No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

That night, looking north from the platform, one sees earthen houses.

Su Chuang was counting silver coins with his legs crossed. The gold ingots gleamed in the candlelight. He hummed a little tune as he counted, looking just like a nouveau riche.

"One hundred and three, one hundred and four... Damn, that woman Ye Qingyue is really rich."

Xu Mengran, who was wiping her sword opposite him, rolled her eyes at him upon hearing this: "You've counted eight times already, aren't you tired?"

"Tired of what?" Su Chuang grinned. "Counting money is enjoyable, don't you understand?"

As they were talking, the shadow in the corner of the earthen house suddenly moved.

A gray figure appeared silently, kneeling on one knee; it was Lu Bing.

"My lord, at the beacon tower outside Wolf Valley, Ye Qingyue and Wanyan Honglie had a secret meeting half an hour ago."

The gold ingot in Su Chuang's hand clattered back into the box. He turned his head, and the greedy look on his face instantly vanished by seventy percent.

Explain in more detail.

"Ye Qingyue only brought Yue Xinyang and four personal guards, while Wanyan Honglie brought more than ten people."

"The private conversation lasted about half an hour, the contents of which are unknown, but when the two parted, Wanyan Honglie gave Ye Qingyue a pearl the size of a pigeon egg."

Lu Bing's voice was flat and monotone, like he was reading from an account book.

"Furthermore, after Ye Qingyue returned to Yumen Pass, she summoned Zhang Liao overnight, but Zhang Liao heard some noise outside the study, his face turned ugly, and he left after only a short while."

Su Chuang narrowed his eyes: "A commotion? What commotion?"

"According to reports from our informants in the General's Mansion, Ye Qingyue and Yue Xinyang were behaving intimately in the study."

Xu Mengran sheathed her sword with a clang, her face ashen: "This woman is truly shameless!"

Su Chuang chuckled: "If you had any shame, would you still call yourself Ye Qingyue?"

He rubbed his fingers together and looked at Lu Bing: "What's Wanyan Honglie doing?"

"This afternoon, three thousand-man squads under his command quietly left the camp, heading towards 'Eagle Beak Gorge' east of Yumen Pass."

"The terrain there is secluded, making it easy to move stealthily."

"Eagle Beak Gorge..."

Su Chuang stroked his chin.

"It's less than fifty miles from Yumen Pass. If Ye Qingyue turns a blind eye, the Xiongnu cavalry could sneak over in one night."

Xu Mengran stood up: "I'll take men and block Eagle's Beak Gorge right now!"

"What's the rush?"

Su Chuang waved his hand, turned his head and called out the door, "Wenhe! Come in!"

Jia Xu had been waiting outside the door for some time. He lifted his gray robe and slipped in silently, bowing, "My lord."

"Did you hear what Lu Bing just said?"

"I heard you."

What do you think?

Jia Xu remained silent for three breaths, then slightly raised his usually droopy eyelids, the candlelight reflecting in his eyes with a cold gleam.

"My lord, Ye Qingyue is inviting a wolf into the house."

"Nonsense," Su Chuang said dismissively. "Say something useful."

"If Wanyan Honglie wants to attack us, he must pass through Yumen Pass."

"There are only two possibilities for Ye Qingyue to make things convenient for him: one is to let a small group of cavalry infiltrate, and the other is to open the door wide and let the Xiongnu army drive straight in."

Jia Xu paused.

"But given Ye Qingyue's personality, she wouldn't dare let the Xiongnu army in, as that would be a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of her family."

"Therefore, she will only send out small groups of elite troops, such as... three to five thousand people."

Su Chuang nodded:

"Just what I thought."

"Wanyan Honglie currently has eight thousand cavalrymen under his command, but he can't send them all here. He needs to leave some men to guard the north."

"I estimate at most five thousand."

"Five thousand cavalry, plus the provisions and intelligence secretly provided by Ye Qingyue, and the remaining bandits in the northern frontier..."

A faint smile appeared on Jia Xu's lips.

"That's enough for us to drink a whole pot."

Xu Mengran grew anxious: "Then what are we waiting for? Quickly deploy troops and set up defenses!"

Su Chuang looked at Jia Xu and grinned:

"Wenhe, your eyes are darting around like an abacus, are you plotting something?"

Jia Xu bowed:

"My lord, you are wise. I do have a plan, but... it's rather ruthless."

"poison?"

Su Chuang's eyes lit up. "I love hearing about poison! Tell me about it!"

Jia Xu took half a step forward, his voice extremely low:

"Wasn't Ye Qingyue planning to use someone else to do her dirty work?"

"Then let's let her use this knife... to cut her own neck."

"Be specific."

"If Wanyan Honglie's cavalry wants to infiltrate, they must pass through Yumen Pass."

