Accidentally dressed as an empress

Inside the Chu army tent, flickering candlelight stretched the generals' figures into distorted, elongated forms. The atmosphere inside was oppressive, like the dead silence before a storm.

Xiang Xiao, the commander-in-chief of the Chu army, stood before his desk, his face sullen. He clutched a battle report, the paper crumpled and tattered from his vigorous rubbing. "This Yun Kingdom is so formidable!" He suddenly roared, slamming the report onto the desk so hard that the command arrows on it vibrated.

The generals all lowered their heads, no one daring to speak. The tent was so quiet that one could only hear the crackling of the burning candle wick.

"Since the beginning of the war, our Chu army has been unstoppable. I never expected to suffer repeated setbacks before this tiny city!" Xiang Xiao paced back and forth, each step so heavy that it seemed as if it would dig a crater in the ground. "This is just the beginning. I'm afraid the battles ahead will be even more difficult!" His voice was filled with anxiety and resentment.

At this time, a lieutenant bravely stepped forward, bowed, and said, "General, in my opinion, we should change our strategy and outflanke the enemy from the flanks, bypassing this front that is easy to defend but difficult to attack."

Xiang Xiao suddenly stopped and turned to look at the lieutenant general, his eyes as sharp as a knife: "Flanking? How easy is that! The terrain in that area is complicated. If you are not careful, you will fall into an enemy ambush!"

The lieutenant was so frightened that he lowered his head and dared not say another word.

The tent fell silent again. After a long time, Xiang Xiao sighed and said slowly: "Pass the order down, the entire army should be on high alert. Tomorrow morning, increase the intensity of the siege. I don't believe that we can't take this city!" The generals obeyed the order in unison, and their voices echoed in the tent, but revealed a hint of heaviness that was difficult to conceal.

Just as the generals were about to receive the order and withdraw, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps was heard outside the tent. A messenger rushed into the tent in a panic, fell to his knees with a thud, and said in a trembling voice, "General, something terrible has happened! We just received an urgent report from our scouts that the Yun Kingdom has dispatched an elite cavalry unit from somewhere and is heading towards our rear camp. We estimate that they will arrive in less than half an hour!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Xiao's face turned pale instantly, veins popped out on his forehead, and he kicked over the weapon rack beside him, roaring: "Damn it! How many tricks does the Yun Kingdom have left!" The tent was in chaos, and the generals were whispering to each other with panic on their faces.

"Shut up, Marshal!" Xiang Xiao roared, and the tent instantly fell silent. He suppressed his inner panic and quickly thought of a countermeasure.

After a moment, he pointed at a deputy general with a sharp gaze and ordered loudly: "You must take three thousand light cavalry and immediately return to the rear camp to support the enemy cavalry's raid. I will be there soon!" The deputy general took the order and hurriedly galloped away with his men.

Xiang Xiao then turned to look at another general and said in a deep voice, "You lead 5,000 infantrymen to set up barricades, tripwires, and traps around the camp and prepare for battle. Once the enemy breaks through the cavalry line, hold them back!"

After making all these arrangements, Xiang Xiao mounted his horse, ready to personally lead his troops back to reinforce. Before leaving, he glanced back at the remaining generals, his gaze filled with determination and resolve: "I will not let the Yun Kingdom succeed. If we can escape this danger, I will one day crush the Yun Kingdom!" With that, he whipped his horse and led his troops towards the rear camp at lightning speed, leaving only a cloud of dust flying in front of the Chu army camp.