A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Inside the inner city of Heishan Pass, the council hall of the pass's government office was brightly lit.

At this moment, key figures such as Zhao Daxuan and Li Erlong were seated in the council chamber.

Zhao Daxuan looked around and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, in two days, the two captains of Zhenbei City and ten thousand soldiers will arrive at Heishan Pass. What are your thoughts?"

Everyone already knew about this matter on their way to the yamen for the meeting. When Zhao Daxuan asked about it, Li Erlong was the first to slam his fist on the table in anger.

"Sir, coming to Black Mountain Pass at this time is clearly just a ploy to reap the benefits!"

"We've already repaired about half of the Black Mountain Pass, and in another half month it'll be almost complete. Are we just going to hand over all this credit? I'll be the first to object!"

Li Erlong's furious roar echoed in the council hall, and everyone else present showed expressions of agreement.

Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone!

Zhao Fubao also said indignantly, "Back then, when the city guards were attacked by the Tartar army, it was we who risked our lives to go and relieve the siege."

"We were the ones who helped with the ambush at Black Mountain Pass, so how dare they come here now! General Yue, how can you let them come!"

Uncle Li and A Liang also began to mutter their dissatisfaction in hushed tones. Only Qin Lide, who also seemed to agree, remained silent and did not complain.

Zhao Daxuan frowned slightly as he looked at the crowd expressing their dissatisfaction and said, "What you all say makes sense, and I agree with it. They're just here to reap the benefits."

"But the general's perspective is different from ours. Sending reinforcements is also to better defend the Black Mountain Pass!"

"We only have three thousand soldiers right now. What if the Tartar army comes with a hundred thousand troops? Can we really hold out?"

"The arrival of the Zhenbei City army is imminent, it's a foregone conclusion. No matter where they get their audacity, what we should be considering now is how to deal with them once they arrive."

When it came to specific countermeasures, Li Erlong immediately fell silent. He scratched his head and said, "Sir, if you say we should fight, then we'll fight. Anyway, I, Li Erlong, will listen to you!"

Zhao Daxuan ignored Li Erlong and looked at the others, saying in a deep voice, "Elder Qin, what do you say?"

After pondering for a moment, Qin Lide slowly said, "Sir, I don't have any good ideas either. I can only deal with things as they come. But there's one thing we absolutely cannot compromise on!"

Qin Lide looked around and said in a deep voice, "Just like everyone said, the soldiers of Wangbei Camp finally drove away the Tartars and captured Heishan Pass. We must not let the city guards take it easily, otherwise all our previous efforts will be in vain and morale will collapse."

Zhao Daxuan nodded. "That's right, that's my view too. So, let's set the tone today: we will not back down!"

Zhao Daxuan's statement was immediately echoed, and Li Erlong said with a smile, "No problem, they won't get past me, Li Erlong."

Ah Liang, equally confident, said, "Then we'll show them the Black Armor Camp the difference between them and our Xuanjia Cavalry!"

After a month of training and combat, the Xuanjia Cavalry, though newly formed, had already fought on the battlefield several times.

Although the number of Xuanjia Cavalry was less than that of the Black Armored Cavalry, in terms of combat strength alone, the Xuanjia Cavalry had already overwhelmed the Black Armored Cavalry.

Zhao Daxuan shook his head as he looked at the group of people who were eager to get started.

"In terms of strength, we are naturally not afraid of them, but in the event of a fight, it is the soldiers below who will die. We should try to avoid such meaningless internal struggles."

"Therefore, although the overall tone is one of no compromise, the main contradictions must be kept under control at the top, and infighting at the bottom should be avoided as much as possible. Of course, if conflict does occur, we cannot afford to suffer losses; we must fight if necessary!"

The leading generals of the Wangbei Camp all nodded in agreement.

With the general direction and guidelines set by Zhao Daxuan, they knew how to deal with any situation that arose after the city guards arrived.

Li Erlong suddenly said, "By the way, sir, should we make any adjustments to the iron mine? This time, the city guards didn't come earlier or later, but they came right after we discovered the mine!"

"This mine is probably another piece of meat they've got their eyes on!"

Zhao Daxuan shook his head: "No need, just keep everything as usual. At most, have the 500 soldiers stationed there increase their patrols and strictly guard a few key outposts. Anyway, without my orders, no outsiders are allowed to go up the mountain!"

"The city guards take the main road and will not pass by the iron mine. Moreover, the iron mine is located in a remote area. If Qingci and the others had not discovered it by chance last time, the iron mine would probably have been discovered at some unknown time."

Li Erlong nodded to indicate that he understood. The situation was indeed as Zhao Daxuan had said, and it was estimated that the city guards would not discover the location of the iron mine so quickly.

They then continued to discuss some details. Before this meeting, Zhao Daxuan had already talked with Shen Qingci and they had also considered some scenarios.

At the meeting, Zhao Daxuan shared the coping strategies he and Shen Qingci had discussed with everyone, so that they could coordinate their efforts if a similar situation were to occur in the future.

As the meeting was about to end, Zhao Daxuan asked about the interrogation of the kidnappers a few days earlier.

Zhao Fubao immediately looked ashamed and lowered his head, saying, "Sir, those traffickers only contacted one person at a time. The others only recognized their leader and knew nothing about the rest of their organization."

"These past few days we've focused our main efforts on the kidnapping leader, but that guy is very stubborn. We've tortured him for days, but he still won't give a word."

Upon hearing this, Li Erlong revealed a sinister smile and sneered, "Hehe, Fu Bao, why didn't you say so earlier? Dealing with tough guys like this is my specialty! Tomorrow I'll go and pry them open for you."

Zhao Fubao raised an eyebrow, looking at Li Erlong with a strange expression. The other man clearly hadn't witnessed how stubborn the kidnapper leader was, but he still smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Brother Long!"

Zhao Daxuan urged, "You guys need to think of more ways to get them to talk and find out who their backer is."

Zhao Daxuan then told everyone to go back and rest. For the next two days, everything should remain the same, and they should wait for the city guards to arrive.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the city guards arrived as scheduled before sunset.

Zhao Daxuan stood atop the Black Mountain Pass, watching the massive army approaching from afar, numbering in the tens of thousands, their ranks stretching for several kilometers.

They didn't travel light; instead, they brought plenty of supplies, seemingly well-prepared to stay there for a long time.

Ah Liang stood on the city wall, watching the troops ahead, and said with a smile, "They are quite self-aware, bringing their own provisions. Otherwise, I would really like to see them begging us to provide them with provisions."

The people around him chuckled, but then their smiles faded, and they stared seriously at the approaching city guards. They could clearly sense that the newcomers were up to no good!

The main force of the city guards advanced slowly but steadily, and soon arrived at the foot of the Black Mountain Pass.

Two tall, handsome generals rode their horses a dozen paces away from the main force and roared at Zhao Daxuan and his men at the pass, "Zhao Daxuan, we've arrived! Why aren't you opening the city gates to welcome us?!"