Chapter 119: The Brave Seventh Day of the First Month!

  Xia Qi stood outside Xia Yan's tent, watching the soldiers drag away a few more Northern Di girls, but her mind was still on "Gun Qiao" and that piercing gaze, feeling a chill from her heart to her lungs.

  She didn't want to interfere, but she was very clear that this wasn't Zhao Zhu's original intention. Zhao Zhu was a straightforward and upright man who fought wars with real swords and guns, and he would never allow his subordinates to rape or humiliate women. She believed this was also the reason why his army could always win, as discipline in battle was more important than anything else.

  What can she do?

  If she simply wanted to rescue "Gu Jiao" and get her out, she had plenty of ways to do so, and even killing Xia Yan wouldn't be a difficult task. The problem was that she didn't want to "privately release the Northern Di prisoners", which would be dismantling Zhao Zhu's platform. What she wanted to do was simply not let them suffer humiliation at the hands of these men.

  "Xiao Qi, what are you doing? Go back!"

  A low voice came from behind, and she turned her head to look at him, with a somewhat cruel gaze.

  "Old Meng, go find the commander and tell him, hurry..."

  Relying on intuition, she thought Xia Chang and Xia Yan had different personalities. If it was said that Xia Tingde's sons, she also felt that Xia Chang was still a person. Moreover, in this logistics camp, even if Xia Yan was spoiled, he had to listen to Xia Yan. However, her identity made it inconvenient for her to see Xia Chang, so she could only pin her hopes on Old Meng.

  However, after hearing her words, Lao Meng shook his head.

  "Xiao Qi, you're too naive. They're biological brothers, will they not collude with each other? Do you think the commotion outside is so big that he didn't hear it?"

  As soon as she heard this, Xia Chuyi's heart turned cold.

  Yes, even her urinating can be heard, how could Xia Chang not know?

  Looking at the hemp rope scattered on the ground, she felt that the rope was like a snake entwining her heart. She really couldn't tolerate such things happening under her nose, so she steeled herself and didn't care about Old Meng anymore, quickly running towards the fire head account with her feet flying fast.

  She had been a fire chief for many days, so she was naturally familiar with the place. At this point, there was no one in the fire account, she quickly ran in, picked up a black pot, took a shovel, and quickly grabbed a handful of pot bottom ash, applied it to her face, making it pitch black, then ran out again, circling behind each camp house, loudly clanging the pot with the shovel, pinching her throat and shouting.

  "Brothers, all get up and take a look, it's the women who are in charge now!"

  "Don't miss the opportunity as you pass by, the front line is fighting and sacrificing, while the rear is indulging in pleasure and debauchery. Brothers, which family doesn't have wives and children, mothers? The women of the Northern Di are also human beings! Ordering soldiers to rape women, this is against heavenly justice!"

  "Brothers... come and see, come and take a look..."

  "Normally eats well and drinks spicy food, but when it comes to directing others, he's just a big fool!"

  On a quiet evening, knocking on the bottom of the pot, how loud is the sound?

  The sound of pots and pans being hit and the sound of "fanning the flames" echoed throughout the camp, with a rhythmic beat like a drum. Soon, the patrol soldiers rushed over in a hurry, the extinguished torches in the tents lit up again, and one by one, yawning officers emerged, their heavy footsteps growing louder, as they swarmed towards Xia Yan's tent.

  Late at night, someone dared to knock on the pot, which was originally a rare thing. Whether it was for watching the excitement or for something else, everyone didn't want to miss such a good show. However, when the play reached this point, Xia Chuyi couldn't continue singing.

  She has to switch roles and continue acting.

  She quickly threw away the black pot, walked around the tent and retreated, washed her face, yawned, and pretended to be unaware of anything, following a group of soldiers to watch, and casually picked out a few words in the crowd, saying "Isn't there a strict order from the general? How dare the commander-in-chief openly defy the rules?"

  As expected, Xia Chang also came.

  It doesn't matter if the matter is not blown up. In wartime, such things are actually common. But now it's different, the matter has been blown up, and some brothers in the camp are not convinced, they started making noise, all the brothers in the camp gathered around to watch the excitement, if Xia Chang still pretends to be unaware, that would be too far-fetched. Want to turn a blind eye? No way.

  "Second brother, come out and talk!"

  Xia Chang wore his outer robe and shouted outside Xia Yan's tent.

  As soon as the words fell, Xia Yan, who was disheveled, poked his head out and saw the officers holding torches surrounding the tent, and saw his angry older brother. He let out a yawn, looked around blankly for a moment, and with eyes still red from drinking, he pretended not to understand, squinting and furrowing his brow.

