From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"Everyone is expressing their opinions freely, simply discussing the matter; there's no need to overthink it."

Ignoring Gu Chenglie, Gu Tingshu looked at the crowd again.

Having commanded troops for half his life, how could he not understand the thoughts of these people?

If one has a good plan, there's naturally no problem. The only concern is that if one's thinking is inadequate, one might make a fool of oneself. A fool's laugh is not a big deal, but the worst thing is if it is actually adopted, resulting in losses and the person having to take responsibility.

Many of these people are seasoned veterans who know the intricacies of the situation well, so they wouldn't easily speak up.

Secondly, regardless of how the siege ultimately unfolds, someone will have to lead the attack. If I speak up now, and they remember me, this task might fall to me.

That's a siege!

The casualty ratio between attacking and defending a city is generally as high as one to five.

Even if the rebels were a rabble, they could at least shoot arrows from the city walls, throw logs, and splash gold ink.

Although Xiangyi City was only a county town, its city walls were not easy to climb.

The rebels were already numerous. If you calculate it, even if the casualties were one to one, they still wouldn't be able to take Xiangyi City even if they all died.

"If a direct assault doesn't work, then we'll have to outsmart them."

But since the Marquis said it was just a simple meeting, he meant that everyone shouldn't worry about so much.

Furthermore, since the Marquis has spoken, it would be even more inappropriate for them not to speak up when their names are called later.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment, and then someone made a suggestion.

"It would be better to surround Xiangyi City and cut off its water and food supplies. Given time, the rebels in the city will be starving and thirsty and will naturally surrender without a fight."

"Surrounding without attacking is indeed a method, but it is not suitable for the current situation."

Gu Tingshu frowned slightly and waved his hand dismissively.

The thirteen counties of Yongqiu were not limited to Xiangyi City alone, and the rebel army was not confined to those within Xiangyi City.

If they deploy all their troops here, and other rebel forces take the opportunity to attack other cities, wouldn't that be disastrous?

Furthermore, this rebel army is extremely adept at inciting people's hearts and minds, and its numbers are growing very rapidly. A swift victory is necessary; if the conflict drags on for too long, it may turn into a major threat.

"Then let's launch a full-scale attack! Bring in all the siege engines and stuff, smash the walls, and I bet we can take down a small county town!"

Then someone else spoke up, looking fierce.

Gu Tingshu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

Using force indiscriminately will inevitably result in heavy losses. Compared to the rebels, they are already at a disadvantage in numbers, so we must be cautious.

To put it bluntly, it's about how to take Xiangyi City at the lowest possible cost!

"Father! Chen Shi's men are all heavily armored. Ordinary arrows are like a tickle to them. If we put them at the front, we can greatly reduce casualties."

Seeing that everyone's plans were rejected one by one by Gu Tingshu, Gu Chenglie spoke up again.

This time, Gu Tingshu glanced at Gu Chenglie, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and couldn't help but ponder.

He knew perfectly well what Gu Chenglie was thinking.

However, what he said was not entirely without merit.

While heavy armor may not be able to stop logs and molten metal, it should be fine against ordinary arrows and stones.

Of course, under normal circumstances, it would be a joke to have heavily armored infantry climb city walls, but Chen Shi's unit was different.

How could they escape Gu Tingshu's eyes? Yesterday, he saw that all of Chen Shi's heavy infantry were ninth-rank martial artists!

Although they were only ninth-rank, they still possessed at least four hundred jin of strength. The heavy armor, which would be quite a burden for ordinary people, looked almost the same as regular armor on them.

In other words, it does not affect flexibility and speed!

Climbing the city wall is enough.

Furthermore, this was a force recruited by Chen Shi himself, so even if they all died, it wouldn't be a significant loss for the Jing'an Marquis's mansion.

Afterwards, giving Chen Shi some compensation would suffice.

"List……"

"My lord!"

