I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Zheng Yifei handed over the assessment to Xu Qian and Gongsun Zhi.

He himself stayed in the back hall to continue studying the "Five Elements True Essence Technique" and seize every opportunity to improve his strength.

In the front hall of the General's Mansion, Xu Qian and Gongsun Zhi sat behind a desk, with a long queue forming in front of them.

The people who came were a motley crew. Some boasted that they were incredibly strong and could kill a bull with one punch, some claimed that their ancestors were gods who could summon wind and rain, and others pulled out a tattered cloth and insisted that it was an ancient battle formation diagram.

Ouyang Zhan showed no mercy to these opportunists, ordering his anti-smuggling officers to throw them out of the general's mansion.

In the afternoon, a young man dressed in the uniform of an eighth-rank military officer walked into the front hall.

He was tall and slender, with a resolute face and a sharp glint in his eyes that set him apart from other officers in Pengcheng.

"This subordinate, Pang Xun, an eighth-rank colonel of the North City Camp, pays his respects to Lord Xu and the Military Advisor."

Pang Xun bowed respectfully, neither servile nor arrogant.

Gongsun Zhi glanced at him and pointed to the sand table beside him: "Captain Pang, you've come here, you must have a plan to defeat the enemy. Tell me."

Pang Xun walked to the sand table, but instead of touching the city wall representing Pengcheng, he picked up a wooden stick and pointed it directly at Wanhun Valley, fifty miles outside the city.

"My lords, I believe that defending Pengcheng to the death will inevitably lead to defeat."

The moment Pang Xun uttered his first words, Gongsun Zhi's eyes lit up.

"Although Pengcheng's defenses are strong, the morale of the defenders is low, their weapons and armor are broken, and most of them are old, weak, sick, or disabled. If the 100,000 elite troops of the Western Rong attack the city, it will surely fall within three days."

Pang Xun calmly analyzed, "The only way to break this deadlock is to take the initiative and put the battlefield outside the city."

"How exactly do we do it?"

Xu Qian put down his teacup and looked at him intently.

"Set up an ambush in the Valley of Ten Thousand Souls."

Pang Xun drew a circle on the sand table with a wooden stick: "The Valley of Ten Thousand Souls is long and narrow, with sheer cliffs on both sides that are impossible to climb. As long as we can lure the vanguard of the Western Rong army into the valley and cut off their retreat, we can take advantage of the terrain to annihilate them in one fell swoop."

By eliminating their vanguard, the morale of the Western Rong army will be dampened, and their main force will inevitably stagnate, forcing them to reassess our strength.

This will buy valuable time for Shenzhen.

Gongsun Zhi and Xu Qian exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

This eighth-rank military officer's strategic vision surprisingly coincided with that of Gongsun Zhi.

"The plan is good."

Gongsun Zhi deliberately put on a stern face and asked, "But you just said that the morale of the Pengcheng garrison is low, and they are mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled. Even if an ambush is set up, who will fight? Who will act as bait? Once the orcs counterattack, can these defeated soldiers hold out?"

Pang Xun put down the wooden stick, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "This requires reorganizing the army."

"What should we do?"

"In times of chaos, harsh punishments are necessary; a generous reward will surely bring forth brave men."

Pang Xun's eyes turned sharp: "The reason why Pengcheng's army is so bad is because the upper-level officers embezzle military pay and exploit the soldiers, while the lower-level soldiers can't even get enough to eat. Who would be willing to risk their lives?"

The subordinate suggested that an immediate inventory of the number of people in each battalion be conducted, the elderly, weak, sick and disabled be removed, and the remaining able-bodied men be reorganized.

Open the armory and treasury, distribute resettlement allowances on the spot, and promise a reward of ten silver coins for each enemy killed! At the same time, implement a system of collective punishment: if one person deserts, the entire squad will be executed; if one squad deserts, the entire tenth squad will be executed! As long as the money is sufficient and the swords are sharpened, this army can regain its fighting power!

Pang Xun's words were ruthless, a result of years of hard work at the bottom and his understanding of the army's deep-seated problems.

"good!"

The door to the back room was pushed open, and Zheng Yifei strode out. He had been listening to the commotion outside, and Pang Xun's words were exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Pang Xun, is that right?"

Zheng Yifei looked at him and said, "Do you know that the military reorganization method you just mentioned will offend all the mid- to high-ranking officers in Pengcheng? They will see you as a thorn in their side and wish they could tear you apart."

Pang Xun looked at Zheng Yifei, then suddenly knelt on one knee, his voice strong and clear: "My lord, I served as a captain in the North City Camp for five years. I watched my brothers rot and die in their tents because they had no medicine for their wounds, and I watched my superiors replace the winter clothes allocated by the court with tattered cotton wadding."

"I've had enough! As long as you dare to use me, sir, I'm not afraid of offending anyone. I'll give my life right here at the General's mansion today!"

"What a fine example of someone who's not afraid to offend people."

Zheng Yifei nodded, then turned to Xu Qian and said, "Xu Qian, draft an order to promote Pang Xun to the rank of Assistant General of the General's Office, to assist Military Advisor Gongsun, and to give him full authority over the reorganization and deployment of all battalions. Anyone who dares to obstruct him, let him lead the anti-smuggling team to arrest them directly."

Pang Xun trembled, a glint of wild joy flashing in his eyes. He kowtowed heavily, saying, "Your subordinate, Pang Xun, thanks General Pang for your kindness and recognition!"

Not long after Pang Xun left, an elderly man with gray hair and wearing a faded blue long gown walked in.

He looked to be in his fifties, with a hunched back, and was holding a worn-out folding fan. He didn't look like a soldier at all.

