I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

creak creak!

This is the sound of the axle and the ropes used to secure the giant hanging basket rubbing together, protruding from above the city wall.

Every time it makes a creaking sound, the basket rises.

On the city wall, a dozen burly Northern Mang soldiers were shaking the handle with all their might.

They simply couldn't understand why, when they had the Great Zhou vanguard battalion trapped inside the barbican and could kill them at will, they still needed to invite the Great Zhou people over for a meeting!

"Keep pushing, we're almost there!"

"We absolutely cannot let go, or His Majesty will not forgive us!"

The Northern Barbarian soldiers encouraged each other and vigorously shook the handle.

The giant gondola carrying several people rose higher and higher, already more than halfway up.

Inside the swaying, ascending giant gondola, Jin Ge shuddered and woke up when he saw the chilling smile on Qin Li's lips.

He deliberately waved his hand and laughed it off, saying, "Hahaha, Your Highness is really good at joking. Why would I lie to Your Highness? Your vanguard battalion was really wiped out by our army."

"For the past two months, although there haven't been any large-scale battles between our two armies, small-scale skirmishes have been constant, and deaths are common!"

"This time, blame it on your vanguard battalion's eagerness to gain merit. I'm sure the Crown Prince won't mind, right?"

Jin Ge's goal was to make Qin Li believe the truth about the complete annihilation of the Great Zhou Vanguard Battalion, which was also a task assigned to him by the Empress.

But gradually, Jin Ge realized that Qin Li was not fooled at all, and the creepy smile on his lips remained unchanged.

As time went on, it was Jin Ge who became uneasy.

In the end, Jin Ge even broke down, angrily saying, "Why won't you believe what I say?"

"You think my Northern Barbarian Kingdom can't take down a mere vanguard battalion of a few thousand men?"

Qin Li suppressed his smile and put his hands behind his back again. "With the strength of your army, you can certainly take down the vanguard battalion in one fell swoop."

"Then why don't you believe they're dead?!"

Jin Ge's voice grew louder, almost a roar.

If it were him, he would definitely believe it. But the reality is, no, the vanguard battalion is not dead.

Qin Li saw through this, which he found unacceptable.

Because this eldest prince of the Great Zhou was far more powerful and difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

In the future, it will definitely be a major obstacle to the unification of the world by the Northern Barbarians.

Compared to Jin Ge's breach of defenses, Qin Li remained calm, glancing at the Great Zhou army formation outside the city and nodding in satisfaction.

With those high-ranking generals killed, the army had enough time to undergo a transformation in just two months.

This army, which is now completely under Wang Hu's command and completely under his command, is one of his biggest trump cards.

The people of the capital were terrified!

Qin Li calmly said, "I already said, if the vanguard battalion had truly been annihilated, why would we need to enter the city in this way?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the vanguard battalion was lured into the city and trapped inside the barbican."

"That's why we entered the city this way!"

"Just by the way we entered the city, can you be so sure that your vanguard battalion isn't dead?" Jin Ge didn't believe it.

Although there were people inside the barbican, the city gate could not be opened easily, so this straight-up-down method was used to enter the city.

But could it be for some other reason that this method of entering the city is necessary?

For example, the city gate is broken and cannot be opened.

During wartime, this method was frequently used to enter and exit the city.

"Of course not."

Qin Li smiled and said, "I believe Your Majesty is the most trustworthy person in the world. Since an agreement has been made, Your Majesty will not go back on your word!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Ge's eyes twitched violently twice.

Qin Li didn't say that in the Great Zhou army camp just now.

At that time, Qin Li solemnly declared that if His Majesty broke his promise, he would make the whole world laugh at His Majesty.

Why are you changing your tune so quickly now?

Has His Majesty once again become the most trustworthy person in the world?

Qin Li got to say all the nice and bad things!

However, before Jin Ge could expose Qin Li's true colors, the giant gondola carrying several people had already successfully reached the top.

Qin Li was the first to step down from the basket and onto the city wall of Xuanque Pass.

With a clear objective, they headed straight for the city wall inside the barbican.

By the time Jin Ge realized what was happening and tried to stop him, it was too late.

