Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

Zhang Bao led more than 10,000 remaining soldiers and fled more than 100 li north in one go.

Finally, before nightfall, we saw the Heavenly General's camp.

The campfires spread out across the open field, densely packed and stretching as far as the eye could see.

The banners fluttered in the camp, appearing quite orderly.

Central command tent.

General Zhang Jiao, the Heavenly General, sat on the hastily made dragon throne.

His hair was disheveled, and he wore a Taoist robe.

They were watching the military report coming from the front.

His face was ashen.

The surrounding civil and military officials remained silent, trembling with fear.

The curtain was lifted from the outside, and Zhang Bao staggered in, falling to his knees with a thud.

At this moment, Zhang Bao was in an extremely disheveled state.

His armor was torn, and his face was covered in soot and smoke.

His beard was quite frizzy from the burn.

He knelt on the ground, his head slamming down hard, his buttocks sticking up high.

"Your Majesty, I...I am guilty."

"What crime have you committed?" Zhang Jiao sneered.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty failed to capture the capital of Great Yan..."

"Oh."

Zhang Jiao suddenly slammed the military report on the table and stood up.

He squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth:

"You didn't capture the capital? You really dare to say that!"

"That's not called failing to capture the enemy? That's called almost total annihilation!"

"They're more trouble than they're worth!"

"So many people paved the way for you, and you, in just half a day, let them turn the tables."

"Of the 50,000 vanguard troops, over 30,000 have perished. All the wealth I've accumulated over so many years has been squandered in one fell swoop!"

Zhang Jiao was furious.

What the hell!

A once mighty army of 200,000 has dwindled to only 110,000 in a short time.

But the other party seemed to do it effortlessly.

The more he thought about it, the angrier and more frustrated he became.

He grabbed the teacup from the table and smashed it.

"Big brother!"

Seeing that his elder brother was truly angry, Zhang Bao immediately tried to appeal to his emotions.

"It's not that I'm incompetent, it's just that Chen Shao is too wicked!"

"He can not only summon wind and rain, but also thunder and fire."

"He survived the inferno unscathed; otherwise, he would have been burned to death!"

Zhang Jiao began to embellish the story.

The more he talked, the more outrageous it became, until finally, Chen Shao seemed to be the true master of the Way of Peace.

The Daoist arts reach the heavens!

Zhang Jiao just stared at him without saying a word.

He only smiled coldly after the other person finished speaking:

"Are you trying to deceive me with this?"

He really couldn't understand his second brother's thought process; both of them were experts in their fields.

Can't we just use another one?

There's no such thing as magic that can reach the heavens; at most, one has learned a bit of everything, from the three religions to the nine schools of thought.

"Brother, I'm telling the truth!"

Zhang Jiao was even more furious when he saw that he was still trying to argue.

"Guards! Drag this bastard out and chop him up as a sacrifice to the flag!"

Several guards rushed in immediately and grabbed Zhang Bao's arms from both sides.

Zhang Bao trembled with fear and struggled desperately, begging his elder brother to spare his life.

Even the civil and military officials who were watching the show could no longer bear to watch.

They all pleaded for General Di Gong.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Although General Di Gong was defeated, he remained calm in the face of danger and saved most of his men."

"It is Chen Shao who is too cunning, Your Majesty. General Di Gong is innocent."

"Your Majesty, he is your own brother and a pillar of the Taiping Holy Dynasty. With a formidable enemy at hand, it would be inauspicious to kill him on the battlefield. It would be better to let General Di Gong atone for his sins by performing meritorious service."

Zhang Jiao was just venting and putting on an act.

One of the three brothers is already gone; how can we possibly kill another one?

Moreover, Zhang Bao was indeed his right-hand man.

He waved his hand, his tone still icy.

"Fine, fine. For the sake of all my ministers pleading for you, I'll spare your dog's head for now!"

"You may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape punishment. From this day forward, you will temporarily assume the position of deputy general and atone for your crimes through meritorious service."

Zhang Bao felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He kowtowed several times before shakily getting up and retreating to the side.

Zhang Jiao stopped looking at him and paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back.

The most important thing is how to deal with Chen Shao.

Scouts reported that Chen Shao was already organizing a large army to pursue them.

How to break this deadlock...?

He paced back and forth a few times, then suddenly stopped.

He then looked at Zhang Bao:

"Is Chen Shao truly so skillful?"

Zhang Bao almost burst into tears of grievance. "I've been telling you for so long and you didn't believe me. Now you know how scary it is?"

He nodded emphatically and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying:

"This is the most... tactic I have ever seen in my life."

Fearing further criticism, he resorted to underhanded methods instead of Taoist principles.

But how can such a method be used?

For example, he moved through the fire as if it were empty.

He knew several ways to perform a feat of surviving fire.

He could be covered in mud, but it had to be very thick, so how could he wield a large knife?

Asbestos cloth, alum, or even spraying alcohol can achieve the desired effect, but the effect is extremely short-lived.

Like Chen Shao, he would have been burned to ashes long ago.

"Brother, it's not that I'm trying to boost their morale, it's just... inexplicable. Ordinary donkeys are faster than Ferghana horses, they ride on auspicious clouds, and they survive fire."

Zhang Jiao looked at him carefully for a moment and knew he wasn't lying.

He nodded slightly.

"That makes it indeed a tricky situation."

"With these skills, it's no wonder he was able to abduct all my Yellow Turban soldiers."

"My Yellow Turbans rose to power through this very method, so his move can be seen as using their own methods against them."

Using Taoist principles to overcome Taoist principles and shatter faith is indeed a brilliant move.

So how do we defeat him?

Physically defeating him would be ideal, but Zhang Jiao wasn't confident.

Although he commanded a large number of Yellow Turban soldiers, their combat effectiveness... is debatable.

Many of them joined just a few days ago.

He remained silent for a long time before slowly walking to the map.

His gaze fell on the map, his hands formed hand seals, and he chanted incantations.

At this moment, with his hair disheveled and barefoot, he did indeed appear somewhat otherworldly from behind.

finally...

He seemed to have found a solution.

He snapped his fingers, the hand that had been making a hand seal.

"Some things are not that we won't do them, but that the time hasn't come yet. When the time comes, heaven and earth will naturally move."

"If Chen Shao can use Taoist magic to make us collapse without a fight, how can I, as the Son of Taiping, not do the same?"

These words shocked everyone in the tent.

The crowd immediately offered their advice.

"Your Majesty, what was the result of the battle between General Ren Gong and him? What was the result of the battle between General Di Gong and him? This person is extremely wicked. We must not fight him with magic. We still have more than 100,000 troops. We may still be able to fight him."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Iron Fist Army is a newly formed force, and their numbers are far fewer than ours!"

"Your Majesty's body is of inestimable value; how could you risk your life so easily?"

Zhang Jiao turned around and interrupted with a smile.

"If he takes 30,000 of my soldiers today, he can take 50,000 tomorrow. If I cannot defeat him fair and square in terms of magic, the morale of my army will collapse."

"If this continues, my Yellow Turbans will really become someone else's recruit training camp."

He shook his head slightly.

"I bitterly resent spending my years embroidering gold thread, only to make wedding gowns for others."

"This time, I want Chen Shaolai to be the one to make the wedding dress."

"Take what they have done to you."

Zhang Jiao pointed to the map, his wisdom evident.

"Two strategies, implemented simultaneously."