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Chapter 117: Showing Cards i

Translator: 549690339 |

After the soldiers from North City had taken the Barbarian Tribe away from their sight, Li Feng said with a smile to Lin Xiuming, “General Lin, let us continue moving forward. Soon we will arrive at the battlefield where last night’s fighting was most intense.”

Startled by Li Feng’s voice, a dazed Lin Xiuming snapped back to reality.

His mind had been entirely consumed with drafting the military report.

“Oh, right, okay.”

With that, Lin Xiuming called out loudly to the soldiers behind him, “Advance!”

At the sound of Lin Xiuming’s voice, the Imperial soldiers, whose minds had been a blank, were jolted back to their senses.

The scene that had just unfolded before their eyes still seemed so surreal to them.

They even wondered if they were, in fact, still en route to North City and if everything they had seen was just a dream they had on the way due to the exhaustion from the march, and in reality, perhaps Yan County might have already fallen to the Barbarian Tribe.

Of course, they were aware that this was reality.

In a short while, under Li Feng’s lead, the Imperial Army of seventy thousand soldiers arrived at the place where Mu Changtian and the Black Cavalry had joined forces the previous night, which was also where the most Barbarian soldiers had died.

The entire riverbank was covered with the bodies of Barbarian soldiers, as far as the eye could see.

Even the Imperial soldiers, who had been mentally prepared just a short time ago, were stunned at the sight of so many Barbarian corpses.

Compared to the horrific state of the corpses they had seen before, the bodies of the Barbarian soldiers here were in a more complete state, not so fragmented.

But the scene of corpses stretching across the field was just as shocking as the bloody battlefield they had witnessed earlier.

The bodies of the Barbarian soldiers had been piled up, and the water of the Wanning River was dyed very red, as if the entire river had turned into fresh blood.

Two hundred thousand Barbarian soldiers, the combat prowess of North City was truly terrifying!

Lin Xiuming and the soldiers couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment.

It had been a long time since Great Sum had seen an army with such fierce combat ability!

No, it should be said that Great Sum had never before seen a Seignior with this level of strength!

Whether the Sum Emperor’s decision to place the North Prince in North City was good or bad, Lin Xiuming couldn’t tell.

At this time, Li Feng said to Lin Xiuming, “General Lin, I’ll leave the cleanup of the battlefield to you. The soldiers of North City fought heroically through the night, covered in blood, and are now too exhausted to handle the cleanup.” Upon hearing Li Feng’s words, Lin Xiuming once again came to his senses and immediately replied, “Of course, General Li, you go and rest. We will take care of everything from here on.”

Li Feng said, “Alright, then I’ll leave you to it.”

Lin Xiuming politely responded, “It’s no trouble at all, this is our duty.”

As soon as Lin Xiuming finished speaking, Li Feng turned his horse and left the battlefield.

Watching Li Feng’s retreating figure, Lin Xiuming fell into deep thought.

It was a long time before Zhou Yu’s voice sounded beside Lin Xiuming, “General, how should we report the situation in North City?”

The military achievements in North City were so astounding that even if they reported them, the Imperial Court might not believe it.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Xiuming then said, “Report it as it is.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu paused, then tentatively asked, “General, are you sure we should report it exactly as it is?”

Hearing Zhou Yu’s question, Lin Xiuming turned to look at him and asked sternly, “What, do you intend to take credit for something you did not do?”

Zhou Yu hurriedly replied, “General, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just concerned that if we report truthfully, we might offend the North Prince.”

Zhou Yu thought to himself that he wouldn’t dare claim such military achievements.

If North City had merely repelled the Barbarian Tribe’s invasion, perhaps they could’ve exaggerated their own impact in the report, claiming how the Imperial Army of seventy thousand had played a significant role.

But the situation now was different. The war between North City and the Barbarian Tribe had ended even before the Imperial Army arrived at Yan County.

Not only had it ended, but it had ended with a crushing victory for North City.

If they were to claim such military achievements, an investigation from above would surely lead to their exile or the execution of their entire families.

Besides, after seeing the tens of thousands of North City’s Heavy Cavalry and the mountainous bodies of the Barbarian soldiers on the battlefield, who would dare to think of usurping military credits?

The North Prince was clearly no ordinary individual. If one dared to usurp his military achievements, the North Prince might deal with them even before the Imperial Court could investigate.

Although Zhou Yu was from Prince Lu Shuyun’s faction, after witnessing the might of North City’s Heavy Cavalry and the stacked bodies of Barbarian soldiers, he had no inclination to play any tricks.

He wanted to stay alive and return to the Capital city.

With the North Prince Mansion’s power being so formidable, who would dare to engage in trickery under the North Prince’s watch?

After hearing Zhou Yu’s words, Lin Xiuming thought for a while and then said, “Let’s not worry about the North Prince for now. Tonight, we’ll send the battle report to the Imperial Court using a Red Ribbon Messenger. If the North Prince doesn’t send anyone to intercept it, that’s for the best. But if he does send someone to stop it, then I will personally go to the North Prince Mansion and discuss how to report to the Imperial Court.”

Lin Xiuming was concerned that the North Prince might intercept their Red Ribbon Messenger since, once the military achievements of North City were reported to the Imperial Court, the North Prince’s strength could no longer be concealed.

“Enough about that. Order the soldiers to begin cleaning up the battlefield!”

As soon as Lin Xiuming gave his command, the Imperial Army of seventy thousand began the cleanup of the battlefield.