After glancing inside the barbican, Qin Li felt relieved.

Zhou Biao and the others following behind Qin Li glanced at it and were so happy they almost jumped for joy.

Inside the barbican, there was a giant iron-shelled tortoise!

It was composed of five thousand vanguard soldiers, who formed a huge circle with shields on the outermost edge, making it impenetrable.

It's likely that Wei Hongying realized she had fallen into a trap, which is why she ordered the soldiers to do this.

Jin Ge followed and looked over together, gritting his teeth and saying hatefully, "Don't think this is safe. We can't do anything to them. Although arrows can't penetrate, we can starve them to death, not to mention we have something as powerful as oil."

"If we wanted to, they could turn into a burning turtle in an instant!"

"Of course, of course!"

Qin Li responded in agreement.

We can't let him have it all by himself; we have to let Jin Ge have his fill of talking.

Of course, what Jin Ge said was the absolute truth.

If it weren't for the Empress's order, the vanguard battalion inside the barbican would have been wiped out long ago.

"Hi! Hi!"

"Lieutenant, are you alright?"

Zhou Biao and his men waved their arms and shouted at the top of their lungs.

As soon as he finished speaking, a large hole suddenly appeared in the middle of the iron-shelled tortoise's shell, revealing several people in the center, namely Wei Hongying, Su Chen, and their companions.

Looking up at the familiar figures on the city wall, Wei Hongying was both shocked and delighted, especially when she saw Qin Li, who was leading the group.

However, what followed was her shouting for the others to leave quickly!

How could Qin Li be so foolish as to risk his life alone for her sake!

Qin Li didn't reply, but instead asked Jin Ge beside him, "Where is your emperor? Take me there."

Now that we're here, we must go see the person in charge in order to rescue Wei Hongying and the entire vanguard battalion.

"Over here!"

Soon, under Jin Ge's guidance, Qin Li met the Empress.

"Her Majesty the Empress remains as radiant as ever after two months!"

Upon meeting, Qin Li immediately cupped his hands in a gesture of flattery towards the Empress.

After all, so many people are being held in their hands; with just one word from them, the Vanguard Battalion would be finished.

Qin Li had to say something nice to make the Empress happy.

At the very center of the city wall, the Empress sat at the very front, her beautiful eyes narrowed as she looked at the Great Zhou army formation outside the city.

As if he hadn't heard Qin Li's words, he continued, "Yes, your army has really changed its appearance in just two months."

"This is outrageous! If we give your army more time, won't they launch a counterattack and invade our Northern Mang territory?"

The army has changed a lot, but it is definitely not as powerful as the Empress said.

Qin Li knew that the reason the Empress was making such an exaggerated statement was because she wanted a promise from him!

After thinking for a moment, Qin Li cupped his hands again and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, for the next few years, even the next decade or so, my focus will be entirely within the Great Zhou Dynasty, busy with internal strife and ascending the throne, not on external threats!"

"Furthermore, Your Majesty has established friendly relations with Li, and from now on, the two countries will be allies, brotherly nations, and will not invade each other!"

After hearing this, the Empress simply waved her hand with a cold laugh and ordered someone to offer Qin Li a seat.

After sitting down, the Empress said, "These words might fool others, but they won't fool me, much less yourself!"

"Two countries are allies, brothers, and will not invade each other? What a joke!"

"Throughout history, only interests matter; even brothers will turn against each other, let alone two enemy states!"

"The reason you haven't set your sights on my Northern Barbarian lands is simply because you haven't settled things within your Great Zhou yet. Besides, your Great Zhou army doesn't currently have the strength. Once you've settled everything, you'll march out of Xuanque Pass without hesitation!"

Qin Li rubbed the jade thumb ring on his thumb and smiled, "It's so comfortable talking to smart people, isn't it the same for Your Majesty?"

"If we hadn't failed to deal with the regent, we would have destroyed our Great Zhou long ago."

The Empress readily admitted, "Of course, you Central Plains have an old saying: 'When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the enemy state is destroyed, the strategist is killed!'"

"This time, the Great Zhou Dynasty cannot be destroyed; otherwise, it will be I who perish!"