Chapter 969.1: Change - Part 1

After handing over the command and mobilization authority of Pine Pavilion Pass and the nearby passes to Xie Nandu, the General’s Office had been in constant anxiety.

The reasons were nothing more than two. The first was the fear of losing these many passes, after which there would be no more barrier before the Northern Frontier Great Wall. But beyond that, the most important concern was the fear that Xie Nandu might die at Pine Pavilion Pass.

In the history of the Northern Frontier Army, it was probably rare to have such a figure, someone who was not the Great General, yet in many situations was just as important as the Great General.

Thus, as scouts moved in and out of the General’s Office one after another, and as many Northern Frontier generals paced back and forth in the council hall, everyone had unconsciously cast aside their prejudices and already regarded Xie Nandu as a pillar of the nation.

There was actually another interesting point here: whether in Great Liang or throughout past dynasties, there had never been a husband and wife who were both indispensable to the realm.

Standing over the sand table and arranging it for a long time, from the intelligence he had received, he tried to deduce Xie Nandu’s plans on the battlefield, but after expending great effort, he had only grasped five or six parts out of ten.

Pulling his gaze back from the sand table, Gao Xuan looked at the Great General Ning Ping and smiled. “Great General, Pine Pavilion Pass will not fall. I estimate that Liu Xiang’s army will suffer at least a loss of one hundred thousand before it can withdraw back into the depths of the desolate north.”

Ning Ping sighed with emotion. “It seems that what that Primordial Saint once said, that only women and petty men are difficult to live with, can no longer be taken as true.”

Gao Xuan shot Ning Ping a somewhat helpless glance. “That was never what the saint meant.”

Ning Ping looked unconcerned and said frankly, “Your Father joined the army when I was young. I haven’t read many books.”

Gao Xuan felt even more helpless.

How could his own general take pride in that?

But before Gao Xuan could think further, Ning Ping asked a meaningful question, “Gao Xuan, what do you think she still lacks before she can take sole command of the General’s Office?”

Gao Xuan thought for a moment and frowned. “The timing is not yet ripe. But in my view, if Liu Xiang’s vanguard army is completely annihilated and Liu Xiang’s head, that demon Great General, is delivered to the General’s Office, then it would be almost enough. After that, as long as she makes no mistakes, it would happen naturally... If one wants to speed it up, there is actually another way.”

“Go on?”

Ning Ping looked at Gao Xuan’s eyes. This Great General of the Northern Frontier actually knew very well what the unspoken words were.

Gao Xuan shook his head and said seriously, “Great General should not think that way, nor should you do such a thing.”

Ning Ping mocked himself, “I’ve been in the General’s Office all this time. What could I possibly do?”

Gao Xuan remained silent.

Ning Ping patted Gao Xuan’s shoulder and smiled. “But no matter how you look at it, completely annihilating the demon vanguard army and taking Liu Xiang’s head, just thinking about it makes it seem impossible, doesn’t it?”

Gao Xuan shook his head again and said, “If it were me, I probably couldn’t do it. But if it were her, I feel there’s some possibility.”

Gao Xuan rubbed his cheeks and let out a light breath of turbid air.

Unlike many descendants of military families, although Gao Xuan’s family had also served as generals in the Northern Frontier for generations, he had, from a young age, read both military texts and the classics of the sages, as well as the works of great writers.

In comparison, he actually preferred the latter.

Yet his favorite line of poetry was still one about going to war.

Before Xie Nandu came to the Northern Frontier, he had once believed that one day he could become the Great General, inherit the will of his predecessors, and defend the glory of the frontier army.

But now, Gao Xuan had already tacitly accepted in his heart that Xie Nandu would command the three armies in the future.

He was willing to take on the role of an assistant minister.

But to be fair, if one day in the future Xie Nandu were to become the Great General of the Northern Frontier, then Gao Xuan would most likely become the most outstanding deputy general ever in the history of the Great Liang frontier army.

A talent fit to be a commander, yet ending up serving as a deputy general.

That too was an extremely rare occurrence.

Ning Ping patted Gao Xuan’s shoulder and joked with a smile, “Kid, your luck’s a bit bad. If not for her, you’d be guaranteed to become the next Great General. Don’t you feel stifled?”

Gao Xuan shook his head. “What’s there to feel stifled about? Her ability is great enough. Feeling stifled is useless. Besides, I like a woman like that too.”

Ning Ping shook his head and sighed, not knowing what to say.

Of the two young men, the first was someone he had placed great hopes on before even leaving the Divine Capital, grooming him as the next Lord Warden Commander. After arriving at the Northern Frontier and meeting Gao Xuan, he had also intended to train Gao Xuan to become the next Great General.

Who would have thought that both of them would fall for the same woman?

But this was not something he needed to worry about, because that man and woman had long since fallen for each other.

In that case, Gao Xuan was destined to become the one left disappointed.

Gao Xuan narrowed his eyes. “Great General, for some women, just knowing that she is there is already something extremely beautiful. There is no need to stand by her side, just watching like this is enough.”

Ning Ping waved his hand. “What kind of crooked logic is that?”

Gao Xuan opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, an extremely excited shout suddenly rang out from outside.

“Great victory! A great victory at Pine Pavilion Pass!”

A scout rushed in from afar into the General’s Office, holding a military report in his hand, his expression extremely excited.

Gao Xuan and Ning Ping exchanged a glance. The emotions in their eyes were different. Gao Xuan was somewhat surprised, but also genuinely happy for Xie Nandu, while Ning Ping’s emotions were more complex.

Taking the report, all the generals in the room turned to look at Ning Ping.

Ning Ping opened the report, glanced at it a few times, then narrowed his eyes, the smile in them already impossible to conceal.

Li Changling had always been impatient. At this moment, he raised his head and asked anxiously, “Great General, how is it?!”

Ning Ping tossed the report in his hand out and laughed, “We can hold a victory banquet tonight.”

Li Changling caught it, lowered his head to look, and saw that there were less than thirty words written on it.

The handwriting was not Xie Nandu’s, but from the tone, it was undoubtedly in the consistent style of that woman general.

“The demon army suffered a great defeat at Suspended Moon Plain. The commander Liu Xiang was killed in battle. More than ten thousand fled back to the desolate north.”

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