  "Big brother, no, commander, what are you all... doing?"

  Xia Chang's eyes met his, and her gaze was slightly annoyed.

  "Still pretending to be innocent? Let him out quickly!"

  He scratched his head, and Xia Yan looked at the situation, knowing that the pretty little beauty wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He rubbed his hands together, feeling a bit reluctant, but looking at Xia Chang's gloomy face, he didn't dare say anything more. He turned around and shouted "Wang Jingli", and soon, the Northern Di girl who was called "Gunji" was dragged out of the tent.

  "It's really beautiful... No wonder..."

  Someone looked at the woman under the lamplight and clicked his tongue in admiration.

  Her clothes were slightly disheveled, but she didn't seem to have suffered any substantial harm. Her attitude was still haughty. Even though she had fallen on hard times, she still held her chin high like a peacock, and her demeanor made Xia Chuqi somewhat admire her.

  Lying among the crowd surrounded by soldiers, she pretended to be just a bystander, but felt "Gunza" looking at her. The line of sight collided in the air for a second, and "Gunza"'s mouth moved slightly without making a sound, but Xia Chuqi had gained some insight into this aspect since last time she "studied" lip language with Zhao Zhu.

  She clearly saw "Gong Jia" mouth said "thank you".

  She's really a clever girl, knowing it was she who saved her.

  "Someone's coming, lock her up in the horse shed!"

  Xia's tightly furrowed brow had not yet relaxed, and he gave Xia Yan a cold glance before issuing the order. After finishing, he turned his head to look at the surrounding soldiers, "Everyone go back to sleep. I'll reiterate once again: discipline is key. During pre-war mobilization, General Wang issued strict orders that during wartime, vigilance must be heightened, and it's forbidden to harm civilians, mistreat prisoners of war, **women, engage in wanton behavior, or leave the camp without permission..."

  He said a lot of "not allowed", but Xia Chuyi didn't hear him say how to deal with Xia Yan, and she felt a bit resentful. She stood in the middle of the crowd, somewhat far away, and now it was evening, she knew she wasn't very conspicuous, so she changed her voice and muttered a sentence, which was enough to enter everyone's ears.

  "What should the commander do if his deputy violates discipline?"

  A stone causes a thousand ripples, how important is the "army's heart" in wartime? Even if Xia Chang was a literary man, he deeply understood this point. Moreover, tonight's incident has blown up, and it will eventually reach Zhao Zun's ears. Zhao Zun is known for his strict military discipline, and if he covers up and doesn't handle the situation, he might not be able to get away with it, and Xia Yan's punishment will only become more severe.

  After a moment's consideration, Xia Chang suddenly spoke out in a loud voice, almost as if the words had burst forth from his throat.

  "Take Xia Yan down, twenty army clubs!"

  "Big brother!"

  Everyone was pointing and whispering, but Xia Yan immediately flew into a rage. In the Wei State Duke's mansion, Xia Chang was usually Xia Tingde's eldest son, with an elder brotherly demeanor, always taking care of his younger brother. Xia Yan was born to the same mother as him, and their mother loved her youngest son more, favoring Xia Yan even more - when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

  "How dare you hit me?"

  Xia frowned and waved his hand impatiently.

  "It's not me who wants to hit you, it's military discipline that requires hitting you. Take him away quickly!"

  "Yes." Several soldiers received the order and walked over to pull Xiaoyan away. But Xiaoyan struggled free, shouting angrily as she did so.

  "Xia Chang, what's so great about you? You're just a bit earlier than me in crawling out of our mother's womb. All the good things have been taken by you, you inherited the title, and in the future, you'll be the Duke, while my brothers and I are nothing. Now that Father is supporting me, letting me get a position in the army, you want to give me a warning, to show off your power, right?"

  Can't help but say, Xia Yan is a brainless turtle egg. Obviously his brother is protecting him, but he doesn't appreciate it at all, instead he's still there making a show of shouting and scolding. You know, the emperor is far away, if his brother really wanted to deal with him, how could he dare to be so arrogant?

  Looking from afar at the Xia brothers "biting" each other, Xia Chuyi's lips curved up.

  "That's interesting."

  "Little Qi..." Before she knew it, Old Meng was standing beside her, his voice low and menacing as he whispered, "You're too reckless. If you're not careful tonight, you won't even know how you died."

  "A person is not afraid of their shadow being crooked, and I haven't done anything bad, how can I die so easily?" She chuckled and pointed to the flag fluttering in the wind on the distant barracks door, saying in a low voice, "I just don't want General Wang to lose face. Old Meng, you should know that this is General Wang's army, if the people under him do something wrong, the Northern Di people will blame it all on General Wang. In the end, won't giving him a 'woman' hat damage his reputation?"

