A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

"All soldiers!"

Wei Zhao stood on the command platform, his white robe fluttering in the wind, a white wax spear resting beside him.

The crowd below the stage was so dense that it seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. Ten thousand cavalrymen were arrayed in front, and the sunlight shining through their armor was so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

He stood before an army of 300,000, dressed in white, without armor or helmet.

The taxi driver in the audience looked at that figure and inexplicably felt a burning sensation in his chest.

At Yanmen Pass, he killed the Northern Rong King with a single spear thrust; at Yumen Pass, he led 50,000 cavalrymen through 300,000. This man standing there was like a flag.

"The Northern Rong are destroyed."

Wei Zhao's voice wasn't loud, but those words clearly rang in everyone's ears.

"The Western Qiang have been pacified."

The audience was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

"Next—the Southern Barbarians."

Wei Zhao pointed south, and the tip of the white wax spear flashed in the sunlight.

"Jianmen Pass has fallen, and the Southern Barbarian elephant cavalry is advancing rapidly towards Jiangnan."

"The civilians along the way were fleeing, the defending troops were collapsing, and no one could stop them."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the tanned faces of the audience.

"If we don't go, Jiangnan will be finished. If Jiangnan is finished, the Great Wei's granaries will be gone. If the granaries are gone, what will the brothers on the front lines eat?"

What do your mother, wife, and children eat?

No one spoke, but the hands gripping the reins tightened.

"This is the final battle."

Wei Zhao's voice turned somber.

"After defeating the Nanman, the only remaining enemies of the Great Wei are the Donghu and Xianyuan, those two opportunists. Once the Nanman are destroyed, those two will retreat on their own."

He raised the white wax spear into the air.

"Brothers—follow me, let's fight this last battle and go home!"

"kill--"

The roar of 300,000 people exploded across the Gobi Desert, sending sand and dust flying.

Wei Zhao mounted his horse, the white horse neighed, its hooves flying, and charged out of the gate.

One hundred thousand cavalry followed closely behind, a rolling torrent of iron, heading south.

Behind her, Liu Jingshuang's 200,000 infantrymen were still forming ranks. She stood at the very front of the formation, her phoenix eyes fixed on Wei Zhao's departing figure. Her lips moved, but she didn't utter a sound.

A journey that took half a month.

Cavalry is fast, infantry is slow; it would take her at least a month to reach Jiangnan with 200,000 men.

A month is enough time for a lot to happen.

……

Seven days later, in the capital city, at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Today, the Dowager Lady is wearing the full court attire befitting a first-rank imperial consort, complete with a phoenix crown, embroidered robe, cloud-patterned shoulder cape, and jade pendant.

She stood at the very front of all the civil and military officials, leaning on her cane, her back straighter than the stone pillars outside the palace.

All the officials in the court were apprehensive as they looked at her attire.

When the old lady went to court, she always wore ordinary clothes and at most a plain silver hairpin.

The person dressed like this today is either celebrating a victory or looking for trouble.

Considering that the Wei family had just pacified the Western Qiang, they were probably here to ask for rewards.

"The rebellion of the Western Qiang has been quelled."

After the chief eunuch finished reading the frontline military report, his voice was high-pitched and shrill, circling three corners in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Wei Zhao, the commander of the Wei family army, led his troops to defeat the nearly 300,000-strong Western Qiang army, killing nearly 100,000 enemies, and the rest surrendered."

"The new king of the Western Qiang, Tuoba Yue, has taken over the royal court and restored friendly relations with the Great Wei."

After the military report was read aloud, a hushed murmur arose in the hall.

From the Northern Rong to the Western Qiang, the tenth man from the Wei family has killed nearly 700,000 people.

Since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, no military general has achieved such a record.

The faces of the military officers were filled with awe, and even the way they looked at the old lady changed.

But Emperor Yuanxi, sitting on the dragon throne, had no expression on his face.

The old lady stood there, not saying a word; she was waiting.

Waiting for the emperor to speak.

Emperor Yuanxi flipped through the memorials at hand and slowly sipped his tea.

"The Wei family army has made great contributions, and I am very pleased."

He kept saying "I am very pleased," but his tone was like chanting a mantra.

The old lady's hand tightened its grip on the walking stick by an inch.

"only--"

When they arrived, the old lady didn't even blink.

"I have heard that the commander of the Wei family army arbitrarily searched the mansion of Zhao Yuanlang, an official of the court, at Yumen Pass and plundered money to use as military funds."

