usatvline Chapter 564 Pushing the envelope
Chapter 564 Pushing the envelope
The crowd, who had been keeping their heads down and remaining silent, now all turned their gazes toward Ye Qing'an.
"Yes, let Miss Ye speak first."
"Yes, yes, after all, Miss Ye was the first to go and gather information, and I saw that she was standing in mid-air the whole time, so she should have a clearer view of the situation below."
Ye Qing'an sneered inwardly. He was quite adept at shirking responsibility. Perhaps he would be just as quick to run away when it came time to claim credit if they won a battle in the future.
Ye Qing'an lowered her eyes and smiled: "Perfect, I do indeed have something to say. However..."
“I am just an outsider. Although I was ordered to accompany the army, the generals have always felt that I am a woman and should not be in such a place.”
"I've always thought this was a fallacy, and after this battle, I feel that even more strongly."
"I would like to ask Your Highness for a favor. If I have pointed out the problems in our battle today and seen how the rebels planned it, could Your Highness allow me to participate in tactical planning and every battle in the future?"
All the generals' expressions changed.
"Miss Ye, you're pushing your luck a bit too far."
Ye Qing'an scoffed, "Is that so? But at least I didn't lose two cities in less than a month. Nor did I panic so much during the battle that I forgot how to command, leaving the entire army like a disorganized mess..."
The generals all looked rather grim, but they couldn't find any words to refute them.
The Crown Prince looked at Ye Qing'an with some surprise: "Qing'an, why don't you tell us?"
Ye Qing'an pursed her lips: "The rebels' actions today must have been planned several days ago. I don't know what the situation was like in the camp before that. I'll just tell you what I know since I came here yesterday."
"Yesterday, the whole scheme began with last night's fireworks."
"Yesterday, the entire army in the camp was drawn to a fireworks display by the Kingdom of Siyou. At first, many soldiers were wary, wondering if it was a conspiracy by the rebels. But later, when the fireworks formed words that read 'Welcome to the Supreme One,' the situation changed."
"Everyone's attention was almost entirely drawn to the fireworks, and then they began to watch me fight the rebels, possibly including the soldiers patrolling outside. Little did they know that at that very moment, the rebels had already sent men out of the city, who, using the cover of the grass and trees, stealthily advanced and hid in the dense forest."
"Then a black patch appeared in the sky above Anzhi City, which attracted everyone's attention again. At this time, I went to investigate the situation, and they used those fake birds made of wood to trap me."
"Then the people in the camp realized that something was wrong and that the rebels were plotting something. So they left the camp and left it empty, letting others do as they pleased."
"As for the fire in the camp..."
Ye Qing'an pursed her lips: "Last night, when I first arrived at the camp, I chatted with the soldier who led me to my tent. He told me that many of the soldiers in our camp today are garrison troops from Qian'an City."
"But the soldier also said that the reason the rebels were able to rise up and quickly occupy Qian'an was because they had cultivated good relations with the garrison commanders and soldiers in Qian'an over the past few years, and had turned many of them against their cause. Many of the commanders and soldiers had surrendered..."
"He also told me that many of his friends, who were perfectly normal in their daily lives, joined the rebels when they started the uprising. I'm afraid they've already been bought off by the rebels at some point."
"At that time, I was thinking, if that's the case, then no one can guarantee that the remaining garrison commanders and soldiers who didn't join the rebels when they started the uprising didn't secretly join them. Why use these people? If we use these people, then there must be a lot of rebel spies infiltrated into this camp. Wouldn't that be very dangerous?"
Ye Qing'an's gaze swept over everyone in the camp, and the expressions on their faces were quite varied.
"As it turns out, it was indeed very dangerous. Today's fire was probably caused by those guards in Qian'an City who were secretly turned against them."
Upon hearing this, someone became displeased and abruptly interrupted Ye Qing'an: "Then, according to Miss Ye, what should we do? Weren't there any soldiers in the garrison of Qian'an City who were bribed by the rebels? Should we kill all of them just because we have suspicions?"
"Wouldn't that discourage the guards? Who would dare to serve as guards in the place of exile in the future? If the exiled prisoners rebel, the guards will surely die."
Ye Qing'an raised an eyebrow, his face showing confusion: "When did I say that I was going to kill all the garrison troops in Qian'an City?"
"Isn't that what Miss Ye just said?"
Ye Qing'an scoffed: "It's no wonder that our Siyou Kingdom's army suffered a crushing defeat against the rebels because of the general's inflexibility."
"The reason why those garrison soldiers are unusable is simply because many of them may be bribed by the rebels. During the battle between the two armies, they may work for the rebels, report military news to the rebels, or, like today, take advantage of our unpreparedness to burn down the camp."
“But we can also transfer the soldiers who served as garrison troops in Qian’an City to other places to do other things, so they don’t have to contact the rebels. Why must they be killed?”
The general who asked the question showed a hint of embarrassment on his face, his face turned pale, and he took a step back under everyone's gaze.
Ye Qing'an pursed her lips: "Since that soldier was able to tell me these things, someone who had just arrived at the camp, he must have told many other people about them before. However, no one in the camp took his words to heart."
"It's not just what that soldier said. As I said before, the rebels planned this battle long ago, and perhaps even earlier, there were already some clues, but these clues did not attract enough attention from you generals. That's why we suffered this defeat today..."
"It even led to more defeats, causing us to lose two cities."
Ye Qing'an raised her head slightly: "I just criticized you all, but I don't know if my criticism was correct?"
The Crown Prince's face grew increasingly grim. After a long while, he finally sneered, "All of you here are veteran generals who have led troops and fought countless battles. Yet, a woman who has never been on the battlefield has pointed out your problems. Do you think you can still save face?"
The Crown Prince chuckled and said, "You all go and clean up the battlefield first. I will decide on the merits and demerits and reward or punish you accordingly for what happened today."
"Qing'an and the Grand Tutor, please stay."