I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Outside, it looked as if the sky had a huge hole in it, and snow was leaking out like goose feathers, falling in a flurry.

In the central command tent, several high-ranking generals of the Northern Barbarians were gathered around a brazier, warming themselves by the fire and talking in hushed tones.

The Northern Mang Empress, draped in a fur cloak, stood intently before a giant hanging map, her phoenix eyes narrowing involuntarily.

As time went on, and still no sign of the army bringing the strategist, the Northern Mang Empress turned her gaze away from the map and turned around.

Before the Northern Mang Empress could speak, a sharp-eyed general stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. This humble general will go and take a look."

But he had only just reached the entrance of the tent, and hadn't even gone out yet.

Whoosh!

The tent flaps were lifted from the outside.

A massive army surged in, none giving way to the others.

The frail Zhuge Yu was held by the two men, who grabbed his head and legs, almost pulling him in half.

Seeing this, the generals couldn't help but laugh. If the Northern Mang Empress hadn't been there, they would have been laughing so hard they were doubled over.

The Northern Mang Empress saw it and was speechless.

Upon arriving in Wuyang City, Zhuge Yu caught a cold and was bedridden, unable to get up.

She kindly suggested that the two of them invite Zhuge Yu over to discuss important military matters, but she didn't tell them to do that.

Look what a mess the strategist has been made of.

To the untrained eye, it would look like the two were having a tug-of-war.

"Put him down immediately!"

The Northern Mang Empress commanded angrily.

The two brothers dared not disobey the orders of the Northern Mang Empress.

They released their grip at the same time, and Zhuge Yu fell heavily to the ground with a "thud," howling in pain.

When the generals saw this, they could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs and laughing so hard they nearly knocked over the brazier.

The Northern Mang Empress, who had been furious, couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle when she saw this scene.

While covering her mouth and laughing, the Northern Mang Empress also glared at the two brothers reproachfully, feeling that the thousands of troops were deliberately there to mess with Zhuge Yu.

After laughing for a while, the Northern Mang Empress quickly waved her hand and ordered someone to help Zhuge Yu up.

They even gave him a seat, had two quilts brought over for him to wrap himself in, and even moved the brazier closer to him.

It took a long time for Zhuge Yu to regain some popularity.

He vowed that he would never mock an army again.

It was because he mocked the two men at Xuanque Pass that he was retaliated against by them and almost killed.

"Ahem!"

Clearing her throat, the Northern Mang Empress said, "Now that everyone is here, I will get straight to the point."

"Scouts report that the Great Zhou reinforcements, who should have been stationed at Qingling Pass five days ago, have yet to arrive. Instead, they are encamped in the mountains behind Qingling Pass, and the garrison at Qingling Pass may abandon the pass at any moment, leaving us with an empty city!"

"My Northern Mang's plan has been exposed by the Great Zhou!"

Upon hearing this, the tent fell silent, with only the soft crackling of the embers in the brazier.

The generals looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Only the thousands of soldiers frowned, as if they wanted to say something.

Before they could speak, the Northern Mang Empress continued, "The reason I've summoned you all here today is to gather your wisdom and come up with a solution!"

"I...I have a way!"

"I have one too!"

As soon as the Northern Mang Empress finished speaking, thousands of soldiers stepped forward simultaneously, eager to express their opinions.

The Northern Mang Empress pretended not to see it, but in fact, she knew what the two brothers' plan was even without listening.

It's nothing more than leading troops to attack Qingling Pass, a city gained for free, why not take it?

But that wasn't what she wanted to hear. The Northern Mang Empress turned to the others, "Gentlemen, does anyone have any insightful opinions?"

The generals frowned and all shook their heads.

Qingling Pass cannot be attacked, at least not until the vital forces of the Great Zhou reinforcements have been eliminated.

Qingling Pass was easy to take, but what would happen after it was captured? It was just a stretch of forest for dozens of miles. Forest warfare was not the forte of the Northern Mang army, and the Northern Mang cavalry could not fully exert their true strength there.

"What insightful suggestions do you have, strategist?"

The Northern Mang Empress placed her hopes on Zhuge Yu.

