On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

"A treacherous plot?"

After a long silence, Uwe finally spoke.

His voice was low and slow, yet it was like hot irons branding Hu Yanzhuo's back.

"You're saying you fell for their trap?" Uvi slowly rose from the throne, walked down the steps one by one, and came to Huyan Zhuo's side.

His hawk-like eyes looked down at Hu Zhuo, who was kneeling on the ground.

"You led ten thousand of my most elite cavalrymen from the northern deserts to attack a grain transport convoy made up of miscellaneous soldiers and laborers. You tell me, you've fallen into a trap?!"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch, booming through the hall like thunder.

"Are the warriors of the Northern Desert not brave enough? Or have the walls of the Southern people grown legs and run all the way to Eagle's Beak Cliff?!"

"Great Khan, please calm your anger! Great Khan, please calm your anger!" Huyan Zhuo was terrified, kowtowing repeatedly until blood streamed from his forehead. "It's...it's the Southerners who are too cunning! They disguised their supply troops as the main force and planted powerful 'thunderbolts' in the valley...This humble general...this humble general was caught off guard..."

"A moment of carelessness?!" Uvi suddenly raised his foot and kicked Hu Yanzhuo hard in the chest!

Hu Yanzhuo screamed and tumbled out like a rolling gourd, crashing heavily into a stone pillar in the hall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Useless trash! You're a piece of trash who's good for nothing and good for nothing!" Uvi was furious. He rushed forward, grabbed Hu Yanzhuo by the collar, and lifted him off the ground, his bloodshot eyes glaring at him.

"I entrusted you with ten thousand elite troops so that you could make a name for yourself, not so that you could send that brat Lin Zhen to his death and gain merit! Do you know what we have lost because of your stupidity?!"

He slammed Huyan Zhuo to the ground as if throwing away a piece of trash, then turned and pointed at the generals in the hall, roaring hoarsely:

"Eight thousand warriors! Our entire royal court's elite forces number only thirty thousand! You've wiped out nearly a third of them in one night! What are you going to use to fight the Southerners? What are you going to use to conquer the Central Plains?!"

Uvi paced back and forth in the hall like a trapped beast, his chest heaving violently, the rage in his eyes almost setting the entire hall ablaze.

Just then, Ashina De, the strategist who had been silent all along, stepped out from the corner, bowed, and said:

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Although the Right Wise King has committed a grave offense, the most urgent task is not to pursue his responsibility, but to stabilize the morale of the army as soon as possible and devise a countermeasure. Although Lin Zhen's plan is vicious, it also reveals his eagerness to win. Our main force is still intact, and we may still have the strength to fight."

Ashnad's words calmed Uvi down a little. He stopped, panting, and turned to Ashnad.

"What are your plans? What are your plans?"

Ashina stepped forward and whispered:

"Your Majesty, my previous attempt to sneak into Chang'an to meet Lin Zhen did not yield the desired result."

He recounted in detail his conversation with Lin Zhen in the secret chamber of the Regent's Palace, including Lin Zhen's unwavering protection of Murong Yan and his resolute rejection and humiliation of Mobei's proposal.

"...Lin Zhen and the Empress are deeply in love, and it's impossible for us to sow discord between them from within. Moreover, Lin Zhen's determination and ruthlessness far exceed our expectations. He will never compromise with us because of temporary setbacks in the war."

Ashnad concluded.

After listening to Ashinad's account, Uvi's face grew even more gloomy.

He still harbored a sliver of hope that he could seize control of the Great Qian Dynasty effortlessly through a strategy of sowing discord.

It now appears that this path has been completely blocked.

Lin Zhen and Murong Yan, this couple, are much more difficult to deal with than he imagined.

"So, in other words, we're left with only one option: a head-on confrontation?" Uwe's voice was as cold as ice.

“Yes.” Ashina nodded. “Moreover, our army suffered a recent defeat at Eagle Beak Cliff, and our morale has been dampened; while the morale of the Daqian army has soared. This disparity is extremely disadvantageous to our army. If we were to engage in a decisive battle with Lin Zhen’s main force at this time, the chances of victory would probably be… slim.”