"To avoid suspicion, Ye Qingyue would certainly not dare to openly let them in, so she could only let them in secretly in batches."

Jia Xu dipped his finger in tea and drew a line on the table.

"Release three thousand at a time, two thousand at a time, in two or three batches. This way, the commotion will be small and it won't be easily noticed."

Su Chuang nodded: "And then?"

"Then……"

Jia Xu paused.

"Let's have the Imperial Guards disguise themselves as Ye Qingyue's men and ambush the first batch of Xiongnu cavalry on the way."

Xu Mengran was taken aback: "A sneak attack? Wouldn't that alert the enemy?"

"The goal is to stir up trouble and alert the enemy."

Jia Xu sneered.

"After the sneak attack, they deliberately left behind 'evidence'."

"For example, the standard-issue arrows of Ye Qingyue's personal guards, and the waist badge of her general's mansion."

"Let a few more Xiongnu soldiers go back and report the news."

Su Chuang instantly understood, slapping his thigh: "Brilliant!"

He was so happy his shoulders were shaking:

"When Wanyan Honglie received the news, he must have thought that Ye Qingyue had double-crossed him, taking his money and then trying to swindle his people!"

"When the Xiongnu are enraged, their first target for revenge will be Yumen Pass!"

Jia Xu nodded: "Exactly."

"Ye Qingyue let the wolf into the house, so let's just let her... get bitten by the wolf."

Xu Mengran felt a chill run down her spine.

That's a really vicious plan.

If successful, Ye Qingyue would not only fail to achieve her plan of using someone else to kill, but would also incur the wrath of the Xiongnu.

"If Yumen Pass falls, she, the commander, will surely die!"

"But……"

Xu Mengran hesitated and said, "Yumen Pass is the gateway to the Great Qian Dynasty. If it is really breached by the Xiongnu, the people of the northern frontier will suffer."

Su Chuang waved his hand: "Don't worry, Wanyan Honglie doesn't have the guts to actually attack Yumen Pass."

"His internal situation is unstable. If he were to go to war with the Great Qian Dynasty, the other Xiongnu tribes would be the first to swallow him up."

He looked at Jia Xu: "This plan is feasible."

"But there are two problems: First, how can we ensure that the Imperial Guards won't be recognized as not being Ye Qingyue's men during a sneak attack?"

"Secondly, after the sneak attack, how did you convince the Xiongnu that Ye Qingyue was behind it?"

Jia Xu seemed to have anticipated this question, and calmly replied:

"My lord, Ye Qingyue's Divine Might Army has a unit called the 'Black Feather Guard'."

"Specializing in assassination and espionage, the arrows they use have special arrowheads that are triangular in shape and have blood grooves."

"The Imperial Guards have seized samples in their warehouses that can be replicated."

"As for the waist tag..."

He took a wooden plaque from his pocket and handed it to Su Chuang.

Su Chuang took it and saw that it was indeed the pass from General Ye Qingyue's mansion. The workmanship was exquisite, and even the wear marks on it were exactly the same.

"Where did you come from?" Su Chuang asked, his eyes wide.

"It's a fake."

Jia Xu remained unfazed. "I ordered three copies to be secretly made half a month ago, just in case."

Su Chuang stared at Jia Xu for three breaths, then suddenly grinned: "Wenhe, Wenhe, you're a real talent."

Jia Xu bowed and said, "It is my duty to share the burdens of my lord."

"Okay! We'll do it your way!"

Su Chuang slammed his hand on the table.

"Lu Bing, you will personally lead a team of one hundred skilled fighters to disguise themselves as Black Feather Guards."

"Remember, run after the ambush, don't linger, leave a few survivors to report back."

Lu Bing lowered his head: "Yes."

"besides."

Su Chuang added.

"During the surprise attack, shout things like 'General Ye has ordered that all the Xiongnu dogs be killed,' and make it look like a real show."

"clear."

Lu Bingru disappeared into the shadows as silently as he had come.

Xu Mengran looked at Su Chuang with a complicated expression: "Chuang, if you do this, Ye Qingyue might really die at Yumen Pass."

Su Chuang turned to look at her, the nonchalant smile on his face fading slightly.

"Sister Xu, do you know how my parents died?"

Xu Mengran was taken aback.

"My father died in battle at Luofeng Slope because someone sold his defense map. My mother... was poisoned."

Su Chuang's voice was soft, but his eyes held an icy edge.

Even if Ye Qingyue wasn't the mastermind, she can't escape responsibility.

"Over the years, she has climbed up by stepping on the corpses of the Su family, and now she wants to use the Xiongnu's knife to kill me."

He paused.

"I'm the kind of person who holds grudges. What she owes me, I'm going to get back to her one by one."

