"Marshal, give us your orders. We have been waiting for this day for a long time."
The men present became excited, their eyes eagerly fixed on Chu Chen, longing for him to issue the command to fight.
Chu Chen nodded. "Our next target is the State of Zhao. You will each lead your troops and follow me directly to Handan, the capital of Zhao."
"If you encounter resistance, bypass them. Do not engage them head-on. Instead, immediately circumvent them. Do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, the men nodded, though their eyes were filled with confusion.
"But sir, even if we understand your intentions, what is the point of doing this?"
"Indeed, sir. If we bypass the enemy forces and head straight for Handan, won't we be surrounded by the enemy?"
"Although we have an army of one hundred thousand, advancing deep into enemy territory alone might still be dangerous. After all, this is their country, and it has nothing to do with us." Wei Lixuan said with some difficulty.
Chu Chen smiled and shook his head. "If there were no danger, why would I have summoned you here? It's precisely because I value each of your abilities."
Chu Chen nodded. "I admit, this campaign will be extraordinary, and we will face various pressures. But I believe that with your abilities and flexible responses, you will surely overcome all these difficulties. Don't you agree?"
An Yong and the others nodded upon hearing this. "Sir, we are deeply honored by your trust in us."
Chu Chen pointed to the several routes on the map before them. "These are the routes we will take. Which one do you think is more suitable? First, remember, we must catch the enemy off guard. If we take the main roads, we are very likely to be discovered by enemy scouts."
Zhu An nodded. "Sir is right. We must be stealthy. Even within our own country, we cannot afford to be careless. Wasn't it mentioned not long ago that remnants of the armies of Zhao and Wei were causing trouble?"
"Perhaps these remnants have not been fully apprehended and are still ready to cause widespread disruption here."
Chu Chen nodded and looked at Li Xinyue beside him. "Your Highness, Princess, do you have any suggestions? Perhaps you could share them for our reference."
Hearing this, the men turned their gazes to Li Xinyue, filled with curiosity.
Li Xinyue saw this and could only wave her hand with a wry smile. "My opinions are not needed for reference. You all continue your discussion; I will go for a walk elsewhere."
Immediately after, Li Xinyue walked out of the hall, her footsteps gradually fading away.
Once Chu Chen was certain that Li Xinyue had left, his expression relaxed.
"Everything I said just now, you can all forget. Consider it as if I never said it."
Hearing this, the men present were greatly astonished and bewildered.
After a long while, Zhu An was the first to react. "Sir, are you joking with us? How can such vital matters of state be casually altered?"
Wei Lixuan also nodded. "Sir, are we not attacking Zhao, but instead changing our target to Wei? Or perhaps we are not taking the stealthy route?"
Chu Chen smiled and said, "That's right. We will attack the State of Wei, not Zhao. Of course, we will initially advance towards Zhao in a conspicuous manner, making thorough preparations, and not avoiding being seen."
An Yong frowned and pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Sir, I understand. Are you planning to deceive everyone and then suddenly launch a surprise attack on Wei?"
Chu Chen smiled and nodded. "Precisely."
"Both Zhao and Wei are great powers. It is unlikely that we can shake them all at once. The only thing we can do is to confuse them, a feint to draw the tiger away from its mountain."
"Of course, all of this requires extremely strict secrecy. That is why you saw that even when the Princess was here just now, I did not reveal any information."
"What I intend to do is to block the real information and allow false information to spread as much as possible."
"Therefore, as we advance towards Zhao, it is very likely that various rumors will spread. These rumors can confuse both states."
"However, you must also work on the psychological conditioning of your subordinates, so that they are not swayed by various rumors, remain focused on their training, and have clear aspirations. Do you understand?"
"We understand, sir."
The men had followed Chu Chen through rebellions and were considered seasoned individuals who had experienced great storms. They could adapt to this change.
"By the way, sir, does even the Princess not know about this matter?"
Chu Chen sighed. "Yes, the Princess will not be accompanying us on this campaign, so I did not plan to tell her."
"This is solely to maintain secrecy and not out of any suspicion towards the Princess herself."
"Sir, what exactly are we to do? If we attack Wei, won't Zhao intervene? They certainly won't want us to succeed so easily," An Yong said with some concern.
"That is certain. However, I will discuss these matters with you later. For now, you only need to know that our true target is Wei. When the time comes, each of you will lead twenty thousand troops and await my command. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
The men naturally held immense admiration for Chu Chen's military prowess. They were not so arrogant as to believe they could rival him.
"Alright, everyone, hurry and make preparations. Contact your former associates and report for duty at the camp within three days."
"Yes, sir."
After everyone had left, Chu Chen went to find Li Xinyue.
Meanwhile, in a small inn in Shuangyue City, the innkeeper's expression grew increasingly peculiar as he listened to the conversations of the patrons.
After the guests left, the innkeeper went to a back room and met a middle-aged man in black.
"Officer, some people are saying that Chu Chen is leading a hundred thousand troops to attack our Handan. Should we report back immediately?"
The man in black frowned upon hearing this. "Is the information reliable?"
The innkeeper lowered his head. "I heard it from two customers. It's likely there's some truth to it."
The man in black nodded. "Immediately dispatch twenty men to investigate. If it's true, no detail must be missed."
As the man in black spoke, his eyes turned sharp. "The State of Yunyue captured so many of our soldiers last time, and our country suffered heavy losses. This time, we must ensure the news is transmitted back quickly, without any mistakes."
"Our intelligence is extremely important to the nation, and it concerns the outcome of the war."
"Yes."
The innkeeper immediately left the room, found a waiter, who then changed clothes with another waiter. They then found twenty men and instructed them to immediately investigate.
The news that the State of Yunyue was attacking Zhao was almost public knowledge, so gathering information was easy. Within half a day, the intelligence was compiled.