Blackmail

"Is it surprising that they would surrender so readily?"

Seeing Xu Yuan's strange expression, Li Qingyan asked with a smile.

Xu Yuan looked up and smiled, making no attempt to hide anything:

"A bit. The sects I've encountered before are basically all stubborn and won't admit defeat until they're faced with a dire situation. Their proactive approach this time is a bit unusual."

"The person is already inside, so how can you say there's no coffin yet?"

"." Xu Yuan.

Li Qingyan shook his head, turned around, placed his hand on the sword at his waist, and walked valiantly towards the city gate tower.

"Your Highness, you are not close to the battlefield and do not understand the importance of morale. Although these elite sects are still organized, their morale is on the verge of collapse. The general is a smart man, and a smart man will naturally make the best choice."

Xu Yuan stood there for two seconds, then chuckled and quickly caught up with Li Qingyan.

Although he knew that morale was important, he didn't have a complete concept of it. His only intuitive understanding of morale came from some SLG-type games in his previous life.

However, even a game can reveal a lot through small details.

When things are going well, everyone in the alliance is incredibly energetic, but when things are going badly, they disappear completely, lying down and getting beaten up, and even the commander shouting himself hoarse doesn't elicit a single response.

In reality, this emotion is amplified countless times under the pressure of death.

Houting County's sheltering of these defeated soldiers was their only hope for survival and their only means of evacuating here in an organized manner.

Once the general shatters this hope, the morale of the army will truly collapse.

The likelihood of them rioting, surrendering, or fleeing is far greater than them fulfilling their duties as soldiers.

The city walls are made of a special material that melts as soon as it hits the ground, preventing snow accumulation and thus avoiding impact on the soldiers' defenses.

When the patrolling soldiers of the Beifeng Army saw the two coming down from the city wall, they all made way and saluted.

Of course, this courtesy was only for Li Qingyan; Xu Yuan was now just an unofficial Rogue Person.

He's an old hostage.

After descending the city wall, Xu Yuan assumed that Li Qingyan would greet the two border generals of the sect at the city gate.

The other party chose to surrender directly, so some face should still be given, but the woman directly summoned two fine horses with Demon Beast bloodlines.

Looking at the tall and imposing Beifeng Army, Li Qingyan swiftly mounted his horse, while Xu Yuan stood there hesitantly and asked:

"Qingyan, are you planning to go back to the government office?"

Li Qingyan, mounted on her military horse, the wind and snow highlighting the smile on her lips, asked in return:

"If I don't return to the government office, am I supposed to stay here and welcome those sect members into the city?"

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then mounted his horse and replied with a smile:

"That's right. Face is something you earn yourself. Even if we don't give these defeated sect soldiers face, they can't cause any trouble."

As they spoke, the two rode their horses side by side.

Houting County had been occupied once before, and the entire city was, to put it nicely, in dire need of reconstruction, but to put it bluntly, it was a wasteland.

The Barbarian Tribe were very poor. After conquering a place, they would basically wipe it out completely. They would take everything they could carry, and besides supplies, a large part of it consisted of building materials.

The materials science of the Great Yan Dynasty was very advanced. The strength of the spirit iron here would probably be enough to build a Gundam in Xu Yuan's previous life, and the building materials were also largely the same.

As an outpost of Beifeng City, the entire Houting County was basically filled with military facilities, and the building materials were naturally all military materials.

These building materials possess exceptional cold-weather protection and a shelf life of at least a century, making them extremely rare treasures for the Barbarian Tribe living in the Utterdark Lands.

If it weren't for the Barbarian Tribe Alien King's strong opposition and decision to use Houting County as their base for their southward advance, the city walls would probably have been dismantled and transported away by those desperate barbarians before the Great Yan recaptured Marquis Pavilion.

However, after several months, the reconstruction work in Houting County has been on track.

The dilapidated city walls were repaired, the most important City Protection Array was re-engraved, and the soldiers' barracks and warehouses within the city were gradually rebuilt.

