I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"What?!"

Qin Li jumped up from the ground.

Realizing something was terribly wrong, Xia Liu quickly stood up.

For the past two months, the Northern Barbarians have withdrawn their troops, and the Great Zhou has pursued them. Both sides have tacitly avoided large-scale battles, but small-scale skirmishes have been frequent.

Because in the Northern Mang army, there are always soldiers who are unwilling to withdraw and unwilling to give up the gains they have already achieved, and in the Great Zhou army, there are always soldiers who are eager to make merit.

But this time, the entire vanguard battalion was lured into the city, their fate unknown, something that had never happened before.

This is absolutely not something that the Northern Barbarian soldiers who are unwilling to evacuate can accomplish!

Could it be that the Empress of Northern Mang has changed her mind?

Only she has the ability to lure the entire vanguard battalion into the city and then annihilate them!

"Your Highness, what should we do now?"

Zhou Biao looked somewhat anxious. He had completely regarded Wei Hongying as one of his own, as Qin Li's future crown princess.

With victory in sight and the return to the capital imminent, Wei Hongying's accident at this crucial moment is bound to cause anxiety.

"Don't panic!"

Qin Li calmly ordered, "Notify the General to immediately assemble the army and march on Xuanque Pass!"

"yes!"

After receiving the order with clasped hands, Zhou Biao quickly went to convey Qin Li's command.

After Zhou Biao left, Qin Li didn't rest either. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Wangcai, who was grazing in the distance, heard the whistle, broke free from Chuntao, and ran over happily.

Chun Tao was still holding the reins when she was pulled so hard that she stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

She was about to explode, but when she saw Qin Li's serious expression and her sister's gentle shaking of her head, she dared not do anything.

She could only bow respectfully, just like her sister Xia Liu, to see Qin Li off on horseback.

After Qin Li rode away, Chun Tao came to her sister Xia Liu's side and asked curiously:

"Sister, what happened? Why is Qin Li like this? Who offended him?"

In private, Chun Tao never addressed Qin Li respectfully, but instead called him by his full name to express her dissatisfaction with Qin Li for taking advantage of her and her sister.

Snapped!

Xia Liu reached out and gently tapped Chun Tao's head, saying in a lecturing tone, "How many times have I told you? You just won't change. It's only because His Highness doesn't care. If he did care, you would have been dead a long time ago."

Given Qin Li's extraordinary abilities, it's impossible that he didn't know Chun Tao was behind his back and was calling him by his full name.

Since he knows about it but hasn't reacted much, it shows that Lord Qin Li is magnanimous and doesn't take this matter to heart.

If it were anyone else, that lowly maid Chuntao would have been beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding!

Reaching out to rub her head, Chun Tao couldn't help but stick out her little tongue and deliberately said:

"Sis, have you fallen for Qin Li? I've noticed a difference in how you look at him lately, it's like you're having a crush on him."

The person who understands Xia Liu best is Chun Tao, who grew up with her since childhood. They are twins and have been inseparable since they were little.

Chun Tao could clearly sense Xia Liu's attraction to Qin Li.

"Hey, you little brat, you're really something else! You're even daring to tease your own sister like this! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

After saying that, Xia Liu was about to tear Chun Tao's mouth apart. This little girl has been getting more and more unruly lately. She needs to be taught a lesson, otherwise she will cause trouble sooner or later.

Chun Tao was already on guard, so she took off running as fast as she could, laughing carefree as she ran.

On the other side, Qin Li ordered General Wang Hu to immediately assemble a large army and march to the outside of Xuanque Pass.

Due to the urgency of the situation, Wang Hu dared not be negligent in the slightest and quickly assembled the army.

"Nephew, don't worry!"

"Perhaps they're just some remnants of a defeated army, hiding inside the city; they won't amount to much!"

"Everyone has praised my nephew's wife's abilities along the way. Perhaps she can lead the army to sweep away the remaining soldiers in the city, open the city gates, and welcome us in."

To avoid worrying Qin Li, Wang Hu laughed heartily after finishing his sentence.

But Qin Li couldn't laugh, because as the army drew closer to Xuanque Pass, he noticed that the Northern Mang army flags were flying high and fluttering in the wind atop the pass.

Wang Hu laughed and laughed, but then he couldn't laugh anymore; the laughter got stuck in his throat.

He wasn't stupid. The state of the city walls indicated that the Northern Mang army hadn't withdrawn from Xuanque Pass at all, and that the city was heavily fortified with Northern Mang troops.

