Chapter 1173: Ning Cheng’s persistence (2/2)

Han Yunxi only chuckled. “Xu Donglin’s letter should be arriving today. I’ll wait until I get his message before I rest.”

Xu Donglin’s letter had long arrived. As a top-secret missive, it described how Gu Beiyue was hunting down the three poisonous medicines cultivated from the bloodstream of plague patients. He discovered that small scale plagues had broken out in the chaotic western regions. The patients exhibited similar symptoms to the ones Gu Yuntian chose in the past, so he had personally rushed to the scene to collect samples. Meanwhile, Gu Qishao was still combining medicines back in Medical City.

Gu Beiyue had coaxed him multiple times to let Mu Linger come help, but he refused. In some ways, Gu Qishao’s reasoning was sound. If Mu Linger found out the truth, she would lose all calm and do nothing but cry. She couldn’t be any help. Moreover, anything Mu Linger understood in terms of medicine, he did too.

“Alright,” Long Feiye agreed to Han Yunxi’s request.

Once they arrived at the big tent, Han Yunxi saw three big piles of letters waiting on the desk. Long Feiye currently lacked a trustworthy subordinate by his side to go through them and take care of the ones that didn’t need his personal attention, like Gu Beiyue.

With all factions unstable and vying for power, it was very difficult to find anyone with a neutral stance! Han Yunxi knew that she would have to do such tasks in their place and hoped that Xu Donglin’s letter would arrive late.

When Long Feiye sat down, she moved to sit across from him and picked up a stack of letters. Long Feiye arched a brow at her, but lowered his head before she could explain. Without a doubt, he knew it was useless to coax her. Letting her see the letters was no issue as long as she didn’t sit here for too long.

The expansive tent was very quiet and husband and wife each buried their head in letters. Han Yunxi soon filtered out a stack of them for Long Feiye.

“I’ve taken care of these on my own initiative, but the rest are urgent matters that require your personal attention,” she said.

“Mm,” Long Feiye acknowledged. He didn’t look up, still absorbed with his own pile. Han Yunxi leaned back in her chair to study his quiet face. Everyone said women looked beautiful when they were concentrating, but men also possessed their own unique charm under the same circumstances. Despite all the years they spent together, she was still entranced by Long Feiye’s looks.

Her gaze drifted to an empty chair nearby as she muttered, “Long Feiye, if we have a son, let’s let him sit next to us in the future. He can help you go through this letters, all right?”

Long Feiye was still reading his letters, but replied immediately. “Alright.”

Han Yunxi smiled and didn’t disturb him, but he soon looked up and said, “Why hasn’t Xu Donglin come with the letter yet?”

“He should be here soon?” Han Yunxi began to fret. “Long Feiye, let’s talk about Northern Li.”

Long Feiye had already spread word to the western regions that he wanted to end things peacefully. As a result, the various generals stationed there were trying to negotiate with the Western Zhou emperor while guessing at his thoughts. That meant Long Feiye didn’t need to worry about them for now. He could let them vie amongst themselves and wait for the final conclusion.

The war for Northern Li was more of a headache. According to Long Feiye and Ning Cheng’s secret agreement, Long Feiye would pounce on the man if he had a single defeat in Northern Li. Ning Cheng wanted to challenge Long Feiye to a drinking contest in return, but that was only possible if he conquered Northern Li undefeated.

Currently, Ning Cheng had already taken down half of Northern Li without a single defeat, but therein laid the problem. Ning Cheng wanted to drag on the war by waiting until next summer to lead troops north. The reason was simple: Northern Li winters were bitterly cold, especially up north. Many divination masters had predicted that this year’s winter would be especially harsh.

If that was the case and Ning Cheng kept heading north, he’d arrive during the coldest month of the year. Northern Li’s far reaches were located on an endless plain atop a high plateau. It was swampy lake ground that would freeze over in the winters. With plummeting temperatures, it’d be difficult to supply goods or adjust one’s body to the weather. Moreover, Ning Cheng’s troops who held experience fighting in snowfields had never fought on ice before. If there were ambushes lying in wait, they would be screwed. Even with Jin Zi’s tiger battalion as support, there was no way Ning Cheng could win.

Unless he was absolutely certain, Ning Cheng wouldn’t take the risk. This wasn’t just because of his bet with Long Feiye, but also because he disliked seeing his soldiers die. As the sovereign, Long Feiye would naturally deal out merits and rewards in exchange for their accomplishments. How could Ning Cheng let his men die on the verge of receiving their honors?

His Di Clan had no interest in conquering the world, nor would the West Qin imperial clan ever claim its lands again. However, his soldiers who had given their all to ensure the kingdom’s peace, who had let their blood flow all across the continent, deserved to get what they earned!

No matter what happened in the future, or who won between him and Long Feiye, or whether his men would follow him in the future or be scattered to other battalions, Ning Cheng wanted to do his best to protect their lives and win them glory and honor.

Thus, he had steeled his heart to stop advancing until next spring. Meanwhile, Long Feiye kept getting letters coaxing him to let Ning Cheng’s army fight as the foreguard while the Baili Navy supported them from the seas. They wanted to force Northern Li’s emperor into a surrender before winter fell.

“What do you think?” Long Feiye asked Han Yunxi.

1. Translation in the last chapter said there were 10, looks like author went back on that idea here.