Looking at the half-finished military camp in the distance, Xu Yuan suddenly turned to Li Qingyan beside him and asked:

"Qingyan, there's something I want to ask you."

Li Qingyan was in a good mood and chuckled.

"When did you become so polite, Prince Consort? You can just ask directly if you have something to say."

Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"We currently have only 40,000 soldiers in Houting County. Won't it cause problems to directly take over these nearly 20,000 defeated troops?"

The defense line in the Houting County stretched for nearly 300 miles, with three cities and more than a dozen camps supporting each other while also dispersing the troops.

Upon hearing this question, Li Qingyan chuckled and shook his head:

"When Mr. Zong urgently convened a meeting of us generals, the first thing he discussed was the arrangements for these defeated troops."

"Oh?"

Xu Yuan asked with a hint of doubt, "I remember that back then, Cloud Qi Bomb hadn't been sent to the sect yet. How could Mr. Zong be so farsighted?"

"It's just a contingency plan; when you're on the move, you have to plan ahead for everything."

Li Qingyan didn't seem to care, and said in a clear voice, "The way to deal with these defeated sect soldiers is actually quite simple. Remove their armor, surrender their weapons, and disrupt their organization. Their combat strength will be reduced by 60-70%. As long as they don't know that Father Emperor and the others are preparing to take action against their sects, these defeated soldiers are unlikely to risk their lives to rebel."

Xu Yuan pursed his lips, smiled, and whispered:

"Is it really necessary to not even let me listen in on this discussion?"

Li Qingyan stared at him with a smile:

"You, Prince Consort, should know that Mr. Zong is not wary of you. My younger brother doesn't care, but if you participate, should my second brother participate as well?"

fair.

Now, Li Zhaoyuan, the sixth brother, is suspected of having secret dealings with sects. If he were to learn the actual military intelligence, it would be easy for it to be leaked.

Xu Yuan said indifferently:

"I think it wouldn't be a big deal if your second brother found out. On the contrary, it might be better if he knew. There are only a few people attending the meeting, so he wouldn't dare to leak military intelligence. Oh no, we can proactively leak military intelligence and provide your eldest brother with a pretext to kill him."

"."

Li Qingyan stopped his horse, stared at Xu Yuan with a strange look in his eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan also stopped his Demon Horse, spread his hands, and laughed:

"Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"."

Li Qingyan at Xu Yuan for a few moments, then sighed softly:

"I've discovered that your heart, Prince Consort, is truly filthy, even filthier than mine, a mere soldier."

Xu Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this, looked down at his hands, and shook his head, saying:

"Those who manipulate politics are the most ruthless, but I think I have indeed changed somewhat."

He paused for a moment,

Xu Yuan changed the subject, smiling as he said:

"Sigh, Mr. Zong is really something. I haven't seen him in so long. This time, he didn't even bother to greet me before taking Li Yunqing and Li Zhaoyuan directly to Guangzhen City."

Li Qingyan didn't delve deeper into the previous topic, but continued riding forward, following Xu Yuan's words:

"Mr. Zong should be worried that you, the actual "responsible person" of the Prime Minister's Office in the north, will give him military advice. Mr. Zong is not sure whether your dandy will be inflated after he successfully plotted against the sect and the barbarians."

He paused for a moment,

Li Qingyan glanced sideways, her phoenix eyes curving into two glistening crescent moons, and smiled:

"As long as we don't run into each other, a general in the field may disobey orders, wouldn't you agree?"

"."

Xu Yuan blinked, somewhat puzzled:

"How did you know that, Qingyan?"

Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow, tilted his head, and said:

"This phrase has already been spread throughout the entire Northern Border by Commander Yuan. Now, many of my generals are saying it. Why wouldn't I know?"

"." Xu Yuan.

Li Qingyan suppressed her smile and glanced at the magnificent government office at the end of the road:

"Alright, let's get ready. We still need to meet those two sect leaders later."

Xu Yuan was slightly taken aback, then pointed to himself:

"Me too?"

