The Empress’ Livestream

A plant?

Although everyone knew about this matter, this battle plan was too dependent on the plant’s performance. The success of the plan hinged upon the performance of the planted agent. If the plant had adept acting skills and could trick the Red Lotus Group, then the plan would be a success.

But… But what if the plant’s acting was awkward and others could see through his performance? Or what if his acting was just not up to par?

They would pretend to attack Fenghu County while focusing their main assault on Jinmen County. Things would get awkward if the Red Lotus Group did not withdraw their troops from Jinmen County.

For them to put their hopes on a plant who they knew nothing about – not his background or motivations – and to have no proper way to retreat, Xu Ke and the others were a bit worried.

Of those who were present, only Wei Ci felt very confident. Not only did he understand Jiang Pengji, he understood An Cui even better.

Wei Ci could, at best, guess Jiang Pengji’s mood and plan through her words and actions, but Jiang Pengji liked to make unexpected moves. It was pretty impressive if Wei Ci could correctly guess her moves once or twice out of ten times. As for An Cui… Wei Ci had been his minister for many years and had understood him very well for a long time already.

If he were to rank the acting skills of the various princes on a list, An Cui was definitely in the top three.

The conditions given by Jiang Pengji were too tempting. Even if An Cui knew that there was a catch, he would still bite down firmly on the bait. This was even truer since he hadn’t discovered the catch yet. As long as he helped Jiang Pengji capture Chengde County, An Cui could have 10% of the adult males and money from the captives. Moreover, the Dongqing royal house had issued an imperial order to mobilize all their troops to enter the capital to save their king. An Cui wanted to step on this springboard to develop his power. Hence, Jiang Pengji needed to promise him 10% of the adult males and money.

Jiang Pengji needed to draw support from Chengde County to expand her troops and land there before turning around to suppress the powerful land-owning class in Shangyang County. That would stabilize her foundations.

An Cui must also use that 10% of the money and adult males as capital to join the ranks of the forces responding to the imperial order. By doing this, he could rise in status and take advantage of the opportunity to develop his power.

The interests of the two were one and the same. In fact, An Cui was even more eager for this victory than Jiang Pengji.

Faced with such a temptation, An Cui would gather all his energy, exert all his strength, and throw his whole weight behind this plan to make it happen, even without any urging by outsiders.

Just as Wei Ci was thinking about how to dispel everyone’s worries and reassure them, Jiang Pengji started to speak.

She said, “Everyone, your fear is not without reason. I’ve thought about it carefully and I intend to tell you something.”

Wei Ci’s heart jumped, he was about to open his mouth, but he was too late.

Jiang Pengji said, “I plan to lead the Vanguard Battalion in this siege!”

It was only a few words, but it was as if firecrackers had been thrown into a boiling pot of water and made the pot explode.

Whether they were the counselors led by Xu Ke or the military generals led by Meng Hun, they were all firmly opposed to her idea.

They knew that Jiang Yanji fought valiantly, but Her Majesty was the stabilizing force who should oversee things from the rear and stabilize the situation.

If she ran to the frontlines to kill the enemy and her identity was revealed, the enemy would focus their fire on her. What could they do then?

No matter how heroic a person was, when he was faced with thousands of blades, it was only a matter of time before he would be chopped into meat sauce.

Yang Si was surprised.

He had never seen Jiang Pengji’s powerful and outstanding combat abilities in battle. He thought that she was foolish and conceited, someone who loved playing the hero. His brain started to hurt immediately.

“District Magistrate Liu, you should consider the big picture. As our leader, how could you go into battle without a care for the danger?”

It wasn’t just that she wanted to go into battle, she also wanted to lead the Vanguard Battalion.

What did the Vanguard Battalion do?

The Vanguard Battalion shouldered the task of scouting the trails for the entire army. They were also responsible for observing the enemy, checking out the terrain, and conducting offensive maneuvers of an investigative or probing nature. Their purpose was to throw the enemy’s troops, deployment, and formation into disorder while boosting the morale of their troops. It was a heavy task. Hence, the Vanguard was generally composed of the best soldiers from the entire army.

