I run a casino in the immortal realm.

He was having a bit of a headache. He himself didn't know how to fight, and neither did the men under his command.

Ouyang Zhan is a born fierce general. He can lead the charge, kill enemy generals and capture flags without batting an eye. However, he only thinks in a linear fashion. If you ask him to command the entire army, he can lead the army into a ditch.

Night Owl, a top-tier assassin and scout, excels at gathering intelligence, assassinating enemy leaders, and causing sabotage. But he has absolutely no idea how to command large-scale troops in battle.

Wang Changsheng, a genius in formations, is already a sixth-level advanced formation master.

He can set up extremely sturdy defensive formations, bizarre bewitching formations, and deadly killing formations, but he needs time and fixed locations to set up formations. He doesn't understand the ever-changing troop deployments on the battlefield.

Xu Qian is indeed a talented person; he is quick-witted and meticulous in his work.

But his talent lies entirely in handling political affairs, managing logistics, and coordinating efforts. He has no problem with accounting and procuring provisions, but it would be asking too much of him to offer advice on war.

"I'm missing a brain."

Zheng Yifei didn't hide his predicament from his brothers. He looked at Xu Qian frankly and said, "I'm not good at fighting. I can kill people and stabilize the situation, but I don't know how to command 18,000 men to hold off 100,000 orcs."

We have plenty of good knives at our disposal, but we lack someone to wield them and know where to stab.

Xu Qian understood what Zheng Yifei meant.

A general is not afraid of being bad at fighting; what is bad is being bad at fighting but still giving orders blindly. Zheng Yifei's clear-headedness already surpasses that of 80% of the generals in the world.

Xu Qian pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the table: "Sir, we don't have such a talent among our own men, but that doesn't mean there aren't any among the 30,000 garrison troops in Pengcheng."

"You mean, promote someone on the spot?"

"right."

Xu Qian nodded: "Pengcheng has always been at the forefront of resisting the Western Rong. Among these 30,000 defenders, there are many veterans who have dealt with orcs for half their lives."

They may not be highly skilled, or they may come from humble backgrounds, but they absolutely understand the weaknesses of orcs, how to survive on the city walls, and how to arrange their troops most effectively.

"But why are those who are truly talented now unknown?"

Ouyang Zhan interrupted, puzzled.

"Because the officialdom in western Xinjiang is rotten to the core."

Xu Qian sneered: "Promotion depends on giving gifts to superiors, on background and nepotism. Those who truly understand warfare and have backbone often disdain flattery and are suppressed to the bottom by those cowardly and incompetent officials."

"My lord, you now hold the seal of the General and have the authority granted by the Prince of Pingxi to execute first and report later. If you dare to promote people beyond the usual ranks, you will surely be able to uncover these people."

A glint flashed in Zheng Yifei's eyes, and he suddenly stood up.

"Ouyang, pass on the order immediately."

Zheng Yifei's voice carried a ruthless decisiveness: "Summon all officers of the Pengcheng garrison who are of the eighth rank or above. In one hour, gather at the White Tiger Hall of the General's Mansion for a meeting. Anyone who fails to appear will be executed for delaying military operations!"

"yes!"

Ouyang Zhan accepted the order, turned around, and strode away.

One hour later.

Pengcheng General's Mansion, White Tiger Hall.

The layout here is similar to the White Tiger Hall of the Prince of Pingxi's Mansion in Bingzhou, but it appears more dilapidated, and the air is filled with a lingering smell of cheap incense and sweat.

Zheng Yifei sat imposingly in the main seat, dressed in the official robes of a fourth-rank general. Coupled with his restrained yet powerful aura as a Void Refinement Realm cultivator, the atmosphere in the entire hall was extremely oppressive.

Ouyang Zhan, clad in armor and wielding a weapon, stood like an iron tower to Zheng Yifei's left, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sharp as lightning.

Xu Qian, dressed in a blue long gown, stood calmly on the right, holding a roll of names in his hand.

Below the main hall, more than fifty local Shenzhen officers of mid- to low-ranking positions stood on either side, arranged according to their rank.

These people are all different in appearance.

Standing at the very front were two fifth-rank generals, one named Ma Zan and the other Zhao Pu.

These two men were originally the deputy commanders of the escaped acting general. Although they were standing below the hall, their eyes were unfocused and their backs were slightly straight, showing little respect.

Behind them, the sixth, seventh, and eighth-rank officers and captains looked terrified, and many of them had cold sweat on their foreheads.

They all knew that the newly arrived general had imprisoned the former prefect and acting general as soon as he entered the city, and his methods were extremely ruthless.

Zheng Yifei didn't speak immediately. Instead, he picked up the teacup on the table, slowly skimmed off the foam, and took a sip.

The teacup clattered on the table, making a crisp sound that sent shivers down the spines of many officers below.

"I, Zheng Yifei, have been transferred from the Judicial Commissioner of Tanzhou to the General of Pengcheng."

Zheng Yifei's voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely penetrating, clearly echoing in everyone's ears. "Back in Tanzhou, I was a criminal investigator who caught thieves and killed demons. To be honest, I'm good at leading a few hundred men to suppress bandits."

But I don't quite understand how to command tens of thousands of men to defend a city and fight a battle.

These words immediately caused a slight commotion below.

No one expected that the first thing this newly appointed commander-in-chief, who exuded a murderous aura, would say was that he didn't know how to fight.

General Ma and General Zhao, who were standing at the front, exchanged a glance, a hint of contempt flashing in their eyes.

It turns out he was a clueless young man who rose to power through the connections of the Ninth Prince and knew nothing about military affairs.

Zheng Yifei took in everyone's reactions and continued, "The 300,000-strong army of the Western Rong will be at the city gates in three days. You all know better than I what a mess Pengcheng is right now."

"I've summoned you here today not to pursue the past misdeeds of embezzling salaries and exploiting soldiers. I only have one question for you."

Zheng Yifei leaned forward, his gaze sweeping across the entire room like a knife: "How do we defend Pengcheng?"

The lobby was completely silent.

More than fifty officers, some looking down at their toes, others staring into the air in front of them, none of them dared to stand up and speak.

The scene was very embarrassing.

Zheng Yifei didn't get angry; he just watched them quietly.

Xu Qian stood on the right, seemingly flipping through the roster, but in reality, he kept observing the micro-expressions of the officers below out of the corner of his eye.

He noticed that when Zheng Yifei asked that question, several low-ranking officers of the seventh or eighth rank in the back row moved their lips and a struggle flashed in their eyes, as if they wanted to step forward.

But their gazes would always drift, intentionally or unintentionally, toward General Ma and General Zhao, who were standing at the very front.