Ying Jun glanced at him and then at her mother, shaking her head. "Heroes don't ask about their origins; it has nothing to do with status. Father became a general through his true abilities, so he must have something special."
Zhao Jiaqi nodded slightly. "Well said. You shouldn't belittle yourself anymore. If you look down on your background, others will look down on you even more."
"Yes, yes, my wife is right. I won't say such crude things again!" Fan Zehao replied with a smile. After a pause, he furrowed his rugged, dark brows and said loudly, "You can look down on me, but if anyone dares to look down on you, I'll make them pay!"
Ying Jun covered her mouth and giggled. This father was truly adorable, so protective, and had no airs despite his high position. Being his daughter would surely bring great happiness.
Zhao Jiaqi handed her to Xiao Ce, gave Jun Jun a few instructions, and then began to discuss serious matters with Fan Zehao.
"On the Emperor's birthday, I read your memorial. Tell me about the specific details of the events!"
Seeing his wife's nervousness, he asked instead, "What's wrong, my dear? Just a few days ago, we reclaimed another city. Two victories in three months. Although fighting in winter was tough, the methods you taught were quite effective."
Methods?
Zhao Jiaqi was slightly taken aback, then realized with a sudden understanding, "You scattered soybeans on the ice? What was their reaction?"
He smiled mysteriously, his mouth splitting into a wide grin. "I had the cooks boil a pot of black beans. On the battlefield, I first scattered yellow beans on the ground. You should have seen their horses slip when their hooves landed on the beans. After their men and horses fell, my soldiers took the opportunity to charge."
"As the warhorses struggled to get up, I had my soldiers scatter black beans. Some horses, being greedy, would lower their heads to eat them. The battle raged from dawn till dusk, with both sides entangled. Fortunately, I had my soldiers wrap their feet, making it easier to move on the ice."
Fan Zehao became animated, holding up three fingers. "Black beans, yellow beans, and foot wraps. It was because of these three things that we suffered minimal losses in the first battle and captured thirty thousand enemy soldiers and two deputy generals. They also lost many horses due to their horses having diarrhea."
Zhao Jiaqi: ...
That was a devious tactic. She had only taught him about the foot wraps and yellow beans; she had never taught him about the black beans.
"If their warhorses were greedy and ate black beans, what about our warhorses? Wouldn't they eat them too?"
At this, Fan Zehao chuckled again, raising an eyebrow. "They were cavalry; we were infantry!"
Zhao Jiaqi: ...
She was speechless and even felt a chill. This was a victory, but if even a small mistake had occurred, the rear army camps would have been in danger.
As if sensing her thoughts, he quickly added, "Even if my plan failed, Father was still guarding the rear. We had three combat plans, and we only used one and a half!"
Zhao Jiaqi's mind was a bit fuzzy. In such a short time, another father had appeared!
"Who is Father?"
"Oh, General Fang is our father, a godfather. I recognized him this time. My father and I have already discussed it. As long as we return alive, we'll hold a feast and formally acknowledge the relationship."
Zhao Jiaqi immediately began counting on her fingers how many godfathers they had adopted.
Wu Lifeng was one father, Fang Jingchen was another father, Fan He was a stepfather, which also made him a father, Xie Kun and Murong Sheng were two brothers, and the other several restaurant owners... and that wasn't counting the adopted brothers.
When she counted them up, there were quite a few fathers and brothers.
Fine, since there were already so many fathers, a few more wouldn't hurt. Perhaps, one day, he might even recognize the Emperor as a father.
"You said just now that you only used one and a half tactics. What was the remaining half tactic?"
Zhao Jiaqi was confused. Could tactics be used in halves?
Was reality about to teach her another lesson?
"Scattering yellow beans as a food source was one stratagem. Simultaneously, I employed a stratagem within a stratagem. They were cavalry, and we were infantry. This led them to believe that we had lost a significant number of cavalry and warhorses when we lost those cities. I was preparing for the second battle!"
Therefore, this was considered half a stratagem. Only after the second battle was won would it be a complete strategy.
Zhao Jiaqi looked at him. The battlefield truly forged a person.
It had turned someone who couldn't do brain teasers and whose mind was always linear into a tangled mess of lines in his brain.
And these lines weren't even intertwined; they were neatly sorted.
She chuckled and said, "You really are a cunning devil. Tell me about the second battle!"
He blushed a little when his wife praised him and scratched his head. "It gave the opponent a false impression, and they had also lost many cavalry and warhorses. In the second battle, I used a feint, an diversionary attack, making them think I was leading the main army. This caused them to deploy most of their forces to attack me."
"After they fell for it, I used the 'luring the tiger away from its den' tactic. Godfather led the elite cavalry, circumvented their rear, and directly burned their provisions, cutting off their retreat."
"Finally, we launched a pincer attack, annihilating their entire army, catching them completely off guard, and killing their commander."
At this moment, the commander's head had likely already fallen into Zong Han's hands. He was his beloved general, but he hadn't told his wife these cruel words for fear she would have nightmares.
After hearing the whole story, Zhao Jiaqi frowned slightly.
"Did the other side offer no resistance? Or any counter-strategies?"
Fan Zehao shook his head, looking bewildered. "No, after their commander was shot dead, they lost their leader. Moreover, the enemy army, which numbered five hundred thousand, was reduced to about twenty to thirty thousand, a devastating loss. Just yesterday, they sent a letter proposing a ceasefire!"
"Hmm?" Zhao Jiaqi raised an eyebrow. Could warfare involve such maneuvers?
"And then?"
Fan Zehao frowned. "Then? Then we rest!"
"Are you stupid? With our morale so high, why didn't you press the advantage?"
"A ceasefire? What, you want to give them a chance to recuperate? Or a chance to send reinforcements? Or are you waiting for them to send a more formidable general to fight you?"
"Don't you understand the meaning of 'all is fair in war'?"
His barrage of questions left Fan Zehao speechless.
"The rules of warfare have always been like this; it's always been done this way!" he attempted to argue.
Zhao Jiaqi snorted. "Rules? If everyone followed the rules, why would they invade our country? Rules are for gentlemen, not for villains!"
If everyone followed the rules, wouldn't the world be peaceful? Who would fight over territory, who would wage wars, causing people to lose their homes and be separated from their loved ones.
Fan Zehao was completely stunned by her outburst, not yet reacting when Fang Jingchen and Xiao Ce entered side by side.
"My daughter-in-law is right. We should break these rules. The battlefield is no place for sentimentality; what rules are there to uphold!" Fang Jingchen said loudly, fully supporting Zhao Jiaqi's words.
Xiao Ce approached Fan Zehao and humbly asked, "I understand 'all is fair in war,' but what does 'warfare is based on deception' mean?"