【My World】Episodes 11-15 Author: Michanll & Hero

This post was last edited by s175366 on 2015-11-5 18:30.

[My World]

Author: michanll & Hero
Publisher: Hetu Culture

[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 1: Displaying Divine Skill

Wars throughout history have always been primarily about slaughter.

At least 50,000 northern cavalrymen were entangled with us. This time, both sides were prepared, and it was broad daylight, so both eyesight and strength were at their peak. Everyone was bloodthirsty, slashing each other mercilessly. A soldier had just killed an enemy when a stab came from behind, knocking him off his horse.

50,000 northern cavalrymen against our 15,000—numerically, they held an absolute advantage. However, in terms of individual strength, the Wang family's elite troops, honed through countless battles, far surpassed these steppe barbarians.

Especially in close combat, the Wang family's elite troops were able to utilize their superior martial arts skills, and their weapons and armor were also far superior to the enemy's. We gradually gained the upper hand.

However, the Northern Desert cavalry harbored a deep-seated hatred for us, and their fearless fighting style prevented us from expanding our gains. Under the scorching midday sun, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and shouts of battle filled the air. Almost everyone's mind was consumed by slaughter and bloodshed...

I and the two beauties were naturally exceptions. The three of us deliberately went to where the enemy was most numerous. My twin swords danced incessantly, and the Jinggong sisters wielded their katana with unparalleled grace. Our four sharp blades sliced off heads from time to time, each time carving a bloody path to rescue the royal elites who were surrounded by the enemy and add them to the cavalry behind me.

Although most of the royal cavalry behind me were entangled in individual combat, hundreds of royal elites still followed closely behind, wielding their swords and rapidly cutting down the enemy.

The number of grassland barbarians was still too great, and given their skill in mounted archery, many of their most skilled archers hid on the outer perimeter, watching which side was the most ferocious. Dozens, even hundreds, of arrows would often rain down from all directions, hitting both men and horses, even if they hit their own.

Our fifteen leaders were the most targeted. One elder of the Wang family, while fighting five enemies surrounding him, had his sword grabbed by a desperate man. Due to insufficient defense, he was riddled with arrows, both man and horse, a more tragic sight than Yang Qilang from a traditional story.

Watching his elite disciples fall one after another, Wang Guowei felt the deepest pain and sorrow. Each disciple had been nurtured by the Wang family for at least twenty-five years, only to be taken by the enemy in less than a breath on the battlefield. How could this not break the heart of the patriarch, who so desperately wanted to glorify the Wang family?

Some people, when agitated, experience feelings of frustration, which can even hinder their performance.

Wang Guowei, however, was different. His temperament was extremely resilient; his frustration and sadness served as a reminder of what he needed to do.

"Ah!" the Wang family patriarch roared, his treasured sword gleaming with dazzling light. With a lightning-fast swing, he became a ball of light, strikingly bright amidst the dark mass of people.

Good heavens! Wang Guowei exerted all his strength, unleashing the Wang family's secret martial arts technique. His entire body reached its peak, cutting down men and horses with the ease and skill of chopping wood. The ball of light relentlessly charged through the crowd, leaving countless limbs and mangled bodies flying in its wake—truly invincible!

Wang Guowei's conspicuous presence provided a perfect target for the archers outside. Arrows rained down on him, but each one was deflected by his inner energy before reaching him, bouncing off to the side.

I witnessed his incredible power from a great distance. Among experts of the same level, I understood Wang Guowei's condition best. He was truly fighting for his life. Under the all-out battle of a peerless master, even a thousand people wouldn't be enough. Any schemes, tricks, or human wave tactics were useless in the face of absolute strength.

Supported by powerful true energy, the treasured sword in Wang Guowei's hand became indestructible, shattering the encirclement of the Northern Desert cavalry. Even the bravest grassland people hid at the sight of the ball of light, showing no shame whatsoever—they were simply inhuman, why would they go to their deaths?

I could understand Wang Guowei's mentality. If the "Sun Moon Cult" were surrounded and killed, I would also feel heartache. Moreover, the elites of the Wang family all carried the blood of the Northwest Wang family to varying degrees, and the least qualified were from families that had lived near Wang Family Fortress for hundreds of years. They were almost all Wang Guowei's relatives. It would be abnormal if he didn't fight desperately to suppress the enemy.

Thinking that the Wang family had been fighting repeatedly because of me, it seemed unreasonable not to use my full strength. With a sigh, I suddenly expanded my inner energy, instantly enveloping myself in a burst of golden light.

The Heavenly Demon Art Level 8 plus the Potential Stimulation Technique! My power instantly soared to the super-high level of Heavenly Demon Art Level 9!

"Boom!" A violent shockwave instantly pulverized the dozen or so enemies in front of me. Before the remaining enemies could even cry out in fear, the blade energy of my twin swords had already increased by three feet, becoming five feet long. The golden light also enveloped the swords and my steed, making me appear like a golden-armored giant with enormous arms.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..." The blade light sliced through the grassland cavalry within a five-meter radius, men and horses alike, as if tearing through paper. This wasn't the effect of individual slashes; each slash caused them to explode from the shockwave of the inner energy.

"Die!" I spurred my magnificent steed, crashing into the surging enemy ranks. My twin blades danced wildly, unleashing hundreds of golden beams of light. Anyone touched by the golden light exploded into a bloody mist, and in the blink of an eye, everything in front of me and to my sides was a blank canvas.

"Hiss..." Both sides gasped in shock at the sight: "My god, is this a war god descended to earth? How can a human possess such power?" I gave my enemies no time to think. The golden light raged wildly, turning a five-meter radius in front of me into a space enveloped in golden light. Compared to Wang Guowei's ball of light, its power and terror were far greater.

Hundreds of arrows still flew towards me, but they were all blasted apart by my true energy a meter away, without even causing a ripple.

The ninth level of the Heavenly Demon Art is the highest realm ever reached by a member of the Demonic Sect, aside from the ancestor who created it. One can ride freely amidst thousands of troops. To say that one can fight against a thousand is an understatement. Now, I am truly a match for ten thousand!

Golden and white orbs of light flanked them, reaping the enemy like wheat being harvested. The morale of the northern cavalry plummeted as they desperately dodged.

The steppe people, who claimed descent from the Azure Wolf, were fearless in the face of strength. No matter how ferocious the enemy, they would charge forward relentlessly until they were dead.

However, the two masters they encountered this time far exceeded their understanding: how could a person be invulnerable to blades and spears? How could their strength be so immense? How could their attacks be completely ineffective? Dozens, even hundreds, of them charged forward, and as many as they could, they died, many leaving no trace…

Humans fear spirits, and the light and shadow effects of my and Wang Guowei's desperate battle had instilled in them a fear of deities, making them believe we were possessed by gods, here to slaughter these mortals.

Once their courage was lost, the steppe people's attacks became insignificant. The fifteen thousand-man squads gradually merged into two groups, following behind me and Wang Guowei, and with their morale greatly boosted, they slaughtered the desert cavalry whose morale had already collapsed.

Even if we faced thousands of enemies, we would charge straight in. Our inner energy protected us, eliminating any fear of attack. Furthermore, by using offense as defense, we could eliminate the enemy before their blades and halberds could strike, further reducing the danger.

However, such relentless killing meant that our inner energy couldn't be used for long. Otherwise, in future wars, ten top-tier experts could wipe out tens of thousands of troops—what would be the point of fighting then?

Besides, the current success was only due to the enemy's dense formation and lack of distance.

"Oh my god..." Finally, under immense pressure, a super archer who had shot at me at least twenty times with his bow and arrow saw each arrow explode near me. His pride and arrogance could no longer withstand the pressure. He cried out and ran away from the outermost perimeter, no longer wanting to stay there.

Even ants have a will to survive; how much more so should humans?

With one person leading the way, the number gradually grew to dozens, then hundreds…

The fleeing began from the outer perimeter, and then those inside desperately ran outwards…

Eventually, the entire mountainside was filled with fleeing Northern Desert cavalry, running frantically in all directions, looking like surging black tides.

Chasing after a drowning dog was everyone's favorite thing to do, especially Little Turtle and Little Bird, who reacted quickly and surrounded the enemy. Over a thousand people ended up surrounding at least three thousand, and with the help of those who arrived later, they killed the grassland cavalry one by one within the encirclement.

They knew they had no chance of survival, so after confirming that escape was hopeless, the Northern Desert cavalry launched a powerful counterattack, causing five hundred of our casualties. This made me realize the importance of striking a drowning dog hard, but also the need to prevent cornered enemies from making desperate moves.

Wang Guowei and I did not pursue; Wang Miao'er and the Jing Gong sisters surrounded us, along with dozens of loyal elite Wang family soldiers on the outer perimeter.

In this battle alone, over a thousand cavalrymen died at our hands. If they hadn't fled, that number would have risen rapidly. However, the depletion of our inner energy left us feeling utterly exhausted.

Our faces were deathly pale, yet we burst into laughter, a hearty laugh that instilled a sense of heroic spirit.

Wang Guowei and I were more than just martial arts masters; this was the first time we had ever fought a life-or-death battle where everything was thrown into the wind. It was truly exhilarating, and because of this, even though we were now almost unable to move, we exuded an air of unparalleled pride.

Those around us were infected by our emotions and couldn't help but laugh.

To experience such an earth-shattering battle, to witness the might of two of the world's top masters, was to have lived a truly worthwhile life!

The statistics brought by the Wang family elders showed that our side suffered five thousand casualties, three thousand of whom were wounded, most seriously. Of the enemy's fifty thousand troops, thirty thousand fled back; the rest were all forever left on this plain by our fierce attack.

If it weren't for my and Wang Guowei's extraordinary martial arts skills that terrified them, this battle would have been much more arduous.

But as the saying goes, "a general's courage is his soldiers' courage," and none of their commanders dared to fight us head-on, which greatly disappointed their men. Conversely, the Wang family members behind us, thanks to the invincible strength of our two leaders, saw their morale soar. This shift in power naturally led to our overwhelming victory, preventing the enemy from even unleashing half their strength and courage, resulting in the situation where the larger force was being chased by the smaller one.

I was more pleased than frustrated, but Wang Guowei looked at the report with a bitter expression, which amused his daughter. Was this the same father who had been so magnanimous just moments before?

However, I had no time to comfort him. I gave Wang Miao'er a wink, and the girl immediately understood, saying, "Father, don't look like that. We need to hurry on our way. The people in Xingyong County still need us to rescue them."

Wang Guowei's face turned pale with fright. If I had said those words, he might have turned on me. But it was his own daughter who spoke: "Miao'er, do you think our ten thousand remaining soldiers can still fight them head-on? If we are ambushed again, given how your father and Prince Lanting are already on the verge of losing their strength, it's impossible for us to pull off another ambush." "A miracle!"

Wang Miao'er rolled her eyes at him. "Father, now that we're out here, we have to be responsible for the army and people of the Northwest. Giving up halfway is our Wang family motto, isn't it? So what if we all sacrifice ourselves? We've already left our mark on the hearts of the people of the Northwest. The entire Northwest will remember the sacrifice of our Wang family descendants today."

Jing Gongcai gently tugged at the girl's clothes. "Sister Miao'er, with us here, you won't die." The little girl still wasn't very good at speaking, and even her assurances didn't sound very convincing, but that also showed her innocence and cuteness.

Wang Miao'er squeezed the little beauty's hand back, smiling without saying a word, thinking to herself, "Of course I know I won't die, but if I don't say it with a bit more force, the eldest son of the Wang family won't be moved."

As expected, a daughter understands her father best. Incited by Wang Miao'er, Wang Guowei, considering the practicalities, realized that backing down now would displease Lord Lanting; conversely, doing so would discourage the people and army who had high hopes for the Wang family, preventing them from further establishing the Wang family's image of bravery and dedication to the Northwest. This would render the previous sacrifices futile—not worth it!

"Hehe, Miao'er, look how anxious you are. I was just joking." Wang Guowei's expression changed faster than flipping through a book, immediately returning to a resolute one. He said to me, "Your Highness, there's no time to lose. Let's set off immediately." "

Alright, thank you for your hard work, Uncle Wang. You must believe that from now on, Lanting will stand with the Wang family!" I said solemnly, bowing respectfully.

Hearing this, Wang Guowei felt much better. He left the two thousand most severely wounded men behind to rest, and also buried the fallen members of the Wang family. Then, they took shortcuts to find places to rest and recuperate. Following the custom of the martial world, each of them carried wound medicine, enough to treat their injuries.

What was expected to be a bloody battle turned into a chaotic scene after a thirty-mile journey, leaving only smoke and debris on the official road. Only the Xingyong County soldiers who had come down from the mountain were cleaning up; not a single steppe cavalryman was present.

Seeing so many iron cavalry rushing towards them like the wind, thousands of Xingyong County soldiers dropped their weapons and ran up the mountain with a speed even faster than a steed, enough to make my reserve army, which had been training for a month, blush.

At the same time, the horns of the guards below sounded again. After letting the soldiers in, they all nocked their bows and arrows, looking at us with a mixture of tension and fear.

"Listen up, you men! The First-Class Duke, Imperial Envoy, Lord Lanting, and Wang Guowei, head of the Northwest Royal Family, have arrived with reinforcements. General Zhang Bigeng, the garrison commander of Xingyong County, come down and speak with us!" Little Turtle's booming voice carried all the way up the hill, causing a stir.

After a brief wait, the defenses at the foot of the mountain opened, and dozens of foot soldiers rushed out, tightly surrounding two middle-aged generals. One had bandages wrapped around his head, while the other appeared more refined; both, however, wore expressions of grief and indignation.

We, the leaders, rode forward slowly while the main force waited.

Those in the Northwest couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with Wang Guowei. Although they didn't recognize me, they immediately knew who I was upon seeing Wang Guowei's face.

