I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

After looking at the silver spear in his hand, Qin Li handed it to Zhou Biao and asked Zhou Biao to find someone to keep it safe.

Wei Hongying has only been captured, not killed yet. The silver spear will one day return to its owner.

"Who sent you?"

Qin Li looked at the Northern Mang soldiers in front of him.

The Northern Mang soldier instinctively reached out to bow to Qin Li, but then suddenly remembered something, stood there nonchalantly, and arrogantly pointed behind him with a thumbs-up:

"Of course, it was His Majesty who sent me."

"Murong Qingcang?"

Qin Li narrowed his eyes and asked.

"certainly."

The Northern Barbarian soldier replied.

Qin Li laughed and said, "But as far as I know, Murong Qingcang was running in the lead. Your Northern Mang troops were stretched out, and some had even gotten separated. The person lying in ambush here couldn't possibly be Murong Qingcang himself. It should be your men covering the rear. How could Murong Qingcang have sent you here?"

A hint of panic flashed in the eyes of the Northern Mang soldiers, but they quickly suppressed it:

"Emperor of Great Zhou, this is none of your business. Why do you care who sent me?"

"Let me tell you..."

Before the Northern Mang soldier could continue speaking, he was met with fierce shouts and swords drawn by Zhou Biao and others. The generals even tried to kick the Northern Mang soldier to the ground.

In front of their emperor, they keep calling him "I" and "the emperor"—who gave them the audacity?

"Tell me, who sent you? And who is your general?"

Zhou Biao held a knife to the soldier's neck.

In the Battle of Xuanque Pass, Murong Qingcang suffered heavy losses.

There weren't many generals left, just a handful, you could count them on one hand, and they knew each and every one of them inside and out.

They must know that Murong Qingcang sent them to cover their retreat.

Even with a knife to his neck, the soldier showed no fear, but instead became even more arrogant.

"You are not qualified to know who my general is. If you have the guts, then cut me down with one stroke."

"If you behead me, your General Wei won't survive either."

"Hey!

Zhou Biao was furious and raised his knife to kill the Northern Mang soldier.

But when the knife was at his neck, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Because Wei Hongying cannot die.

Zhou Biao turned to Qin Li, seeking help.

Qin Li waved his hand at him, signaling him to release the Northern Mang soldier.

Zhou Biao did as instructed.

Qin Li stepped forward and looked the Northern Mang soldier up and down.

"So, it really was you who captured my General Wei?"

"Of course it's true!"

The Northern Mang soldier said arrogantly.

"Then who exactly are you?"

Qin Li asked again.

Upon hearing this, not only was the Northern Mang soldier stunned, but the generals were also completely dumbfounded.

Why is Qin Li asking this? Isn't the identity of this Northern Mang soldier in front of him clear enough?

After realizing what had happened, the Northern Mang soldier laughed heartily:

"You little emperor, I think you've really lost your mind. Who else could we be? We are of course your mortal enemies, the Northern Barbarians, the warriors of the grasslands!"

"If you are a warrior from the Northern Wilderness, a warrior of the grasslands, why do I not see any bronze rings on your ears?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Northern Mang soldier subconsciously reached out to touch the copper ring on his ear, but he found nothing.

He only had one hole in his ear, without a brass ring.

The generals noticed this and slowly frowned.

Yes, if he was a soldier from Northern Mang, why didn't he have copper rings on his ears?

It should be noted that every Northern Mang man wears a copper ring in his ear.

The higher a person's status and position, the more copper rings they wear on their ears, and the more precious the material they are made of.

I've heard that each of the copper rings on Murong Qingcang's ears is priceless.

The military merits of the soldiers of the Great Zhou were also determined by the number of copper rings they acquired.

"Hi!"

Not finding the brass ring on his ear, the Northern Barbarian soldier reacted quickly, waving his hand and saying, "After fighting for so long, is it strange that the brass ring is lost?"

"Besides, I don't want your ears cut off!"

That argument does make some sense.

After such a long battle, many soldiers from both sides have gone missing, so it's not surprising that the brass earrings on their ears have been lost.

Moreover, some Northern Mang soldiers deliberately removed the copper rings from their ears before battle so that they would not have their ears cut off after death and could preserve their bodies intact.

What do you think?

Qin Li looked at the generals.

Some generals nodded, while others shook their heads, their opinions differing.

In short, what the Northern Mang soldier said made some sense, but it couldn't completely convince them.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

A general clasped his hands in greeting and asked curiously.

