The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter 751 Military Deployment Imminent

"Your Highness is awake?"

As soon as Mo Bai opened his eyes, a voice rang in his ears.

Looking up, he saw Lu Changxian standing at the doorway, looking at him.

Mo Bai nodded and asked, "What time is it now?"

"It's already noon," Lu Changxian replied.

"Noon? I remember I entered meditation in the afternoon, right?" Mo Bai asked in surprise.

"Yes, Your Highness has been in meditation for a full day and night," Lu Changxian replied, her gaze towards Mo Bai clearly filled with envy.

Although for Taoist practitioners, meditation and cultivation are daily practices.

However, sitting meditation and entering a state of deep concentration are actually two different things.

Sitting meditation is simply the most conducive posture for spiritual practice, while entering a state of deep concentration is a state of spiritual practice.

Those who practice meditation cannot enter a state of deep concentration every time they meditate. Many people may not be able to truly enter a state of deep concentration even a few times throughout the year.

Even if one manages to enter a meditative state by chance, the time is often extremely short, more often than not, just a fleeting moment.

But in just a short time, the gains can often be equivalent to the benefits of diligent practice.

Lu Changxian couldn't help but envy Mo Bai's ability to enter a deep meditation that lasted for an entire day and night.

However, while he was envious, he finally understood why Mo Bai had achieved so much at such a young age.

"It's been a whole day and night?" Mo Bai himself seemed a little surprised, but didn't seem to care much, and asked again, "Have you been protecting me all night?"

"Thank you for your trouble." Mo Bai bowed and expressed his gratitude.

"It's my duty, I dare not presume to accept such praise," Lu Changxian quickly returned the greeting.

Mo Bai smiled and said, "You must be tired after a long night. Please go back and rest."

"Should Your Highness inform Mr. Du?" Lu Changxian asked.

"Is she in the manor now?" Mo Bai wanted to see her. A day and a night had passed, and he wondered if there had been any news from Fang Youqun.

"Yes, she came to see Your Highness not long ago. Seeing that Your Highness hadn't left, she went to attend to other matters first," Lu Changxian said.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you to have her come over." Mo Bai cupped his hands in greeting again.

"Your Highness, please wait a moment." Lu Changxian accepted the order and left.

After he left, Mo Bai checked his gains from the previous day. He circulated his qi slightly and immediately felt his dantian was full. With a thought, he circulated his qi throughout his body, and a golden bell appeared out of thin air around him.

Mo Bai's eyes flickered slightly, and the golden bell began to rotate around his body.

After examining the golden bell for a moment, Mo Bai nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "I'm one step closer to perfection."

Footsteps sounded outside the door, Mo Bai's body swayed slightly, and the golden bell immediately disappeared.

"Your Highness!" Soon, Du Juan appeared at the door. Seeing that Mo Bai had indeed woken up, she smiled and cupped her hands in greeting.

"I'm sorry, I had a sudden realization yesterday and didn't tell you, which made you worry," Mo Bai returned the greeting.

"It's alright, I'm just afraid that if we handle it improperly, we might disturb His Highness's opportunity." Du Juan was somewhat worried.

"No, you handled it very well." Mo Bai nodded with a smile, not elaborating on the matter, and directly asked, "Is there any news from Commander Fang?"

"I was just about to discuss this with His Highness." Du Juan nodded, but did not continue. Instead, she changed the subject, saying, "His Highness did not eat anything yesterday afternoon, so he must be hungry. It is noon now, and we have guests at the manor. We were just about to prepare a meal, so why don't we talk while we eat?"

"A guest?" Mo Bai grasped the key point.

"Your Highness might have guessed who it is?" Du Juan didn't say it explicitly.

Mo Bai thought for a moment and said, "Was it someone sent by Commander Fang?"

"That's true, and that's not true either." Du Juan smiled and kept everyone in suspense: "Your Highness will know when you see the person."

Since Du Juan didn't say anything, Mo Bai didn't press the matter further and followed her to the restaurant.

He didn't feel too hungry at first, and cultivation itself is a way to replenish energy, so it's not a big problem to go without food for a day or two.

But ultimately, one cannot reach the state of abstinence from grains; one still needs to eat.

The two arrived at the dining room and found that food and wine had already been laid out inside, and a person was indeed sitting at the table.

The person had his back to Mo Bai, so he could only see that the person was dressed as a scholar.

