Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“After passing the Six Harmony Pass, you reach Chenggao Pass. Once you've passed these two passes, it's all plains. The subsequent military deployments aren't strong enough. If the capital's reinforcements are delayed, it's an open road for the Jin soldiers, allowing them to directly attack the capital.”

Fang Zheng said: “Tell me something useful. How to fight the battle isn't what we need to worry about right now. Are we afraid of their cavalry with our cannons?”

Zhou Tie said: “That's right. That's exactly it. As long as there are enough cannons, victory against cavalry is assured. The question is where to fight and how to fight.”

“Beyond the two passes lies the West Wind Plains. If we fight there, our army might have a chance to completely annihilate the enemy's main force, breaking their back in one blow.”

“Any general with experience, or even one without experience but with explosives, would proactively abandon the first two passes and choose this location to launch an attack on the cavalry. It would definitely be twice as effective.”

“If we can send a message out and Da Jing can deploy in advance, and if you, sir, can help them build hot air balloons to greatly improve their reconnaissance capabilities, the Jin Kingdom will definitely engage in a decisive battle with Da Jing on the West Wind Plains.”

Fang Zheng asked, puzzled: “If I could send a message out, what would I be saying? Besides, the people of the Jin Kingdom aren't fools. Would they necessarily accept a battle if we directly fight on the plains?”

Zhou Tie gave Fang Zheng a confident look: “Sir, I believe in you. If you agree to help them, you'll definitely have room to move around freely. With your eloquence, fooling two idiots into helping you send a letter is definitely no problem!”

“Sixty thousand heavily armored cavalrymen are enough to make any country envious. To complement their surprise attack capabilities, they should be equipped with twelve to nearly twenty thousand warhorses. That doesn't even include the infantry and lightly armored cavalry. No army would dare to directly confront this force on the plains. They could even abandon any tactics or formations and directly charge forward. Against ordinary troops, it would be a massacre.”

“Da Jing's cavalry is not good. I heard the Crown Prince say that during the early years of the war with the Qian Kingdom, there were even situations where there were soldiers but no cavalry. Even though it has recovered so much over the years, it still can't compare to the Jin Kingdom. When I came, I saw that our best warhorses can only compare to their inferior horses. As long as Da Jing sends enough troops to the plains, enough that they have no reason to retreat and not fight, the Jin Kingdom will definitely fight! No one would give up meat that's already at their mouth.”

“But who would know that we have a divine weapon that specifically counters cavalry? When the cannons fire, the horses might not even be able to move.”

Fang Zheng nodded repeatedly: “That's well said. After they're defeated, we'll be slaughtered in Pantai City to vent their anger.”

“Ah, this... Sir, you must have a way. That's all I can think of.” Zhou Tie looked embarrassed.

Fang Zheng rested his chin on his fist and sighed softly.

What Zhou Tie said was certainly reasonable, but now there were two problems. One was how to get his message out.

The second was, once the battle started, how to ensure the safety of himself and the others. What if that old Pabha didn't keep his word and killed him after the hot air balloons were built? That would be troublesome.

Internally... he could try to work with Ali Bai, but externally, there was no one available right now.

He would be monitored in real-time if he went out. Pabha would definitely not give him that opportunity. Even if he found someone who could send the message, there would probably be a language barrier, making it impossible to communicate. The rest of the delegation was even less likely to be able to help.

“Sir, have you thought of a solution?” Zhou Tie asked in a low voice.

“Sigh... the most crucial thing right now is to find someone to send the message. Who the hell can I find? I even have to bring a translator with me when I go out. Even if I want to fool someone, the translation just won't have the right flavor.”

“Isn't there a young woman at the post house? Can't she do it?” Zhou Tie said.

“Which young woman?”

“The one who's a bit dark-skinned, with long legs.”

“Hiss, Linglong?” A flash of inspiration struck Fang Zheng.

That's right.

Pabha had sent him a dark-skinned, long-legged woman who could communicate with him fluently. The key was that she was unlikely to have been specifically sent to monitor him.

From the day the delegation entered the city, they had become objects in the Jin Kingdom's palm. There was no need to send another woman to monitor him; it would be redundant.

The only possibility was that Pabha had sent her as a gesture of goodwill, wanting to give him some benefits.

If he could make a breakthrough from there... although it would be difficult, it was also a glimmer of hope. He could try to test the waters first.

“Sir, can she do it?”

Fang Zheng glared at him: “How would I know? Do you think this is as easy as eating and drinking? I'll find an opportunity to try... Now, go and gather everyone from the delegation in my room, and also bring the Chu sisters. To solve the problem, we must first resolve the internal troubles.”

Twenty minutes later, everyone in the delegation gathered in Fang Zheng's room. The room was packed tightly, barely accommodating everyone.

Fang Zheng stood on the table in the hall and looked down at everyone, saying: “Zhang Biao, Zhou Tie, check inside and outside the room to see if anyone is monitoring us. If not, guard the stairwell and don't let anyone approach the room. If anyone tries to peek or eavesdrop, beat them out, beat them to death if they don't obey!”

The two men responded and turned to leave.

Hearing Fang Zheng's harsh words, there was a sudden commotion in the room, and everyone began to feel uneasy.

Ma Cheng, the leader, asked nervously: “Lord Fang, has something big happened?”

Fang Zheng nodded with a heavy heart, then looked at the crowd and said: “Next, I'm going to tell you all something important. Don't panic, don't get upset. I'll start explaining once you're all mentally prepared.”

......

After the speech, the atmosphere in the room changed, becoming unusually oppressive.

The Chu sisters were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

Several officials from the Ministry of Revenue were also chattering their teeth.

Ma Cheng was even more unbearable, trembling all over and muttering: “It's over, it's over, it's over, we're going to die.”

Fang Zheng stood on the table without speaking, waiting for ten minutes, seeing that no one dared to take the initiative to ask questions.

He pointed to Ma Cheng, who was still trembling, and said: “Ma Cheng, although I am the envoy of this trip, I am actually just a ceremonial role. You are the real envoy. Come up here.”

Ma Cheng was stunned for a moment, then his limbs weakened and he staggered onto the table.

Fang Zheng held his head and turned it halfway around, and said in a deep voice: “Look, these are all your subordinates. You are even more afraid than them. Is that appropriate?”

“You don't act like a role model, you're timid before the battle, and you disrupt the morale of the army. If you behaved like this in the army, you should be sentenced to beheading and public display.”

Ma Cheng stammered and couldn't speak.

He was already going crazy in his heart. You just said that it's no longer nine deaths and one life, but ten deaths and no life! Who wouldn't be afraid?

I'm just a civil official, why are you talking to me about military morale?

“Lord Fang, what do we do! What do we do! What's the point of me looking at them...”

“Pa!” A thunderous slap hit Ma Cheng's face hard.

.......