In the next two days, whenever he had spare time, Xie Jingchen kept studying that transparent thing, confirming it could ignite objects.

He decided to use the telescope lens to burn the grain and grass of Nanliang.

During these two days, he also figured out where the grain and grass were hidden.

However, the weather was against him; when he was ready to act, it started to rain.

But it was also because of the rain that he found his chance to act.

With the heavy rain, no one would think of burning grain and grass; the military was less vigilant, giving him the perfect opportunity to stealthily fix the lens in a spot not easily noticed.

Burning grain and grass was a major achievement, but compared to his undercover work in Nanliang, risking exposure to burn the grain and grass didn’t seem worth it.

Now that he had a perfect plan, there was no reason not to proceed.

The heavy rain poured for one day and drizzled for another half day, until it cleared up in the evening.

By the next morning, the ground had already dried completely.

Sunlight shone on the earth, making people nostalgic for the coolness of the previous days’ rain.

It was usually dry at the border, and rain wasn’t frequent.

The sun baked for a morning, and the tents became hot and dry; by noon, when the sun was at its hottest, it was perfectly aligned with the spot needing exposure.

The tent caught fire, sparks fell, and beneath the tent were mountains of grain bags, which ignited easily.

The fire burned from outside to inside, then from inside to outside.

Because the chosen spot was central, the soldiers stationed around neglected the interior.

By the time the soldiers rushed to extinguish the fire, the entire grain tent was already ablaze.

Originally, the grain wasn’t stored here; to prevent Daqi’s night assaults, it was temporarily relocated here, where the tents were closely packed.

A gust of wind aided the fiery spread.

The General of Nanliang heard the sound of fire, came out to see, and the bursting flames reflected his face as black as charcoal.

"How did it catch fire?!" The General of Nanliang yelled hysterically.

He grabbed a soldier to inquire.

The soldier was scared and dazed.

He really didn’t know why it caught fire; no one attacked the camp, no one even entered the warehouse, and it just inexplicably ignited.

The Nanliang military camp wasn’t far from Daqi.

In broad daylight, thick smoke billowed straight into the sky.

Anyone could see it just by looking up.

Moreover, Daqi had telescopes, and the city guards, seeing the smoke, quickly reported to Marquis Dongxiang and the Old Prince.

Marquis Dongxiang and the Prince looked at each other in amazement.

No one knew why the Nanliang camp suddenly caught fire.

The city guards said the fire was quite fierce; Marquis Dongxiang and the others climbed the city gates for a look, and they were astonished, feeling that half the Nanliang camp was engulfed in flames.

With his hand on the city wall, Marquis Dongxiang was positively jubilant.

There’s a saying: rob at a fire, attack one when sick, beat the drowning dog...

Such a good chance, how could they miss it?

Marquis Dongxiang immediately dispatched troops to attack Nanliang.

Poor Nanliang camp was already chaotic and now faced Daqi’s assault, forcing a hasty defense.

Morale was low, and the response was rushed.

In this battle, Nanliang suffered a crushing defeat.

Daqi captured a Nanliang city in one fell swoop, forcing the Nanliang army to abandon the burned camp and retreat twenty miles.

When Marquis Dongxiang and his troops arrived at the Nanliang camp, the grain warehouse was mostly burnt, and the smell of scorched rice was truly unpleasant.

Such a large amount of grain was heartbreakingly painful for Daqi, which was in dire need of supplies.

Also, some injured Nanliang soldiers couldn’t retreat in time; the Prince of NanAn interrogated them about how the grain was burned.

Being questioned troubled the Nanliang soldiers greatly.

How could they know why the grain randomly caught fire?!

They suspected Daqi had snuck in to ignite the grain, but from the questioning, it clearly wasn’t the case.

It felt like heaven wanted to ruin Nanliang, causing them to lose this battle.

Though they didn’t know how the grain was ignited, the Nanliang soldiers knew which tent caught fire first.

Chu Shun and his companions circled around the tent that was first burned in boredom.

The Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo used his sword to poke around a bit, and Prince NanAn with sharp eyes spotted the telescope lens.

He immediately squatted down, disregarding the dirt, and dug up the lens.

Prince NanAn looked left and right; it was unmistakably a telescope lens.

Chu Shun reached out to take it, Prince NanAn glanced at his dirty hands but carelessly wiped them on his brother’s robe.

Chu Shun and his group were perplexed as to how the telescope lens ended up in the burned tent; none thought such a small lens caused the grain fire.

After a few glances, the lens was tucked into someone’s chest pocket.

Eventually, it appeared on the desk in the center of the military tent.

A day later, Su Jin discovered the lens and asked, "Did the telescope break?"

Su Chong replied, "It was found in the burned Nanliang grain warehouse, probably the one Prince NanAn lost."

Su Jin’s eyes widened, thinking she had misheard, she repeated, "This lens was found in the burned Nanliang grain?"

Su Chong noticed her particular surprise and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Su Jin smiled at the lens, "I know how the Nanliang grain burned."

Su Chong was completely puzzled.

While so many were clueless, she knew?

Su Jin explained how the lens could ignite the grain, Su Chong was skeptical, so Su Jin demonstrated.

Prince NanAn and Chu Shun all gathered to watch.

Seeing the small lens burn a piece of cloth, everyone was astonished.

This was simply too miraculous!

Prince NanAn sighed in relief, "I was worried the telescope fell into Nanliang hands, making me anxious for quite a few days, but didn’t expect I actually contributed to the victory?"

Claiming the lens accidentally burned the grain was unbelievable.

Su Chong and others hadn’t even gone near the real Nanliang grain storage when they went to burn the grain.

Yet the lens appeared there, indicating it was intentionally placed.

Moreover, the lens needed sunlight to ignite the tent, signifying someone had placed it on the tent top...

Prince NanAn and his group unanimously concluded Xie Jingchen was responsible.

After all, it was thanks to Xie Jingchen that the telescope fell, preventing Prince NanAn’s item from landing in the General of Nanliang’s hands, which was reasonable.

But how did he know the lens could burn the warehouse?

Prince NanAn and his group presumed Su Jin had informed Xie Jingchen.

Su Jin shook her head, "I never told him."

She was also curious how Xie Jingchen knew.

But Xie Jingchen would never tell them it was a lesson learned from sacrificing a pair of pants.

Nanliang lost miserably, chased by Daqi to the point of being utterly defeated.

Even more frustrating was not knowing how the grain was burned!

With their camp seized, investigating was impossible.

They lost a city and their grain, causing morale to plummet.

The General of Nanliang dispatched people to the court urging for supplies while urging Beimo to hurry with the promised grain.

Xie Jingchen won a battle, significantly dampening Nanliang’s spirit, and with his mood lifted, he was ordered by the General of Nanliang to accompany Dong Chenglang back to the capital.

Dong Chenglang viewed him as a brother and insisted on his company; Xie Jingchen was just a small captain, unable to refuse military orders.