Wu Jie wasn't a sentimental person. Which of the men who'd served in the Western Army for a full twenty years, ever since they were teenagers, would be?

So, after just a moment, Wu Jinqing bowed his head and kowtowed, first proclaiming his fear and trepidation… he didn't kneel again, because Zhao Guan's family supported him… and then proclaimed his willingness to die for the country and the Son of Heaven.

He unhesitatingly seized this opportunity.

And Zhao Jiu nodded in response, and the position of commander-in-chief was settled.

Of course, things couldn't be that simple.

That evening, after Wu Jie had dined with the Guan family, he intended to first express his general views on the battle situation in order to obtain the Guan family's prior approval, but unexpectedly, Zhao Guan's family directly declined, saying that he must be tired from his long journey today and should rest, and then he excused himself.

Therefore, Wu Jie had no choice but to follow the Guan family's arrangements and sleep in the side tent of the central army, only dozens of steps away from Zhao Guan's family's main tent, but he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

This was, of course, understandable. Being favored by the monarch at first sight and entrusted with the important task of the country made Wu Jie, who came from a good family and had toiled in the army for twenty years, especially excited, and the fact that the Guan family was next door also made him quite nervous. Not only that, but as Wu Jie carefully considered today's appointment, before he could feel even a hint of sleepiness, a sense of anxiety replaced his excitement, and he became even more sleepless.

First of all, he thought about the matter of fighting the Jin people.

Wu Jie had been in Fang Prefecture for a long time, and he was a rare general of great talent, so he naturally had his own thoughts. But obviously, this battle concerned the overall situation, the country's fortunes, and even the Guan family's life and death… Wu Jinqing also read the court gazettes… so he naturally couldn't rest easy.

Secondly, there was the issue of his own identity. Although the Guan family had entrusted him with the overall situation in person, Wu Jinqing still felt it was troublesome, because although he was also an old military man who had been in the Western Army for more than ten years, a so-called veteran of the Western Army with considerable experience, and a dignified Pacification Commissioner who had recently won a rare victory… this was probably the fundamental reason why he had caught the Guan family's eye… but no matter what, taking over as commander-in-chief was bound to attract dissatisfaction and jealousy.

Because holding the position of commander-in-chief meant taking on the lives of the entire army of one hundred thousand men. This wasn't a simple matter of who was above or below, nor was it a matter of who had斩獲 more heads or accumulated more merits. These were all quantifiable indicators, and then the monarch could just point a finger and decide, but it was to say that, except for Han Shizhong, who was sufficient to subdue everyone, putting anyone else in charge was bound to cause dissatisfaction among the rest of the people and factions:

If Liu Xi were to take charge, the Guans’i army might be convinced, but Qu Duan of the Imperial Guards and the North Sanlu, as well as their Wu brothers, would definitely not be convinced.

If Wang Yuan were to take charge, not to mention the six routes of the Guans’i army, even the Imperial Guards would be unconvinced, because the Imperial Guards knew better than anyone else that Wang Yuan had been involved with the traitor Kang Lu in Mingdao Palace, and he had shown cowardice in the Liu Guangshi incident, which was fatal for a military general.

If Wang Yan were to take charge, this commander of the Eight Character Army had established his festival early with his victory in Yanling, but he was too bookish, so not only would the Western Army be unconvinced, but Wang De's group in the Central Army of the Imperial Guards would also be unconvinced.

Even if Qu Duan were to take charge, everyone would not dare to disobey on the surface… because everyone also knew that if anyone dared to show disobedience on his face, this guy would really dare to kill someone to establish his authority… but they would still be unconvinced in their hearts, otherwise he wouldn't have been driven out of northern Shaanxi by Hu Yin, a mere scholar.

So, by the same token, if Wu Jie were to take charge, the North Sanlu army that his brothers had been managing for more than a year might naturally support him, but why would the Imperial Guards and the various departments of the West Sanlu be convinced?

Qualifications, background, official position, and reputation were all just superficial issues. The inner truth was the issue of factions and cliques. This was a traditional bad habit in the army, something that couldn't be avoided. And this kind of problem was even more prominent when the various armies were hastily merged.

Therefore, no matter what, Wu Jie knew that he was bound to face the刁难 and false pretenses of the other army generals tomorrow.