In other words, the Vanguard Battalion was the first of the army to fight against the enemy.

Normally, the “reduction of staff” also started with the Vanguard.

When one joined the Vanguard Battalion, it meant that they could meet Lord Yan of Death at any time.

The obstructions and opposition voiced by everyone floated into her left ear and went out her right ear. Let their glib tongues speak all the flowery words they could come up with, she would remain unmovable.

Seeing the scene playing out in a familiar style that they all liked, the audience of the livestream expressed their delight.

Tomorrow is the college entrance exam: Hahaha ——- don’t you find this scene familiar? During the attack on the Chengan district, the host also wanted to come to the front lines, but in the end, she was stopped by her “teenage princesses.” Nowadays, the team of “teenage princesses” has expanded further, and more people are obstructing the host. Should we have a bet on who’ll win? Will it be the host or her group of “teenage princesses?”

Cheering on the little angels: #Contemptuous, you’ve all said that it’s the “teenage princesses” group. According to the host’s usual practice of spoiling them, she will definitely be persuaded to stay in the end. Putting aside this point that “all flesh is equal to swords and knives on the battlefield,” as the backbone, the anchor is indeed unsuitable for risks.

Evening: You are all laughing, so is it just me who feels bad for the host? She is actually more suitable to be a general than a queen. As a general, she can fight on the battleground and release the wildness in her. Amongst all the armies, she will be the one to take the head of the enemy’s general and make the enemy tremble…

But Jiang Pengji was the backbone for everyone. She was also their ruler. She had become a rare panda to be protected.

Total perfection: The above comment is felt by others too. I feel uncomfortable every time I see the group of “teenage princesses” thwarting the host. If they thwart her a few more times, I will turn from being a fan into a detractor. She is a tiger, a lion, not a giant panda to be shut up in a zoo and carefully waited upon.

There was a spirited discussion going on in the bullet screen of the livestream. Naturally, Jiang Pengji did not miss it.

The bored and unmotivated audience who probably had no ambitions in real life compared her to a protected panda and called the counselors and military generals little “teenage princesses.” She thought that they were rather accurate.

Therefore…

“Stop persuading me, I have decided.” Jiang Pengji’s gaze was determined. She had been trapped here in the company of a bunch of government officials for so long that she had almost forgotten how good it felt to whip a horse on and to kill the enemy. “I’ll be leading the Vanguard Battalion. It’s critical to besiege and takedown Jinmen County with the fastest speed and the fewest casualties. Which general here can achieve that besides me? This matter is settled.”

Menghun and the others had fought against Jiang Pengji. Whether it was in a one-on-one fight or by leading troops into a battle against each other, they were leagues apart from Jiang Pengji.

After the meeting adjourned, Wei Ci was pulled aside by Yang Si as he complained to him.

“This empress of yours… she thinks she can still go onto the battlefield with such a small physique?”

Wei Ci was still immersed in his thoughts when he was interrupted by Yang Si. He raised his head and said with a somewhat mocking tone, “Her Majesty’s combat strength is extraordinary. She is valiant and invincible. Why is she incapable of fighting on the battlefield? I will not expound more on her abilities. However, if you were her opponent, even you couldn’t beat her… ”

Yang Si almost hurt from the laughter he was holding in.

What’s wrong with Wei Ci? He certainly put an awkward stop to the conversation the moment he opened his mouth.

“Is she really as powerful as you say?” Yang Si looked skeptical.

Jiang Pengji was not short, but she was not tall and sturdy either. She also looked a little lean, not like she could fight.

Wei Ci egged him on. “If you don’t believe me, you can try challenging her. But then, why did you suddenly make such a suggestion?”

Yang Si was merely a “temp worker” and he had only stayed for the delicious food. Now he was here offering his advice.

Yang Si averted his gaze and said disagreeably, “You think I want to? Don’t you know your leader’s personality? Once I go on this road, there’ll be no way back. If Liu Xi was a mere county magistrate, I would not fear him. But now he’s nearly the magistrate of the entire province. How would I escape him?”

To put it succinctly, Yang Si was a bit of a wimp.