Sure enough, when everyone heard that the city might fall, they immediately erupted into a commotion. They looked at each other and began to discuss fervently.

"What? We might lose one or two cities? If that’s the case, why bother to send troops at all?

Instead of that, we might as well defend the Capital City to the death. Perhaps when the enemy sees that we are not deploying forces, they might just decide to retreat after a while."

"Yes, if we don’t send out troops, there’s a good chance they’ll have to return empty-handed.

At that point, although we might not gain anything, we wouldn’t suffer any losses either."

"Compared to losing cities, I think it’s safer to be cautious."

"Let’s not be too rash. Young people may have zeal, but everything should be centered around the bigger picture. If we really lose a city or two, it would be a significant loss for us. Especially since it’s the heartland of Jiangnan. Losing the cities there would also mean losing grain, which could lead to a food shortage next year."

"It’s not just about the food shortage next year. Jiangnan’s granary holds grain for more than half of our country. If the granary falls, we’ll be short of food for the next few years. The loss at that time would be enormous."

"Exactly, although General Leng’s analysis is reasonable, I still think we should be cautious."

"The ministers are correct. I agree we need to be cautious. If losing a few cities leads to a spike in grain prices, it won’t just be us who are short of food — the people will suffer too."

Amid the discussions, Leng Yu watched with a mischievous smile, very similar to Lin Yi’s. Lin Yi felt a bit helpless.

Instead of learning from the good, she had thoroughly picked up all my bad habits. My every move is under her scrutiny and imitation.

Lin Yi realized that this girl now often wears a mischievous smile. When they first met, she wasn’t like this. Where did she learn it?

Though feeling helpless, he couldn’t really say anything. As for the ministers’ reactions, Lin Yi didn’t take them seriously at all.

He was a man with strong convictions, and nothing would change his decisions.

Especially now that he assigned Leng Yu to devise a plan, no matter what others said, he would first listen to Leng Yu’s scheme.

Regardless of whether the plan is good or bad, he had already made his decision in his heart.

In truth, even if Leng Yu had a good plan, if it differed from his own thoughts, Lin Yi wouldn’t adopt it.

So, even as everyone talked at length, neither Leng Yu nor Lin Yi said anything, like spectators watching clowns perform.

Gradually, the older ministers realized what was happening.

Seeing Lin Yi and Leng Yu smiling quietly, each person slowly stopped talking. They silently speculated on what might be going on.

They also noticed one thing: Lin Yi and Leng Yu’s smiles bore a striking resemblance.

Once everyone fell silent, Lin Yi turned his gaze back to Leng Yu and asked,

"If you have a strategy, General Leng, please share it. We are discussing matters, and everyone with an idea should speak up. Ultimately, whether or not to implement it will be decided later.

But everyone with an idea should feel free to express themselves. Only this way can we find the most suitable solution!

It’s not only General Leng; everyone present should speak up."

Upon hearing this, Leng Yu cupped her hands towards Lin Yi and glanced at everyone present:

"In response to Your Majesty, my plan might result in losing one or two cities, but if successful, the profits gained would far outweigh the loss of those cities.

I’ve heard the ministers’ discussions. Losing one or two cities might be detrimental and cause us significant losses. However, if the plan succeeds, the gains will eclipse the losses."

This statement left everyone puzzled and curious about what kind of plan could outweigh the importance of a few lost warehouses?

All eyes turned to Leng Yu, waiting for her to continue.

Noticing everyone’s gaze, Leng Yu decided not to leave them in suspense and spoke directly:

"My strategy is called ’Drawing Fuel from the Fire.’ Since the enemy presents such a formation, using hundreds of thousands of troops to lure us, and has heavily fortified our rear to ambush us, why don’t we use their strategy against them?

The forces they’ve deployed in the south are mere bait, a facade. Let’s ignore it as though it never happened.

They won’t really attack. If they do, they’ll suffer significant losses.

Therefore, in my opinion, we should ignore them.

Let’s instead focus on Zhao Country’s territory beyond Shanhaiguan.

We’ve discussed they might have stationed heavy troops there, waiting for our army to march south, so they can exploit the opportunity.

If that’s the case, why not counterplan? We should mobilize our 200,000-deck army and gather 300,000 troops by pulling from the garrison in the surrounding cities, posing as going south.

However, our forces wouldn’t head south but take a small detour directly towards Shanhaiguan."

This statement surprised everyone, Lin Yi included.

However, unlike others, Lin Yi wasn’t stunned because Leng Yu’s strategy was unexpected.

[To be continued...]

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