Liao Xingwen rubbed the back of his head and felt like giving Feng Qizheng a kick... The guy's hands were way too heavy.

He stole a glance at Ning Chen. Ning Chen looked displeased, and Liao Xingwen went cold inside. He hurriedly bowed to beg forgiveness. "Please calm your anger, my lord prince. This officer knows his fault!"

Ning Chen said nothing for a moment. Then he waved a hand. "From now on, hear me out before you give your opinion."

Liao Xingwen nodded hurriedly. "Yes, sir!"

Ning Chen went on, "As I said just now, tomorrow you'll muster forty thousand men, have them all fly the Ning'an Army's war banners, and split them into two columns. One goes to Lingzhou, the other to Chongzhou.

But remember: don't march too fast, and don't march too slow either... When you're halfway there, turn around and come straight back to Beilin Pass."

Liao Xingwen felt a headache coming on!

Feng Qizheng and the others were all struck dumb and staring.

Ning Chen looked at Liao Xingwen. "Got it?"

"This officer understands, but, but..."

"You want to ask why, is that it?"

Liao Xingwen nodded.

Ning Chen said in a low voice, "Because I'm taking the Ning'an Army back the way we came, along the Wu Kingdom's border to Xuanwu City, and then from Xuanwu City straight to the northern frontier. I'll bring the hundred thousand and more troops on the northern frontier over to our side and then go straight on and take Mangzhou... So those two columns have to buy me time.

Attacking Lingzhou or Chongzhou directly from Beilin Pass isn't realistic.

First, the De Emperor is sure to have a big army waiting for me in Lingzhou. They'll use firearms for certain, and we don't have the advantage in numbers.

Second, Kang Luo's sure to have sent a big army to Chongzhou, and Chongzhou is easy to hold and hard to take... Beilin Pass is stable now, but supplies are still short. On a long campaign, our grain and fodder couldn't keep up.

So I'm going to take Mangzhou first...…