Night fell beneath a bright moon and sparse stars.
Outside Wuguan, the camp of five hundred thousand Ming soldiers was heavily guarded.
Inside the central command tent, lamps blazed.
Sun Chengzong still stood before the sand table, carefully discussing the tactics for this western expedition with his deputy commander, Sun Chuanting.
Before every war began, they had to plan carefully, consider every situation they might face, and prepare their responses in advance.
Only then could they kill some people once war broke out and achieve victory at the smallest cost.
These were all matters the commander-in-chief had to consider.
This western expedition would take several years at the shortest, or more than a decade, even several decades, at the longest.
Yu Huatian had made it very clear before the war: this time, their goal was to unify the Divine Land.
Once the Divine Land was unified and harmony reigned beneath heaven, peace could return to the Divine Land for hundreds or even thousands of years. The common people could live better lives, and their descendants would no longer have to suffer the ravages of war.
Thus, as commander-in-chief of this western expedition, Sun Chengzong bore unimaginable pressure.
Even though Ming was now powerful and prosperous, and currently seemed to hold the advantage in this war against Great Song.
Sun Chengzong still dared not be careless. Even deep into the night, he dared not slacken in the slightest, insisting on carefully discussing and finalizing the strategies he had devised that day with Sun Chuanting.
As the two discussed matters, two old men sat around a nearby stove, warming themselves and talking.
They were none other than Zheng He and Xu Ruowu, who were responsible for protecting Sun Chengzong and Sun Chuanting.
Watching the two men discuss matters with such enthusiasm, Xu