And this led to two other serious problems… It must be known that whether in the army or in officialdom, if you want to suppress your subordinates, you need nothing more than name and substance. However, the problem now was that Wu Jie seemed to have difficulty obtaining both of these things at the moment.

The Guan family was confusing the situation by having Imperial Envoy Yuwen Xuzhong guard the Dragon Flag in the old palace in Chang'an, while he himself was holding the flag of the Privy Council Commissioner in the camp. So, whose banner should Wu Jie use to issue orders? He was likely to borrow Yuwen Xiang Gong's banner together with the Guan family, and then actually use the Guan family's name to do things… If the name wasn't right, the words wouldn't be right. Was he a commander-in-chief or a adjutant?

As for substance, that was even more terrible. Since the previous year, it had always been the North Sanlu army fighting against Lou Shi's troops, suffering heavy losses, to the point that they now had to gather border defense fortress troops to fill out the ranks. In terms of troop numbers, the North Sanlu was far inferior to the Imperial Guards and the West Sanlu. Moreover, Wu Jie's most core and trusted troops had to remain in Fang Prefecture due to strategic needs… So, how could Wu Jie use to suppress these arrogant and brave generals?

A commander-in-chief who issued orders and commanded an army of one hundred thousand men without his own central army troops would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

No, he didn't even have his own guard!

Everything depended on the Guan family's favor.

However, after thinking about this, Wu Jie felt relieved. Anyway, being trusted by the Guan family to command one hundred thousand troops here was better than sitting and guarding the city in Fang Prefecture… Three battles and three defeats within a year, and he had even become a Pacification Commissioner. Now that he had won just one battle, he could come before the imperial court and take on this important task. What else did he need for name and substance?

A military governor? Or would the Guan family give him those two routes of 背嵬 army?

All he had to do was do his best to come up with ideas. The Guan family would use them if they wanted to, and if they didn't, they wouldn't… It would be good if he won, but if he didn't, he would protect the Guan family and retreat to Sichuan and Shu, which would be considered fulfilling his debt of gratitude for being recognized.

All in all, within one night, Wu Jie went from excitement to trepidation to relief, and coupled with the fatigue of traveling all day, he finally had a good night's sleep.

When Wu Jinqing woke up again, he was actually woken up by the heat. He turned over in alarm and discovered that it was already broad daylight. Not only that, but there were few figures inside and outside his military tent. There was only a basin of clear water for washing, a cotton towel, and a set of finely tailored, expensive cotton robes placed in the tent…

In this day and age, cotton was originally more valuable than silk. After the Jingkang Incident, the rebellion in the Wuling Mountains in the southern part of Huguang and the northern part of Guangdong had been going on for four or five years, and the imperial court had no strength to quell it, so the cotton output further decreased, which made this item even more precious.

Therefore, Wu Jie knew at a glance that this was bestowed by the Guan family. He wasn't polite and simply threw down his sweat-soaked underwear, wiped his face and upper body in the tent, and then directly put on this valuable cotton robe that was specially tailored at the waist and sleeves, embroidered with brocade flowers, and obviously had the shape of military uniform.

Hearing the movement inside the tent, an officer from the Imperial Guards had already personally brought breakfast, which was a cool melon and half a jar of cool millet porridge. Wu Jinqing wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world, so he naturally knew that it had been soaked in well water, which was the best for relieving the heat. But because he knew that big things were at stake, he didn't hesitate and just poured out the millet porridge from the jar, drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and walked out with the melon in his arms.

When he came out of the tent and saw that the sun was almost directly south, Wu Da was completely flustered, so he simply threw the melon in his hand to a fully-armored soldier in front of the door and hurried towards the central army tent.

However, at this moment, seeing that General Wu Da had finally come out of the tent, several soldiers who had been waiting between the central army tent and the side tent also turned around in a panic and ran directly to the front of the central army tent, vigorously beating the drums.

The sound of drums rumbled, signaling the gathering of generals. Wu Jie knew that they were waiting for him, and he was even more flustered, so he quickly ran into the military tent. He saw that the young Guan family from yesterday was sitting upright in the central position, with Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, the commander and deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, standing behind him. On the left were the Hanlin academician, the drafter of the Department of State Affairs, and the recording officials, whom he didn't know well. On the right were Wang Yuan, the commander of the Imperial Guards whom he had seen last night, and the leaders of the two 背嵬 armies who had come from Guandong, standing with their hands tied.

In addition, there was an empty seat on the side of the desk where the Guan family was sitting, which made Wu Jie feel excited again.

