looks like it belongs to a wealthy family; they certainly wouldn't be taking refugees.She let out a sigh and turned her head to see her granddaughter, Tao Hongying's daughter, sleeping soundly in her...Jiang Cheng shook his head repeatedly, "My Lord, let's wait two more days. It won't make much difference if we delay a little! Besides, the barbarians are already at their weakest, struggling to survive. As long as we push forward, they will definitely collapse and retreat back to the grasslands..."

Li Laosi patted his shoulder, interrupting him, and laughed, "Just relax, don't worry so much. The Marquis is going out to show his presence, I'm leading the Vanguard Battalion, how could I let the Marquis get tired"

Wait for us to come back. Today is just a test, and we will have another meeting tonight to discuss matters.

Jiang Cheng stopped speaking, sighed, and stepped forward to help Wei Erniu up...

Soon, Li Laosi led 2,000 vanguard troops out of the camp.

The Marquis, clad in golden armor, sat high on his steed. A jeweled sword hung at his side, and behind him rode two thousand soldiers, flanking the vanguard.

Seeing this, all the soldiers in the camp breathed a collective sigh of relief.

There are no secrets in the world that can be kept forever!

Although a gag order was issued, too many people saw the lord-general get shot earlier.

No matter how much they tried to prevent it, the news still spread slowly within the large camp.

The power of words lies in the fact that when a single event passes through different people's mouths, each person adds their own understanding and ideas, slowly changing its shape.

Last, a cat being mistaken for a tiger is considered acceptable.

Sometimes, a man might become infatuated with his concubine and neglect his wife. In the end, the wife remarries to the leader of a local gang of thugs, and the man is brutally murdered!

Perhaps it's an exaggeration, but it's certainly not unheard of.

These days, there's a temporary truce at the camp. Besides training and patrolling, the soldiers have nothing else to do. As a result, their minds have space to wander.

Some said the general had an arm chopped off, some said the marquis was unharmed at all, it was a ruse to mislead the enemy. Of course, there were also those who said...the marquis was dead in battle!

Now, the Lord is marching off to war in fine style, and all the rumors have instantly been shattered!

Tianwu's war god is still here, the Beizheng Army's anchor hasn't fallen!

This is the most important thing!

Thus, the patrolling soldiers stood tall and proud, becoming even more spirited. The trained soldiers also became even more diligent in their training.

Even the cooks at the camp had added two extra scoops of coarse flour to the pot!

Li Lao Si had always been invincible in combat. Within the Northern Expeditionary Army, his fame had long surpassed even that of the Marquis.

The vanguard troops were most eager to follow him into battle, not for any other reason than the sheer thrill of it.

No matter how many barbarians you encounter, it's just like cutting melons and vegetables!

Speaking of which, Fifth Prince was quite unlucky. Last time, if it weren't for the Marquis being injured, he would have been strung up and left to dry already.

Over the past few days, Lao Han Wang had him kept by his side. After the initial fright passed, he couldn't stand being cooped up and came out looking for death again.

Li Lao Si led his men closer to the border, within fifty miles. They could even see the walls of the border fortress in the distance. That's when he encountered Prince Wu with five hundred barbarians.

It's not that the Fifth Prince didn't want to bring more people. It's just that over the years, the battles with Tian Wu had already decimated the pitiful number of grassland subjects. They were all dead.

Otherwise, how could they have allowed the Northern Army to rest these days They would have attacked long ago.

Reinforcements from deep within the grassland would take at least half a month to arrive!

Li Lao Si was overjoyed, he was so lucky! He hit the jackpot.

At the commander's command, the vanguard surged forward.

Fifth Prince wasn't truly heartless. It was obvious he was at a disadvantage with fewer people, so he turned and ran away.

The Vanguard Army, like a cat chasing mice, intercepted left and right, killing waves upon waves of them. In the end, Prince Wu, with only a dozen or so men remaining, barely escaped.

Jia Dunqi angrily snapped his whip and shouted, “That kid ran away again!”