  She spoke very seriously, but in Lao Meng's view, her tone was quite strange.

  For them, the title "General Wang" was just a virtual person under a title. Apart from seeing him from afar on the school grounds, this kind of soldier would never be able to get close to Zhao Zhu.

  To put it bluntly, they joined the army just for that one military salary, to make a living and support their families. They naturally don't understand what she's saying about honor and reputation, let alone why General Wang being labeled as "woman" has anything to do with them, low-ranking soldiers.

  "Go back to sleep, we still need to get up early tomorrow to cook."

  "Oh......" Xia Chuqi glanced at his mouth, "Lao Meng, Qi Chang, thank you..."

  She thanked him for keeping the secret of "beating the pot and scaring the dog", but thinking about getting up early tomorrow to "cook", she felt a bit overwhelmed. The breakfast in the camp started very early, and those who did the firework got up even earlier. Old Meng thought it was his way of taking care of her, but he didn't know that she would rather face guns and artillery than mantou, pancakes and porridge.

  Two people followed the scattered crowd towards the camp, and suddenly heard a low shout.

  "Old Meng Liu!"

  Xia Chuqi's heart skipped a beat, and she stopped at the same time as Lao Meng. She turned her head to look back, only to see that it was Xia Chang's sidekick, a school lieutenant. Usually, Xia Chuqi would dodge him whenever she saw him, but this time she couldn't avoid him. Her heart felt a bit tense, and she could only slightly lower her head.

  Lao Meng nodded and bowed, "Commander Zhang... what are your orders?"

  Zhang Xiaowei glanced at Xia Chuyi and then his gaze fell on Lao Meng.

  "The commander wants to see him."

  He was pierced by that one glance, and Xia Chu's fingertips slightly pinched. She exchanged a glance with Lao Meng, feeling somewhat guilty. Logically speaking, just now with so many people around, Xia Chang shouldn't have been able to discover him, but looking at the situation, he either didn't recognize her as "Chu Qi" or "Jing Yi County Princess", or it's possible that he knew she was the one stirring up trouble.

  She was a bit worried, but Lao Meng was a veteran, having seen many things and been through life and death, appearing humble on the surface but actually being extremely calm. He didn't say anything else, comfortingly glanced at her, and followed Zhang Shouwei away.

  ……

  ……

  That night, Old Meng returned at what time, Xia Chuyi didn't know, because she fell asleep. And as for saving that "stupid" girl, she hadn't thought about any follow-up with her afterwards either. To put it bluntly, they were enemies, and she helped her, apart from not wanting to see a woman being humiliated as a woman herself, there was indeed a bit of intention to maintain Zhao Zhu's military discipline.

  However, she did not expect that last night, Lao Meng went to see Xia Chang and brought back a task. Xia Chang ordered the people of this small flag to escort those five girls to Yidou thirty miles away, and then return to the team.

  Yizhou Prefecture was also the seat of Qingzhou Prefecture, which is where the prefectural government was located.

  Xia Chang thought that the logistics camp should keep up with the pace of the marching army and continue to move north. However, it was not convenient to bring several Northern Di women along the way. Moreover, those women were all quite attractive, and this camp was full of old men who had been away from home for a long time and rarely saw women. They were all starving like wolves, staring at the fresh meat with gleaming eyes every day, which was not conducive to stabilizing the military's morale. So he came up with this move, first sending the several Northern Di women to the Yidu prison, and then waiting for further processing.

  In my heart, Xia Chuqi is someone I don't want to go with.

  Today the army is about to set out, she wants to follow the main force directly to Ji Zhou to find Zhao Zhu. Every day in the logistics camp as a partner soldier is really too frustrating. But soldiers have to listen to military orders, she doesn't want to argue with Xia Chang over this small matter. Before seeing Zhao Zhu, she dare not reveal her identity. Afraid that if she speaks out, it will scare someone to death.

  The ones who were sent to escort were a few women, and the people in charge of escorting were not many, just ten people with this small flag, including Xiao Bu who was flogged yesterday did not escape the order, followed everyone out of the camp, and went to Yidu in a mighty manner.

  Qingzhou is one of the "ancient nine states" divided by Da Yu when he controlled the flood, and it has been a strategic fortress since ancient times, controlling the transportation route from the Central Plains to Jiaodong. To its south lies the Yimeng Mountains, and to its north lies the northern Shandong Plain. Therefore, as a throat area, Qingzhou has always been a place of contention for military strategists.