"This humble officer, Zhang Bigeng, the garrison general of Xingyong County, greets Your Highness." "

This guilty officer, Ma Mengfei, the garrison general of Longliang County, begs Your Highness to punish me with death!"

Their words differed, and the appearance of Ma Mengfei, with his bandages wrapped around his head, gave me a pleasant surprise.

I immediately jumped off my horse, reached out to help them both up, and even patted Ma Mengfei on the shoulder: "General Ma, you've had a hard time."

Ma Mengfei trembled and said with shame and indignation: "Your Highness, I know I have committed a capital offense and have already asked you for punishment. Why do you have to humiliate me like this?" He thought he was doomed to die, so his voice naturally lacked a bit of trepidation.

Zhang Bigeng frowned deeply and whispered to me, "Your Highness, General Ma had no choice this time. If I were in his position, I certainly wouldn't have been able to save 10,000 men and get them up the mountain. Please, Your Highness, consider that General Ma is still useful now that the enemy is pressing in, and allow him to atone for his crimes with meritorious service!"

"10,000 men left?" I was slightly surprised. "General Ma, how did you manage to save them?"

"Seeing that we couldn't hold them off any longer, I ordered the brothers in the rear camp to escape to the steep hills. Although there were no defenses there, the terrain was so rugged that the cavalry couldn't get through. With Lord Zhang's strong assistance, 10,000 men were able to escape in the end." Ma Mengfei didn't seem excited at all when he spoke. "I originally wanted to die for my country, but after they knocked me unconscious, I ended up on the mountain."

Wang Miao'er unconsciously pursed her lips. No wonder Ma Mengfei had bandages wrapped around his head; they had been broken by his own men!

I had also thought of that. Chen Fuyue was also knocked unconscious and taken away. Could it be that the subordinates in the Northwest have this tradition?

"I heard you ordered an attack on the charging civilians?" I asked the defeated general guarding Longliang County.

"Yes, if I hadn't given the order, our camp would have been overrun, and the civilians would not only have been unable to save their own lives, but would have also implicated us. Not only would they have implicated us, but if we collapsed, the vast population of the Northwest behind us would have suffered even more brutal attacks," Ma Mengfei said. "Your Highness, I know I was wrong, but I don't regret it. I only regret that I didn't use the most severe method to order my men to start attacking, and in the end, we still ended up with a total annihilation."

"General Ma, your order was indeed very cruel," I sighed, "but you can't be blamed for that... Damn it, blame those inhuman beasts!"

Hearing me swear, Zhang Bigeng's eyes lit up: "Your Highness doesn't seem to be making things difficult for Old Ma?" Tormented by self-blame and pain, Ma Mengfei suddenly slammed his head down: "Your Highness, what did you say?"

I smiled: "I said, don't act like a woman, crying and wailing, making a scene. What's the big deal? Can't you even get past this?"

Ma Mengfei's eyes reddened instantly: "Your Highness... but I ordered the killing of civilians, and I lost almost all the soldiers that the prefect entrusted to me! You really don't blame me?"

"If you failed, go and get back at them. If you lost soldiers, train them again. Don't be afraid of failure. It's good that you're alive." I shrugged. "If I were you, I wouldn't have been able to make a better decision either, so the fault isn't yours. I forgive you."

"Waaah..." The garrison general of Longliang County suddenly covered his face like a child and cried, suppressing his sobs.

Anyone in his position would now only be able to vent their suppressed emotions through weeping. From extreme depression to utter despair and sorrow, and then to a sudden rebirth from the ashes, this entire shift in mindset would be enough to overwhelm anyone and cause them to lose control.
[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 2: Sending Envoys for Negotiation

Ma Mengfei's men were able to ascend the mountain entirely thanks to Zhang Bigeng's personal support, which consumed almost half of their arrows and boulders, barely managing to rescue ten thousand men.

Just when they thought the ferocious northern cavalry was about to strike at the heart of the enemy and enter the southern part of Xishuo County, they suddenly saw an eagle fly to the leading general. Then they quickly dispersed, much faster than when they came, no longer burdened by civilians, and soon disappeared along the same path.

Wang Guowei nodded: "It is said that Huayun Kingdom has a divine eagle that can not only transmit information but also act as a scout, reconnoitering military intelligence from the air... It seems that our appearance this time was also seen by the divine eagle from the sky, which led them to set up an ambush against us."

Fortunately, the lush trees in the valley blocked out the sky; otherwise, if the divine eagle had seen us from above, the grassland barbarians would have only needed to block the entrance and then desperately throw stones in, and whether we could have gotten out would have been a question.

We just told them about the battle situation over there, and the two garrison generals, while praising it, didn't find it too strange! The invincible power of Lord Lanting had already spread throughout the Northwest: coupled with the head of the Wang family, the number one person in the Northwest, and 15,000 super-strong elite Wang family soldiers, it would be strange if they didn't win.

The two garrison generals' understanding is still biased. Based on the information I issued, many people thought that the Wang family's 30,000 soldiers had killed 100,000 northern cavalrymen in the camp of 300,000 troops yesterday morning, and now that the number has been reduced by half, dealing with 50,000 should be more than enough.

They hadn't anticipated that the eight thousand elite troops, the Wang family's strongest and most unique force, were now almost entirely wiped out. The losses of the remaining eight thousand elite soldiers were far greater than those of the ten thousand who followed. In a true sense, the eight thousand elite soldiers comprised half of the Wang family's strength.

However, I wouldn't clarify this misunderstanding. The Wang family's power was now very weak; spreading rumors to deter other major families in the Northwest and even Southwest from making rash moves was a good strategy.

The hill was quite wide, not entirely steep, so over ten thousand horses were brought up, and we naturally encamped there, facing Huaiyuan City across the distance, keeping watch on the distant Northern Desert cavalry camp.

While discussing our situation, we carefully analyzed the strength of the Northern Desert cavalry.

Excluding the 100,000 casualties we suffered yesterday morning, in today's battle against the Longliang County reinforcements, they only lost a maximum of 5,000 men, yet still managed to wipe out 40,000. However, on the other side of the battlefield, their 50,000 men besieged us, only to suffer 20,000 cavalry killed and 30,000 fleeing.

The combined outcome of both battles is a draw.

Of the 300,000 Northern cavalry, only 200,000 survive, including about 50,000 wounded. They also left 20,000 men on guard duty outside Xiliang City. In reality, only 130,000 soldiers remain intact in the main camp.

Looking at the resting horses and the elite Wang family troops in the distance, I felt a pang of regret again.

If I had two waves of those 8,000 elite troops, none of these 200,000 would have made it back alive. I could even have led my army tonight, using a combination of cavalry and infantry to break through the Northern cavalry camp.

It's just a pity that there was only one wave of those 8,000 elite troops, and their heavy losses, due to unforeseen circumstances, prove that my idea of annihilating the remaining 200,000 Northern cavalry was wishful thinking.

"When will I have my own 8,000 iron cavalry?"

This thought surged into my mind, and when I thought of the 400,000 reserve troops in Xiliang City, a smile involuntarily crept onto my lips... Surely, among those 400,000 men, I could pick out a unit of 8,000 iron cavalry?

The reinforcements from Longliang County and Xingyong County, whose morale was low due to the earlier slaughter, were now calmed by the arrival of the strongest royal cavalry in the Northwest, the legendary head of the royal family, said to be the strongest in martial arts in the Northwest, and the imperial envoy, Lord Lanting, who had defied the odds by throwing his horse and slaughtering hundreds of soldiers from the Southern Desert Alliance outside Xiliang City.

Now, the small hill held 60,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, a considerable force. With my personal presence, the Northern Desert cavalry had little hope of fighting again.

Wang Guowei and I were busy meditating and regulating our breathing, trying to recover our strength as soon as possible so that we could play a better leading role in the upcoming battle. Although it was impossible for us to display our divine power like we did at noon in a short time, it was still entirely possible to recover to the level of a peerless master by meditating and regulating our breathing for a few hours.

As dusk fell, the setting sun shone on the earth, preventing darkness from descending, though its brightness diminished somewhat. Smoke curled from cooking fires; over several large stone stoves, the cooks brought out large pots and began to cook.

There's a certain art to military campaigns: if trapped in the mountains, the daily diet consists of large quantities of wild vegetables and thin porridge, the consistency of which must be adjusted according to the situation, leaving room for anything uneaten. However,

if they were waiting on the mountains to ambush the enemy, they needed substantial amounts of rice and cured meat; only a full stomach provides the strength for battle.

Soon, the aroma of cured meat and rice wafted from the hill, a considerable temptation for the soldiers who had endured a tense day, and for the Wang family members who had just finished fighting. But just then, several scouts hurried up from the foot of the hill, their rapid footsteps disrupting the tranquility of the hill.

I was standing on a large rock, contemplating how to prepare my eight thousand soldiers, when I saw them running up. My eyes involuntarily glanced down the mountain and saw a group of no less than a hundred people on horseback slowly approaching. A white flag was flying on the horses of some of them, but the obstructed view made it impossible to read what it said.

"Report!" A squad leader knelt on one knee. "We've intercepted representatives claiming to be from the two Khans of the Northern Desert, who want to speak with Your Highness."

I was stunned. Little Turtle and Little Bird spoke first: "Negotiation? What's there to negotiate with them? Just set up your troops and start killing! What's there to say?"

Wang Guowei, usually known for his wisdom and kindness, suddenly felt an urge to slap these two boys to death.

Kill? With what? Our Wang family is almost ruined by you masters and servants; do you expect us to fight to the last drop of our strength?

Wang Guowei's resentment was somewhat exaggerated. The Wang family of the Northwest had survived for a thousand years, naturally possessing many unseen forces. Although more than half of their surfaced power had been lost, they still had considerable reserves… However, on the other hand, these reserves were something a thousand-year-old family would never reveal unless faced with a life-or-death situation. These were their life-saving resources; wouldn't it be terrible if others could see them at any time?

I found Wang Guowei's expression amusing. I hadn't expected the head of the Wang family, whom Emperor Kangzong considered a major threat, to be such an interesting person.

At least through my time with the Wang family, I knew they had no ambition to dominate the Northwest; at most, they just wanted to live the life of local tyrants.

As for the court, if they could tolerate the Prince of Zhennan and the Prince of Tang each ruling a few prefectures, why couldn't they tolerate others?

Moreover, the existence of the Wang family is a tremendous benefit to the stability of the northwest of Liufeng Kingdom. Just look at this recent event: when the "Silver Tiger Legion" suffered a major defeat, it was the Wang family's efforts to ensure the timely arrival of various support measures, forcing back the Southern Desert Allied Forces. Now, with the even more ferocious Northern Desert cavalry arriving, the Wang family is again holding them off with all their might.

These are truly loyal subjects!

As long as Emperor Kangzong doesn't hand over personnel and military power in the northwest to the Wang family, with their martial arts and commercial strength, they wouldn't have the ability to do anything they wanted. Besides, the hundreds of thousands of elite troops stationed in Xiliang City aren't just for the enemy in the north. If the Wang family makes any moves, Emperor Kangzong will definitely send them south quickly to quell the unrest.

I've been thinking about it, is it because the Emperor's father-in-law was very unhappy with being thwarted by the Prince of Tang and the Prince of Zhennan, and wants to use the Wang family, a soft target, to demonstrate his kingly grandeur?

A thought flashed through my mind, and I stood up: "Go and bring them up. Let's hear what they have to say before making any decisions."

"Yes." The squad leader stepped back, and Ma Mengfei and Zhang Bigeng exchanged a glance before following him. It was their responsibility to ensure the safety of Lord Lanting; they couldn't let these barbarians reveal their true intentions and harm the important figures present.

After a short while, more than twenty grassland barbarians dressed in tight-fitting knightly attire came before us.

I sat alone in the middle, with Wang Guowei and Wang Miao'er on my left, Xiao Gui and Xiao Niao on my right, and the Jing Gong sisters standing behind me.

The faces of the people of the Northern Desert were similar to those of those of the Southern Desert, only their skin was a bit whiter, but the long hours of sun exposure still left many red spots on their faces.

Years of exchange and warfare had long since allowed the people of Huayun Kingdom to adopt the customs of the Great Yuan Kingdom and Liufeng Kingdom, including their food, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, clothing, and accommodation. Therefore, when they went to war, they mostly wore short-sleeved clothing with simple leather armor over it.

The cavalry of Huayun Kingdom possessed innate confidence and would never go into battle wearing cumbersome armor; for them, raised on horseback, it was an absolute insult.

They preferred to defeat their enemies through lightning-fast charging speed, superb mounted archery skills, and unwavering fighting courage—skills inherent to their abilities.

"Your Excellency Duke of Liufeng Kingdom, we are envoys from the most powerful Gloo and Guligan tribes of the western Great Plains, bringing you hope for peace." The leader, a man in his forties with dozens of small braids and a thick beard, possessed piercing eyes and was clearly a cunning individual. "

Isn't the strongest tribe in the western Great Plains the Chahar tribe of the Eastern Desert? When did it become the turn of these two tribes in the Northern Desert?" Wang Guowei immediately exposed their lie.

"This must be Mr. Wang?" the envoy said with a forced smile. "The Chahar tribe in the eastern desert may have a large population, but years of indulgence have robbed them of their ambition. In contrast, our Geluo and Guligan tribes in the northern desert fight against nature every day. Our people are all strong and intelligent, far superior to them." "

Tsk tsk!" Little Turtle, who couldn't stand anyone showing off, jumped out and said, "I thought we were only killing the old, weak, sick, and disabled on the grasslands these past two days. Turns out we're already the strongest army? What a disappointment!"

"You..." Little Turtle's words made the envoy almost want to draw his sword, but when he touched his waist, he realized that his sword had been confiscated before he came over, under the pretense of temporary safekeeping.

