Yu Mingyue's heart skipped a beat. Looking at the terrain of Phoenix Mountain, she feared Jing Zhan's prediction was accurate.
"After I discovered the hidden guards when I went out earlier, I pretended to go hunting in the mountains. There were heavy sentries set up. When I came down the mountain, it was already past the hour of You, but there was no sign of troop deployment, no indication of an attack on the city."
"Phoenix Mountain is connected to Mang Mountain, stretching for hundreds of miles. To conceal their movements, they must have taken mountain paths. Sentries would have been posted along the way, and they would have had a thorough understanding of the Seventh Prince's movements, waiting for the other party to walk into a trap."
Jing Zhan pointed to the simple map Yu Mingyue had drawn, showing it to her. Although Gu Tingyun could understand maps, he was somewhat bewildered by Jing Zhan's words and didn't fully grasp his meaning.
Yu Mingyue's keen sense of direction was innate, and as a descendant of a military family, she had been exposed to such matters since childhood. As Jing Zhan spoke, a formation diagram began to form in her mind.
If she were the rebel general, how would she arrange her forces and set up an ambush?
"It's true that Phoenix Mountain is connected to Mang Mountain, but Mang Mountain is the imperial mausoleum, heavily guarded. If they wanted to pass by without anyone noticing, they would have to bypass the guards and take the route through Xujia Town. Xujia Town..." Yu Mingyue stopped here, her face turning ashen as if she had thought of something.
Jing Zhan hadn't told her that he had caught a faint scent of blood when passing by Nanshan Village, which had likely been massacred. Xujia Town was probably no different.
The Seventh Prince's return to the capital did not require him to conceal his movements. He took the official road, passing through Mengzhou, which coincidentally bypassed Xujia Town, so he naturally wouldn't have discovered anything amiss.
Although they didn't know who the rebel general was yet, judging by the ruthless and decisive manner of their actions and the complete secrecy of their intelligence, they had likely massacred many villages along the way, with others covering for them.
What a family, the Liancheng Wang clan, truly aiding and abetting evil.
Yu Mingyue remained silent for a long while before her complexion improved. "It's not that there's no way."
"You mean..."
"Fire attack!" Yu Mingyue gritted her teeth.
As a child, she often sat on her grandfather's lap, listening to him explain military strategy to her brothers.
Her grandfather had fought alongside the late emperor to conquer the empire and had experienced countless battles. However, he disliked fire and water attacks the most.
Bai Qi's water attack on the seven armies had resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Chu soldiers. Zhou Yu's fire attack on Chibi had decimated Cao Cao's army. Both were decisive victories achieved without expending a single soldier.
But they were too cruel and harmed one's virtue, which was why both General Bai and General Zhou met unfortunate ends.
However, against cruel people, cruel methods were needed to deter them.
Their plan to ambush the Seventh Prince was strategically sound, but their actions against unarmed civilians were unforgivable.
Once the fire started, if they wanted to survive, they would have to retreat in disarray towards Mang Mountain.
Mang Mountain was heavily guarded, and furthermore, the Northern Army was pursuing them outside the city.
Such a large commotion would surely alert the Seventh Prince and his entourage. At that point, they would be the ones trapped like fish in a barrel.
Jing Zhan's gaze subtly fell upon Yu Mingyue. He hadn't expected that this Sixth Daughter of the Yu family, who appeared innocent and carefree, would possess such ruthlessness deep down. It was troublesome for Youyou to have a friend like her.
"Sister Mingyue..." Gu Tingyun was somewhat shocked by Yu Mingyue's expression.
He had never seen his usually cheerful and playful Sister Mingyue wear such an expression before.
When she mentioned Xujia Town earlier, she had suddenly stopped, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent. Had something happened in Xujia Town?
"Brother Tingyun," Yu Mingyue looked up at Gu Tingyun, her voice softening slightly. "I still need Brother Tingyun's help."
Gu Tingyun immediately nodded. "Sister Mingyue, just say it, and I will definitely help you achieve it."
"Alright, then Brother Tingyun, please help me find some kerosene, as much as possible. Also, are there any leftover fireworks from last night?" Yu Mingyue's tone returned to normal.
"Yes, yes, there are. I'll go find them now." After speaking, Gu Tingyun turned and left the room.
Yu Mingyue then looked at Jing Zhan. "Brother Jing Zhan, we will set off fireworks in the courtyard later to create the illusion of a fire caused by fireworks. While this is happening, you should leave from the main entrance of the side courtyard. You must contact General Han. If we are to repel the rebel army tonight, their cooperation is essential."