The northern gates were not a battlefield. The personnel guarding the gates were the original guards. Song Qifeng asked, “Are you not checking for the orders on the flag?”

　　“General Song, you are the living orders. Why would I check for that thing?”

　　“Haha, thank you so much, Brother.”

　　The last flicker of hope in Chu Qiao’s heart extinguished. The warhorse galloped on in the cold weather. Chu Qiao felt cold on the inside. Without her, what would happen to Chidu City? Would the soldiers of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison feel that they had been abandoned again? As for the civilians who had trusted her so much… Where would they go?

　　The sky started to brighten up, signaling the end of the night. It was dawn the next day. Chu Qiao was helped off the carriage by someone and brought into a tent. After she was untied, she unfastened the black cloth used to blindfold her. She was shocked to see Lady Yu standing in front of her, a gentle look on her face. She handed a warm towel over to Chu Qiao and said calmly, “Do wipe your face. It’s been hard on you, traveling overnight.”

　　“Lady Yu?”

　　Lady Yu was dressed in a white robe made of cotton. Her face was thin; her eyelids had caved in slightly. There were a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “It’s me.”

　　The look in Chu Qiao’s eyes turned from shock to that of disbelief. Frowning, she asked in a low voice, “Why?”

　　“This place is not safe. Beishuo will not last much longer. Without you, Chidu City may not last past today. Follow me out of here first. I will explain to you along the way.”

　　“Tell me first. Why?” The look in Chu Qiao’s eyes was cold. She stared coldly at one of Yan Bei’s most important military figures, saying word by word, “You knew the situation in Yan Bei all along? You knew how unrestrained the people there were behaving?”

　　Lady Yu nodded and replied calmly, “Yes, I know.”

　　“The Xia army split into two directions, occupied Helan Mountains and attacked Chidu City. Do you know?”

　　“I know,” Lady Yu replied calmly.

　　“Cao Mengtong drafted civilians into the army at Beishuo, using them as meat shields. He killed those innocent people.”

　　“I know.”

　　The civilians of Chidu left their homes for the city of Lan. Many of them froze and starved to death along the way.”

　　” I know.”

　　“Once the Xia army breaches Chidu, they can surround Beishuo in both directions. A million civilians of Beishuo will perish. The entire eastern part of Yan Bei will fall into the hands of the Xia army. Once they reach the inner mainlands of Yan Bei, the civilians living to the east of Luori Mountains will be massacred!”

　　“I know.” From the start, Lady Yu remained calm. She listened silently as if they were talking about day-to-day matters.

　　Chu Qiao’s chest was heaving. She clenched her fists, frowned, and asked in a low voice, “Why? Since you knew everything, why didn’t you stop it? Why did you let a favorable situation deteriorate into this state?”

　　Lady Yu looked at Chu Qiao silently with a warm and wise look. Calmly, she answered, “AhChu, at this juncture, do you still not understand what is going on?”

　　Chu Qiao froze; a terrifying thought brewed from within her mind like a sharp sword piercing through her nerves.

　　Lady Yu smiled plainly. “There are no soldiers in the city of Lan. The forces at Luori Mountains have been withdrawn too. Not just the city of Lan, but the entire inner mainland of Yan Bei. There are no soldiers. The mainland is like a race course presently. If one Xia troop enters that place, they will be considered to have won. I am powerless to stop General Cao, nor have I been authorized to. My sole reason for staying here is to bring you away from this place. Other than this, I have no other orders.”

　　Chu Qiao felt like she had been thrown into the snowy ground. She lost her balance, nearly falling to the ground. Her heart felt tight, as if it had been frozen by ice. Every movement hurt. She took a deep breath but felt like her chest had been blocked. She opened her mouth and frowned. The dots started to connect in her head, forming a terrifying sequence of events.

　　“Yan Xun…”

　　“Your Highness is not at Meilin Pass either.”

　　With just one sentence, Chu Qiao’s beliefs were totally extinguished. All her thoughts behaved like sharp arrows which pierced into her skin, causing excruciating pain. However, she was unable to let out a word. Her body jerked backward. She supported herself against a pillar. Her chest heaved up and down as she took large breaths. She wanted to say something but was unable to.

　　Lady Yu continued calmly, “Your Highness ordered me to bring you away. I waited in Lan City for a long time but did not see you. Then, I knew that you had run into trouble on the way. Also, the Beishuo army was unruly. I had no choice but to bring you her forcibly. Please forgive me.”

　　“You’re crazy!” a low voice sounded out, carrying a tinge of breathlessness. Chu Qiao bent her back and looked up, her eyes bloodshot. She looked at Lady Yu coldly, shook her head and exclaimed, “This is too crazy!”

