Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Hearing the commotion, the shopkeeper ran out from behind the counter and greeted Shen Wanzhou with a bow.

"Sir, what would you like to order?"

Businessmen are perceptive; when addressing Shen Wanzhou, he deliberately added the words "Master".

"First, cut thirty catties of braised beef, and some cold-cut seasonal vegetables. Also, give each of my guards a jug of wine."

Shen Wanzhou smiled and adjusted his sleeves. Immediately, a man who looked like a clerk appeared behind him and took out two large, snow-white silver ingots from his pocket and handed them to the shopkeeper.

"Alright! Thirty catties of braised beef and thirty jugs of wine."

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and called out, "Gentlemen, please come in..."

Jiang Ding'an nudged Ye Ci: "Damn it, isn't there no wine or meat? I'm going to chop him up!"

"The noodles are here!"

The second person came out from behind, carrying two bowls of noodles, and placed them on the table, draping a handkerchief over their shoulder:

"Please enjoy your meal, sir."

Having said that, he turned and went to greet Master Shen without looking back.

I was ignored.

Jiang Ding'an opened his mouth to speak, but only saw the waiter's back. He glanced at the noodles and sniffed the air.

"Damn it, I'm going to chop him up too! All that slenderness, and it's gone..."

At this moment, Master Shen walked in surrounded by his entourage. When his gaze swept over Jiang Ding'an, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he nodded slightly.

"The young master of the Jiang family's bodyguards?"

Before Jiang Ding'an could speak, Shen Wanzhou had already noticed the two bowls of plain noodles on the table. He smiled, waved his hand, and instructed the shopkeeper:

"Give these two镖头 (bodyguards/escorts) some wine and meat as well, and put it on my tab."

"Okay."

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ding'an quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Junior Jiang Ding'an greets Master Shen and Master Chen!"

Ye Ci also stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said calmly and respectfully, "Ye Ci greets you both."

Shen Wanzhou waved his hand: "No need for formalities. We're all from the same hometown, and it's fate that we met by chance."

After saying that, he gestured to Chen San, who was sitting next to him, to sit at the next table, and then asked slowly and deliberately:

"Judging from your attire, are you here to escort goods to Jiaozhou?"

"Reporting to Master Shen, my wife has a younger brother in Jiaozhou. That boy is afraid of dying and is worried about being captured by the barbarians, so he asked me to bring him back to Songjiang County."

Mentioning the barbarians, Shen Wanzhou's expression darkened slightly, and then he sighed:

"I am going to Jiaozhou Prefecture to manage my business. I didn't want to go, but it was the request of the benefactor who helped me back then, which made me anxious and worried all the way."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen San, who was standing next to him, flicked the hem of his brocade robe and sat down, adding:

"Master Shen, I don't think the barbarian army has really retreated. We might actually run into them head-on. Perhaps we should go to Jiaozhou Prefecture in a few days."

"If you run into a large army, don't blame me for not being able to protect you."

When the martial artist spoke, Shen Wanzhou's expression froze, and the atmosphere became quite awkward.

It was clear that Chen Sanshou was unwilling to go out, and he continued, "How would outsiders know about military affairs? Battle reports may not be true. If you ask me... perhaps Jiaozhou Prefecture has already been captured, and your nobleman deliberately tricked you into going. This kind of thing has happened before, with wealthy local families defecting to the barbarians and sending people to deceive other wealthy families..."

At this moment, Ye Ci spoke slowly, his tone resolute: "It is impossible to take Jiaozhou Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wanzhou immediately looked at Ye Ci, his eyes filled with surprise.

Chen Sanshou frowned slightly and said calmly, "Oh? Young man, you're quite insightful at such a young age. Why don't you tell me why you're so sure?"

There was a hint of disdain in his tone.

Ye Ci ate his noodles without looking up and said, "The Southern Barbarian cavalry are fierce. If they hadn't been defeated, they should have broken through the Jiaozhou defense line and headed straight for Songjiang by now."

"You know a lot about this?"

Chen Sanshou spoke in a flippant tone, deliberately tapping his chopsticks lightly: "Still aiming straight for Songjiang County? Ha..."

"The Southern Barbarian cavalry are not good at attacking cities, but there are two official roads leading to Yizhou Prefecture, one to the east and one to the west. They can easily bypass Jiaozhou Prefecture. If I were the commander-in-chief, I would definitely take the eastern road to Songjiang, capture the Songjiang ferry, and plunder grain and fodder along the river to strengthen the army. In this way, we would have the opportunity to divide the southwest of Daqian in two."