"Your Highness, I came with sincerity. Is your leniency towards your servants a sign you intend to continue the war?" the envoy said, suppressing his anger. "We still have 300,000 capable soldiers. If we launch a full-scale attack on your northwest frontier, what power do you have to stop us?"

"You still have 300,000?" Little Bird exclaimed in surprise. "Incredible! Yesterday we killed 100,000, today we killed another 20,000, and the remaining 180,000 have given birth to 120,000 in a single day! They're more prolific than the sows in our manor!"

"Pfft..." The three girls couldn't help but burst into laughter. Little Bird's words were far too malicious, worse than two slaps.

The envoy could no longer tolerate this; otherwise, he'd turn into a tortoise. He leaped up, his body surging, and punched Little Bird on the head.

"Smack!" Little Bird leaped from her chair, slapping him in mid-air and then kicking him to the ground.

The envoy doubled over in pain, forcing himself not to cry out, but the uneven rocks he had fallen on, the sharp-edged stones still causing him considerable discomfort.

Several attendants quickly rushed over and helped him to the side to rest, but the others did not display the fury I had expected.

Suddenly, I felt something was amiss… Weren't they too calm? Such composure seemed so unlike the notoriously hot-tempered nomadic tribes of the grasslands.

Wang Guowei shared the same thought, and like me, he immediately turned his gaze to the remaining grassland people.

The Wang family patriarch, being more familiar with the Northwest, had his eyes fixed on a middle-aged man near the back before I noticed anything amiss. This man kept his head bowed, seemingly submissive, but actually harboring ulterior motives.

"Lord Heshu of the Guligan tribe, you'd better stand up. What kind of hero pretends to be something he is?" Wang Guowei said, enunciating each word clearly.

The middle-aged man, his identity exposed, slowly shook his head. When he finally raised his head, he revealed a pair of bright, resolute, yet perpetually cold and expressionless eyes. Aside from that, his face was no different from that of an ordinary grassland dweller.

Wang Guowei turned around: "Heshu is an elder of the Guligan tribe, deeply trusted by the chieftain, and the second most powerful member of the Guligan tribe. I didn't expect him to actually come to negotiate this time." He

paused, then looked across at the other side: "Since the Guligan tribe has come, the Geluo tribe can't possibly not send anyone, right? Hurry up and come out, aren't you ashamed to hide like a woman?"

He didn't find the second person behind the scenes, but my eyes did: "Stand in the second-to-last row, the fifth person from the left, the one with the bald head, you, stand up."

"Hahaha..." The man stood up upon hearing this, "Lord Lanting is indeed extraordinary. Elder Youliangha of the Geluo tribe greets everyone." Youliangha was younger than Heshu, in his thirties, with a hearty smile and a large frame, likely a skilled soldier.

"Geluo's First General Youliangha?" Wang Guowei nodded. There were so many bald men like Youliangha in the ranks that he almost didn't recognize him.

"Not at all. Before Mr. Wang and Lord Lanting, how could I be considered a general? I'm nothing but a defeated general." Youliangha and Heshu walked up to us together, their air of authority, honed by long-held high positions, was indeed far superior to that of the scheming envoy from before.

"Now that you are the ones in charge, let's have a serious talk." I gestured lightly, and the soldiers brought over two newly made, simple chairs. I disdained to belittle them in such matters.

The two men, not expecting me to offer them chairs, exchanged glances and nodded as they sat down.

Heshu spoke first, "Your Highness, what are your thoughts on the current situation?"

I calmly replied, "What else can I say? You can't break in, and we can't drive you out; we're just locked in a stalemate."

Heshu nodded in agreement, saying, "That's exactly the case. Since neither side is gaining anything, we're thinking of reaching a peace agreement. Liufeng Kingdom will give us some benefits, and we'll leave immediately." Little

Turtle and Little Bird rolled their eyes, wanting to reprimand him, but they knew it wasn't the time for them to interrupt. They could only sullenly stare at the group of grassland people, thinking, "You'd better pray that our young master doesn't order us to fight later, or we'll beat you so badly your own mothers won't recognize you!"

A sarcastic smile appeared on my face: "Didn't you hear my analysis clearly? Let me put it more bluntly: we can't deal with you at this stage, but once the Wang family's cavalry arrives from all over, can you still stay there? Furthermore, even if our hundreds of thousands of troops in Xiliang City don't fight, just digging traps and setting obstacles will suffocate you there. What time or right do you have to ask me for benefits?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Youliangha laughed loudly, "Lord Lanting, you have to pay the retreat fee whether you want to or not, hahaha..."

His smile was extremely arrogant, but I understood that Youliangha's arrogance was different from that of the envoy just now; he must have something to rely on.

I stopped the little turtle and the little bird's anger, and calmly replied, "Gentlemen, just say what you've got. Keeping it bottled up like this isn't just making you uncomfortable, it's making me uncomfortable too."

"Good, that's straightforward! Lord Lanting is indeed a straightforward man! When you come to our grasslands, we'll definitely drink until we drop!" Youliangha looked at me approvingly. "Actually, it's nothing much. A group of young men from both tribes captured some people from the Northwest during a hunt a few days ago. We've heard that Lord Lanting loves his people like his own children, so we didn't dare harm them. We were wondering if Lord Lanting could take them back sometime."

He deliberately raised his voice so that hundreds of soldiers around could hear him, except for us. Immediately, silence fell over the scene, broken only by the sound of the wind and heavy breathing, especially from the soldiers.

Youliangha's meaning was crystal clear: Kids, we captured your people. If you don't want them dead, hand over the money and let us go home comfortably!

[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 3: The Oriole in the Back

I nodded calmly and asked, "May I ask, how many of our people from the Northwest are still in your hands? What do you need to bring them back?"

Yuliangha's face showed a rare hint of surprise; he hadn't expected me to be so calm, without a trace of anger.

Only Heshu's brow furrowed imperceptibly. Such a magnanimous heart at such a young age—in ten years, this boy will surely be a formidable enemy to many tribes in the western grasslands!

At this moment, he felt a surge of murderous intent, wanting to kill the boy before him at all costs. However, remembering that this boy was a super expert who had displayed incredible power, killing 123 centurions, 35 chiliarchs, and 6 10,000-cavalry commanders in one fell swoop in the camp, his murderous intent instantly turned into a sigh.

Yuliangha, unlike Heshu, readily agreed, "There are still 25,000 people left, men, women, and children. It was Mr. Heshu who reminded us to leave them behind. Our demands aren't high: 500,000 fat sheep, 300,000 cattle, 1 million bolts of various silk fabrics, plus 80 million gold coins. That's enough to take them back, and then we'll immediately return to the Northern Desert and won't come back for three years."

"Madman!" Wang Miao'er frowned slightly, her face full of disdain.

The others, though silent, wore the same expression, thinking that this guy was probably insane with greed.

Even robbery couldn't yield this many, especially since they were now half-crippled by them.

Yuliangha's smile remained unchanged. Ignoring everyone else, he said only to me, "Lord Lanting, whether or not to make the exchange is up to you."

"How can you guarantee that we'll release the people after giving you the goods, and that we won't invade the Northwest for three years?" I raised my hand to stop Yuliangha from speaking. "Don't talk to me about credibility. Your grassland people's credibility is worthless; nobody believes it."

"Lord Lanting, if you don't believe us, there's nothing we can do. Anyway, we have those people. Whether you take them or not is your business. At most, we'll have a bloody massacre, fertilize the Northwest land, and return empty-handed. What you'll lose is the hearts of the people!" Yuliangha said with a forced smile, his face full of arrogance.

"Slap!"

Yuliangha suddenly covered his face, looking at me in disbelief.

I withdrew my hand from the void, coldly saying, "Remember, it's better not to be so arrogant. I can kill you now and have you send someone else to negotiate, and they'll still obey. Who do you think you are?"

Yuliangha's smile vanished. He roared, "Kid, don't brag! If you have the guts, kill me! Kill... Ah!"

A flash of light, and an arm was severed from Yuliangha's, blood gushing out.

The little bird stood there nonchalantly, throwing down its knife: "Pah! You've dirtied my knife! Get him, throw it away!"

Yuliangha couldn't believe it. He stared blankly at the arm on the ground, then at his bleeding shoulder, seemingly still not understanding.

"General!" someone shouted in a local dialect. Several people rushed forward to stop the bleeding and bandage it, finally managing to stop Yuliangha's injury after a while.

At this moment, Yuliangha, having lost too much blood, sat down on the ground without any decorum, his head spinning, no longer able to negotiate.

My eyes turned to Heshu, this man known for his wisdom, who, seeing my cold gaze, felt a jolt in his heart, a bitter smile playing on his lips: He thought he could take Yuliangha's life in his current state? He was a true killing machine!

"Lord Lanting, isn't what you're doing against the rule of 'in war, one should not kill envoys'?" Heshu, though not intending to seek justice for Yuliangha, felt that a slight provocation to gain the upper hand in the negotiations was a necessary step.

"To me, there are only enemies and friends; everything else is unimportant," I said calmly. "You can write to my emperor, accusing me of killing a beast who murdered tens of thousands of people in the Northwest… Hmph, don't you even consider that a beast is a beast? Just because he wears human skin, does that mean I should reason with him?"

Heshu's face darkened. How could this young official of Liufeng Kingdom be so vulgar, so unlike the refined image of an official from a scholarly country?

He may have looked down on me, but my words sounded incredibly appealing to the people on our side. Even a refined lady like Wang Miao'er, who was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, didn't find anything wrong with them.

He Shu, though displeased, didn't show it. "Alright, let's not talk about that. What General Youliangha said is our condition. Please consider it."

I nodded. "I'll say it again. How can you expect me to believe in your sincerity?"

He Shu thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think we should do?"

"It's simple. Release the people now, and then we'll discuss the terms."

"Do you think that's possible? What if we release them and you don't keep your promise?"

"Since you don't trust me, and I don't trust you, shouldn't we just forget about the exchange?"

"No, Lord Lanting, what do you think?" He Shu pondered. "I'll go back and release ten thousand people first, then you give us half the ransom, then we'll release the remaining people, and finally you'll give us the balance." "That sounds good.

" I smiled. "Mr. He Shu, it's certainly convenient to talk to smart people." "

You agree to this method?" He Shu asked happily. "Very well, I'll go back and prepare. Tomorrow morning, we'll release the ten thousand people first."

"Wait." I called out to him as he was about to leave. "Mr. Heshu, we haven't finished talking yet. What's the rush?"

"Not finished talking?" Heshu looked at me, somewhat confused.

"We've only discussed how to pay the money and hand over the people, but we haven't agreed on the ransom amount yet," I said seriously.

"Well... originally, not a single sheep could be missing, but considering how straightforward you are, Lord Lanting, I've taken the liberty of making a decision myself. You only need to provide 450,000 fat sheep, 280,000 cattle, and 900,000 bolts of various silk fabrics. Hmm, but 80 million gold coins are a must. What do you think?" Heshu looked pained; anyone who didn't know better would think he had made a great sacrifice.

I waved my hand, and Little Turtle stepped forward: "It's like this, Lord Heshu, to put it bluntly, those civilians you captured, we can consider them as having already been captured and tortured to death. It's right not to save them. In the end, as long as we kill you, it will be revenge for them.

" "Don't rush to speak. Yes, my young master is very kind and doesn't want any civilians to die or be injured, so he will save those he can. But I also want to remind you, don't push us too far. After the Northwest was robbed by the Southern Desert Alliance, supplies are extremely scarce. If you want things that we don't have at all, then I can't think of any other solution besides fighting to the death."

Wang Guowei praised him upon hearing this. Indeed, his words were straightforward enough. And such straightforward words were indeed not suitable for Ren Lanting to say personally, otherwise it would be too cruel. Having Lanting's steward negotiate would be acceptable to either side.

Heshu said angrily, "This is disrespectful to us... So what do you want?"

The little turtle said righteously, "For these utterly useless people, in my opinion, we shouldn't pay them at all. Since my young master has given the order, then so be it: 10,000 each of cattle and sheep, no silk or cloth to be discussed. Those bastards in the south and the capital are haggling like starving ghosts; we can't afford them. As for gold coins, we don't even have any ourselves, how can we give them to you?"

If his anger before was feigned, now Heshu was truly furious and speechless: "Steward, are you joking? Your people don't even have a cow each..." "Not even worth sheep?"

Little Turtle said, "They're not my relatives, what are they worth? If we release them, we'll have to rebuild houses for them, provide them with living supplies... Damn it, you kidnapped them, why did you have to burn and smash everything? Making us spend more money!"

He Shu suppressed his anger and turned to me: "Lord Lanting, if you want this clueless person to negotiate with me, then I'm going back."

I waved my hand: "Go north after you get out, don't get lost."

He Shu trembled all over, looking like he was about to be paralyzed with anger, but I could clearly see that his eyes remained expressionless. This guy's acting skills... well, they're almost as good as mine.

You Liangha, sitting on the ground next to me, had lost much of his previous momentum. He wanted to say something, but seeing the large sword still standing on the ground, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

It took He Shu a while to regain his normal breathing. He said to Little Turtle, "Steward, we absolutely cannot accept your conditions. We're here to negotiate seriously, so you need to show us some sincerity."

Little Turtle spread his hands: "It's not that I'm not sincere, but I'm thinking that the price you're offering is more than you could get by simply robbing the three northwestern prefectures. So it's you who's not sincere."

He Shu choked for a moment: "Fine, I'll compromise. 440,000 fat sheep, 270,000 cattle, 880,000 bolts of silk, and 79 million gold coins!"

"No, that's too much." After hearing my telepathic message, Little Turtle pondered, "However, if you're willing to give me 200,000 fine horses, I might consider giving you that much."

