The Prodigal Son

Looking at Panyang County in the distance, Liu Shizhao and the others couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Seven days!

They set off from the capital and arrived at Panyang County, 1,500 li away, in less than seven days.

Along the way, they hardly rested except for eating and sleeping.

Although they had some martial arts skills, they had never ridden a horse for such a long time before.

They were alright; although the skin on their inner thighs was also chafed, at least it only broke out two days later.

Those weak scholars who passed the imperial examinations had a truly miserable time.

Many people had their inner thighs chafed raw by the second or third day of their trip, and they were practically crying out for help the whole way.

They asked Qin Yu for a rest, but Qin Yu directly told them to ask Lü Si how they had managed to get to Chenzhou.

When Lü Si told those people about how he and Qin Yu had run away, they immediately lost their temper and endured the pain until now.

Qin Yu looked up and gazed into the distance, his heart filled with emotion.

finally reached!

If he doesn't arrive soon, he'll get a stroke from all that teasing from Luo Qingyi, that enchanting vixen.

There was no other way; Luo Qingyi spent far more time riding him than riding a horse.

To spare Luo Qingyi any suffering, he had her ride with him quite often, frequently having her sit sideways on the horse, leaning against his chest.

As a result, this vixen deliberately flirted with him all the way.

However, although he suffered along the way, his journey was ultimately successful.

They did not encounter any assassination attempts from Bei Qi along the way.

It's unclear whether the intelligence in the letter was inaccurate, or whether the people of Beiqi abandoned their assassination attempt because they saw that he had too many guards around him.

"This humble general, Yuan Ji, greets Lord Qin!"

As Qin Yu and his group approached, Yuan Ji immediately led several generals to pay their respects.

Qin Yu was not only a special envoy of the imperial court, but his official rank also surpassed all of theirs.

Qin Yu was a second-rank General of Martial Might.

Yuan Ji was a third-rank official, his deputy Liang Hongqiao was a third-rank official, and the others were of varying ranks from fourth-rank to fourth-rank.

No need for formalities.

Qin Yu dismounted and looked at Yuan Ji. "You should know Yuan Dingguo, right?"

"Of course I know him!"

Yuan Ji nodded and said, "Yuan Dingguo and I are of the same clan."

Qin Yu smiled and asked again, "Has there been a reply from the Yan Kingdom?"

"have!"

Yuan Ji replied, "Crown Prince Yan Li will arrive in Zhu County before the fifteenth of July. The specific details of the meeting still need to be discussed between Marquis Qin and Crown Prince Yan."

"That's good!"

A faint smile flickered across Qin Yu's face.

Although all they wanted to do was talk to Yan Li, they had not received a reply from Yan before, and they were not sure who Yan would send.

Now that it's confirmed that it's Yan Li, there's nothing to worry about.

Yuan Ji pointed to several generals behind him, "Let me introduce these gentlemen to Lord Qin!"

"Let me guess!"

Qin Yu smiled, his gaze first falling on Liang Hongqiao.

Perhaps due to years of leading troops, Liang Hongqiao's skin had a healthy wheat color, and her figure was also slightly robust.

But it doesn't give the impression of being fat or bloated.

It's just that the skeleton is relatively large.

"You must be Qiao Ye, right?"

Before coming to Panyang County, Qin Yu had done his homework.

Although the Great Ning Dynasty was ruled by a woman, there were relatively few female generals.

And there are even fewer famous female generals.

The two most famous female generals were Lady Shuanghua of Wuzhou and Liang Hongqiao of Panyang.

When Qin Yu addressed her as "Pretty Master," Liang Hongqiao felt slightly embarrassed and stepped forward to greet him.

"This humble general, Liang Hongqiao, greets Lord Qin."

"No need for such formalities."

Qin Yu smiled, "I've heard of you before, Mr. Pretty Boy. I'll follow local custom and call you Mr. Pretty Boy!"

Liang Hongqiao was even more embarrassed upon hearing this, while the generals beside her burst into laughter.

Yuan Ji chuckled, "Does Marquis Qin also know the nickname 'Pretty Master'?"

