Chapter 39

"Chen Qingzhi was a famous general of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He once led seven thousand white-robed troops to sweep through the Northern Wei, leaving behind the legend of 'great generals and teachers should not be arrogant, thousands of troops and horses should avoid the white robes!' Chen Qingzhi has a natural talent to discern the only chance of victory in any situation!" Hu Fu's voice echoed in Li You's mind, "The host has received Chen Qingzhi's full teachings and obtained his natural talent skill, 'Eagle Eye'!"

As Hu Fu spoke, the Hu Fu panel reappeared before Li You, and a new section lit up—the skill bar. The first box in the skill bar prominently displayed the "Eagle Eye" skill that Hu Fu had just mentioned. Li You moved his gaze to it, and immediately, a few lines of small text appeared: "Eagle Eye" is a natural talent skill of the famous general Chen Qingzhi. It is currently at level one. The host can use this natural talent skill to probe the enemy camp and has a 10% chance of discovering the enemy's most fatal weakness! The cooldown time is twelve hours! Upgradable!

This... This skill is simply heaven-defying! Li You couldn't help but open his mouth wide, never expecting such an unexpected gain! He couldn't help but feel a bit regretful for not chatting more with the warlords and strategists like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Xun Yu, and Jia Xu in the Three Kingdoms world. If he could learn the skills of those famous generals and strategists in each world—defense skills from Lian Po, cavalry long-range assault skills from Huo Qubing, and naval warfare skills from Zheng He... He wouldn't have to worry about failing tasks and being erased!

Wait, what does 'upgradable' mean? How can it be upgraded? As his excitement subsided, Li You couldn't help but ask Hu Fu again, but Hu Fu's response disappointed him, "The host's permissions are insufficient, unable to answer!"

Tsk, this is really frustrating! Li You felt a deep sense of loss, unsure whether he should continue learning from Chen Qingzhi or gain experience through actual combat. It seems he would have to figure it out gradually! Fortunately, there was still plenty of time for this mission, giving him ample opportunity to test things out.

If one day he could upgrade the "Eagle Eye" skill to Chen Qingzhi's level—able to discover the enemy's greatest weakness with 100% certainty, how wonderful would that be? At that time...

"Lord? Lord?" Chen Qingzhi's voice snapped Li You out of his daydream. Concerned, he asked, "Lord, are you alright? Are you overworked? If so, I will take my leave!"

"No, no!" Li You quickly waved his hands. It was a critical moment, and he couldn't let him leave so soon. "I was just deeply engrossed in the military tactics General Ziyun taught me, which is why I was like this!"

Li You resumed his seated posture and clasped his hands, "Please, General Ziyun, continue to impart your wisdom! You mentioned the Goose Formation earlier. What are its weaknesses?"

"The Goose Formation is arranged in a diagonal line, like a flock of geese in flight. It is long and wide. If the army has a large number of archers and crossbowmen, this formation can be most effective and can also be used to encircle the enemy..." Chen Qingzhi continued to write and draw on the table with tea, "However, this formation moves slowly, and the center is weak. If we encounter this formation, our army can use the Spear Formation to directly attack the center, and we will surely break it! However, this formation is not static. If a famous general uses it, they will adjust the formation based on the terrain and troop distribution to cover the center's weakness, so it cannot be generalized..."

Chen Qingzhi spoke eloquently, and Li You listened attentively. Unconsciously, it was already late at night. Seeing that Chen Qingzhi was getting tired, Li You realized that his frail body couldn't handle prolonged teaching. He quickly said, "Listening to you is better than reading ten years of books. General Ziyun truly lives up to your reputation as a master of military tactics. Tonight, you have broadened my horizons! However, it is already late. I will escort you back to your tent to rest, and we can continue our discussion tomorrow!"

After sending Chen Qingzhi back to his tent, Li You lay awake in his own tent for a long time. Although the next hour of learning didn't upgrade the "Eagle Eye" skill, the military tactics Chen Qingzhi taught were still very useful! He vaguely felt that if he could thoroughly understand and digest what Chen Qingzhi taught, there would be unexpected gains! So, while the memory was still fresh, Li You hurriedly wrote down the key points of what Chen Qingzhi had said on parchment.

In the early morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Tang Yifu woke up the envoy group. The new day's journey began as the sun rose.

After yesterday's experience, Li You felt differently about the formation of the envoy group today. The two scouts at the front were positioned to have a clear view of any potential ambush areas. Pan Feng guarded the center to defend against flank attacks, and there were people at the rear constantly watching the back. No matter from which direction the enemy attacked, this formation would respond immediately, which made Li You feel much more at ease.

He didn't want to waste any time on the road and continued to ask Chen Qingzhi about military tactics while they traveled. Li You believed that Chen Qingzhi's ability to remain undefeated in the Northern Wei was not just due to the "Eagle Eye" skill. Being able to discover the enemy's weakness was impressive, but being able to command troops to quickly exploit that weakness was not something an ordinary general could do!

This required the army to have extraordinary speed. Perhaps, besides "Eagle Eye," Chen Qingzhi had a skill like "Lightning Strike"! Unfortunately, by evening, Hu Fu had no reaction.

"Envoy, beyond that small hill, there is the river! There are a few small Qiang tribes nearby. They might have small boats left by the Han people!" Tang Yifu pointed ahead.

This area originally belonged to the Han's Longxi Commandery but was occupied by the Xiongnu during the end of the Qin Dynasty. However, since the Xiongnu were nomadic, their control over the region was weak, making it a residence for the Qiang and other small tribes.

Standing on the hill and looking into the distance, the remnants of the Great Wall could be faintly seen. Over a hundred years ago, brave and skilled Qin soldiers guarded this place, but now the walls were overgrown with wild grass. Those valiant Qin soldiers had long disappeared, leaving only the towering walls to tell the story of the Han's former glory.

Focusing on the front, a clear river flowed gently, with some ice fragments mixed in. This was probably the Yellow River?

"Envoy!" Tang Yifu saw the ice fragments on the Yellow River and became anxious, "The weather is getting colder. We must cross the river quickly. If we wait a few more days, the ice will be too thick to cross by boat!"

Zhong Xing's pursuers might be nearby, and they absolutely couldn't afford to waste a few days here! The most urgent task now was to get boats from the nearby Qiang tribes!

"Lord, look at that!" Chen Qingzhi suddenly pointed upstream on the Yellow River. In the direction he pointed, several plumes of black smoke rose, as if something was burning!