However, when Zhao Guan's family saw Wu Jie enter, he just smiled slightly and motioned for the latter to stand next to Wang Yuan, but he wasn't in a hurry to let him take a seat.

Wu Jie quickly adjusted his mood and stood solemnly in the tent.

After a moment, as the drums continued to beat, countless military generals poured in. Wu Jie glanced sideways and discovered that in addition to familiar faces such as Liu Xi, Liu Qi, Murong Wei, Li Yanqi, Qiao Ze, and Zhang Zhong, there were also many people he didn't recognize at all. It wasn't until Wang De, who was of magnificent stature, and Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing, the three former Western Army generals under Liu Guangshi, entered together and actually stood behind another general that he realized… the Guan family had specially gathered the generals of the surrounding Imperial Guards for him.

It could only be said that it was fortunate that this place was still a full eighty miles away from the Jin army camp, otherwise, if the scouts found out, Wanyan Lou Shi would definitely disregard everything and attack.

"Sorry to keep you waiting in the front camp."

With Zhao Guan's family's words, Wu Jie's face turned even redder, but only he himself had always had a sallow complexion, so it wasn't obvious. Regardless of how rich Wu Jie's psychological activities were, the Guan family didn't say anything extra and went straight to the point. "Today's meeting is only about one thing… Although I have personally come to the front line, I am, after all, not familiar with military affairs. As the saying goes, there are specialists in every field, and there should be a general who can take charge of the overall situation in battle. Especially now, here in Guans’i, Han Liangchen and Li Yanxian both have extremely important responsibilities and cannot easily leave their posts. Among the various armies that have been hastily merged, someone must take charge of the overall situation for me in all six routes of the Guans’i army and the various departments of the Imperial Guards…"

At this point, many people had turned their slightly surprised and suspicious gazes towards the yellow-faced Wu Jie… From yesterday until now, rumors had been spreading everywhere that Qu Da had ridden his iron elephant into the camp and would take overall command of this battle. As a result, when they entered the camp today, they didn't see Qu Da's red face, but they saw Wu Da's yellow face, and this person was wearing such a flamboyant cotton military uniform and standing so close to the Guan family. How could people not be surprised and suspicious?

And sure enough, Zhao Jiu was too lazy to play any tricks. He sat motionless, without even turning his eyes, and directly called out, "Wu Qing, receive the decree!"

"Your subject is here!" Wu Jie immediately stepped forward and bowed.

At this time, Hanlin Academician Lin Jingmo suddenly stepped forward and stood between the Guan family and Wu Jie, and then opened a bright yellow silk cloth in public, startling all the military generals in the tent to step forward and kneel behind Wu Jie… They weren't civil officials, and kneeling was too common for them.

Lin Jingmo paused slightly and then began to announce the decree in public: "Department of State Affairs: The sage follows the movements of heaven and earth, and the army must have a name; the king controls the power of the center and the outside, and the army that is supported will win. Therefore, in consideration of the strategy of the central army and in cooperation with the anxiety of resisting foreign insults, plan carefully and announce to your people. Wu Jie, Right Military Officer, Prefect of Zhong Prefecture, Pacification Commissioner of Jingyuan Road, 開國子 of Baoding County, five hundred households with food, loyalty and righteousness are natural talents, wisdom and courage are human heroes…"

Hearing this, everyone had already understood without a doubt that it was Wu Da who had taken the position.

And the Guan family had made such a big show, even going so far as to take off his pants and fart and specially bring out a clear decree, obviously to warn everyone that his emphasis on Wu Jie was unshakeable and that no one was allowed to challenge Wu Da's authority.

However, Lin Jingmo continued to read without stopping and soon read out a passage that left everyone in the tent dumbfounded:

"...Therefore, he is hereby awarded the title of Grand Commander of the six routes of Guans’i, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards, Grand Commandant, and Military Governor of 镇西 Army, overseeing Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, and all the military and civilians outside Guans’i… The chief shall implement!"

The previous titles were fine, nothing more than to facilitate the handling of this battle, but after hearing the words Military Governor of 镇西 Army, Wu Jie only felt dizzy in his head. He had thought about many things overnight, but at this time, he couldn't say a word.

And behind him, the generals in the camp were all astonished.

