I Am A Corrupt Official, Yet They Say I Am A Loyal Minister!

Chapter 316: The Plan Unveiled, A Million Troops with No Return!

“Your Highness, what kind of results do you wish to achieve?” Lin Beifan asked.

Princess Ziyue didn’t hesitate and said, “Prevent them from entering the Phoenix Fortress and keep them outside the borders. Severely damage the Wuxi and Dayue forces, causing them substantial losses! If we can make sure they all stay behind, that would be even better!”

Lin Beifan pondered for a moment and replied, “Keeping them outside the Phoenix Fortress and preventing their entry isn’t particularly difficult for me.”

Princess Ziyue nodded with satisfaction, “Yes, yes!”

Lin Beifan continued, “Inflicting significant damage on the Wuxi and Dayue forces is also within my capabilities if I make an effort.”

Princess Ziyue nodded again, her happiness evident, “Yes, yes!”

“However,” Lin Beifan furrowed his brows, “If you want to keep them all behind, that’s extremely difficult, almost an impossible task. Keep in mind, they possess a million-strong army, a force too immense—larger than the combined strength of both our sides. Moreover, they have numerous experts; it’s truly a challenging situation.”

Playfully, Princess Ziyue pouted, “Strategist, you better think of a solution. I believe you can do it!”

Lin Beifan forced a smile, “Your Highness, believing in me won’t change the fact that I’m truly at a loss here.”

Princess Ziyue pulled out a stack of silver notes and grinned mischievously at Lin Beifan, “Dear Strategist, I’ve long prepared. Now, do you have a solution?”

Lin Beifan’s expression changed, “Your Highness, this really isn’t a matter of money.”

Princess Ziyue puzzledly asked, “Then what is the matter?”

“It’s a matter of a lot of money,” Lin Beifan picked up the silver notes, sighing, “With this little amount, it’s difficult for me to get things done.”

Princess Ziyue exclaimed, “Oh my god!”

She then pulled out more silver notes, totaling three million liang, and stacked them in front of Lin Beifan. Angrily, she said, “Strategist, this should be enough, right?”

Lin Beifan smiled warmly as he accepted the money, “Of course, Your Highness. You’re truly generous. I love your straightforward and approachable demeanor. Now that the money is here, let’s get to work.”

Princess Ziyue sat up straight, her expression serious, “Strategist, please tell me!”

With a slight grin, Lin Beifan said, “Dealing with Wuxi and Dayue’s million-strong army isn’t as difficult as it may seem. As long as we have the right timing, geographical advantage, and exploit their weaknesses, we can ensure they won’t return.”

Princess Ziyue grew excited, “Strategist, tell me quickly—how can we make sure they won’t return?”

Lin Beifan pinched his fingers together and muttered, “I observed the night sky and noticed that in the past few days, the Phoenix Mountain Range and the Wuxi region have been suffering from a severe drought, with extremely hot weather…”

Princess Ziyue was astonished, “Strategist, you even understand celestial observations?”

Lin Beifan remained composed and confidently stated, “Of course. Even Zhuge Kongming understood celestial observations and strategic command. It’s reasonable for a strategist like me to possess these skills. Don’t get caught up in these minor details.”

“Alright, you’re right…” Princess Ziyue concurred.

Lin Beifan continued, “With the hot and dry weather, there’s a certain lack of water. But during military campaigns, water is essential. People can go a few days without food, but if they go three days without water, they’ll die from dehydration.”

“The water source for Wuxi and Dayue is the Wutong River, whose origin lies in the Phoenix Mountain Range. The mountain range’s summit collects water, which flows down following the terrain, forming the Wutong River.”

“Therefore, my plan is this: you will reach the summit of the Phoenix Mountain Range and use boulders and other objects to block the Wutong River. With Wuxi’s army running low on water, they will inevitably trace the river back to its source, the summit of the Phoenix Mountain Range.”

“By doing so, you can capitalize on the geographical advantage and engage in ambushes. This should be well within your expertise, especially since you’ve already mastered the three major battle formations. It shouldn’t be a problem dealing with them.”

Princess Ziyue’s eyes lit up, “Strategist, you’re right. We can definitely ensure they won’t return!”

But suddenly, she grew concerned, “But what if they send a large force in? We have fewer troops, and it might not end well…”

“More troops would actually make it easier!” Lin Beifan grinned, “Keep in mind that the dry weather increases the risk of fires, especially forest fires. When the time comes, with more people, you can simply start a fire and eliminate them, can’t you?”

Princess Ziyue’s eyes lit up once again, “Right, we’ll set fire to them!”

“Although the losses would be substantial, it’s for the sake of their water source. They will undoubtedly send experts this time. So, Your Highness, it would be best to dry up the water supply on top and cut off their retreat completely. This way, they’ll have only one path left.”

Princess Ziyue anxiously asked, “What path?”

“They’ll have to breach the fortress and enter the city to find water,” Lin Beifan grinned mischievously, “By then, I only need to defend the Phoenix Fortress, delay them for a few days, and they’ll die of thirst.”

