Qin Chu stopped thinking about Zhang Xiaowei's death, and Qin Rui was relieved.
The atmosphere in the military camp grew increasingly serious each day, as a general of the Xiongnu led his troops to attack. The war, which had previously been a mix of wins and losses, suddenly turned into a series of defeats, and the entire Cangqing Prefecture was shrouded in gloom.
At this time, winning the battle was the most important thing. The general ignored the orders from the capital and prepared to send Qin Chu to lead the troops to meet the Xiongnu in the next battle.
However, at this critical moment, the ministers in the court clearly did not have the same firm resolve as the soldiers on the border. An imperial edict, covered with the official seals of the regents, was issued, ordering a nationwide search for the eldest prince.
The court officials' discussion of the war situation led them to propose a marriage alliance.
Qin Chu frowned upon hearing the instruction, but the eldest prince, who had overheard the news in the kitchen, remained calm.
That night, he even comforted Qin Chu: "Brother, don't worry. Anyway, I'm not a boy anymore. They won't be able to find me, and even if they do, they can't make me go to a marriage alliance."
Qin Chu, however, was not as optimistic as the child.
This imperial decree may not be successful in its execution, but it demonstrates the court's attitude. With a fierce battle raging on the border, the court's preparations for a marriage alliance serve as a veiled blow to the morale of all the soldiers.
At first, they would be frustrated and curse the court for being a terrible thing, but fear of war is in the nature of most people. Once they accept the idea that they can achieve peace without fighting, they will be eager to find the eldest prince, quell the war, and go home as soon as possible.
This is not a good omen for Qin Rui and for the war that follows.
The Xiongnu won't give up so easily; things won't be that simple.
But Qin Chu didn't tell Qin Rui any of this. He just patted him on the head and told him to be careful lately.
The imperial edict promised a reward of 100,000 taels of gold, along with other land grants, to anyone who could find the eldest prince. This reward was enough to make anyone envious.
Qin Rui wasn't too worried at first. The scar on his hand was gone, and he had grown much taller. His appearance had changed drastically, making it almost impossible for anyone to recognize him as the eldest prince.
But what happened next made him a little concerned.
Even if the eldest prince cannot be found, once this imperial edict is issued, countless people will talk about him in their spare time.
Many soldiers in the military camp came from the capital, and many had heard of Qin Rui's past deeds. Rumors always contain inaccuracies, sometimes even more frightening than the truth.
At noon, Qin Rui went to deliver lunch to Qin Chu. As soon as he entered the training ground, he heard someone mention the title of the First Prince.
"This eldest prince is extraordinary. The emperor fell ill as soon as he was born, and the empress dowager also passed away in the same year. Don't underestimate this eldest prince because he is young; he really has a fate that brings death to people."
"Are you talking nonsense? How can a little kid be so mysterious? If we're going to send the eldest prince to the Xiongnu for a marriage alliance, are you suggesting we rely on him to bring misfortune to the Xiongnu?"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers who were resting together immediately burst into laughter.
After laughing, a soldier suddenly spoke mysteriously: "I have a relative who works in the palace, and he heard something different. You don't know, do you? The eldest prince's mother was banished to the cold palace a long time ago, but her belly grew strangely large. By the time the palace servants discovered it, the eldest prince was already able to run around on the ground."
"But guess what? The palace servants have been lazy and haven't brought food to the Cold Palace for a long time, and no one has ever delivered babies. How do you think this eldest prince survived? I heard that when he was discovered, his mother..."
Qin Rui tightened his grip on the food box. The tent flap next to him was lifted, and a tall, black-haired man in armor walked out. It was Qin Chu.
Fearing that Qin Chu would hear the second half of his sentence, Qin Rui immediately raised his voice and shouted, "Brother!"
Qin Chu immediately looked at him. Distracted by his words, the soldiers who had been chatting dispersed, and Qin Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Similar scenarios occurred more than once, and amidst these rumors, Qin Rui became uneasy once again.
He became very clingy to Qin Chu, because if he wasn't by Qin Chu's side for even a moment, he would be afraid that Qin Chu might hear these rumors and believe them.
