Exile is exile, is half of the capital enough as compensation?

"What? Someone is missing?" the leader exclaimed.

His exclamation made everyone around look in their direction.

When the leader saw that everyone around him was looking at him, he quickly lowered his voice.

Anxiously asked: "What's going on?"

"Captain, when I was doing my usual headcount this morning, I discovered that we were suddenly five thousand short of our men. I don't know what exactly happened."

"Have you looked around? Is there any sign of escape?"

"I've looked for them, but haven't found any signs of them escaping. I've also asked others indirectly, and they all said they didn't notice anything unusual last night."

Upon hearing this, the chief rubbed his swollen head.

"Chief, what should we do? Should we notify..."

The man was interrupted by the leader before he could finish his words. "Not now. If the young lady knew, she would definitely blame us. Tell everyone to take turns keeping watch today. Don't let your guard down."

No one knows better than he himself how he climbed to this position. If he really goes back to his original state because of this incident, he would not be willing to do so.

"But we can't keep this secret for long. Even if we don't inform the young lady now, she might..."

The chief interrupted him and said, "First, take me to where the soldiers rested last night."

The man and the leader walked around the place where the soldiers rested last night.

Many soldiers have already gotten up, and they have no way of determining who disappeared last night.

In order not to cause a commotion, they did not dare to go and ask the remaining soldiers.

Although this matter could not be concealed for long, the leader still felt that it was better to conceal it for a while.

Blindly survey the surroundings.

Naturally, nothing was found.

Apart from the flattened grass around it, there was no other trace.

The chief felt his head ache even more and looked at the endless woods.

This was an excellent hiding place, so even though they were hiding not far from here, the army did not discover them.

But such a hidden place is beneficial to them, and naturally it is also beneficial to their enemies.

The most terrifying thing is that they don’t know who their enemy is now.

He glanced deeply in the direction of the army and saw that there was no unusual movement over there. He knew that the disappearance of their soldiers last night had nothing to do with them.

Besides, if it was really them, they would not have captured only 5,000 people.

"Chief, why don't we inform the young lady? This matter will surely spread among the army today, and everyone will be in a panic. The young lady is our master, so the decision should be made by her."

The leader naturally knew that what the deputy general said was right, but...

He waved his hand to signal the deputy general to come forward and whispered in her ear, "Go contact Ji Yi first. Don't mention the disappearance yet. Ask the young lady when she plans to act. If she wants us to assist the army in attacking the north, see if she can transfer us out in the open. If she doesn't plan to help the army, tell Ji Yi..."

The deputy general thought about his words, and felt that this was the best way now. He clasped his fists, accepted the order and left.

Leng Youran, who had been paying attention to their situation in the space, was unhappy when he heard his instructions.

She just wanted to cause them some trouble, but didn't want to cause trouble for herself.

She couldn't hear clearly what the leader whispered in the man's ear, but looking at the direction the man left, it was not difficult to guess that he was heading to Liangzhou.

It’s easy to guess why the man went to Liangzhou.

If the news of the missing soldiers reached Ji Wanxing's ears and caused her to change her plan and order the Ji family army to switch to the main army camp, then what she did last night would be redundant.

Li Tianze saw her face full of worry and seemed to guess the doubts in her heart. He touched the back of her head and said, "Don't worry, Ji Wanxing will not let the Ji family army and the army merge."

"Why?"

"She and Ji Guo announced this move because she can no longer return to the capital. The Ji Family Army is her trump card, and she won't reveal it too soon."

"Then isn't she afraid that some of the Ji family's soldiers will disappear?" Leng Youran was mainly afraid that Ji Wanxing would become desperate.

She didn't care, but she was afraid of causing trouble for Leng Yuyang and the others.

It was originally agreed that the affairs of the main army would be left to them. If the Ji family army joined the main army, it would undoubtedly increase their workload.

If she intervenes at that time, it will undoubtedly disrupt Leng Yuyang and the others' plans.

"There are only 5,000 people. She won't care. Besides, according to the leader of the Ji family army, he should not tell her the truth about the disappearance of people in the army so early." Li Tianze said with certainty.

It’s not that he knows the leader, but if someone really suddenly disappears or escapes on the battlefield, the person who presides over the battle will definitely be punished severely.

The leader doesn't seem stupid. Having climbed to this position, he certainly doesn't want to be dismissed before making any achievements.

As long as he is not stupid, he will never tell Ji Wanxing the truth.

Leng Youran said lightly, answering absentmindedly, and it was obvious that she was not comforted by his words.

Her eyes were fixed on the leader outside. Perhaps because she was a little anxious, the corners of her clothes were wrinkled into a ball.

Seeing her like this, Li Tianze didn't try to persuade her much. He went back to the room, moved out two chairs, and stood guard at the barrier with her.

Liangzhou.

In the Governor's Mansion, in Ji Wanxing's yard.

After hearing what Ji Yi came to report, Ji Wanxing waved his hand without waiting for Ji Yi to say anything more.

"No need to integrate them. Let them wait. How can we accomplish anything great if we're so anxious after the army just suffered a defeat?"

For her, as long as the war breaks out, whether it is the soldiers of the Eastern Jin Dynasty or the soldiers of the north, it is a good thing for her no matter whether there are casualties on either side.

As for the army behind her, it will certainly become the final sharp knife. As for where it will be inserted, it depends on which side is more advantageous to her.

So she was not in a hurry at all, and even hoped that there would be a few more battles. In this way, the people in her hands would become the ones that both sides would fight for. At that time, as long as she put forward the conditions, no matter which party it was, they would agree obediently.

"But Master, someone said..."

"say what?"

Ji Yi thought about what the visitor said, sorted out his words, and then said, "They said it was cold at night. If we continue like this, we might suffer casualties before the battle even begins."

Ji Wanxing sneered, "Oh, if that's the case, then we can only say that those people are incompetent. They can't even survive a summer night, so how can we expect them to play any role on the battlefield?"

When Ji Yi heard this, he couldn't help but shudder.

He had always known about the cruelty of his masters, but he still felt sad when he heard it with his own ears.