Qin Li had a strong suspicion about the identity of this Northern Mang soldier.

Qin Li looked at the soldier, smiled slightly, and said, "It's not surprising that the copper ring is lost, but what I want to say is that there are still some Northern Mang people in the world who deliberately don't wear copper rings on their ears."

"Who?"

Some generals were genuinely curious.

It is important to know that wearing copper rings in the ears is a habit and custom that every Northern Mang man develops from childhood.

Anyone who doesn't wear it will be punished by the elders of the tribe and will be considered unworthy of being a grassland warrior.

There are very few Northern Barbarians like this in the world.

Anyway, they had never seen it, only heard about it.

"he!"

Qin Li pointed at the Northern Mang soldier.

The generals were all stunned when they saw the Northern Mang soldier, not understanding what Qin Li meant.

Could it be that this Northern Mang soldier didn't have a copper ring on his ear, not because he lost it as he claimed, but because he deliberately chose not to wear it?

"Your Majesty, please stop keeping me in suspense! I beg you to speak quickly!"

Some generals couldn't take it anymore and wanted to know the answer.

Qin Li looked at the Northern Mang soldier and said, "Although I don't know your name, I know you are my subject. Why don't you kneel before me?"

Upon hearing this, the Northern Mang soldier instinctively wanted to kneel down, but for some reason, he did not.

He forced himself to remain calm, raised his head and said, "You little brat, Emperor of Great Zhou, I don't understand a word you're saying."

"All I know is that you have to serve me the best food and drink, otherwise your General Wei won't have an easy time with my general!"

"kneel!"

This time, Qin Li used a commanding tone, and his eyes were frighteningly cold.

The Northern Mang soldier's legs trembled with fear, and his lips shook uncontrollably.

"Kneel down now!"

Qin Li gave a sharp shout.

Finally, the Northern Mang soldier could no longer hold on, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

Did he really kneel down?

The generals looked at the Northern Mang soldier kneeling, raised an eyebrow, and were completely puzzled.

To be honest, it was understandable that the Northern Mang soldier knelt before their emperor, Murong Qingcang.

But why did this Northern Mang soldier kneel down as soon as Qin Li threatened him?

Putting themselves in their shoes, if they met Murong Qingcang, they certainly wouldn't kneel down just because he intimidated them.

Could it be that this Northern Barbarian soldier is all bark and no bite, a paper tiger?

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Suddenly someone burst into laughter, "This general understands, this general understands..."

Wang Hu suddenly said, "Does this general know what's going on?"

……

How did General Wang Hu know what was going on?

The generals exchanged glances, all trying to suppress their laughter, almost bursting out laughing.

It wasn't that they looked down on General Wang Hu, but everyone knew that General Wang Hu's mind was different from that of ordinary people.

To put it nicely, it's a case of appearing foolish but actually wise; to put it bluntly, it's just plain stupid and slow to react.

They didn't understand what was going on. How could Wang Hu understand? They didn't believe it.

Despite their disbelief, they still had to give Wang Hu face.

A general stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "May I ask, General, what exactly is going on? Please enlighten me."

Wang Hu patted his armor, laughed, and said, "This great general has just figured it out. Let me explain it to you slowly."

Pointing at the Northern Mang soldier, Wang Hu said, "His Majesty just said that he is His Majesty's subject, so he is. And the ring mark on his ear proves that he is a Northern Mang person. What kind of Northern Mang person would be His Majesty's subject? There is only one, and that is the Northern Mang soldiers under the command of General Changsheng."

"Since the ever-victorious general surrendered to our Great Zhou, many Northern Mang soldiers have also defected and pledged allegiance to our Great Zhou. Although they are Northern Mang people, they do not wear copper rings on their ears."

"Therefore, this person was actually under the command of the ever-victorious general."

After Wang Hu's explanation, the generals suddenly understood; so that's how it is.

No wonder this Northern Mang soldier knelt down as soon as Qin Li threatened him.

Because this Northern Mang soldier was originally a subject of Qin Li.

Qin Li threatened them, and not only would this Northern Mang soldier kneel, but they would all kneel as well.

There's just one thing they can't understand.

If this person is the Empress's man, why would he betray the Great Zhou?

Could it be that this person harbors treacherous ambitions?

However, Qin Li's words soon changed their minds.

Qin Li looked at the kneeling Northern Mang soldier and asked, "Did your general send you? Where is she now?"

The kneeling Northern Mang soldiers lowered their heads, stammering and not daring to answer.

Qin Li gave the order again:

"answer."