  Of course, what left the deepest impression on Xia Zhiqi in Qingzhou was Chen Daniu's hometown.

  As they journeyed on, it was still the same as in the past few days, with refugees fleeing south everywhere. She curiously stopped a few people and asked them questions, from their mouths she learned that the north was fighting fiercely, they couldn't stay there anymore, coupled with the fact that there had been continuous wars in recent years, they just wanted to go south to find a safe place to settle down.

  I heard it was a fierce fight, and after listening to their description of that miserable situation, Xia Chuyi's heart became tense.

  She worried about Zhao Zhu.

  The crowd pushed several women forward, and as they walked, it took more than half a time.

  Last night, it rained all night, and although the road wasn't too bumpy, it was wet and winding, causing the wheels to slip. They had tied straw to the wheels, and their speed wasn't very fast either.

  "Having skirted this mountain, we will soon arrive at Yidu."

  Lao Meng was the team leader, also the biggest head among these people. He had always been kind and gentle. Along the way, everyone chatted while walking, the atmosphere was very relaxed. They were logistics soldiers, without heavy armor on their bodies. Several black-skinned men took off their light armor and even took off their shirts to tie them around their waists, exposing their bare backs and laughing loudly.

  It has to be said that compared to the soldiers who shed blood on the battlefield, the logistics soldiers have a much easier life. Xia Qi thought that this was probably also the reason why Er Gui arranged for her to be here.

  She was thinking, when she heard Hei Pi scolding, "What are you dawdling about?"

  "I'm tired and want to drink water."

  The woman who spoke in a low voice was "Gun Jiao", she and several Northern Di women were all tied up with their hands behind their backs. Along the way, they must have been quite tired, so she started to be uncooperative, rubbing back and forth on the carriage.

  Listening to Hei Pi yelling over there, Xia Chu Qi didn't respond, and instead wiped the dew from her forehead with her sleeve. She looked at the green mountains on both sides, then gazed out at the winding road ahead. Suddenly, she furrowed her brow, jumped down from the carriage, walked a few steps forward, lowered her head, and stared at the horse hoof prints in the mud, narrowing her eyes.

  "Old Meng..."

  She climbed onto the vehicle and sat beside Old Meng, lowering her voice.

  Something's off.

  Lao Meng turned around, "What's wrong?"

  On the seventh day of summer, his brow was still furrowed. After some thought, he looked at several "comrades" who were not much better than bandits, and his voice sank down, "Everyone, put on your clothes properly and keep a close eye on your belongings. There are many hoof prints on the ground, I think it's not quite right."

  Haha, a smile, Hei Pi curled his lips and looked at him, "Xiao Qi, look at you, this is your first time on the battlefield, right? This is the official road to Yidu, what's wrong with horse hoof prints? Besides, Qingzhou is under our Da Yan's jurisdiction, General Wang is in front, and Ding'an Hou is also in Datong Prefecture. The entire line is ours, do you think those Northern Di barbarians can still reach Qingzhou?"

  Seeing the disdain in his eyes, Xia Chuqi pursed her lips. Although she knew he was right, after glancing at "Gunza", she couldn't help but worry and hesitated for a moment before adding another sentence.

  "I think it's better for everyone to be more vigilant."

  "Damn it, you're not done yet, are you? Do you think you're some kind of vegetable?" The speaker's surname was Ma, and everyone was used to calling him "Ma Lian". This person had a bad temper and often spoke offensively. "Xiao Qi, if you hadn't been stirring up trouble inside last night, would Commander Zhao have beaten Commander Li twenty times? Would he have vented his anger on us? Following the main army, why should we suffer this injustice? I'd rather go transport grain and artillery than escort these women, they're just eye candy..."

  "Ah, brothers, this road is tough to walk, why don't we send these good women to Yidu? Wouldn't that be a bargain for the Qingzhou prefecture people? Why not each of us take one and settle it here? I think this prettiest one should go to Old Meng. As for Little Qi and Little Bu, they're still young and haven't even grown their hair yet, just let them watch from the side while brothers have some fun..."

  He said with a half-joking and half-serious tone, while several others burst into loud laughter.

  "Ma Lian is right, we brothers are exhausted, why should we do it? Anyway, the Northern Di barbarians won't get away with it for free..."

  Listening to a few men rambling on, Xia Chuyi glanced over coldly.

  "You've forgotten how all of you got beaten up by the commander last night? You're quite bold."

  "That was in the barracks, who could know in this desolate wilderness?"

  "Haha, Horse Face is right!"

  "Old Meng, I think it's okay, even if we don't succeed, we'll still gain some experience, right?"

