General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

After imprisoning Wu Ming, Jiang Qiqi was also going to join Shen Luo and the others.

This time, she left Xiang'er and Lin'er to look after the house, and told them to send anyone who came to visit the general away.

Here, Xiang'er's heart was breaking at the thought of her delicate young lady having to go to the battlefield alone.

She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, looking utterly miserable, and kept giving instructions:

"Miss, please take good care of yourself. The battlefield is no joke. Don't walk alone during the day, and don't sleep too soundly at night... I will be praying for you at home and waiting for your safe return."

Lin'er really wanted to go to the battlefield with her mistress, but Jiang Qiqi kept her there under the pretext of watching over Wu Ming, so she was very worried at the moment.

She said, "Me too."

……

After bidding farewell to the two, Jiang Qiqi led her personal guards on horseback and galloped into the mountains.

Fortunately, Xiang'er came these past few days and cooked all sorts of delicious food for her, which helped her recover a lot. Otherwise, she might still have had to take the carriage.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Cui Zhi finally felt relieved after arriving in Manzhen.

Manzhen is not a large town, with only a few thousand households. It is daytime now, and people are walking around on the streets from time to time. They will greet each other when they meet acquaintances.

It looks like an ordinary little village.

But Cui Zhi knew in his heart that Shi Hui and his rebel army's headquarters were hidden in this town.

In other words, behind this seemingly small town of Man, there are tens of thousands of people.

As always, Cui Zhi arrived at the town's only inn.

"Innkeeper, I need a place to stay." He took out a silver ingot and placed it on the counter.

"I want to stay in that stone house in the backyard," Cui Zhi said, pointing to the back door.

The waiter immediately understood and said, "Sir, the stone house is cold in winter and hot in summer. It's not comfortable to live in."

"It's okay. My constitution is different from that of ordinary people, so I need to live in a house that is cold in winter and hot in summer."

With the password correct, the waiter tossed the towel in his hand and said, "Alright, sir, please follow me."

The waiter led Cui Zhi to the so-called "stone house"—a house built of stones with no windows or lights.

The waiter pressed a few spots on the wall.

"Bang bang—" One of the walls in the room began to shake, and then suddenly swung back.

The stone wall receded, and a large gate appeared before the two.

Looking at the door, Cui Zhi was puzzled: "I remember there wasn't this wall before."

The waiter replied respectfully, "The previous door was broken and hasn't been repaired yet, so we've been using this door to get in and out for the past few days."

"So that's it."

"Sir, please." The waiter gestured for him to enter.

Without thinking much, Cui Zhi stepped inside.

The stone door slowly closed behind him.

……

Although the rebels usually operate in this town, their real base is actually in the mountains.

True in the mountains.

Shi Hui led the rebels to hollow out the mountain themselves, using it for daily living, training, and other purposes.

Later, in order to hide the location of their main camp, they built the present-day "Man Town" outside.

At first, Cui Zhi thought it was unnecessary, since the group would disband in two years anyway.

But Shi Hui said that when the court people later discovered this place, they would be able to realize the true size of the rebel army. In that case, as Lord Cui who quelled the rebels, your merit would be even greater.

Cui Zhi thought about it and agreed with their actions.

At the time, he felt that the entire Liyuan County was under his control, and that these so-called rebel rabble would not pose a threat to him no matter what they did.

……

Following the secret passage, Cui Zhi walked all the way in and finally arrived at a room.

The room was empty, with no table or bed, and the floor was covered with thatch, which had some black marks on it.

Cui Zhi frowned. There wasn't even a place to sit. Was he supposed to wait for Shi Hui here?

He turned to go back, and had just taken one step—

"boom!"

The tunnel door closed automatically.

"Is anyone there? What's going on?" Cui Zhi shouted, but no one answered him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

four days ago.

Shi Hui asked the scout who brought the news, "Is what you said true? This time, the person leading the army for the imperial court is the General Zhenguo?"

“General Shi, it’s absolutely true. The area in front of your residence is packed with people, all of them are admirers of the General who protects the country.”

Shi Hui swallowed hard, sitting in the chair with a restless expression.

"What should we do? Luo Xingyuan, that's a General Who Protects the Nation."

He visibly panicked.

"How about we surrender?"

Luo Xingyuan, their strategist, was also frowning at this moment.

“That doesn’t make sense. Small-scale uprisings like ours happen every year in Nanyue. Each time, the local government sends people to suppress them. Only when the imperial court occupies a city will it send people.”

Upon hearing his words, Shi Hui asked, "You mean, Cui Zhi didn't help us conceal it, and the imperial court knows that we have occupied three county towns?"

Luo Xingyuan shook his head: "I don't know either. Maybe he reported it, or maybe he couldn't keep it hidden, but what is certain is that the imperial court already knows."

He asked the scout who delivered the message, "How many troops did the General Zhenguo bring with him when he came?"

The scout thought for a moment and said, "There don't seem to be many people."

"How much is that?"

"About a few dozen people."

"Dozens of people?" Shi Hui and Luo Xingyuan exclaimed in surprise.

"So, is he here to attack us?" Shi Hui asked uncertainly. "Is it possible that he's just here to play around?"

Luo Xingyuan delivered a direct blow to his head: "Use your brain, will you!"

"You mean, General Zhenguo is leaving the capital city to come to this plague-ridden place for sightseeing?"

Shi Hui touched his head, which was now swollen from being hit, and didn't dare to say a word.

Luo Xingyuan took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"If General Zhenguo hadn't brought any men with him, then perhaps we wouldn't be so afraid."

"Although the plague is rampant now, our fighting strength is at least 70%, while the government's strength is at most less than 50%."

He looked at the spot where Shi Hui's left arm was severed, his eyes filled with a do-or-die determination.

"We have no way out. Even if the enemy is the General of the Nation, we must fight to the death and fight with our backs to the wall!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Manzhen is located in the middle of Lianping Mountain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one road leading out.

"What a strategically advantageous location, easy to defend and difficult to attack."

Sixteen looked at the map and said with a headache.

To avoid alerting the enemy, they camped on a mountainside five kilometers away from Manzhen.

"How's it going on Twelve?" Shen Luo asked, looking up from the map.

"We just received news that the army set off this morning and is expected to arrive tomorrow morning," Sixteen said.

"We also received news from His Highness that they are taking a detour to climb the mountain behind Manzhen."

Shen Luo nodded, then frowned as he looked at the rough map: "Tell Nineteen to lead the reconnaissance troops to survey the terrain as soon as it gets dark today."

"A detailed map of the surrounding terrain must be drawn up overnight."