This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

General Chen was greatly alarmed upon hearing this: "If we lose this battle, I will surely be held accountable when I return. How can I possibly escape punishment?"

Eunuch Yang laughed and said, "If we go back like this, even if we are acting on orders, the Empress Dowager will not be able to protect us."

"What does the eunuch mean?" General Chen asked, puzzled.

"Didn't I just say that when the time is right, the general will lead his men to surrender, and then we will all be captured together?" Eunuch Yang replied.

"What if the Cangyue Kingdom takes the opportunity to kill us? What exactly is the Empress Dowager's plan?" General Chen pressed.

"Fortune favors the bold! Once the plan succeeds, we can simply say we feigned surrender when we return. Not only will we be blameless, but we might even be credited. Since you know you're being ostracized, General, if you seize this opportunity, you might be able to turn your life around. Besides, given our status, we're more valuable alive than dead. As for what the plan is, you'll find out when the time comes," Eunuch Yang said with a cold snort.

General Chen pondered for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "In that case, I will do as you say, sir."

As a result, General Chen gave haphazard orders, allowing the Cangyue Kingdom to win easily, and he and Eunuch Yang were eventually captured.

Inside the Cangyue Central Army tent, a scout excitedly reported the military situation.

"Reporting to Your Majesty and General Ding, our army has achieved a great victory. Generals Situ Kong and Qin Meng have killed nearly half of the enemy. The enemy's morale is greatly damaged, and the remaining vanguard has all surrendered. The enemy's commander and the supervising eunuch have been captured alive and are being escorted into the city!"

"What? How could this be?" Ding Wu was immediately shocked upon hearing this. "Who is the enemy's commander?"

"Reporting to the general, the enemy's vanguard commander is Chen Kegang, and the supervising eunuch is Yang Wugen," the scout replied.

Seeing that Ding Wu's expression was off, Chen Chui quickly asked, "Our army has won a great victory, which is a good thing. Why does the general look worried?"

Ding Wu frowned: "It went too smoothly! Our army has fought against the Rising Sun Kingdom many times before, but such a record is unheard of! Moreover, I have heard of Chen Kegang. He is a cautious man who never seeks credit or acts rashly. How could he have suffered a total annihilation?"

"Does the general mean this battle is a trap? But our army has killed nearly half of the enemy, and the remaining 20,000-plus men have all been captured. Could it be that the Rising Sun Kingdom deliberately sent people to their deaths?" Chen Chui said with a smile.

Ding Wu shook his head: "That's what I don't understand either. We must be very careful with these 20,000 prisoners to avoid any trouble."

Ye Chuxue said, "This is indeed not the behavior of Ye Ningshuang. She is cunning and would never do anything meaningless. She must have her own purpose."

Ding Wu pondered for a moment and said, "If we judge from her purpose, she naturally wants to defeat my Cangyue. So the purpose of deliberately losing the battle is to prepare for the subsequent plan. However, her vanguard has lost nearly half of its troops, and all that is left are these prisoners."

Chen Chui said, "Then let's go all the way and kill them all!"

"No!" Ye Chuxue and Ding Wu exclaimed at the same time.

Chen Chui quickly gave an embarrassed laugh: "I was just speaking casually, how could I suffer such a terrible fate for no reason? But I can't kill him, and I can't let him go either, what should I do?"

Ding Wu said thoughtfully, "It seems that the only solution is to keep them under separate supervision. Without their weapons, they probably won't be able to cause any trouble."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After Chen Kegang and Yang Wugen were escorted back to the Cangyue Army's garrison, they were immediately brought before Ding Wu.

"Guards, quickly untie General Chen and Eunuch Yang, and offer them seats," Ding Wu ordered.

Yang Wugen quickly cupped his hands and said, "General Ding's magnanimity makes our defeat all the more justified. As defeated generals, we are lucky to have survived. How can we possibly deserve your kindness?"

Ding Wu did not answer, but instead asked Chen Kegang, "I have always heard that General Chen is cautious in his military campaigns. Why are you so reckless this time?"

Chen Kegang, looking somewhat awkward, said, "General Ding, you jest. How could my abilities compare to yours? It's simply that your army fought with such fierce courage that ours was no match for you..."

Ding Wu slowly put away his smile: "Are you two here to make fun of me?"

The two men quickly bowed and apologized: "General Ding, you misunderstand. It was our greed for merit and our rashness that caused us to lose our composure and suffer such a great defeat."

Ding Wu shook his head inwardly. He didn't believe a word the two said, but since they were willing to make such a great sacrifice, even torture might not yield any information.

Ding Wu sighed and instructed his men, "Take them away and keep a close watch on them!"

As soon as the two were led into the cell, Chen Kegang asked eagerly, "Eunuch Yang, I have done everything you said. Now can you tell me what the plan is?"

Yang Wugen cautiously looked around and whispered, "Walls have ears, General, don't be impatient, we'll see tonight."

"Ugh! Fine, I won't say it then. You're driving me crazy!" Chen Kegang stamped his foot.

Yang Wugen smiled without saying a word. After a while, he suddenly said, "General Chen, I remember your brother-in-law has always been by your side. Why didn't I see him when we were charging just now?"

Chen Ke was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "Just now, in the chaos... I let him..."

Yang Wugen was immediately startled and grabbed Chen Kegang by the collar, saying, "Where did you send him? Tell me quickly."

Chen Kegang felt a surge of anger for no reason and pulled Yang Wugen away, saying, "Where else could we go? Of course, we sneaked back to the camp. My wife only has this one brother. If something happens to him, how can I explain it to her?"

Yang Wugen panicked immediately, pointing at Chen Kegang and saying, "Dozens? You...you've gotten yourself into big trouble?"

Chen Kegang snorted coldly: "I asked you to tell me what your plan is, but you didn't reveal a single word. With tens of thousands of troops, who would notice if a few dozen people were missing? I have to leave myself a way out."

Yang Wugen sighed, "Even the most meticulous plans can have flaws! Now, all we can do is pray to the divine messengers."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kegang immediately sensed something was wrong. Those divine messengers were all monsters, and things would get complicated if he got involved with them.

"Eunuch Yang, is our feigned surrender this time related to the Demon God Cult?"

Yang Wugen said dejectedly, "If it weren't for them, who could have come up with such a vicious plan? You must have heard about the 'Pingcheng Rebellion' before, right?"

Chen Kegang nodded and said, "That's for sure. It is said that when the Marquis of Pingcheng raised an army in rebellion, divine punishment came down and the rebels in the city were infected with the plague within a few days. Then the Grand Preceptor quelled the rebellion without bloodshed."

"Suppress the rebellion? Without bloodshed? How laughable! That's right, the Imperial Advisor took Pingcheng without firing a single shot, but after that battle, almost all the people of Pingcheng were wiped out, and Pingcheng was burned to the ground." Yang Wugen smiled coldly.

"You mean... the plague that day was related to the Demon God Cult?" Chen Kegang suddenly realized, and asked in shock, "And those tens of thousands of troops were also..."