Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife

Chapter 650: Isn’t This a Bit Too Underhanded?

Li Qingmu stared at the top of the tent with a slight irritation.

This time on the expedition, he wanted to bring both Zhang Liulang and Yang Shiqi, but Rong Si only allowed him to bring one, which was also to guard against him.

Just one, then. He brought Zhang Liulang along.

Upon hearing that Cao Yin and his group had arrived, he immediately sent Zhang Liulang to gather intelligence. However, due to the comprehensive defenses at the Valley Pass, Zhang Liulang couldn’t get in and only managed to extract some information using his identity.

But the information was incomplete, with only one sentence written on the slip: Cao Yin brought female companions.

Cao Yin brought female companions, which meant Yue’er might be among them, or she might not. After all, there are many women in the Cao Family who can march and fight, and among them is Cao Yin’s sister, Cao Ling.

Li Qingmu also considered having people from Daliang gather intelligence, but doing so might expose him, so he had to give it up.

"No way!" He suddenly sat up, eyes sharp. "We must take the Valley Pass; that way, Qingjian Road is ahead. It’s a flat terrain suitable for the two armies to confront each other, and I can see things more clearly."

If either side knew that he was risking his life to take the Valley Pass for this purpose, they’d probably be so angry they could spit blood.

But that’s really what he thought.

Li Qingmu didn’t sleep all night, and as a result, he didn’t get up the next day. Fortunately, everyone was up late last night, so no one noticed. When he woke up, Lu Zhi was bringing breakfast in.

"Eldest Young Master has exhausted himself; please take care of your health!"

Lu Zhi saluted respectfully.

The bloodshot eyes of Li Qingmu hadn’t faded yet. He glanced at Lu Zhi and suddenly said, "If we launch a full-scale attack on the Valley Pass, how many troops will be lost, and what are the chances of winning?"

This Eldest Young Master is truly a war fanatic!

Lu Zhi murmured in his heart but appeared more respectful: "At least tens of thousands of troops, a seventy percent chance of success! Your Highness, pardon my boldness, but a forceful attack isn’t wise!"

Seventy percent is quite high, but the cost of tens of thousands of troops is enormous. Generally, Lu Zhi wouldn’t advise Li Qingmu to launch a frontal attack.

"Hmm, a forceful attack isn’t wise!"

Li Qingmu nodded. He wasn’t worried about excessive casualties on Daliang’s side but was concerned about his grandfather and the others. He knew Cao Yin’s temperament well; if he came, he would definitely defend it to the death!

Even at the cost of his life!

He couldn’t harm those people from the Cao Family. First, he would feel guilty; second, Yue’er would hate him, so he really needed to plan well.

But this is truly brain-racking!

"The entire army will rest!"

"Eldest Young Master is wise!"

Seeing that Li Qingmu gave up the thought of a full-scale attack, Lu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

He wasn’t afraid to follow a mad ruler, but he feared following a lunatic!

Madness and a lunatic are entirely different concepts.

The entire army resting implicitly meant he wanted to think things over further.

Lu Zhi saw that Li Qingmu looked somewhat tired and bowed to leave, but his leaving didn’t mean the surveillance ceased. Those guards were still watching his every move.

Rong Si was too wary of him!

Ha, familial ties!

Speaking of which, Li Qingmu’s eyes suddenly focused, as if he thought of an idea?

He quickly called Lu Zhi over.

"General Lu, do we have anyone here with exceptional martial arts skills?"

"Exceptional martial arts skills? Your Highness, what kind of exceptional martial arts do you want?"

The question was a bit broad. Actually, Li Qingmu’s question was broad; he thought for a moment and said, "Very high, of course, the higher the better. Is there anyone who can silently scale the barriers and infiltrate their camp?"

Lu Zhi couldn’t help but look at Li Qingmu with a peculiar expression: "Your Highness, aren’t you that person?"

"Me?"

Li Qingmu was slightly startled. What does that mean?

Seeing the puzzled look on Li Qingmu’s face, Lu Zhi quickly said, "Eldest Young Master, you are the disciple of the State Preceptor, so your martial arts are indeed exceptional!"

"What do you mean?"

Are my martial arts that high? How come I didn’t know?

Li Qingmu looked at him confusedly.

Lu Zhi said, "The highest martial artist in Daliang is the State Preceptor. This State Preceptor is extremely mysterious; no one knows his exact age. It’s said that even the Princess once studied under him!"

Li Qingmu’s pupils shrank sharply. He met this State Preceptor almost daily, only finding him mysterious, but didn’t expect him to be this mysterious?

Even his mother was taught by him?

"Eldest Young Master is now considered his disciple, so your martial arts are definitely extraordinary, it’s just you haven’t discovered it yourself!"

"I have been learning with the State Preceptor for less than a year."

"That’s enough. Even for the Princess, the State Preceptor only guided her for three months!"

Li Qingmu was astounded!

So him guiding me for nearly a year is unprecedented?

Seeing Li Qingmu’s bewildered expression, Lu Zhi even felt a bit proud: "Eldest Young Master, so you are currently the highest martial artist in our camp; what do you need a high martial artist for?"

After all, Li Qingmu was no ordinary person. He quickly calmed down and resumed his train of thought. He said, "General Lu, there’s a saying, ’To catch the bandits, first catch their leader!’ Every loss of a warrior in Daliang is a significant loss. I want to... achieve victory without bloodshed!"

Victory without bloodshed?

Lu Zhi’s eyes lit up with joy: "Your Highness, do you intend to capture the enemy’s general? That would indeed be a good strategy, but there are many generals on the Zhou Army’s side; it’s impossible to capture them all at once!"

Li Qingmu looked at him with eyes as if watching a fool.

"Who told you to capture enemy generals? Doing so would not only fail to cause chaos among the enemy but also make them extremely angry! There’s a saying, an army filled with rage is bound to win. If we anger the Dazhou Army, breaching the Valley Pass would likely cost many lives!"

"Oh, then what do you mean, Your Highness..."

Li Qingmu smiled, a smile with a hint of mischief: "Lu Zhi, go find out who Cao Yin from Dazhou brought with him. If I’m not mistaken, he probably brought some young people from his clan here for training!"

Lu Zhi felt this Eldest Young Master had a bellyful of scheming, but that was a good thing. He nodded and said, "I’ll give the order right away. Your Highness, you’re not planning to..."

"Hmm, I heard that Cao Yin is extremely protective. If we capture his offspring, what do you think he would do?"

"He’d be infuriated, but he’d also be cautious!"

"Exactly, one might not be much; he may grit his teeth and bear it, but what if there are several? We will use his offspring to threaten him; what would he do?"

Lu Zhi imagined the scenario and couldn’t help but get excited, but then he thought of a problem: "Eldest Young Master, wouldn’t such an act be too despicable?"

Li Qingmu gave him a cold glance: "General Lu, in war, deception is the norm!"

Instantly, Lu Zhi became overly excited!

This Eldest Young Master is indeed a born leader; this journey was worthwhile, and following him will surely lead to achievements!

"Your Highness, then I’ll go make arrangements immediately!"

Li Qingmu looked at him: "Do you have someone with high martial arts here? Someone who can silently cross mountains and infiltrate the enemy’s camp?"

"Yes, there are twelve of them in total! Rest assured, Eldest Young Master, we will definitely bring you the people you want!"

Lu Zhi vowed confidently.

```