Daily life in the academy

It was almost noon when Yan Qingchen and Bai Zhi arrived at the general's mansion with the welcoming people. They walked into the inner courtyard and could hear General Bai's powerful voice from a distance.

"Fuck you, just tell me if it's okay or not, don't do this nonsense."

The person who answered from inside the house spoke softly, so I couldn't hear what he said clearly. After a while, I heard General Bai reply impatiently, "Alright, alright, that's it. If it doesn't work, don't come back."

Just as Yan Qingchen and Bai Zhi were about to enter the house, they saw a soldier with a grim expression walking out quickly. He didn't even raise his head, just nodded and left.

"General, General Zhenbei has arrived."

"Prince Yan is here? Come in quickly." General Bai walked out of the house enthusiastically.

The old general had gray hair and many wrinkles on his face, but his eyes were very bright and his posture was upright. Bai Zhi felt that he was very kind after just one look.

Yan Qingchen bowed and said, "General Bai, I'm late. I hope you won't blame me."

General Bai patted Yan Qingchen on the shoulder and said, "I heard that you have made great contributions to the civil strife in Sheng'an City this time, and you have come to rescue in time. You are a good boy." He had received a letter from his youngest daughter before, and learned that this prince was his granddaughter's sweetheart. Now he saw that he was really good in both appearance and character.

"Thank you for the compliment, General." Yan Qingchen's heart finally relaxed. Fortunately, the old general was not affected by his previous reputation.

General Bai nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to drag Yan Qingchen into the inner room to discuss tomorrow's battle plan, he turned his head and met Bai Zhi's eyes. He was stunned for a moment, then excitedly said, "You are... Little Bai Zhi?"

Bai Zhi nodded obediently, forced an awkward smile, and replied: "Yes, Grandpa, Ah Zhi followed me secretly."

"Okay..." General Bai quickly let go of Yan Qingchen, walked up to Bai Zhi and looked at her carefully. The smile on his face deepened, and he exclaimed: "Are you similar? You look exactly like Bai Rou when she was young. I didn't expect that Grandfather would see you so soon."

Seeing that Bai Zhi seemed a little embarrassed, he pulled her into the inner room and did not forget to invite Yan Qingchen to go in with them.

When they walked into the inner room, a huge sand table appeared in their sight. Bai Zhi walked over curiously. The combat strength of the two sides was clearly marked on the sand table.

General Bai saw Bai Zhi's curious look and thought she had never seen a sand table before, so he introduced it to her, "This is the sand model of the terrain we always prepare when we march and fight."

Bai Zhi smiled and nodded, "Grandfather, I don't know much about military books, but Brother Yan does. You can just talk to him. I'm just curious to see this sand model."

"Okay, lunch will be ready soon. Little Azhi, you can play by yourself for a while. I'll send someone to Yishui City to fetch Bai Lian. You and your sister probably haven't met before, right?"

Bai Zhi thought about it. She had indeed not seen Mu Bailian since she was taken back to the Mu Mansion. It was true that the siblings had never met each other, so she replied, "No, but my brother is in Yishui City fighting off the enemy. Would it be inappropriate to call him over rashly?"

"Humph, that brat heard the term 'guerrilla warfare' from somewhere, and he's been leading his gang of minions to launch sneak attacks on the Di soldiers' rear all day long. While there have been some results, it's too embarrassing and conspicuous. It doesn't matter if he's transferred here."

Yan Qingchen raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of teasing, and deliberately said: "Based on my understanding of Bai Lian, this so-called 'guerrilla warfare' may have been instructed by an expert, he definitely couldn't have come up with it on his own."

"Uh..." Bai Zhi scratched her head awkwardly. "Grandfather, you just said that my brother's method is still feasible. In this battle, winning is the kingly way. Reputation is not as important as the safety of the people of Yan State, right?"

"Hahahaha, Ah Zhi is still aware of the situation. Grandfather wants to learn from you. When that brat comes, he will let him teach the brothers of Jiumen City a lesson."

Bai Zhi nodded heavily and looked at Yan Qingchen proudly.

Yan Qingchen shook his head with amusement, too lazy to expose her, and chatted with General Bai about the current battle situation.

While listening to the conversation between the two, Bai Zhi carefully looked at the division of the two forces on the sand table. At first glance, the forces were evenly matched. The two cities were surrounded by Gobi Desert for hundreds of miles. The Di soldiers set up camp fifty miles away. They had a total of 80,000 soldiers who surrounded the two cities. If they were not careful, they would be able to break into the city.

However, Baizhi was not good at marching and fighting. All she could think of was to go around the enemy's rear, burn their food supplies and cut off their retreat, so that they would collapse without being attacked.

But this is not an easy task. Judging from the sand table, it will take at least a hundred miles to reach the enemy's rear, and the important food and grass areas must be heavily guarded. Unless they make a feint to the east and attack in the west, the attention of the Di soldiers will be diverted to the front line. Bai Zhi pursed her lips and thought that she would talk about these ideas with Yan Qingchen later.

The next morning, Bai Zhi was still asleep when she was awakened by the deafening sound of horns and drums. She put on her clothes, opened the door, and called the servants to ask, "What happened?"

"Miss, this is the warning horn of the enemy attack."

Bai Zhi nodded and asked, "Grandfather and Brother Yan, are they still at home?"

"General Bai and General Zhenbei left the palace before dawn."

That means going to the battlefield. After Bai Zhi understood what was going on, she asked the attendants to leave.

Bai Zhi waited for Yan Qingchen and her grandfather to return all day long. In the evening, she asked the servants and found out that this was a common occurrence. Once a war broke out, they might not return home for several days.

On the second day, Bai Zhi did not stay at home like she did yesterday, but took two servants to stroll around Jiumen City. This place was very different from Sheng'an City. Although it was the main city, it was not so bright. It was invaded by wind and sand all year round, and the whole city looked very old. She found a teahouse with many people in it. Where there are many people, there will be news, so she took people to sit inside.

Bai Zhi didn't know the eating habits here, so she asked the servant to order tea and food for her. While drinking tea, she listened to the conversation of four big men at the next table.

"I heard that the imperial court sent General Zhenbei with 30,000 troops to support the northern border. I seemed to see quite a few cavalrymen entering the city yesterday. They were all unfamiliar faces. I wonder if they were the General Zhenbei."

"I saw it too. There was a little girl beside him, and they were acting very intimately. This is a battle on the march, and this General Zhenbei is acting so out of line. In my opinion... he can't even compare to General Bai."

"But I heard that this General Zhenbei is the Prince of Ning. A while ago, Prince Jing took advantage of Your Majesty's serious illness and attempted to usurp the throne. This prince made great contributions to quelling the civil unrest."

"Where did you hear that?"

"My cousin delivers food to the general's residence all year round. I overheard it by chance."

"Since everyone in the General's Mansion is so optimistic about this Zhenbei General, it seems that this Zhenbei General might actually be quite capable."