Emperor Yuanxi raised his gaze from the memorial and placed it on the Dowager Empress.

"Although Zhao Yuanlang has committed a fault, it is illegal to confiscate his property without a trial by the imperial court."

There was a moment of silence in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The old lady finally spoke, her voice aged but each word as hard as an iron nail.

"Does Your Majesty mean that Zhao Yuanlang has been receiving salaries without working for ten years, drinking the blood of soldiers for ten years, and starving the garrison at Yumen Pass to the point that they can't even hold their swords—that's considered 'misconduct'?"

Emperor Yuanxi tapped his finger on the armrest of the dragon throne.

The old lady didn't stop.

"My nine sons died in battle, and the imperial court didn't even provide a single penny in compensation—what do you call that?"

"Is it also called 'mistake'?"

The faces of the civil officials turned pale.

Standing at the forefront of the officials, Lu Song spun the sandalwood prayer beads in his hand rapidly.

He didn't speak, but a faint smile played at the corners of his lips.

No rush, the emperor is already on his side.

Zhao Yuanlang's matter was indeed his Achilles' heel—if Wei Zhao had really gotten hold of those correspondence, it would have been enough to give Lu Song a hard time.

But the emperor didn't want to investigate.

The reason the emperor didn't want to investigate was simple—the Wei family was too powerful.

With the Northern Rong destroyed and the Western Qiang pacified, Wei Zhao led an army of 300,000 south to attack the Southern Man.

Once the Southern Barbarians are pacified, to what extent will the Wei family's prestige rise?

By then, it's hard to say whether the emperor's surname will be Yuan or Wei.

So Lu Song gave the emperor a suggestion: not to bestow any rewards.

Not bestowing rewards is a warning, letting the Wei family know that no matter how many battles they fight or how great their achievements are, there is still an emperor above them.

The raid on Zhao Yuanlang's home served as a convenient pretext.

Wei Zhao's act of enforcing the law beyond the borders and confiscating the property of an official without trial by the imperial court is indeed untenable under the law.

Whether Zhao Yuanlang himself deserved to die is another matter.

The old lady slammed her cane heavily on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I will not discuss the law with you. My sons have not studied the law; all they know is how to fight."

Her voice was like dry wood burning in a fire.

"They don't understand what 'illegal' means. They only know that if the soldiers don't have food, they can't fight. If they can't fight, they can't defend the pass. If they can't defend the pass, then the barbarians will come in."

The old matriarch's gaze swept over Lu Song without lingering, and went straight to the dragon throne.

"The money and grain that Zhao Yuanlang embezzled are now being used to support an army of 300,000 men marching south."

"If Your Majesty believes this is illegal, then please allocate military funds."

Her voice cracked, but those last words resonated throughout the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"The imperial court isn't providing funds, nor is it allowing soldiers to find their own solutions—are they just going to let the soldiers starve and die in His Majesty's place?"

Emperor Yuanxi's expression finally changed.

It wasn't anger, but a feeling of embarrassment at having a sore spot touched.

He was indeed broke; the national treasury had long been emptied by Lu Song, and the remaining funds were needed to maintain administrative expenses in the capital and other regions.

Military pay?

What should we use to send it?

"This matter... will be discussed later."

These four words again.

The old lady loosened her grip on her cane, her face expressionless. She turned and walked out of the hall.

The entire court made way for him.

No one dared to stop them.

……

The Western Qiang Royal Palace.

Tuoba Yue squatted beside the table, clutching a petition from a tribal chief in her hand, and was reading it halfway through.

My stomach suddenly churned.

She frowned, put down the petition, and stood up, supporting herself on the table with her right hand.

I flipped it over again, and this time it was much stronger; a wave of acid rushed straight to my throat.

She covered her mouth and quickly walked to the copper basin, then bent over and gagged twice.

I didn't vomit it out.

Tuoba Yue straightened up, wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and stared blankly for a moment.

Then her hand slowly returned to her lower abdomen.

My mind raced through the days—it's been over ten days since that night.

She grew up on the grasslands and witnessed too many women in tribes experiencing pregnancy.

I feel nauseous, gag, and can't stand the smell of greasy food.

Tuoba Yue's fingers tightened on her lower abdomen, gripping the fabric of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.

But the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

A smile spread from the corners of her mouth to the corners of her eyes, which curved into two crescent moons, glistening with moisture.