We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The speed at which Rencheng fell was beyond everyone's imagination.

The remaining resistance forces in the city quickly collapsed under the efficient suppression of the White Robe Army.

Zheng Mao's headquarters has become Chen Pingzhi's temporary command post.

Documents, maps, and command arrows were quickly put away, and white-robed soldiers replaced the original defenders and stood solemnly in various key positions.

Zheng Mao was like a puppet that had lost its soul, being escorted by two soldiers and standing in the middle of the hall.

His armor was stripped off, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were dull.

Chen Pingzhi sat in the main seat that originally belonged to Zheng Mao, and quickly flipped through the documents he had searched out of the Marshal's Mansion.

After a long while, he finally closed a scroll of documents and turned his gaze towards the distraught Zheng Mao: "General Zheng."

Zheng Mao had no reaction.

Chen Pingzhi frowned slightly and gestured to the escorting soldiers.

The soldier pushed Zheng Mao hard, and he staggered and raised his head in confusion.

"General Zheng," Chen Pingzhi repeated, "Rencheng has been captured. Your 70,000-man army is trapped."

"If you were willing to order them to surrender, you could avoid countless unnecessary deaths and injuries, which would also be a meritorious deed."

Zheng Mao stared at Chen Pingzhi blankly, as if trying to understand the meaning of this sentence.

After a long moment, he let out a bitter smile: "Surrender? Haha... How can a defeated general have the nerve to order surrender... Just kill me and give me a quick death!"

Chen Pingzhi looked at him like this, a look of contempt flashed in his eyes, and then he said no more.

He turned to his personal guards and ordered, "Take him away and keep him under guard. Don't let him commit suicide."

"Also, select a team of elite soldiers, prepare fast horses, and escort this man back to Chang'an tomorrow morning to present him to His Majesty!"

"Yes!" The personal guard received the order and waved his hand to let the soldiers drag Zheng Mao away.

At this moment, Hu Xian, who had been standing behind Chen Pingzhi, could not help but speak:

"General Chen! Wait a minute!"

Chen Pingzhi turned his head and looked at Hu Xian: "What's the matter, Marquis of Yingyang?"

Hu Xian pointed at Zheng Mao, his face full of doubt: "General, although I am a rough man, isn't it too risky to escort Zheng Mao back to Chang'an at this moment?"

"Even though we've taken Rencheng, we're still trapped in the rebels' territory. We're surrounded by enemy territory!"

"The journey from Rencheng back to Chang'an is long. How many prefectures and counties do we have to cross?"

"If we send too few people, we won't be able to protect him. If we send too many, our manpower will be stretched thin. If we're intercepted by the rebels along the way and we rescue this guy, wouldn't it all be a waste of effort?"

Hu Xian's concerns were reasonable, and several generals and military heroes around him nodded slightly, obviously having similar concerns.

Going deep behind enemy lines and transporting an important figure like the enemy commander over long distances is indeed extremely risky.

After that, Chen Pingzhi simply repeated the order calmly: "It's okay, just do as I say."

Hu Xian opened his mouth and wanted to persuade him again.

But when he saw Chen Pingzhi's calm eyes, he swallowed his words back and frowned, obviously unable to understand.

The next morning, an elite cavalry team of about a hundred people, escorting Zheng Mao, quietly set out from the north gate of Rencheng and galloped towards the northwest.

The news quickly spread within the army, and Hu Xian and others were always worried.

Sure enough, just two days later!

A horseman, covered in dust, rushed back to Rencheng, bringing the news that Hu Xian was most worried about:

"Report——"

"General! The troops escorting Zheng Mao were ambushed by a large group of rebel cavalry in the Black Pine Forest, thirty miles east of Sishui. The brothers fought desperately, and Zheng Mao was rescued by the rebels!"

"What?!" Hu Xian exploded upon hearing this and slammed his hand on the table. "I told you, something really happened!"

On the other hand, Chen Pingzhi didn't even frown, but just said "hmm" lightly.

Then he asked, "Are there any casualties among the soldiers?"

"General, according to your order, the brothers only resisted for a while and then retreated."

This reaction made Hu Xian, who was full of anger, stunned for a moment.

He looked at Chen Pingzhi carefully, and an incredible thought came into his mind:

"General Chen, did you expect this a long time ago?"

"No! You clearly did it on purpose!"

Chen Pingzhi then slowly turned around and asked: "Why do you say that, Marquis Yingyang?"

"You're still pretending!" Hu Xian pointed towards the outside of the city. "Zheng Mao has been rescued, but you're not worried at all. You must have done it on purpose!"

"Why are you doing this? That's the enemy commander!"

Chen Pingzhi walked to the table, picked up a glass of water, and drank it slowly.

Then he said, "Marquis Yingyang, please be patient. I want to ask you, besides his status as the legitimate son of the Zheng family, what else is Zheng Mao good for?"

Hu Xian was stunned and answered subconsciously: "He is the enemy commander!"

"That's the title the fake court gave him." Chen Pingzhi shook his head. "After this defeat, he's completely demoralized and gutsy, and he doesn't have the slightest ability to react to emergencies."

"If he stays in our army, he will only be a burden that wastes food. Killing him will only anger the Zheng family. What good will it do for our army?"

Hu Xian was stunned by the question and said hesitantly, "We can't just let the tiger go back to the mountain for nothing!"

"Let the tiger go back to the mountains?" Chen Pingzhi chuckled. "Is Zheng Mao also a tiger?"

"Releasing him back will be far more effective than locking him up here."

"A commander who lost his army and territory, and was even captured alive by the enemy, even if he is rescued, his prestige will be completely destroyed."

"If the Imperial Capital were wise, they would have replaced him immediately, but this would inevitably cause strong dissatisfaction within the Zheng family. Wouldn't that sow the seeds of discord?"

"If the pseudo-imperial court and the noble families continue to use this loser as commander-in-chief out of consideration for their personal relationships... Your Majesty, do you think letting such a person command the army is a good or bad thing for our army?"

Hu Xian listened to Chen Pingzhi's analysis and slapped his thigh:

"Great! General Chen! You are so cunning!"

Chen Pingzhi curled his lips, too lazy to pay attention to the man's wrong choice of words.

Hu Xian finally understood that Chen Pingzhi did not regard Zheng Mao as a prisoner at all, but turned him into a chess piece to be driven back into the enemy.

No matter how the opponent handles this chess piece, it will be extremely uncomfortable.

"But..." Hu Xian suddenly thought of another question and lowered his voice, "General Chen, you took the initiative to let the enemy commander go. If His Majesty blames you..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Pingzhi smiled genuinely: "Marquis Yingyang, you still don't understand His Majesty."

"Your Majesty is concerned with the ultimate victory. As for the methods used by our subjects to achieve their goals, Your Majesty never interferes."

"Your Majesty is not concerned with whether we follow the rules, but whether we can get things done well and achieve the greatest results at the lowest cost."

"Believe it or not, if I release Zheng Mao today and this ultimately leads to internal unrest within the enemy army, His Majesty will not blame me, but will even consider this a brilliant strategy."