Among them, the generals of the Central Army of the Imperial Guards were fine, because they had been fighting and guarding the Central Plains for many years and had already succumbed to the authority of Zhao Guan's family. However, among the generals of Guans’i, many were in commotion, especially Liu Xi. He had raised his head several times and wanted to stand up and shout injustice, but he had lowered his head after meeting that bright yellow silk cloth several times.

In the end, this was one of the reasons why the so-called families of generals existed in the 宋 Dynasty… They were blessed by virtue of their ancestors for generations and became generals for generations. For them, one side was the Western Army and the other side was the 宋 Dynasty Imperial Family. Only by standing firm on both sides could they have generations of glory and wealth.

The Guan family and the Central Plains could be deceived and concealed, but it was extremely difficult to show any hesitation in form and procedure, let alone an attitude of opposition.

How did Zhong Shizhong die? Knowing that accepting the decree and going forward would be a death, he still went with the intention of dying.

How did Liu Guangshi die? In the midst of the chaos of war, he brought an army that outnumbered the Guan family's personal guards to the imperial court, but he was personally划拉 by the Guan family, and his own two generals held his hands down… There were at least four people involved in this mess in the Central Army tent right now!

"Your subject… Your subject will die a thousand deaths!"

After the imperial decree was read for a full few breaths, Wu Jie finally got up in a mess and received the decree.

"And pause a moment, there is one more thing." Zhao Jiu, seeing everyone get up, was not in a hurry to face Wu Jie. He reached out again in his seat and pointed to two people. "Zhang Xian, Tian Shizhong."

"Your subject is here."

"Your subject is here."

Zhang and Tian each had a sudden thump in their hearts.

"Since the two of you have come here, Pengju and Boying must have already given you instructions. I hope you will abide by your duties as subjects and not embarrass your father-in-law and sworn brother… Wu Jinqing has come in a hurry and has no personal army. The two of you will serve as the central army and directly listen to Wu Taiwei's command. I want the two of you to treat Wu Taiwei as if he were Yue Pengju and Zhang Boying… This is a military order, understand?" Zhao Jiu asked the two of them solemnly.

"Your subjects respectfully obey His Majesty's will!"

"Your subjects obey the decree!"

Zhang Xian and Tian Shizhong each shuddered and immediately responded.

Zhao Jiu nodded and then stood up again, went down and helped Wu Jie, who was holding the imperial decree, up, and then almost dragged him to the position he had been sitting in before, and then pressed him down. Only then did he sit down in a side seat… Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan were expressionless and actually left their original positions and went to Zhao Guan's family's back on the side. Seeing this, Zhang Xian and Tian Shizhong didn't dare to neglect and each stood solemnly with their swords at Wu Jie's back.

For the second half of this process, Zhao Guan's family sat upright without moving and without saying a word.

Up to this point, Wu Jie and the generals in the tent had already been in a daze. But after a moment, as his breathing evened out, Wu Jinqing immediately became solemn again… The brave and resourceful Wu Da knew where. Unless he defeated Lou Shi in this battle, he could only protect the Guan family into Hanzhong after the war and then commit suicide to thank the Guan family for his kindness. This was the only way out.

"Everyone."

With this thought in mind, Wu Jie, who had made up his mind, no longer looked at the appearance of Zhao Guan's family by his side (actually, he didn't dare to look). Instead, he directly spoke sternly to the countless military generals in the tent who were also solemn. "Enough idle talk. When I was in Fang Prefecture, I thought about the battle situation day and night, thinking about how to face Lou Shi… But after thinking about it, there is one thing that I still don't understand! Wu is incompetent, but I dare to ask you, Lou Shi has come from afar, why has he stopped south of Bai River for several days without moving? Even if the Guan family sends troops from Chang'an, he has just been doing nothing, so that we can safely set up camp and the armies from all roads can gather calmly?"

None of the dozens of high-ranking military officers in the tent spoke… This wasn't because they wanted to embarrass Wu Jie. Zhao Guan's family was next to him, and it wasn't now that they could embarrass him. They were just still a little dazed.

Zhao Jiu waited for a while, and seeing that no one responded, he simply swept down from his side. Wang Yan, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards in the first position, panicked and was about to step forward.

However, just at this time, Li Qiong, the defender of Xiagui on his opposite side, stepped forward one step ahead and cupped his hands to answer first: "Reporting to the Grand Commandant, this junior, Li Qiong, the commander of the Central Army of the Imperial Guards, believes that Lou Shi is waiting for changes in Hedong!"

