I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Outside the main gate of the General's Mansion, the large cowhide drum used to recruit talented individuals stood quietly, waiting for someone to strike it.

Less than an hour after the recruitment order was posted, the drums began to beat.

Xu Qian and Zheng Yifei sat inside the White Tiger Hall, listening to the commotion outside, and exchanged a glance.

"They arrived quite quickly."

Zheng Yifei picked up the teacup and gently blew away the foam.

"My lord, I will go and bring the man in."

The guards outside the door respectfully reported to their superiors.

Soon, three low-ranking officers were brought into the White Tiger Hall.

Leading the way was a low-ranking officer surnamed Ma, who had a weasel-like face. As soon as he entered, he knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times.

The two ninth-rank flag bearers following behind also quickly knelt down.

"Your subordinate, Ma San, the battalion commander of the South City Camp, greets Your Excellency!"

Zheng Yifei put down his teacup and calmly swept his gaze over the three men: "No need for formalities. You've come to beat the drums; have you devised a strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Ma San stood up, bowed, and put on a fawning smile: "Sir, I have served in the army for more than ten years and know the defenses of Pengcheng best."

Although the Western Rong army is fierce, our Pengcheng is well-fortified and has strong defenses. My plan is to immediately order the four gates to be sealed off, the city walls to be reinforced, and all the wood and stones that can be dismantled in the city to be moved to the top of the city walls. We will hold our ground and wait for reinforcements.

"If we can hold out for ten days or half a month, the imperial reinforcements will arrive, and the orcs will naturally retreat."

Xu Qian, who was listening nearby, frowned and coldly interrupted him: "Hold your ground and wait for reinforcements? Governor Hu has already made it clear in Bingzhou that he will not draw a single soldier from other prefectures and counties."

"Where are you telling us to wait for reinforcements? Are you expecting divine soldiers to fall from the sky?"

Ma San was taken aback, his eyes darted around, and he quickly nudged a small flag beside him: "You, you tell us your idea."

The young flag bearer swallowed hard and said boldly, "Sir, we don't have enough troops, but we can mobilize the people in the city! We can conscript all the able-bodied men in the city, give them spears, and have them stand at the front of the city wall as human shields."

Our regular army is overseeing the battle from the rear; anyone who dares to retreat will be killed. That way, even if the orcs want to attack the city, they'll have to fill these tens of thousands of lives first.

Zheng Yifei's eyes instantly turned cold.

The remaining 100,000 people in Pengcheng are mostly the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, women and children. Sending these people to the city walls as human shields is no different from the Western Rong people massacring the city.

"Anything else?"

Suppressing his anger, Zheng Yifei looked at the last small flag.

Seeing that the general hadn't lost his temper, the junior officer thought he had a chance and puffed out his chest, saying, "Sir, I think that holding out is not the solution. The orcs are greedy and bloodthirsty. Why don't we play the 'empty city ploy'? Open the west gate and let them into the city."

Once they enter the city and scatter to loot, we'll use our familiar street layout to trap them, divide them up, and annihilate them!

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yifei burst into laughter in anger.

"Let 100,000 orcs into the city? Do you think they're 100,000 pigs?"

Zheng Yifei slammed his fist on the table, his voice icy cold: "Once the city gates are wide open and the orcs enter, not even a bone fragment will be left of the 100,000 people of Pengcheng, and our 10,000-plus defenders will be devoured! What kind of bullshit plan is this!"

Zheng Yifei waved his hand, and Ouyang Zhan, who was standing to the side, immediately stepped forward and, like picking up chicks, threw the three people out of the White Tiger Hall, one in each hand.

"Get lost! If you dare to mock me again, I'll chop off your dog heads!"

Ouyang Zhan roared angrily at the door.

Xu Qian put down his brush and looked at the three men fleeing in a disheveled state outside the door. He said with a solemn expression, "My lord, these three men didn't come to offer advice; they came to test us."

"I can tell."

Zheng Yifei snorted coldly: "The first two were talking nonsense, and the last one was deliberately disgusting. They were deliberately arranged to come here to see if we really understand military strategy or if we are just bluffing."

Xu Qian nodded: "It seems that those two fifth-rank generals are still unwilling to relinquish their military power. They are trying to turn our recruitment order into a farce using this method."

As Xu Qian had predicted, things went exactly as he had expected.

After being expelled from the general's mansion, the three officers immediately returned to their camp.

In less than half an hour, a rumor targeting Zheng Yifei spread rapidly throughout the various military camps.

"Have you heard? That proclamation issued by the General was a complete hoax!"

"That's right, Commander Ma and his men went out of their way to offer advice, but they were immediately beaten up and thrown out by the General's personal guards!"

"What do you mean by giving us a fifth-rank official position? It's all empty promises! These new officials are just trying to establish their authority by using us. Everyone, don't go looking for trouble. Otherwise, you'll lose your life before you even get the official position."

The rumor was so detailed and convincing, coupled with Zheng Yifei's decisive and ruthless actions in the White Tiger Hall during the day, that the lower-ranking officers and soldiers, who were already hesitant, were now completely dispelled.

Until nightfall, the large drum in front of the General's Mansion never sounded again.

As night fell, Shenzhen was shrouded in a deathly silence.

In the secret room behind the General's Mansion, the charcoal in the brazier made a slight crackling sound.

Zheng Yifei sat cross-legged on the couch, closing his eyes and circulating the Five Elements True Essence Technique. The events of the day did not affect his state of mind. He knew that stirring up this stagnant pool would require some patience.

A short while later, there was a gentle knock on the door of the secret room.

"Enter."

Zheng Yifei opened his eyes.

The door was pushed open, and Ouyang Zhan strode in, followed by a middle-aged man wearing tattered leather armor.

"My lord, when I was patrolling the eastern camp at night, this man sneaked up behind me and said he had a plan to defeat the enemy and insisted on seeing you."

Ouyang Zhan pointed to the man behind him.

Zheng Yifei's gaze fell on this man.

He looked to be in his forties, thin, but with a very straight back. A gruesome scar ran from the corner of his eye to his chin, ruining what should have been his handsome features.

His leather armor was worn in many places, and he didn't even have a decent magic weapon in his hand, only a standard longsword made of ordinary iron.

Zheng Yifei scanned the area with his divine sense and found that the cultivator was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. In the Eastern Divine Continent, someone who was over forty years old and only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm had extremely poor aptitude.

"My subordinate, Gongsun Zhi, squad leader of the third battalion of the left army in the eastern camp of the city, pays his respects to the General."

The man stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and gave a perfectly standard military salute, without the slightest flaw.

"Gongsun Zhi?"

Zheng Yifei pondered the name and glanced at Xu Qian, who was organizing official documents beside him.

Xu Qian shook his head slightly, indicating that he had not seen this name on the officer roster in Pengcheng. A corporal without a rank would naturally not be on the roster that Xu Qian had seen.

"You sneaked over here in the middle of the night; what strategy do you have to defeat the enemy?"

Zheng Yifei asked.

Gongsun Zhi did not answer directly. Instead, he raised his head, looked directly into Zheng Yifei's eyes, and said in a low but unusually firm voice, "My lord, before offering my advice, I would like to introduce myself."

"explain."

"My real name is not Gongsun Zhi; it is just an alias I use in the army to conceal my identity."

The man took a deep breath, as if to unveil a long-buried history of blood and tears: "My surname is Gongsun, and my given name is Ce. My father was Gongsun Yan, the former general of Pengcheng. My grandfather was Gongsun Wuji, the former governor of Qizhou."

Upon hearing this, both Zheng Yifei and Xu Qian were taken aback.