I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"General, something terrible has happened! His Majesty has sent men to search the mountain!"

Just then, a Northern Mang soldier rushed into the cave, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in greeting, and said...

Upon hearing this, the two people inside the cave panicked and stood up.

If this gets found out, they're finished.

Although deceiving the emperor was not a big deal to them, because Qin Li was their man.

If they just act cute and serve Qin Li well for a couple of days, they believe Qin Li won't hold it against them.

But this is on the battlefield, and Qin Li must severely punish them for joking like this.

It's not impossible that they would be stripped of their current official positions and demoted to common soldiers.

"What should we do?"

Wei Hongying looked at the Empress and asked.

The Empress waved her hand and said, "What else can we do? Let him search us. I don't believe he dares to hit either of us."

Qin Li is the emperor, and the empress does not believe that Qin Li would punish the two men in front of all the generals, unless Qin Li is willing to disregard the emperor's dignity.

Upon hearing the Empress's response, Wei Hongying covered her forehead, truly regretting having listened to the Empress.

She said, "Go ahead and keep throwing your weight around. I'm not playing along anymore. I'm leaving."

Where are you going?

The Empress asked.

Wei Hongying hung her sword at her waist and said, "I'll try to catch up with a remnant of the Northern Barbarian army and bring back some copper rings. Considering all the military merits I've gained, His Majesty probably won't hold it against me."

This method did remind the Empress.

The Empress thought for a moment and said, "What's the point of chasing a remnant of the Northern Barbarian army? If we're going to do something, let's do something big."

"A big heist?"

Wei Hongying looked at the Empress, wondering what she meant.

The Empress had a map brought to her and laid it flat on the ground. Pointing to a location on the map, she said, "Right now, that old dog Murong Qingcang is leading his army in a hasty retreat north. Their destination is here."

Following the direction the Empress was pointing, Wei Hongying said, "The Northern Mang Royal Court?"

"Yes, the Northern Mang royal court."

"If we take over the royal court before him, wouldn't that be an incredible achievement? When we see Qin Li again, let's see what he has to say."

"But we don't have many people."

Wei Hongying said.

With the manpower they currently have, even if they manage to reach the royal court ahead of time, it would only be walking into a trap.

The Empress disagreed, saying, "By the time we gather enough people, it will be too late."

"Don't forget, I used to be the Empress of Northern Mang, and the royal court still has many loyal old ministers and former subordinates!"

"Although Murong Qingcang has been purging people every year for years, you can't kill them all."

"As long as I can reach the Northern Mang Royal Court, I can quickly raise a large army in the name of the Empress and take control of the Northern Mang Royal Court."

"Moreover, Murong Qingcang suffered a crushing defeat at Xuanque Pass this time. The grasslands revere the strong, and he is no longer a strongman!"

"Then we can keep him out of the city and, together with Wang Hu's army chasing after him, launch a pincer attack from both sides, completely defeating Murong Qingcang!"

"Therefore, this tremendous credit will fall on the two of us!"

"At that time, being made a king or a marquis will be a piece of cake."

"Hongying, think about it. A woman being granted the title of king or marquis is unprecedented in the world. Aren't you tempted?"

The thought of being able to be granted a title and revive the Wei family filled Wei Hongying with immense pride.

But then she suddenly realized something and stared at the Empress with some wariness. "You're talking so well, you wouldn't be thinking of using me to reclaim the throne in the royal court, would you?"

The more Wei Hongying thought about it, the more likely this was to be true.

Because the Empress was no ordinary woman.

Hearing this, the Empress became somewhat angry:

"Am I really that kind of person in your heart?"

"I haven't been empress for many years."

"Besides, I have a daughter. What will she think of me when she grows up?"

"I am also a woman. My mind is not only filled with fighting, killing, power and status. I also yearn for... love and family."

As she finished speaking, the Empress's voice grew softer and softer, until it was barely audible.

She never said these words to anyone else because she didn't want others to look down on her; she had once been an empress.

Seeing this, Wei Hongying smiled and took the initiative to put her arm around the Empress's shoulder: "That's more like it."

"Alright, if you want to pull off a big heist, then let's do a big heist. After this battle, we'll both be ennobled and made kings, making other men green with envy."

……

Three days later.

Qin Li led his men into the cave.

The people in the cave had long since left, but the traces of their lives were difficult to completely erase.

Qin Li wasn't the only one to enter the cave; the most eye-catching person was the one Zhou Biao was escorting.

This man was an ordinary soldier of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but at this moment he was timid and didn't even dare to raise his head.

He said he was a lowly soldier in the vanguard battalion, and knowing that this matter was of great importance, he found a place to hide while Wei Hongying and the Empress were leaving with their men, and did not leave with them.

"Tell me, where did they go?"

Qin Li looked the cave where the two had once lived up and asked.

Zhou Biao shoved the soldier hard. The soldier, not daring to hide anything, quickly clasped his hands and said:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, General Changsheng and General Wei have led their men to the Northern Mang King's court."

Upon hearing this, the generals in the cave were all taken aback.

With so few troops under their command, how dare they head towards the Northern Mang royal court?

"Go on."

Qin Li gave the order.

The soldier quickly added, "General Changsheng said she knew a shortcut to the Northern Mang Royal Court, so she and General Wei agreed to launch a surprise attack on the Northern Mang Royal Court and seize it before Murong Qingcang arrived. To speed up the march, the two generals also instructed us to travel light and discard all unnecessary equipment."

"Step down."

Qin Li waved his hand behind him.

After the Zhou soldier withdrew, Qin Li asked, "What do you generals think?"

The generals whispered among themselves, discussing the matter, but no one dared to speak out.

"good!"

Qin Li's sudden shout of "Good!" startled all the generals.

They all looked at Qin Li, wondering what he meant.

Qin Li turned around, flicked his sleeves, and put his hands behind his back before saying, "General Changsheng's plan is excellent and very much to my liking."

"Issue my decree: immediately order the entire army to cooperate with General Changsheng's plan without fail!"

"Wang Hu!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Wang Hu stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and responded.

"By imperial decree, order the entire army to slow down the pursuit, and also slow down Murong Qingcang's retreat, to buy time for General Changsheng and General Wei!"

"yes!"

"General Li, General Song, take your two divisions and immediately follow the path to catch up with General Changsheng and General Wei. Their forces are far from sufficient. We must seize control of the Northern Mang Royal Court before Murong Qingcang arrives!"

"yes!"