"200,000 fine horses? You...you..." He Shu almost fainted from anger. "No, absolutely not!

Are you ransoming us or us? Why are you making demands?"

"What I mean is, they're not worth that much. Give us some fine horses, and we'll have our money accounted for. It'll be better for everyone," Little Turtle said. "Well then, we want 199,000 fine horses. If you dare say no, I'll turn on you!"

"Outrageous! How can you be so shameless?"

"Thanks to you, I learned it from you."

"..."

The two of them started talking and their faces turned red. One was shouting too much, and the other was cutting too hard. A large group of us watched them negotiate so fiercely. It was like watching a good show, at least the two beauties behind me were watching with great interest.

The negotiation didn't end until most of the soldiers had finished eating and started chatting and boasting.

The final result was that three days later, we would give them 400,000 sheep, 200,000 cattle, 500,000 bolts of silk, and 50 million gold coins. In addition to releasing the people, they would also give us 100,000 strong horses.

Heshu appeared displeased, grumbling and turning away without a word. In reality, he was overjoyed; the amount was double what he'd expected. Back in his tribe, he finally had something to show for it.

As for the horses, everyone came with two horses, so there were plenty to begin with. Besides, around 100,000 had died in the war, leaving plenty of horses. The grasslands lacked everything except horses, so exchanging them for so much was definitely worth it.

Furthermore, Heshu was cunning: "Weren't our two northern tribes severely damaged this time? We can use the people of Liufeng Kingdom to distract the savages of southern Mo. Since the people of the northwest have horses, their first target will be the numerous tribes of southern Mo. Whether they fight to the death is none of our business. This is killing two birds with one stone, watching the tigers fight from the mountain." He could hide his joy, but Youliangha couldn't suppress his smile, constantly aggravating his wounds—a bittersweet experience.

Yuliangha had no reason not to be happy. He had never expected such a rich spoils of war, especially after being defeated. The people of the tribe, young and old, would surely admire him greatly.

After seeing them out, we sat down in a group. I had already arranged for Ma Mengfei and Zhang Bigeng to sit aside; it was time for internal discussion, and they weren't qualified yet.

"Young Master, how could you agree to this negotiation? I get angry just looking at these savages! Those damn bastards kidnapped my people and now they want me to pay ransom! If this gets out of hand, won't they do it every time? We won't even have to fight a war, how convenient!" Little Turtle started complaining. "After we kill them, won't all those horses be ours? Why would we need to buy them?"

Wang Guowei, used to our lack of respect, agreed, "Yes, Your Highness, you've agreed to a considerable amount. Even if the Northwest sells everything it owns, it can't come up with that much right now."

Little Bird also retorted angrily, "Young Master, I'm not trying to be mean, but right now neither of us can do anything to the other, and we even have some advantages. Do we have to be so humiliated? It's just over 20,000 civilians! If you agree this time, what if they hold knives to our throats next time and force us to commit suicide? Would you be willing then?"

"Your Highness, the people should be saved, but giving too much is not good," Wang Miao'er said with a sympathetic look. "However, with 100,000 fine horses, at least we've regained some face."

Only the Jing Palace sisters stood firmly by my side: "Don't say that. Brother must have his reasons, he can't be wrong. Besides, isn't our Northwest short of good warhorses? Brother's ability to help buy them is a great achievement!"

I felt greatly comforted upon hearing this and squeezed their small hands to show my encouragement.

Then I looked at the group of people who were criticizing me: "Do you think I'm too weak?"

"Yes!" came the rare unanimous reply.

"But what if they linger here harassing us, or take a detour to remote mountain areas to rob and kill? They still have 200,000 men. Before the new 'Silver Tiger Legion' is formed, and before the Wang family's elite forces are almost exhausted, what ability do we have to stop them?"

"We've already blocked their southward route. The rest is just a pretense. I don't believe they can drag this out indefinitely. The grasslands and deserts aren't exactly peaceful places, are they?" Wang Guowei expressed a different opinion.

"Alright, even if they go back in two or three months and come back again next year, what will we do then?"

I said gently. "Don't tell me you're absolutely certain you can defeat them within a year. This time, we had more luck and the Wang family's help. Next time, it won't be so easy."

"You've given them so much to fatten them up. Next time, they can summon even more barbarians, causing even greater damage to the Northwest." This time, it was Wang Miao'er who raised the question.

"Hmph, yes, I gave them a lot of things, tsk tsk, they returned laden with spoils, how impressive and happy they were...

but they'll have to make it back to their lair alive!" I smiled slightly.

Everyone's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

Little Turtle and Little Bird lowered their voices: "Young Master, where should we ambush them? Damn, let's ambush them again, we've got plenty of experience."

Even Wang Guowei, a mature man, became somewhat hot-blooded because his side had been extorted for a large sum of money: "Your Highness, just give the order! The Wang family can gather a total of 20,000 men, ready to follow you to teach them a lesson!"

Wang Miao'er was also quick-witted: "Your Highness, we still have 50,000 'Silver Tiger Legion' soldiers in Xiliang City. Let them cooperate with us in a sniper battle, and we'll definitely succeed."

"We will succeed, but the last seed of the Northwest will be extinguished because of it," I said softly. "We are civilized people, let's not bother with all the fighting and killing all the time."

"Not kill them? Do you think they'll obediently send the goods back?" They were immediately confused.

"Hehe, I don't need to ask them to return anything. Giving them such abundant supplies will inevitably attract some ruthless and impoverished people who want a share along the way."

"Ah...you mean..." Wang Miao'er's eyes lit up, "The Southern Desert Tribes?"

"Yes! That's them!" I smiled, "When the Northern Desert Cavalry was at its peak, they didn't dare to act rashly, but now the Northern Desert Cavalry has suffered almost half its casualties, leaving only 170,000 intact. They have to spare some men to care for the wounded and sick, and also to drive the cattle and sheep, so their flexibility has been greatly reduced.

"And the Southern Desert Tribes have suffered at our hands, not getting much, and they've always had a grudge against the two major Northern Desert tribes. Now they have the opportunity to obtain incredibly abundant supplies and eliminate the main forces of the two major Northern Desert tribes, thus seizing the vast Northern Desert territory. Such a good thing, do you think those people in the Southern Desert will be able to resist?"

Wang Guowei clapped his hands: "Brilliant!"

"Otherwise, why do you think I'm giving so much? Would a small amount be enough to entice the southern tribes?"

I explained my plan. "Furthermore, the reason I agreed to immediate negotiations and the delivery of supplies is to take advantage of their wounded soldiers while they're still recovering. These wounded soldiers won't be a fighting force; they'll become a burden, further reducing their fighting strength and emboldening the southern tribes to take the gamble."

Little Turtle asked, "But will the southern tribes really fall for it? Even if they win, it will only be a Pyrrhic victory, right? Will they be able to resist forces from us or from the eastern desert?" "

Only the southern tribes know how vulnerable the northwest truly is, because they are the culprits behind this disaster. They know that we need to recuperate and recover for at least a year or two, and this time is precisely what allows them to grow stronger," I replied. "As for the Chahar tribe in the eastern desert, I heard they've recently been engaged in numerous battles with several tribes in the central grasslands, suffering heavy losses. Even the Prime Minister of Huayun Kingdom has been alarmed and wants to mediate."

"It's said that several large tribes in the central region united and utterly defeated the Chahar tribe, taking back some of the land they had previously occupied," Wang Miao'er chimed in. This intelligence came from the city garrison guards who had gone out to gather information.

Although Huayun Kingdom was the largest of the three kingdoms, spanning and occupying the northern grasslands of the continent, due to the numerous tribes within its borders, Huayun Kingdom actually controlled only the northern, eastern, southeastern, south-central, and part of the central grasslands, occupying more than half of the grasslands' area, which was also the most fertile region.

Most of the central, western, and southwestern parts of the grasslands existed in the form of tribes of varying sizes. The western and southwestern parts, which we commonly call the desert, were vast but extremely barren.

As the most powerful tribe in the desert, the Chahar tribe in the eastern part of the desert looks down on its smaller brothers in the northern and southern parts. They only have their eyes on the vast grasslands in the center, and all their fighting power is concentrated there. In the words of one of their powerful figures, "No matter how poor we are, we will not fight with those savages for territory."

So we don't need to worry about them seizing the territory of the northern and southern parts of the desert.

I added, "Also, you should note that because the Southern Desert Allied Army suffered so many losses this time, they want to acquire more resources, and even more people... They've absorbed 200,000 Northern Desert cavalry into their own tribes. In three to five years, wouldn't they be their own force? Such things happen frequently on the grasslands, don't they?" "

If we take advantage of the opportunity to absorb 200,000 people, it's possible to conquer the strongholds of the two Northern Desert tribes in one fell swoop,"

Wang Guowei agreed with my point of view. "However, even if only 150,000 of the 200,000 Northern Desert cavalry are intact, the tribes of Southern Desert might not be able to defeat them."

"Who wins or loses doesn't matter to us. In any case, both Northern and Southern Deserts will be severely weakened and won't be able to recover for decades." A fierce glint flashed across my face. "I'll also be interested in leading my iron cavalry to visit them and give those barbarians the punishment they inflicted on the Northwest!"

"Hehe, you're right!" Little Turtle and Little Bird nodded repeatedly. The two generals would naturally accompany me on my grassland trip.

"We still have a lot to do," I began to instruct. "Miss Miao'er, send a message to Xiliang City via carrier pigeon, telling them to engage the nomadic Mobei cavalry roaming around Xiliang City as soon as possible. Kill as many as you can, don't be afraid of losses!"

"Why? Didn't we negotiate with them?" Wang Miao'er asked doubtfully. "Won't doing this encourage them to harm the hostages?"

"No, what they care about is whether we offer a generous ransom, so the hostages are very safe. Besides, those roaming Xiliang City aren't from the two major tribes. If we help eliminate them, they won't have to worry about how to suppress those smaller tribes when they return. It's a good thing."

"Hmm... Your Highness is right," Wang Guowei said. "Besides, they have no idea that Your Highness weakened their strength to make it easier for the tribes of Mobei to launch a successful sneak attack. It's fine if these subordinate small tribes' cavalry are wiped out."

Wang Miao'er understood: "I'll send a carrier pigeon right away."

I said to Wang Guowei: "Uncle Wang, no matter what method you use, at least by this time tomorrow, you must find someone to send a message to all the tribes of Mobei and establish contact to keep them informed of the movements of the Mobei cavalry."

Wang Guowei nodded and said: "Your Highness, how about I double the ransom?"

I thought for a moment: "That's fine. Anyway, they will send scouts to check first. With countless cattle and sheep all over the mountains and countless carts of silk cloth, they will believe it." After the head of the Wang family nodded, he also went to make arrangements.

Once everyone was out of sight, Little Bird chimed in, "Young Master, won't the people of the many tribes in the southern desert realize it's a trap?"

"They definitely will. Their female strategist isn't an ordinary person."

"Then will they still fall for it?"

"It's not a question of falling for it. If we let the northern cavalry take back their rich spoils, they'll gain more vassals from smaller tribes. Next year, after they've digested everything, they're very likely to attack the many tribes in the southern desert." I said confidently, "Rather than waiting to be slaughtered and swallowed up later, it's better to strike now. And the benefits of acting now are numerous!"

[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 4: The Barbarian Woman's Clever Scheme

In the southwestern part of the vast grasslands of the southern desert, beside a large lake, countless tents were built along the water's edge. This was the lair of the newly powerful Liji tribe.

The flickering torches, seen from afar, resembled countless stars in the sky, and combined with the tranquil beauty of the lake, created a scene reminiscent of the vastness of the starry sky.

Around the tents by the lake, bonfires blazed, and joyful young women danced and sang with their lovers—a scene of perfect harmony. However, this joyous scene was built upon the spoils of war plundered from the northwest.

Thanks to the machinations of Princess Bilan of the Liji tribe, the Dangxiang people had escaped a great calamity and nearly annihilated the "Silver Tiger Legion," the most feared army of the southern desert tribes. Therefore, when distributing the spoils, the Dangxiang chieftain, Kejiyun, specifically suggested giving the largest share to the Liji tribe as a token of gratitude for their help.

The Liji tribe not only received 80,000 head of cattle and sheep but also 100,000 women and children, along with treasures and grain totaling 20 million gold coins. This was a huge haul for a small tribe like the Liji. With proper herding and distribution, the tribe's youth would grow up, the children would integrate into the tribe, and the plundered women would bear many children for the tribe's men… Within ten years, the Liji tribe's strength could double.

The other tribes suffered similar losses, but also gained much. Most importantly, they nearly annihilated the "Silver Tiger Legion," shattering a sword hanging over their heads, which brought them immense joy.

The five tribes were preparing for winter when carrier pigeons landed in their respective territories, bringing news that forced them to reconvene in the Riji tribe's main tent to discuss their survival. Inside

the tent, surrounded by the fierce guards of the six tribes, sat the chieftains of the six tribes; even the elders were not allowed to sit. However, besides these six, a beautiful young woman sat alone. The

beautiful girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a delicate and lively face. Her clear, bright eyes were deep and unfathomable; when she looked at someone, it felt like drinking fine wine. Her exquisite, small cherry lips and smooth, rosy cheeks further enhanced her captivating charm.

The girl's skin, tanned to a bronze color by the abundant sunshine of the grassland, had long legs and a slender waist. She exuded a vibrant youth and healthy aura, often making those who saw her fantasize about how blissful it would be to have such a girl beneath them!

Those who were captivated by the girl's stunning beauty also remembered that Princess Bilan was not only the daughter of the chieftain of the Liji tribe, but also the disciple of Gebuluhan, the national advisor of the Huayun Kingdom. The national advisor was renowned for his protectiveness of his own, and his extraordinary martial arts skills and wisdom were admired by everyone on the grassland.

