I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

On the walls of Wuyang!

The Northern Mang Empress, dressed in military attire, stood upright atop the city wall.

The curved sword at his waist gleamed in the sunlight!

As long as the Zhou reinforcements are driven to Qingling Pass.

She will personally lead the army to attack Qingling Pass!

As long as the Great Zhou reinforcements inside Qingling Pass are eliminated.

Within the Great Zhou territory, there was no longer any decent force to resist the Northern Barbarian cavalry.

The entire territory of the Great Zhou belongs to her, and to the Northern Mang.

The Central Plains, which the Northern Barbarians have coveted for over a thousand years, will be the first territory she incorporates into the Northern Barbarians' territory!

Her name, Murong Huang, will stand shoulder to shoulder with the founding ancestor of the Northern Mang Kingdom!

No, he should be ranked before his ancestors; he was the first emperor of Northern Mang!

Just thinking about it made the Empress of Northern Mang feel excited and thrilled!

"What time is it?"

As the sun rose higher, the Northern Mang Empress pressed one hand against the hilt of her sword at her waist and couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty, it is already past 9 AM."

The hour of Si (巳) corresponds to the time between 9 and 11 in later generations.

Upon hearing this, the Empress of Northern Mang frowned deeply. "It's been so long, and there's still no news?"

According to the plan, she should have led her army to the gates of Qingling Pass at this time.

However, those who went to act as "bowmen" last night have not returned and no news has been sent back, which makes her dare not act rashly.

"no."

The person who returned shook his head, not daring to utter a sound.

Actually, before dawn, signs of trouble had already begun to emerge.

Many people on the city wall had this premonition.

But no one dared to speak up, for fear of incurring the Empress's wrath.

"Ahem!"

Suddenly, a coughing sound came from Zhuge Yu, who had been recuperating in Wuyang City for many days and was almost fully recovered.

At least I don't have to be wrapped in a thick blanket and helped wherever I go.

He gently waved the feather fan in his hand, came behind the Empress, and bowed deeply to her back, brimming with confidence:

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry!"

"This plan of the frightened bird is not to launch a full-scale attack, but to create a false impression and drive the Great Zhou army into Qingling Pass. Moreover, it is our Northern Barbarian's number one warrior, His Majesty's beloved general, General Jin Ge, who is personally leading the team. Surely nothing unexpected will happen."

"Even if something unexpected happens, General Jin Ge, a peak ninth-rank expert, can safely bring the two princes back. Under heaven, unless a Grandmaster intervenes, no one can stop General Jin!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a troop of cavalry suddenly approached from afar and quickly rode to the foot of the city.

They were scouts that the Empress had recently sent out to gather information.

The scout arrived at the city gate, quickly dismounted, knelt on one knee, and bowed to the Northern Mang Empress on the city wall, saying, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"General Jin Ge's entire army has been wiped out!"

Upon hearing this, the Northern Barbarian soldiers on the city wall were all shocked, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Only Zhuge Yu's lips twitched violently, a slap in the face!

He had just said there would be no accidents, but who would have thought that the entire army would be wiped out?

His face stung from being slapped repeatedly.

Moreover, under the extremely cold gaze of the Northern Mang Empress, Zhuge Yu was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Zhuge Yu stammered, unsure of what to say.

Things had far exceeded his expectations.

The Northern Mang Empress had no time to pay him any attention. She calmly ordered, "Issue my military order: a full-scale attack! We must capture Qingling Pass within one hour!"

At a command, the giant horn unique to Northern Mang was sounded on the city wall, its sound deep and resonant!

The two city gates swung open with a loud bang.

The Northern Mang cavalry inside the city surged towards Qingling Pass, which was more than ten miles away, like a torrent of steel.

From the air, Qingling Pass appears to be in grave danger!

……

into the night!

The blizzard arrived as expected, and the howling wind could drown out any sound.

Inside the shelter, the stove burned brightly, bringing warmth. The people of Da Zhou gathered again, but this time Su Chen was absent.

He fought a duel with a Northern Mang general during the day and won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory, and he will need a long time to recover.

However, based on Qin Li's estimation, the protagonist Su Chen's physique would be stronger than Qin Feng's, not weaker, and he estimated that three to five days would be enough.

Then they'll be lively and energetic again, useful to him, and used as his tools!

"Alright, these are the tasks for each battalion. I hope you will all remain at your posts and not give the Northern Barbarians any opportunity to take advantage of you."

After distributing the tasks, Qin Li waved his hand, dismissing them.

During the day, Su Chen had just won a one-on-one duel when the Northern Mang army from Wuyang City launched a full-scale attack and easily captured Qingling Pass!

