No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

"You shameless woman!"

Zhang Liao's roar struck the camp like a thunderclap.

Ye Qingyue's cold and arrogant face instantly twisted in anger. Her body beneath the silver armor trembled with rage, and even the tip of her gleaming silver spear shook.

"Zhang Liao...how dare you insult your superior!" Her voice was shrill, almost cracking. "Take him down! Dead or alive!"

A thousand Divine Might soldiers responded with a thunderous roar, drawing their bows taut and pointing their blades forward.

The five hundred veterans behind Zhang Liao were not intimidated either, each gripping their weapons tightly, their eyes fierce. The killing intent permeated the snow-covered ground as if it were tangible.

Blood was about to spill on the spot—

"Hey, what's with the show in the middle of the night?"

A lazy voice drifted out from the darkness on the east side of the camp.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

In the snow, Su Chuang rode out slowly on his Cloud-Treading Horse. His mink cloak fluttered in the wind, and he wore his signature roguish smile, while cracking sunflower seeds with a loud "crack, crack!" in his hand.

Behind him, three hundred Mo Dao Guards stood like a black iron wall, silent as mountains. One hundred White Horse Cavalry, their white horses and silver spears gleaming blindingly in the snow.

Li Cunxiao, carrying a knife as wide as a door, stood to Su Chuang's left, grinning, his one eye sweeping over the Shenwei Army as if looking at a flock of sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Ye Qingyue's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Su Chuang?!" Her voice trembled. "What are you doing here?!"

"Me?" Su Chuang spat out the sunflower seed shells, grinned, and said, "I'm here to watch the show."

He spurred his horse forward a few steps, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Liao and then over Ye Qingyue.

"Tsk tsk, General Ye, isn't it inappropriate for you to bring so many people to bully General Zhang in the middle of the night?"

"He colluded with the enemy and accepted bribes from the Xiongnu!" Ye Qingyue said sternly. "This general is arresting people according to the law; it's none of your business to interfere!"

"Colluding with the enemy?" Su Chuang raised an eyebrow. "Where's the evidence?"

Ye Qingyue pointed to the grain on the ground: "This is the evidence!"

"Oh—" Su Chuang drawled, bending down to grab a handful of melon seeds from the cloth bag beside the saddle, cracking them as he spoke, "Then I also received a bribe from the Xiongnu."

He waved his hand behind him.

Several Mo Dao guards pushed two large carts over, which were piled with goods covered with tarpaulins.

Su Chuang jumped off his horse, walked to the cart, and ripped off the tarpaulin.

Below were white rice grains and bundles of fur.

"Look," he grinned, "General Ye, this was also a gift from the Xiongnu. Do you want to arrest me too?"

Ye Qingyue's face turned ashen.

She knew Su Chuang was being unreasonable, but she couldn't refute him.

"Su Chuang, you're protecting a traitor!" she gritted her teeth. "Believe me or not, I'll take you down with me—"

"How about together?" Su Chuang interrupted her, his smile gradually fading. "Ye Qingyue, do you really think I'm made of clay?"

He took a step forward.

With that one step, the Mo Dao Guards behind him stepped forward in unison, their black armor scraping together with a "whoosh" sound.

Three hundred Mo Dao swords were raised simultaneously, their blades gleaming with a dark, cold light in the firelight.

The hundred White Horse Guards also moved, their silver spears pointed forward, their horses snorting and pawing the snow.

The killing intent instantly overwhelmed the Divine Might Army.

Ye Qingyue's heart tightened.

It's true that she brought a thousand Divine Might soldiers, but Su Chuang's three hundred Mo Dao Guards... were heavy infantry capable of going head-to-head with cavalry!

Not to mention the hundred White Horse Cavalry, who were clearly the elite of the elite.

And that Li Cunxiao...

Her right arm injury hadn't fully healed, and now it was starting to ache again.

"Su Chuang," she took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm, "Zhang Liao is a general under my command. How he is dealt with is an internal matter of Yumen Pass. You have no right to interfere!"

"No right?" Su Chuang laughed.

He pulled a gleaming gold plaque from his pocket and waved it in the firelight.

"Do you recognize this? It's the decree of the Duke of Xin."

He paused, his voice turning cold.

"Emperor Wu himself said that I can handle military affairs in the northern frontier as appropriate. But I feel there's something fishy about Zhang Liao's matter, and I need to investigate it thoroughly."

"You—" Ye Qingyue trembled with anger.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Su Chuang grinned. "If General Ye thinks I've overstepped my authority, he can send a memorial to the capital to report me."

