I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Iron Pagoda!"

As soon as those three words were uttered, Qin Li clearly felt the two thousand soldiers behind him tremble, and even the warhorses beneath him became restless, lowering their heads and pawing at each other, exhaling heavy breaths from their nostrils.

Iron Pagoda!

The ace among aces of the Northern Mang army.

The original northern grasslands were not only inhabited by the Northern Barbarians, but included as many as eighteen tribes.

The eighteen tribes were constantly at war with each other, fighting fiercely, none of them willing to submit to the others, and none able to annex the others.

This situation lasted for a century!

Until the Northern Barbarian Iron Pagoda appeared out of nowhere and swept across the entire northern grasslands with lightning speed!

Other tribes dared not disobey, because the Ironclad Cavalry had a glorious record of destroying a country with only eighteen riders!

"What's there to be afraid of!"

Seeing his men clearly panicking, Wang Hu shouted loudly, trying to calm the troops down.

"Our Tiger Legion is no weaker than the Iron Pagoda!"

"Today, we'll determine the victor!"

"If we defeat the Iron Pagoda, my Tiger Warriors will be the number one cavalry in the world!"

"At that time, I, the Great General, will reward you handsomely: high-ranking positions, generous salaries, fertile land, and beautiful women—you name it!"

After saying that, Wang Hu drew his gleaming longsword from the side of the horse's belly with a clang.

The long sword gleamed coldly in the sunlight, making it too intimidating to look at!

Inspired by him, the two thousand elite soldiers also drew their long swords and fought to the death.

Unexpectedly, Qin Li acted faster, reaching out to grab the knife in Wang Hu's hand. Both angry and helpless, he roared, "General, what are you doing?!"

Wang Hu gripped the reins in one hand and the long knife in the other, his tiger eyes wide open:

"What are you doing?"

"Of course, we'll crush them!"

After saying that, Wang Hu spurred his horse and was about to lead his troops in a charge!

Seeing that he couldn't stop the reckless Wang Hu, Qin Li had no choice but to use his Blood Eye Technique, which instantly turned his eyes blood red.

But in just a moment, Qin Li was backfired. He groaned, the bloodshot in his eyes vanished instantly, and he clutched his chest, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Although he absorbed Wei Hongying's yin energy, he successfully raised his cultivation level to the peak of the sixth rank.

However, it would still be too difficult to use the Blood Eye Technique on Wang Hu, who was at the peak of the eighth rank.

This explains why Wang Hu had no suspicion of his nephew.

Otherwise, Qin Li's situation would have been far more serious than just nearly vomiting blood.

In severe cases, it can damage the foundation, making it difficult to advance even half a step in cultivation in this lifetime.

Although he suffered a backlash, Qin Li achieved his goal.

Wang Hu shook his head slightly and patted it, seemingly oblivious to what had happened.

Just now, his head suddenly felt like it was being pricked with needles!

After realizing what had happened, he looked at the long sword that had been drawn from its sheath and frowned.

Where am I?

What am I doing?

He looked at the long sword in his hand, then at the Northern Barbarian Iron Cavalry not far away.

The Ironclad Cavalry on the opposite side looked excited, just waiting for him to lead his army over and slaughter them one by one!

Swallowing hard, Wang Hu sheathed his knife and returned it to its original position.

The two thousand elite soldiers behind him were stunned, wondering what their general was going to do.

One second he was yelling that he was going to kill the other person, and the next second he put the knife away.

Are you going to fight with your head instead of a knife?

"The Great General?"

Someone offered a well-intentioned reminder.

Wang Hu glanced back and couldn't help but shudder. "Huh? Why are you all drawing your swords?"

The two thousand tiger warriors' mouths twitched violently, some even nearly falling off their horses.

Waving his hand, Wang Hu continued, "Quickly put away your swords. We have prisoners in our hands, why should we confront the Iron Pagoda head-on?"

"I'm not stupid. Today, let's let them go this time!"

"We'll settle this another day, another day!"

Having found an excuse for himself, Wang Hu turned around and looked at Qin Li.

Seeing Qin Li clutching his chest in obvious discomfort, he said in an exaggerated manner:

"Nephew, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Do you need your uncle to help you down from your horse? Or should we go back now and get a military doctor to take a look?"

After saying that, he was about to help Qin Li dismount.

Qin Li gave a forced smile and waved his hand, "It's nothing. As long as my uncle doesn't cause trouble, I'll be fine."

After taking a few deep breaths, Qin Li managed to suppress the urge to vomit blood!

Although he didn't understand what Qin Li meant by that, Wang Hu still asked in a low voice:

"Nephew, what should we do now?"

"Don't be fooled by the fact that they only have a hundred cavalrymen. Our two thousand men may not be a match for their hundred-cavalry Iron Pagoda."

"If you ask me, should we leave?"

"As long as we retreat into the mountains, they won't dare to pursue us easily, given the terrain!"

