Martial Arts Universe: With a single command, 100,000 iron cavalry will sweep across the martial wor

Su Yan snapped out of her reverie at the mention of it. Only when Shang Xiuxun pressed her for details did she realize she had inadvertently let slip that Murong Qiudi had sent troops to pick her up. She immediately feigned ignorance:

"Huh? What did I say? That was just talking in my sleep, Sister Shang, don't take it seriously."

"Little girl, do you think I'd believe that? Tell me honestly, is it really true that an army is coming? Don't make up any excuses to fool me, or we won't be friends anymore, and you can forget about eating my pastries again."

Su Yan rubbed her eyes, looked at Shang Xiuxun, and regretted letting it slip. If she hadn't been honest, they probably wouldn't be able to stay friends.

"It was my aunt who sent the army to pick me up. She said that the Sui Dynasty is not peaceful right now and she was afraid that something might happen to me on the way, so she sent an army here. They should arrive this morning."

Shang Xiuxun was a little puzzled. Wasn't Su Yan's aunt her father's wife? How many wives did this girl's father actually have? And how could he mobilize troops to protect her in the Sui Dynasty? Shang Xiuxun asked curiously:

"Your aunt? How many wives did your father have?"

"Three. There are three right now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

Su Yan looked at Shang Xiuxun, who had a gossipy expression on her face, and felt a little helpless. She didn't know if her father had been seeing other women recently; all she knew were Yan Fei, Murong Qiudi, and her own mother. And then there were those other women who clearly had feelings for her father; they might become her concubines in the future. Thinking about her father's constant pursuit of women gave Su Yan a headache.

"Three? That's not many. Some nobles and officials have multiple concubines. Your father is considered relatively well-off," Shang Xiuxun said.

Su Yan looked at Shang Xiuxun in surprise, not expecting her to say that her father was good. She couldn't help but wonder: Had she injured her head in battle and become confused? "Uh… Sister Shang, my father already has three wives. You still say he's good? Are you feeling unwell?"

As Shang Xiuxun smiled and straightened Su Yan's clothes, she said:

"Su Yan, you are still young and don't understand the families of officials. Every official, no matter how low-ranking, has at least a dozen concubines at home."

"None of those people are good. Take Li Yuan of the Li clan, for example. He had at least a dozen concubines and more than a dozen sons. You'll understand when you grow up."

Su Yan didn't reply. She couldn't control those things; as long as her father treated her mother well, that was enough for her, and she didn't want to think about anything else.

On a barren mountain not far away, Li Xiuning, dressed in military uniform, gazed towards the Pegasus Ranch. A night had passed, and she estimated that the four major bandit groups should be about to breach the ranch.

This time, she was determined to acquire the hundreds of thousands of warhorses on the ranch. The reason the Four Great Bandits attacked was because the Li family was currently short of money—all thanks to Wu Xiangjun Su Qingfeng.

Su Qingfeng swindled millions of taels of silver from the Li family, causing the Li clan to run into financial difficulties. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to resort to such underhanded tactics.

Now that the Sui emperor had discovered the Li clan's large-scale arms purchases, Yang Guang even issued an edict summoning her father to Jiangdu. Of course, her father wouldn't go and walk into a trap to meet that incompetent ruler.

With the Li clan's uprising imminent, the Pegasus Ranch needed plenty of warhorses. That's why Li Xiuning devised a plan to lure the four major bandits into attacking the ranch.

She planned to be the one who stalks the cicada, waiting until both sides were exhausted before cleaning up the mess. Although she felt bad for her friend Shang Xiuxun, she had no choice but to do so for the sake of the Li family's future.

"Xiuxun, don't blame me... Born into the Li family, as Li Xiuning, I had no choice."

Li Xiuning snapped out of her thoughts and looked around at the army she had built from scratch.

This force of nearly 40,000 men was a "women's army" she had personally trained. She secretly hoped that one day this army would not only be as famous as the Sui Dynasty's elite troops, but would surpass them and become a powerful army known throughout the world.