  A few people were talking heatedly, but except for that "stick", the rest of the girls didn't understand. However, looking at the glances they cast while speaking, they mostly guessed and looked at the "stick" with a terrified expression, muttering a few words, then the "stick" comforted them a few times, looking down with an uneasy face but still calm emotions.

  "Ah..."

  Suddenly a northern Di woman shouted out, followed by loud guffaws from Horse Face.

  "Your butt is fine, your waist is fine, try again, General..."

  He let out a sly laugh and stretched out his hand again. The girl's hands were tied up, so she could only twist her body to dodge. The several men burst into laughter again. "Peng Jiao" glared with both eyes, scolded in unrefined Mandarin with the phrase "wang ba gou zi", then blocked him from passing by. Ma Lian saw Peng Jiao and his eyes lit up, giving up on that woman, wanting to go over and pinch her instead. Xia Chuqi's heart tightened, shouting out a sentence "Ma Gege". Before she could finish saying the words to stop him, she heard Old Meng let out a low growl.

  "What's all the commotion? Everyone get back!"

  The horse face licked his mouth, dryly laughed twice, and rubbed his fingers back and forth, looking at Lao Meng with some resentment. "Lao Meng, these are all Northern Di people, the Northern Di people captured our women, will they be polite? Won't they also loot? Why do we have to treat these cheap people kindly? Go, I say, let the Northern Di people do what they want, we can't do anything about it anyway."

  Lao Meng snorted, "You're afraid of living too long, so just go ahead and do it!"

  The horse face smiled and said, "You won't turn me in?"

  "Alright! Take care of your stuff."

  "Old Meng, you're getting old and can't do it anymore?" After saying that, Ma's face leaned forward a bit and made a very lewd gesture, causing the several men beside him to burst out laughing. One of them, named Zhu Er, even poked at his crotch with a laugh, teasing "Old Meng, look at Ma's face, he can't even hold up the flagpole properly, why don't you just let him have it?"

  Lao Meng glared at him with a huff and let out an angry roar.

  "Damn it, I'm Xiao Qi, who are you? Don't listen to my words anymore, huh? Hurry up, put on your clothes, gather your thoughts, and report for duty in Yidu, catch up with the main force."

  Lao Meng was actually a small flag, he got angry and scolded people, the several men who were just teased by the girls and became impatient also calmed down, they muttered a few words but didn't dare to say anything more.

  At the beginning of summer, she threw a grateful glance at Lao Meng, then looked at the scenery of Yangtian Mountain, but the anxiety in her heart did not subside. She was a person with very accurate intuition, and although she had not been on many battlefields during her years as a special forces soldier, she knew that complacency was the greatest enemy of man. Moreover, she always felt that the identity of "Gong Jiao" was not ordinary. If she were to die, would the Beidi people let her off easily...

  "Whoosh——"

  A sudden, gusty sound came from the woods, and the horses were hit by arrows. They let out a "hiss" as they struggled to get up, but fell to the ground instead. Xia Chuiqi's heart skipped a beat as he swiftly drew his sword, and then heard another "ah" as an arrow pierced the horse's face, causing it to collapse, with blood gushing out of its body.

  Soon, in the rustling sound of people and leaves, about twenty black-clad masked men quickly rushed out of the forest, not dressed as Northern Di people, but speaking Mandarin with a strong accent, shouting loudly as they approached.

  "Don't move, leave the carriage and woman behind—"

  The people of the T-shaped flag did not expect that there were people hiding in the woods, and Ma Lian was shot dead on the spot. Hei Pi stumbled and almost fell off the horse carriage. In this small flag, several of them were on the battlefield for the first time, and they were scared white-faced. Xiao Bu even let out a loud cry.

  "Don't kill me! Don't kill me..."

  It seems like someone has come around.

  "They're not bandits, they're northern Di tribesmen. They're tribesmen!"

  The Northern Di people have always been notorious for their ferocity, and it's said that they not only kill people and drink their blood but also eat human flesh raw. Hearing this terrifying shout, seeing the twenty or so black-clad men getting closer and closer, two cowardly soldiers dropped their waist knives and shouted "Mother ah, run quickly!" before running in the opposite direction. Xiao Bu grabbed Xia Chuyi's arm, his eyes red, "Xiao Qi, run!"

  "What's the hurry? Come back!" Old Meng shouted loudly in anger.

  Kesao saw his companions running far away, and he, who had seen a dead person for the first time, trembled with fear, but didn't care about Xia Qi anymore, and followed those two people to run far away. The Northern Di people obviously did not want to kill people in a big way, they gripped their steel knives tightly, and the crossbows aimed at the remaining people on the horse carriage, their tone was even more ferocious and terrifying.