What's even more frightening is that, no matter how outlandish these rumors are, they are not entirely just rumors.
Not only was he worried that Qin Chu would find out about these things, but as these rumors were brought up again and again, Qin Rui's early, hazy memories became clearer and clearer.
He couldn't sleep at night, and even if he knocked himself unconscious, he would quickly wake up from his dream.
He frequently sat up in shock in bed, looking down at his hands as if they were blood-stained claws.
At this time, another piece of news somehow arrived. Some people heard that the eldest prince, who had escaped from the capital, was at the border, in Cangqing Prefecture.
With such a large sum of money involved, even if the news was unfounded, it attracted a lot of attention and spread like wildfire.
There aren't many children around ten years old in the military camp, so if an investigation were to be conducted, Qin Rui would easily be noticed. Fortunately, there are many local residents of similar age in Cangqingzhou, so even if an investigation were to be conducted, the focus wouldn't be solely on the military camp.
Given how things have escalated, there's a high possibility that someone is manipulating things behind the scenes.
Qin Rui's identity could not be made public, so Qin Chu could only restrain his soldiers to prevent the rumors from spreading further, while secretly investigating who was spreading the information.
However, Qin Chu has been unable to free up his time recently.
After several engagements, the initial advantage was quickly reversed. They suffered repeated defeats, while the Xiongnu, driven out of Cangqingzhou by Qin and Chu, pressed on with great force, attacking all the way to the walls of Cangqingzhou.
Inside the military tent, a group of generals sat facing each other, all looking pale and sickly.
A general who had just suffered a crushing defeat slammed his fist on the table and cursed angrily, "Damn it, those Hun bastards are inhuman! They used to have some backbone, but I don't know what's wrong with them this time, they've become even more shameless."
"Who the hell could have imagined that, given the Xiongnu's past practices, they would actually feign surrender this time! They laid an ambush beforehand, and then took advantage of the moment when our soldiers were relaxed to surround us, catching us completely off guard!"
Another general added with a grim face: "Not only do they use tricks, but their combat strength is also much higher than the previous vanguard. First, they scattered our soldiers, then bit them like wolves and wouldn't let go..."
After venting his anger, the tent returned to a deathly silence.
The general looked around and then at Qin Chu: "General Qin, you were the only one who didn't directly confront the Xiongnu this time. An outsider's perspective is often clearer; what's your take on this?"
Qin Chu's tone was indifferent but went straight to the point: "The wolf pack has a new alpha wolf. This batch of Xiongnu soldiers are very skilled in individual combat and training methods. They are familiar with the environment and terrain, and our soldiers cannot compare."
Qin Chu was also somewhat troubled. Even the group of people under his command had not been trained for long enough, not to mention the large number of soldiers in Cangqing Prefecture whom he could not control at all.
"So, does that mean we're doomed to lose this time?" Someone, feeling resentful, couldn't help but stab Qin Chu in the back.
Qin Chu glanced at him: "If you want to win in a short time, there is only one way: capture the king first."
Upon hearing this, everyone present looked even more pale.
It sounds simple, but to kill their general while surrounded by a group of Xiongnu soldiers is simply a fantasy.
Qin Chu turned to the general and asked, "What is the identity of the Xiongnu commander this time?"
The general said, "This man is called Ti Rong. I heard he is a member of the Xiongnu royal family, but he has never been particularly prominent before. I didn't expect that he would be so simple after this battle."
Qin Chu then asked the other defeated generals, "When you were fighting the Xiongnu, did any of you see this person?"
Most people shook their heads, but one person, upon hearing this question, was so angry he was practically fuming: "I have seen him before. Last time during the battle at Qili Mountain, he was sitting on the back of a chariot, and he actually... he actually..."
The general hesitated several times before finally managing to squeeze out the second half of the sentence: "He's roasting lamb legs! Damn it, while the soldiers in front are risking their lives, with limbs flying everywhere, he's enjoying a hearty meal in the back!"
Qin Chu: "..."
This behavior is truly extremely insulting.
However, this persistent and shameless behavior made Qin Chu keenly sense a sense of familiarity.