"So you mean we should withdraw our troops?" King Attila of Zuoguli couldn't help but interject, his tone full of resentment.

“No, it’s not a withdrawal.” Ashina shook his head, a sinister glint in his eyes. “It’s a change in tactics.”

He turned to Uvi, bowed, and said, “Great Khan, since we cannot gain an advantage in a direct confrontation, why don’t we try another approach? Southerners value etiquette and rules, and insist on a righteous and honorable war. But we wolves of the grasslands, when we hunt, have never paid any attention to rules. What we value is patience, cunning, finding the prey’s most vulnerable neck, and striking it deadly!”

Uvi's eyes lit up: "Go on."

"Lin Zhen is formidable, and Zheng Jiao is a veteran, but they are ultimately human, not gods. Their army needs provisions and water, and their soldiers will get sick and exhausted."

Ashnad lowered his voice even further, "Perhaps we can..."

Just then, a guard announced from outside the hall: "Great Khan, the Holy Son-in-Law Kong Zhiqian requests an audience."

Uwe frowned, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes. What was that useless, hate-filled southern brat doing here at this crucial moment?

But then he thought again, perhaps...

"Let him in," Uvi waved his hand.

Kong Zhiqian was quickly brought in.

He was still wearing that heavy fur robe, and his face appeared even paler in the candlelight of the hall.

As soon as he entered the hall, he felt the oppressive atmosphere, filled with the smell of blood and defeat.

He saw Hu Yanzhuo kneeling on the ground, his life hanging in the balance, and he saw the dejected surviving soldiers. In an instant, he understood something.

Eagle Beak Cliff... defeated?

A strange, twisted pleasure, mixed with a deeper despair, surged into his heart in an instant.

What pleased him was that these people from the northern deserts, whom he hated, had also tasted defeat; what made him despair was that even ten thousand elite northern cavalry had been defeated, so his hope of revenge was even more remote.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, walked to the center of the hall, and facing Uwei on the throne, he knelt on one knee, imitating the etiquette of the northern people, with his right hand on his chest:

"Kong Zhiqian pays his respects to the Great Khan."

Uvi looked at him, the violent anger on his face gradually subsiding, replaced by a complex, scrutinizing gaze.

He didn't immediately help Kong Zhiqian up. Instead, he remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice hoarse as he asked, "Young Master Kong, have you heard about the defeat at Eagle Beak Cliff?"

"Yes." Kong Zhiqian lowered his head, his voice calm.

“What’s your opinion?” Uvi asked.

Kong Zhiqian fell silent. He knew this was a trap.

If you speak well, you might gain attention; if you speak poorly, you might become, like Huyan Zhuo, a tool for the Khan to vent his anger.

He raised his head to meet Uvina's hawk-like gaze and said, word by word, "The art of war says, 'Warfare is based on deception.' On the battlefield, victory and defeat are unpredictable. Prince Huyan Zhuo's defeat was not due to a lack of skill, but rather... a lack of self-awareness and knowledge of the enemy."

"Oh?" A hint of interest flashed in Uwe's eyes. "Tell me, how does one 'not know oneself, not know the enemy'?"

"Not knowing oneself means overestimating our army's ability to launch surprise attacks, while underestimating the risks of long-distance raids and the loss of support."

Kong Zhiqian's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"To be ignorant of the enemy is to completely underestimate Lin Zhen. I grew up in Qufu and have heard a little about the deeds of this regent. This man... is no ordinary warrior. His military tactics seem unrestrained, but in reality, he is meticulous and calculating, leaving no room for error. If judged by ordinary military methods, he would surely be defeated."

His words drew the attention of all the generals from the northern deserts present.

They never expected that this usually taciturn southern boy would say such a thing.

Uwe's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

He stood up, walked over to Kong Zhiqian, and personally helped him up, even managing a rare, albeit "amiable," smile on his face.

"Good! Well said!" He patted Kong Zhiqian on the shoulder.

"It seems I underestimated you. You're right, we all underestimated Lin Zhen. So, in your opinion, how should we deal with him next?"

Uwe adopted a very humble posture, as if he were seeking advice with great eagerness.

Kong Zhiqian knew that the real test was about to begin.