  "Those who don't leave will be killed."

  Old Meng snorted and drew out his waist knife to block in front of him.

  "Damn it, you Tatars, come on! I'm not afraid of you."

  At the beginning of summer, she had been wearing a waist knife all along, and had not made any noise or movement. Now she saw that these people were here to rescue someone, so they didn't dare to offend them by taking action and hurting their people. With fewer people fighting more, it was obviously at a disadvantage, and going head-to-head with them was purely stupid.

  Her gaze slightly slanted, she watched as "Gang Jiao" was about to jump off the car. She snorted and with a swift motion, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, she quickly wrapped her arm around Gang Jiao's neck and simultaneously kicked her stomach hard. Unexpectedly, Gang Jiao was also quite fierce, after being kicked, she still had the ability to counterattack. With her hands tied up, her body swiftly made a sideways flip, attempting to roll away.

  "I underestimated you!"

  At the beginning of summer, Xia didn't let go of her body, gritted her teeth and cursed, following the knife down, she fell onto her. She had a lot of shameless moves, she never cared about any routine when fighting, directly throwing herself at "Gunza", heavily falling to the ground, "Gunza" cried out in pain, but Xia tightly hugged her and rolled around, using her body to block the front, with the waist knife pressed against her neck.

  "Little beauty, move again and this knife won't be picky."

  "Stick it in——"

  Many people shouted loudly.

  Xia Chuqi raised an eyebrow triumphantly. Indeed, "Gun Jiao" was their goal.

  What do special forces do? They're doing this kind of thing. Catching the leader first, fighting with those people is useless, as long as you catch the "leader", they'll all surrender. Just like she guessed, she tightened her grip on the "leader", and those twenty or so Northern Di people all stopped in their tracks.

  "Let her go and we'll spare your lives!"

  On the seventh day of summer, he smiled slightly in his mouth, tightened his "stick" with a milking force, and glanced at him lightly. Each word was said extremely fiercely and extremely quickly.

  "Stop pretending to be tough with me, you all put down your weapons. I'll count to three. If anyone still doesn't put down their weapon, I'll stab this woman to death with one knife, and I mean it."

  "Bao Lu Hui... Bao Lu Hui..."

  "Kong ji" was pinned to the ground by her, some were frantic, a pair of tied hands dug into the mud on the ground, also as if commanding those Beidi people "don't". Xia Chuyi didn't understand what "Bao Lu Hui" meant, chuckled softly, and the knife handle slammed onto her head.

  "Wrap it up, wrap your mother! Wrapping is useless anyway. Hurry up, one, two..."

  There was a leader among the northern Di people, and he was the first to drop his knife.

  "Put down your weapons—"

  In the "clanging" sound of the falling weapon, Xia Chui's face turned red with rage, his chest heaving with anger, and though he was laughing sarcastically, his anger had not dissipated, nor did he intend to let the matter drop.

  "Good job, now take off all your clothes. And the pants too, only one belt is allowed to be left. No, no, not even a belt is allowed, who knows if there are any hidden weapons, strip completely, strip... hurry up!"

  She's a rascal, things that ordinary people can't do, she can do. Obviously the Northern Di people didn't think of it and were unwilling in their hearts, but they also had a lucky psychology, as long as their "sticks" were fine, not to mention "stripping naked", even if it cost them their lives, they would still have to do it.

  However, "naked" is not Xia Zhiqiu's ultimate goal.

  Hugging "gun ji", she smiled and looked at the circle of naked men in front of her, slightly examining their differently-sized birds, and began to coldly command.

  "Pick up the clothes on the ground, one person ties another, and tie them tightly for me. No one is allowed to run away, whoever dares not to be honest and take a step forward, I will take this woman's life."

  This order was too severe, the Northern Di people did not want to obey. Once tied up, there would really be no chance of turning over. But how could Xia Chuyi not understand their thoughts? Without any courtesy, a sharp knife pressed down, and a streak of fresh blood flowed out from the white neck, letting out a pained shriek.

  "Ouch? Tsk tsk, tender and delicate, what a pity!"

  At the beginning of summer, Qi Zhi smiled casually, as if he hadn't seen the blood at all, with a cold intention at the corner of his lips.

  "Don't think I'm joking, and don't try any tricks in front of me. When I was killing people, you were still pissing your pants. Hurry up! Tie him up!"