Given the current situation in the Northern Border, all the necessary plans have been made. The battle against the Barbarian Tribe will now depend entirely on the performance of Zong Qingsheng and Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan smiled, staring at him meaningfully, and said:

"There are some things that I cannot do personally. I need a playboy to do them. After all, besides their supplies, we also need to confiscate their Sumeru Ring."

Half an hour later.

Sitting in the main hall of the government office, Xu Yuan stared at the man and woman who slowly walked in below, his eyes slightly amazed.

The man, Xu Yuan, did not look.

The woman removed her armor, revealing a form-fitting outfit that accentuated her slender figure. Her hair was styled like clouds, her skin was fair, her lips were red, and her beautiful eyes sparkled with a hint of heroic spirit.

He had seen so many disciples from various sects, and it seemed like he hadn't seen many who were ugly.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. For ordinary people, it's hard to pursue beautiful women and handsome men, but for powerful and wealthy Aristocratic Clan, they are readily available. Over thousands of years, as long as there is no genetic mutation, it's basically impossible for them to be ugly.

After the two entered the government office and gave a simple bow to Li Qingyan, who was seated in the main seat, they remained silent.

Time passed second by second.

Xu Yuan's gaze lingered on the woman below, his unbridled manner causing the two men below to frown slightly.

Unfortunately, the pressure of the situation forced them to swallow their anger.

I don't know how much time passed,

"Ahem!" Li Qingyan suddenly coughed lightly.

"..." Xu Yuan snapped out of his reverie upon hearing the sound and glanced at Li Qingyan.

"..." Li Qingyan frowned and glared at him.

I'm asking you to be a villain, not a lustful demon.

Xu Yuan smacked his lips, stroked his chin, chuckled softly, and began to get down to business:

"Luo Qingfeng?"

"."

Upon hearing this, the woman below frowned even more deeply. After a moment of silence, she cupped her hands in a respectful gesture, her voice clear and melodious like a silver bell:

"It is indeed Qing Feng, but Qing Feng seems to have never seen you before, young master. May I ask who you are?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan suddenly grinned.

Alright, an old acquaintance.

A year later, his memories of the many female protagonists in Cangyuan were almost blurred, but he never expected to meet one here.

Luo Qingfeng, whose father is the Supreme Elder of the Snow Soul Palace, is the limited female protagonist in the timeline where the Barbarian Tribe appears as the final boss.

Since she only appeared once, Xu Yuan had almost forgotten about her.

She is considered one of the heroines of the heroic type, a woman who appears strong on the outside but is soft on the inside.

In Cangyuan, after opening up to her, Luo Qingfeng will tell the player that she would rather be a well-behaved young lady than lead troops into battle.

The ending is also quite good. Luo Qingfeng will transform from a female general who conquers all sides into a virtuous wife and mother, and will even take the initiative to help the player win over other female protagonists.

What a pity.

People with different paths cannot work together. Given the current situation, this woman will most likely follow in the footsteps of the Ji Qingyue sisters.

Stopping his thoughts, Xu Yuan glanced at the scarred man beside him and asked:

"So, this gentleman must be Hou Jiancheng?"

Hou Jiancheng frowned as well, but then smiled:

"This young master seems to have investigated me and Qing Feng; he must be a high-ranking member of the Prime Minister's Mansion's household, right?"

"I'm not a high-level Rogue Person."

Xu Yuan waved his hand, speaking while his eyes darted back and forth between the two men, a hint of amusement in them.

To put it nicely, these two are childhood sweethearts; to put it bluntly, they're a simp and a goddess.

He had slapped this kid in the face back in Cangyuan.

The green plum couldn't withstand the sudden arrival of a gift from heaven.

The martial arts master beat the kid up, then picked up Luo Qingfeng and left, followed by the much-anticipated 18+ scene.

Thinking of this,

Xu Yuan's eyes held a strange smile as he said calmly:

"Generals, you are both aware of the current situation, so I will not waste any more words. For the sake of the greater good of the Northern Border, please hand over the Sumeru Ring you possess."