Volume 1, Chapter 18: A Sweet Dream Upon the Lips, What a Petty Heart!

Shortly after.

Meng Jun walked forward slowly, followed by a hundred soldiers, and saluted, "Your Highness, the men are gathered."

Qin Feng turned, looked at the hundred men before him, and said in a deep voice, "After the victory banquet, leave the city and lie in ambush between Suiye City and Guanzhou City. If you spot anyone acting suspiciously, capture them at once!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The leader of the hundred soldiers respectfully acknowledged the order and led his men away.

Meng Jun frowned deeply and whispered, "Your Highness, are you worried that the imperial court will send people?"

Qin Feng leaned against the parapet, his brows slightly knitted, and nodded. "There must be someone in the capital in contact with the Xiongnu, though I am not yet sure who exactly."

Baterchuan had once said that the Dayu Empire had abandoned Suiye City, even cutting off food supplies; these words were certainly not baseless. Clearly, there were people within the imperial court collaborating with the Xiongnu, choosing to abandon the Northern Frontier Army and Suiye City.

As for the motive, Qin Feng suspected it was likely himself. Only if the Crown Prince of Dayu died in battle would the Second Prince’s claim to the throne be considered legitimate and secure.

Now, with the Xiongnu's right-wing army completely wiped out and their left-wing army suffering over fifty percent casualties, the Xiongnu Chanyu would be furious and would inevitably send someone to question the Dayu court. Consequently, the court, in order to verify the Xiongnu's claims and determine if he was still alive, would likely send scouts to gather intelligence.

He needed to find a way to capture the scouts dispatched from Guanzhou City alive and extract information from them. To know oneself and the enemy is the only way to win every battle. Once the Xiongnu threat was completely eliminated, Qin Feng would surely lead his army south to reclaim everything that belonged to him, including the throne.

Meng Jun, clad in pitch-black armor, crossed his thick arms over his chest and said firmly, "Do not worry, Your Highness, I will follow you to the death!"

Qin Feng smiled slightly. He patted Meng Jun’s sturdy shoulder and said, "Alright, let's go down and eat, or those fellows won't leave us even a scrap."

"Hahaha, that's true," Meng Jun laughed heartily.

Midnight!

Although the weather had shifted, making the night wind chilly, the dozens of massive cauldrons steaming away kept everyone from feeling the cold. Fortunately, Qin Feng had forbidden alcohol; otherwise, by now, both the Northern Frontier Army and the townspeople would likely be dead drunk. Even the infants in their swaddling clothes might have been forced to drink a cup or two of strong spirits!

After eating and drinking their fill, the men collapsed in the plaza and streets without regard for their image, sleeping in the open by the fires. They hadn't had a proper night's sleep in days. Although they had made thorough preparations, no one knew when the Xiongnu would attack, nor whether they could withstand the army of two hundred thousand, keeping their nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Now, it was different. In just half a day, they had decisively slaughtered the hundred-thousand-strong left-wing army. That taut nerve finally snapped, allowing them to fall into a deep, unburdened sleep.

Meng Jun was even hugging Zhao Qiming's leg, perhaps lost in a pleasant dream, occasionally rubbing his coarse beard against it. Qin Feng shook his head helplessly. If he had a mobile phone, he would have taken a picture; he could have easily blackmailed Meng Jun for a few pennies once he woke up!

He stretched lazily. With a slight movement of his mind, he opened the supplies store and nodded in satisfaction at the nearly 400,000 points accumulated in the top right corner.

"System, exchange for five thousand stone projectiles and five hundred thousand arrows!" Qin Feng said.

[Ding.]
[Supply exchange successful. They will arrive at the south gate of Suiye City in four hours!]

...

Stone projectiles and arrows were cheap. Exchanging for so many cost only 1,000 points, an amount he could earn back in fifteen minutes.

Afterward, Qin Feng went to the city wall and said to the soldiers on night watch, "Thank you all for your hard work tonight!"

The soldiers stood straight without a word. Perhaps they were worried about disturbing the sweet dreams of their comrades, or perhaps everything was understood without needing to be said. Qin Feng found an empty spot, sat down, leaned against the city wall, and closed his eyes to rest.

At the same time, a team of one hundred men left the south gate of Suiye City silently and vanished into the darkness.

...

"What the hell!"
"Zhao Qiming! What did you do to me? Give me your life!!"

In the early morning, while everyone was still asleep, a deafening cry broke the morning silence.

Just moments ago, Meng Jun had opened his eyes to find a rugged face with stubble hovering half an inch from his own. Their legs were intertwined in a strange posture, and they were tightly embracing each other. Had he not woken up in time, they might have ended up kissing!

Zhao Qiming opened his sleepy eyes, and before he could react, he saw Meng Jun rushing toward him, brandishing a horse's thigh bone in a rage.

"General Meng, were you not full?" Zhao Qiming asked in confusion.

Meng Jun became even more infuriated and cursed, "Not full? I'll show you not full! You're definitely going to eat this bone today!"

To the side, Li Xiuyuan leaned against the city wall and laughed playfully, "Captain Zhao, aren't you going to run?"

Zhao Qiming finally realized the situation. With a carp-like leap, he scrambled up and ran toward the city wall, shouting as he fled, "General Meng, I didn't steal your woman, why are you doing this!"

Meng Jun did not answer. Recalling the scene just moments ago, if other soldiers had seen it, his lifelong reputation would be completely ruined!

Zhao Qiming reached the top of the wall and, seeing Qin Feng ahead, acted as if he had found a savior. "Your Highness, help! General Meng wants to kill me!"

Qin Feng was bewildered. Seeing Zhao Qiming trembling behind him, before he could even ask, Meng Jun shouted, "Zhao Qiming, come out here! Don't hide behind His Highness!"

"I won't! Not even if I die!" Zhao Qiming poked his head out and said.

Qin Feng asked, "What on earth is going on?"

"I don't know either," Zhao Qiming said with an innocent face. "I was having a wonderful dream, holding a beauty in my arms, and we were about to kiss, when General Meng woke me up!"

Hearing this, Meng Jun’s rugged face turned even darker. He gritted his teeth, looking as if he wanted to throw Zhao Qiming off the city wall. Qin Feng recalled their sleeping posture from the night before and could roughly guess what had happened.

Just as he was about to speak, Li Xiuyuan strolled forward and laughed, "General Meng, don't worry, I can testify that you definitely didn't kiss!"

As Meng Jun's deputy, Li Xiuyuan had a good relationship with him. In the entire Northern Frontier Army, besides Qin Feng, perhaps only Li Xiuyuan had the guts to joke with Meng Jun!

As he finished speaking, Meng Jun, to everyone's surprise, stopped being angry. He dropped the horse bone in his hand and said to Qin Feng with a straight face, "Your Highness, I believe the position of commander in the army is of great importance and should be reconsidered!"

Once these words were out, Li Xiuyuan wilted instantly. He looked at Qin Feng with a pleading expression on his handsome face, shaking his head repeatedly.

Qin Feng rubbed his forehead, speechless. Starting the morning with such a hilarious farce was actually not bad at all.

"Alright, enough, stop fooling around." He turned to look at the quiet grasslands to the north, his brows slightly knitted, and mused, "General Meng, send a scouting team to investigate the Xiongnu's situation."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Meng Jun looked solemn, bowed to acknowledge the order, and turned to Li Xiuyuan, saying, "Commander Li, take a team to scout, and while you're at it, bring back the head of Tuoba Liezun."

Li Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment. He bowed to accept the order, and as he turned to walk down the wall, he muttered under his breath, "So petty."

Meng Jun: "..."
Qin Feng: "..."