Back at his residence, Liu Tiezhu grew more and more uneasy the more he thought about it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he recalled the conversation he'd overheard at the training camp. Could this be Jiang He and his crew testing his loyalty? If it was a test of his allegiance, they'd surely snatch him at a critical moment and gauge his reaction. After mulling it over for a while, Liu Tiezhu felt this was likely the case.
At noon, Jiang He and the others left, entrusting everything else to Liu Tiezhu's full authority. After seeing them off, Liu Tiezhu immediately summoned Guo Qixing and Ma Qifeng. After a few polite exchanges, Liu Tiezhu cut straight to the point. Two hours later, Guo Qixing and Ma Qifeng finally left Liu Tiezhu's place.
In the afternoon, following Jiang He's instructions, Liu Tiezhu selected ten teams, totaling five hundred men. He reconvened the ten team leaders for a meeting to make final arrangements. After the meeting ended, Liu Tiezhu kept Deputy Team Leaders Ma Qifeng and Guo Qixing behind alone.
"Brother Qixing, have you fully scouted the two camps' positions?" Tiezhu asked.
"All clear. That bastard Jiang He's intel was completely off. If we launched an ambush based on his data, we'd suffer heavy losses," Guo Qixing said, pulling out a document and placing it on the table. It was a sheet of white paper, marked with detailed red and green lines and various red dots. Pointing to three red dots, he explained, "Brother Tiezhu, these three spots are Li's army's hidden troops, about a hundred and fifty men."
After explaining those three red dots, he moved his finger to two others. These two red lines intersected with the green and red lines. "This is what Jiang He called Li's army's camp—actually the entrance to the Seven Ancestral Garden. It's a weedy area with a narrow path in and out, flanked by soil walls about four meters high. Li's army is stationed on both sides of the path, around three hundred men. If we follow Jiang He's orders and march straight in, we'll walk right into their ambush."
Ma Qifeng's eyes widened, and he cursed, "What the hell does that son of a bitch Jiang He mean, sending us to die? If we lose this battle, he's still responsible—doesn't he fear the Ming family higher-ups coming after him?"
Liu Tiezhu said, "He'd bear some blame for a loss, but the bigger burden falls on me. Still, I don't believe Jiang He would risk hundreds of lives in a scheme. If he dares to arrange this, he must have a backup plan." Now he was starting to understand why Jiang He had done this. If he wasn't mistaken, Jiang He wanted to corner him and then save him, making Liu Tiezhu owe him a huge favor. Jiang He was trying to win him over this way.
"I think the same," Guo Qixing replied, then pointed to the opposite side of the red-green line intersection. "There's already a hundred-man unit stationed here. If I'm not wrong, it's Jiang He's secret force. They're waiting for Li's army and our men to exhaust each other before stepping in. That way, Jiang He can wipe out Li's army effortlessly and take all the credit. That bastard's playing the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
"Since he wants to play, let's play along," Guo Qixing said with a cold laugh, moving his finger to two other green lines. "Actually, this is the best ambush spot. I've already stationed three hundred men here. If we coordinate well, we can take out both Li's army and Jiang He's hidden men."
After explaining Li's army's side, Guo Qixing turned the map around and began detailing Zhang's army's deployment. Hearing him out, Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment and said, "Brother Ma, Brother Qixing, let's proceed with the plan we discussed. Go prepare immediately. Also, if you see me in danger, don't intervene."
Guo Qixing said, "But what if it's not a test from Jiang He? Then you'd really be in mortal danger. I think we should tail you secretly."
Ma Qifeng chimed in, "I agree with Brother Qixing. Having a few men follow you would be safer. We could react in a pinch."
Liu Tiezhu waved them off directly. "No, that would alert the enemy. If Jiang He is testing me, he'll be fully prepared. If he spots anyone tailing me, he'll take them out too. Don't worry, I can handle it." Hearing this, Guo Qixing and Ma Qifeng said no more.
After finalizing the plan, Guo Qixing and Ma Qifeng slipped out from the back of the camp. The afternoon passed quickly, and soon darkness fell. Liu Tiezhu checked the time and immediately gave the order to assemble. At his command, five hundred men stood ready in full gear.
"Move out!" Liu Tiezhu shouted, mounting his horse and leading the way out of the camp. Behind him, the five hundred men split into twenty teams, marching in a mighty procession. Following Jiang He's instructions, their first target was Li's army, hiding on the right flank of Huaiyang Gou. According to Jiang He, Li's army had about two hundred men at the Seven Ancestral Garden on that flank. The area was thick with weeds, perfect for an ambush. But it was all false intel. If he sent his troops in, he'd fall into Jiang He's trap, losing men and taking the blame.
Liu Tiezhu now had a countermeasure: enter from the left side of the Seven Ancestral Garden, first taking out Li's army's hidden hundred and fifty men. Once gunfire erupted there, the Li troops lying in ambush on both sides of the garden would surely rush to reinforce. Then he'd station two hundred men to ambush them on their way. This way, he could quickly neutralize Li's army and leave Jiang He's hidden men with no opening. Guo Qixing's men would then clean up, seizing all of Li's supplies, leaving Jiang He empty-handed.
As Liu Tiezhu silently calculated, the troops reached a hundred meters from the Seven Ancestral Garden. "Everyone, rest in place for ten minutes," he ordered, then summoned the ten team leaders for final instructions. After hearing his plan, one team leader, Lin Changxing, raised an objection.
"Brother Tiezhu, according to Inspector Jiang's orders, we're supposed to advance from the front. Changing the route now—if something goes wrong, we can't bear the responsibility."
Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu's gaze immediately locked onto Lin Changxing. Meeting Liu Tiezhu's eyes, Lin Changxing felt a pang of unease. After staring at him for several minutes, until Lin Changxing lowered his head, Liu Tiezhu said coldly, "Team Leader Lin, don't you understand that the battlefield changes in an instant? I'm the on-site commander, with the authority to adapt based on the situation. I'll take full responsibility for anything that happens. If anyone dares to disobey my orders, don't blame me for being harsh."