He turned around and looked at Zhang Liao.

"General Zhang, would you be willing to come with me? I have wine and meat there, it's warm, and I can get this matter sorted out."

Zhang Liao stared at Su Chuang for a full five breaths.

The veterans behind him were all watching him.

The men, who were emaciated from hunger, now had bright eyes full of anticipation.

Zhang Liao suddenly smiled.

He threw down the knife in his hand, which crashed to the snow with a loud thud.

"This humble general...is willing to accompany the Duke on this journey."

Ye Qingyue screamed, "Zhang Liao! How dare you—"

"What wouldn't I dare to do?" Zhang Liao turned to look at her, his eyes icy. "Ye Qingyue, all these years, I've risked my life for you, and all I get in return is withheld military pay and suspicion and suppression?"

He paused, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"From this day forward, I, Zhang Liao, sever all ties with you."

After saying that, he strode towards Su Chuang and knelt on one knee.

"This humble general, Zhang Liao, is willing to serve the Duke. I will gladly die for any task at hand."

In the snow, all was quiet except for the sound of the wind.

Su Chuang looked down at Zhang Liao and grinned.

He reached out and helped Zhang Liao up.

"General Zhang, you're too kind. From now on, we're all brothers, sharing both good times and bad."

He turned to look at Ye Qingyue, his smile deepening.

"General Ye, I'm taking this man with me. If you want to stop me... feel free to try."

Ye Qingyue gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her palms until blood seeped out.

She knew she couldn't stop it.

If they fight head-on, her thousand men might not be able to win.

Even if we win, we will suffer heavy losses, and then Yumen Pass will be left vulnerable...

"Su Chuang," her voice was hoarse, "I've remembered what happened today."

"Write it down, write it down however you like." Su Chuang waved his hand, "Anyway, you owe me a lot more than I can handle."

He waved his hand: "Retreat!"

Three hundred Mo Dao guards protected Zhang Liao and his five hundred veteran soldiers as they slowly retreated towards Wangbeitai.

The White Horse Cavalry covered the rear, their silver spears always pointed at the Divine Might Army.

Ye Qingyue watched them disappear into the snowy night, so angry that her vision blurred and she almost fell off her horse.

Yue Xinyang leaned closer and whispered, "Qingyue, are we just going to let them go like that?"

"Otherwise what?" Ye Qingyue said sharply, "You're going to fight Li Cunxiao?!"

Yue Xinyang shrank back and dared not speak.

Ye Qingyue stared in the direction where Su Chuang had disappeared, her eyes filled with venomous resentment, like a poisoned knife.

Su Chuang...

You wait.

……

Looking at Beitai, Tsuchiya.

The charcoal fire was burning brightly, making the room warm and cozy.

Su Chuang took off his mink coat, plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and rubbed his hands, saying, "I'm freezing to death."

Zhang Liao stood in the room, somewhat reserved.

The veterans behind him didn't dare to look up.

"Sit down, what are you standing for?" Su Chuang grinned, pointing to the stool next to him. "Uncle Chen, pour some wine!"

Chen Dashuan quickly brought over a wine jar and poured a bowl of hot wine for each person.

The wine was just warm, steaming hot, and had a wonderful aroma.

Zhang Liao took the bowl, hesitated for a moment, then tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful.

hot.

It burned from my throat all the way down to my stomach.

But that warmth spread from my stomach to every part of my body.

He hadn't had such good wine in three months.

"General Zhang," Su Chuang said, holding his bowl and looking at him, "do you know why I saved you?"

Zhang Liao put down his bowl and said in a deep voice, "The Duke wishes to recruit this humble general."

"Yes and no." Su Chuang grinned. "I do want to recruit you, but more importantly... I just like the look of you."

He paused.

"Someone like Ye Qingyue is not worthy of your service."

Zhang Liao remained silent.

"You must have felt stifled under her all these years, right?" Su Chuang asked.

Zhang Liao didn't speak, but he tightened his grip on the bowl.

"Her pay was cut, her rations were substandard, she stole her credit, and you're left to take the blame." Su Chuang counted on his fingers, "And then there's that shady business she had with Yue Xinyang... If it were me, I would have rebelled long ago."

Zhang Liao looked up at him, his eyes a little red.

"Lord Duke...you already know?"

"Nonsense." Su Chuang waved his hand. "I'm not blind in the Northern Frontier."

He took a small cloth bag out of his pocket and tossed it to Zhang Liao.