　　“Although it’s crazy, it works. Your Highness’s army has breached Changting Province. We have conquered over 30 provinces in the northwest, wiping out the entire Batuha family in the process. Presently, the main forces of Xia are gathered in Yan Bei. Their border troops are stationed at the borders separating Tang and Song. The forces in their mainland have been depleted. Song is cooperating with us by conducting a few large-scale military drills along the borders of Xia, in order to divert their attention. At this time, we just need to lure the main forces of Xia into Yan Bei, cut off their communication routes by eliminating their scouts and using the snow to our advantage. Our forces are in full throttle. In less than half a month, we can siege Zhen Huang City! Even if their troops in the north are able to respond, we will have conquered majority of Xia. Even if they fought back, they would be blocked outside Yanming Pass!” Lady Yu walked to the front, helping Chu Qiao to tidy up her hair. Calmly, she continued, “AhChu, Your Highness knew that you would never agree with this idea, hence he hid it from you. However, this doesn’t mean that he doesn’t trust you. We can withstand one invasion from Xia, but not two. Yan Bei’s geographical features are not favorable, which has greatly affected our development. No matter how hard we work, we are unable to compare to the inner mainland of Xia. Furthermore, we have inherent weaknesses in the form of the Quanrong people, which have threatened our sovereignty. Hence, carrying out a surprise counter-attack and switching the places where we establish our empire is the only way to be able to reverse the situation and attain invincibility. You are the person closest to him. You should be able to understand him.”

　　“Because of this complete shift in strategy, you want to use millions of civilians in Yan Bei as bait?” Chu Qiao responded in a fatigued voice. She looked up, her eyes bloodshot. The many days of hardships and hope dissipated into the atmosphere. She had suspected that Yan Xun’s motive in attacking Meilin Pass was to curb the power of the Second Army, in order to stabilize his position in Yan Bei. However, she had not realized that Yan Xun’s ambition did not lie in Yan Bei. He had laid a giant trap in Beishuo City, using millions of civilians as bait to lure the Xia troops over. Then, he executed his strategy, which was recognized universally as ethically incorrect, bringing the First Army and the elite troops from Luori Mountains to attack the core of the Xia Empire. Banking on his military might and cutting off Xia’s communication routes, he would force his way into the mainland of Xia with frightening speed, colonizing it.

　　Chu Qiao chuckled bitterly. This was such a powerful, unconstrained and unexplored style of warfare. This was such a crazy plan. It was equivalent to the modern-day United States invading Iraq, while the Iraqis gave up their land and dashed to the United States instead, colonizing it. When the United States declared their victory over Iraq from afar, they would then realize that their land had been annihilated. This opportunity was indeed, once in a lifetime.

　　It was no wonder that he insisted on splitting up his forces to attack Meilin Pass before the war began. It was no wonder that he did not bring her to his side. It was no wonder that he appointed idiots like Cao Mengtong to defend Beishuo, authorizing him to dispatch his forces at will. He had intended to create an image of Yan Bei preparing for a full-on retaliation, in order to divert Xia’s attention towards there. It was no wonder that her signal for help fell on deaf ears, that her bodyguards were Yan Xun’s trusted aides, and that the city of Lan did not object to Beishuo’s unruliness! He was terrifyingly scheming, managing to formulate such a frightening and secretive plan. Even she, who had been educated with modern-day military warfare, would not have been able to think of this. Yan Xun was simply too brilliant.

　　“Lady Yu, do you remember what you said to me the first time we met?”

　　Lady Yu was dazed; her face appeared pale. However, she still managed to utter slowly, “I said that I hoped, one day, Yan Bei would not have any more orphans like you.”

　　“That’s right.” Chu Qiao laughed bitterly. “You guys did a good job. Once you win this battle, Yan Bei will not have any more orphans like me. All the people in Yan Bei would have died.”

　　The look in Lady Yu’s eyes sank. After a long while, she replied in a low voice, “If one desires freedom, there is always a price to pay.”

　　Chu Qiao looked at her in disgust. “Very good. All the people in Yan Bei will die, while you enjoy endless luxuries in life, ascending upon the throne of the highest order. This is the price that the civilians of Yan Bei will pay for freedom!”

　　“AhChu!” Lady Yu held Chu Qiao by the arm, continuing her words in a hurried manner. “Don’t be so extreme. This is strategically correct! This is a feat, a great achievement! Don’t you see it? The gates of Xia will be opened. Sheng Jin Palace will shake under the might of the troops of Yan Bei!”

　　“Don’t touch me!” Chu Qiao retorted with a forlorn look in her eyes. “I know that this is strategically correct, but you abandoned your people! The people who supported you through thick and thin, through your most difficult times! You let them down! You deceived millions of them and pushed them into the deep end of the pit! You did this for your own luxuries, for your own power struggles, while sacrificing the lives of millions of people! Lady Yu!” Chu Qiao’s eyes were bloodshot. Tears started to stream down her face. She bit her lower lip tightly and continued, “Why? What’s wrong with all of you? Have you forgotten what you said previously? These days, no matter how difficult it was, no matter my predicament, I always held out hope that all of you would come to rescue me. Even traitors like the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison knew how to come back and protect the civilians! Why did you choose to abandon them? Do you know? The people in Chidu City idolise Mister Wu and yourself. They worship the both of you on their altars, burning three joss sticks in the morning, afternoon, and night. This is so that they wish the both of you can live to a ripe old age. They claim that the both of you are the guardians of Yan Bei. As long as the both of you are around, Yan Bei will still have hope. They left their homes and fled towards Lan City. They had no time to bring along their rations, but still remembered to bring along your tablets on their altar. See for yourself, countless joss sticks were burnt along the way just for you. How can you face them?”

　　Lady Yu took a deep breath and frowned. With great difficulty, she said, “I’m doing this for Da Tong, to realize everyone’s dreams.”