At your command, I shall comply without fail

“General Zhang Shi, you’re far too kind!”

Ruan Fei was being very modest with Zhang Shi, but in the next moment she continued, “General Zhang Shi, since you’ve put it that way, I won’t stand on ceremony. There is indeed something I’d like to ask you to help me with!”

“Oh? Miss Ruan Fei, please, go ahead!”

Zhang Shi invited Ruan Fei into the main tent. After they took their seats as host and guest, he even personally served her a cup of hot tea, then asked with an earnest expression, “What is it, Miss Ruan Fei?”

“General Zhang Shi…”

Ruan Fei sighed with some emotion. “Originally, I had only one worry in the military camp: Madam. She’s domineering and overbearing, leaving Brother Mengyan and me constantly on edge.”

“But once you arrived, you resolved the matter with Madam. I should have been able to relax, but unfortunately, something else happened recently, and it has been troubling me as well!”

“That’s why I’ve come especially to ask your advice. I hope you can teach me what to do!”

Ruan Fei was clearly treating Zhang Shi like some kind of strategist. As she spoke, she maintained a respectful posture, her face filled with earnestness as she sought his guidance.

This made Zhang Shi feel even more pleased.

The better a relationship he could establish with someone like Ruan Fei, the more easily he would be able to thrive in this naval camp guarding the Yangtze’s natural defenses.

He immediately sat up straight and said, “Miss Ruan Fei, just tell me what’s troubling you. I, Zhang Shi, will tell you everything I know and hold nothing back!”

Ruan Fei said, “It’s like this, General Zhang Shi. The thing troubling me now is Gu Qingyue…”

Before she could finish, Zhang Shi’s voice suddenly rose several pitches. “Gu Qingyue?”

“General Zhang Shi, you don’t know who she is?” Ruan Fei asked. “She is a descendant of the Duke of Zhenguo. After losing her struggle with Ren Tianye in the capital, she fled the city and swore to form an all-female army. She believed that women were naturally affectionate and united, and that an army made up entirely of women would surely unleash tremendous combat power!”

“Gu Qingyue eventually made her way to Yunjing!”

“Using her identity as a descendant of the Duke of Zhenguo, together with the assistance of many of us sisters, she has now almost finished forming the all-female army. It numbers a full sixty thousand soldiers.”

“Following Brother Mengyan’s orders, it is stationed beyond the Yangtze’s natural defenses, serving as the second line of defense against Ren Tianye.”

Zhang Shi’s breathing grew hurried.

When Chen Liang had returned with this news, it had caused an uproar throughout the army. Quite a few soldiers had lit up at the words “all-female army.”

And not just a little—they had positively blazed!

Everyone had even agreed that if they ever encountered the all-female army, they would make a point of being friendly and warm. When fighting the all-female army, they absolutely could not point the tips of their halberds at the women.

They had to hold their halberds with the shafts forward, so as not to hurt a single one of them!

Of course, while the soldiers had celebrated wildly, whether this all-female army actually existed remained unknown.

Who would have thought that Zhang Shi would now hear definite confirmation?

It existed!

It really damn well existed!

And it had a full sixty thousand soldiers!

Sixty thousand!

Zhang Shi was overjoyed on behalf of all his brothers, and he became even more enthusiastic toward Ruan Fei. He hurriedly asked, “Miss Ruan Fei, then what are you worried about?”

“Are you afraid that the all-female army will pose a threat to you?”

“That’s not it!” Ruan Fei replied.

“Although the all-female army appears to have been formed by Gu Qingyue, our sisters contributed to it as well.”

“Sister Ning Wanqin was originally General Lu Chaosheng’s fiancée. Gu Qingyue used Sister Ning Wanqin’s name to recruit troops among the fortresses north of the river.”

“I belong to Brother Mengyan, so Gu Qingyue used my name to recruit troops at the Yangtze’s natural defenses.”

“Sister Shen Zhian provided a large sum of money.”

“Sister Baobao is the wife of the commander guarding Zijin Pass. Gu Qingyue used Sister Baobao’s name to recruit troops near Zijin Pass.”

“Then there is Gu Qingyue’s own influence as a member of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household. Only with all of these factors did the all-female army gain its present foundation.”

“Precisely because this all-female army was formed jointly by us sisters, every one of us is a commander of it!”

Zhang Shi was somewhat stunned. “There are five commanders in total?”

“That’s right.” Ruan Fei beamed. “We’re impressive, aren’t we? The five of us are working together with one heart. When the time comes, we’ll surely conquer a vast empire!”

“Then…” Zhang Shi asked, “Under normal circumstances, who commands whom?”

“It’s not that complicated!” Ruan Fei said. “Our original plan was that whenever something came up, the five of us would discuss it among ourselves.”

“Whoever made the most sense would have the final say.”

“That way, things would be simpler. All of us sisters would stand as equals and live in harmony. And in the future, even if we accomplished some tremendous feat, the five of us would share the credit!”

“Perhaps…”

Ruan Fei was clearly lost in her imagination. “A hundred years from now, legends of the five of us may still be told throughout the land. They’ll say we were five celestial maidens who descended to save the suffering masses or something!”

Zhang Shi’s heart churned like a stormy sea, and then he was overcome with delight!

The five of them discussed everything together?

This was simply wonderful.

When they attacked this all-female army, he would do everything he could to persuade the Duke to let him lead his men into battle!

Quite a few of his brothers had previously followed him across the grasslands. Though they had all achieved distinction and established themselves, the war situation had forced them to march south soon afterward. As a result, many of them were still single, without a companion.

He had to win this opportunity for his brothers!

Ruan Fei continued speaking about her own concerns. “Our original idea was quite good, and the five of us sisters worked together rather well. But now…”

“A problem has arisen!”

“That’s also what I wanted to ask your advice about, General Zhang Shi!”

Zhang Shi’s expression turned solemn. He kept the corners of his mouth angled downward and said, “Miss Ruan, tell me!”

“It’s like this…” Ruan Fei said. “Gu Qingyue divided the sixty-thousand-strong army into five camps: the Vanguard Camp, Rear Camp, Left Camp, Right Camp, and Divine Moon Camp.”

By this point, Zhang Shi had already more or less guessed what Ruan Fei was thinking. After all, he had gained considerable insight from studying the art of lovestruck thinking these past few days. However, he gave no indication of it and continued listening.

“According to Gu Qingyue, Sister Ning Wanqin, Sister Shen Zhian, Sister Baobao, and I are to command the Left Camp, Right Camp, Vanguard Camp, and Rear Camp respectively. As for the Divine Moon Camp, Gu Qingyue alone is to command it!”

“That already made me very angry. But what made me even angrier was that each of our four camps has only ten thousand soldiers, while Gu Qingyue’s Divine Moon Camp has a full twenty thousand!”

“Why should she get that?”