"A bunch of wine sacks and rice bags!"
King Tang Li Gong received the secret letter.
Inside the Nanxu Army, they also managed to bribe a few mid-ranking officers to receive frontline news.
Liu Huanrong was startled, "Why such great fury?"
Li Gong forcefully slapped the letter onto the Deputy General's chest, controlling his rage as he cursed, "The vanguard of thirty thousand troops hasn't advanced a step in five full days!"
As Liu Huanrong browsed the content, he said, "Chen Sansi, alone with a bow, terrified the vanguard troops? They also say now that the soldiers sent on patrol demand extra pay; otherwise, no one is willing to go—isn't that absurd?"
The massive sound of the catapult came through.
It signaled the start of another round of the siege.
As Li Gong picked up his weapon, he commanded, "Send a message! Tell them, Yong Yue Prefecture's situation is very promising, the Sheng Army outside the city is utterly exhausted. If they can breakthrough now, they will surely crush the Sheng Army in one fell swoop. Don't fear casualties, don't just focus on preserving strength, and most importantly, do not distrust us!"
"I, Li Gong, guarantee with my honor, swearing a deadly oath on my entire family, that Hu Lao Pass truly only has three thousand people, and within the Profound Image Realm Generals, there's only one at the Early Stage—Sha Wenlong, and no second person!"
"If we fight, we will win!"
A secluded, uninhabited area.
Chen Sansi was hidden among a pile of rocks, practicing his spear technique.
Within the human body, there are twelve primary meridians, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, plus thousands of minor meridians.
Meridian Passage Method reaching small achievement means opening up twenty minor meridians as the foundation. The more minor meridians opened, the more complex the Circulation becomes, forging even purer strength.
Previously, Opening Veins mainly aimed to enhance endurance.
Whereas opening secondary meridians aimed for a stronger Power.
There were no barriers.
Chen Sansi easily opened up twenty meridians and directly moved on to a hundred, only at this moment did he understand the purpose his master had in having him learn so many different weapons and cultivation techniques.
Each cultivation technique enabled the opening of an additional minor meridian!
Just as Senior Sister Sun had described, High Realm Martial Artists usually do not train in other cultivation techniques due to their low efficiency. Although each technique does improve one's capabilities, the increment is minuscule.
Even for a Martial Saint, practicing any cultivation technique requires time; human efforts have limits while cultivation methods are limitless. Many people do not train not because they don't want to, but simply because they don't have the time.
Someone could truly learn hundreds or thousands of cultivation techniques in a short amount of time, accumulating small amounts to make a terrifying difference.
And he, coincidentally, could!
By the time the breakthrough was finished, Chen Sansi had already opened up a hundred meridians.
The first cultivation technique he practiced opened the largest number of minor meridians.
For those with lesser talent, this realm typically starts with the minimum standard of twenty meridians; for geniuses, fifty. He started with a hundred, and the key point is... he could still improve further.
Currently, he had opened a hundred because he had only practiced dozens of techniques due to lack of time.
And his intuition told him the number of meridians he opened was linked to the realm above Martial Saint, not just in contesting strength with others of the same realm.
Casting aside all distractions from his mind, Chen Sansi thrust his spear, and his True Dragon Strength surged tumultuously. The rock pile in front of him burst open explosively, as if his spear had shattered a majestic mountain.
[Cultivation Technique: National Guardian Dragon Spear. Meridian Passage (Small Achievement)]
Meridian Passage Realm, Small Achievement!
Since the preparation was thorough, Chen Sansi's breakthrough was very smooth. Checking that the time was almost right, he returned inside Hulaoguan.
More than twenty cavalrymen were present, among whom ten were dressed in Armour that only Qing Country Meridian Passage above Generals could wear.
"All troops, heed my command!"
Chen Sansi ordered, "Follow me straight to the Nan Xu raiders' main camp. Remember, none of you are below Meridian Passage. Twenty people, all above Meridian Passage, and we have an army of thirty thousand!"
"This tactic is called feigning power."
Xia Cong comprehended, "But sir, won't it give us away? After all, the level of realm can't be faked once a battle begins."
Lu Shuhua and others looked at each other, all somewhat nervous, "Our highest is only at Hua Jin."
"It would have to come to a fight for it to give us away,"
Chen Sansi said, "Besides, what I want is for them to be suspicious. Once they are suspicious, they will fall into the trap! Senior Brother, the rest is all up to you."
"Little brother, wait for another three hours,"
Fang Qingyun looked up at the sky, his clear voice slowly saying, "Start your move at dusk today, the effect will be at least twice as good, and you might even reap unexpected gains."
"Good, I'll follow Senior Brother's advice,"
Chen Sansi agreed, "This upcoming battle, I'm only responsible for drawing out the snake; the sequence of arrangements afterwards will have to be managed by Senior Brother, since I can't possibly supervise both ends."
A capable Phoenix could not possibly always remain idle.
Besides, war is not a one-man affair, to win, one mustn't think of hogging the limelight or getting all the credit. Only when everyone around plays their roles to the utmost can there be a chance of achieving victory through unexpected strategies.
Fang Qingyun, as a disabled person, had always been the Main General of the Azure Dragon Camp, and even the Deputy General was at Profound Image Realm Great Success. If he didn't have real capabilities, how could he possibly command respect?
This kind of operation, requiring the use of deceit and clever tactics, was perfectly suited for him, sparing Chen Sansi the need to worry about every detail.
Listening to the conversation between the two, the others were full of confusion.
They felt that all the arrangements...
were only comprehensible and manageable by Fang Qingyun alone.