Thinking it over, she glanced at the generals sitting on both sides and saw that the second row behind them were all staff members.
She first raised a question: "Are the rulers of the two states really, as their sons say, simply because they were seduced by beautiful women and fell into the hands of the Yellow Bandits?"
Xie Guang, fearing he might miss the battle, hurriedly stepped forward to offer a plan: "Reporting to the Marshal, this humble general has a strategy!"
It seems this guy only cares about hitting, and doesn't think about using his brain.
When Xie Lanzhi saw Xie Guang speak again, everyone actively avoided him, indicating that Xie Guang had quite a bit of influence among the group.
Her reaction was indifferent: "Oh."
Xie Guang was clearly very confident in his plan, his smugness practically written all over his face.
He said, "This humble general will personally lead troops in three routes to encircle and drive the Huang traitor to Tianjing, and then trap him there. In less than a month, the Huang traitor will surely surrender."
A traditional and brute-force style of play. She thought to herself.
Xie Lanzhi then asked the others, "What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Guang immediately warned the others with his eyes.
Others immediately felt intimidated, while some were not afraid of Xie Guang.
Soon a young right general named Xie Ji stepped forward.
Xie Jisi was a refined gentleman; though clad in armor, he resembled a scholar more. He rose, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Reporting to the Marshal, Tianjing, the former capital of the Jin Dynasty, consisted mostly of market towns, far from farmland, and its grain relied entirely on supplies from other regions."
"I have a plan that can achieve the goal of besieging Tianjing in the Southern Region without a major war."
Upon hearing that someone dared to block his way, Xie Guang immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Xie Ji, your plan is time-consuming and laborious, and you don't understand the importance of speed in warfare."
"General, I haven't finished speaking yet," Xie Ji reminded him.
"Whether you say it or not, it's all the same! We're going to fight anyway! I might as well go into battle myself!" Xie Guang said domineeringly, as if he was taking on all the responsibility.
"Shut up!" She glanced at Xie Guang sideways, a faint chill sweeping over him. Xie Guang had no choice but to shut his mouth.
Her single glance gave many generals confidence, and they all began to feel the urge to speak.
Xie Ji spoke first: "The summer grain harvest is in full swing in both prefectures. The Yellow bandits are attacking mostly grain counties, and the waterways in these counties are under the control of our Southern Region. We can blockade them by land and water."
"Liang County is close to Tianjing, and it is probably heavily guarded by the Huang bandits, or they have already moved the grain into Tianjing."
"Then, according to you, will this plan still succeed?" she asked.
Her first direct response left Xie Ji and Xie Guang speechless.
Starting with logistics has always been a key principle of warfare, and this method is efficient. However, it is just like the method of Xie Guang, a reckless man, which is to force his way in.
She said to her generals, "The Xie family army is capable of fighting and can defeat the Yellow bandits. Killing the Yellow bandits is only a matter of time, but right now the most important thing to consider is how to avoid further losses and how to gain the greatest benefit in this battle."
"Everyone, follow my lead and offer your suggestions!"
Upon hearing this, a glint of light appeared in the eyes of many of the generals' advisors.
Xie Guang's expression turned strange. He questioned, "Grand Marshal, in the past, we always fought with speed and efficiency, and we won every battle. Those defeated enemies were all afraid of you. You also said that the best strategy in military tactics is morale. When morale is high, victory is inevitable. As long as you raise your banner, hundreds of thousands of Xie family soldiers will be willing to sacrifice their lives for you."
"How come you've changed so much in just two years?"
This was a public questioning, something Xie Lanzhi had known for a long time; she knew she would have to face it sooner or later. She had already come to terms with it.
Because she didn't need to waste time trying to please Xie Guang or pretend to be the "Xie Ying" that everyone in the Xie family wanted to see!
She is who she is; she is Xie Lanzhi.
Her reasoning was very simple.
Xie Lanzhi announced a new directive to everyone: "This commander, no matter who you are or how high your status is..."
"From this moment forward, either get used to me, grovel before me, or disappear!"
"Anyone who dares to defy me will be torn to pieces and punished beyond redemption!"
A thousand cuts?! Ten thousand cuts! Xie Guang and Xie Ji's right eyes twitched.
What does the Grand Marshal mean by this? We were just discussing important matters, why is she suddenly issuing a new order? Now that the order has been issued, the generals dare not overstep their bounds.
The scene became quiet.
Xie Lanzhi looked down at the crowd.
She said firmly, "This commander does not want a dead city."
"This commander does not accept the dead. Everyone should think carefully about this statement."
"On the battlefield, one should not consider the gain or loss of cities, but rather the survival of the enemy. If one loses land but saves people, one can regain both people and land."
The increasingly tense expressions of the two generals contrasted sharply with the composed and confident Grand Marshal seated above.
Although the Grand Marshal spoke of "being torn to pieces" in a nonchalant tone, the black sword at her waist was already drawn in front of everyone as she spoke.
The blades clashed, a chilling light flashed, and a blinding glint shot out.
The world-shattering sword has appeared! As the Xie family's destined sword, it represents the scourge of war!
Xie Lanzhi sat cross-legged, not moving an inch. She pointed the sword at Xie Guang and Xie Ji's noses, and large beads of cold sweat seeped from their foreheads. With a light swing, seemingly without any strength, she cleaved the entire imperial table in two.
The table overturned, and the musical instruments were scattered all over the floor.
She stared at the person and asked, "Who else has a good plan?"
This time, the room was deathly silent. The Grand Marshal's meaning was clear: who would dare disobey her?
"Yes." Xie Guang.
Xie Guang was afraid, but even more afraid of losing his wealth and status. A speculative idea began to take root in his mind: he had long been used to being beaten by the Grand Marshal, not to mention that the Grand Marshal had not beaten him for some time.
