Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

After a hearty meal and drinks, the veterans, who had been up most of the night, were settled into their new barracks to rest.

Some people plunged into the steaming bathhouse, determined to scrub off all the mud that had accumulated on their bodies for months.

Some people simply pounced on the soft, clean bed, and the moment their heads touched the pillow, they started snoring loudly.

Meanwhile, in the Lin residence, in Lin Mo's study.

It's much quieter here now.

Lin Mo had already put away the light screen of the Mountain and River Hegemony Map.

Instead, a huge sand table was placed in the very center of the house.

The mountains, rivers, cities, and passes of the northern border are all condensed on the sand table.

Around the sand table, Lin Mo, Qin Ruxue, Chu Mengyao, and Meng Hu were discussing something.

Chu Mengyao extended a fair finger and touched a nearly invisible, winding curve on the sand table.

"You mean, you plan to bypass Yuwen Biao's army via this side road and launch a surprise attack on Zhenbei City?"

"That's right."

Lin Mo nodded.

He had already told Chu Mengyao and Meng Hu that Yuwen Biao was leading an army of 100,000 men on a menacing march to Tiebi Pass.

Meng Hu immediately jumped up from his chair, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

If Lin Mo hadn't kidnapped Chu Mengyao halfway through the journey, his three thousand men would probably have already run into the encirclement of one hundred thousand men.

At that time, it probably won't even make a sound before it's crushed into dust.

This changed Meng Hu's gaze towards Lin Mo from "little bastard" to "a little rascal with some skills".

"I like this plan to take advantage of Yuwen Biao's weakened position and strike him from undermined!"

Meng Hu rubbed his hands together, opened his mouth in a deep voice, but then frowned.

"But the question is, are there enough people?"

He looked at Lin Mo.

"Your 15,000 men, plus my 3,000 veterans, make a total of 18,000."

"Although Zhenbei City is currently sparsely armed, it is still the largest city in the northern border. The city is high and the walls are thick. Even if there are only a few troops left to guard it, there are still ten or twenty thousand."

"18,000 men? Trying to attack a city like that would probably just break your own teeth."

That's why I'm asking you.

Lin Mo threw the question back at him.

"You know Zhenbei City better than I do, do you have any ideas on how to breach its defenses?"

Lin Mo's initial idea was to stay put and live his quiet life guarding the Iron Wall Pass, a city with a bug-like structure.

But now that there's the most talented woman in the North, his mind has started to wander.

If we can take Zhenbei City, then the entire northern border will belong to the Lin family.

At that time, let alone Yuwen Biao, even if the Third Prince's million-strong army came, I could still hold my own against him.

"This plan might actually be feasible..."

Chu Mengyao fell into deep thought.

She had already seen the massive black wall outside the Iron Wall Pass.

Let alone Yuwen Biao's 100,000 troops, even if there were a million, it would probably take mountains of corpses and seas of blood to break through the pass.

The impregnable Iron Wall Pass certainly gave them room to maneuver.

"Going deep behind enemy lines is indeed a good choice, but it involves 18,000 men..."

Chu Mengyao's gaze lingered on the sand table, as if she were making some difficult decision.

"What? Not enough?"

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat when he saw Chu Mengyao's solemn expression.

He has already filled the Xuanjia Battalion to its maximum strength.

Ten thousand Xuanjia Guards and five thousand Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry were spent on Hegemony Points like water flowing away.

I thought that after this expansion, the system would raise the maximum number of members in the Xuanjia Camp.

The system then displayed the following message: [The Xuanjia Camp has reached its maximum size limit.]

Meanwhile, on the Iron Wall Pass side...

The newly unlocked [Hundred Flowers Camp] currently only has Shangguan Yan and the hundred-plus girls, and it doesn't support recruitment by spending money at all.

Even the Xuanjia Camp, which has already been unlocked, cannot be built at Tiebi Pass.

Blackwind City can build the Xuanjia Battalion.

Iron Wall Pass can be used to build the Hundred Flowers Camp.

It seems that each city has its own exclusive camps that can be built.