Chief Mamda of the Chachin tribe was speaking loudly: "Brothers, our chance to dominate the desert has arrived! What are you waiting for? Quickly go back and gather your fierce tribesmen to kill those defeated generals and seize their wealth! Once we kill their army of 200,000, the women and people of the Guligan and Geluo tribes will be ours!"

Chief Azhezhan of the Ciyi tribe agreed: "These two venomous snakes have oppressed us for years. Now we finally have our chance. If we miss this opportunity, we will be sinners against the people of southern desert! Everyone, let's send out our troops!"

As the chief of the Dangxiang tribe, the largest tribe in southern desert, Kejiyun was much more cautious: "Even with their losses, they still have 150,000 men. The wounded can be useful in an emergency, so that makes 170,000 to 180,000..." "The cavalry isn't usually a problem, but now our five tribes have suffered heavy losses. Even if we muster all our strength, we only have 200,000. Can we win?"

The chieftain of the Baotu tribe, Shuliang, nodded and said, "Yes, all six of our tribes combined only have 200,000. What will we do if we fail? Perhaps we should observe first before making any plans."

The chieftain of the Taiwu tribe, Yata, a man of fiery temper, immediately shouted angrily, "Observe? Do you know that millions of cattle and sheep, a million bolts of fine silk, and hundreds of millions of gold coins—if these things fall into the hands of these two tribes, how many grassland warriors will they gather? All those wandering small tribes will rush to join them. After winter, when spring arrives next year, who will be their first target? Can't you see it clearly?"

All five tribal chiefs had stated their positions, making it three to two: three in favor and two against. Only the last chief, Doruban of the Liji tribe, remained silent.

Doruban was a plump man with a kind face, clearly a gentle old man, which explained why his tribe had previously only numbered a mere 150,000. Seeing

everyone looking at him, Doruban laughed and smoothed things over: "I think everyone's opinions are well-considered and reasonable. It seems like fighting or not fighting is fine... As for the specifics, I guess everyone would like to hear my daughter's opinion, wouldn't you?"

Everyone thought: 'Nonsense, who would want to hear your talk about chess and tea instead of the beautiful and wise Princess Bilan?' Princess Bilan had been listening to them the whole time, her face expressionless, her gentle smile giving off a calm and collected feeling. It was precisely this understanding of everything that made her so admirable.

Since it was her father speaking, Princess Bilan nodded and smiled, "Dear uncles and elders, since you think highly of Bilan, then Bilan will speak frankly. We must fight this great battle with the northern tribes, we absolutely must fight it. If we miss this opportunity, many of us in the southern desert will be humiliated by the old, treacherous dogs and never be able to rise again!"

She paused, then added, "However, how exactly we should fight, and how we can win, these are all things we must carefully consider. We absolutely cannot exhaust all our strength just to eliminate two evil wolves and let others benefit."

The girl's words were impartial and, in fact, the same as what her father had said. However, the five tribal chiefs felt that Princess Bilan's words were very pleasing to the ear.

"Alright, Bilan, just say it. Uncle Kejiyun believes in you. It's time for our six tribes to unite again!" The chief of the Dangxiang tribe was the first to stand up and agree with Princess Bilan, which really surprised everyone, because he had been the most mature and steady person just now, but now he had gone to the other extreme.

Unbeknownst to them, Kejiyun had nearly been surrounded and devoured by Chen Fuyue in the last war due to his overconfidence. Although the five tribes helped him escape, the lesson was too profound. From then on, Kejiyun warned himself never to act impulsively or look down on heroes, which was why he had been so cautious earlier.

However, when Princess Bilan appeared, Kejiyun, deeply impressed by her wisdom, immediately realized that this incredibly intelligent girl must have a complete plan before daring to mobilize everyone. Thinking of the many benefits he could gain, Kejiyun felt he had to express his stance immediately.

Even Yata, with his fiery temper, laughed heartily: "Yes, niece, just tell us what you want to do, and we will cooperate fully. The warriors of the Taiwu tribe admire you greatly; as long as you give the order, they will not let you down!" The other three immediately expressed the same sentiment, agreeing to follow Princess Bilan's plan.

Princess Bilan's prestige wasn't solely established during the previous decisive victory over Chen Fuyue.

After defeating Chen Fuyue, she ordered the six tribes to leave Xiliang City immediately, sending only a small contingent of cavalry to monitor and intimidate the area. The rest were to quickly move south, eliminate any reinforcements arriving from various regions, and then plunder the area between Huaiyuan City and Xiliang City.

However, the tribes ignored her orders. Fueled by their deep attachment to Xiliang City, the allied forces of the six tribes chose to attack the fortified city, intending to loot its mountains of grain, jewels, and wealth, and to take the hundreds of thousands of women and children back to the grasslands. Their ultimate goal was to plunder until Xiliang City was completely destroyed, ensuring it would never again become a thorn in their side as they grazed their herds in the northwest.

However, this approach resulted in repeated defeats, each time they were on the verge of conquering Xiliang City, only to be thwarted by the city's defenders. In the end, no fewer than 100,000 warriors from the six tribes fell beneath the walls of Xiliang City, even more than their losses during the siege of the "Silver Tiger Legion." When they finally sent a carrier pigeon to Princess Bilan, who had returned to the Liji tribe's territory, she ordered them to resolutely avoid a direct confrontation with the Xiliang City defenders. Instead, they were to surround the city and loot its surroundings, which is how they managed to plunder so much wealth

. Back in their tribes, they realized that if they had followed Princess Bilan's plan from the beginning after defeating the "Silver Tiger Legion," they wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses and could have penetrated deep into the northwest, obtaining twice as much as they had!

This painful lesson, where a single wrong decision resulted in the loss of 100,000 more warriors, solidified their resolve to support Princess Bilan's decision.

Princess Bilan knew these people all too well. A thought flashed through her mind, and her expression turned solemn: "My uncles and elders, please don't think that just because I devised this plan, we'll definitely win. In fact, we've been forced into a corner. A single misstep could lead to utter destruction. We must be extremely careful."

The group was startled. Azhe asked, "What? Besides that 200,000-strong army, what other danger are we in?"

Princess Bilan was about to speak when hurried footsteps sounded outside. A maid standing at the door lifted the tent flap, took a carrier pigeon from the visitor, removed the scroll of paper, and presented it to Princess Bilan.

The beautiful princess glanced at the contents, a smile—whether of joy or anger—appeared on her lips, but she said nothing, simply handing the scroll containing the intelligence to the six clan leaders.

"Hahaha, great! Another 20,000 troops have been wiped out by Xiliang City! That leaves them with only 130,000 unharmed men. Our chances of victory are even greater this time!" Yata was the first to laugh, and the other five tribal chiefs were also extremely excited. Wasn't this heaven's will for us to annex the Northern Desert?

"Do you really think so?" Princess Bilan asked rhetorically.

Everyone looked at her calm expression, and their smiles faded. Shu Liang said, "Bilan, do you feel something is wrong? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Happy? Why should I be happy?" Princess Bilan lightly slapped her forehead. "Oh, right, I'm really happy. Xiliang City is truly our good friend. They were worried we wouldn't be able to take down these 200,000 men, so they helped us reduce the enemy's strength. With 20,000 fewer men, we can fight each other to the death even more fiercely."

This joke wasn't funny at all.

All six clan leaders were outstanding individuals, and after a little thought, they figured it out. Mamda slapped his thigh and said, "So they wanted to sit back and watch the tigers fight!"

"If we both suffer heavy losses... wouldn't those cowards from Liufeng Kingdom be the ones who benefit in the end?" Yata, who had always maintained a tough stance, couldn't help but ask hesitantly, "Bilan, how about we negotiate with both clans and let them leave if they leave half of their wealth?"

His suggestion almost made Princess Bilan laugh and cry at the same time. She glanced around and found that everyone seemed to agree.

"Elders, if you share Uncle Yata's thoughts, then you'd better wait for others to annex our tribe!" Princess Bilan said resolutely. "The two major tribes of the Northern Desert have never taken us seriously. Under normal circumstances, their 150,000 men are enough to defeat our 200,000. In this situation, if you go to them to ask for things, isn't that like snatching food from a tiger's mouth? It would probably lead to a fight right then and there! And in a head-on battle, do we have any hope of winning?"

Princess Bilan spoke very directly, and the faces of the six tribal chiefs turned red, but the nature of the grassland people was still more straightforward, and in the blink of an eye they returned to normal.

Doluban coughed lightly: "Bilan, stop being so mysterious. Tell us in detail what to do and how to proceed. Father knows you have a way to deal with it. Don't just scare us; we can't take being scared."

The girl thought to herself, "Don't think that just because my father doesn't usually handle things, he's being very tactful. He's really smoothed things over at this moment, and it's given me a chance to change the subject."

"Father!" Princess Bilan stamped her foot, feigning helplessness. "I'm telling you, I'm afraid you'll underestimate the enemy again, like you did in Xiliang City last time, and suffer heavy losses!"

Several clan elders blushed, thinking that this girl was being unfair, always bringing up the past.

Princess Bilan's delicate face quickly turned serious: "Uncles and elders, now I will share my views. If you have any questions, you can ask me at any time."

She was determined not to go home in a huff like last time, causing everyone heavy losses. This time, she had to persuade them; only through cooperation could they achieve victory.

"Alright, speak quickly!" The six clan elders quickly sat up straight, their eyes fixed on her, their expressions resembling those of children in a school.

[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 5: What's in the Bag

Fifty million gold coins were easy to raise, but the remaining four hundred thousand sheep, two hundred thousand cattle, and five hundred thousand bolts of silk were more difficult.

I held a few gold notes in my hand, slipped into my pocket by my wife Yunfu before I came to the Northwest. It was roughly a hundred million gold coins

. I wondered if Emperor Kangzong would be furious if he knew his daughter was favoring outsiders? Four hundred thousand sheep, two hundred thousand cattle, and five hundred thousand bolts of silk—in the past, these would have only cost ten million gold coins to acquire in

the Northwest. But at current prices, with the area around Xiliang City and Huaiyuan City completely ransacked, the people's livelihood severely impacted, and a large number of soldiers gathered in Xiliang City, requiring even more supplies. Aside from these, the Northwest couldn't really muster many resources. And transporting them from elsewhere would double the cost. Even as a court official, I couldn't force a sale.

Thinking of this unpleasant thought, I, the young master, indulged in a kind of self-deception: You old emperor, you won't give me money, huh? This time I've used up my hundred million gold coins; next time I'll just have my dear Yunfu take more from your imperial treasury!

I still entrusted Wang Guowei to send people to collect cattle, sheep, silk, and cloth from the surrounding counties. His influence extends beyond the three northwestern provinces, and the Wang family is not only a martial arts family but also a commercial family; merchants from other places would give him face.

To save time, Wang Guowei specifically instructed the Wang family's out-of-town stewards via carrier pigeon to have the merchants bring their own cattle, sheep, silk, and cloth. The earlier they arrived, the higher the price, and there was no limit to the quantity—they would take as much as they wanted.

For the merchants, the allure of money surpassed everything else in the world. For example, a cow could only be sold for two gold coins in their county, but if they were fast enough, they could get up to ten gold coins in Huaiyuan City—what a huge temptation!

So, that very night, the road to the northwest was crowded with carts of all sizes and herds of cattle and sheep, either loaded onto carts or driven forward, densely packed and stretching as far as the eye could see.

Silk and cloth were a little easier to transport, as they were convenient to transport and small in size; the fastest ones arrived by horseback the following afternoon. Cattle and sheep, however, were much slower, and the first batch arrived by horse-drawn carts on the third night.

Upon hearing the news of our high-priced purchase of cattle and sheep, the people of the three northwestern prefectures were immediately dissatisfied. Local magistrates and prefectural officials, entrusted by the gentry and the people, approached the stewards of the Wang families in their respective regions, asking why they didn't favor their own people when there was a good opportunity.

Wang Guowei, upon hearing the report, couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking, "I am trying to help you, but don't exhaust your resources. What will you do after selling those useful cattle and sheep? You can't sell your means of livelihood just to make money, can you?" However, since the cattle and sheep from other places were indeed too slow, and these people had come to us of their own accord, there was no reason not to refuse them.

Therefore, after discussing it with me, Wang Guowei also issued a purchase order to the Northwest, with prices three times the market price. The people of the Northwest responded enthusiastically.

With the addition of cattle and sheep from the Northwest, it took a full five days of work, two days longer than scheduled, to finally gather the required quantity.

The exchange proceeded very smoothly.

The leaders of both tribes made no mention of the 200,000-strong army that Xiliang City had mobilized a few days ago to besiege 20,000 cavalry. This left Gan Kunzhong, the prefect of Xishuo County in charge of the handover, deeply impressed.

When the prefect first heard about it, he turned pale with fright because I had specifically named him to handle the handover. Gan Kunzhong assumed I disliked him and wanted to replace him.

However, an imperial envoy, especially one with immense power, was not someone Gan Kunzhong could easily challenge. Therefore, he came over trembling with fear, racking his brains to save his own life, only to find nothing amiss, leaving him with nothing but worry.

I haven't been idle these past few days either, sending Little Turtle and Little Bird to lead the Wang family cavalry, constantly changing their clothes and horses, to wander around the northern desert cavalry camp.

Because we paid close attention to the details of changing identities, the northern cavalry perceived at least 50,000 royal cavalrymen as menacing figures lurking around. Having suffered enough at the hands of the royal elite cavalry, they were wary and didn't consider engaging in battle.

The leaders of the Geluo and Guligan tribes this time were Heshu and Youliangha, who had previously come to the hill for negotiations, with Heshu as the leader and Youliangha as the deputy; otherwise, they wouldn't have the authority to make decisions.

