My vicious dog, my horse, I can do whatever I want with it

Chapter 291 Destruction

"If the Wuhuan really have ulterior motives, sending a team there would be like walking into a tiger's mouth." Zong Yanli frowned and said, "I don't want to do this just to explore the enemy's strengths and weaknesses."

Everyone looked at each other in a dilemma. Pei Liang then said, "If the general does not say anything about this, Wuhuan may think that the general has already known the news, which will make it easier to alert the enemy."

Zong Yanli frowned and asked, "Are you sure you want to go?"

Pei Liang stood up and said, "General, I am willing to go to Wuhuan on your behalf to find out what is going on."

Min Xueer risked her life to deliver the message. Wuhuan seemed so calm on the surface, but what tricks were they playing behind the scenes?

Or maybe they guessed wrong, the Wuhuan did not make any unusual moves, and Min Xueer did this for the sake of Qi?

Want to dismantle the alliance between Wuhuan and Daqian?

The guess needed to be confirmed, and the best way was to explore the tiger's den in person. Zong Yanli never gave in until Bai Xiuyun came and said that he was willing to escort Pei Liang there.

"General, don't worry. I will definitely protect Mr. Pei and bring him back safely." Bai Xiuyun said respectfully to Zong Yanli.

"It's dangerous to go there, you must obey Mr. Pei in everything." Zong Yanli took a deep breath and repeatedly reminded the two of them of the things they needed to pay attention to: "Remember, you are going there to fight for land, and you must take the territory of Qi State if you get angry."

"Let Wuhuan let down their guard. If they find out anything else, don't alert them."

"My brothers and I are waiting here for your safe return."

Bai Xiujun and Pei Liang both agreed. The journey to Wuhuan was long and covered with ice and snow, so it was naturally inconvenient to travel.

As the commander of the Ghost Camp, Bai Xiuyun naturally could not take all of his soldiers with him. If he did, the Wuhuan would probably think that Zong Yanli was going to send troops against him. So in the end he only selected a hundred or so people to escort him, and the rest stayed behind in the army to obey Zong Yanli's orders.

The day Pei Liang and Bai Xiuyun set out, the wind and snow had stopped, and the weather was sunny for a rare moment. The soldiers inside and outside the military camp were already clearing the snow.

Zong Yanli personally saw them off and gave Bai Xiuyun some instructions before letting them leave.

She stood outside the military camp, watching the two people go away and took a deep breath. The cold air inhaled into her lungs seemed to make her feel more energetic. Zong Yanli turned to Gao Feilin and said, "Ask Zhao Mingcai to come see me and prepare New Year's goods."

This year has been hurried and busy.

She is also thirty-four years old.

Is this her tenth year in the army?

Since she joined the army at the age of fifteen, nearly twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. She has been fighting in battles all over the country without stopping. In the past, she had only six people under her command, such as Mengqi and Wennian, but now she commands hundreds of thousands of soldiers. In the past, she could only fight in the small area of ​​Pingnan Camp, but now she has countless achievements.

"General! The pots are ready!" Monk's voice came from outside the tent.

"Okay." Zong Yanli stood up, took a look at the long sword on the table, smiled and stood up.

This year, someone suggested doing something new during the New Year's Day, cooking meat around the stove. I don't know where the soldier in the army learned this from, but he said he had seen rich families eat this way, with a group of people sitting around a pot and eating hot pot.

Today, the army has abundant military supplies, and successive victories have allowed the soldiers to eat meat. It is no longer the time when a pig was shared among several military tents. The military equipment is sophisticated, the armor is thick, and the food is getting better and better.

Zong Yanli heard Meng Qi say to the young soldiers: "When our general first took command of the army, the country was in turmoil..."

"It's extremely hard both up and down here, how can there be such wine and meat?"

"That's all the bacon we stored last year. We boiled it over and over again until it had a little bit of meat flavor. Soldiers from all over the army rely on this meat soup to survive during the New Year!"

"Hey! Now that I think about it, I didn't find it bitter at all. I was so happy drinking the broth, hahaha!"

It feels like it happened just yesterday, but now it seems so long ago?

The lively atmosphere of the New Year's Festival lasted for a long time. The soldiers were full of curiosity about the former Zong Yanli. Zong Yanli sat high on the general's throne, looking at the laughing people below with a smile in his eyes. There were many unfamiliar faces in the army, and they were still so young.

The thirty-four-year-old Zong Yanli was not as energetic as before and felt a little sleepy in the second half of the night. He put down his wine cup and let them make a fuss while he went back to his tent to rest.

It was the quietest New Year's Day in the northern country. Many people looked at the candles with fear in their hearts. In the royal court, Zai Yongnian lay on the bed recuperating from his injuries, his eyes bloodshot as he read the military newspaper and the memorials submitted to him.

Citizens from many towns fled, merchants left, and the entire northern economy collapsed.