When they were close enough, Wang Hu raised his arm, turned his head, and ordered, "All troops halt!"

"By order of the General, the entire army shall halt its advance—"

"By order of the General, the entire army shall halt its advance—"

The messengers immediately rode back and relayed the general's order to each military formation.

The war drums on the central army's chariots also sounded, conveying this military order.

Boom!

The army, which had been advancing in orderly formation, immediately stopped.

The soldiers hid behind their shields, gripped their weapons tightly, and stared intently at Xuanque Pass in the distance, ready for battle.

"What's our next step?"

Wang Hu asked Qin Li, who was standing beside him, for his opinion.

Although he was a great general, he still had to listen to Qin Li on such a crucial next step.

If Qin Li says to fight, then they fight; if he says to retreat, then they retreat.

On the chariot, Qin Li frowned, inwardly exclaiming that this made no sense.

Wei Hongying came from a military family and was well-versed in military strategy from a young age. She was not someone who coveted credit.

How could they have rashly entered Xuanque Pass and been wiped out by the Northern Barbarians? There must be something wrong here.

Along the way, they recaptured cities large and small without any problems.

Why did the problem arise at the last Xuanque Pass?

Is it simply because this is the last city of the Great Zhou Dynasty to be recaptured, and after the recapture, the war will end and the army will return to the capital, and Wei Hongying will be blinded by victory?

That doesn't make sense!!!

Just as he was thinking this, a small group of routed soldiers suddenly ran out from the pile of rocks on the flank of the main army.

They were all dressed in the uniforms of the Great Zhou soldiers, but most of them were in disarray, their armor and weapons missing, and many were injured.

"Make way, make way!"

"I am Qin Feng, the seventh prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"I want to see my elder brother, I want to see the General!"

The leader ran and shouted, revealing his identity.

The soldiers dared not stop them, and recognizing the group, they allowed them to approach the central army vehicle.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Qin Feng.

As soon as he arrived, Qin Feng knelt down in front of the chariot with a thud, crying out, "Brother, we've been ambushed! We've been ambushed!"

Qin Li jumped off the chariot and walked a few steps to Qin Feng. "Quickly, tell me, what exactly happened?"

Qin Feng dared not hide anything and told the whole story.

Today, their vanguard battalion, as usual, "took over" Xuanque Pass.

At that time, the gates of Xuanque Pass were wide open, and there was nothing on the city walls, just like the other cities we had passed through, making it look like an empty city.

Wei Hongying ordered that a small detachment be sent in first to scout the situation. Once everything was clear, the vanguard battalion would then enter the city together, just in case there was an ambush.

Who knew that Su Chen would go crazy for some reason and completely ignore Wei Hongying's military orders, inciting most of the soldiers to enter the city together to seize military merits!

This is, after all, the last city to be recaptured. Whoever enters the city and climbs the city walls first will be the one to achieve the greatest merit!

Unable to resist the temptation of being the first to achieve merit, the soldiers followed Su Chen into the city.

To stop Su Chen, Wei Hongying also followed him into the city.

But as soon as they entered the city, the city gates slammed shut with a loud crash.

Immediately following, countless Northern Barbarian soldiers suddenly appeared on the once empty city walls.

They drew their bows and nocked arrows downwards. If Qin Feng hadn't led his men to escape quickly, the vanguard battalion would have been wiped out here.

After escaping danger, Qin Feng sent a few people back to report the situation, while he himself, with the remaining men, hid in the rubble to observe the situation at Xuanque Pass until Qin Li and Wang Hu arrived with their army, at which point they revealed themselves.

After listening to Qin Feng's explanation, Qin Li's doubts were finally resolved.

The problem wasn't with Wei Hongying; it was Su Chen who was greedy for credit and fell into an ambush!

boom!

Without any warning.

Qin Li stepped forward and kicked Qin Feng, who was kneeling on the ground, so hard that he fell to the ground. Everyone around was stunned and couldn't help but open their mouths wide.

It wasn't over yet. Qin Li stepped forward and stomped heavily on Qin Feng's chest, who was still lying on the ground.

"Big brother, I..."

Qin Feng was completely baffled as he grabbed Qin Li and stepped on his foot.

Qin Li's face hardened. He lowered his body and stared at Qin Feng, "You and that kid Su Chen are usually the closest to each other, and you even call each other brothers!"

"Are you resentful that I only allowed you to atone for your crimes without any merit, so you plotted this scheme to kill Wei Hongying and destroy the entire Vanguard Battalion!"