To Heshu's delight, after five days of rest, 30,000 of their 50,000 wounded soldiers with minor injuries had returned to their ranks; 10,000 with slightly more serious injuries were now able to ride horses and manage cattle, sheep, and transport cloth and silk without any problems; and only less than 10,000 remained unable to move.

This was equivalent to adding 30,000 fighting men and the necessary escort and transport personnel, significantly restoring their strength. Heshu wasn't too afraid of our sudden attack; he believed we wouldn't risk losing all our resources.

Busy receiving valuables and livestock, the Northern cavalry were practically clueless about intelligence gathering, especially regarding the route from Xiliang City to the grasslands.

Hundreds of carrier pigeons flew back and forth across the vast grasslands as the Southern cavalry, now dressed in Northwest attire, tirelessly shuttled between the two regions, gathering intelligence on the Northern cavalry and monitoring the movements of Xiliang City.

The elite armies of the six Southern tribes began their operations according to Princess Bilan's orders. Simultaneously, they also monitored the movements of the remaining Northern troops. Under the clever young woman's command, a massive trap was being set for the Northern cavalry.

In terms of cavalry strength, the Northern cavalry were far more ferocious than their Southern counterparts. A thousand Northern cavalrymen could easily kill two thousand Southern cavalrymen in a direct confrontation. With at least 150,000 remaining, their fighting power far surpassed that of the Southern tribes. A mishap could plunge many Southern tribes into dire straits.

Princess Bilan had a clever plan. She sent me a message saying she hoped I could lead the royal elite to launch a surprise attack on the Northern Desert cavalry from the rear when the great war began. She promised to split the spoils equally and give us an additional 100,000 horses.

Faced with this incredibly tempting offer, I refused without hesitation. This vixen was so powerful; I didn't want to risk being devoured along with us. I'd seen many examples of those who tried to steal a chicken but lost their rice instead.

In fact, Princess Bilan thought exactly that. The best scenario was for us to attack first, then let the Northern Desert cavalry wipe us out, and then the Southern Desert allied forces could launch a surprise attack—that would surely be twice as effective.

Undeterred by my refusal, Princess Bilan kept raising her demands, eventually offering two-for-eight, but I still didn't agree.

Finally, the young woman lost her temper and threatened that if I didn't agree to send reinforcements, she wouldn't send any troops either, and she'd see how the Northwest fared next year.

I replied that before the Northwest falls, the tribes of the Southern Desert will surely perish first. A place will be reserved for her in the young master's room, provided she can escape.

One can imagine that upon seeing this reply, Princess Bilan would want to tie me up and beat me, but she understood my stance: I would only provide information and absolutely not participate. After all, the greatest threat to the two northern tribes wasn't our Xiliang City, but rather the numerous tribes of the Southern Desert.

Based on this alone, no matter how cunning Princess Bilan was, she couldn't force us to do anything.

After the handover, the northern cavalry lingered for an extra day before slowly retreating into the desert.

Twenty thousand cavalry led the way, followed by ten thousand escorting cattle, sheep, and silk fabrics, with ten thousand cavalry guarding each side, and the main force of one hundred and fifty thousand following behind.

Until they left Huaiyuan City's territory, the city's army didn't emerge; only I led over ten thousand elite royal troops in pursuit, maintaining a distance of twenty li, ensuring they neither worried nor relaxed too much.

From Huaiyuan City to Xiliang City, the Northern Desert cavalry traveled for a full day, leisurely and without a care in the world.

Of course, their scouts were still very diligent, covering all sides, with a reconnaissance range exceeding fifty li. At least five thousand men rotated their ranks, all to ensure they wouldn't be ambushed again.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Xiliang City, the Northern Desert cavalry ignored the soldiers standing on the city walls. Their relaxed demeanor infuriated those outside, who wished they could immediately rush out of the city and kill these bastards.

He Shu observed our reactions along the way. When he noticed that the Liufeng soldiers he could see were glaring angrily at our group, he finally felt much more at ease. He would only feel uneasy if these people had calmly seen them off.

Riding on his steed, He Shu gazed at the endless expanse of cattle and sheep, thinking of the gold coins hidden in the carriage behind him. Even with his usual composure, he felt a little lightheaded at this moment.

So much stuff—even if they robbed them, they could only get this much, right?

Fortunately, he was quick-witted and knew to use hostages to force the young duke to submit.

It seemed unbelievable, but the news from Liufeng Kingdom's envoys indicated that this young duke, hot-blooded and arrogant, had offended several of their princes, which was why he had been exiled here.

He had only dared to do this because he knew the duke was new to the Northwest and didn't want him to cause trouble and be impeached by the Liufeng Kingdom's court; the power struggles in the court were far more important than this money.

Valuable intelligence, if used properly, could be a great asset! It seemed he needed to go back and discuss with the clan chief about strengthening intelligence gathering on Liufeng Kingdom.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter..." The sound of galloping horses came rapidly, and a group of knights approached quickly. It turned out that the leader was Youliangha. Although he had lost an arm, his strong physique meant he could ride again in just a few days, much to the dismay of Heshu, who had always disliked him.

"Hey, Boss Heshu, the men checked, and that kid Ren Lanting didn't lead his team to follow us. They're at least fifty li away from us, and they're heading into Xiliang City. Looks like they won't be chasing us anymore," Youliangha said loudly. "How about that? I told you he wouldn't dare fight us to the death, right?"

"It's better to be careful. We can't let our guard down," Heshu said with a smile. "By the way, we're only two hundred li away from the Baotu tribe's territory in Mobei, right? General Youliangha, I'll have to trouble you to have the brothers keep a close eye on things. We're carrying too much stuff; it's hard to guarantee those savages won't have malicious intentions."

"Hmph, Boss Heshu, you're being too cautious. What are those savages in Mo Nan? If it weren't for the fact that we all belong to the same race, we would have wiped them out long ago," Youliangha said dismissively. "Besides, last time they attacked Xiliang City and were driven back, suffering heavy losses. Even if they all unite, they'd only have a maximum of 200,000 troops. I can wipe them all out with 50,000 men. I think they know that."

Heshu nodded. In fact, he thought so too. Even the most powerful Dangxiang tribe in Mo Nan was defeated by a 10,000-strong unit of his Guligan tribe five years ago, losing 50,000 men and fleeing in terror. Now he had 150,000 men under his command. They were probably terrified and cowering with their tails between their legs, right?

Thinking of this, Heshu's heart skipped a beat: Should he wipe them out as well? Anyway, I brought so many people this time, and I heard they profited quite a bit from their raid on the Northwest last time…

After pondering for a long time, He Shu finally decided to give up. Firstly, he had already brought back very rich spoils; secondly, the warriors were too tired and needed to rest; thirdly, the Geluo tribe was closer to the southern desert, and if they were to take it now, wouldn't they benefit greatly? Although the two tribes intermarried a lot and were as close as family, it's never as good as being good to oneself!

September 16th, a dark and windy night.

Five days had passed since the Northern Desert cavalry entered the desert.

The cattle and sheep were in paradise on the grasslands, grazing and slowly walking across the vast plains, enjoying the comfort of nature. They moved very slowly, so they had only traveled less than a thousand li so far.

In the main hall of the city's governor's mansion in Xiliang City, a huge map of the western desert grasslands, a full five meters long and wide, was displayed before us.

The major powers of the desert are marked on the map, and the small red flag planted on it represents the current location of the Northern Desert cavalry.

They have now passed through the core area of the southern desert tribes and are about 900 li away from their northern border. If the cavalry travels at full speed, they can return home in a day and a night.

It is this sense of ease at the approach of home that has gradually lowered the Northern Desert cavalry's vigilance to its lowest point.

I discussed with Wang Guowei and the others that if Princess Bilan wants to ambush the Northern Desert cavalry, it must be tonight. Otherwise, a daytime attack is not possible. By tomorrow night, they will only be 500 or 600 li away from the northern desert, and they might send people to meet them.

In order to accurately know the beginning and end of this battle, I sent out all the city guards familiar with the grasslands. The remaining 1,800 or so men were divided into numerous small teams and followed the Northern Desert cavalry into the grasslands.

Each team carried ten carrier pigeons, which would continuously transmit information once the battle began.

Outside, Wang Miao'er and her men were responsible for receiving the carrier pigeons, but the little turtle and the little bird seemed a bit nervous, frequently checking the door, unlike the composed Wang Guowei and I.

As for the Jinggong sisters, they only cared about me and nothing else. Since they had nothing to do, they sat on chairs, sewing gloves and a belt for me while chatting and laughing in Japanese.

Even Wang Guowei, who wasn't obsessed with women, couldn't help but secretly give me a thumbs up: "Your Highness, your concubines are really good!"

I was overjoyed: "Indeed, they are the most outstanding young women of the Japanese tribe. To have them is the greatest blessing of my life!"

Hearing this, the Jinggong sisters raised their heads and gave me sweet smiles.

My heart warmed, and I thought that since there hadn't been any news for so long, should I take my two good wives into the room and do what a husband and wife should do, to please both body and mind?

"Coming!"

Just as this thought crossed my mind, Wang Miao'er's delighted voice came from outside.

Before I could finish speaking, the girl stepped in, holding a slip of paper in her hand. When she placed the paper on the table, I was taken aback. There were no words on the paper, but a large drawing: a circle with arrows drawn to the left and right, pointing in the direction of the circle.

"What does this mean?" I asked.

"It seems to indicate that the Southern Desert Allied Forces and we used the same tactic, launching a simultaneous two-pronged attack," Wang Miao'er explained.

"No, I'm asking why it's in the form of a drawing?"

"It seems... it seems like none of these people can read..." Little Bird leaned closer, "Very few of those martial arts practitioners have ever been to school."

"I thought I was pretty uneducated, but I didn't expect them to be even more capable than me. I guess I should be proud," I said, half-laughing and half-crying. "Alright, tonight we'll play a guessing game."

Wang Miao'er smiled. This Lanting Gong came from a small county town, so he was probably a spoiled brat, but he didn't seem so bad. At least he knew a little about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting...

If the second young lady of the Wang family knew that I learned these things just to pick up girls, she would probably call me a "pervert" on the spot.

Soon, the second drawing came back. The two forces encountered severe resistance. Before they even reached the center of the camp, the arrow symbols stopped.

"Damn it, these bastards can't be that weak, can they? What if they counterattack and wipe us out?" Little Bird said anxiously.

"Calm down, calm down!" I patted the steward on the shoulder. "Princess Bilan could even outmaneuver Chen Fuyue, let alone these guys she knows so well!"

Despite my encouragement, they were clearly not entirely at ease. The Northern Desert cavalry was always stronger than the Southern Desert cavalry, and He Shu was a master strategist. After being ambushed by us last time, he would definitely be extra careful, and the chances of him falling for it a second time were slim.

The third image continued to show a pessimistic outlook. The two arrows weren't moving inwards, but rather retreating, while two troops chased after them from the camp, clearly intending to capture and kill them.

Half an hour later, the fourth image appeared. Besides the four armies chasing outside, an enormous arrow, starting from the direction the Northern Desert cavalry had advanced, charged into their camp. The person who drew the image also used a demonic face next to the arrow, pointing directly at the very center of the Northern Desert cavalry.

"This demon represents the ferocity of those who charged in. The Northern Desert cavalry couldn't hold them off and were routed," Little Turtle commented from the side.

"That little girl, Bilan, is truly ruthless!" I shook my head. "She actually sacrificed two units to lull the enemy into a false sense of security, then played her last trump card to achieve a desperate escape. It's like having a bunch of bad cards, but when you put together the last card, it's like the Supreme Treasure, a guaranteed win!"

"To be able to explain military strategy in the way of gambling, Your Highness's knowledge is indeed profound," Wang Miao'er said, her words unclear whether she was praising me or mocking me.

I didn't dwell on it. These days, I've found the girl increasingly pleasing to the eye. Putting aside everything else, just based on her single-minded dedication to the Northwest, even fighting to the death, I shouldn't be angry because of her bad temper... Liu Ri is known for his magnanimity and tolerance!

Half an hour later, the fifth picture arrived. The large circle on it had been cut into pieces, and several arrows representing the Northern Desert cavalry were running in all directions, but they were surrounded by constantly appearing arrows, engaged in a life-or-death struggle.

"The situation is settled!" Wang Guowei laughed heartily, his expression completely relaxed. At this moment, he was in the mood to joke, "These little brats are so ignorant, they can't even read. When they come back, Miao'er, you go find a few dozen old scholars and make sure they learn what classical Chinese is."

"Yes!" Wang Miao'er replied subconsciously, but when she thought of these guys who only knew how to brandish swords and spears, and how they looked when they were practicing writing with their brushes with worried expressions, the girl giggled.

"Hahaha..." Accompanying the crisp laughter was our hearty laughter, which swept away the heaviness of the city garrison for the past few days. Even the maids passing by couldn't help but smile slightly...

Three days later, an urgent letter was sent by falcon to a snow-capped mountain in the northeast of the Great Plains.

Despite the constant snow and wind on the mountainside, several small thatched huts still stood there, unchanged for decades. A page took an iron tube from the feet of a falcon, and a document written on silk was quickly brought into the hut.

Inside, there was a chessboard. To the left sat a handsome middle-aged man with a full head of white hair, his face gentle and showing no sign of anger. Opposite him sat a young man in his thirties, handsome and refined, yet not at all frivolous. He held a chess piece, deep in thought.

The middle-aged man picked up the document, glanced at it, smiled faintly, and then handed it back to the young man.

This action disturbed the young man's thoughts. He immediately put down the chess piece, took the document with both hands, and showed his respect for the middle-aged man.