"The southern barbarians are human too, and they know how to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Since they've already breached the border, there's no need for them to expend a great deal of effort to fight to the death in the prefectural city. But the barbarians must have destroyed quite a few places along the way. This destruction has actually brought them commercial benefits. So, Master Shen's benefactor invited him, probably to take advantage of the chaos of war to make more money..."

After hearing Ye Ci's words, a hint of appreciation flashed in Shen Wanzhou's eyes, and he couldn't help but nod:

"What you say is absolutely right, young man. Your reasoning is clear and your analysis is thorough. Your insights are far beyond what ordinary martial artists can offer! I have misjudged you and have not yet had the pleasure of asking your name."

He said "not carefully," which means he probably hadn't paid attention to Ye Ci's name before.

"Ye Ci."

Shen Wanzhou praised repeatedly: "Excellent, excellent! To have such insight at such a young age, you will surely have a bright future! With Brother Ye's words, I feel much more at ease."

In the conversation just now, Chen Sanshou, who was a master of internal energy and an elder, spoke with a hint of disdain.

Jiang Ding'an was quite displeased, but he didn't say anything, so he kept his head down and ate his noodles.

Fortunately, Ye Ci spoke clearly and logically, and Chen San opened his mouth several times but could not utter a word.

A martial arts master at the Transformation Realm was rendered speechless by a mere镖头 (bodyguard/escort).

Seeing this, Jiang Ding'an deliberately went along with Shen Wanzhou's words: "Then I can go to Lingshan County with peace of mind..."

"Lingshan County, there are still barbarians there."

The waiter was making tea for everyone when he heard the conversation and chimed in.

"Wait a minute, according to this young man, didn't the barbarians retreat?"

Upon hearing this, Chen San grabbed Xiao Er and pulled him back. As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Ye Ci.

"Sigh..." The waiter's face was full of sorrow: "That young man's analysis is absolutely correct. According to the customers, this group of southern barbarians has tens of thousands of cavalry. They don't rob or kill, and they only marched eastward. Later, they were surrounded by several armies, and only then did they retreat in an orderly manner. So, the Lingshan County that young man mentioned is south of Jiaozhou Prefecture. I suppose the barbarians can't retreat that quickly, which is why I gave them a heads-up."

Ye Ci slurped up his soup and looked up when he heard this.

Just then, the innkeeper personally brought in wine and meat from the back and slapped the waiter on the shoulder: "Go and help prepare the dishes!"

"Why!"

Upon hearing this, the waiter hurriedly went to the kitchen. Only then did the manager say, "I heard that there are still a few small groups of barbarian cavalry remaining, asking around about the location of the imperial army, asking very detailed questions..."

"A small group of cavalry?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Sanshou smiled and said calmly to Shen Wanzhou, "As long as we don't encounter a large army, this small force of my own men is enough to handle it."

"Then I will trouble Master Chen."

Shen Wanzhou smiled and offered Chen Sanshou two pieces of beef with his chopsticks, then picked up his wine bowl and said, "Master Chen, let's drink."

"good!"

Chen Sanshou was very satisfied with Master Shen's attitude, and then he picked up his wine bowl and took a sip.

Ye Ci took two bites of noodles, her brows furrowing slightly.

He noticed a few words.

The troops withdrew in an orderly manner.

In other words, the southern barbarians did not suffer a major defeat.

According to the shopkeeper, several cavalry units were left in Jiaozhou Prefecture to inquire about the location of the imperial army.

Why do you need to ask?

As soon as the barbarians show their faces, a large army will naturally surround and annihilate them.

Do they have other goals?

Suddenly, a merchant chimed in, "I met a traveling merchant the other day who said they only inquired about the troops of General Zhang Guan, the Southern Expeditionary General; they didn't even ask about the troops of other generals."

"General Zhang Guan, who is responsible for the southern campaign? Is he the son of Marquis Jianwu?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wanzhou became interested and started chatting with the man.

The man nodded repeatedly: "He is indeed the son of Marquis Jianwu. The Jianwu Army has three divisions of troops: Tiger, Leopard, and Wolf. Now that General Jianwu has been ennobled, his son has taken over the Leopard Division of the army."

Tiger, leopard, wolf?

At this moment, the waiter brought out the beef. Ye Ci narrowed his eyes slightly, picked up a piece with his chopsticks, and began to eat slowly and deliberately.

Are you looking for your former employer's army?