"Uncle, are you scared?" Qin Li asked, glancing sideways.

"Afraid?"

Wang Hu suddenly raised his voice, patted his chest, and said, "I, Wang Hu, am illiterate, but I don't even know how to write the word 'fear'."

"It recognizes me, but I don't recognize it!"

The Wang family was a powerful and influential local family. Logically, Wang Hu should have attended a private school from a young age to receive guidance from renowned teachers.

However, Wang Hu disliked studying and had once chased away three teachers, earning him a bad reputation.

As a result, the Wang family produced an uncultured son like Wang Hu!

"As long as you're not afraid!"

Qin Li took another breath, slowly exhaled, and looked ahead. "That must be the legendary Empress of Northern Mang, right?"

Following Qin Li's gaze, Wang Hu nodded, "That should be it."

After saying that, Wang Hu chuckled lewdly, "She's not bad looking. I'll kidnap her and make her your wife someday."

"You said it yourself, Uncle."

Wang Hu was taken aback. "You really mean it?"

The Northern Barbarians are powerful and invincible, while the Great Zhou is in grave danger and risks being destroyed.

He just said it casually, but who knew Qin Li would actually take it seriously.

He even kidnapped the Empress to be her wife; it's a miracle she didn't kidnap Qin Li to be her male concubine.

"What uncle would lie to his own nephew? Don't you think so, General Wang!"

After saying this with a smile, Qin Li gently squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs and slowly walked forward.

Wang Hu quickly urged his horse to catch up, but didn't let Hu Ben behind him move; he would just follow alone.

During this time, he had figured it out.

In fact, they have always held the initiative.

As long as they still have prisoners, the Northern Barbarians will not dare to make any rash moves.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have only sent out a mere hundred cavalrymen.

Sure enough, after seeing the two of them break away from the main group...

On the Northern Barbarian side, the Empress also only brought one person with her.

The two sides slowly approached each other and clashed in front of their respective armies.

The distance was very short, less than five large steps.

"This must be Her Majesty the Empress of Northern Mang, greetings!" Qin Li greeted her with a smile and a cupped-hand salute from horseback.

It wasn't like meeting an enemy, but rather like meeting a guest who had come from afar.

"How dare you!"

"Knowing that this is our Empress, why haven't you dismounted and paid homage!"

"To place it on horseback is utterly impolite!"

The people behind the Northern Mang Empress kept shouting at her.

"Hey, you little rascal!"

"We are all people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, do you want to deny your own ancestors?!"

Wang Hu's eyes widened, and his voice grew louder.

The person accompanying the Empress was none other than the strategist Zhuge Yu.

When Zhuge Yu was scolding people just now, he kept pointing with his feather fan, which was extremely annoying!

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yu bowed to the back of the Northern Mang Empress and said smugly:

"This world will one day belong to Her Majesty the Empress!"

"I, Zhuge Yu, surrendered early; how can I disown my ancestors!"

"As for you, why don't you dismount and surrender? One day, when my Iron Pagoda tramples your ancestral halls and tablets, you'll have nowhere to cry!"

Before Wang Hu could speak, Qin Li stretched out his arm to stop him, and said with a smile:

"I don't know if the prince and the general have anywhere to cry, but I know the strategist certainly doesn't."

"What do you mean?" Zhuge Yu lowered his clasped hands and frowned.

Wang Hu laughed heartily, "Because on our way here, we happened to pass by the strategist's ancestral home, so we took the opportunity to burn down the ancestral hall. We also dug up your family's ancestral graves and left the corpses to rot in the wilderness!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yu trembled with anger.

Since he pledged allegiance to the Empress of Northern Mang, he has brought his entire family with him, fearing retaliation from the Great Zhou.

But ancestral halls and ancestral graves are inanimate objects; they can't be moved here as well.

He had thought that after the Northern Mang Empress unified the world, he could return in glory to pay homage.

Who knew that before that day even came, the ancestral hall was burned down, and even the ancestral graves were dug up!

Zhuge Yu is so angry he feels like vomiting blood!

He received a Confucian education from a young age, and having his ancestral graves dug up was more painful for him than being killed.

As Wang Hu and Qin Li laughed, the Northern Mang Empress finally spoke, "You are Qin Li, the eldest prince of the Great Zhou?"

Stopping his laughter, Qin Li asked curiously, "Oh? Does Your Majesty know me?"

The Empress of Northern Mang gave a cold laugh. "Doesn't the First Prince also recognize me?"

"We may know each other, but this is our first meeting. Your Majesty is truly wise and powerful, with unparalleled elegance, far surpassing our emperor."

Faced with Qin Li's flattery, the Northern Mang Empress laughed, finding Qin Li an interesting person, and even her posture on horseback became much more casual.

She leaned forward slightly, her left hand on her right, and her right hand gently resting on the saddle.