Seeing that Gu Tingshu was interested, Chen Shi was genuinely startled. Had Gu Tingshu gone senile? Did he actually believe Gu Chenglie's nonsense?

But at this critical moment, Chen Shi didn't have time to think too much and immediately spoke first.

"I believe that we can send a small number of skilled soldiers to scale the city walls first and create a breach, and then send the main army to push in. This would make it much easier to break through the city."

"That is one way."

Gu Tingshu paused slightly and nodded.

The wide moat, towering city walls, and heavy city gates were like insurmountable chasms for ordinary soldiers, but for high-ranking warriors, they were nothing.

The problem is, how many high-ranking warriors need to be dispatched to quickly scale the city walls, and how many need to be dispatched?

Even the most skilled martial artist is powerful, but he must know that even a tiger cannot defeat a pack of wolves, and once surrounded, he is in grave danger.

Compared to ordinary soldiers, high-ranking military officers are more valuable and therefore require more careful consideration.

"Father! Steward Chen is right. In that case, I think Steward Chen should take the lead."

Gu Chenglie quickly spoke again, smiling as he turned to Chen Shi.

"Chief Steward Chen is highly skilled in martial arts; he will surely be able to take the lead in this mission with ease."

"It's actually a bit too risky, on the contrary..."

Gu Tingshu pondered for a moment, then frowned.

In his view, rather than letting Chen Shi or some high-ranking martial artists take risks, it would be better to fill the gap with the hundred heavily armored ninth-rank martial artists under Chen Shi's command.

The deaths of these people have no impact on the overall situation.

Most importantly, he doesn't feel sorry for her.

"Your Excellency has shown me immense kindness, and now that the rebels are running rampant, I must do my duty to share your burdens!"

Knowing that Gu Tingshu was still eyeing his hundred heavy armors, Chen Shi quickly spoke again, then stood up solemnly.

"I was originally the vanguard in this siege."

"Um?"

Seeing Chen Shi's resolute attitude, Gu Tingshu couldn't help but frown slightly.

But after a moment's hesitation, he nodded.

Clearly, Chen Shi was reluctant to part with those hundred heavy armors. Since he was determined, let him try it; it wouldn't hurt.

"Alright, you can go up the city first. I'll also assign you two seventh-rank martial artists to assist you."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Chen Shi clasped his hands in a fist salute and immediately accepted.

At the same time, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; it seemed that his hundred layers of armor had been saved.

Chen Shi sat down again, his brows furrowing slightly.

He needed 10,000 military merits to enter the Treasure Pavilion, and he still needed to rely on those 100 heavy armors for the remaining 9,000. He absolutely could not afford to perish here.

But sending him to seize the city gate tower would indeed be quite dangerous.

As he pondered, a gaze fell upon him; it was Gu Chenglie.

Gu Chenglie looked at him with a smug expression.

Gu Chenglie probably never imagined that a few casual words could actually push Chen Shi into a dangerous situation.

Chen Shi snorted lightly, too lazy to pay attention to this petty person.

Although the plan has been decided, the specifics of how to execute it remain to be seen.

For example, after Chen Shi and his men climbed the city wall, how did the army follow behind?

Following that, the group held another discussion, clearly defining the order of attack, positions, and specific responsibilities for each unit.

It took a full half hour to get it done.

"Alright, everyone get ready."

After the matter was discussed, Gu Tingshu said in a deep voice.

Everyone rose, bowed, and took their leave.

As they emerged from the lobby, Gu Chenglie, with a grin on his face, blocked Chen Shi's path.

"Steward Chen, congratulations! This time you're sure to achieve another great feat."

"Thank you for your kind words, Third Master. I will thank you for your recommendation at that time."

Chen Shi smiled, finished speaking, and left.

"Hmph, ignorant of their own limitations."

Watching Chen Shi's retreating figure, Gu Chenglie snorted coldly, a sneer appearing on his face once again.

The credit for being the first to scale the walls is not something easily earned.