Another officer, his friend, rolled his eyes and sneered, "Fool! This boy was deliberately released by the general!"

"Ah!" Jia Dun couldn't understand, "Why Why not kill him"

Lao Si whipped his reins lightly and chuckled, "If all your children and grandchildren were killed by the enemy, wouldn't you have to fight with everything you've got, to seek revenge"

If you had one grandson left by your side, with enemy troops pressing in on all sides, wouldn't you think: "As long as the green mountains remain, there's no need to worry about firewood. Taking a step back and preserving the bloodline is the most important thing"

Jia Dun blinked a couple of times, as if he understood.

The young lieutenant couldn't stand it anymore and explained things to him.

We've been on the northern campaign for so many years, and now we're about to drive the barbarians out of the border. Victory is in sight.

Both the Marquis and the General didn't want too many casualties, so they left a prince for the Khan. He would only retreat back to the grassland if he was worried, not by risking all his troops and fighting us to the death!

Jia Dun refused to accept it, refuting, "Impossible, all troops were lost in battle, what about the grassland afterwards The Khan would definitely not do this!"

"The entire Khan's family is extinct. What difference does grassland make anymore Maybe in the next life, they'll be reborn as our Tianwu people!" Li Laosi added, causing the surrounding soldiers to laugh.

When the battlefield was cleaned up, the Marquis also arrived with his troops.

The terrain had already been surveyed, the Marquis was well-informed, and at this moment he said, “Well then, have there been any new discoveries”

Li Laosi recounted how the Fifth Prince had escaped, and then pulled out a sack of rations he had taken from the body of a barbarian. "My lord," he said, "the barbarians have run out of food too! These men were following the Fifth Prince; they ate better than ordinary soldiers and slaves, but it was just grass seed powder, no dried meat!"

After looking carefully, the lord also nodded.

Over the past decade or so, although Tianwu has retreated to the Jiangnan region, our agricultural output has been high. Our national strength hasn't declined; instead, we have recuperated and grown stronger.

"Instead, he seized control of Jiangbei. He wouldn't plant crops to produce grain, and most of his workforce came to enjoy themselves. As for the grasslands, no one herded cattle or sheep anymore."

"This rise and that fall, the current situation is not surprising at all. "

"Go back, we'll have a meeting tonight to plan. Let's try our best to drive the barbarians out of the pass and 100 miles beyond! Eliminate as many barbarians as possible so that they can't recover for twenty years. This will ensure peace in Tianwu for twenty years!"

Li Laosi replied, "I hope so. That is..."

There were too many people around for him to speak plainly, but he still asked, “The man hasn't been found yet, and that's a constant threat. Should we wait a little longer…”

"We can't wait any longer, time is fleeting." The marquis waved his hand, his gaze fixed on the distant border with a profound and unwavering look.

"That man was targeting me. Even if something truly happened, it would only concern me. Compared to the ten years of northern campaigns and the imminent recovery of our lands, my own safety is negligible!"

Li Lao Si still wanted to advise, but swallowed his words in the end.

The Marquis treated him like a close brother, with utmost trust.

But once the Marquis made a decision, he would never change his mind.

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of his daughter.

If a young lady were here, she would surely make the Marquis change his mind.

It's a shame...

As soon as everyone returned to camp, Yamasato brought news from the new capital.

The Empress is dead!

Li Laosi sighed at that moment, without any reason to persuade the lord.

Since the one in the palace has already released the news of the empress's death, it means that he has finished what he wanted to do.

After the Empress's funeral, the Northern Expeditionary Army was undoubtedly the first to be affected.

Whether it's using underhanded tactics to assassinate or openly seizing power and claiming credit, both are extremely troublesome.

Now, we should seize the opportunity and immediately drive the barbarians out of the border, ending the northern expedition is the best course of action!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The dull sound of the war drums reverberated, and the main tent was ablaze with light!

Today's update is here! ~~ ·e beat and scolded them, they shouldn't resist...But the woman propped herself up, still shielding her younger brother with her arm. She gave a bitter laugh and retorted, “You’re lying! You're only my...