"Since I am so wise and powerful, and so handsome that even the eldest prince feels that I am much better than your emperor, why doesn't the eldest prince lead his army to surrender?"

"As long as the Northern Barbarians surrender, I guarantee that the Crown Prince will be granted the title of King in our dynasty."

Looking at Wang Hu, the Northern Mang Empress added, "General, you too may be granted the title of King!"

If she could win over Qin Li without losing a single soldier, she would probably be laughing in her dreams every night.

"To be made a king?"

Qin Li frowned. "I am the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou, the future Emperor of the Great Zhou. To be granted the title of Prince is a demotion, isn't it?"

"Alright then, as long as Your Majesty guarantees that I will remain the eldest prince after surrendering to Northern Mang, I will immediately lead my army to surrender!"

Upon hearing this, the Northern Mang Empress was taken aback.

Still want to be the eldest prince?

Am I dreaming?

The eldest prince can only be her future legitimate son.

Qin Li still wants to become the next emperor of Northern Mang?

There's no such thing as a free lunch!

She worked so hard to build this empire, only to have Qin Li enjoy it later. What was the point of all that hard work?

"You can tell from His Majesty's expression that he is unwilling."

Qin Li waved his hand, "Then forget it, I will continue to be the eldest prince of my Great Zhou."

The Northern Mang Empress narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you afraid I'll immediately send troops out of Qingling Pass and kill you all?"

"Don't think you'll be safe just because you're hiding in the mountains!"

"The Iron Pagoda can crush everything; it's only a matter of time."

Qin Li echoed, "I believe it, I believe it. The Ironclad Cavalry is so powerful that not only I, the eldest prince, know it, but everyone in the world does too."

"But times have changed. Does Your Majesty no longer care for your two younger brothers?"

The Northern Mang Empress's beautiful eyes widened in excitement. "Thousands of troops? They're still alive?"

The Empress doesn't care about anyone else.

But she only had two younger brothers left.

She wouldn't let anything happen to her two younger brothers.

Wang Hu chuckled and said, "Of course they're alive. Not only are they alive, but that guy named Jin Ge is alive too. He's doing just fine, eating and drinking well every day. I envy them."

"Your Majesty, beware of a trap!"

Zhuge Yu, standing behind him with a feather fan, reminded him, "General Jin Ge is the greatest warrior of our Great Zhou, a peak ninth-rank expert. How could he possibly have been captured alive?"

"Furthermore, both princes possess superhuman strength and are also top experts among the younger generation."

"If we want to capture them alive, the Great Zhou will need to send at least one Grandmaster!"

"According to our intelligence, none of the three Grandmasters of the Great Zhou Dynasty have come this time! Not even Qin Li's teacher!"

"Qin Li is definitely deceiving His Majesty!"

The Empress turned her head and said coldly, "Just as you said, the Great Zhou would need to send at least a Grandmaster to capture them, but now, the Great Zhou hasn't sent a Grandmaster. Why haven't we heard from them? How do you explain that?"

Zhuge Yu was clearly taken aback.

Yes.

The grandmaster is not coming.

With Jin Ge and his thousands of troops, the two brothers were almost invincible; no one in the Great Zhou could capture them.

Since they couldn't be captured, they should have returned long ago. But the reality is, there's no news of them, and we don't even know if they're alive or dead.

After thinking for a moment, Zhuge Yu gritted his teeth and said, "There is another possibility."

"What's possible?"

The Empress asked.

Zhuge Yu stammered and dared not answer.

"Speak, and I will pardon you!"

Only then did Zhuge Yu dare to speak, saying, "General Jin Ge and the two princes have already died in battle."

Only those who die in battle will never return, and will never be heard from again.

Only a grandmaster could capture them, but the countless soldiers of the Great Zhou could kill them in a relentless battle!

Upon hearing this, with a sharp crack, the Northern Mang Empress lashed out with her whip without even turning her head.

How could Zhuge Yu, a frail scholar, possibly withstand such an attack?

He was instantly thrown from his horse and fell to the ground, his face covered in blood.

Reaching out to touch the wound on his face, Zhuge Yu cried out in pain.

Wasn't it agreed that she was innocent? How come...

Qin Li and Wang Hu just watched as Zhuge Yu was whipped.

As for obstruction, that's even more impossible.

The two men wished they could kill Zhuge Yu, a man who had betrayed his country.

After a while, Qin Li said, "Your Majesty, I'm not lying to you. General Jin Ge and the two princes are not dead!"

"Where's the evidence?"

The Northern Mang Empress reached out to Qin Li, demanding evidence.

"I came in a hurry and didn't bring them with me. If Your Majesty is willing to wait, I will send someone to invite them over right away."

The Northern Mang Empress said, "Go quickly, I have plenty of time."

Qin Li nodded, while Wang Hu waved his hand behind him, sending two men back quickly...