"Sir Hong, this matter isn't urgent, but the matter at the frontline is pressing. Great Xia is ma.s.sing soldiers at the frontline. If Sir Hong comes back, what will happen to the 30,000 soldiers and hundreds of thousands of commoners at the frontline? The marriage details can be arranged by me. Plus, the date of the wedding hasn't been set yet!" s.h.i.+ Qing said.

"Of course, we have to kill off Great Xia first! The original plan was to whittle them down as they fight outside the city… Rest a.s.sured, I will act with discretion! As for the wedding… I need to study it carefully." After speaking, Hong Wu strode out of the room.

"Bring me my saber!" Hong Wu said loudly as he stepped out of the door.

"Sir?" Someone said doubtfully, but a long saber was quickly brought to his side by another person.

He raised the saber toward the sky and caused a wave to penetrate the clouds. Then, he swung his blade downward and instantly bisected the house in front of him.

Hong Wu threw the saber to a guard and said, "Count the flashbangs. Do not make any mistakes. In addition, get someone to monitor the weather and report to me regularly.

"Yes!"

"From today onward, the on-duty time for each roster will be shortened to six hours when guarding the city during the day. Rest and recuperate during the off duty time and prepare for my orders."

"Sir, isn't this too hasty?" The deputy commander beside him stepped forward to ask. A moment later, he understood the reason why Hong Wu gave these orders.

"Great Xia also thinks the same way as you and certainly doesn't expect me to attack. Use the flashbangs in a surprise night attack, then a.s.sault them to break them apart. The enemy will be surprised and the flashbangs will blind them. In a panic-stricken state, they will be like meat on a cutting board."

"Your subordinate doesn't understand this sudden decision of yours. If the other side senses that something is wrong, they will retreat to Tiesuo Pa.s.s." The deputy commander couldn't understand.

"If we only had the original 20,000 soldiers, stalemating Great Xia wouldn't be considered bad. Fortunately, we later mobilized 10,000 more soldiers. Although they are rookie soldiers, we aboriginals have considerable fighting ability. Additionally, these soldiers were recruited from villages in the Sixty Thousand Mountains. As a result, the Protectorate of the North has more counterattacking capabilities."

It wasn't until the 20,000 so-called flashbangs were delivered from the rear that Hong Wu was able to keep the Great Xia army engaged here.

"To keep the whole Great Xia army of 500,000 here, 30,000 soldiers isn't enough. Ping City is too close to Tiesuo Pa.s.s and is less than one day away. Even if the surprise attack is successful, the defeated enemy will retreat in disarray. Even if all 30,000 soldiers were to join in the surprise attack, at least half of the remaining 430,000 enemy soldiers can return to Tiesuo Pa.s.s. The original plan was to cut down the enemy forces by a third while they fought below the city before breaking through to attack their main camp by surprise and to keep on killing until only about 50,000 to 80,000 of their soldiers can retreat to Tiesuo Pa.s.s."

Hong Wu frowned because he was unsettled. If the matters regarding the empress's marriage hadn't presented themselves, he would have followed the original plan. Now, however, he couldn't wait that long.

Although he could communicate via the radio, he still wanted to take a trip to Lan City.

He solemnly said, "Go and make your arrangements. I will make my own arrangements."

After sending the deputy commander away, Hong Wu went to the hall and looked silently at a map on the table. He then proceeded to circle Tiesuo Pa.s.s and two other pa.s.ses in Great Xia.

…

The breakthrough to attain the Earth Wheel level that Ren Baqian had achieved caused a stir in the academy. When Ren Baqian didn't come to cla.s.s for two days, the students were wondering what had happened to him and never expected him to secretly achieve a breakthrough.

Although an Earth Wheel level expert wasn't considered a top master, it only took Ren Baqian two years to progress from an ordinary man to the Earth Wheel level. This speed made the students green with envy!

Of course, Tong Lan was the most unhappy of all. She felt that her chances of using those sparring sessions to exact revenge on Ren Baqian were decreasing.

At the very least, it wouldn't be as easy as before.

Taking advantage of the fact that Ren Baqian had just broken through, she had better use more force during their next martial arts practice session.

If Ren Baqian knew Tong Lan's thoughts, he would certainly feel that he had given his students too little homework.

They most likely didn't know what a "sea of homework" and a "sea of test papers" meant!

However, Ren Baqian was in a good mood. After the hards.h.i.+p of all these years, he was finally going to turn the tables.

On the way to the palace, he saw someone who shouldn't be seen coming out of the empress's quarters, and it made him wonder whether he was seeing things.

This person, who had delicate features and a pair of A cup b.o.o.bs, was Lin Qiaole, the one that drooled while sleeping 24 hours a day!

Ren Baqian had always equated her to a pig with the only difference being that she could fight better than pigs!

After coming back from Tianjing Basin, besides seeing her snoring away at Qingxin Palace Hall a few times, he had never seen her at any other places.

The sun must have risen from another direction for Lin Qiaole to be coming out of Qingxin Palace Hall.

Sniff. When Lin Qiaole saw him, she jumped and landed beside Ren Baqian while sniffing. Then, she felt the back of his waist, moved downward to take out a bag of candy, and smiled in delight.

"Why did you come out?" Ren Baqian didn't mind giving her candy, but he was curious.

"Grandmother wanted to see Her Majesty, but she couldn't come here." Lin Qiaole happily took out a piece of chocolate, peeled off the familiar wrapper, and popped it into her mouth. After that, her face began to change.

"Yuck! What flavor is this? The taste is horrible." Lin Qiaole spat a few times and looked disgusted.

After Ren Baqian took a glance, he confirmed that it was made of 90 percent cocoa.

This thing was rather unpalatable and was equivalent to taking Chinese herbs without sugar.

He accidentally mixed them into his bag of candy at the supermarket that day, and even the empress had unwittingly eaten one in the past.

"Why can't Librarian Lin come out?" Ren Baqian asked curiously.

"My grandmother is afraid of light and never comes out in the day!" Lin Qiaole said bitterly. Her tongue tasted bitter, but she felt better after eating some other candies.

Lin Qiaole was an easily satisfied person.

"Is there such a thing?!" Ren Baqian was a bit surprised as this was the first time he had heard of this.

"It has been many years! Anyway, I have never seen her come out!" Lin Qiaole muttered. Next, she pointed at Ren Baqian and said, "My grandmother's meeting with the empress has something to do with you! You will know when the time comes! Bye!"

"It has something to do with me? Is it related to my cultivation?" Ren Baqian pondered and then went in to see the empress.

The empress was sitting on the sofa in a daze; her eyes were unfocused as she thought about something.

"Your Majesty?"

"Oh?" The empress seemed to be startled by his voice.

"What's Your Majesty thinking about?" Ren Baqian asked with a smile.

"It's a small matter!" Her eyes were s.h.i.+fty, and it was obvious that she was lying.

Subsequently, she calmed down and said seriously, "I have something important to tell you!"

"Your Majesty, please tell me!" Ren Baqian said.

The empress looked at him with a solemn face, then appeared agitated. Her head heated up… It was as if steam was shooting out ten feet high.

The empress looked away and said, "Never mind!"

"This move by Your Majesty is the legendary [Three Flowers and Five Elements]! It's really an eye-opener!" Ren Baqian exclaimed.

The empress blushed until her neck and ears were red.

"Is Your Majesty really fine?" Ren Baqian looked at her posture and laughed.

"I'm fine!" The empress tried hard to steady her voice.

"Are you sure you are alright?"

"I'm fine! You talk too much nonsense!" The empress raised her eyebrows, but her voice was tender.