The Bodyguard King’s CEO Wife Chapter 1598: Face

"In the end, don’t you bear any responsibility yourself? If you had listened to my advice, would such a thing have happened?" Ye Shikai shouted directly at Mi Wen, disregarding the people around him.

"Insolence, how dare you insult the lord? Men, seize him." A general beside Mi Wen shouted loudly, and immediately dozens of imperial guards rushed out of the camp, surrounding Ye Shikai and his men.

"Let’s see who dares." Man Cang, deeply protective of his master, drew his sword and shouted loudly.

"Rebellion, seize them!"

"Stop."

"Stop."

Two voices rang out, it was Ye Shikai and Mi Wen speaking. The two sides were facing off, the tension was thick, Ye Shikai didn’t want any more conflict to erupt. Perhaps he was indeed too emotional. Mi Wen was the lord, and everyone present knew the reason for this disastrous defeat. But why did Huo Ziqing prefer to offer his life as an apology and take on the blame? Naturally, it was to preserve Mi Wen’s dignity. As a lord, one must understand the concept of "recognizing fault and correcting it," but another point is "not openly admitting faults," especially not in front of others. It doesn’t matter if you’ve made a mistake, but if you lose the reverence of your subjects, then the title of "lord" becomes just that, a title. As a loyal subject, naturally, one must bear the blame, to put it plainly, "take the fall," Huo Ziqing understood this logic.

"All of you, stand down." Mi Wen said coldly, and only then did the imperial guards sheathe their weapons.

"You all put down your weapons too." Ye Shikai signaled for Man Cang and the guards to retreat.

"If you admit your mistake now, I can be lenient." Mi Wen walked up to Ye Shikai and said softly.

"Of course, I can admit my mistake." Ye Shikai said coldly, "I can apologize to you, the wise and divine lord, but even if I apologize, can those brothers who died unjustly come back to life?"

"Victory or defeat is a common occurrence in warfare. We lost this time, we’ll just win the next."

"You..."

Ye Shikai, filled with anger, pushed aside the guards and left the tent.

"Old Ye, wait a moment." Shangguan Jian, seeing this, bowed towards Mi Wen in farewell and then turned to leave.

"My lord, General Ye is an excellent commander. If it weren’t for him leading the troops, my subordinates and I would have been completely wiped out. Please don’t blame General Ye." Huo Ziqing knelt on one knee and said.

"Hmph."

Outside the camp.

"Old Ye, what are you going to do, getting so angry?" Shangguan Jian quickly stopped Ye Shikai. As a subject, even if the lord was truly at fault, he shouldn’t use such an "intense" tone. It’s been like this since ancient times. Shangguan Jian wanted to mediate, but the premise was to persuade him first.

"And you’re asking me why, Shangguan, so many brothers died, just because of a decision that could have been changed."

"Old Ye, she is the lord. Even if there is a fault, it can’t be pointed out in front of so many people." Shangguan Jian advised, "Calm down, so many brothers died, I’m also very saddened. I believe the lord never wanted to see this result. Wait until both you and the lord have calmed down, then talk it over properly."

"Shangguan, you speak of Mi Wen being a qualified lord." Ye Shikai squatted down, his expression a bit dejected.

"I... I don’t know."

"Back then, when we were in a desperate situation with our lives hanging by a thread, it was she who rescued us in our dire moment. That’s why I’m willing to aid her, but now I’m increasingly beginning to doubt whether my decision was correct." Ye Shikai sighed deeply.

"Old Ye, you mustn’t say such things carelessly. Although the lord can be extreme sometimes, she is still very strategic, ambitious, and has aspirations. Didn’t you tell me before that the Qin dynasty wouldn’t last long before collapsing? Isn’t this a golden opportunity?"

"Indeed, I did say the court’s good days wouldn’t last long, but... the one who rules the world, I fear, won’t be her."

...............

Two days have passed, and Mi Wen hasn’t pursued accountability against anyone, only symbolically demoted Huo Ziqing’s military rank by two levels. As for Ye Shikai, she neither rewarded nor punished him, nor even uttered a word. Everyone knew this matter was just going to pass by.

"That kid Zheng Lang has learned. He’s concentrating his troops for defense, not giving us any openings." Shangguan Jian reported while holding a map.

"We are still racing against the Qin Army from the Central Plains. The more Zheng Lang prevents us from advancing, the harder we must break through the lines." Ye Shikai said coldly.

"Old Ye, things won’t be that simple. There are dozens of camps here; pulling one hair moves the whole body. No matter which point we choose to breach, it won’t be easy."

"Although we have a considerable number of forces now, employing tactics that deal a thousand blows to the enemy at the cost of eight hundred of our own would be disadvantageous. So I won’t choose a direct assault." Ye Shikai shook his head and said.

"Then how will we attack?"

"Though the Qin Army has deployed dozens of camps, not all are useful, look at the map." Ye Shikai pointed to a mountain camp with a long stick.

"This place, do you recognize it?"

"Of course, this is the Qin Army’s supply camp, storing enough military weapons and armor for tens of thousands of people, along with hundreds of thousands of bushels of provisions. These fifty thousand Qin troops rely on this camp for supplies." Xue San was skilled in intelligence gathering; all the Qin Army data here was his handiwork.

"What is the terrain of this camp like?"

"Built against the mountain, it’s merely a small hill, but it’s considered easy to defend and hard to attack." Xue San answered without hesitation.

"Then why did Zheng Lang choose that place as the Qin Army’s camp?" Ye Shikai continued to ask.

"Because... it’s high ground, offering a panoramic view."

"That’s only half correct. The most critical reason is that this camp is behind the Qin Army’s defense line, relatively safe."

"Old Ye, you mean... launch a surprise attack on this camp." Shangguan Jian vaguely guessed Ye Shikai’s intention.

"Exactly, burn it to the ground."

"But... Old Ye, didn’t you just say that the camp is easy to defend and hard to attack, and it’s also behind the Qin Army’s defense line. How can we burn it?"

"Haha, did I say to send a large army for a direct assault? That’s not very technical, whether this can succeed depends on the Xue San brothers."

"I understand, I’ll start preparing right away." Xue San immediately grasped his meaning, bowed, and left.

"Old Ye, you’re planning to have Xue San lead a small team to act."

"Of course, train a thousand days to use for a moment of need. Why did I initially form this small team if not to handle such situations?" Ye Shikai was very confident. This small team under Xue San’s command was assembled and trained by him personally, specializing in infiltration and sabotage.