Seeing Yu Ke lost in thought.
Lu Yu and his father did not disturb him either. After all, it was Lu Chen's first day here, and he had endured a tiring journey.
Yu Ke sifted through twenty years of memories, which flashed past like galloping horses glimpsed through flowers.
He was now, completely and utterly, Lu Chen.
His understanding of the North Wind Profound Kingdom deepened further. The commander outside Hulao Pass was none other than Tuoba Shuyi.
The sixth prince of the North Wind Profound Kingdom held tremendous prestige within the army.
Under his command were thirty thousand heavily armored troops, supported by Linked Horse Cavalry and light cavalry to break through enemy formations.
Once they entered battle, they moved as swiftly as a gale, crushing everything in their path like dead branches and rotten wood.
In the previous great battles, they had sent Great Qing's armies fleeing at the mere sight of them.
When two armies faced each other, without a way to break the enemy, one side would inevitably suffer a one-sided crushing defeat.
On his way north, Lu Chen had once witnessed the heavily armored Iron Pagoda Cavalry. They operated in squads of three, their coordination flawless, the very pinnacle of the cold-weapons era.
Beneath the heavy armor, only their eyes were exposed. Even their warhorses were the same, with only their eyes visible.
To defeat the North Wind Profound Kingdom, they first had to unravel the Iron Pagoda Cavalry.
For this, Lu Yu had gathered detailed information on the North Wind Profound Kingdom, along with a biography of its sixth prince, Tuoba Shuyi.
He brought it over now and handed it to Lu Chen, who turned the pages one by one.
Tuoba Shuyi's birth was not distinguished, and his mother had never been favored in the palace.
When he was young, he lost his mother at four. At five, he entered the palace to live there, beginning his life in the imperial court.
At six, he acknowledged Consort Xuan as his mother and gained the backing of a powerful faction.
At seven, ...
At sixteen, he captured a city and seized its governor's wife, earning considerable favor.
As Yu Ke learned more deeply about Tuoba Shuyi's life,
his eyes grew faintly hot.
In his heart,
an inexplicable sense of familiarity emerged, as though he had known this sixth prince for many years.
Tuoba Shuyi was consumed by ambition. His childhood experiences had made him wary of everyone around him, and he trusted no one.
He coveted power and position, viewing human lives as mere grass.
Though he appeared brave and fearless, with a temperament that swung between joy and rage without warning, he was in truth exceedingly protective of his own life.
In military strategy, he upheld the principle: "Trust those you employ; do not employ those you distrust."
He had studied military texts thoroughly and could flexibly seize opportunities on the battlefield.
He liked using surprise forces, yet was in fact cautious to the extreme.
He was not bound by military doctrine and could be called a true military genius.
It seemed that, in his heart, Yu Ke was exceptionally familiar with Tuoba Shuyi's character.
Yu Ke could not help but be startled.
But he quickly realized that this was Lu Chen's talent, [Insight into People].
This talent was simply too astonishing!
Merely from a person's life records, he could judge their character and conduct so accurately, as though they had associated for years.
Yu Ke set down the documents in his hand. A plan had already formed in his mind.
Lu Yu hurried forward and asked, "Brother, what do you think?"
Yu Ke did not answer directly. Instead, he turned to Lu Yu and asked,
"Brother Yu, do you think we could successfully launch a surprise attack on the Northern Xuan cavalry camped to the north?"
Once they had left the Taoist temple, they no longer addressed each other as fellow disciples, but as brothers.
Lu Yu scratched his head. After pondering for a moment, he said,
"Brother, I think their camp is too close to the city. If we launch a surprise attack, we should reach them quickly."
"Great Qing has long since been beaten into fear. The Northern Xuan Kingdom will never expect us to launch a surprise attack."
"Besides, that position lies just beyond the range of our bows and crossbows, and it is an important point to the west. We cannot let them occupy it so easily."
Hulao Pass's Western Gate had now been entrusted to the Lu Family Army.
If it had been another rebel army, Commander Wang Yang would inevitably have harbored doubts. There had been no shortage of rebel forces that had defected and surrendered to the Northern Xuan Kingdom before.
Yet Wang Yang trusted this Lu Family Army, which was brave and fearless in the face of death.
What was more!
Tuoba Shuyi was renowned for his iron-fisted methods. He never accepted surrender, and any enemy soldiers who bowed their heads to him would face death.
Tuoba Shuyi brimmed with confidence, firmly believing that with his hundred thousand personal troops alone, he could gallop across the realm, unmatched by anyone.