Fortunately, Qin Li had given prior military orders that if the situation turned bad, the garrison inside Qingling Pass could abandon the city and flee, which prevented major casualties.

Now, the entire Zhou army has retreated to the Qingling Mountains, while the Northern Barbarians are eyeing them covetously from the outside!

After the generals clasped their fists in greeting and withdrew, only Qin Li and Wei Hongying remained in the vast shelter.

However, this time, their feelings were different from the last time.

Wei Hongying sat in the chair, looking down at her hands, feeling extremely guilty.

Qin Li entrusted her with such an important and simple task as the first battle, yet she fought so badly.

All day long, wherever she went, she felt like people were talking about her behind her back and pointing fingers.

Although no one dared to say it openly, Wei Hongying knew that they were all mocking and blaming her.

They felt that since she wasn't good at fighting, she should get married, stay at home, and be a good wife and mother.

Running off to the border, running off to the battlefield, is nothing but trouble; who knows how many more brothers will be killed in the future.

As time went by, Wei Hongying felt increasingly guilty. Her nose tingled, and large tears slid down her cheeks, condensed on her chin, and dripped onto the ground one by one.

Hearing the sound, Qin Li looked away from the map, shook his head slightly, and got up to walk over.

He didn't reach out to wipe away Wei Hongying's tears, because doing so would only make Wei Hongying feel more guilty.

Qin Li simply reached out and patted her shoulder, saying comfortingly:

"Although you didn't fight well last night, you still made contributions!"

"At least, we've tested just how powerful the Northern Mang army really is. Most importantly, we captured two princes of Northern Mang alive!"

"It is precisely because of these two princes that the Northern Mang army within Qingling Pass dares not act rashly!"

Wei Hongying gently shook her head, refusing to accept it.

She simply wiped away her tears, stood up, took two steps back, and clasped her hands in a fist salute to Qin Li. "This humble general has failed Your Highness's trust, causing the deaths of so many brothers. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

Looking at her, Qin Li knew that if he didn't punish her, Wei Hongying would definitely not be able to get over this.

Wei Hongying is an extremely strong-willed girl!

After thinking for a moment, Qin Li said, "Alright, you'll be punished with thirty strokes of the military rod as a warning to others, but not now, but after we return to the capital!"

"With a major battle imminent, I, the prince, do not wish for you to fight while injured!"

"yes!"

Wei Hongying clasped her hands in a fist salute and accepted the order.

Just then, the heavy shelter door creaked open, opening only a tiny crack.

A pair of shifty eyes peered around outside, wondering if it was time to come in.

Qin Li knew who it was without even looking at the person. He went back to sit down and scolded them irritably:

"Get in here right now. This time, neither I nor the Imperial Guard have done anything shameful."

Zhou Biao then pushed open the door and came in. After entering, he awkwardly reached out and rubbed the back of his head.

Last time, he barged in without understanding the situation.

He saw something he shouldn't have seen and was beaten black and blue by Wei Hongying.

This time, he's learned his lesson!

Upon seeing Zhou Biao, Wei Hongying quickly corrected him, "Your Highness, we didn't do anything shameful last time."

Zhou Biao quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we didn't do it."

Qin Li was speechless... Wasn't this just blatant self-deception?

However, given that Wei Hongying is a young woman and is easily embarrassed.

Qin Li agreed, saying, "Yes, I didn't do it, I misspoke."

After saying that, Qin Li coughed twice and got down to business.

He looked at Zhou Biao as he entered and asked, "Is there anything important to report?"

"have!"

After saying that, Zhou Biao stood there without saying a word, like a wooden stake.

As time went on, not only Qin Li looked at him with a puzzled expression, but even Wei Hongying looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Is this over?

Have!

Please continue, tell me what this important matter is.

Zhou Biao remained silent, only looking at Qin Li with anticipation.

Finally, Wei Hongying couldn't hold back any longer and urged, "Zhou Biao, just say it already, are you trying to drive me crazy?"

Zhou Biao didn't even glance at Wei Hongying, waving his hand and saying, "Captain Wei, you don't understand. I'm waiting for His Highness to speak."

"What did you say?"

Wei Hongying looked puzzled, but also a little curious.

Zhou Biao cupped his hands towards Qin Li and said happily to Wei Hongying, "Of course, we are waiting for Your Highness to ask about the female disciples of the Jade Maiden Sect."

"Every time I come to report on matters, His Highness always asks about the female disciples of the Jade Maiden Sect."

His response was always that he was still searching and that news would surely come soon.

This time was no different. Zhou Biao waited for Qin Li to ask, and then he answered, "Let's talk about the real business we came here for... It's become a routine!"