"I am Hong Fei, a humble commoner and a schoolteacher at a private school in the east of the city. I greet you, esteemed officials."

The old man bowed slightly, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

Ouyang Zhan frowned: "Old man, we're recruiting military personnel here. What are you doing here, a teacher? Go away, don't cause trouble."

"Wait a minute."

Xu Qian stopped Ouyang Zhan and looked at Hong Fei, asking, "Since you dared to come and beat the drum, you must have some extraordinary skills. May I ask what you are good at?"

Hong Fei smiled slightly and closed his folding fan: "This humble subject is ignorant of military strategy and has low cultivation, but he is good at accounting."

"Settle the accounts?"

Xu Qian became interested; his biggest headache right now was logistics. Pengcheng's accounts were a complete mess, and the supplies Zhao Wenyuan had gathered in Bingzhou would be arriving soon. How to allocate, transport, and store them all rested on his shoulders. He hadn't slept a wink for the past few days.

"Old sir, I have a question for you."

Xu Qian casually asked, "How much grain does an army of 100,000 consume daily? If we were to transport grain from Bingzhou to Pengcheng, a journey of 500 li, how many laborers and how many carts would we need to conscript? How much would be lost in terms of food and supplies for the people and horses along the way? And how much would actually be stored in the granaries after arriving in Pengcheng?"

As soon as Xu Qian finished speaking, Hong Fei didn't even pick up the abacus. He just closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "For an army of 100,000, according to wartime rations, we need 1,500 shi of fine grain per day."

The journey from Bingzhou to Pengcheng is 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers). Transporting goods by horse-drawn carriage would require 3,000 carriages and 6,000 laborers. The round trip would take 10 days. Along the way, the laborers and horses would consume approximately 300 shi (approximately 150 bushels) of grain per day, resulting in a loss of 3,000 shi (approximately 1,500

To ensure the Pengcheng army had enough rations for a month, Bingzhou needed to issue 50,000 shi of grain, with approximately 47,000 shi actually entering the granaries. However, this was only a theoretical calculation.

Hong Fei opened his eyes, his gaze shrewd: "In reality, the roads in the Western Frontier are rugged, and the damage rate of carriages is around 20%. Moreover, we need to guard against bandits and orc cavalry along the way, so we must allocate troops to escort them."

If ordinary citizens were to coordinate the operation, they would divide the grain transport route into three sections, establish two transfer stations, and adopt a relay transport method.

This will not only reduce the fatigue of the laborers, but also decrease losses by 10%. More importantly…

Hong Fei lowered his voice: "In the past, when military rations were delivered to Pengcheng, the warehouse manager would use a method called 'drenching the grain at the top and kicking the bottom' to skim off a layer. This embezzled portion of the grain accounted for 15% of the total. As long as this loophole is plugged, the army's rations can last for another five days."

Xu Qian's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he suddenly stood up.

This old man was not only extremely fast at arithmetic, but also had a thorough understanding of the actual operation of logistics and transportation, and even knew the methods of corruption at the grassroots level.

She's a natural-born logistics manager!

"The old gentleman is truly talented!"

Xu Qian cupped his hands in greeting to Hong Fei, then turned to Zheng Yifei: "My lord, I want this man."

Zheng Yifei nodded: "Approved. Hong Fei is appointed as an advisor to the General's Office, working under Xu Qian, and in charge of logistics and military supplies."

Although Hong Fei was a schoolteacher, he knew what rank a councilor held. Overwhelmed with emotion, he threw down his folding fan, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly: "This humble subject thanks Your Excellency for your appreciation! This humble subject will certainly do everything in my power to handle this matter properly!"

In just two days, Zheng Yifei promoted a strategist, a brigade commander, and a counselor from the bottom ranks.

Although the official ranks of these three individuals still need to be reported to the Prince of Pingxi's residence for approval, under Zheng Yifei's strong protection, they have already gained actual command and logistical control over the Pengcheng army.

After replacing a few key gears, Shenzhen's rusty war machine has finally started running again.

The residence of the General of the Cavalry.

From the study in the backyard came the sound of porcelain shattering.

"Bang!"

A valuable blue-and-white porcelain teacup was smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Ma Zan, dressed in casual clothes, paced back and forth in his study with a livid face, his chest heaving violently.

"Pang Xun! You bastard! You always seemed like a quiet, unyielding man, but I never expected you to be such an ungrateful wretch!"

Ma Zan gritted his teeth and cursed, "He's just an eighth-rank captain, yet he dared to bypass me and go to the General's office to recommend himself! Now look what's happened, he's transformed into a Lieutenant General and climbed over my head!"

The captain of the personal guard standing to the side cautiously advised, "General, please calm down. That Zheng Yifei is simply acting recklessly, promoting a squad leader to strategist and Pang Xun to brigade commander."

Now the entire North City Camp is under Pang Xun's control. He's armed with the General's command and is conducting a large-scale headcount check, eliminating the elderly and weak. All the positions we previously allocated for drawing salaries without working in the camp have been cut by him.”

Hearing this, Ma Zan became even more furious.

Drawing salaries without working is an open secret among military officers in the Western Frontier, and Pang Xun's move directly choked on his money bag.

"General, we can't just sit here and wait to die."

The captain of the personal guards stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Zheng Yifei is acting so recklessly, completely disregarding the rules of the court. Why don't you write a secret letter and send it to Bingzhou tonight to report him to Governor Hu?"

"Admiral Hu already disliked this parachuted-in general; with this incriminating evidence, the admiral will surely step in to punish him!"

Mazan stopped, his eyes flickering with an uncertain look.