Lu Jiaxuan, Lu Chen's father, did not agree with Lu Yu's view.
He pointed at the map on the large table and said solemnly,
"Tuoba Shuyi went to war at fourteen. He has experienced countless battles in his life and commands troops like a god. How could he make such a mistake? This is most likely a plan to lure our troops out."
"I believe there must be ambushes on both wings. Once we launch an attack, we will be attacked from both sides."
Lu Jiaxuan's finger traced the terrain on the map. Indeed, that location was vulnerable to attacks from both flanks.
"Therefore, I do not advise you to act rashly. You do not understand how formidable this sixth prince of the North Wind Profound Kingdom truly is. When the five northern cities heard that Tuoba Shuyi was leading the army, they directly opened their gates and surrendered."
"His discipline in commanding troops is absolute. Orders are carried out without fail, and his hundred-thousand-strong army is as impregnable as an iron barrel."
The two held opposing views, and both turned their eyes to Lu Chen, awaiting his decision.
Lu Chen's father knew that his son had been steady since childhood, methodical in all he did, and rarely made mistakes. That was why he especially wanted to hear his thoughts now.
As for Lu Yu, he had trusted Lu Chen since childhood.
Seeing this, Yu Ke stopped keeping them in suspense.
"I suggest that we be bolder. Open the city gates wide and launch a surprise attack, catching the enemy off guard."
The moment those words were spoken, both men were utterly shocked.
Though Lu Yu was bold by nature, even he was stunned by the proposal and said worriedly,
"Brother, opening the city gates carries too great a risk. If anything goes wrong, Hulao Pass may fall into danger."
Lu Chen's father also furrowed his brow.
"This method is still too risky."
The reason Yu Ke had proposed this strategy was not complicated.
He knew Tuoba Shuyi's habits well. This man reminded him of the Chancellor Cao of history, who loved other men's wives, was suspicious by nature, and excelled at using surprise forces.
Thus, Yu Ke's plan was like an alternative Borrow Arrows with Straw Boats and Empty Fort Stratagem, intended to strike where the enemy was unprepared and exploit his suspicious nature.
With the support of [Insight into People], Yu Ke understood this sixth prince deeply enough to dare act so boldly.
Though Lu Yu was delighted that his brother supported a surprise attack, he still had some misgivings about throwing open the city gates.
Lu Chen understood everyone's worries and calmly arranged matters.
"Father, tomorrow morning, the fog will be thick and visibility will be obscured. We can use that to buy time."
"Brother Yu, take only two thousand elite troops. If there is an ambush, Father and I will support you from behind with another two thousand reserve soldiers."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu's confidence surged. He readily agreed.
"Father, please rest assured."
"With me, Lu Yu, there, I will definitely bring the men and horses back safely."
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Lu Jiaxuan nodded slightly, feeling far more at ease.
In truth!
Lu Jiaxuan himself found it strange that he had agreed to such a risky move.
Perhaps it was because, in his eldest son Lu Chen, he had glimpsed an unprecedented steadiness and composure, especially in those bright eyes.
He remembered what Lu Chen's teacher had said when Lu Chen was young.
"If this child were born in peaceful times, he would surely become a pillar of an orderly age."
What a pity he had been born in troubled times!
Lu Jiaxuan came back to himself and thought,
Hulao Pass also urgently needed a victory to announce to the world and stabilize the army's morale.
They needed to tell their allies that the Northern Xuan Kingdom was not invincible.
The three finalized their plan.
Lu Yu rose and went to make the arrangements.
As Yu Ke watched Lu Yu's retreating figure grow more distant, thoughts could not help but rise in his heart. He became curious about his younger brother's current martial cultivation.
Just what level had Lu Yu's Innate Skill reached?
According to the soldiers' accounts from Hulao Pass, Lu Yu was as light as a swallow. With a breath of inner force, he could leap and easily move along city walls several zhang high. He had even fought more than eighty men alone without being defeated.
Such martial skill had already transcended the ordinary.
Yu Ke secretly guessed that Lu Yu's martial attainment might already rival Guo Jing, who defended Xiangyang City in The Return of the Condor Heroes.
By then, Guo Jing's martial arts had reached great mastery. Facing the ninety-eight people of the Heavenly Dipper Formation alone, he could still handle them with effortless ease.
Yet Guo Jing had already been middle-aged then.
How old was Lu Yu now?
He was not yet nineteen.
Before you continue