Chapter 28: A Wild Guess—Do You Believe It or Not:
Lei Ying didn’t dare delay for even a moment. The other side had already uncovered all of the stronghold’s weaknesses. If the imperial army truly launched a full-scale attack, they might not be able to hold the line. And once war broke out, the stronghold would likely suffer heavy casualties, perhaps even be wiped out completely.
He quickly summoned all the leaders and respected elders of the stronghold for a meeting. Since the Sixth Prince had promised three days before launching an attack, there was no immediate danger. They just needed to leave enough people on guard to stay alert.
Meanwhile, Li Ye returned to the camp with the army.
All the generals were in high spirits. The Sixth Prince’s performance today had exceeded all expectations. His overwhelming presence had crushed the bandits. They could now see real hope of victory without a single battle.
“So His Highness had everything planned from the start! No wonder he was so calm—he sent scouts years ago to gather intel.”
“His Highness is a brilliant strategist. I have nothing but admiration.”
“The Sixth Prince is a military genius. If he keeps leading campaigns like this, he’ll surely defeat all enemies. He could even become the War God of the Great Yuan Empire!”
…
Facing the flood of praise, Li Ye remained calm.
“All right, enough compliments for now! What matters next is making our army look strong and intimidating. If Vulture Mountain refuses to surrender, we’ll attack immediately. But this is mostly to put pressure on them. We must place our best-looking troops at the front lines. Do not let the bandits realize that most of our forces are old veterans and wounded soldiers.”
Li Ye gave these orders with a serious expression. The only way to make the bandits yield was to use both the carrot and the stick.
“Yes, Your Highness! That’s exactly how we’ve arranged it from the beginning. The bandits won’t discover anything about our true strength,” one general assured.
Li Ye could tell the generals were reliable. Their troop arrangements were orderly and well-planned. He didn’t have to worry about that at all.
What he didn’t know was that these generals had been given command over old and wounded soldiers not because they lacked ability, but because they had no powerful backers. Li Ye’s arrival gave them hope—so of course, they worked diligently.
“Go now. Do not get careless. We must guard against any last-ditch sneak attacks from the enemy. Until victory is in hand, we can’t let our guard down.”
“Yes, sir!”
The generals responded and exited the tent.
Li Ye was also being followed closely by Lin Yue, who had grown increasingly curious. She had been protecting Li Ye almost every day. She also knew about the trading with Vulture Mountain, but she had never heard of Li Ye arranging any reconnaissance missions about the terrain. This completely shocked her. She was starting to believe she might actually lose the bet with him.
Still, Lin Yue wasn’t particularly upset at the thought of giving Li Ye massages for a month. On the contrary, if she lost, she might even enjoy it. She was just incredibly curious.
“Your Highness, there’s something I really don’t understand! Even if you were trading with them, investigating the underground water sources around the springs shouldn’t have been so easy, right? How did you manage to fool the bandits?”
“It was simple,” Li Ye replied with a smile. “I made it all up.”
He looked quite pleased with himself.
“Based on the geography of Vulture Mountain, they’re not afraid of being surrounded because they must have underground rivers and springs. After living there for so many years, they must know all about their water sources. I pretended I knew everything to scare them. Fire attacks might not bother them. Being cut off from supplies might not either—they can still hang on without new clothes or medicine. But if they lose their water source, they’ll die for sure.”
Li Ye explained smugly as he looked at Lin Yue with pride.
“Luckily, I guessed right. The moment I said I’d cut off their water, all their faces changed. That must be their weakness.”
Lin Yue looked at him with admiration. “Your Highness is incredible—you understand how those bandits think better than they do. If they lose to you, they can’t complain.”
Mister Xiao didn’t say a word, but his eyes sparkled with brilliance.
Originally, he had only hoped for Li Ye to inherit the Feng Xiao Alliance and become the next Mister Xiao. But now, after seeing such sharp military talent, such meticulous planning, and precise execution, he realized Li Ye was fully capable of competing for the throne.
Even without support from officials or military factions, with the backing of the Feng Xiao Alliance alone, Li Ye had a very real shot at seizing the crown.
What’s more, Li Ye had forged connections with many powerful sects through his business ventures—like the Moye Pavilion.
These sects had tremendous influence both in the court and the martial world. If they backed Li Ye with full force, the strength they could muster would be overwhelming.
With such enormous wealth behind him, Li Ye could even form a brand new army from scratch in no time.
But how to persuade Li Ye to fight for the throne—that was Mister Xiao’s next challenge.
At this point, there was a 90% chance they could take Vulture Mountain. If the bandits were foolish enough to continue resisting, Mister Xiao had already decided—he would personally take action to support Li Ye.
Even though he had claimed earlier that he wouldn’t involve himself in this operation, the current situation had completely changed. He couldn’t allow the credit to fall into someone else’s hands. The Emperor had to see Li Ye’s military brilliance firsthand.
If they won this battle, even if Li Ye kept a low profile, the other princes would begin to see him as a real threat. There was no way to avoid getting involved in the power struggle anymore.
Li Ye leaned back in his chair and said lazily, “Now we just need to get through the next three days peacefully. If they surrender, we’ll return in triumph. If not, we retreat and let someone else attack them. As for exploring the underground water systems, that’s a huge task. Let someone else handle that.”
“I believe Your Highness will win,” Lin Yue said confidently.
Lin Yue gave her a sly smile. “If I win, you owe me a month of shoulder and back massages.”
“Then I truly hope Your Highness wins,” Li Ye replied without hesitation.
Back in the stronghold of Vulture Mountain, the place was packed with people. The atmosphere was tense and heavy. Every face was filled with worry.
Lei Ying sat in the chief’s chair and said, “That’s the situation. None of us expected the Sixth Prince of the Great Yuan Empire to be so formidable. By doing business with us for years, he quietly learned everything about our mountain. I fear we won’t be able to escape this time.”
“Then let’s fight them! Even if we all die, we’ll never surrender!” shouted some of the younger men, their blood boiling with anger, ready to die fighting the imperial army.
The older elders, however, were calmer and more thoughtful.
“Don’t be reckless. We need to think this through. If we already know there’s no chance of winning and still choose to fight, that’s just foolish.”