Chapter 721: In Front of Jian Pass (I)
Never mind ” in history,” cases of cannibalism could be easily found in recent years.
Dongqing had suffered from nurous natural disasters in recent years. In despair, so people had even exchanged children to eat. What was the difference compared to cannibalism during warti?
The four factions of Nanman and the three tribes of the northern borderline sent their troops to the Central Plains to kill and rob all the ti. Cannibalism happened among them frequently.
Huang Song sighed with concern. “Indeed, it’s not that rare. If possible, I’d rather we don’t see it happen at all.”
A brief glint flashed in his eyes. Perhaps only a world of complete peace could stop sothing so terrible from happening.
“It is what it is, unfortunately. Who likes to see such terrible things happen?”
Jiang Pengji looked into the distance at Jian Pass. Such a natural barrier between the two steep cliffs would cost them God knew how many lives!
Cheng Jing glanced at Jiang Pengji out of the corner of his eyes, more respectful than ever.
It was very windy in the mountains. Feng Zhen, who was not a big fan of cold weather, wrapped himself more tightly in his cloak. His pale lips now had a tint of blue in them.
“Since Jian Pass is difficult for the offensive forces to overco but easier to guard for the defensive party, if we attack by force, we will no doubt pay a heavy price. That being said, we are not going to follow suit and use dead bodies to burn Jian Pass, are we?” Feng Zhen swallowed nervously and raised his fist to cover a light cough. “But if we don’t, I can’t think of any other way except straightforward attacking, which again, will make us lose a lot of n and will take forever.”
Jiang Pengji looked around to observe the terrain. Her thin lips were pursed in a stubborn line.
“How long do you think it will take the alliance to break Jian Pass based on its combat capacity?” she asked.
Standing right next to Huang Song, Feng Jue placed one hand on his forehead and took a look at Jian Pass.
“The road leading to Jian Pass is very narrow. It’s very, very hard. Based on the alliance’s fighting capacity, if we attack directly, maybe it will take one or two days. If the defense is really prepared behind the Pass, it may take one or two days extra.” Feng Jue then continued with a sarcastic smile, “Except that the alliance is suffering from internal dissension. As soon as they see what Jian Pass looks like, they will probably turn around.”
Why would they retreat up upon seeing the Pass?
It was narrow and flanked by two cliffs, which ant that the spearhead of the mission was inevitably dood.
Who would volunteer to complete the task?
Even if a force didn’t mind going first, they would not want to sacrifice themselves. This ant that they wouldn’t try their best to succeed.
When Jiang Pengji and Huang Song snuck out, the alliance was in the middle of a big eting to decide who would spearhead the campaign.
Just thinking about their arguing gave Feng Jue a headache. He rubbed his forehead as if he could still hear them fighting with each other.
“If we don’t solve this problem, Jian Pass will hold us off for about 10 to 15 days, if not longer,” Cheng Jing said.
10 to 15 days?
Prince Changshou’s army had already reached Chenzhou territory and was occupying more and more of the area daily. Who knew what it would be like after 10 or even 15 days?
At the sa ti, the alliance forces were arguing terribly over the issue. No one wanted to go first for fear of burning themselves out for nothing.
Besides, they would not dare to make Yang Jian go first and sacrifice himself for them this ti.
Ever since Yang Jian had made a huge scene and called everyone out, they’d realized that he would not stand any nonsense. Setting him up? Probably not.
All forces agreed on one thing: They would hold back and try to get soone else to do it.
Those who had fewer n argued that if they lost everything at Jian Pass, how could they face their people afterward?
Those with a lot of n also had their concerns. They reasoned that even though they had a higher head-count, they were not properly trained, therefore not suitable for spearheading.
Sitting on the seat of honor and listening to the going-no-where argunts, Xu Pei looked grim and overwheld.
Xu Fei, who was sitting next to him, found the look on Xu Pei’s face satisfactory. Xu Pei had fought so hard with him to beco the alliance leader. He totally deserved this ss!
It wasn’t an easy job for him indeed, especially because everyone under his leadership only cared about themselves.
A full day passed and they still had not reached an agreent. The eting ended and everybody left in misery.
Jiang Pengji went back to their own camp with Feng Zhen and Yang Si. They saw that Liu She was on his way back from the eting as well.
“May I ask you sothing, father?” Jiang Pengji walked up to Liu She, holding Little White’s reins. “Do you have a minute?”
Liu She responded with a warm smile. “I always have ti for you, Lanting.”
Yang Si and Feng Zhen were impressed by the father and son (actually daughter) interaction.
“How much do you know about ng Zhan of Cangzhou, father?”
“ng Zhan?” Hearing the na of his forr brother-in-law and friend, now his current archenemy, Liu She furrowed his eyebrows. He continued in a cold voice. “ng Zhan and I used to be best friends in school. We later broke it off because of what happened with your mother and your aunt. Now we have no contact anymore so I don’t really know much. Why did you ntion him so suddenly? Did you discover sothing when you went out to check the terrain? Was it sothing about ng Zhan?”
“There were signs of fire damage near Jian Pass, so I figured Prince Changshou used dead bodies to burn his way through the Pass, which would explain why his army broke through so quickly. Maybe ng Zhan was the person who proposed this plan. That’s why I want to know more about him.”
Liu She laughed a little.
“It does sound like sothing he would do. That’s who he is. He acts like so artsy gentleman, yet he’s a real ruthless character in disguise,” Liu She scorned. “When I was still friends with him, I had no idea. When he was younger, he was well-known for being a gentleman. But things change, and people change. Within the ng family, things can go really ugly among the family mbers. ng Zhan may have had no way to survive if he did not choose to fight.”
When ng Zhan was young, he’d indeed been a real gentleman who everyone admired.
Ti, however, could change a person inside and out.
His situation made him into a different person. Liu She did not see it coming, thinking the ngs were a loving family.
Introducing ng Zhan to his sister-in-law, leading her to marry this real-life werewolf, was one of the very few awful decisions Liu She had ever made.
“The internal conflicts within the ng family were pretty fierce. ng Zhan made it and won. Of course, he is a crafty man.”
Jiang Pengji knitted her brows heavily. She then asked about the result of the alliance eting.
Liu She sneered. “A bunch of irresponsible cowards. Everybody wanted to have soone else die for them. What kind of progress could co out of that?”
After talking to Liu She, Jiang Pengji returned to her tent, staring blankly.
“Jingrong and Zishi, please tell , if you were ng Zhan, what would you do next after helping Prince Changshou take Jian Pass?”
Feng Zhen and Yang Si exchanged looks.
From Prince Changshou’s perspective, of course, holding the alliance off as long as possible sounded wise.
Jian Pass was a natural set-up where the alliance’s internal disagreents could be aggravated.
But that wasn’t enough. They needed to be pushed a little harder.
Yang Si had worked for Prince Changshou for a while and knew a thing or two about the man.
But everything about the enemy’s strategies sounded so much like the ng’s style. Speaking of the ng’s, who would know more than ng Hun?
Jiang Pengji then said to a soldier, “Call for Colonel ng, now! I need to discuss sothing very important with him.”
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