  A ridiculous scene unfolded, and a fierce battle was thus calmed. The Northern Di people were really afraid of hurting their princess, and they didn't dare disobey her words. Clearly, they had come to rescue someone, but in the end, they all became Summer Chuqi's dinner guests. This scene made "Gun Jiao" furious, his eyes red with rage as he stared at Summer Chuqi's face, shouting word by word.

  "You're also a turtle egg."

  "Ah-ya! You dare to scold me?" Xia Chuqi pinched her face, gave a sly smile, and teased her: "If it wasn't for me saving you last night, you would have been taken away by now, do you still have the chance to be here and yell?"

  After hearing this, "Gong Jiao" blushed and suddenly said in a low voice "I'm sorry", her eyes became even redder. After finishing speaking, she thought that the other person didn't understand, so "Gong Jiao" stared at her and translated in an even smaller voice, "Sorry".

  "No need, anyway I wasn't sincere in helping you."

  He looked at her strangely, closed his eyes and said another sentence.

  "I am Wu Ren Xiao Xiao, remember me."

  ……

  ……

  Hong Tai 25 years April 30, the northern expeditionary army welcomed another great victory.

  Two days ago, the Eastern Route Army led by Zhao Kuang marched north from Ji Prefecture, sweeping away all obstacles and successively recovering the lost territories of Luanzhou, Qian'an, Funing, Changli, Leting, LinYu, and Lulong in Yongping Prefecture.

  The original army of Yongping Prefecture was basically led by Tao Jingwu. These soldiers were originally from the Yan army, and as soon as they heard that it was King Jin's men who had come to attack, they surrendered without a fight and opened the city gates to let the Yan army in. Therefore, recovering the lost territory of Yongping Prefecture encountered almost no strong resistance, and within just one day and two nights, the Eastern Route Northern Expeditionary Army, under Zhao Zun's leadership, occupied the entire prefecture, while Commander-in-Chief Tao Jingwu fled with his trusted remaining troops to Guangning.

  On the other hand, the Western Expeditionary Army led by Chen Daniu, Marquis of Ding'an, arrived at Datong Prefecture and opened up the western front. The Northern Di people were caught off guard, fighting on two fronts, and before they could regroup, Chen Daniu launched a surprise attack on the Kaiping camp with 100,000 troops, defeating the 150,000-strong Northern Di army.

  Kai Ping was the capital of the previous dynasty and also an important military location for the Northern Di, where they were sandwiched between two fronts, making it very difficult to fight on both lines. Even though the Northern Di prince, Hala, was a brilliant talent who claimed to be a descendant of Genghis Khan, he was unable to deploy his troops effectively and hastily led his army north to retreat to Da Ning, which is located north of the Luan River, using the Yan Mountains' Xifengkou as cover. The two armies faced each other across the Luan River, setting the stage for a decisive battle.

  At this time, someone suggested that Chen Dabao should severely punish the fallen dog and continue to cross the Luan River to pursue Hasar in the north. However, Chen Dabao stopped and camped outside Kaiping Prefecture thirty miles away, waiting for further instructions from Zhao Kui.

  It was late at night, in the outskirts of Yongping Prefecture City, Yan Jun's large camp.

  Zhao Zhu's expression was stern as he stared at the pile of sand in front of him, his face cold and motionless. Beside him, several deputy generals and lieutenant generals, including Yuan You, stood quietly. He didn't speak, and neither did anyone else.

  After a while, a general surnamed Liu couldn't help but remind him in a low voice.

  "Your Highness, what are your next arrangements? General Chen's men are still waiting for orders outside the tent."

  Zhao Zhu sat quietly, his gaze falling on the sand table in front of him. The cold and stern expression between his eyebrows blended with the dust on his armor, emitting a clear and mysterious glow under the lamp light. After furrowing his brow for a moment, he rubbed his forehead and gave orders.

  "Tell Ding'an Marquis, in Kaiping merge troops, prepare to cross Luan River, and decide the battle at Daining."

  "Yes!"

  The orderly received the order and quickly went down.

  Liu Can let out a sigh of relief and casually said, "Your Majesty was indeed correct, Ding An Hou is indeed skilled at siege warfare. We didn't expend much energy when we defeated Tao Jingwu in Ji Zhou, it was like pinching soft tofu. In the battle between Kai Ping and Ha Sa Er, 100,000 men against 150,000 men, with cavalry on both sides, I must say, Ding An Hou fought beautifully."

  As soon as someone starts, others will follow suit.

  "Yes, after this battle, Ding Anhou became a first-class famous general, undisputed."

  Several people were discussing and arguing, Yuan You just listened, occasionally nodding his head, without saying a word.

  Zhao Zun didn't know what he was thinking about and didn't make a sound.

