Translator: ChowvanLee

  However, some officials knew that Xiao Baoshan was forced this time.

  Ye Xiaoxian, Xiao Baoshan’s wife, showed her good cooking skills at the ceremony and she was well-known in the capital city. Many people heard that Mrs. Xiao, as a guest, was kept in State Preceptor’s residence at this moment.

  Of course, this was a euphemism. She actually was imprisoned.

  With Mrs. Xiao as a bargaining chip, Xiao Baoshan didn’t have a choice.

  The ministers could only pray that Xiao Baoshan could win this battle and Mrs. Xiao could come back to him as soon as possible……

  Li Chengyi and Li Chengru were sitting in a teahouse on the second floor, watching Xiao Baoshan leave the city.

  They were insiders and knew that Xiao Baoshan got an underlying task.

  Li Chengyi asked Li Chengru, “What do you think, will Xiao Baoshan do it? Would he listen to State Preceptor?”


  Li Chengru smiled, “We have known Xiao Baoshan for a long time. We know what he is like. He agrees to fight, which means he is serious. After all, he once lost to the Northern Qing Army. He must win this battle. As for other…… he knows what he should do.”


  Li Chengyi sighed, “Unfortunately, we can’t rescue Little Ye.”


  Li Chengru thought about how calm, optimistic, and confident Little Ye was on the day he met her. He smiled again, “Little Ye, she is a good woman, the best woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”
……

  “Little Ye, your husband Baoshan went to war, do you know that?”


  Jin Xiaoyu walked around the State Preceptor’s residence and heard about this news.

  Ye Xiaoxian was stunned first, then she said, “Oh, no wonder we received a lot of gold, silver, jewelry, and beautiful clothes in the past two days. It turns out that Baoshan is going to war. State Preceptor feels guilty and compensates us.”


  Jin Xiaoyu asked anxiously, “Why are you so calm? Don’t you know that people will die in war? Aren’t you worried about him?”


  Ye Xiaoxian looked at Jin Xiaoyu meaningfully.

  Jin Xiaoyu realized that she was being too impatient. It seemed like she was Xiao Baoshan’s wife.

  Jin Xiaoyu immediately explained, “Ah, I don’t mean anything by it. Because we are friends. If it were someone else, like Tarico and Jia Zhenbo, if they are going to go to the battlefield, I will be worried too.”


  Ye Xiaoxian smiled again, “Well, I know. I know that people would die on the battlefield and it would be very dangerous, but this is Baoshan’s wish. He is born for the battlefield. The person on the battlefield might be the real him.”


  Ye Xiaoxian thought about Xiao Baoshan’s frowns, his perennial worries, and the nights when he read about military tactics in the yurt. She knew that he would return to the battlefield sooner or later.

  The tragedy many years ago left him with a heavy burden. He needed to go back to the battlefield to prove himself and avenge his dead comrades.

  ‘As his lover, shouldn’t I support him unconditionally?’


  Jin Xiaoyu added, “But he has tasks on the battlefield. State Preceptor asked him……”


  “He won’t!” Before Jin Xiaoyu could finish her words, Ye Xiaoxian interrupted her, “He won’t do it. He couldn’t do it before, and he won’t do it now. And I won’t let him do that.”


  Jin Xiaoyu suddenly felt sad. “So, you are sure you’ll die, right?”


  Ye Xiaoxian looked at Jin Xiaoyu, “I just didn’t expect this will involve you. How about this, State Preceptor won’t kill us for the time being, so we have to find an opportunity to send you out of this place first.”


  Jin Xiaoyu yelled immediately, “Why save me? I am not a coward! I have been muddling along without an aim in my life. But when I meet you, I feel that my life becomes valuable. You can sacrifice yourself for justice. Why can’t I? Otherwise, why do I save Little Xun?”


  Ye Xiaoxian listened and looked at Jin Xiaoyu, moved.

  Then she held Jin Xiaoyu’s hand and said, “Xiaoyu, I have no siblings in my life, but I think you are like my sister. In this lifetime. I will treat you as my biological sister.”


  Jin Xiaoyu asked, “I don’t want to be your elder sister. Did I look that old?”


  Ye Xiaoxian smiled, “Then I’ll be your elder sister. You call me elder sister.”


  “Aren’t you taking advantage of me?”


  “This won’t do and that won’t do. How about this, you call me brother!”


  “Haha, how can you be like this……”


  Another afternoon passed when they were messing around……

  In the North.

  When Xiao Baoshan’s troops arrived at Heihe City, Yan Ziyan and the rest were still discussing how they should treat Xiao Baoshan and his men.

  They wondered whether they should go to welcome Xiao Baoshan or just wait in the city.

  They didn’t know if Xiao Baoshan came to help or kill them.

  After all, they had just lost a battle. Even if Xiao Baoshan was here to help, if Xiao Baoshan won the next battle, then it would be Xiao Baoshan’s credit. The imperial court would not agree to the terms that Yan Ziyan had proposed before.

  Yan Ziyan’s army started to give their opinions one after another.