“Great, great, great! This plan is brilliant, Strategist!” Princess Ziyue was so delighted her smile was unstoppable.

Something that seemed really difficult initially became incredibly simple when in Lin Beifan’s hands. As long as they followed his advice, dealing with a million-strong army was as good as done. She was growing more and more impressed with Lin Beifan.

Since getting to know him, she realized that there was no issue that couldn’t be resolved. With him around, she felt utterly secure. Gazing at Lin Beifan’s handsome face, Princess Ziyue softly called, “Strategist…”

Lin Beifan touched his face, “Your Highness, why are you looking at me like that?”

Princess Ziyue stood up and hurried towards Lin Beifan, “Strategist, don’t move, let me hug you for a while!”

Lin Beifan panicked, “Your Highness, please calm down!”

“I can’t calm down, just let me do this!” Princess Ziyue had already pounced.

“Ah! My chastity!”

Half an incense stick’s time later, Princess Ziyue left reluctantly, “Strategist, I’ll go prepare now. After we succeed, I’ll come see you. Don’t forget about me!”

“As long as you remember to bring money, I definitely won’t forget!”

“Annoying!”

The next day quickly arrived.

Lin Beifan woke up early, had a simple meal, and then went out to inspect the surroundings with General Zhu. At this point, the Phoenix Fortress had assembled 400,000 troops, along with sufficient supplies of food, weapons, armor, and more for the same number of troops. It could be said that they were fully equipped for whatever might come.

While walking, General Zhu suddenly sighed, “I’ve fought so many battles in my life, countless large and small, but this time is the most challenging yet also the easiest.”

Lin Beifan was puzzled, “Why do you say that?”

“The reason it’s challenging is because we’re facing a combined force of a million from Wuxi and Dayue. The battle has the most soldiers and the largest scale, making it extremely tough. But it’s easy because we don’t need to worry about supplies at all.”

“During warfare, what matters most in the end are provisions and equipment! In previous battles, I’ve always been concerned about these aspects—worried about insufficient supplies and inadequate weaponry. But now, we have absolutely no worries on the supply front.” General Zhu chuckled, “Sir Lin, you see, these supplies arrived early, and they are abundant. They are enough for me to put forth all my efforts. I heard that these supplies were obtained through reparations from the Xia Empire, negotiated by you, Sir Lin! Your strategic foresight truly impresses me. You don’t know how many of our Great Wu soldiers you’ve saved, and on their behalf, I thank you!”

Lin Beifan shook his head and smiled, “It’s all for the court, for Great Wu.”

“Exactly! No wonder Her Majesty values you so much. With your loyalty and talent, how could His Majesty not love you?” General Zhu laughed heartily…

Lin Beifan smiled lightly and said nothing.

As they continued walking, Lin Beifan suddenly spoke, “General Zhu, I observed the night sky and noticed that the weather has been extremely hot and dry these past few days. I suggest having the soldiers prepare extra water to prevent heatstroke.”

General Zhu looked up at the sun, “Sir Lin, after hearing you say that, I realize today’s weather is indeed quite hot! It’s only morning, yet it seems we really do need to prepare more water!”

“Prepare even more, and we can use water as a defensive weapon!”

“Sir Lin, what do you mean by that?”

“When water boils, its killing power is significant. When the enemy attacks the city, we can easily pour boiling water on them, thereby easily defeating them.”

“Boiling water is effective, but it takes a lot of firewood to heat up enough water. Unfortunately, we need firewood for cooking and heating. We can’t afford to use it for boiling water.”

Lin Beifan grinned slightly, “I have a solution that can produce a large amount of hot water without using firewood.”

The soldiers of the Zhu clan’s army lit up, “What solution?”

Lin Beifan had people prepare several large containers filled with water. He placed a few copper mirrors inside each container and then filled them with water.

General Zhu was quite puzzled, “Sir Lin, can this really create hot water?”

“Yes!” Lin Beifan clapped his hands, “The weather is hot, and the sunlight is strong. When sunlight enters the container, it will be reflected by the copper mirrors inside. The light will then continue to bounce around, reflecting off the inner walls of the container repeatedly. This process will raise the temperature of the water. Although it won’t reach boiling point, it will still be hot enough to cause burns.”

This was essentially a rudimentary version of a solar water heater, using the refraction of light to heat water.

However, General Zhu still couldn’t comprehend it, “Can it really work?”

“Trust me, you won’t be wrong if you believe me. You’ll understand soon enough!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.

By noon, not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. The sun shone intensely, and just standing on the ground would make one drenched in sweat. Lin Beifan estimated that the temperature must be above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), enough to make people dizzy from the heat.

Fortunately, Lin Beifan had the soldiers prepare plenty of water in advance, allowing them to avoid heatstroke. Still, the heat was unbearable. This was actually a result of Lin Beifan intentionally controlling the temperature to be lower; otherwise, it would have been even more oppressive.

However, on the side of the Wuxi and Dayue armies, things weren’t going so well.