In this realistic war game, only I understand the course of the battle.

The man in the green robe shook his head. "I've checked. His resume says he joined the army at sixteen, taking his father's place, and his ancestors for three generations were military households in Beiping. He has no mentor, no background, and no combat record before Baigou River. He seems to have appeared out of nowhere. But the most dangerous thing about him isn't him. His assessment of Li Jinglong at the gates of Dezhou left even General Sheng Yong speechless for a moment after reading the military report—he said Li Jinglong would run away, and Li Jinglong really did run away."

Tie Xuan closed the file and remained silent for a long time. The candlelight flickered on his face, casting long shadows on his cheekbones. Then he picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on a blank sheet of paper. The handwriting was neat and meticulous.

"To General Sheng Yong: Li Jingzhong, a centurion of the Yan army's captured city camp, is a great threat. If you can win him over, do so; otherwise, make him your primary target for elimination during the Battle of Jinan."

He blew the order dry and handed it to his staff. "Send it to General Sheng Yong immediately." Then he turned to the man in the blue robe and said, "Lord Han, you dealt with him on the front lines in Dezhou. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the defenses of Jinan."

The man in the green robe walked to the table and pointed to the eastern part of the city on the city defense map.

"The Yan army did not rest for long after capturing Dezhou, indicating that Zhu Di wanted to take advantage of the victory and move south. The proper route from Dezhou to Jinan was to take the official road and attack from the north. But Li Jingzhong would not take the proper route. In Dezhou, he attacked Baojiaying—the northwesternmost corner. He attacked the rear of Chenjiaying—the weakest point. When he came to Jinan, he would definitely attack the weakest part of the city's defenses."

He drew an arc with his finger from the east to the west of the city. "The east side has Mount Li, with its fragmented terrain, making it unfavorable for cavalry deployment. The west side has the Luo River, with numerous crossings and a long riverbank. If I were him, I would choose the west side. Once the Luo River crossings are breached, the Yan army can deploy along the riverbank and threaten the city walls from the flank. Moreover, General Sheng Yong's main forces are concentrated in the north and east, leaving the west side relatively weak."

Tie Xuan followed his finger and nodded. "Go on."

"He wasn't just good at attacking cities. His final move in Dezhou was to stand under the city walls and do nothing, using psychological pressure to break Li Jinglong. He knew how to use feints and psychological warfare. Jinan's defenses were strong, so he wouldn't launch a direct attack. He would first create chaos on the outskirts, making us expose our weaknesses."

Tie Xuan paused for a moment, then suddenly asked an unrelated question: "What is his rank in the Yan army now?"

"According to reports from scouts, after the great victory at Dezhou, Zhu Neng personally recommended him for merit and awarded him the rank of centurion. However, Zhu Neng also gave him an extra silver command flag, which allowed him to bypass the deputy commander and directly allocate supplies and auxiliary troops. In reality, the troops under his command were already close to the size of a thousand-household garrison. The Yan army's breaching-the-city camp gave him the vanguard position and also assigned elite cavalry from the Doyan Three Guards to train with him. He is practicing a new mixed infantry and cavalry combat tactic, but he hasn't figured out the specifics yet."

"Centurion." Tie Xuan chewed on the word. "Baigouhe was still an infantryman. In just over a month, he was promoted from infantryman to centurion, skipping two ranks from sergeant to squad leader. Zhu Neng is an arrogant man. Back when he personally selected troops in Beiping, he even dared to scold members of the imperial clan. The person he can promote is not someone who can only kill people."

He picked up his pen and drew a circle at the location of the Luoshui ferry crossing in the west of the city, and then drew another circle at the foot of Lishan Mountain in the east of the city.

"Reinforce the west side of the city with two thousand infantrymen, and set up more barricades and tripwires. Also, the mountain road to the east of the city cannot be neglected—you say this man is good at using feints, so he may deliberately feign an attack on the west while actually attacking the east. We need to guard against not just one direction, but his mind."

The man in the green robe cupped his hands in a respectful gesture. "I have another suggestion."

Tie Xuan looked up at him. Qing Shan took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, on which a simple city defense map was drawn in ink, marking the locations of several key passes.

"There are seven small military camps outside Jinan, distributed in the east, west, and south directions of the city. These camps form a pincer movement with the city, and any invading enemy that cannot capture the outer camps and forces an attack on the city will be attacked from both the city wall defenders and the elite troops in the camps. However, after the Battle of Dezhou, some of the outer camp walls were damaged and have not yet been repaired. In particular, the antlers of the two camps in the east of the city were mostly trampled down when the defeated troops retreated from Baigou River. If these weak points in the defense system are not repaired before the arrival of the Yan army, they may be seized and torn apart by an opponent like Li Jingzhong at a very low cost."

Tie Xuan took the piece of paper, glanced at it, and placed it on the highest stack of documents on his desk. "Before sunrise tomorrow, have the workshop send craftsmen and laborers up the mountain to repair the stockade. Re-attach the antlers, deepen the moat, and repair all the damaged crenellations on the stockade walls."

Seeing that Tie Xuan had accepted his suggestion, Qing Shan bowed and took his leave. As he left the hall, the streets and alleys of Jinan were still brightly lit, the blacksmiths' furnaces burned brightly, and laborers pushed grain carts back and forth in an endless stream. He cast his gaze to the northern night sky, a single thought swirling in his mind—there simply wasn't enough time to fortify all seven military camps. Li Jingzhong, which one will you attack first?

When he returned to the inn, Song Yu was already waiting in his room. On the table lay an oil lamp, two scrolls of military reports brought from Dezhou, and a note covered in writing. Song Yu sat by the lamp, his fair face flushed red from the flame, his brows furrowed.

"Qingshan, I've searched through every military report I could get my hands on in Baigou River." Song Yu pushed the note over. "Look at this."

The man in the green robe took the note and glanced at it. It was filled with the battle records reported by various guards of the Yan army during the Battle of Baigou River. Song Yu circled several places with his vermilion pen. The most important one was marked with the name Li Jingzhong—an infantryman of the Yanshan Left Guard, who beheaded twenty-three people. After the battle, he distributed all his merits to his fallen comrades, but his own name was completely blank in the merit book.

"Twenty-three heads, one infantryman." Song Yu's voice was very low. "On the night of the settlement at Baigou River, no player on the Yan army side could confirm who got that S-level achievement. But someone from the Yanshan Left Guard said that an infantryman followed Zhu Di's personal guard cavalry and attacked from the flank, specifically targeting those who lagged behind, looking like he had been pulled out of a vat of blood. This description perfectly matches Li Jingzhong's battle record."

The man in the green robe placed the note on the table and tapped the words "foot soldier" twice with his finger.

"The conditions for achieving the S-level achievement at Baigou River are a kill count of at least fifteen people during the counterattack phase. He killed twenty-three. The time, location, and results all match up. Moreover—he immediately distributed all the credits after the battle at Baigou River. A newly recruited soldier, instead of striking while the iron is hot to climb the ranks, washes his record of merits clean. This is not noble character; it's hiding himself. He's afraid that his achievements will be too conspicuous and attract attention."

Song Yu raised his eyes: "So you mean—"