"Of course I know."

Qin Yu nodded. "You forgot? Xiong Quhu and the others are now in the Wudang Flying Army under my command."

"Yes, yes! I almost forgot about that."

Yuan Ji smiled knowingly and then introduced the other people to Qin Yu.

Yang Fengjie, Yue Hanshan, Du Fan, Wang Xiaoying...

Qin Yu also gave them a brief introduction to Song Xian, Lü Si, and others.

After a brief introduction, the group followed Yuan Ji into the city. Qin Yu even instructed Yuan Ji to get some healing medicine for those weaklings whose thighs were chafed raw.

Along the way, Qin Yu also briefly inquired about the situation in Panyang from Yuan Ji.

Currently, Panyang County and Qingshan County each have 20,000 garrison troops.

Dingzhou Prefecture also has 20,000 troops that can be mobilized for support at any time.

Since last year, trade between Da Ning and Yan has resumed, and the number of merchants traveling between the two countries has increased dramatically.

However, although there was a temporary official market in Panyang County, more merchants went to Qingshan County.

Because that area is closer to Yishui and has a large wharf, it would be more convenient for goods and people to travel.

Hearing Yuan Ji's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This guy didn't tell me the truth!

He knew that there were several large hidden military caves in the area north of Panyang, near the top of Yunpan Mountain.

There are at least 15,000 men hidden inside!

It seems that Yuan Ji and his generals are unaware of the campaign against Yan.

They all assumed that he had come to have a meeting with Yan Li.

After leading Qin Yu and the others to their lodgings, Yuan Ji smiled and said, "Lord Qin and everyone, please rest for a while. Tonight, I will host a banquet to welcome you all!"

"good!"

Qin Yu nodded, then pointed to Zhu Songlan and the others beside him and said, "These are all talented people. His Majesty asked me to bring them here to train them."

"Don't be polite with them, just treat them like animals!"

"Leave all the difficult or troublesome matters to them!"

"You can discuss the specific arrangements with Lord Song..."

Hearing Qin Yu's undisguised words, Liu Shizhao and the others turned green with rage.

They knew Qin Yu didn't treat them like human beings.

But they never expected Qin Yu to treat them like this!

Are they not even going to pretend anymore?

They keep claiming to be talented people, yet they let others treat them like livestock.

Yuan Ji was amused by Qin Yu's words, "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"There's nothing wrong with it!"

Qin Yu smiled casually, "Didn't I bring them here to do things? Did you think I brought them here to watch the show?"

"General Yuan, please don't stand on ceremony!"

Song Xian chuckled, "Lord Qin is right. To train them, they definitely need to do real work! They've had enough of studying; it's time to put what they've learned to use!"

"Then I really won't stand on ceremony?"

Yuan Ji suddenly smiled. "Don't laugh at me, but as a martial artist, I find many political affairs incredibly difficult to handle. Thankfully, Master Qiao is meticulous and has helped me with many trivial matters; otherwise, I would be even more overwhelmed! If I had so many talented people to help me, things would be much easier!"

Qin Yu: "Then let Lord Song talk to you and Miss Qiao first, and see how to arrange things for them!"

Yuan Ji: "Thank you, Lord Qin!"

"Don't mention it!"

Qin Yu laughed heartily, then turned to Liu Shizhao and the others, saying with a playful expression, "Gentlemen, stop standing there, hurry up and apply the medicine! Not everyone can be a beast of burden; to be a beast of burden, you need to have a good physique first!"

Everyone's faces twitched slightly as they cursed Qin Yu's ancestors in their hearts while following others to apply medicine.

After giving instructions, Qin Yu took Nan Que'er and Luo Qingyi back to their room.

Qin Yu was preparing to give Luo Qingyi a good "lesson" when Luo Qingyi approached him mysteriously first, "Did you notice the big hammer?"

"A sledgehammer?"

Qin Yu asked in confusion, "What's wrong with Big Hammer?"

Luo Qingyi's lips curled up, and she said with a gossipy look, "I've noticed that Da Chui's gaze towards Qiao Ye is a little strange!"