Zai Yongnian summoned all the troops defending the city to return to the royal court for assistance. In the end, only two or three of them obeyed the king's order and came. Some court officials even resigned and left.

Zai Yongnian was furious and killed the deserters, which barely shocked the court, but it was obviously of little use.

The Northern Kingdom's court was eerily deserted, without any hint of festive atmosphere.

"Your Majesty, the enemy has reached Yifeng. If Yifeng is defeated again, they can reach the royal court in two days." Three or two elderly ministers stood in the dim light and said to Zai Yongnian, "The enemy's momentum is hard to resist. Our army has been scattered and it is difficult to form an army here."

"Instead of wasting the lives of the people, it is better to..."

"Why not surrender!"

Zai Yongnian suddenly raised his eyes and said, "Asshole! There are no cowards in the Northern Kingdom! If anyone dares to talk about surrender again, I will chop him off!"

All the ministers knelt down, full of helplessness and exhaustion, and said, "Qi has been destroyed. It is impossible for our Northern Kingdom to reach this point. Your Majesty! Please do not persist in your delusion!"

"On behalf of the people of the Northern Kingdom, we beg the Emperor to reconsider!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice..."

All the old ministers who had devoted themselves to the court in the past shed tears and begged bitterly.

Zai Yongnian felt as if a huge stone was pressing down on his chest. His eyes bulged and he said in a trembling voice, "My ancestor Emperor conquered this country and established the kingdom here. How can I...how can I give this country away to others! How can I!"

There seemed to be tears in Zai Yongnian's eyes, perhaps he understood everything.

He understood that as an emperor he was just an ordinary one, without any great ability to govern a country or lead an army. If he had not inherited the throne, how could he have become emperor?

So he followed the routine, neither implementing new policies nor dreaming of becoming a wise ruler who founded a new country. He just wanted to be a good emperor, protect the foundation laid by his ancestors, and train the next generation of successors.

But Zai Yongnian never expected that the foundation of the Northern Kingdom would now be destroyed in his hands. How could he bear this!

After the Lantern Festival, Zong Yanli began to take some actions. He took his troops to patrol outside Yifeng City, waiting for the opportunity to go into battle.

On the other side, they finally received Pei Liang's letter, informing them that they had entered Wuhuan territory and everything was normal now.

In early February, Zong Yanli launched the first round of offensive against Yifeng.

After dozens of days of continuous fighting, Pei Liang and Bai Xiuyun arrived at the Wuhuan royal court.

At the end of February, Yifeng suddenly increased its troops.

"More troops?" Zong Yanli asked with some surprise, "Is Lu cooperating with the Northern Kingdom again?"

"They are not soldiers from the Kingdom of Lu." Long Feiguang reported after investigating: "They should be ordinary soldiers from the Kingdom of Northern China. Are the troops guarding the Imperial City transferred here?"

"Is Zai Yongnian planning to go all out?" Zong Yanli smiled. He really didn't think highly of the additional military strength of the Northern Kingdom.

On the sixth day of March, Yifeng City was captured.

Zong Yanli completely broke through the last line of defense of the Northern Kingdom. The army marched straight in and arrived at the Northern Kingdom's royal court on the ninth day of March. He saw Zai Yongnian leading many old ministers standing outside the imperial city. The melting ice and snow were still mixed with the chill.

Zai Yongnian, who was standing outside the imperial city, had a pale face and stared at the mighty army with lifeless eyes. His gaze fell in front of the majestic enemy army and he saw Zong Yanli who was leading the way. His black armor was so eye-catching and his face covered by the ghost mask made it impossible to see.

All we could see was the black sword in his hand and the black warhorse he was riding proudly.

Zai Yongnian took almost stiff steps forward, holding a jade seal in both hands, and finally knelt down slowly, leaning forward and bowing his head. The emperor on the throne bowed his head, pushed out the jade seal, and opened his mouth and said, "I, I... surrender."

Zai Yongnian's lips were a bit blue-purple, and he looked at Zong Yanli and said, "The king's seal is here, and my head is also here."

“I beg you to…”

"Forgive my people."

The words fell.

Zai Yongnian drew the long knife from his waist and cut off his own head!

The emperor's blood soaked the land, and a few drops of blood splashed onto the jade seal.

Zong Yanli heard the cries of grief, saw the minister who followed the Northern Emperor committing suicide by hitting his head against the pillar, saw the bloodstains all over the ground, and the dead bodies scattered around in front of the gate of the imperial palace, which seemed to indicate the demise of a country.

A warm breeze blew inexplicably in March this year, and the north also welcomed a warm spring.

When Zong Yanli was squatting outside the tent and staring at a flower that was sprouting new buds, he saw Gao Feilin running over in a hurry.

"General, there's a letter from Mr. Pei." Gao Feilin raised his hand.