He felt that the Grand Marshal's attitude towards him had improved after he woke up. He decided to take a gamble based on this.
He might actually get a chance to fight. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. He hasn't made any military achievements in two years, and his subordinates have long coveted his position, especially Xie Ji. Therefore, he urgently needs to make merits to secure his position as general.
He must seize this opportunity.
As for his defeat, given his past military achievements, it was far from a capital offense; at most, he would be beaten by the current marshal. He wouldn't deserve to be torn to pieces.
With this gambler's mentality, Xie Guang gritted his teeth and said, "This humble general once again requests the marshal to personally lead the campaign against the Yellow bandits."
Xie Lanzhi glanced at the others and saw that they were starting to look expectant again, clearly using Xie Guang as a benchmark for their own judgment of her. They were obviously afraid when she drew her sword just now.
As expected, Xie Guang was a yardstick used by the Xie family to test her attitude.
Thinking of this.
"Xie Guang, you did a great job." She suddenly gave a smile that was hard to decipher.
Xie Guang immediately exclaimed with delight, "Then the Grand Marshal agrees to let me go into battle?"
"Since you insist on volunteering, you should at least show some... strength to prove it."
Xie Lanzhi turned to the clerk waiting beside her and said, "Go to the storeroom and prepare the shooting targets, the bigger the better."
These words puzzled many people, including Xie Guang. Why did the Grand Marshal suddenly become playful?
Some of Xie Lanzhi's advisors, understanding her meaning, turned to remind their respective generals not to provoke trouble. Even Xie Ji's advisors whispered, "Right General, we should act according to the circumstances."
Xie Ji replied, "I'm not like Xie Guang, who's an unkillable cockroach."
Xie Guang, however, took advantage of the marshal's temporary attention and began to forget that he was just a punching bag.
When Xie Ying was around, Xie Guang's only role, besides charging into battle, was to serve as Xie Ying's punching bag. Xie Ying could beat him at will when he was in a bad mood, and even when Xie Guang was wounded on the battlefield, Xie Ying would use the wound as a target.
Once, Xie Guang survived the enemy's attack but nearly died at Xie Ying's hands. Nobody knew what Xie Guang had done to offend the Grand Marshal, which made the Grand Marshal determined to kill him.
Xie Guang suddenly felt countless gazes staring at him from behind, making him inexplicably uneasy: "Grand Marshal, we are still discussing the war."
He had just opened his mouth.
I noticed she had already gotten up and left.
Xie Lanzhi chose the garden of the Imperial Palace, where she watched as soldiers set up a dartboard wide enough to fit one person, with shackles binding their hands and feet.
She commanded, "Men, tie Xie Guang to the target."
Upon hearing this, Xie Guang immediately took a step back, glaring fiercely at his subordinates.
"Grand Marshal, what are you doing?"
The subordinates hesitated, but they had to obey the Grand Marshal's orders. However, before they could make a move, Xie Ji seized the opportunity and gave his men a wink: "The Grand Marshal has ordered that the General be sent to the target immediately."
"Xie Ji, how dare you!!" Xie Guang immediately grabbed the knife at his waist, ready to fight back.
Unexpectedly, soldiers rushed up from behind, and then two or three more soldiers pressed Xie Guang down, lifted him onto their shoulders, and carried him toward the target.
Xie Guang never expected that her old habit would relapse. He struggled one last time and said, "Grand Marshal, if you want to hit me, do it normally. There's no need to humiliate me like this."
Xie Lanzhi ignored him and instead counted the throwing knives the clerk had picked up from the tray. From left to right, the knives were arranged from short to long.
Everyone knew that the Grand Marshal had a strange temper and liked to beat people without warning. If anyone said anything that didn't suit their taste, they would be beaten. Sometimes, even if no one said anything, they would still be beaten. The scene was as absurd as it could be.
But today, the Grand Marshal's methods have changed? Has she recently become obsessed with throwing knives? So she's using the General as a test subject? Regardless, no matter how tyrannical the Grand Marshal becomes, she remains the backbone of the Xie family.
Her words were like an imperial edict!
When General Xie Xia saw that Xie Guang had been tied to the target, he knelt down and pleaded, "Grand Marshal, you mustn't! How can a dignified general be tied up like this in the army?"
She raised an eyebrow at the second hothead, who looked somewhat like Xie Guang and seemed to be his brother.
She remained silent. As she approached General Zuo, she quickly raised her right foot and stepped on Xie Xia's shoulder. Her gaze turned slightly cold as she warned him, "I don't have much patience today. You'd better kneel properly, or you'll be responsible if your general gets hurt by an arrow."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xia was immediately terrified: "But, Grand Marshal..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Xia felt a sudden weight on his shoulder.
With a "whoosh," Xie Lanzhi's middle finger threw a knife that struck Xie Guang on the forehead, on a target board three centimeters high.
Nearly cracking Xie Guang's skull open, Xie Guang immediately broke out in a cold sweat: "Grand Marshal..."
Seeing the atmosphere, no one dared to offer any advice. Besides, the Grand Marshal was known for her unparalleled accuracy; she could shoot wherever she wanted. Today was clearly a lesson for the Grand General.
Xie Ji, standing to the side, said coldly, "General, you'd better apologize to the Marshal right away!"
Xie Guang was already angry from being shot in the court, and now, hearing Xie Ji, who had always been at odds with him, mocking him, he glared at him angrily: "How dare you make fun of me!"
"Whoosh!" The throwing knife struck Xie Guang directly in the right armpit.
Xie Guang finally shut his mouth, watching as Xie Lanzhi picked out another throwing knife from the tray.
"Whoosh!" Her fingers were so soft they seemed to float on a feather. With a slight flick, the weapon pierced his groin and knee.