Chapter 171
“Wait… let me think!” The Crown Prince furrowed his brows, feeling a headache.
Though she knew in her heart that even though she was the descendant of the Bai family, the granddaughter of Duke Bai Weiting, and had once personally slain the enemy’s Great General, the Crown Prince and the generals still felt that no matter how skilled she was, her past military actions were all under the arrangements of her elders.
Therefore, the Crown Prince might not listen to her in this first battle.
The reason she kept her concerns and strategies regarding the Xiliang army to herself until they reached Wanping and requested the Crown Prince summon the accompanying generals was…
One, to showcase her abilities to the Crown Prince and the generals, paving the way for her to gain a voice in the military in the future!
Two, to prevent the Crown Prince and the generals from having more time to strategize, giving her an opportunity to meet up with the remaining Bai family army when the imminent battle arrived tomorrow.
Three, to see if the Bai family’s Huying Camp might be in Wanping.
The Bai family’s Huying Camp was cavalry skilled in mountainous ambush tactics. They could traverse cliffs like flying eagles due to their skills with ropes, making them extremely brave and fierce. Hence, they were called the Huying Camp.
She knew the Huying Camp still existed because in her previous life while serving King Liang, she had heard Liu Huanzhang mention two elite troops, renowned as heavenly troops. Although she had never seen them, she firmly believed these troops’ predecessors were the Huying Camp.
The Huying Camp was established by Bai Qingyan’s fifth uncle, Bai Qijing, and was under his command, who was adept in mountain warfare. According to military records, her grandfather had once sent fifth uncle Bai Qijing with twenty thousand troops to bypass Feng County and launch a surprise attack on the Xiliang army camp. With fifth uncle’s cautious nature, he would not have taken the entire Huying Camp with him.
If the Huying Camp still existed, Bai Qingyan guessed it would either be in Wengcheng or where she was now, in Wanping.
She understood that on this journey to the Southern borders… the Crown Prince intended to use her but also guarded against her. He would not let her use the Bai family army unless it was absolutely necessary.
But if the Crown Prince did not use her plan tonight, and the war report came from Wengcheng tomorrow, and he found out there was an ambush on the Jiuqu Peak mountain path…
By then, the battlefield would change drastically. If the Crown Prince did not seize the initiative, the situation in Wengcheng would become critical. The Crown Prince would either have to use her or lose Wengcheng.
Yet the Crown Prince could not afford to lose!
She calmly lowered her head and pretended to persuade, “Your Highness, opportunities missed are once in a lifetime. Please make a swift decision!”
“You’ve all had a tiring day. Go rest for now! I will think about it!” said the Crown Prince.
She came out of the government office and saw Wanping City shrouded in the cool moonlight. Except for two large lanterns in front of the office and a few dimly lit merchant houses, the city was enveloped in stillness.
“Eldest Young Lady!” Bai Jinzhi came running up. “Did you manage to get it done, will the Crown Prince send troops?!”
Bai Qingyan shook her head.
“The Crown Prince summoned you to offer advice, so why doesn’t he listen to you?!” Bai Jinzhi looked anxious. “The last ten thousand soldiers of the Bai family army in Wengcheng cannot afford any more mishaps! Since you guess the Huying Camp might be in Wanping, why not…”
“Mr. Bai!” Zhang Duanrui came out chasing after her, saluted Bai Qingyan, and Bai Jinzhi stopped mid-sentence, stepping aside to stand with Xiao Ruohai.
Zhang Duanrui said, “His Highness should not be organizing the troops according to Mr. Bai’s plan tonight, but… I will continue to advise him. If we miss the opportunity, do you have any other strategies, Mr. Bai?”
After returning the salutation, Bai Qingyan straightened up and said, “General Zhang, if you could truthfully tell me the location of the Bai family army’s Huying Camp, I might have another strategy.”
On hearing the words “Huying Camp,” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked intently at Zhang Duanrui.
Zhang Duanrui hesitated, his lips moving without sound.
Before leaving, Zhang Duanrui and the Crown Prince had been summoned by His Majesty, who had repeatedly instructed… Bai Qingyan was allowed to offer strategies but was not to be reunited with the Bai family army.
Now, most of the Huying Camp had been lost, with fewer than two hundred men remaining.
The training methods of the Huying Camp had always been under the control of Bai Weiting’s fifth son, Bai Qijing. Others did not know the method. His Majesty intended to preserve the Huying Camp and uncover its training methods to train a new batch of elite soldiers for Jin in the future.
Looking into Bai Qingyan’s calm and steady eyes, Zhang Duanrui hesitated for a long time, then shook his head, “I don’t know.”
Zhang Duanrui’s lack of response did not mean Bai Qingyan had no way to find out.
The Bai family had its own highly confidential communication method.
She saluted Zhang Duanrui, “In that case, General Zhang, please continue to persuade the Crown Prince!”
Bai Jinzhi, holding back her words, waited until they were in their room with the door closed before speaking, “Eldest Young Lady, let’s use the bone whistle signal of the Bai family’s army! We might find the Huying Camp!”
In the Bai family army camp, each camp had ten men equipped with bone whistles to transmit secret orders.
This method was used to prevent the enemy from detecting our changes in arrangement during close combat. Only those with these bone whistles could understand the signals. It was even more secretive than flag signals, but bone whistles were not to be used except in emergencies.
“You go to make contact—we don’t have to meet in person.” Bai Qingyan opened a wooden box containing her silver armor. “Just find out if the Huying Camp is in Wanping. Be very careful.”
“Got it!” Bai Jinzhi happily stepped out of the room.
Bai Jinzhi, with a whistle in her mouth, wandered around Wanping City, appearing aimless, occasionally blowing a few notes, looking like a carefree child.
A tavern owner, closing up for the night, saw a little girl wandering the streets and called out, “Girl, go back home! Wanping City is not like usual times, don’t wander around, or you might get kidnapped!”
Bai Jinzhi rolled her eyes, bowing obediently to the merchant.
After some time, Bai Jinzhi bought a pot of wine from the tavern owner, took a sip as she walked out, and made a face at the strong taste.
She threw the wine pot over her shoulder and blew the whistle as she leisurely walked back.
As she was walking, she suddenly heard a very short whistle. Her throat tightened, but she kept moving, blowing once more, “Is the Huying Camp here?”
The whistle replied, “Yes!”
She asked again, “How many are left?”
The whistle replied, “One hundred sixty-three.”
Bai Jinzhi’s eyes sparkled. She blew the signal for “await orders,” and the responding whistle faded with her into the distance.
When the cheerful Bai Jinzhi returned, she happened to encounter Xiao Rongyan, who had just finished playing chess with the County Governor and the Crown Prince.
Seeing the graceful and gentle Xiao Rongyan disembarking from the carriage, Bai Jinzhi happily removed the whistle from her lips, calling out, “Mr. Xiao!”
Xiao Rongyan turned his head, smiling warmly at the approaching Bai Jinzhi.
Bai Jinzhi ran up to Xiao Rongyan, smiling, and asked, “Mr. Xiao, you just returned from the Crown Prince?”
“Indeed!” Xiao Rongyan replied, turning to the guard.
The guard immediately handed a black lacquered food box to Xiao Rongyan, who passed it to Bai Jinzhi, “These are sweet pastries from the Crown Prince. You should like them!”