After the recruitment trial, Wei Yan passed with ease.
Jiang Siming had specifically called him over for a personal "interview."
"Let me ask you this: If I gave you fifty thousand troops to defend Chang'an, and the Eighteen Lords came to attack me, what would you do?"
Jiang Siming had treated Wei Yan completely differently from Dian Wei. Instead, he had given him a question to answer.
Wei Yan froze for a moment, realizing that this was an opportunity.
After thinking it over, he answered, "Chang'an has the natural defenses of Long Pass, with Hangu Pass as its shield. It's easy to defend and difficult to attack. We'd only need to send twenty thousand elite soldiers to hold the two passes."
"What if both passes were breached?"
"Huh? Prime Minister, those two passes are legendary fortresses. How could they be breached so easily?"
"Don't worry about that. Just answer my question."
"If that were the case, we'd temporarily hold Chang'an City, using the moat as our foundation and defending the city gates to the death. At the same time, we'd send people to persuade and sow discord among the various lords, making them distrust one another and causing their alliance to collapse. Then we'd use a surprise force to raid the enemy camp. As long as we burned their military provisions, their army would have no choice but to retreat!"
"Hahaha, well said!"
Jiang Siming revealed a smile that said he had expected as much. He had known that Wei Yan was a born commander.
Although he still seemed somewhat like someone who only knew war from books, with enough time and a few more battles under his belt, becoming a great commander was only a matter of time.
"Good. From now on, you'll serve in the army as a