Although his clothing did not reveal his identity, seeing his scholarly attire and recalling Fang Shuai's group, a name immediately came to mind.

The man heard the noise and turned around.

Mo Bai looked at his face and he was right. This person was indeed Hua Mingfu, whom he had seen by Fang Shuai's side before.

Seeing Hua Mingfu didn't exactly surprise me, but I was slightly puzzled as to why he would come to see me at this time.

When Hua Mingfu saw Mo Bai, he was slightly taken aback at first, then quickly stood up and came over to bow, saying, "Hua Mingfu greets Your Highness, Prince Ming."

"Get up, no need for formalities." Mo Bai turned to look at Du Juan, then slightly raised his hand to Hua Mingfu.

"Mr. Hua just came from Commander Fang's side. If Your Highness wants to understand the situation in the army, you will know more by asking Mr. Hua in person," Du Juan explained with a smile.

"Alright, Mr. Hua, please have a seat!" Mo Bai nodded, walked to the main seat and sat down, then gestured to Hua Mingfu.

"How dare I sit at the same table as Your Highness?" Hua Mingfu quickly declined.

Mo Bai smiled, but didn't say anything.

Du Juan, however, calmly walked to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. Then, she turned her head, stood up again, and smiled at Hua Mingfu, saying, "Mr. Hua, you must not be familiar with His Highness yet. His Highness usually has no taboos about such matters."

After saying that, he gestured to Hua Ming, "Please sit down, sir."

When Hua Mingfu heard Du Juan say this and saw that she had already pulled out a chair, he no longer hesitated.

Mingfu hesitated slightly, but seeing Dujuan walk to the table and sit down without hesitation, he stopped hesitating.

The three sat down, and Mo Bai, without beating around the bush, asked directly, "Did Commander Fang send you, sir?"

Hua Mingfu looked up, but a bitter expression appeared on his face: "To be honest, Your Highness, I was kicked out by Commander Fang."

Mo Bai was taken aback upon hearing this and looked at Du Juan.

Du Juan nodded: "Commander Fang discovered that Mr. Hua had contacted us before."

Mo Bai remained silent for a moment. He had already explained to Fang Youqun that Hua Mingfu had not betrayed them, but he did not expect Fang Youqun to still punish Hua Mingfu.

"What are your plans for the future, sir?" Mo Bai asked after a moment's thought.

Hua Mingfu opened his mouth, but seemed to have something to say that he found difficult to say.

"Regardless of the circumstances, the fact that you were blamed by Commander Fang is related to our Ming Prince's Mansion. If you have any difficulties, please feel free to speak up," Du Juan chimed in from the side.

Hearing her say this, Mo Bai's eyes flickered slightly. He hadn't expected Du Juan to take the blame onto the Ming Prince's Mansion.

To be honest, whatever fate befell Hua Mingfu, it was not the fault of the Ming Prince's Mansion.

The Prince Ming's Mansion initially wanted to win him over, but in the end, he was the one who took the initiative to approach the Prince Ming's Mansion.

Du Juan took it upon herself to take responsibility, which Mo Bai neither disliked nor found particularly interesting.

However, it was only for a moment before he adjusted his mindset. Perhaps it was because Lu Xunyi always consulted him on everything that he had gotten used to it.

I almost forgot that the reason I invited Du Juan to come out of retirement was because I valued her ability to stand on her own.

Thinking of this, Mo Bai nodded and said, "Mr. Du is right. Please feel free to speak your mind. If I can help, I will not refuse."

Hearing Mo Bai's assurance, Hua Mingfu relaxed slightly, stood up, bowed to Mo Bai, and said, "I know I'm being a bit presumptuous, but now that I've left the army, I really have nowhere to go. I wonder if Your Highness could help me find a job?"

"You want to join the Ming Prince's Mansion?" Mo Bai frowned slightly and asked.

Hua Mingfu quickly waved his hand: "No, although I have been expelled from the military camp, I have followed the commander for many years. If I were to enter the Ming Prince's Mansion, I'm afraid it would arouse unnecessary suspicion from the mansion and the commander."

Mo Bai had no intention of openly trying to win over Fang Shuai's people. Even if he wanted to, Mo Bai couldn't possibly take him back to the Ming Prince's Mansion right now. Seeing that he understood this, Mo Bai nodded: "Then where do you want to go?"

