My vicious dog, my horse, I can do whatever I want with it

General Chen said, survival of the fittest.

How cruel?

Wen Nian asked her why she was not angry at all about the provocative words and humiliation from Qian Zhixing and others?

She just smiled, because she witnessed with her own eyes how they were stabbed in the chest by the enemy on the battlefield. Even those who were lucky enough to survive the first battle would always die in another battle in the end.

Angry?

How could she be angry...

Watching the brothers who used to laugh, scold and play with each other in the tent die one after another in front of you, she felt heartbroken and hated herself for being unable to protect everyone.

"Anian, we are about to go into battle and kill the enemy." Zong Yanli looked at the tents in the distance that were shrouded in hazy dust and the rising smoke from the cooking fires. He looked at those new recruits who didn't know what they were doing but were still brazenly shouting about their aspirations to kill the enemy. His chest just felt blocked.

"Young Master, are you scared?" Wen Nian felt a little uncomfortable because of Zong Yanli's sudden affectionate address, and then he opened his mouth and whispered, "I will protect you."

Well, scared.

Zong Yanli pondered countless times about how to stop the new recruits from going into battle, but he also laughed at his own stupidity.

Soldiers are meant to go into battle.

She couldn't stop anything out of selfish motives. If the Pingnan Camp was gone, the tens of thousands of people behind them would face a devastating nightmare. She would have to sacrifice the lives of only a hundred people in the new recruit camp in exchange for the lives of tens of thousands of people behind them.

worth it.

Zong Yanli swallowed the bitterness in her throat. The only change she made was to radically and ostentatiously provoke many people.

This seemed to inspire the fighting spirit of these young people, making them train hard, so that at least when that day really comes, they can use what they have learned to save themselves.

Zong Yanli went to the main account frequently, hoping to get some news about Gao State from his father.

She was unable to remember all the details and could only recollect them. She had experienced too many battles. The wars with Gao State were only a few of them. Within half a year, Gao State would have no time to take care of foreign wars or accept surrenders because of the disintegration of the royal court.

What she wants to do now is to minimize the casualties among military officers and soldiers in the next six months.

"Kanshang Pass is located on a plain and is difficult to defend." Behind the small hill, on the ground, Zong Yanli used branches and sticks to outline the topographic map of Kanshang Pass, and used dead leaves as marks.

"Upwards of the Wei River, behind the dead forest, all the ditches and positions have been cut off." She frowned deeply, unable to think of what method Gao Guo would use if he wanted to attack.

Bai Xiuyun and Wen Nian were sitting on the ground next to them. They looked at the picture drawn by Zong Yanli on the ground, then looked at him with a slightly confused look.

Bai Xiujun was even more puzzled, and looked at Zong Yanli and said, "These are things that the generals have to worry about, why are you so worried?"

Bai Xiujun seemed to have thought of something, and he jumped up and said, "I know! You want to be a general!"

Zong Yanli looked at him and said: "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier."

Bai Xiujun laughed and said, "I don't want to be a general. I just want to end the war quickly and go home to be with my grandma."

Young people's wishes are always simple. Zong Yanli glanced at Bai Xiujun, as if trying to remember his face. In fact, she could no longer remember what Bai Xiujun looked like when he was a teenager. She only remembered the gloomy look of the one-eared man.

I only remember that on the battlefield, I wanted to bite the man opposite me to death. I only remember that one starry night, he lowered his head and said... "Ali, if I die, don't tell my grandma."

"Yes." Zong Yanli said, "Maybe I can go back and spend the New Year with your grandma this year."

Bai Xiujun was very happy to hear that, and the boy's smile was particularly charming.

Wen Nian folded his arms and watched from the side. After a while, he said, "Master, those two have been peeking over here for a long time. Don't you need to take care of them?"

Zong Yanli followed Wen Nian's gaze and saw Qian Zhixing frantically hiding behind a tree. How could such a thin tree block his body?

"If you want to come over, just come over. Why are you hiding?" Zong Yanli said loudly.

"..."

The figure behind the tree seemed to be struggling for a long time before he walked over reluctantly. Bai Xiujun looked at Qian Zhixing and asked in confusion, "Are you here to fight with Ali again?"

Qian Zhixing's face flushed, and he said angrily, "I just heard that you wanted to know about Kanshang Pass, so I came to find you."

Qian Zhixing said as he pulled a thin man behind him forward, "His name is Xiao Ma, and he's a local from Kanshangguan. Ask him what you want to know."

Xiao Ma was a little scared, and smiled and bowed, saying, "Brother Li..."

Zong Yanli glanced at him twice, patted the stone beside him and asked him to come over. Xiao Ma hurried over, and Qian Zhixing followed suit. Only then did he see a map drawn on a branch and some words written on the ground in front of Zong Yanli.

Qian Zhixing couldn't read and didn't know what was written, but he just silently admired how amazing Zong Yanli was.

"Your family is here, so you must know that Gaoguo has been harassing us for a long time. Kanshang Pass is a big pass, and it would be disastrous if it were breached." Zong Yanli said seriously, "If the enemy launches an attack this time, these three routes are the only way to go."

"Uh..." Xiao Ma couldn't read either. He barely recognized the three directions on Zong Yanli's map and understood them.

"Brother Li is really amazing. The map you drew made me think you had been to Kanshang Pass in person." Xiao Ma was very sensible and praised Zong Yanli.

"The dead forest would have been burned down long ago by the sky fire this year. Brother Li actually thought of that!" Xiao Ma said in admiration. The so-called sky fire was the fire caused by lightning hitting the trees. It burned down the entire forest, leaving no cover at all.

In the previous life, the enemy army attacked from here. Because Zong Yanhongjing was defeated in the previous life, the enemy army's morale was greatly boosted. They didn't care about anything and launched an offensive immediately.

But it's different now.

Because of the appearance of the outlier Zong Yanli, Zong Yanhongjing narrowly won.

The enemy did not launch an offensive immediately, and our army has had time to prepare. There are scouts patrolling these three routes now, and the enemy must not act rashly.

"In your opinion, which of these three routes is the most likely?" Zong Yanli asked Xiao Ma without saying much.

"I don't know the route, but Brother Li may not know it, because the water on the Wei River has dried up due to the skyfire." Xiao Ma didn't understand what the offensive and non-offensive were, he just said what he knew: "Although it's a river, you can wade across it by rolling up your trousers."

When Zong Yanli heard Xiao Ma's words, an idea moved him. He immediately squatted down and stared carefully at the route on the ground.

Wading across the river...

Her face looked a little serious and she asked again: "When did the water in the Wei River dry up?"

Xiao Ma frowned and muttered, "Not long!"

At first, no one in the village noticed it until the water level in the ditches and ponds dropped more and more.