"Give it here." Zong Yanli raised his eyebrows and took the letter.

In the letter, Pei Liang recounted that everything was going well in Wuhuan, told Zong Yanli that Queen Saiya was pregnant and that General Duzhe missed him very much, and talked a lot about how they were able to successfully take over Qi thanks to Zong Yanli's help, and wrote a lot in a very eloquent manner.

Finally, it was mentioned that General Duzhe hoped to let them stay for a while longer, saying that he had prepared a precious treasure that he wanted them to bring back and present to the general.

Du Zhe made great concessions regarding Qi's territory, as if he did not want to compete with Zong Yanli for it.

Zong Yanli read the letter over and over again, but couldn't find any problems. Finally, he called Zhan Haoyue, Lu Peibai and others to discuss it together. So far, they could only find out that Du Duzhe was abnormally asking to keep Pei Liang and others for a while longer.

Moreover, Queen Sayya was pregnant and not in any danger as they had guessed?

"If I remember correctly, Queen Sai Ya already has a pair of children, and now she is pregnant again?" Lu Peibai's focus was on Queen Sai Ya, and he frowned slightly and said, "Mr. Pei understands that he will definitely pay more attention to Queen Sai Ya this time."

"But the letter only mentioned briefly that Queen Sayya was pregnant, without even specifying how many months pregnant she was."

"Do they not know, or have they not even seen the queen, and only heard the news of her pregnancy from Duzhe?"

As Lu Peibai finished speaking, Zong Yanli and others were stunned.

Zhou Cang next to him said, "There is another point of doubt in the letter. Our army is fighting with the Northern Kingdom so fiercely now. If Du Zhe really puts the general first, how could he use any treasure to keep Mr. Pei and General Bai? Not only did he not mention the aid, but he also forced them to stay?"

"I suspect that this letter was written for Wuhuan," Zhou Cang said.

"It seems that there are indeed many loopholes in this." Zong Yanli sighed and said, "Queen Sai Ya lives in the palace. Even if we want to find out, it won't be that easy."

"Don't worry, just wait a little longer." Zhan Haoyue said soothingly, "At least Mr. Pei is safe for now."

This wait lasted for a month.

There are still follow-up matters that need to be dealt with in the Northern Kingdom. The remaining soldiers and prisoners need to be transported back to Daqian. There are still some stubborn towns that refuse to surrender, so bloodshed is inevitable.

After a month, the North fell into complete peace.

During the Grain in Ear period, thunderstorms become more frequent.

Zong Yanli raised her troops and stopped fighting, while she began to send troops back and forth between the Northern Kingdom and Daqian, repairing the city after the war and sending manpower to take over. She returned to the days of writing military reports and memorials day after day, and the envoys sent by Daqian were also old acquaintances.

"Your humble servant greets the general." Liu Huang's hair has become much whiter, and his body is a little hunched, but he still looks very energetic.

"You're welcome, Lord Liu." Zong Yanli smiled and stretched out his hand, motioning Liu Huang to sit down and talk.

"Since you have come here this time, do the Empress Dowager and the Emperor have any instructions?" Zong Yanli asked in a low voice.

Liu Huang immediately said no, but then mentioned: "Prince Wen has returned to Beijing."

Zong Yanli was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he remembered that Liu Huang was talking about no one else but the Ninth Prince He Jiarong. After He Honglang ascended the throne, He Jiarong voluntarily asked to leave Beijing and went to his fiefdom, and there has been no news of him in the past few decades.

He Jiarong has grown up now. Why is he returning to Beijing at this time?

"What is Prince Wen doing in Beijing?" Zong Yanli asked bluntly.

"To pay homage to my deceased mother." It was a very common reason, but it made Zong Yanli frown.

After Zong Yanli secretly took note of it, he asked some more questions about the affairs of the Daqian court, but there was no other news. Then Zong Yanli asked Long Feiguang to send someone to escort Liu Huang to the Northern Kingdom's court to count some things in the Northern Kingdom.

Zong Yanli got up and went to the inner tent to write two letters, one to Wei Songhe in the Wei Mansion, and the other to Ning Chi in the Lin'an Marquis Mansion.

Today's Daqian is no longer the Wu Kingdom of the past. Although Zong Yanli is far away in the north, he can still control the affairs of the Daqian court.

Zong Yanli handed the letter to Gao Feilin and asked him to deliver it. Sang Caijie strode over and leaned over to Zong Yanli and said, "General, I have investigated the movements of Lu State. There is no sign of troops moving in Lu State, and there is no sign of any unusual movement from Wuhuan."

"Trade is allowed at the pass, but there is no trade between Lu and Wuhuan. Only our Daqian merchants are doing business there." said Sang Caijie.

"Think of a way to cut off the trade route between Wuhuan and Daqian." Zong Yanli looked up at Sang Caijie and said, "Don't let Wuhuan notice anything unusual."