"What kind of changes?"

"Perhaps he is waiting for Hedong reinforcements to gather from Longmen, or he is waiting for the Jin army of Hedong to cross Pujin on a large scale, or he is waiting for the Jin army of Hedong to launch a surprise attack on Shanzhou." Li Qiong said solemnly. "Or perhaps he is waiting for the Jin army of Hedong to launch a successful surprise attack on Luoyang or other unexpected strategies."

Zhao Jiu sat upright without moving, his expression unchanged, but he just allowed these people to discuss military matters.

"That's right." Wu Jie nodded heavily. "And if he waits for these things, what should we do?"

Li Qiong immediately became silent, and even Wang Yan and Wang De, who were preparing to step forward, just exchanged glances and stood solemnly… If he waited for them, what could they do? Then he would wait for them.

"If he waits for them, then he waits for them." Wu Jie suddenly chuckled. "The Jin people are separated from us by the Great River, and from the East Sea to here, it stretches for thousands of miles. Along the way, there are also several natural joints such as汜水关, Tongguan, and the Xiaomian Ancient Road, dividing the battlefield, making it difficult to support each other from left to right and holding each other back from front to back. Wherever there is a mistake or a great victory, it is difficult to affect us here for a while… However, once we here determine the victory or defeat, it will be enough to end this battle… Therefore, the only thing to worry about is the gathering of the Jin army's reinforcements!"

Everyone was silent, and many people didn't quite understand what Wu Jie meant by saying these things that everyone understood.

Wu Jinqing didn't panic and asked again, "Commander Li's words are excellent, but does anyone else have any other insights as to why Lou Shi is not moving over there?"

"Perhaps it is to avoid the heat?" Liu Xi, the Pacification Commissioner of Xiluo Road, had a normal expression and stepped forward to cup his hands in response. "After all, the Jin people are mostly northerners and fear the summer heat. Didn't the Grand Commandant rely on the summer heat to win a great victory in Fang Prefecture before?"

"Commander Liu's words make a lot of sense." Wu Jie immediately nodded. "Anything else?"

"Perhaps it is also because they are afraid of the royal army." Zhao Zhe, the Pacification Commissioner of Qinfeng Road, stepped forward and cupped his hands. "This time, His Majesty ordered to fight, and the entire army is proceeding in an orderly manner. The Imperial Guards first occupied the four cities, and then the three armies came here to set up camp. There is no flaw in front or back. This junior takes the liberty to say that even if the Jin army has any intentions, they may not dare to come."

"Well said!" Wu Jie responded proudly. "Everyone's words are very good… I knew in Fang Prefecture that the strength of the Jin army is beyond doubt, but its strength has its own reasons… First, the soldiers are tough and resistant to battle, second, the cavalry gallops back and forth, third, the heavy armor is strong and difficult to hurt, and fourth, the heavy arrows are sharp…"

"And now, the summer heat is unbearable, the Jin people's warhorses are weak, and the soldiers are tired. In addition, the terrain here is complex, and the toughness of the soldiers and the advantage of the cavalry have been greatly weakened…"

"And since His Majesty ascended the throne, everyone has been of one heart and mind, and has repeatedly fought to the death with the Jin people. Our army has long known that the Jin people are, after all, just people who can be injured, killed, defeated, and conquered, so the morale is gradually rising…"

"As for the advantage of weapons, the Jurchens have heavy arrows, and our Western Army has always been good at using the Divine Arm Bow…"

"The difference in armor is unavoidable. Before the Jingkang Incident, although our army had a lot of armor, much of it was poorly made. After the Jingkang Incident, a lot of armor was lost. His Majesty's establishment of furnaces in Xiangyang and workshops in the Daxiangguo Temple has been quite effective, but most of it is used for the Imperial Guards… But as things stand now, the armor of both the enemy and our armies has been determined. It is probably too late for anyone to make up for it in one or two months."

Wu Jie sat in the main seat and talked eloquently, while the generals standing below, as well as the several civil officials of the Central Plains, almost all looked at each other, and the state of commotion became more and more obvious.

For no other reason than that, as the newly appointed Grand Commandant Wu constantly expounded his war philosophy and his views on the current Guans’i battle situation, almost everyone gradually realized the strategic intentions of this Grand Commandant Wu. Those who had not realized it had guessed from the faces of their colleagues!

