CHAPTER 1114: CHAPTER 608: SCHEMING AGAINST ZHAO DOUAN (PART 3)

Ye Xin walked into the dining hall, eating alone. Suddenly, a soldier outside hurried over, bathed in the pale red dawn, and exhaled a breath of white vapor: "General! Something bad has happened, officials like Feng Ju imprisoned in the Market Opening Office have been rescued!"

Ye Xin’s fingers suddenly sunk into the soft steamed bun while he lifted his head.

...

In the Conference Hall of the rebel army’s "Command Center."

Ye Xin sat solemnly at the head, coldly scanning the few attendees: "You’ve all heard the situation clearly, right? Let’s discuss it."

Apart from Ye Xin, there were four others at the long table.

Two civil servants, two military generals, seated on the left and right.

Both military generals were Ye Xin’s subordinates, one was sturdy and stocky, the other was a white-haired general, though prematurely gray.

As for the two "civil servants," one was Jiang Wangsun who had hurriedly arrived.

The other was cloaked, wearing a monkey mask, the only one who could attend the meeting in such peculiar attire, backed by Prince Jing, was the "Think Tank," Xu Jianwen.

"This matter couldn’t be clearer!" The stocky general said grimly, "The court forged our token, took advantage of the night, falsely conveyed orders, and tricked the people away. Even avoided all patrol teams, disappearing without a trace. Hah, if the opponents had sent a cultivation expert to forcibly snatch people, I’d admit it, but instead, they deceived them away..."

The white-haired general said flatly, "There might be a traitor in the army."

Ye Xin said expressionlessly, "Zhao Douan just replaced Xue Shence and then rescued Feng Ju, his intentions are clear, it must be to boost morale. He did this before in Yongjia City, but it’s uncertain who in our army is the ’Zhao Shixiong’."

After speaking, a light laugh suddenly came from beneath the monkey mask: "Is it surprising that the court has a spy in our army? If they have none, that would be strange. This spy was probably planted by Xue Shence during his time, not activated until Zhao Douan took charge to establish his prestige. The likes of Feng Ju are small roles, so there are many who can devise a way to rescue such a person, if we were to sift through it, it would probably be difficult. Instead, quickly adjusting the defenses to prevent more of our arrangements from being exposed is the urgent matter."

Ye Xin agreed, "I have already assigned someone to change the defenses. Today’s meeting is not to sift out spies, but to discuss Zhao Douan’s next move, and how we should respond."

Jiang Wangsun lightly coughed, prepared to speak.

Yet Xu Jianwen cut in, laughter filtering through the monkey mask, "In my view. Being passive will only let the opponent lead us around, therefore it’d be better to take the initiative."

Ye Xin asked, puzzled, "In Hu Ting City, our military strength is not as great as the opponent’s, we merely rely on the city for defense. Zhao Douan’s arrival has greatly boosted morale, if we rashly engage in battle, the chances of victory are slim."

Xu Jianwen said silently, "It’s not about the strength of the army. Isn’t he the one who rescued Feng Ju? Then we should send word, proposing a prisoner exchange. Haha, not to swap Feng Ju back, but to use other prisoners in our hands to exchange for those captured by the court."

The stocky general was stunned, "Will Zhao agree to the exchange?"

Xu Jianwen laughed, "Why wouldn’t he? If he’s willing to rescue Feng Ju, if he won’t save others, how would the surrounding people view him? How would the army discuss him? This person just replaced Xue Shence, yet his standing in the army isn’t stable, it’s the perfect time to win hearts, why refuse?"

The white-haired general frowned, "Even if he agrees to exchange, then what?"

Xu Jianwen laughed, "We can arrange to exchange prisoners outside the city at Yansuo Lake, sending skilled experts along. Meanwhile, we dispatch elite forces to randomly attack key positions occupied by the court in Hu Ting on the day of the exchange... We can even spread rumors and secretly mobilize troops, making the opponent think we’re setting an ambush at Yansuo Lake. Precisely through the spy’s channel, deliver this false information over. In this way, the opponent is caught in a dilemma, if they concentrate forces at Yansuo Lake, leaving city defenses vulnerable, we seize the chance to strike key points... This is deceptive and truthful, truth in deception."

After a pause, he said, "The key is, we initiate this, he won’t know we’re making a feint, therefore, however we attack we seize the initiative, as long as we gain an advantage, it will damage his prestige in the army, crippling the court’s morale..."

This strategy... Ye Xin fell into contemplation.

The white-haired general said, "But what if Zhao does not fall for it? He might also suspect it’s intentionally leaked information by us, thereby concentrating defenses and ignoring Yansuo Lake."

Xu Jianwen laughed, "If that’s the case, then we’ll simply seize the people at Yansuo Lake, snatching the opponent’s people over to our side, which still counts as our victory."

This... Ye Xin’s eyes brightened, immediately smiling and deciding, "This plan is excellent, let’s proceed as the Think Tank suggested. The Prince isn’t here now, we need to establish merits to give the Prince a surprise."

Jiang Wangsun was about to speak again, but saw that Ye Xin didn’t even ask for his opinion and directly made the decision, the old man’s expression grew darker, coldly saying, "General Ye, is it decided like this? Not reconsidering further?"

Ye Xin seemed to finally recall there was another person at the table, turned his head, frowned and said blandly, "Mr. Jiang thinks the Think Tank’s plan isn’t good?"

"Good." Jiang Wangsun said calmly, "Then proceed like this."

With that, Jiang Wangsun stood up and walked out.

The other two generals also stood and left, while Xu Jianwen was held back by Ye Xin to discuss the details.

After everyone left, Ye Xin watched Jiang Wangsun’s departing back, suddenly looking at Xu Jianwen, speaking calmly, "Is this all right?"

With that, Jiang Wangsun stood up and walked out.

The other two generals also stood and left, while Xu Jianwen was held back by Ye Xin to discuss the details.

After everyone left, Ye Xin watched Jiang Wangsun’s departing back, suddenly looking at Xu Jianwen, speaking calmly, "