  In fact, when Hong Tai Emperor first formulated the strategic plan and sent Zhao Zun to attack the eastern line from Jizhou to Yongping, he should have thought of it. Tao Jingwu's troops encountered Zhao Zun with one word - surrender. The real difficulty is Ha Saer, the northern Di prince of Kai Ping. In name, it was called "encirclement", but in fact, Chen Daniu's western battlefield, Ha Saer was a hard bone to chew.

  This is an impeccable perfect plan.

  Zhao Zilong easily defeated Tao Jingwu, and at the same time restrained Hasar. If Zhao Zilong hadn't restrained him, Chen Dabao's 100,000 troops would have had a hard time defeating Hasar's 150,000 cavalry, even if they ultimately won the war. With Zhao Zilong, plus Chen Dabao's own advantage in attacking, this battle was indeed a beautiful win. Liu Can also said that from this battle on, Chen Dabao's ranking in the "Great Yan Famous Generals Spectrum" can be compared to Zhao Zilong's.

  Hong Taiyi wants to cultivate Chen Daniu to win over Zhao Mianze's forces, with a clear goal in sight.

  One step of chess pieces meets another step of chess pieces, the front is bleeding, and the back is full of calculations.

  Everyone understands, but some things are not convenient to say on the surface, and can only be hinted at with a few words. As they spoke more and more, Zhao Zhuo waved his hand lightly, indicating that they should all withdraw.

  It was clear that he didn't want to hear these things, and the generals in their hearts sighed. They looked at his face and could only salute and retreat one after another. Only Yuan Yu remained, taking off his outer armor, smiling and sitting on a stool opposite him, falling into silence together with him.

  A gust of night wind blew in, blowing open the curtain of the tent and rolling up several military letters on the table. But Zhao Zun seemed to have no feeling, his eyes still staring at the sand table without blinking, all his attention focused on the magnificent northern expedition battlefield on the sand table.

  Yuanyou sighed and said, "Your Majesty has played a beautiful move."

  Zhao Zun's face was calm and composed, "Isn't it good to be carefree?"

  Yuan You smiled, "Nonsense, can you be idle? Daining is the hard bone, and Hasar is cunning. He's north of Luan River, the war is far from over. Only when someone brings his head back, can we truly take a break."

  Zhao Zun glanced at him and said, "Knowing is enough."

  Report—

  At this moment, someone else came from outside. It was the lieutenant sent by Zhao Kui to each major camp. The lieutenant's entry into the camp at such a late hour naturally meant that there was an urgent military report to be made. Without hesitation, Zhao Kui ordered him in, and the man, wearing helmet and armor, merely bowed his head in greeting instead of kneeling.

  "Your Highness, something has happened in the logistics camp."

  He raised an eyebrow and looked at him, "Speak."

  Xia Yan was soon to be punished by Xia Chang for wanting women from the logistics camp, someone knocked on the pot to plead, then Xia Chang punished Xia Yan with 20 military clubs. Then he sent the Northern Di woman to Yidou, but on the way, they encountered the Northern Di people who were hijacked. Three soldiers were scared and fled, but a newly recruited fire-headed soldier bravely fought against the enemy, single-handedly capturing 20 Northern Di people. Now those people are all detained in the Qingzhou prison.

  "Wow, that's impressive!"

  After hearing the glorious deeds of "that little soldier", Zhao Zun had not reacted yet, but Yuan You was astonished and raised his thumb, "Tian Lu, a talent like this is wasted as a partner soldier, he should be reused."

  Zhao You's expression didn't change, and it was unclear what he was thinking about. He hesitated for a long time before his eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Go investigate the background of those people. Also, pass down the order that deserters must be caught and brought back."

  "Yes."

  Also notify Xia Chang, the heavy troops will set up camp immediately and meet at Ping.

  "Yes."

  Chi Hou led the order down, but Zhao Zun rubbed his forehead and looked at Yuan Yu.

  "Is there still no news from the capital?"

  He knew who he was asking, Yuan You's eyes dodged a bit, originally didn't want to say, but seeing Zhao Zun's gaze getting colder and colder, knowing that hiding it wouldn't work anymore, he coughed again before speaking in a low voice: "Tian Lu, these days you've been fighting continuously, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on, there's something that has been hidden from you all along."

  Zhao Zun's eyes turned cold, "What is it?"

  Yu Wei didn't dare to face his gaze, rubbed his nose, and pulled out two letters from his pocket, slowly moving them from the desk to his front. "From the capital... that day... I had it detained. Said my cousin... got acne."

  Digression

  Sorry about that, it's been late these days, after this period, I'll adjust...