Chapter 177: One Good News and One Bad News

Hearing this, both of their expressions tightened.

Xu Zhongquan strode out.

"How many troops do they have?"

The soldier replied.

"About two hundred thousand."

Xu Zhongquan furrowed his brow tightly.

"I understand. Go scout again!"

"Yes!"

The soldier, having received the order, ran off into the distance.

"Bang!"

Xu Zhongquan glared with furious eyes, his anger boiling as he returned to the tent, strode straight to the table, drank half a pot of cold water, then slammed his clenched fist down heavily on the table.

"These bastards! They must have seen Da Yin and Xiyue at war and thought to take advantage of the chaos to launch a counterattack!"

"Now our forces on the border number only one hundred sixty thousand—they timed their arrival perfectly!"

Cheng Sitao's face also grew cold, his expression stern.

Although we have one hundred sixty thousand, once fighting begins, we cannot possibly commit every single soldier to the battlefield.

Some forces must still be held in reserve.

Thus, the number we can actually deploy is only one hundred thousand.

Still, he offered a word of comfort.

"Uncle Xu, don't be angry. Although their forces outnumber ours, as long as we prepare well, we still have a fighting chance. Even if not, we can hold out longer, waiting for reinforcements to arrive—then all will be well."

Hearing his words, Xu Zhongquan's expression eased slightly.

"Fortunately, the heir has returned—this may well be heaven's will."

He patted his chest.

"What plans does the heir have? Just give the order!"

Cheng Sitao narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I need a few things."

As he spoke, he whispered several sentences into Xu Zhongquan's ear.

"The faster, the better. The more, the better."

Though puzzled in his heart, Xu Zhongquan still nodded solemnly.

"Heir, rest assured—I will issue the orders immediately."

After seeing Xu Zhongquan off, Cheng Sitao's face darkened, he gritted his teeth tightly, his clenched fists whitening at the knuckles.

"Nanjiang!"

Originally I did not want to bring this out so soon, but alas, plans cannot keep up with changes.

The urgent priority is to repel the Nanjiang forces.

……

On this side of the Modern Era, An Luo returned home from work, and while waiting at the red light, she glanced at the rearview mirror.

The next moment, she slightly furrowed her brows, then looked more closely at that license plate.

Strange— that taxi, I feel like I've seen it on the street outside the foundation before.

Has it been following me for several streets?

Realizing this, An Luo felt a faint prickle of unease in her heart.

"Beep beep beep—"

Already green, the car behind began to honk, urging her forward.

An Luo restarted the car, drove forward a few hundred meters, reached an intersection, but instead of turning toward home, she continued straight ahead.

She drove on for two more intersections, and the taxi behind was no longer visible.

It had not followed.

An Luo let out a slight sigh of relief.

Perhaps I was overthinking it.

She glanced at the ring on her index finger, the one Cheng Chengxuan had given her.

The tense, fearful emotions gradually eased, replaced by a look of worry in her brows and eyes.

I don't know how he's doing over there.

……

Western Border.

After once again repelling the Xiyue army, the troops set up camp on the spot.

Cheng Xin, covered in blood and grime, wiped his face and spat toward the direction of Xiyue.

"Pah! If we brought out our secret weapon, we'd surely make you cry for your parents, fleeing with your heads in your hands!"

Cheng Yao coughed heavily twice, then gave his sleeve a hard tug.

"Cough cough!"

Cheng Chengxuan also looked over at him, giving him a warning glance.

Cheng Xin glanced at the few people around him, shrank his neck, and lowered his head.

Meanwhile, Zhou Old General chuckled heartily and patted the shoulder of the Muyuan Kingdom general beside him.

"Come on, come on, come on—after winning several battles in a row, these kids went out to hunt game and brought back wild meat. Today we're having barbecue!"

"I brought a pot of good wine, let's have two cups, but just two sips each to warm up will do, after all we're on the battlefield, can't drink too much."

The Muyuan Kingdom general's expression was as usual, a joking tone.

"I think you're just reluctant to part with your good wine."

Zhou Old General feigned anger and waved his hand.