Although Zhuge Yu was from the Central Plains, he was well-versed in military strategy. He played a significant role in the Northern Barbarian invasion that devastated the northern border of the Great Zhou.

His methods often caught the Zhou Dynasty off guard, taking them by surprise.

"Cough cough."

Zhuge Yu couldn't help but cough twice, his face growing paler. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I do have a solution, but it's nothing special."

"Oh?"

The Empress of Northern Mang immediately became interested, "Speak freely."

The generals also looked at Zhuge Yu, wanting to hear his ideas.

Zhuge Yu then said, "Now, we can't fight, and we can't retreat, so why not force the Great Zhou to fight us?"

"How do we force it?"

The Northern Mang Empress eagerly pressed for details, "The scouts report that the Great Zhou army is living quite comfortably in the mountains. They have not only withstood the blizzard that has raged for many days, but they are also able to hunt wild game for their meals frequently. They will not come to fight us."

"Has Your Majesty ever heard the story of the bird startled by the mere twang of a bow?"

Zhuge Yu asked.

"A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow?"

"Yes, birds startled by the twang of a bow!" Zhuge Yu said. "Some birds don't even need arrows; the sound of the bowstring alone is enough to scare them away."

Upon hearing this, the Empress of Northern Mang blinked and tentatively said, "What the strategist means is that the Great Zhou army currently in the mountains and forests is like those birds, and what Northern Mang needs to do is make the sound of bowstrings to scare the Great Zhou army back to Qingling Pass!"

"Your Majesty is wise beyond my comprehension!"

Zhuge Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute.

That's what he meant.

Once the Great Zhou army is frightened into Qingling Pass, the Northern Mang army will be at the city gates, and whether or not to fight will no longer be up to the Great Zhou.

In this way, the initiative was once again in the hands of the Northern Barbarians.

The scales of victory will tip in favor of the Northern Barbarians.

"Great idea, absolutely great idea!"

"The strategist truly lives up to his reputation!"

After the generals realized what was happening, they couldn't help but step forward to praise him.

Only the vast army pouted, thinking that their method was better.

The idea of ​​them being "frightened by the twang of a bow" is all nonsense. We should just let them lead their troops to attack Qingling Pass.

……

into the night.

The blizzard was still raging outside, making a deafening noise, but the makeshift shelter was warm and cozy, with not a breath of wind coming in.

This was all thanks to the creation of the Seventh Prince, Qin Feng. Under Qin Feng's leadership, the entire shelter was built under a giant rock, which was both windproof and warm.

There were countless shelters like this in the mountains, and none of the soldiers froze to death while crammed inside.

So much so that when Qin Li first saw such a shelter a few days ago, he thought to himself, "Did Qin Feng watch too many survival shows in his previous life and learn the essence of survival techniques?"

Even if Ed Stafford and Bear Grylls came here, they would probably have to admit defeat to this kind of shelter.

"Is everyone here?"

Qin Li looked around and asked.

"Your Highness, everyone has arrived."

The shelter was packed with high-ranking generals from the Great Zhou Dynasty who had come to visit. They had been eating plenty of wild game these past few days and were all plump and healthy, looking like they were on vacation.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?" someone asked curiously.

In front of them, Qin Li unfolded the slip of paper in his hand, which contained the "frightened bird" plan from the Northern Barbarians.

Meanwhile, the Northern Barbarians are preparing to send a force to bypass Qingling Pass and come here to cause trouble and bolster their momentum, hoping to force them all into Qingling Pass.

"Where did this top-secret intelligence come from? Is it reliable or not?" someone else asked.

Qin Li didn't speak, but couldn't help looking at Qin Feng beside him.

Even without speaking, Qin Feng knew what Qin Li meant.

The intelligence was delivered by Fang Yuan, who had already infiltrated the enemy ranks.

"Gentlemen, the intelligence is absolutely reliable. Now, we need to discuss how to deal with the Northern Barbarian's 'Startled Bird' plan."

"I've decided to turn the tables on them. Our plan, I'll name it, is 'Catching a Turtle in a Jar'!"