"Although the Jin army is strong, it is not invincible!" Wu Jie finally exclaimed sternly. "On the contrary, sitting here and waiting for the Jin army's reinforcements to gather will inevitably be hopeless. And now, our main force has already gathered, and Wu Lin and Li Yongqi have also arrived in Ning Prefecture. Therefore, we should take advantage of the most disparate strength between the enemy and ourselves to send a large army north and directly逼迫 Baishui! And have Qu Duan, Wu Lin, and Li Yongqi gather in Fang Prefecture and launch a sudden attack on the Beiluokou army camp, forcing the Jin army to fight quickly because they cannot take care of both ends!"

Everyone's faces turned pale, but they just looked at the young man sitting next to Wu Jie.

Zhao Jiu knew that some things would ultimately have to be addressed by himself, but he sighed slightly and first asked Wu Jie: "Wu Qing, are the things you wanted to say to me yesterday different from what you said today? Did you have any eager intentions because I appointed you as the commander today?"

"Guan family," Wu Jie tried to cup his hands and bow, but was stopped by the other party raising his hand. "If anyone were to say that this subject had no eager intentions because he was grateful for the Guan family's favor today, no one would believe it. But the idea of taking the initiative to attack while the summer heat is in full swing and the strength of the army is at its greatest, as well as the strategy of attacking both the north and the south, are ideas that this subject had as early as in Fang Prefecture and have not been changed temporarily."

"I see." Zhao Jiu forcibly suppressed the sigh in his heart, but got up and looked at the generals in the tent, his expression unchanged. "Gentlemen… I ask you, who among you knows the hydrology and geography of the Beiluo River and the area surrounding Baishui to here better than Grand Commandant Wu?"

The generals looked at each other in silence. Many of them were veterans of the Western Army, and they probably all knew the hydrology and geography along the Beiluo River, especially near the two armies' positions. But who would dare to say that they knew it better than Wu Jie? That would be bragging.

Moreover, the two armies' positions were located at the intersection of the Weibei Plain and the northern hills. And it was none other than Qu Duan and the Wu brothers who had been resisting the Jin army in this area to the north. However, even Qu Duan had left this place for a year before returning, and Wu Lin was no match for his own brother… Because it was Wu Jie who had fought a great defeat on the opposite bank of the Luoshui River near here last year! And he had lost Dan Prefecture and Fu Prefecture successively near the Beiluo River upstream this year! And then he had won a slight victory at the mouth of the Beiluo River just now!

Wu Jie really knew this area's hydrology and geography the best.

"Then I ask you again, since the Jingkang Incident, who among you has fought Lou Shi the most times? Who has won the most斬獲 in the battles with Lou Shi? Who has the most recent combat experience with Lou Shi?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask without stopping. "Even among the defeats in the battles with Lou Shi, who among you has preserved the most troops?"

Everyone was silent, because everyone knew that this person was Wu Jie.

And everyone also realized why Zhao Guan's family had been so insistent on promoting Wu Jie to this commander's position.

Zhao Jiu, seeing that the generals were silent, simply got up and left the desk, came to the generals, clasped his hands and looked around, speaking calmly: "To be honest with you, when I heard that Grand Commandant Wu wanted to abandon this marsh, this city, this large stronghold and straight for Baishui, I was also worried, even a little afraid… But I also want to ask you, if I am not to trust Grand Commandant Wu in this battle, who should I trust? If any of you can claim to surpass Grand Commandant Wu in the previous few questions and have other strategies, feel free to stand up today, and I may be overjoyed in my heart… But is there anyone?"

Wang Yuan, Wang Yan, Wang De, and Liu Xi were scanned by Zhao Jiu and were all silent. Liu Xi simply lowered his head.

"If there is no one," Zhao Jiu looked around and smiled rarely. "Then we should obey the military orders and act accordingly! And if anyone is silent today but is ineffective in battle in the future, or criticizes Grand Commandant Wu's decision today with the future battle situation… that is also fine."

Everyone was stunned.

"Because if we lose this battle, I'm afraid I won't be able to pursue the gains and losses of the military with you!" Zhao Jiu continued to smile at the many military generals in the tent and then looked back. "Wu Qing, since you have long had overall considerations, then there is no need to worry! Because I also have long had considerations and have no worries!"

Wu Jie, who had stood up at some point, had the blue veins on his lips twitching slightly, but he nodded heavily.