"Go on, go on, go on!"

"If I were reluctant, I wouldn't have brought it out!"

Looking at Zhou Old General's back ahead, the Muyuan Kingdom general lowered his eyelids, his gaze deepening somewhat.

Could the secret weapon Cheng Xin mentioned earlier be the hidden weapon the National Lord spoke of that killed the Fifth Prince from a hundred meters away?

On the spot, Cheng Xin lowered his head in apology.

"Subordinate knows his fault, please Young General punish me."

Cheng Chengxuan wore a stern face, speaking coldly.

"If you continue to be so indiscreet, you need not follow me in the future."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xin was greatly startled, hastily kneeling on the ground to plead guilty.

"Young General, subordinate truly knows his fault, punish me however you wish, only beg you not to dismiss subordinate!"

While speaking, his eye sockets turned red.

"First receive ten military strokes, then report to the firewood army camp tent, the water and firewood for these three days shall be prepared by you!"

Cheng Xin wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, nodded heavily.

"Subordinate obeys the order!"

After Cheng Yao and Cheng Xin left, Chu Yuan, hiding in the dark, came out.

"If you can't keep your mouth shut, why keep you around?"

Cheng Chengxuan sighed.

"After being by my side for so many years, give him one more chance."

Chu Yuan shrugged.

"As you wish."

Then he revealed a furtive smile.

"I have here a piece of good news and a piece of bad news, which would you like to hear first?"

Cheng Chengxuan said nothing, merely staring at him with a blank expression.

In the end, Chu Yuan gave in.

"Really boring."

"Alright, I'll tell the bad news first."

"The spies of the Hidden Pavilion in Nanjiang have sent word that Nanjiang has again gathered two hundred thousand troops, preparing to attack Da Yin."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Chengxuan's brows furrowed tightly, his expression turning stern.

"Has the Nanjiang army pressed the border?"

Chu Yuan nodded.

"Indeed, taking advantage of Zhou Old General's absence, the border forces are leaderless."

Cheng Chengxuan lowered his eyes in thought.

Miss An said, Big Brother has returned to the border, he will surely go to the main camp first.

With Big Brother present, there should be no trouble in the short term.

But it won't last long!

"Then I'll now share the good news."

He hehehed with a gloating air.

"The old emperor of Xiyue Kingdom is ill, and seriously so, it is said the imperial physicians are all gathered in the emperor's sleeping palace, the Xiyue imperial palace is already in utter chaos."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Chengxuan quickened his steps toward Zhou Old General's tent.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Cheng Chengxuan did not turn back.

"Going to find Zhou Old General to discuss the matter of a night raid!"

——

Late at night, the Xiyue soldiers, defeated in successive battles, had very low morale.

In the main commander's tent, a young officer angrily smashed the cup in his hand.

"Damn it!"

"How is that old coot Zhou's troop deployment and formation nothing like what Grandfather said?!"

A middle-aged general seated in the upper seat glanced at him.

"This indeed does not resemble his usual style."

"Alright, young master, don't get angry for now."

"The urgent task is to quickly figure out who is giving Da Yin its strategies and plans, to discern the opponent's tactics, His Majesty must already be furious, we cannot afford another loss."

"Report!"

Suddenly, a small soldier ran in.

"Report to the Grand Commander, a unit of Da Yin soldiers has appeared to the west!"

"What?!"

The young officer sprang to his feet in alarm.

What are these Da Yin people up to?

They look like mad dogs with bloodshot eyes, impossible to stop!

He had just steadied himself when another soldier came running in, flustered.

"Report!"

"A group of troops is coming from the east!"

He hadn't even finished speaking when another soldier rushed in, colliding with the two before him and nearly falling over.

"Report, report——"

"A large force of Da Yin troops has been spotted ten li to the north, marching straight toward us!"

At this, the middle-aged general who had just been composed for a moment lost his composure, sprang up hastily, and quickly gave orders.

"Pass the order down at once—prepare to meet the enemy!"

"Hah!"

Suddenly, a light laugh tinged with contempt reached the ears of the few present.

"Starting preparations now—don't you think it's too late?"