The battle had ended in a resounding victory for the Yongzhou army. They sustained just over a hundred casualties while eliminating five thousand enemy soldiers — including one of their deputy generals.
As the triumphant forces returned, the morale of the Yongzhou soldiers soared.
Yun Shu stood atop the city walls, breathing in the faint tang of blood lingering in the air. The tension that had gripped her chest finally eased.
Beside her, Yun Chuhuan still looked dazed. He leaned over the battlements, watching as the jubilant General Wei Yuan led the army back. Only after a long moment did it begin to register in his mind.
"…Did we… win?"
"We did win today's battle," Yun Shu answered with precision. "As for how things unfold from here, that remains uncertain."
"…Well, winning today is good enough."
Yun Chuhuan nodded slowly, though a lingering confusion surfaced in his mind. He frowned and turned to Yun Shu.
"But wait, that doesn't make sense! Fifth Sister, didn't you say we couldn't afford to fight a battle this late at night? You said the Annan army was goading us on purpose, and if we fell for it, we'd be walking straight into defeat. That's why you made me stand there and trade insults with them. Fifth Sister… did you trick me?"
By the time he reached the last sentence, Yun Chuhuan's voice had risen in pitch, bordering on indignation.
Yun Shu drew her cloak tighter around herself and gave a quiet cough. For once, she looked slightly sheepish.
"I couldn't tell you the truth beforehand, or it would've been too easy to slip up. The enemy had to believe we'd been provoked and lost our composure. Only then would they drop their guard, and our side could minimize casualties."
"!!!"
Yun Chuhuan's eyes bulged. So he really had been tricked.
He was ready to throw a fit.
Just as Yun Chuhuan puffed up in outrage, hands on his hips and prepared to explode, a young officer dashed up the steps of the city wall and saluted Yun Shu.
"Your Highness, the General requests your presence at the command tent."
"Understood."
Yun Shu nodded and casually slung an arm around Yun Chuhuan's shoulders, steering him along.
"If you want to hear the next phase of the strategy meeting, behave yourself. Otherwise, I'm leaving you behind."
"…Fine."
Unwilling to be kept in the dark again, Yun Chuhuan begrudgingly swallowed his protest.
By the time the two arrived at the main command tent, General Wei Yuan and the other commanders were already assembled.
Most of the "Flying Unit" was there as well — aside from two scouts who had been seriously scratched by branches while hanging in the trees. They'd been sent to the field medics for treatment. The rest were gathered around a large map, faces lit with excitement as they scribbled and annotated.
From the bits of conversation floating around, it was clear they were working together to complete a topographical map of the forested mountain terrain.
Seated as always at the head of the tent, General Wei Yuan began by summarizing the results of the day's battle. Then, his tone shifted toward future plans.
"As I said before, our top priority now is to bring this campaign to a swift end so we can reinforce the other battlefronts.
Our greatest difficulty has always been crossing the forest. But now that we have the map in hand, the next step is clear — we march through that terrain and strike back. My plan is as follows…"
The section mapped by the Flying Unit covered exactly the area the Yongzhou army needed to traverse, so progress had been quick. The commanders gathered around the map, discussing multiple strategies in earnest.
Yun Shu, an outsider to military matters, simply sat and listened. To her ears, everyone's plan sounded plausible.
She scratched her head and, seeing that no one was paying her any mind, leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes as if resting.
In truth, she had already retreated into the villa space and pulled out her laptop.
Knowing this day would come, she had prepared in advance. A few nights ago, during her rest, she had gone online and hired a top-tier programmer to build her a war simulation tool.
She had specified that it would be used to simulate ancient warfare — no modern technology or advanced weaponry involved — so the developer had finished it swiftly. Supposedly, its accuracy reached 99.99 percent.
Though it could still produce occasional errors, it was more than sufficient for reference.
Yun Shu quickly entered the tactical details relayed by General Wei Yuan, including troop numbers on both sides. She carefully reviewed the simulation outcomes and the accompanying "battle aftermath reports," committing everything to memory.
By the time she closed the laptop, Yun Chuhuan's familiar voice rang out beside her.
"Fifth Sister, did you fall asleep?"
"…No."
Snapping back from the villa space, Yun Shu slowly opened her eyes. Meeting the gazes of General Wei Yuan and the others, she maintained a calm expression.
"This Princess was merely contemplating the strategies discussed moments ago."
"You understood all of it?" Yun Chuhuan blurted out, startled. "I thought everyone's plan sounded reasonable!"
Yun Shu fell silent for a beat.
Truth be told, that had been her exact thought not long ago.
But now that she had returned from the simulation, she had leveled up.
Her gaze grew solemn.
"Could someone bring over the sand table?"
"Guards!" General Wei Yuan blinked, momentarily taken aback. He had assumed that the Crown Princess was not well-versed in strategy.
But then he remembered the miraculous gliders she had devised. Fearing he might miss out on another brilliant invention, he quickly ordered the sand table to be placed before Yun Shu.
His eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Your Highness, have you come up with another plan?"
"Not quite a plan," Yun Shu replied. "It's just that, after hearing your earlier strategy, this Princess considered the situation from the Annan army's perspective and came up with a somewhat unconventional approach."
She gestured politely.
"Would the General care to see it?"
"…Your Highness, please."
She was not throwing around orders or disrupting the meeting without reason. And before such an audience, a simulated battle using the sand table — regardless of the outcome — could only help, not harm.
General Wei Yuan stepped forward and took position across from Yun Shu, first picking up the flag representing the Yongzhou army.
"At the outset, I would lead thirty thousand troops…"
As Yun Shu and General Wei Yuan maneuvered their troops across the miniature battlefield, all eyes turned toward them.
Initially, the soldiers watched with casual interest. After all, no one expected the Crown Princess to be adept at warfare.
But as the simulation unfolded, the tide of battle on the sand table began to shift in bizarre, unexpected ways.
Gradually, their expressions turned serious.
"…This Princess's tactics are not merely unconventional. They're practically sorcery!"
"In all my years as a soldier, I've never seen strategy so strange and unorthodox!"
"Strange or not, that's beside the point. What matters is whether it works."
"If I encountered this in real battle, I'd be finished for sure."
"…This scenario… is nearly impossible to counter…"