After a moment's thought, Hua Mingfu slowly said, "I know that I am not talented enough to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. All I know is that I have gained some experience in the military over the years and have some understanding of military affairs. If I were to go to the Ministry of War, I might be able to do my part."

Upon hearing this, Mo Bai and Du Juan exchanged a glance.

Both of them immediately understood that Hua Mingfu still couldn't let go of Fang Youqun after all.

Although Fang Youqun drove him away, he still thought about finding a job that could help Fang Youqun.

Du Juan hesitated for a moment, then nodded subtly to Mo Bai.

"Alright," Mo Bai said in a deep voice, "but it's not convenient for me to show myself right now, so it will probably take some time before arrangements can be made."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Hua Mingfu immediately expressed his gratitude.

He was a little apprehensive before he came, even though he was certain that the Ming Prince's Mansion would help him. After all, the fact that Fang Shuai didn't kill him meant that Fang Shuai still cared about their friendship.

Out of respect for Commander Fang, the Ming King will certainly not refuse him.

But he really didn't expect that the King of Ming would agree without mentioning any conditions.

"The food's getting cold, why don't we eat and chat?" Du Juan suggested from the side.

Only then did the group pick up their chopsticks.

"Has Commander Fang made any arrangements to send troops?" Mo Bai asked during the meal.

The fact that the Ming Prince's Mansion was investigating these matters was actually to help Fang Youqun, and Hua Mingfu knew this, so there was no need to hide it: "Yes, the commander-in-chief has already decided on the troop deployment plan, and the vanguard left Changping City last night and headed to Niutou Ridge."

"Niu Tou Ridge?" Mo Bai thought for a moment. Niu Tou Ridge was a necessary route for the Qi barbarians to move south. Then he frowned: "Is Commander Fang going to attack the Qi barbarians moving south?"

This was not what he and Fang Youqun discussed. His suggestion was to fight the garrison outside the city, rather than cut off the Qi barbarians' southward advance.

"That's not the case." Hua Mingfu shook his head. "Does Your Highness know the geographical location of Niu Tou Ling?"

Du Juan interjected, "Niu Tou Ling is located right in the middle of Changping City and Rongcheng, and it is a necessary passage for the Manchu people to go south to Yuezhou."

"That's right. Niutou Ridge has a complex terrain, making it ideal for ambushes. It's also a necessary route for those heading south, so the Qi barbarians must be extremely cautious here. The commander-in-chief is certain they will discover our ambush," Hua Mingfu said in a deep voice.

"Hmm?" Mo Bai and Du Juan frowned simultaneously. Du Juan asked, "What do you mean?"

"The Qi barbarians discovered that a force of ours was lying in ambush at Niutou Ridge, and it was a lone army. They will definitely be tempted to set a trap and try to wipe out our vanguard," Hua Mingfu continued.

Upon hearing this, Mo Bai understood that this so-called vanguard was actually a feint.

"Commander Fang intends to use this as bait to lure the Qi Man barbarians into a trap, but the real target is the Qi Man camp outside the city," Mo Bai asked Hua Mingfu.

"Yes, Commander, you have calculated the current strength of the Qi Man troops. There are about 50,000 troops stationed in the camp outside the city, which is specifically there to keep an eye on us. If we directly charge into the camp, even if there are 100,000 of them, we will surely be defeated."

Hua Mingfu continued, "Therefore, we must draw away some of the troops stationed outside the city. Niutou Ridge has a complex terrain, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. If they want to wipe out our vanguard in one fell swoop, they must transfer one or even two units from the troops stationed outside the city. Only when they move can we go out of the city to fight."

"So what about that isolated army?" Mo Bai asked.

"As long as fighting breaks out here, the barbarians heading to Niutou Ridge will inevitably have to return to reinforce. We don't need to fight the Qi barbarians to the bitter end; we just need to exploit a time difference and win a small victory," Hua Mingfu said.

"What if they don't come back to reinforce, but instead send reinforcements from northern Jiangsu? Can we take out the garrison outside the city before the reinforcements arrive from northern Jiangsu?" Mo Bai asked again.

"Your Highness, Xijiang now has two commanders," Hua Mingfu said softly. "If the Qi barbarians do not return to their aid, Commander Yue will send troops to rescue them."

"General Yue, Yue Penghu?"

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