  Yan Ziyan said, “I’ve heard of Xiao Baoshan before. He has never lost a battle before except the one he fought against the Northern Qing Kingdom a few years ago. He was called a traitor then.”


  The subordinates of Yan Ziyan also knew about Xiao Baoshan. They were unhappy about the imperial court, so they believed that there must be a conspiracy about Xiao Baoshan’s defeat. They supported Xiao Baoshan and did not believe that Xiao Baoshan was a traitor.

  “I’ve heard of General Xiao before. He is definitely not a traitor. Hmph, the current imperial court is juggling black and white!”


  “But we have to be on guard. If Xiao Baoshan really has a connection with the Northern Qing Kingdom, then he will undoubtedly help them to do evil this time.”


  “I don’t think so. If he is really a traitor, the Emperor and State Preceptor in the capital city would never let him come here……”


  “.……”


  Anyway, opinions varied.

  In the end, they asked Yan Ziyan to be careful.

  Yan Ziyan was a broad-minded person. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people following him.

  He forced a smile, “I think we’d better go out to welcome General Xiao. If he colluded with the Northern Qing Kingdom, with his large troops and our small army, we will die anyway. But if he is not, he must be our aid. No matter what, we have to fight hard.

  Soldiers felt that Yan Ziyan’s words made sense, so they went out of the city to welcome Xiao Baoshan……

  Xiao Baoshan and the others waited outside the city for two hours and the city gate was still closed.

  The vice commander was angry. “This Yan Ziyan just lost a battle. He knows that reinforcements are here but he doesn’t immediately open the city gate. Is he looking down on us or he doesn’t need reinforcements?”


  Xiao Baoshan looked calm, “Just wait, they will open the door.”


  Other soldiers were also a little annoyed. They all felt that Yan Ziyan really crossed the line and did not put them in their eyes.

  After a long time, the city gate finally opened. To their surprise, at least a hundred people came to welcome them.

  The leader of the group rode in front of Xiao Baoshan and apologized, “You are General Xiao Baoshan? I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. Please forgive me for not coming here early.”


  Xiao Baoshan said flatly, “It’s not a big deal.”


  “I was held up just now, and opened the city gate late. Have you been waiting for a long time?”


  The vice commander was about to speak when Xiao Baoshan stopped him.

  Xiao Baoshan said, “It’s not too long.”


  Xiao Baoshan knew very well that although Yan Ziyan and his army had lost, they still were on the alert about Xiao Baoshan. They hoped that the imperial court sent reinforcements to support them, but they wished it was an ordinary army but not General Xiao Baoshan.

  They had two reasons. Firstly, Xiao Baoshan was once questioned as a traitor. If he was a traitor, he would definitely cooperate with the Northern Qing Kingdom and kill Yan Ziyan.

  Secondly, if Xiao Baoshan was not a traitor, then he was very likely to take the credit of Yan Ziyan. If so, Yan Ziyan had no reason to guard Heihe City and Linglong City.

  Therefore, they had to discuss first and then opened the city gate.

  Eventually, Yan Ziyan opened the city gate, which meant that although he had a little grudge towards Xiao Baoshan, he could tolerate him no matter which way he chose.

  Yan Ziyan and his soldiers were not serious enough when they first met Xiao Baoshan, but Xiao Baoshan looked like he didn’t care at all. And, as Xiao Baoshan looked strong and reliable, it made Yan Ziyan favored Xiao Baoshan a little.

  “General Xiao, the place has been cleared for you. You can set up your camps in the city now.”


  Xiao Baoshan then led his subordinates into the city……

  On the same day, Xiao Baoshan and Yan Ziyan discussed the recent battles in a camp.

  Including how they fought each battle and why they lost the last battle.

  Yan Ziyan’s soldiers were worried that Xiao Baoshan would hurt him, so they even sent a few people into the camp to protect Yan Ziyan, and Wang Meng was one of them.

  However, Xiao Baoshan didn’t care at all. Apart from discussing tactics and their situation on the battlefield, he didn’t ask anything else.

  Yan Ziyan and his soldiers used to be bandits. They were afraid that people from the imperial court would have a bias towards them, such as asking them how they got together, how their life was like in the mountains before the war.

  But Xiao Baoshan did not ask anything. He treated Yan Ziyan and the others kindly and equally.

  Xiao Baoshan also told Yan Ziyan his opinions about the reason for the defeat that night. Yan Ziyan and the rest also agreed with him. Wang Meng and other soldiers were no longer standing on the side and participated in the discussion.

  Xiao Baoshan was kind to Wang Meng and the rest like the way he treated Yan Ziyan. He answered every question they asked with patience, so the soldiers had a good impression about him. When they finished discussing tactics and came out of the camp, Wang Meng and the rest had already called him “Big Brother Xiao”.……

  Yan Ziyan’s army suffered a great loss that night, so did the Northern Qing Army. Therefore, the Northern Qing Army also needed to make some adjustments and asked for reinforcements, too.

  Xiao Baoshan and his army arrived first. On the second day, they gave the Northern Qing Army a surprise attack. The Northern Qing Army was seriously injured again and was almost destroyed.