This has resulted in Lin Mo having a large number of Hegemony Points in his hands, but being unable to spend them.

Perhaps we could try some technology to see if there's a way to breach the city?

Lin Mo pondered silently in his heart.

Just as he was about to open the technology panel, Chu Mengyao beside him softly uttered a single word.

"enough."

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then snapped back to reality.

"enough?"

"enough."

Chu Mengyao repeated it again.

This time, her finger landed heavily on the center of the three characters "Zhenbei City" on the sand table.

"The defenses of Zhenbei City are impregnable, but that is only in terms of the ground."

She looked up at Lin Mo.

"What if we don't walk on the ground?"

"Not on the ground?"

Meng Hu couldn't help himself.

"Yao'er, what do you mean? Do you think we can grow wings and fly in?"

Lin Mo also became interested and gestured for Chu Mengyao to continue.

"Beneath Zhenbei City, there is another 'city'."

Chu Mengyao frowned slightly, as if she was recalling something.

"Back when my father was still in Zhenbei City, I saw the underground structure diagram of Zhenbei City."

"When Zhenbei City was first built, underground water channels were constructed to prevent the water supply from being cut off during a siege."

Lin Mo instantly understood what Chu Mengyao meant.

"You mean... tunnel warfare?"

"That's one way to understand it," Chu Mengyao nodded.

"One of the main channels in this underground irrigation system was completely sealed off a century ago due to a design flaw, and it was not shown on the official blueprints."

"And the outlet of this main canal happens to be right there..."

Chu Mengyao's slender fingers moved across the sand table, finally stopping at the location of the eastern part of Zhenbei City.

"Directly below the largest armory of the Zhenbei Army."

"good!"

Meng Hu slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement.

"Crawl in from below and blow up his armory!"

"These bastards, without their weapons, are just a bunch of lambs to the slaughter!"

"good!"

Lin Mo also thought the idea was brilliant.

Infiltration, sabotage, and a central breakthrough – this is textbook special operations!

"only……"

Just as the two were getting excited, Chu Mengyao hesitated again.

"Just what?" Lin Mo pressed.

"However, the point where the main canal was blocked was a three-tiered stone gate. To blast it open would require an enormous amount of explosives."

"Leave the gunpowder to me."

Lin Mo waved his hand casually.

When he massacred Wu Zhong's 50,000-strong army, he only used a small portion of the gunpowder he obtained from Gu Ling'er, and there was still a lot left in his system's storage space.

Let alone a mere three-tiered stone gate, it would be more than enough to blast a hole in the city wall of Zhenbei City.

"It's just a stone gate, a minor issue."

Lin Mo added confidently.

However, Chu Mengyao's face still looked troubled, and even paler.

"Even so, that location..." She bit her lip and continued with difficulty, "is right below the most bustling 'East Market' in Zhenbei City."

"Once detonated, the massive explosion will instantly destroy the entire East City..."

"That's the civilian district, the most densely populated area in the entire North Town. At that time, the number of civilians killed or injured will probably be... in the tens of thousands."

The room fell silent the moment he said that.

The excitement on Meng Hu's face gradually froze.

Qin Ruxue, who had been standing quietly behind Lin Mo, also frowned at this moment.

The smile on Lin Mo's face also disappeared.

He stared at the area marked "East Market" on the sand table, where there were even several small models representing shops and residences.

Tens of thousands of civilians...

The price is far too high.

Although he didn't consider himself a good person, he simply couldn't bring himself to kill innocent people indiscriminately.

Chu Mengyao looked at Lin Mo, her clear, cold eyes filled with struggle and pain.

This was the only way she could think of to defeat the enemy with fewer troops, take Zhenbei City, and avenge her father and brothers.

But this method requires the lives of countless innocent people to pave the way.

This goes against the original intention of the Mountain Shaking Army.

She can't.

A deathly silence fell over the study, broken only by the heavy breathing of the few people inside.

for a long time.

Lin Mo raised his hand and gently tapped the "East Market" location on the sand table with his fingertips.

"Then... get rid of them."