He stroked the teacup in his hand, his brows slowly furrowing. If his judgment was correct, that Prime Minister Lin should be dead long ago.
Suddenly, Qin Chu thought of another possibility.
He asked Noah in his mind, "Is Lin Xiang a person from this world, or a player?"
"He's not a player." Noah was certain. Thinking of his previous misjudgment, he added, "Before Lin Xiang died, the game hadn't released that hidden data skin yet. I checked it out from the beginning and confirmed that Lin Xiang wasn't a player."
If it's not a player, then what could it be?
As Qin Chu was pondering, a soldier suddenly rushed in, shouting before even entering the tent, "Report! General, General, the Xiongnu have attacked and are already at the city gate!"
The group of people immediately stood up, their faces serious.
Qin Chu looked at the soldier and quickly asked, "How many men have come? Are there any ambushes around? Have any scouts been sent out?"
When asked this, the soldier's expression turned strange: "There aren't many people... I estimate less than ten thousand. According to the scouts we sent out earlier, there are no ambushes on any side."
Qin Chu then asked, "Did you bring the siege equipment?"
"No..." the soldier shook his head.
After hearing this series of questions, the other generals looked suspicious: "Then what are they here for?"
The soldier became even more uneasy. He said, "Well... the Xiongnu general has stepped forward and is challenging us in front of the city gate."
What a ridiculous formation.
In normal times, there's no need for such formalities; we just face each other with weapons the moment we meet.
Completely baffled by what this Xiongnu man was up to, Qin Chu turned and glanced at him, then simply said, "Let's go up and take a look."
Before even standing on the city wall, Qin Chu caught a glimpse of the situation in front of the city gate.
Nearly ten thousand menacing Xiongnu soldiers surrounded the city. They were divided into several groups and did not appear to be very well organized, but they were like a pack of wolves hunting on the grassland, free yet closely connected.
Behind them were several cavalry units, but very few infantry. Ahead were archers already prepared, and at the very front was a row of heavily fortified shields, the tips of arrows gleaming through the gaps in the shields.
These soldiers were all tall and strong, and their bodies reeked of blood; they were clearly survivors who had fought their way through countless battles.
“These soldiers from the grasslands are used to fighting everywhere, and they are all very experienced, which is something we can’t compare to.”
The general couldn't help but sigh. Qin Chu didn't answer, his gaze continuing to move forward.
In front of this group of imposing soldiers stood another person.
He broke free from the protection of the shield and stood brazenly at the front of the ranks, unconcerned about exposing himself to the archers on the city wall.
He rode a black horse with jet-black fur except for a tuft of white hair on its forehead.
This horse was very tall, a whole size taller than the horses ridden by the cavalrymen behind it. Riding on such a magnificent horse would generally make a person appear somewhat short.
But the person on horseback did not.
The man's armor was somewhat worn, and his hair was not properly tied up, with some strands sticking out unruly.
He clearly didn't care about these details at all, and just sat on his horse, standing in front of the city gate of Cangqingzhou, idly munching on the green fruit in his hand.
The two armies faced each other in complete silence; even the archers who had drawn their bows held their breath.
So in the silence before the city gate, the only sound could be the crisp "crunch" of the man biting into the fruit.
Despite being pointed at by thousands of arrows, the man ate calmly and unhurriedly.
It was as if he wasn't leading troops to attack the city, but rather taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather to go on a spring outing.
That's fucking insulting.
The general standing on the city wall of Cangqingzhou, who was now directing the operation, was so angry that his eyebrows twitched. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer, drew his sword, and pointed it at the man on the black horse: "You are Ti Rong? Do you Xiongnu have nowhere else to go? You come to the border of our dynasty to eat?"
The moment his sword tip pointed at Ti Rong, he saw a thousand archers from the Xiongnu army simultaneously turn their swords around, focusing only on him.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and war seemed imminent.
But in the extremely tense atmosphere, the person eating fruit raised his hand and pressed it down, and the archer instantly returned to his position.
The man on horseback slowly ate for a while, then threw the remaining half of the fruit aside.
He looked up at the city wall, a roguish smile playing on his lips.