In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

Er Mazi, who was on the mountaintop, naturally couldn't see Qin Shaolang and the others, because as soon as they came down the slope, they were led by Li Hu to sneak deeper into the valley along the foot of the mountain.

They also had some camouflage branches stuck in their backs and coated with strong-smelling vines to mask their own scent.

"Li Hu, how far is that place?"

After walking for a while, Chu Wu noticed the eerie atmosphere around him and quickly stepped forward to ask a question.

Li Hu quickly pointed forward.

"There's about fifty meters to go, where there's a spring that flows into the stream."

Qin Shaolang looked around, combining the surrounding terrain with the map in his mind, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

The map Li Hu gave him was extremely detailed, with everything within an error margin of five meters.

That's an amazing skill!

Qin Shaolang immediately gave the order.

"Be patient, speak less, and don't disturb that beast."

The group fell silent again and cautiously explored until they reached the spring.

Qin Shaolang immediately looked around.

"Excellent, this is a good ambush location."

Centered around the spring, the area is surrounded by dense forests. The trees here are so dense that even a person walking through them has to be careful not to bump into them. Even a huge tiger would not have an easy time squeezing through.

The only entrance is in the direction from which the spring water flows, a narrow passage that can only accommodate three people walking side by side.

Qin Shaolang immediately approved the previously decided attack plan.

He then gave instructions to everyone.

"Scatter the caltrops you're carrying in the woods on both sides. Chu Wu, Li Hu, you two bring your weapons and come with me to keep watch."

The thirteen people quickly completed their respective tasks.

Just as Qin Shaolang and Chu Wu arrived at the only entrance, Chu Wu suddenly patted Qin Shaolang on the shoulder and pointed to the stream in the distance through the woods.

There, a large white-browed tiger was leisurely strolling along the stream.

His belly was swollen, making him even bigger.

Upon seeing this, Qin Shaolang gave the other two a hand gesture, and the three of them tacitly hid themselves, carefully keeping a watchful eye on the white-browed tiger.

If it suddenly gets close, it might not be able to pass through such a narrow place and injure them.

But given the tiger's cunning, it will most likely be wary of this dangerous place, thwarting their subsequent plans.

Qin Shaolang observed carefully for a while, then gently patted Chu Wu's shoulder, touched his own belly, pointed at the tiger, and made a shushing gesture.

Chu Wu immediately understood.

Tigers are still wild animals after all; once they're full, they won't have the urge to hunt.

As long as they remain quiet, the white-browed tiger will not come here to investigate.

Before long, the tiger crossed the stream and continued downstream.

Qin Shaolang observed carefully, patted Chu Wu on the shoulder, and whispered.

"You stay here and keep watch, I'll go check out the situation behind."

Qin Shaolang expected that the work this group was doing would not be too difficult, and this amount of time should be enough.

Quietly returning to the vicinity of the stream, Qin Shaolang saw that everything was in place. He first called for everyone to retreat, and then soaked a piece of pork wrapped in the soil in the water.

He then called for everyone to retreat together.

As the saying goes, war is based on deception.

This time, the reason for not setting up an ambush is to lull the white-browed tiger into a false sense of security.

Once everything was ready, Qin Shaolang led his group away quietly, thus completing this risk-free plan.

Not long after everyone left, the water dissolved the mud, and the piece of meat that had been drenched in chicken blood finally released its bloody smell.

The white-browed tiger, returning from its patrol downstream, also smelled the scent and spent a long time wits and battles with the empty spring.

All of this was observed by Qin Shaolang, who was hiding high up.

This brand-new observation point was provided by Li Hu. The view from here is not wide, but its only advantage is that it is located behind a narrow road, out of reach of the white-browed tiger, making it safe enough.

Secondly, the spring can be seen from here.

Qin Shaolang squinted and carefully observed the movement of the spring water below.

"Oh, you've finally arrived. This beast is quite wary, knowing to circle around and observe the situation first."

The people around them immediately perked up and all looked in the direction of the spring.

Sure enough, the white-browed tiger seemed to smell the strange odor in the air and the sudden appearance of a piece of meat, which was very strange.

It was quite wary and did not venture directly into the area, but instead circled around on the outside, taking several long detours.

During this time, Qin Shaolang even had the leisure to invite everyone to make a betting game.

Their bet was on how many times the white-browed tiger would circle around.

Qin Shaolang will not participate.

If he guesses right, it's just good luck; if he guesses wrong, it's not good news for his image as a strategist.

Chu Wu, having received a hint from Qin Shaolang, invited his family soldiers to gamble together, and they were having a great time.

"Third lap already! Guess who's within the top three laps? Go boil water tonight and cook for the brothers, hahaha."

Before long, another loop was completed.

"It's the fourth lap. Anyone who guessed wrong, raise your hand and you'll have to drink one less jar of wine tonight."

Amidst the cheers and laughter of the crowd, the white-browed tiger had already circled the mountain ten times. Fortunately, the midday sun in winter was not too hot, and the group ate their dry rations on the mountaintop, enjoying a leisurely time.

On the eleventh lap, finally, under the watchful eyes of the thirteen people, they saw the white goose-tiger sneakily enter the vicinity of the spring through a path hidden in the woods.

Upon seeing this, Qin Shaolang's lips curled up slightly.

"See? A wild beast is a wild beast. In the end, it couldn't resist the temptation of food. It has been tricked."

Everyone nodded in agreement and began to mock the white-browed tiger.

Qin Shaolang's goal was finally achieved.

Morale is very important, especially in ancient armies without the support of modern weapons. High morale can make it possible to break through the enemy's formation even if the army is outnumbered.

Conversely, if morale is low and the enemy is coming on strong, the collapse of the army is only a matter of time.

This was Qin Shaolang's first time leading troops, and his prestige was not yet sufficient, so he needed to use these little tricks to improve his standing among the soldiers.

Besides, this white-browed tiger has been here for some time.

These people were all soldiers, and they had heard of tigers that even officers and soldiers couldn't subdue.

Qin Shaolang was afraid that these fears would cause people in the team to desert.

Therefore, demystifying the white-browed tiger is a very important step.

No matter how infamous it is, after being tricked by the Empty City Stratagem today, people will only think of it as a brainless, stupid beast.

Unlike in the past, we won't exaggerate its achievements to make it seem incredibly powerful.

An opponent that can be defeated is obviously more likely to inspire fighting spirit than an opponent that is difficult to defeat.

"Listen up, no one is allowed to come here from today until the day after tomorrow. Everyone should rest well and wait until four days later before we come back to catch them off guard."

Just as Qin Shaolang finished speaking, a mocking voice rang out.

"Oh, isn't this me, Doctor Qin Shaolang? What are you doing here instead of treating patients in the village?"