Originally, these seventy thousand soldiers were the elite of the imperial court, all of them battle-hardened warriors, yet now they had been reduced to the men specifically responsible for cleaning up the battlefield.

However, most soldiers harbored no complaints; compared to directly battling with the Barbarian Tribe soldiers, carrying their bodies was a more relaxed activity, and, what’s more, it posed no threat to their lives.

And, after witnessing the terrifying strength of North City, they were willing to clean up the battlefield for North City’s soldiers.

At dusk.

Inside the tent.

Lin Xiuming was leaning over the table, writing a military report, when a red- robed eunuch walked in; this eunuch was the Military Supervisor for this imperial army.

He, just like Lin Xiuming and the others, was deeply shaken by the strength displayed by North City.

At the same time, he harbored a worry in his heart, whether his military report could even be sent out of North City.

The Military Supervisor and the Generals involved in combat each had to write a military report, and they were not allowed to communicate with one another, to prevent the Generals in charge of troops from inflating their military achievements.

Originally, Wang had no need to seek out Lin Xiuming; he could directly send his report with a Red Ribbon Messenger. But the thought that his report might not be able to be dispatched had led Wang to Lin Xiuming’s tent.

Seeing the Military Supervisor enter his tent, Lin Xiuming asked, “Eunuch Wang, do you have something on your mind?”

With a worried face, Eunuch Wang asked, “General Lin, have you finished writing your military report?”

Lin Xiuming answered, “I’m in the process of writing it, Eunuch Wang. Surely you aren’t here to collude with me regarding the report? That simply wouldn’t be proper.”

Eunuch Wang exclaimed, “Aiyo, General Lin, at a time like this, you still have the mood to joke around.”

“General Lin, you can’t possibly be unaware of our current predicament, right?”

“The North Prince hasn’t even allowed us to enter the city but has had us camp in Wanning Valley. This shows he’ s guarding against us. Whether our military reports can be dispatched is an issue!”

Lin Xiuming calmly inquired, “So what are you suggesting, Eunuch Wang?”

Eunuch Wang replied, “My thought is to first approach the North Prince to discuss this, to see what his stance is on what can and cannot be written, so we can have a clear idea in our minds.”

Lin Xiuming commented, “Eunuch Wang, do you intend to conceal North City’s military achievements?”

Eunuch Wang responded, “It’s not a question of whether we want to hide them; the key is whether the North Prince is willing to let the court know.”

Lin Xiuming continued to focus on writing his report, while saying, “Eunuch Wang, do you think that such astonishing military achievements can be kept from the court by the North Prince? Even if we inflate the reports, the court will soon learn of the events in North City.”

“The North Prince is not a fool. Slaying two hundred thousand of the Barbarian Tribe and capturing another one hundred thousand, this news has already spread through Yan County. It won’t be long before His Majesty’s Shadow Guards will know, and the events in North City will reach His Majesty’s ears.”

“What the North Prince intends to let the imperial court know, he will let them know. We only need to write. If the North Prince does indeed intercept our reports, we can always go to North Prince Mansion to see him just the same.” After hearing what Lin Xiuming said, Eunuch Wang felt there was some sense to it and then said, “Well then, I’ll heed General Lin’s opinion. General Lin, once your report is sent out, inform me so I can dispatch my Red Ribbon Messenger afterward.”

Eunuch Wang wanted to first see if Lin Xiuming’s report could be sent out. If Lin Xiuming’s report could be dispatched, then he would send his own. But if Lin Xiuming’s report was intercepted by North Prince Mansion, he would immediately seek out the North Prince, so as to avoid offending him.

In the silence of the deep night.

Prince’s Mansion.

Lu Chen had just finished bathing and was planning to visit Bai Qingqing’s room to “exercise.”

At this moment, a female guard approached Lu Chen.

“Prince, Commander Qin has stopped the court’s Red Ribbon Messenger. He instructs me to ask whether you wish to review their reports before letting them depart?”

Lu Chen immediately replied, “No need. If I were to do that and the court found out, I would simply be branded a traitor.”

The Red Ribbon Messenger’s reports went directly from the hands of the frontline Generals to the Emperor; the first person to open and examine them must be the Emperor.

If a Seignior like him were to open and inspect the Red Ribbon Messenger’s reports, and if it came to light, he would certainly be labeled a traitor, a thought not even worth contemplating.

Besides, the military achievements of North City were too great to be concealed from the court, and Lu Chen had no intention of doing so. Playing the cards openly was his plan now; what was there to hide?

With several tens of thousands of Heavy Cavalry and one hundred thousand captured Barbarians, was there a need to be as timid as before?

Not at all!

Moreover, his father, the Emperor, was focused on the Aristocratic Families; he hardly had the mind to weaken his vassals.

Upon hearing Lu Chen’s words, the guard said, “I understand your will, my Prince. I will let Commander Qin know to release the Red Ribbon Messenger immediately.”

With that said, the female guard promptly turned and exited the courtyard.

A few days later.

Anping City.

After arriving at Anping City, Mu Zixuan and her group were constantly worried about the situation in Yan County, frequently sending people from the Prince’s Mansion to gather news.

Chu Yuqin sat listlessly in the courtyard at that moment. She suddenly realized that without her Chen’er, her entire being seemed devoid of spirit.

Before, she always thought of maintaining a distance from Lu Chen to avoid unintended consequences, yet when they truly parted, she found herself deeply missing him.

Chu Yuqin sighed deeply, “Ah, when will I be able to see Chen’er again?”

Just then, a young maidservant entered the courtyard, “Madam Chu, a lady outside is asking for you. She says she’s your sister!”