses had already collapsed into disarray.

Thanks to this information, Chen Wuji finally gained a comprehensive and systematic understanding of his neighbor Zhong Qiang, and also learned many extremely crucial pieces of intelligence.

"Place him in the army and let him rest properly."

After the interrogation ended, Chen Wuji ordered Chen Li, "Also, have Lu Ji and Xie Fengxian come see me."

"Yes!"

Zhezhi Elder heard Chen Wuji's order, suddenly knelt down with a thud, "Commander, why not... give me a quick death? I want to die now; I've already said everything I know, truly everything, not a single word hidden."

Chen Wuji said, "Don't be so nervous; I'll temporarily spare your life, and I won't move against your tribe for the time being, so you can rest a little easier—first heal your wounds, then we can talk about other things."

Look, this old master has been scared.

It's just poking a few holes in the soles of his feet; why does it feel more severe than scraping him?

"Commander, I... I don't want to live, I want to die, please give me a quick death!" Zhezhi Elder cried out, kowtowing repeatedly to Chen Wuji with loud thuds.

Chen Wuji glanced at him and said, "But for now, I don't want you to die."

This person confessed so readily; perhaps he'll still be useful later.

Zhezhi Elder instantly felt all his strength drain away, collapsing limp on the ground.

At this moment, he finally understood what it means to be meat on the chopping block—better dead than alive, wanting to live but unable, wanting to die but unable.

"Take him down!" Chen Wuji ordered, then quickly left the dilapidated courtyard.

As he entered the temporary mansion, Lu Ji and Xie Fengxian, who had received the military orders, also happened to arrive.

"My lord!"

Chen Wuji walked to the south wall beneath the hanging map, stared at the leather map on the wall for a moment, and said, "According to reliable intelligence, the Qiang People intend to hold a heaven-and-earth sacrifice at Yingzui Ridge, then establish a state; during the sacrifice, they will use a large number of Dayu Commoners as living sacrifices."

"You two, take a look: if the Qiang People want to raid the Dayu Commoners, which direction would they choose?"

Lu Ji and Xie Fengxian, upon hearing this, walked over.

After looking at the map for a while, Lu Ji spoke first: "My lord, the area around Yingzui Ridge is likely, and even farther Yaozhou could become their target for raids."

"We have virtually no troops in the vicinity of Yingzui Ridge, and there are many villages of all sizes there; if it's just for a single living sacrifice, one village would probably be enough."

Chen Wuji shook his head: "Given the Qiang People's inhuman practices, their past sacrifices required the lives of hundreds of our Dayu Commoners as living offerings. Now that they aim to establish a state, this event will certainly not be small—definitely more than hundreds of people."

"However, there are many villages in that area, so it's indeed hard to determine where they'll choose. You two decide: who wants to go to Yingzui Ridge for a trip?"

"Since we don't know where they'll launch their troops from, just keep a close watch on them, look for an opportunity to disrupt their state-founding ceremony, and preferably wipe them out."

"The Qiang People's forces are limited; according to prisoner testimonies, they can at most muster a 50,000-strong army. You two each take one direction, and combined with Chen Baojia's troops, you'll already have enough strength for a battle."

Chen Wuji originally wanted both of them to go, as more troops would naturally increase their chances of victory.

But after careful consideration, the situation in Songzhou is even more complex.

Songzhou's troops may not be many, so the fight shouldn't be too difficult.

But the changes are too great.

Yu Ren's mind-bewitching tactics could very well lead to a situation where the entire prefecture's populace becomes a suicide squad.

If that truly happens, we must suppress it with large-scale forces.

With fewer troops, his victorious army is highly likely to get stuck in the mire of Songzhou's populace.

When the populace doesn't know what death is, anyone encountering them would likely feel a creepy numbness on their scalp.

After weighing the options, Chen Wuji could only direct the pressure first to Yingzui Ridge.

Yu Ren's methods of governing Songzhou are comparable to a plague.

If this evil fire isn't promptly extinguished, it will inevitably spread outward.

"My lord, I'll go!"

Xie Fengxian said in a ringing voice, "General Lu is good at defense and not suited for this heavy task; I'm just a brute—whether I charge forward or attack, this assignment suits me."

Lu Ji didn't insist, merely nodding.

"Good!" Chen Wuji ordered, "You and Chen Baojia, I don't distinguish primary or secondary; for everything, you two discuss and decide. I don't demand a quick victory, nor do I expect you to achieve any battle results in a short time."

"There are only two points: protect our border people, harass the Qiang, prevent their sacrificial ceremony from succeeding, and thus prevent their state from being established. This time, the offense and defense have reversed; the Qiang consider Yingzui Ridge their land of rise, and they won't easily give it up, so you will have more opportunities for flexibility."

"Harass and tug at them, treat them like dogs to walk!"

"Yes!"

Xie Fengxian clasped his fists and solemnly accepted the order.

"How are your troops arriving?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Reporting to my lord, ninety percent have already returned to the ranks; the remaining soldiers should basically arrive within these two days." Xie Fengxian said.

Chen Wuji nodded, "Then we'll mobilize the troops in two days."

"Yes!"

Afterward, Chen Wuji issued orders to Chen Baojia, changing the original plan to mobilize troops toward Yingzui Ridge.

The sudden events in Songzhou and Yingzui Ridge have consumed nearly all of Chen Wuji's forces, forcing him to postpone the garrison plan and first deal with the immediate enemy.

However, if the battle at Yingzui Ridge is victorious, the obstacles facing the garrison plan afterward will be smaller.

Even further, Chen Wuji could outright seize Qiang Land and implement large-scale garrisoning on that territory, without being limited to Jiazi Ling.

The Qiang People no longer have the resources to afford another loss.

They are now in a situation of breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats, fighting with their backs to the wall—success means establishing a state, failure means the decline of Zhong Qiang.

Chen Wuji also doesn't know what they're thinking, but he feels this bunch is somewhat crazy.

"Why not rest and recuperate for a while, waiting for him to come attack?"

Why do you insist on squeezing out the last bit of your bloodline and stubbornly butt heads with yourself?

Really, there's something wrong!

……

Two days later.

Chen Wuji led the central army, and the Lu Halberd Unit mobilized troops northward, marching toward Songzhou.

Xie Fengxian, meanwhile, led his troops toward Yingzui Ridge.

At Wuyang Pass, this strategic stronghold, Chen Wuji after some thought still left the guilty army behind to hold temporarily. Meanwhile, Chen Ruoshui also bore the important task of supporting Chen Baojia and Xie Fengxian's unit.

In the battle at Mount Wuyang, the guilty army suffered heavy losses; Chen Ruoshui could also take this opportunity to train the new troops, having a period to adjust.