"Here, I'll make up for your and your men's wages for the past three months. Ten taels each, not much, but enough for the New Year."

Zhang Liao took the cloth bag, his hands trembling.

Ten taels... that's enough for a family to have a good New Year.

The veterans behind him had tears in their eyes.

"Your Excellency..." Zhang Liao's voice trembled, "This humble general... is utterly unworthy..."

"Virtue? Ability?" Su Chuang laughed. "Zhang Liao, your greatest virtue is that you didn't collude with Ye Qingyue. Your greatest ability is that you led a force of soldiers who dare to fight and kill."

He stood up, walked up to Zhang Liao, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Follow me, and I can't promise you anything else, but I'll guarantee you plenty of pay and provisions, and you'll get all the credit you deserve."

He paused, lowering his voice.

"You still have a grudge... I'll avenge you."

Zhang Liao suddenly looked up.

"Ye Qingyue, Yue Xinyang, and those scum who embezzled military pay and lined their own pockets..." Su Chuang grinned, his smile icy, "None of them will escape."

Zhang Liao stared at Su Chuang for three breaths.

Then, he knelt down with a "plop" and kowtowed heavily.

"This humble general, Zhang Liao, swears to serve my lord to the death!"

This time, the word "My Lord" was uttered with greater emphasis and depth than the previous "Lord Duke."

Su Chuang smiled.

He helped Zhang Liao up: "Alright, from now on we're brothers. Get up, let's drink!"

……

For the next three days, Wangbeitai was bustling with activity.

Zhang Liao and his 500 veteran soldiers were officially incorporated into Su Chuang's command and organized into the "Trap Camp," personally led by Zhang Liao.

Yue Fei was in charge of overall troop training, Zhao Yun led the White Horse Cavalry, and Li Cunxiao remained Su Chuang's personal bodyguard.

Good news came from Jia Xu's side: the gunpowder experiment has made a breakthrough, and they can now make "heavenly thunderbolts" the size of a fist, which are quite powerful and can easily blow up an earthen wall.

Su Chuang was overjoyed and allocated another five hundred taels of silver to Jia Xu to expedite the research.

To his delight, the system task was completed.

[Second stage of the chain mission, "Clearing the Fields," completion rate: 100%]

[Mission Reward: 300 SS-rank special cavalry "White Horse Cavalry" (already issued)]

Adding to Zhao Yun's original hundred men, the White Horse Cavalry now numbered four hundred, moving swiftly like the wind, and skilled in archery and horsemanship.

The total strength of the troops at Wangbeitai has also exceeded two thousand.

The warehouses were overflowing with food and supplies, enough to last until spring.

Every day, Su Chuang would wrap himself in a mink coat, squat on a mound of earth, and look at the scenery, always holding a handful of sunflower seeds in his hand, looking just like a nouveau riche.

Until the evening of the fourth day.

Lu Bing appeared silently in the earthen house and knelt on one knee.

"My lord, an urgent report from the Xiongnu!"

Su Chuang was playing chess with Lin Ruxue when he heard this and looked up: "Speak."

"Wanyan Honglie...is dead."

The chess piece in Su Chuang's hand fell onto the chessboard with a "thud".

"Dead? How did he die?"

"When the Blackwater tribe attacked Langjuxu Mountain, Wanyan Honglie returned to reinforce it, but was assassinated by his subordinates on the way."

Lu Bing paused for a moment, then said, "According to the message from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he drank water that had been drugged, became delirious, and was stabbed to death by the captain of the personal guard."

Su Chuang and Lin Ruxue exchanged a glance.

That bottle of sleeping powder... worked.

"And then?" Su Chuang asked.

"Taking advantage of the chaos, the Heishui tribe captured Langjuxu Mountain and annexed Wanyan Honglie's forces. Now, on the Xiongnu grasslands, the Heishui tribe is the only dominant force and has completed unification."

Lu Bing looked up and said, "The new Chanyu... is the leader of the Blackwater Tribe, Wanyan Wugu."

Su Chuang narrowed his eyes.

Wanyan Wugu... I've never heard of that name before.

"Who is this person?"

"Brave and skilled in battle, ruthless in his methods. After unifying the grasslands, his first order was..."

Lu Bing paused for a moment, then said, "Assemble 60,000 iron cavalry and march on Yumen Pass."

Inside the earthen house, it was so quiet that only the crackling of the charcoal fire could be heard.

Su Chuang grinned and smiled.

"It's finally here."