"Why is the general laughing?!"
Feng Bao smiled, and at once, a general skilled in flattery picked up the thread.
Indeed, in an army, ability mattered more—but in certain places where rank was high and real authority slight, those in power always liked planting a few people who might be less capable, but knew how to speak pleasantly.
Take this very moment: if Feng Bao laughed and the generals below simply went on with their own business, the scene would undoubtedly look rather ugly.
But with someone offering flattery, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Feng Bao, eager to hear what brilliant opinion General Feng might have.
"I laugh at that bandit Zhao's lack of schemes, and that bandit Li's lack of wisdom. Especially Li Tonghai—everyone outside calls him a remarkable talent, a master of ingenious stratagems, yet now he knows only how to hole up and defend a city."
"But Wu City is now no more than an isolated city. The plank road leading to Qing Province has also been burned. Should they be defeated later, that whole lot will likely have no choice but to retreat into the mountains and forests, returning to their old trade as mountain bandits."
"Then again, that bandit Zhao was born a mountain bandit. He stumbled into Wu City through a bit of good fortune; returning to the forests would simply mean going back to his old profession."
"If I were that bandit Zhao, when I first entered the Southern Wasteland, I would have forcibly seized the three counties around Wu City and made them into a defensive ring. One city and three counties, supporting one another—that would have been the best choice. It would have given them countless opportunities to maneuver. Then, fighting many with few, turning weakness against strength, might not have