After watching for a moment, the young man smiled: "Teacher, Junior Sister did a good job. She annihilated a combined army of 200,000 from the Guligan and Geluo tribes, capturing 50,000 and seizing countless cattle, sheep, cloth, silk, and gold coins. Her own casualties were only a mere 100,000. With this battle over, it's time for her Liji tribe to enter a period of rapid development."

The middle-aged man nodded: "Don't rush to praise her. You, the God of War, should evaluate her. What mistakes did she make?"

The young man hesitated slightly before speaking: "Junior Sister chose a bit too early. If she had chosen to attack when they had one foot in the northern steppe, it would have been much easier to succeed, because that's when the armies of the two northern tribes are most relaxed and least vigilant."

"Is that all?"

"Hehe, Teacher, you've forced Junior Sister to scold me!"

"Don't mind her. So ruthless at such a young age. If we don't teach her a lesson, she'll think she can become a God of War like you."

"If I had to say something more, it would be that she shouldn't have let the cattle and sheep go just because she wanted to keep them for herself. If it were me, I would have first selected a group of nimble men to infiltrate the livestock pens of the Northern Desert army and used the fire ox formation to break through the enemy's lines. That way, she would have lost at least 50,000 fewer men... She hasn't understood that victory only has meaning if one maximizes their own survival. And with well-trained soldiers, those cattle and sheep can always be obtained again."

"Hmm, write this down and tell her to reflect on it. Be a little harsh with her. She still needs to work on her character!"

"Yes, teacher, I understand."

[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 6: Apparent Criticism, Hidden Praise

It wasn't until the ambush ended and I received the battle report that I truly felt at ease.

Of the 200,000 people from the Guligan and Geluo tribes, only less than 2,000 survivors managed to escape, including Heshu and Youliangha.

The allied forces of the six tribes in southern Mongolia suffered 80,000 dead and 20,000 wounded, but captured 50,000 northern cavalry. While much of the ransom we offered was lost in the fighting, 90% of the goods still ended up in their hands.

I immediately had Wang Miao'er send this news by carrier pigeon to the Chahar tribe, letting them know how much of a windfall their neighboring tribes had made.

Aside from the fact that we didn't have enough troops to ultimately intervene and wipe out the southern Mongolian allied forces, the overall result was quite satisfactory.

The six-tribe allied forces not only have to contend with the frenzied counterattacks of the two northern tribes, but also the wolves of eastern Mongolia. How much of their gains they can hold onto is a question.

Next year! As long as we wait until next summer, I will be able to train at least 200,000 elite troops to crush those bastards in southern Mongolia. For now, let them fight amongst themselves!

That evening, I hosted a grand banquet at the city garrison, with Xiaoyu, a skilled cook, personally preparing the feast. I treated the hardworking Wang family father and daughter, the three generals of the "Silver Tiger Legion," and Chi Changyun and others.

Little Turtle and Little Bird got most of the people drunk and went home, but I, of course, wasn't among them. Back home, I had a wonderful time with the beauties in the bathhouse.

The next morning, Xiliang City returned to normal, and the 400,000-strong reserve army was once again sent out for further training.

Now, the army is completely in awe of me. Even the old man sweeping the streets knows of my great achievements, let alone my subordinates. While they are proud, they also know that anyone would be lucky to have such a powerful general!

I have already announced that in half a month, the "Silver Tiger Legion" will begin its first recruitment of 50,000 new soldiers, selecting the most outstanding talents.

For a time, the crowd was in a frenzy, like wolves dancing wildly, with desperate extra training being commonplace. Each guy seemed to want to beat everyone else to death so he could be the only one left to join.

Who wouldn't want to join the "Silver Tiger Legion"? Not only was it a tremendous honor, but the benefits were a hundred times better than those of the reserve legion.

Although the danger was higher, look at the orphans and widows in the city; His Highness took meticulous care of them. After all, being a soldier meant risking your life. As long as you provided a stable life for your wife and children, ensuring they would never have to worry about food, schooling, marriage, or having children, what else was there to worry about?

Furthermore, what excited everyone most was that, according to reliable sources in the city garrison, those who joined the "Silver Tiger Legion" would have a chance to marry one of the city's beautiful widows, and from then on, they would have a wife, children, and a warm home—how wonderful!

Of course, they didn't know that those two sources had been forced into hiding by Miss Wang Miao'er, afraid to return home for days because they had spread false information.

Wang Guowei, leading over ten thousand cavalry, left Xiliang City with a mixture of joy and sorrow.

While I was writing memorials to the court, I praised Wang Guowei to the skies, portraying the Wang family members as

fearless warriors who charged into battle without hesitation… The Wang family had gathered over 50,000 chivalrous heroes, all of whom perished

, leaving only widows and children, with no one even to fetch water… In the end, even Wang Guowei was embarrassed and asked if I should make it a little more realistic.

I refused.

The court had given me, their young master, a great embarrassment, so I was determined to push the Wang family, whom they disliked, out of the picture. News of the Wang family's valiant defense of the Northwest had already spread throughout the Northwest, reaching the capital and every corner of Liufeng Kingdom. I wanted to see how they would treat the Wang family and the Northwest then.

Of the 100,000 fine horses, I gave the Wang family 50,000, which surprised and worried Wang Guowei. Ultimately, at my insistence, he accepted the warhorses they were already desperately short of.

Although I can't replenish the Wang family's manpower, I still know how to do favors in these small ways. It's just a few tens of thousands of horses; can they compare to the Wang family's support, even at the cost of their lives?

Liu Ri is known for his countless virtues, and not forgetting one's roots has always been one of my strengths.

After paying fifty million gold coins and spending over ten million on supplies, I don't plan to keep the remaining forty million. If I'm going to use it, I'll use it happily.

Every military family in Xiliang City received ten gold coins, and families of soldiers who died or were wounded in the last battle received condolence money ranging from fifty to one hundred. This immediately cheered up the women who had been feeling resentful, and their attitude towards me clearly shifted to support.

Wang Miao'er also opened a hundred more private schools in the city. All soldiers' children can attend for free, with two meals included. This act, costing less than one hundred thousand gold coins a month, has made those women talk about Wang Miao'er every day, even more earnestly than when they praise me.

Besides, merchants continuously drove livestock and sheep into the Northwest from outside. Even though prices had fallen, the 50% higher price compared to outside still attracted them.

I placed them all around Xiliang City and asked the widows in the city to help take care of them. They only needed to work for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, and I paid them one gold coin a month. This attracted thousands of women from the city to come out and work, chatting and laughing as they went—almost all of them still had elderly people at home, so they were also suitable for taking care of children.

Women get bored when they have nothing to do, so keeping them busy will keep them from being so sad and gossipy.

Every morning and afternoon, when the widows were herding livestock a few miles from the military camp, it was time for the soldiers to try to show off their strength. However, most of them were just young lads, and they couldn't intimidate the married widows with children.

Instead, they became the target of teasing and gossip every time.

The effect of yin and yang harmonization was beyond imagination. After this harmonization, the widows' resentment lessened considerably, and the soldiers' training enthusiasm increased... It seems the rumors spread by the two stewards are worth considering!

Speaking of the two stewards, during the days when they were being chased by Wang Miao'er, they both sought solace in women's homes.

Taking advantage of the thunder and lightning that night, Little Bird, holding the panicked Wang Taoqing, naturally consummated their relationship.

Little Turtle didn't suffer any loss either. When he hid in a house, he happened to meet a young widow. This beautiful young widow was not as beautiful as the young woman Gu Qiu, but she was gentle in appearance and personality. Knowing the stewards' identities and needing a strong arm to protect them, she easily fell in love with Little Turtle. However, Little Turtle did not keep his promise and took the beautiful young woman to bed on the first day. Instead, he was more patient than Little Bird, and every time he came back, he talked about it with great relish, making me avoid him whenever I saw him.

The two stewards had made considerable progress, and they then casually inquired about my relationship with Lin Cuier, the most beautiful of the four widows.

Whenever this question arose, I always dodged the question, leading them to privately suspect that this lecherous young master had already impregnated the beautiful widow, hence his reluctance to speak.

The reality was the opposite of their expectations; my progress with Lin Cuier was minimal. So far, I'd only help her with chores, occasionally sharing dinner with her. She wasn't very talkative; if I spoke to her, out of ten sentences, she'd only return two. However, after so much practice, my eloquence had improved considerably.

The imperial decree arrived quickly, and all officials in Xiliang City respectfully received the imperial edict.

Emperor Kangzong severely reprimanded me in his decree, criticizing me for lacking the demeanor of a high-ranking official. He claimed that I had spent countless sums of money and resources to force the northern cavalry to retreat. However, considering my loyalty and the swift stabilization of the situation in the northwest, and my relatively diligent work, I was only stripped of my power as the military and political governor of the three northwestern prefectures, while retaining my positions as Imperial Envoy, the city garrison commander of Xiliang City, and the commander of the "Silver Tiger Legion," to atone for my crimes.

At the same time, the various prefectures and counties in the northwest provided strong support to Lord Lanting, which pleased the Emperor greatly. He bestowed upon him a generous reward, and even

promoted his wife's title by one rank. The royal family of the northwest, loyal to their country and sacrificing their own wealth to relieve the nation's distress, was granted the title of "Righteous Man of the World" inscribed by the Emperor himself. Wang Guowei was also granted the title of Second-Class Earl of Valor. The entire royal family received rewards, and those who sacrificed their lives because of the royal family's mobilization were also to be richly rewarded. Lord Lanting was instructed to oversee all matters and ensure that the brave men were not disheartened and their families were not allowed to suffer.

The eunuch who came this time was very perceptive. After the imperial envoy finished speaking, before I could get angry, he immediately took out another secret edict from his sleeve and handed it to me when no one was looking.

I had already guessed that Emperor Kangzong's edict had a deep meaning; otherwise, if they were guilty, all the officials of the three northwestern prefectures should have been scolded along with me. Why was it that only I was scolded, while they were praised?

It's highly likely that Emperor Kangzong was under considerable pressure from others, and could only criticize me, a high-ranking official he couldn't directly use for punishment, while praising everyone else to express his appreciation for me.

That's exactly right. If it weren't for the Wang family and me fighting desperately, risking our lives in ambushes and sneak attacks, how could those 300,000 Northern Desert cavalry have possibly sat down to negotiate? The three northwestern prefectures would have been utterly devastated!

Without so much money and supplies, the remaining 200,000 Northern Desert cavalry wouldn't have retreated so early. Moreover, because of these coveted spoils, the Northern and Southern Deserts engaged in a life-or-death battle, greatly weakening their strength; at least for the next three to five years, there wouldn't be any large-scale wars.

Isn't all of this my achievement?

Yet, I, the greatest contributor, haven't received any reward. No wonder everyone remained kneeling, only daring to breathe a sigh of relief after I left the hall.

The only thing that comforted me was that the Wang family had finally received some recognition, though it was still disproportionate to their contributions. At least Kangzong had shown some goodwill this time… But why was it me again who had to reward them? Was the court so poor that it needed me to foot the bill?

Minister of Revenue… you just wait!

Sitting on a treetop, I glanced at the secret edict. The one written by Yunfu looked much more agreeable.

Yunfu had stated at the beginning that the officials and princes were extremely dissatisfied with my show of weakness and appeasement, demanding severe punishment, while ignoring my great contributions.

Furthermore, regarding the Wang family, few in the court liked them. Seeing that the Wang family had suffered 50,000 casualties and 20,000 wounded, with almost all the men wiped out, they were actually quite pleased. The Prince of Tang, the Prince of Zhennan, and even the Prince of Chu were considering how to take advantage of the Wang family's weakness to expand into the Northwest.

Kangzong was fully aware of his brothers' thoughts. He didn't say it aloud, but he was very pleased with my actions.

Not only did he protect the Northwest, but he also drove away the wolves, causing a fierce battle between the Southern and Northern Deserts. Both sides were severely weakened and became mortal enemies, significantly reducing the threat to the Northwest.

Furthermore, he tasked me with suppressing the Wang family, and surprisingly, I managed to persuade them to fight the Northern Desert cavalry. Even if 70,000 casualties is an exaggeration, through numerous investigations by secret agents of the Privy Council, the Northern Desert cavalry's 150,000 casualties are an absolute fact, and the Wang family's casualties were at least 50,000. In this way, the Wang family's entire military force was wiped out.

As for the Wang family's remaining martial arts forces, what is there to worry about? A few thousand or even tens of thousands of martial arts warriors cannot withstand the attack of 50,000 "Iron Wolf Legion" soldiers!

With the threat gone, and the concern about my brothers fighting for territory in the Northwest, Emperor Kangzong generously rewarded the Wang family and also had his daughter tell me to pay attention to supporting them. As long as they don't develop a large-scale army, let them do whatever they want! Reading this, I couldn't help but curse inwardly: "The Wang family is almost all dead. It will take them decades to develop again, won't it?" "What a petty person!" The punishment Kangzong imposed on me pleased several princes. I only controlled the area of Xiliang City, so I couldn't cause any trouble. Pushing Kangzong too far would only make things worse, so they agreed.

Secretly, Kangzong still gave me some benefits. Yunfu said that Kangzong himself had taken out 100 million gold coins and sent them to my father in Wushuang County as compensation. In addition, urgently needed military supplies for Xiliang City would be transported to the Northwest within a month, including armor, weapons, and defensive equipment—more than I had requested.

These things alone, of course, weren't enough to make me happy. Yunfu also shyly mentioned that Chen Fuyue had married Xiaohan against the King of Chu's wishes. He hadn't held a banquet at the King of Chu's residence but moved it to the military camp, inviting only close friends… However, the King of Chu's wife secretly attended.

King Chu desperately wanted his son to become the princess's consort so he could inherit the Liufeng Kingdom's legacy. However, his son gave up the opportunity first, enraging King Chu so much that he rode in to kill Xiao Han. But Emperor Kangzong, who had rushed to the scene, stopped him.

