Chapter 173 – Civil Minister and Military General
"We’re finished?" Qi Zongbi scoffed, his anger turning into bitter laughter. Pointing at Ying Gutong’s face, he retorted, "Ying Gutong, let me tell you! If we don’t split our forces... then the entire Ruen Dynasty will be finished!"
Ying Gutong slapped Qi Zongbi’s hand away. "Nonsense! I’ll retake the Yanchi Pass myself! Keep your eyes open, you old dog, and watch me do it!"
Qi Zongbi was so furious his body began to tremble. He rolled his eyes. "Ying Gutong, how can you be so foolish! Since the start of the war, Northern Qiang has held the upper hand everywhere. There must be a mastermind behind their strategies. Think carefully... if they didn’t have absolute confidence and sufficient troops, how could they dare to seize Yanchi Pass?"
"Ridiculous. Absolute confidence? Sufficient troops?" Ying Gutong sneered, casting a sideways glance at Qi Zongbi. "Are you implying that Northern Qiang knows all our plans and that we have a traitor?"
Qi Zongbi’s body stiffened, his face turning pale. An unsettling thought lurked in the back of his mind, one he had been subconsciously doing his best to avoid. Suddenly confronted, he stammered slightly, "I-I didn’t mean that! I’m saying—"
"Enough!" Ying Gutong waved his hand, cutting Qi Zongbi off. "I, Ying Gutong, have spent my life on the battlefield, and I don’t need you, Qi Zongbi, to teach me how to fight! I’m sick of you civil ministers scheming in court when there’s no war and meddling when there is. You think you know everything, but it’s all nonsense! You’re just another one of them, Qi Zongbi! I’ll say this one last time! Get out of my way!"
"You can’t retake Yanchi Pass." Qi Zongbi had settled down somewhat by now. He stood before Ying Gutong’s horse, looking at the old man steadily. "Yanchi Pass has great defensive positioning and is hard to attack. You know this as well as I do. If they have fifty thousand defenders in the city, you couldn’t take it in two months, and"—Qi Zongbi squinted—"if they took our supplies, you’d have no hope at all."
"That’s just your opinion!" Ying Gutong laughed heartily. "Precisely because Yanchi Pass is difficult, I have to take it! Not only that, I’ll take it in a magnificent style! If we win this battle, not only will we redeem ourselves, but it will go down in history as a legendary victory!
"I have five hundred thousand soldiers! Even if they have fifty thousand, or even a hundred thousand defenders, I’ll take it! Besides..., it’s questionable if Northern Qiang even has fifty thousand! Qi Zongbi, you’re a civil minister, and I’m a general! Stay in your lane!"