At this moment, a soldier stepped forward and saluted: "General, Master Li has arrived."

"Please ask him to come over."

Li Xiuning's face lit up with joy. With a grandmaster-level expert coming to assist, this operation was almost guaranteed to succeed.

She had already heard about Lu Miaozi from Shang Xiuxun, so she was naturally well-prepared this time.

This Master Li was a member of the Li clan; Li Xiuning had specifically invited him to deal with Lu Miaozi of the Flying Horse Ranch. An old man rode up to Li Xiuning and bowed respectfully.

Li Xiuning quickly said, "Master Li, there's no need for such formalities. I'll entrust Lu Miaozi of the Pegasus Ranch to you." Master Li smiled upon hearing this:

"Haha, I've heard of that Lu Miaozi before. Back then, he pursued Zhu Yuyan of the Yin Kui Sect unsuccessfully and was instead injured by her; his injuries are probably still not fully healed. Zhu Yuyan's Heavenly Demon Skill is extremely insidious." Li Xiuning replied confidently, her expression stern.

"That would be best. I will first wipe out the four bandits. The Pegasus Ranch is currently poorly guarded and not a concern. After dealing with the four bandits, the Pegasus Ranch must also be completely eradicated to prevent leaks that could damage the reputation of the Li Clan and arouse suspicion among our allies. This matter must not be overlooked."

"Hmm, that makes sense. I'll deal with Lu Miaozi myself, and the rest of the troops will be handed over to your army."

"Don't worry, I'll handle the rest."

After Li Xiuning finished speaking, she waved her hand, and the women's army immediately set out. The four major bandit groups had less than 20,000 men left. She led her troops swiftly away, shouting loudly from her horse:

"Brothers! You have fought alongside me in countless battles, and today we will wipe out the four great bandits and seize the warhorses of the Pegasus Ranch! This is the first battle of our Women's Army since entering the pass, and we must fight with might—Kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

With a deafening roar, Li Xiuning took the lead, leading her women's army towards the Pegasus Ranch.

Xiang Batian, one of the Four Great Bandits, saw the approaching army in the distance and knew it was the Li Clan's forces. He hurriedly rushed to his leader Cao Yinglong's side and shouted:

"Big brother! That woman Li Xiuning really did want to get back at us! I knew she was up to no good. Now that we've captured her, we're going to torture her properly!"

Cao Yinglong coldly looked at the Li clan's army and sneered:

"I expected this. Li Xiuning wants to use us to deal with Pegasus Ranch so he can reap the benefits himself. Does he really think we, the Four Great Bandits, are fools?"

"What alliance? She clearly wants to wipe us out and take over Jingling. That woman is ruthless. Second brother, signal to third brother and the others—we'll eliminate Li Xiuning today!"

"Yes, brother!"

Cao Yinglong, mounted on his horse, raised his spear and shouted, "Brothers, form ranks! This time, we must annihilate the Li clan! Whoever captures Li Xiuning alive will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold and can take her away for one night!"

"Capture Li Xiuning alive!"

"Capture Li Xiuning alive!"

The shouts were deafening.

The people at Pegasus Ranch also discovered the Li Clan's army. Shang Zhen turned pale with anger upon seeing them—he hadn't expected the Li Clan to actually come.

The young princess was absolutely right; the Li family was indeed ungrateful, and powerful clans were indeed untrustworthy. He immediately ordered, "Quickly inform the farm owner that the Li family's army has arrived!"

Shang Xiuxun and Su Yan also heard the shouts of the four bandits outside and guessed that the Li clan had arrived. Su Yan walked out of the small building and smiled at Shang Xiuxun, saying:

"Sister Shang, this is going to be a good show. Li Xiuning has brought less than 40,000 men, while the Four Great Bandits have 50,000 troops hidden near the ranch. Li Xiuning is likely to suffer a loss this time—she has underestimated the Four Great Bandits."

