knife

Chapter 259 We need to hurry and get things done.
The city of Qingtongxia is very well preserved.

Of course, only the city remained.

There was no one left inside, and Jebe took everything that could be moved.

The scouts who entered the city first were astonished that the enemy had managed to clean up such a large city so thoroughly.

This opened their eyes.

These people have never been to the North, so naturally they don't know how difficult it is there.

Especially now that the cold wave is moving southwards, life in the north is becoming even more difficult.

What looks ordinary and common to them will become rare and precious when they move to a place like Zhenzhou.

People like An Xuan, who migrated from further north,

They were all used to living a hard life.

Of course, you can take it all with you; you should take everything with you.

Although it was just an empty city, everyone was still very excited.

After all, this city, which originally belonged to the Qin Dynasty, had been in the hands of the Yuan people for nearly thirty years.

Now, he's back!
The scouts planted all the flags they could find on the city walls, which made the deserted city seem much more alive.

Under the central banner, Xiao Changche smiled as she looked at Qingtongxia in the distance. Two years ago, she never imagined that she would be able to recover such a strategic location so quickly.
At that time, she was still struggling to survive!

They're either looking for money, or on their way to war to find money.

The rest of the time was spent outwitting and outmaneuvering Linghu Ye.

Everything felt like a dream.

She turned to look at Li Dachui beside her. When this guy appeared in public, he always seemed to have a faint smile on his face, as if everything was under control and everything was within his expectations.

This stirred a faint pang of jealousy in Xiao Changche.

This guy's brain works way better than mine.

But then he remembered that this guy had knelt and kowtowed before his parents' graves, and a sweet feeling and a sense of pride welled up in his heart.

"Please, Protector General, enter the city!" General Xiao Dongwei, the one-eyed general, galloped in on his horse. He was wearing full armor and appeared very solemn and dignified, with his one eye shining brightly.

The great achievement of recovering Qingtongxia, which had been lost for nearly thirty years, a feat worthy of being recorded in history, fell on his young lady's head. How could he not be excited and happy?

Although he knew very well that he was able to do this because of Li Dachui.

But our young lady is the Protector-General, the one in charge.

Li Dachui is the deputy protector-general, so naturally he should be ranked lower.

As for who's the boss inside the house, that's none of my business.

But thinking about it, given my young lady's temperament, she should be the eldest among them.

Li Duhu was always very amiable and not domineering at all.

Xiao Changche did not move, but looked at the row of people behind him.

Some of those people were fugitives who had returned from Dragon Flame Valley, such as Cui Hu and others. There were also many elderly people who had been found in other places outside the pass. These elderly people had one thing in common: they were all from Qingtongxia back then. Because the Yuan army occupied Qingtongxia, they had to move inland.

"Gentlemen, it's time to go home!" Xiao Changche dismounted and said to the crowd, "Please!"

Li Dachui followed suit, smiling at everyone and saying, "Please!"

Dozens of people, including Cui Hu, had red eyes and some were even sobbing uncontrollably. After thirty years, they had finally returned to their old home as its owners.

"Let's go!" Cui Hu strode forward.

On either side of him, many elderly people supported each other as they walked step by step toward the city gate of Qingtongxia.

Behind them, Xiao Changche and Li Dachui led their horses, walking slowly side by side.

For an entire day, Qingtongxia was engulfed in revelry.

Li Dachui prepared plenty of delicious food and wine so that everyone could celebrate this historic moment together.

When the moon hung high in the sky, the city of Qingtongxia was filled with people who had drunk themselves to death after a night of revelry. The soldiers on duty were cleaning up these drunkards and taking them back inside, because in the current weather, lying outside all night would freeze them to death.

On the top of the city gate, Xiao Changche and Li Dachui sat side by side. Li Dachui held a wine gourd in his hand, which contained a rare glimpse into the human world.

He took a big gulp and then handed the gourd to Xiao Changche. Xiao Changche, however, only took a small sip. She had never liked drinking; in her view, drinking led to trouble.

Of course, perhaps initially she was just worried that if she got drunk, people would find out that she was a woman.

But as time went on, it became a habit.

"It truly feels like a grand dream. Sometimes, I'm genuinely worried that this dream will suddenly end!" Xiao Changche remarked with emotion.

For Xiao Changche, the Northern Expedition was no longer a pipe dream, but a real option before him.

"Are you still thinking about the Northern Expedition?" Li Dachui asked.

"It doesn't matter anymore!" Xiao Changdao said. "Watching them kill each other and gradually weaken is actually more satisfying than killing them with my own hands."

"Tiele, Jebe, and Akdun are all quite formidable. If the three of them were to fight, it would be impossible to determine a winner in a short time. With us fanning the flames from the sidelines, the Yuan Kingdom will only become more and more chaotic."

