The first time in history

A few days later, Qian Mingduo led several hundred soldiers to the border. All the officers and soldiers stationed here went out of the city to welcome him. Qian Mingduo inspected the army he had trained personally, just like inspecting troops.

When Qian Mingduo and several deputy generals came to the camp in the city, in order not to disturb the people, the troops chose to camp in the open area south of the city, so the whole army still lived in tents like they did on the front line.

After learning about the military deployment of the Jin army in recent days with his deputy generals and combining the news he got on the road, Qian Mingduo decisively sent out more than a dozen spies and ordered them to carefully collect all the information about the Jin army.

On the second day, Qian Mingduo took Su Yao and a few of his personal soldiers out of the city for inspection. Although it was only early autumn, the border area was already cool in the morning and evening. Qian Mingduo and Su Yao rode side by side, and he glanced at Su Yao. "Miss Su, you seem to have something on your mind these days. I think you are different from before."

"What's the difference?" Su Yao bit her lip. "General, Ling'er takes good care of me every day. Can you still feel any changes in me these days?"

Qian Mingduo heard some complaints in Su Yao's words, and he knew what was going on. But he really didn't know what to say to Su Yao, so he sighed and walked forward silently.

Soon, they had reached the forefront, where they could see the Jin army camp. Qian Mingduo ordered the officers stationed here to climb to a high slope with him, pointed at the Jin army and asked, "Have you noticed any changes in the Jin army camp in the past few days?"

The officer stood up on his horse and observed for a while. "Reporting to the general, ten days ago, there were suddenly more than a thousand tents in the Jin army camp. I sneaked into the Jin army camp myself last night, and all the extra tents were empty. Five days ago, I sneaked into the Jin army camp at night, and those tents were still empty. And I don't think the Jin army has any more marching stoves."

After hearing this, Qian Mingduo nodded in approval, with a barely perceptible light flashing in his eyes, which was a recognition of his subordinate's wisdom and courage. "Well done, General Chen, your carefulness and courage are a blessing to our army. In this dangerous battlefield, it is a great honor for our army to have someone like you who can see through everything and is willing to go deep into the tiger's den. When the war is over, I will personally recommend you for merit, so that your heroic deeds can spread throughout the three armies and boost morale."

At the same time, Su Yao, who was standing by, was also staring at the Jin army camp in the distance. Her eyes were both gentle and graceful like a woman, and strong like a soldier. She opened her red lips slightly, and her voice was soft but every word was clear: "General, the Jin army's move may seem redundant, but it must have a deep meaning. They deliberately set up more tents, perhaps to confuse our army and cover up their true intentions. Or perhaps, this is a trick to lure the enemy deep into our territory, trying to lead our army into an ambush. We must respond with caution and not take it lightly."

As Su Yao analyzed, the atmosphere around became more tense and solemn, as if even the air had solidified. Everyone knew that the upcoming battle would be a contest of wisdom and courage, a test of life and death. And in this land baptized by war, every subtle clue could be the key to determining victory or defeat.

"We must not take it lightly," Qian Mingduo nodded. "No matter what the Jin army's intentions are, our army just needs to remain vigilant. After the spies we sent out report back, we will combine intelligence from all parties and make careful judgments and analyses." He turned his horse's head and walked down the slope.