An Ning learned about Xiao Jinxing eliminating the traitors and Feng Xiyun’s battered return to the Wounded Soldier Camp on the second day of deployment, from a soldier returning from the front lines.

It was only then that she realized Xiao Jinxing had used Feng Xiyun as bait to eliminate the traitors.

The strategy had evidently worked very well.

Now that the camp was free of traitors, and with the Cang Kingdom suddenly choosing to take the initiative to engage in battle, they knew they were no match for Daxuan yet still opted for a frontal assault. It showed the Crown Prince of Cang Kingdom to be an impatient and short-sighted individual, completely outmatched by Xiao Jinxing. This battle was going much more smoothly than she expected.

However, the smoother it went, the more uneasy An Ning felt.

Too easily achieved, instead it led to overthinking.

An Ning felt she should trust Xiao Jinxing.

If she could think of it, Xiao Jinxing certainly could as well.

She only needed to ensure his logistical support!

...

As expected, in the third frontal battle, the Cang Kingdom was once again defeated by Daxuan in a chaotic manner.

Gao Ziyue was venting furiously in the camp.

He wished he could dismember Xiao Jinxing.

Yuan Kai dared not speak.

In this battle, he personally commanded at the front lines, but ultimately failed.

He barely escaped.

He was relentlessly pursued, embarrassingly tumbling and utterly humiliated.

"What now?!" Gao Ziyue demanded fiercely after he finished venting.

Yuan Kai looked towards Du Jianghong.

Du Jianghong pretended not to notice. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Yuan Kai looked at Du Jianghong’s smug expression and was infuriated enough to want to cut him in half with a sword!

"Speak!" Gao Ziyue roared angrily.

Yuan Kai shuddered in fear.

Du Jianghong respectfully spoke, "Your Highness, I believe this defeat is not necessarily a bad thing."

"What nonsense are you talking?!" Yuan Kai cursed at Du Jianghong.

Du Jianghong glanced at Yuan Kai, ignoring him.

"What do you mean?!" Gao Ziyue swallowed his anger and asked.

"Your Highness, from the beginning, we’ve known that the Daxuan Army’s fighting capability is not to be underestimated. Moreover, our Cang Army is nearly half the size of the Daxuan Army. Even though our cold resistance is stronger, our overall fighting capability is still inferior, so the odds of winning a straight battle were never great," Du Jianghong stated directly.

"You’re fanning the flames of the enemy’s arrogance, I can’t stand you..." Yuan Kai raged.

"Shut up!" Gao Ziyue scolded Yuan Kai angrily, "If you’re so capable, why have you been beaten into this state by the Daxuan Army?!"

Yuan Kai held back his rage.

Being criticized by Gao Ziyue made him extremely embarrassed.

Thinking about his embarrassment today, he truly wished he could hack the Emperor Daxuan into pieces!

"We can only outsmart them," Du Jianghong suggested.

"Continue, Think Tank."

"Since the Daxuan Army is not good at enduring the cold, we can prolong the battle. These recent battles have had very short intervals and durations, which provide optimal conditions for the Daxuan Army fighting in cold weather. Therefore, now we need to extend this battle so that the Daxuan Army will completely lose their fighting capability under the cold, giving us a chance to win," Du Jianghong explained.

Gao Ziyue, though angry at the moment.

Finally recognized the reasoning in Du Jianghong’s analysis.

Realizing that today’s battle was impulsive.

He really shouldn’t have fallen for the emperor’s ploy, causing substantial losses again.

"That’s why I said today’s defeat is not entirely bad, it can make Daxuan believe that Cang Kingdom is already intimidated by them. In future battles, we can fight while retreating, making Daxuan think we fear them, spurring them to relentlessly pursue. Every time we retreat, we’re in a semi-engaged state, luring the Daxuan Army to keep deploying in the cold until their fighting ability declines. By then, our Cang Army, fully prepared, can launch a surprise attack!"

"Brilliant strategy, Think Tank! Wonderful!" Gao Ziyue exclaimed with improved mood upon hearing Du Jianghong’s second half.

This time they were outsmarted by the Daxuan Emperor.

He wanted the Daxuan Emperor to taste the feeling of being outsmarted too!

"Yuan Kai, listen to Military Advisor Du more in the future, don’t act impulsively again!" Gao Ziyue attributed the defeat to Yuan Kai.

Yuan Kai, dissatisfied, could only say, "Yes, I will certainly discuss matters with the Think Tank more in the future."

"Then let’s proceed with the plan according to the Think Tank’s strategy."