The Northern Mang soldier mustered his courage, raised his head, clasped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, please spare me. I was only following orders. If I had spoken, I would have lost my head."

"Operated on orders? Whose orders are you operating under?"

Qin Li said with a cold smile, "Since you have pledged allegiance to the Great Zhou, then I am your sovereign, and you only need to obey my orders."

The Northern Mang soldiers muttered to themselves: If it weren't for Her Majesty the Empress, would we have pledged our allegiance to the Great Zhou? We have only ever had one ruler, and that is Her Majesty the Empress.

"What are you muttering about, you brat?" one of the generals couldn't help but reprimand.

The Northern Mang soldier quickly came to his senses and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you, please spare me! I know nothing."

"I see you won't give up until you've hit rock bottom, so I'll grant your wish. Guards, drag him away and behead him," Qin Li ordered.

At his command, Zhou Biao immediately led two men forward to drag the Northern Mang soldier away and behead him.

The Northern Mang soldiers were terrified, their faces turning ashen. Before they could even drag him away, he cried out, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Qin Li signaled to Zhou Biao and the others to stop with his eyes.

The Northern Mang soldier then said, "I am indeed under the command of General Changsheng, and it was indeed our general who sent me. However, I truly do not know where our general is now."

Upon hearing what the Northern Barbarian soldiers said, the generals looked at each other.

They crowded around Qin Li, chattering amongst themselves:

"Your Majesty, could it be that the ever-victorious general has rebelled?"

"Otherwise, why would he have taken General Wei hostage?"

"She must have lied to General Wei, which is why he suffered a defeat."

"Your Majesty, one must always be wary of others. She was once the Empress of Northern Mang; she surely wants to reclaim the throne!"

Qin Li raised his arm, interrupting them.

Previously, he might have believed that the Empress wanted to become Empress again, after all, the Empress was no ordinary person, and her ambition was extraordinary.

But in recent years, he has become increasingly skeptical that it was not Huayang who had trapped her, but rather that she was a good emperor at heart.

If she becomes emperor, the world will be in turmoil again, and the people will have no good life.

"I really don't know where your general is?"

Qin Li narrowed his eyes and asked the Northern Mang soldier, "Since you don't know where your general is, why were you sent here? You must know which direction you came from, right?"

The Northern Mang soldier nodded: "I know that. I came from the east, but I don't know if the general has left yet."

Qin Li was too lazy to listen to him anymore, and simply ordered people to immediately search the east side, inch by inch, searching the entire mountain!

……

At this moment.

Inside a mountain cave.

The Empress and Wei Hongying were warming themselves around a campfire.

The flickering flames cast intermittent light and shadow on the two women's faces.

Wei Hongying said, "Let me tell you, this is the first and last time. Deceiving the emperor is a capital offense."

Not long ago, she led the vanguard battalion, relentlessly pursuing the Northern Barbarian army.

But one day, the Empress suddenly appeared before her and told her what had happened in the capital.

The empress also asked her to cooperate with her and put on a good show.

Thus, Wei Hongying pretended to be defeated and captured.

"Deceiving the emperor is a capital offense for others, but would he be willing to cut off our heads?"

The empress said it without a care in the world, and even with a hint of smugness.

Of course I wouldn't want to part with it.

Wei Hongying asked, puzzled, "But why would you do that? Is it just because you're jealous of a woman surnamed Lu?"

"Jealous? Would this general be jealous of a woman?"

The Empress denied it.

The more the Empress acted this way, the more Wei Hongying felt that the Empress was jealous, which was why she did this.

After all, the Empress had never acted so recklessly before, and she now regretted joining in on the Empress's antics.

If Qin Li knew, he would definitely blame her.

"Actually, you don't need to be jealous of her at all," Wei Hongying said, suddenly placing her hand on the Empress's.

The empress did not resist and said, "Don't worry, I'm really not jealous of her."

"Of course it would be strange if it weren't."

Wei Hongying said, "We've known each other for quite some time now, so I know you a little. Although you say you don't care, you do care in your heart. But what I want to say is that His Majesty cares a lot about you, and also about the princess."

"You just need to live your life well, and you will receive the kind of pampering that other women would beg for."

"I don't care, who cares about his favor? Can't we women live for ourselves? Why should we depend on men? Why do we need his favor?"

Wei Hongying explained, "These two things don't seem to conflict. Of course, we women can live for ourselves, and we are living for ourselves now, but that doesn't mean we can't love a man, nor does it mean that the man loves us back. In other words, we can have both career and love at the same time."