The Prince of Zhennan and the Prince of Tang also arrived at the camp, angrily accusing King Chu of breaking up the couple and being heartless. King Chu, oblivious to their intentions, grabbed a stick and charged, nearly starting a fight between the three brothers.

Finally, Emperor Kangzong calmed things down, forcing Chen Fuyue to take Xiao Han as a concubine. Chen Fuyue had no choice but to comply, much to King Chu

's relief. But this wasn't the end of it. The Prince of Tang and the Prince of Zhennan joined forces, arguing that Chen Fuyue's taking a concubine before the princess's wedding was disrespectful to the princess, the emperor and empress, and the royal family, and should be severely punished—they should be beheaded immediately after the wedding.

Knowing he was in the wrong, the King of Chu reluctantly abandoned the engagement between Chen Fuyue and Princess Yongyue, finally satisfying the two princes.

Emperor Kangzong calmly announced that Princess Yongyue was not yet married, and everyone, including Chen Fuyue, had a chance to become her consort. However, the decision rested with the princess herself, and all the princes and nobles who wanted to become her consorts would have to work harder.

Kangzong was truly a cunning old fox, throwing out the bait without extinguishing anyone's hopes, making the eyes of the three princes gleam.

When Yunfu brought this up, I immediately understood Kangzong's meaning. He had transformed the princess, previously engaged to Chen Fuyue, into a free woman, thus reducing the obstacles Yunfu and I would face in the future.

Only such good news could calm my anger. What did it matter if I sacrificed a little for my beloved princess? It was just a matter of officialdom anyway.

It's a different story among the common people. Look, my reputation for bravery and benevolence is already widespread throughout the Northwest. In the villages outside Huaiyuan City, the people I settled there erected longevity tablets for me when they returned home. In Xiliang City, almost every household not only erected longevity tablets but also built a shrine for me.

For this reason, I specially asked Little Turtle and Little Bird to inspect it. Building a shrine for longevity is a very serious matter. Don't worry about spending money. If you're going to do it, do it the best. If you don't have enough money, just ask the steward for more.

[Episode 11: The Plan to Repel the Northern Barbarians] Chapter 7: Bullying

Others with Power In the evening, I entertained the imperial envoys from the capital. I assigned the task to Little Turtle and Little Bird. Officials from Xiliang City and the "Silver Tiger Legion" accompanied them. I did not participate myself.

The imperial envoy and palace eunuchs dared not utter a word. They knew the domineering nature of this Lord Lanting, and they also knew who stood behind me. And given my current anger, it was best not to be present at the banquet; otherwise, who knew if they would be made scapegoats?

The two princesses of the He tribe, accustomed to their own courtyards, enjoyed a comfortable bath and rest. I changed into the uniform of the city garrison guard and slipped out.

Arriving at Lin Cuier's house, it was dinnertime, with lights illuminating every house. Seeing me, the beautiful young widow smiled gently: "You've come..."

Looking at this ordinary yet beautiful woman, I immediately slipped back into the role of Lanting, setting aside the court's intrigues. Even as a nobody, I had my own happiness.

"Hehe, I've been too busy these past few days to come over. Sister Cui'er, are we out of firewood in the kitchen again?"

I rolled up my sleeves, ready to get to work, but Lin Cui'er pulled me back. "No need, there's plenty more."

Looking in the direction she was pointing, there was a large pile of scattered firewood outside the makeshift kitchen shed. Judging from its size, it was clear that someone had done this on purpose.

"It was given to us by the young soldiers when the women from the neighborhood went to graze their livestock outside the city," Lin Cui'er said softly. "Lan Ting, do you think I should go grazing my livestock too?"

"What, are you bored?" I asked with a smile.

"Well, a little bit. Now they're all out working, and I'm bored with no one to talk to." Lin Cuier hesitated, letting me know that this reason wasn't enough, and there must be other reasons.

"It's good to get some exercise outside, but Cui'er, you have to be careful. Those soldiers probably want to devour you."

"Pah... Nonsense!" Lin Cui'er spat, her face darkening. "My family has come these past few days, and I don't want to see them."

"Oh? They're here to ask you for money again?"

"No, money isn't so bad. This time, the city lord gave a lot of gold coins to the families of fallen soldiers. I received 120 alone, more than I can use."

"If it's not for money, then what is it for?" I thought for a moment. "Could it be that they've found you another family to marry into?"

Lin Cui'er was silent for a moment, then finally said softly, "I don't want to marry again... but Master Guo wants to find a virtuous wife for his youngest son. They know I'm a widow, so they want me..."

"The Guo family?" I muttered to myself, then suddenly realized, "Guo Feng?"

"Shh... Don't be disrespectful to Master Guo. He's a favorite of the Imperial Envoy now!" Lin Cuier reached out, pretending to cover my mouth.

Guo Feng was the richest man in Xiliang City, who fled to Huaiyuan City out of fear of the fall of Xiliang City. He was also the descendant of a meritorious official of the court, possessing an iron certificate of merit, and could be considered the most prominent gentry in Xiliang City.

Originally, I confiscated all his land and property, causing him heavy losses. Who knew that this person, who should have hated me the most, was the first to respond to my call during the refugee shelter incident in Huaiyuan City, opening his doors to refugees and even setting up a porridge stall... Afterwards, to commend his merits and let people know the benefits of following me, I returned his and some other wealthy men in Xiliang City who had done the same good deed to their homes and lands, and allowed them to return to Xiliang City to continue their businesses in the grasslands and surrounding areas.

I specifically looked up his information. Guo Feng has three sons. The eldest and second sons help with the business, but the youngest son has intellectual disabilities and is already twenty years old. No one wants to marry him, and Guo Feng also feels that he can't just settle for anyone; he must find a woman who can take care of his son, so he's been putting it off until now.

"I saw Guo Feng's information at the city magistrate's mansion a few days ago. Isn't his youngest son mentally challenged? How can he let you marry him?" I said indignantly on her behalf, though I was already furious inside. Damn it, who dares to steal the woman the young master has his eye on?

"He's not stupid, don't talk nonsense." Lin Cuier glared at me. "He just acts like a child, he's not stupid. Besides, he's always been very kind to us neighbors, often giving us things. For that, Master Guo has scolded him many times."

I said sourly, "So, that means you're willing to marry him?"

"You're already jealous at such a young age!" How could Lin Cuier not see through me? She gently tapped me with her jade finger. "I'm too old for you, I'm not worth your effort."

"Oh, you noticed?" I said, looking embarrassed.

"There's always gossip around a widow's door. Even if I can't see it, they certainly can," Lin Cuier said with a gentle smile. "Be good, listen to your sister. You don't understand anything now, you just think women like me are good. But once you've seen more of the world, you'll find me vulgar and old-fashioned, and then you won't like me anymore."

I shook my head, saying insincerely, "No, liking someone doesn't mean I have to possess them. Don't think so much."

Lin Cuier smiled knowingly, "You little rascal, I'm telling you now so you won't get so angry when I reject you multiple times later."

"I won't," I said, looking at the beautiful and shy woman. "Sister Cuier, what do you want to do? If you don't want to, just tell me, and I'll go and cause trouble for Guo Feng. He won't dare disobey!"

"Nonsense!" Lin Cuier scolded angrily, "Master Guo isn't so domineering anymore, and your superiors appreciate him. How can you, a mere soldier in the city garrison, fight him head-on? You're not allowed to go!"

"Fine, I won't go then." I suddenly chuckled. "As long as you don't agree, they probably won't dare to be violent."

Lin Cuier nodded slightly, about to say something, when footsteps sounded at the door.

Every time I came, Lin Cuier would leave the door wide open, just like the other residents, to avoid suspicion.

Lin Cuier was facing the door, and when the person stepped into the house, the shy, beautiful widow's eyes visibly narrowed.

"Sister, have you made up your mind yet? Master Guo..." A man's voice came from nearby, but he immediately stopped.

I turned my head and saw a farmer standing not far away, about forty years old, with a cunning look on his dark face that shouldn't be seen in a farmer.

He saw me, and perhaps because I was too young and handsome, he looked displeased: "Little sister, who is this man? Why is he in your house? You're about to get married, you should be careful."

"Brother... I told you, I'm not getting married!" Lin Cuier frowned. "If you need money, just come to me. Don't hang out with the Guo family. They... there aren't many good people in that family." The man glared at her

, about to say something, but immediately turned around, closed the door, and took two steps forward: "What did you say? There aren't many good people in the Guo family? Do you know what the law of the land is? The eldest patriarch of the Guo family has been appreciated by a high-ranking official of the court. He's the nephew of that ruthless killer, the Empress. Such a powerful relative of the emperor has become the patriarch's backer, and you still dare to say such things?"

"Brother, don't talk nonsense." Lin Cuier secretly glanced at me and, seeing that I was unmoved, immediately understood that her brother was using the Guo family's name to intimidate others. "It wouldn't be good if the officials heard this."

"Haha, do you think I care if they hear me?" the man said disdainfully. "Sister, as long as you become the third young mistress of the Guo family, I can become the head constable of the yamen in Ximen. This was personally promised to me by the Guo family's steward. By then, I'll be an official myself, so what am I afraid of them for?" Speaking of becoming the head constable, the man's eyes burned with desire, clearly fantasizing about that time.

Lin Cuier shook her head firmly and said, "No, I will not marry the third young master of the Guo family. Brother, don't contact them anymore. Take these ten gold coins and go back to your hometown!" As she spoke, Lin Cuier rummaged in her clothes and took out her small pouch. Just as she was about to hand it over, I grabbed her hand.

The eldest Lin family member, who had been grinning and about to accept the gold coins, suddenly froze on the spot. It took him a while to react before he rushed over in a rage, yelling, "Boy, what are you doing? Put it down!"

He raised his hand to hit me, but Lin Cuier, who knew how powerful I was, held it firmly, preventing his hand from landing.

Seeing this, the eldest Lin family member became even more certain of his judgment of the adulterous couple. In a fit of rage, he shoved his sister, sending her to the ground. He turned around, his face contorted with rage, intending to break the pretty boy's legs. Suddenly, everything went black, and a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. With a "thud," he fell to the ground five or six meters away, screaming in pain.

"Ouch... Help! My sister's lover is beating her brother... Is there no justice in this world... You pretty boy... You'll die a horrible death..."

Seeing his vile curses, I raised an eyebrow, wondering how to teach him a lesson. Lin Cuier, standing beside me, quickly grabbed my hand: "No, little brother, you'll kill him!"

The eldest Lin brother, seeing this, cried even louder, even rolling on the ground: "Help! That pretty boy is going to kill someone... This unfaithful sister... She seduced someone to kill her own brother... Oh!"

The eldest son of the Lin family, who had resorted to the village's thuggish tactics, suddenly felt a lightness in his body. He then flew over the wall as if riding on clouds, crashing heavily to the ground. A piercing pain spread through his body, making him grimace and unable to speak.

"Hahaha..." A group of widows who had come to watch the show stood at Lin Cui'er's door, mocking this arrogant man who wanted to get rich and become an official through his sister.

Among them was a sharp-tongued woman who deliberately walked up to him and said, "Old Lin, how can you be so blind? Look at the person next to your sister! That person is from the city garrison! Do you know what the city garrison is? That's the private guard of the city garrison commander and legion commander. You, a country bumpkin, dare to be so insolent in front of him! You're courting death! Bah!"

The eldest son of the Lin family was in great pain, but he heard these taunts clearly. Terrified, he felt a sense of fear towards the silver-clad youth who had beaten him. When he could finally stand up, he groaned as he rolled over and limped away, not daring to look back.

"Bang!" Just as his figure disappeared around the street corner, the door to Lin Cuier's house opened, and a handsome young man emerged.

Many women are particularly observant; after several rounds of questioning, Lin Cuier finally let slip that I wasn't her cousin. The widows didn't laugh at her, because in Liufeng Kingdom, there was no custom of widowhood; after a woman became a widow, she could remarry a man she liked. So everyone teased her about whether she was going to "eat young grass like an old cow," which embarrassed Lin Cuier so much that she almost dared not see me again.

After learning of this, I brought a large pile of gifts to the streets the next day. Every household had some—good fabrics and cosmetics from the capital, rarely seen in Xiliang City. What woman wouldn't like such things? After a few visits, they became very enthusiastic towards me. Plus, my identity as a member of the city garrison was indeed intimidating, and many women tried to matchmake me with Lin Cuier. Because of the gifts, their attitude towards Lin Cuier changed from some jealousy to a bit of fawning.

They were city people and always looked down on country bumpkins, especially someone like the eldest son of the Lin family who relied on selling his sister for wealth. They despised him even more. With me backing him up today, they naturally gave him a good scolding, which everyone found satisfying.

"Brother Lan, see? We told you to get together with Cuier sooner rather than later. You didn't believe me? Now you know you regret it!"

"Yeah, her brother is shameless. He's come several times already. Cuier told us not to tell you, but you ran into him today. He deserves it!"

"Young man, hurry up! Be with your sister Cuier tonight, and we neighbors can have a celebratory drink!"

A group of older women surrounded me, showering me with compliments, making me quite tempted.

"Lan Ting, come back here! Don't listen to their nonsense!" Lin Cuier didn't want to come out, but hearing the neighbors' ramblings, she quickly came out and called out.

Upon seeing the other main character, the young women chattered incessantly, offering advice to both me and her.

"Hehe, don't be shy... Cui'er, listen to your sister, don't let your brother cause any more trouble. Go with Brother Lan, he's a good man!" This was the most agreed-upon statement among the many women advising Lin Cui'er.

The shy and beautiful young woman, even as she dragged me back, still had her heart pounding, her face flushed crimson, which made my eyes light up with admiration.

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