"How exactly did you come up with this plan?" Looking at Li Dachui, Xiao Changche's eyes were full of admiration.

"In front of others, I always act as if everything is under control, but when I first started this project, I truly had no confidence whatsoever. It was purely a matter of man proposes, God disposes!" Li Dachui said. "If Yingzhuo dies peacefully, he will have arranged everything perfectly, and we probably won't have any chance at all. The Yuan Dynasty will definitely pass smoothly into the hands of the Tiele. So, as a last resort, we gave Akodun the poison to see if he would dare to poison his father. If he dares, the matter will be mostly settled!"

“Sometimes you really have to dare to dream in order to have a chance of success. If you don’t dare to dream, you won’t have a single chance!” Xiao Changche said with emotion. “I think Linghu Ye in Hexi must be so angry he’d vomit blood right now. If he doesn’t leave, he’ll pluck the big fruit you planned. Weren’t you afraid of that back then?”

Li Dachui shook his head: "I'm not afraid. No matter what, Linghu Ye is a Qin person! Either way, it's the Qin people who benefit, so it doesn't matter."

"Your surname is Li!" Xiao Changche said with some surprise.

Li Dachui pouted and said, "There are millions of people with the surname Li in the world, what's so special about that? I don't consider myself particularly noble. As for the royal family identity, if it's useful, then use it; otherwise, you can throw it into the latrine to rot!"

"Then I'd find it smelly!" Xiao Changche chuckled.

Li Dachui's eyes lit up, and he involuntarily reached out to touch the other person's face.

Xiao Changche reacted immediately, shifting his body several feet to avoid Li Dachui's hand, and glared at him: "Can't you see all these people down there?"

Li Dachui awkwardly withdrew his hand: "The Protector-General and the Deputy Protector-General were having a heart-to-heart talk, who would dare to peek!"

Seeing that Li Dachui was about to reach out again, Xiao Changche quickly said, "If you do anything else, I'm leaving!"

"Alright, alright, I won't do anything reckless!" Li Dachui pouted. "My old man and old man Fu both said that after I become the King of Guanwai, they'll arrange for us to get engaged. Now I'm pretty much there, right?"

“Speaking of this matter, it really should be discussed!” Xiao Changche said, “I have read the report of victory to the court drafted by Mao Daxian and Zhang Ruo. I asked Mao Daxian to change the order of merits, and you are now in first place.”

"I do not know how?"

“I am the Protector-General, do I have to let you know everything?” Xiao Changche glared. “Zhang Ru’s memorial was to restore the Beiting Protectorate and appoint me as Protector-General, but I had them change it to appoint you as Protector-General, in charge of military and political affairs outside the pass, while I will serve as Deputy Protector-General, in charge of military affairs.”

"How can such a great victory result in the top leader being demoted?" Li Dachui laughed.

"Look at you, you can't wait, can you? You look like you're not saying what you really mean!" Xiao Changche snorted. "I had Zhang Ru write a detailed report on the current internal strife in the Yuan Dynasty. Once the court sees it, they'll know that you're the one truly in charge outside the Great Wall. Rather than letting me bear this title, why not let you have the rightful claim? As for me, Zhang Ru said that I can be compensated with a nominal rank or a noble title. Actually, I don't care at all."

"If one day you're no longer sent to the battlefield, but instead sent home to cook and clean, what would you do?" Li Dachui asked with a smile.

"Believe it or not, I'll stab you with a gun?" Xiao Changche said with a smile.

"Then forget it!" Li Dachui quickly said.

"There's only one way you can make me take off my armor!"

Which possibility is it?

"When the world is unified, there is no more war, the people live in peace and prosperity, the elderly are cared for, and the young are supported, I will take off my armor, put on a skirt, and go to arrange flowers and blend perfumes."

“And you’re going to have several more babies for me!” Li Dachui added.

With a whoosh, a tile flew over. Li Dachui yelled. It was too close. To avoid it, he did a somersault and fell headfirst off the city wall. He landed with a tumble and looked up at Xiao Changche above.

Xiao Changche put one hand on her hip and pointed the other at Li Dachui, her mouth moving silently. Li Dachui understood what she wanted to say.

If he dared to make any more lewd jokes, she would make him taste the power of heaven.

How is this considered making a dirty joke?

Having a baby is such a serious thing!
Li Dachui glanced at Xiao Changche on the roof again, stomped his foot, and angrily walked away into the distance.

We need to find Old Man Zhou and Old Man Fu.
We must get things done first.

In this way, at least I can properly discipline this violent woman in my bedroom.

He needs to make her understand that it's not that he can't beat her, but that he just can't bear to hit her.

(End of this chapter)