Upon hearing Li Xiuning's name, Shang Xiuxun became furious and wanted nothing more than to kill this wicked woman who was good at disguising herself. She regretted having trusted her in the first place.

"That's what she brought on herself. If the Four Great Bandits weren't shrewd, how could they have run rampant in Jingling for so many years? But if they kill Li Xiuning, then it'll probably be our Pegasus Ranch's turn next."

"Don't worry, I'll help you. Once my aunt's reinforcements arrive, the Four Bandits will be nothing."

"Well... I really have to thank you in the future."

On the other side, Li Xiuning saw that the four bandits not only did not flee, but instead formed a battle formation to meet the enemy, and couldn't help but curse.

Seeing Li's army enter firing range, Cao Yinglong immediately ordered, "Fire!"

Arrows rained down, and many women soldiers fell to the ground, struck by arrows.

Li Xiuning watched the soldiers fall, but she did not panic—people always die in war, and as long as they charged close to the enemy lines, the four bandits would perish.

"Charge! Annihilate the Four Great Bandits!"

Just as the women's army was about to arrive, Cao Yinglong raised his spear and shouted, "Kill them! Reinforcements are on their way!"

On the walls of Pegasus Ranch, Shang Xiuxun and Su Yan stood side by side, watching the fierce battle below between the Four Bandits and Li Xiuning's troops. The two silently observed their dog-eat-dog struggle.

Li Xiuning felt increasingly uneasy as the fighting progressed: Why didn't the Four Bandits flee when they knew she had more men? Could the negotiations a few days ago have been a complete deception from beginning to end?

A lieutenant rushed to Li Xiuning's side and reported in a flustered manner:

"General, this is terrible! Four bandits have appeared in the south, numbering about 50,000. We've fallen into their trap. They didn't just bring 30,000 soldiers to the Pegasus Ranch; they've secretly hidden 50,000 troops."

Li Xiuning clenched her fists and said angrily:

"Damn it, the Four Great Bandits are so cunning! The situation is critical. Deputy General Liu, order a retreat—we've miscalculated this time."

Deputy General Liu, with a grave expression, said to Li Xiuning:

"General, I'm afraid it will be difficult to escape. The forces of the Four Great Bandits are hot on our heels, and it won't be easy to withdraw from the battlefield now."

"Retreat as many as you can," Li Xiuning said resolutely. "Otherwise, if the entire army is surrounded, I'm afraid not a single woman will escape."

Li Xiuning had thought the mission would be a complete success, but she had underestimated the Four Great Bandits. This battle was like a wake-up call, completely shattering her previous confidence and arrogance.

She looked at Pegasus Ranch with resentment. Having failed to capture it this time, she feared she would never have another chance. To protect its reputation, the Li clan ultimately could not openly attack Pegasus Ranch.

Li Xiuning even secretly hoped that the four bandits could seize the ranch, so that the Li clan's military expedition would be legitimate.

"Master Li, the mission has failed. Let's leave."

"Xiuning, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, so there's no need to be discouraged. There will still be opportunities to plot in the future. Perhaps then it won't be called Pegasus Ranch anymore, but the Ranch of the Four Great Bandits."

"Let's go. This time I underestimated those brutes."

The battle lasted half a day, ending with the four major bandits defeating Li Xiuning. Fewer than 10,000 of the women's army escaped, a significant loss for Li Xiuning.

"Damn, that little wench Li Xiuning got away so fast! It's really frustrating not catching her!"

"Li Xiuning is indeed Li Xiuning; he abandoned most of his troops and escaped quickly. What are those powerful clansmen any different from us? They are all cowards who fear death."

"This young lady is ruthless; she ran away without hesitation, even abandoning her own elite female army."

Cao Yinglong listened to the other three bandits' discussion with an indifferent expression. He knew all too well the cold-blooded hypocrisy of the powerful and wealthy, and although he was a bandit, he considered himself no different from those two-faced nobles.