Chapter 56: The Strategy of Feinting in the East and Attacking in the West
“I’ll tell you right now where they are!”

Li Yunli’s arm was dislocated.

The night was cold, and several charcoal braziers were burning inside the military tent. As the army physician carefully examined her injured arm, ready to treat it, a trembling patrol squad leader was already kneeling before Li Yunli, shivering with fear.

The Grand Princess commanded her troops in the style of Prince Jin, whose military discipline was notoriously strict. Though they were not officially part of his army, they had certainly heard of his reputation.

Tonight, such a grave mistake had occurred—an enemy had managed to abduct someone right from the main command tent, and the patrol squad had failed to sound the alarm. Even if the squad leader had ten heads, they wouldn’t be enough to atone for this failure.

The moment he knelt, Li Yunli’s expression turned cold.

The squad leader felt as if his soul had already left his body.

Li Yunli’s gaze was dark, her brows tightly furrowed. She suddenly shut her eyes, gritting her teeth through the pain.

Her arm hurt terribly.

It seemed she was always getting injured. Being the Grand Princess had not brought her much peace—rather, it had constantly thrust her into perilous situations.

Everything that happened tonight made Li Yunli realize the limits of her own abilities.

She had naively believed that holding multiple sources of intelligence would allow her to solve any crisis.

But the battlefield was different from the world of business. Beyond mere conflicts, there were deadly confrontations where lives were thrown away without hesitation.

Was Yun Chu captured due to a lack of preparation, or had this all been part of his plan—a classic case of escaping by shedding his shell?

Li Yunli opened her eyes slightly and said, “Punish him.”

The squad leader’s body stiffened.

“According to military law, dereliction of duty warrants thirty lashes,” she said, exhaustion in her voice. “But right now, I need every man I have. Ten lashes as a warning to others.”

The squad leader looked up in shock, his soul seemingly returning to his body. His heart swelled with relief, and tears nearly welled up in his eyes.

Thirty lashes could be fatal if administered harshly. By reducing the punishment to ten, the Grand Princess was showing mercy.

He immediately kowtowed in gratitude, admitting his fault and accepting his punishment.

As he was dragged away, a subordinate named Shiliu bowed and reported, “A secret guard who was following Lord Yun has returned with information and is waiting outside.”

Li Yunli abruptly looked up. “What news? Why wasn’t it reported immediately? Bring him in at once!”

“The guard was sent on a mission by Lord Yun and just returned. He wasn’t here when the incident occurred.”

Shiliu quickly summoned the secret guard.

The guard, covered in dust from his journey, knelt before Li Yunli.

She immediately said, “No need for formalities. No time for nonsense. Speak!”

The guard lowered his head and pulled a map from inside his clothes.

“Your Highness, today Lord Yun gave me secret codes and instructed me to investigate locations marked on this map after entering the western territory. Upon inspection, I discovered that the codes he gave me were those used by the Wei army. Additionally, I found signs of enemy activity in several locations.”

Li Yunli instinctively tried to stand but was held down by the army physician. The doctor shot her a glance.

Li Yunli slapped the table with her uninjured hand and urged, “Bring it here!”

The guard immediately stepped forward and unfolded the map before her.

“Lord Yun gave hurried orders, so I wasn’t able to investigate all the locations before I heard the alarm call. I rushed back, only to find out that the camp had been attacked.”

Li Yunli ignored everything else, focusing intently on the map.

The markings were unmistakably Yun Chu’s handwriting.

The secret guard had also added charcoal marks on suspicious locations he had examined.

These royal secret guards were fiercely loyal to the throne—there was no chance they had been turned.

As she ran her fingers over the map, warmth suddenly surged in her heart.

Yun Chu had not betrayed her.

For some reason, knowing this filled her with warmth, as if the sun had melted away the accumulated snow in winter.

Yes, she felt aggrieved.

After the sudden turn of events, she realized that more than frustration over failing to predict the attack, she felt a deep sense of loss at Yun Chu being taken from her side.

Her soul, which had been adrift, seemed to finally have an anchor, settling her heart.

Li Yunli examined the secret guard’s markings and copied the suspicious locations onto a separate sheet.

“What does this particular symbol mean?” she asked, pointing at one of Yun Chu’s markings.

The guard replied, “I investigated this area. Based on the codes Lord Yun provided, this should be a Wei army communication mark. However, Lord Yun is not here to decode it fully, and it’s difficult to reconstruct the full meaning. But it’s clear they are exchanging messages.”

Armies often developed their own unique codes to communicate covertly.

Yun Chu’s coded system served this purpose, though he had left the Wei army two years ago, so some of the codes might have evolved since then.

But with this map, Li Yunli could now pinpoint which locations in the western territory had been infiltrated by the Wei army.

This greatly aided her next move.

She summoned additional secret guards and ordered them to copy the marked locations, instructing them to investigate them all by nightfall. She also hypothesized additional potential enemy locations and marked them for inspection.

Once the secret guards departed, she meticulously copied the key findings and handed them to Shiliu.

“Take this and ride swiftly to Yongzhou. Deliver it to Ji Wenxun and get her opinion.”

Shiliu accepted the documents and asked hesitantly, “Will Miss Ji understand these Wei army codes?”

“Not necessarily,” Li Yunli replied, “but she is well-versed in the Chu army’s tactics. The markings Yun Chu left differ slightly from the ones the secret guards found. Each army has its own unique signals. If new symbols have appeared, it likely means a new force has joined the fray. I need to know if any traitors from Chu are among them.”

Her voice was firm and decisive. Shiliu was impressed and immediately set off on horseback toward Yongzhou.

The journey would take only four hours. Meanwhile, Li Yunli prepared for the next steps.

No one would urge her to rest tonight.

She had to plan her next move before the intelligence returned.

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The Next Morning

In the Urong tribe, the second prince—who had been stationed at the Great Chu border for years—was startled awake by the blaring of war horns.

He groggily rubbed his eyes and mumbled, “Huh? What’s going on?”

A panicked attendant burst in. “Prince, bad news! The Chu army is here!”

The second prince tumbled out of bed, grabbed a telescope, and scrambled up the watchtower.

What he saw terrified him—a massive army of Chu soldiers clad in armor, marching forward under a giant banner bearing the character “Li.”

The memories of his past defeats at the hands of the Chu army resurfaced, and he nearly fainted.

“I-I didn’t steal or rob anything!” he wailed in despair. “Why is Prince Jin’s army attacking me?!”

His attendants were equally terrified.

The second prince was not born of the queen and had no real power at court. He had been stationed here as little more than a royal mascot.

Chu forces were known for maintaining peace as long as they were not provoked—so why were they suddenly advancing now?

The second prince was in a frenzy.

As the Chu army approached, Li Yunli, sitting tall on her horse, exuded a cold, commanding presence.

The second prince forced a smile. “Ah, Your Highness, what an unexpected visit! Forgive me for not preparing a proper welcome, ha ha…”

Li Yunli smirked. “Relax, Prince. I’m simply looking for someone who was taken from my camp last night. I hear your guests might be responsible. Why don’t you let me search your territory?”

The second prince panicked.

After some hesitation, he finally broke.

“I-I’ll tell you where they are!”