Xu Mengran fell silent.

She suddenly remembered how Su Chuang looked when she first met him.

The good-for-nothing prince, who was ridiculed by everyone in the capital, knelt before Ye Qingyue and begged her not to annul the engagement.

But now...

This man stood in the wind and sand of the northern frontier, with thousands of troops behind him and mountains of corpses and seas of blood in his eyes.

"I'll stay with you," she said softly.

Su Chuang grinned, reverting to his roguish demeanor: "Of course, you have to stay with me for life."

"Glib-tongued."

Xu Mengran turned her face away, her ears turning slightly red.

Jia Xu tactfully withdrew and closed the door behind him.

Only two people remained in the mud house.

Su Chuang leaned closer and put his hand on Xu Mengran's waist: "Sister Xu, look how round the moon is tonight..."

"Round my ass, it's a cloudy day."

Xu Mengran slapped his hand away, but the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

……

The following day, east of Yumen Pass, at Yingzui Gorge.

The canyon is narrow, with steep cliffs on both sides, allowing only five riders to pass side by side.

Ye Qingyue stood on the pass wall, looking calmly at the Xiongnu cavalry that could be vaguely seen in the distance.

Yue Xinyang stood beside her and whispered, "Qingyue, Wanyan Honglie's men have arrived. The first batch of three thousand cavalry has reached ten miles outside the canyon."

"Let them pass," Ye Qingyue said calmly.

"But……"

"No buts."

Ye Qingyue turned to look at him, her eyes icy. "Have all the guards on the wall been replaced with your men?"

"Replaced, replaced. They're all trusted confidants."

"That's good."

Ye Qingyue looked towards the canyon.

"Tell the guards to keep their eyes peeled tonight."

"See what you should see, and pretend you're blind to what you shouldn't see."

Yue Xinyang understood.

He turned and went to relay the order.

Half an hour later, three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen passed through Eagle Beak Gorge like ghosts.

The horse's hooves were wrapped in cloth, the rider had a gag in his mouth, the horse's bell was removed, and they quietly disappeared into the night.

The guards on the wall were indeed "blind".

No one warned anyone, no one stopped them, and even the torches were deliberately dimmed.

Ye Qingyue watched the last rider disappear into the darkness, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Su Chuang, let's see if you survive this time.

……

Thirty miles north of Wild Wolf Valley lies an abandoned earthen fortress.

Three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen rested here. The leader was a general under Wanyan Honglie named "Bald Wolf," who lived up to his name and was as fierce as a wolf.

He sat on the crumbling stone wall of the earthen fortress, munching on dried meat, his one eye scanning his surroundings.

"General, Wangbeitai is another fifty li ahead."

The lieutenant leaned closer and said, "Ye Qingyue said she would send someone to meet us and give us directions."

Bald Wolf spat: "How much can you believe a Han Chinese woman's words?"

"But she accepted the prince's jewel..."

"So what if we accept it?"

Bald Wolf sneered, "Han people are the most cunning; there are plenty of them who take money and do nothing."

"Tell the brothers to be alert and ready to fight at any time."

"yes!"

Just as the lieutenant was about to leave, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from afar.

A rider came galloping up, his body covered in blood, shouting hoarsely, "General! There's an ambush ahead!"

Bald Wolf suddenly stood up: "Where did this ambush come from? How many people are there?!"

"No, I don't know! It was too dark. I only saw arrows raining down, and our brothers suffered heavy casualties!"

"Damn it!" Bald Wolf grabbed his curved sword. "All troops, prepare for battle!"

However, it was too late.

Suddenly, countless torches lit up the darkness surrounding the earthen fortress!

Immediately afterwards, the sound of arrows piercing the air was like a swarm of locusts passing by, densely shooting towards the Xiongnu camp!

"Enemy attack—!"

Screams erupted instantly.

Bald Wolf, his eyes bloodshot, brandished his scimitar to deflect arrows, roaring, "Form ranks! Form ranks!"

However, the Xiongnu cavalry were skilled in open field battles, and this kind of night raid and encounter battle in narrow terrain was not their forte at all.

What's worse, those arrows... were too accurate.

Specializing in shooting horses' legs and throats, they were clearly well-trained elites.

"General! Look at the arrow shaft!" The lieutenant picked up an arrow, his voice trembling.

The bald wolf took a look, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The arrow shaft is jet black, the arrowhead is triangular, and it has a blood groove.

These are the standard arrows of the elite "Black Feather Guards" of the Great Qian border army!

"Ye Qingyue!!!"

The bald wolf hissed and roared, "You fucking dared to trick me!!"

Just then, a loud shout came from the darkness:

"General Ye has given the order! Slaughter all the Xiongnu dogs! Leave no one alive—!"