HBBMAWH Chapter 115

Unlike the despair that pervaded the army not long ago, the soldiers now are brimming with confidence and look high-spirited.

“It won’t be long before this war ends, and we can go home,” one soldier said joyfully.

Another, more rational fellow cautioned, “Let’s not get too carried away. The Prince said, ‘Never be careless or underestimate the enemy at any time. Just because we’ve won a small victory doesn’t mean we can be overconfident.'”

“Oh, come on, a big rough guy like you talking like a cultured person, word by word,” another mocked, “aren’t you afraid of being laughed at? Besides, it wasn’t the Prince who said that, it was…”

He paused, glanced around, acting secretive, his eyes furtive.

“It was the Princess Consort.”

“Oh, I see. Then it was the Princess Consort who said it, hehehe.” The soldier scratched the back of his head, chuckling, and the group exchanged knowing glances, laughing in unison.

At first, they were just curious about why the Prince and the Tanghua lived together.

But military regulations were strict, and no one dared to ask. They only guessed and discussed privately, especially since the Prince brought a child with him. The border was different from the capital; naturally, they didn’t know these things. They only found out later that they were a couple, so no wonder they slept together.

“In any case, the Princess Consort is right; none of you should be careless. Those Beirong brats are quite slippery.”

“However, those brats probably can’t bounce back now. They’re too busy dealing with their own mess.”

The news that the King of Beirong wanted to remove the original general had already spread throughout the Chen army. As soon as the news came out, the Chen army was so happy that they almost thought that the King of Beirong was one of their own, deliberately causing trouble.

The new replacement general were obviously inferior to the original. Coupled with the unstable morale of the army at this time and without Xierli in command, it was a mess. The new general couldn’t immediately win over those who had been loyal to Xierli for a long time.

But Xierli had committed a serious crime by publicly killing the imperial envoy, and the whole city was searching for him. Those who wanted to catch him to gain merit or those that still remained loyal to Xierli, everyone was looking for him. Therefore, there was chaos in the army.

Moreover, the Beirong court was in constant debate over this matter. Even other nobles with inheritance rights to the throne of Beirong saw this situation as an opportunity, openly or secretly wanting to get a share of the pie.

Beirong itself was in internal strife, neglecting the border. As a result, as morale of their army dissipated, and they began to retreat step by step.

The Chen Army is just waiting for their triumphant return to their hometown, relatives and friends.

The group returned to their own tents with smiles, only to find that a new soldier had occupied one of the previously empty beds.

“Oh, brother, a newcomer, huh? Haven’t seen you before,” no one paid much attention, there were so many comrades in the army, how many of them can they recognize?

The new soldier politely smiled and replied, “I’m from the Huotou Army, just transferred here today. I also want to wield a big sword.”

“Oh, still want to wield a big sword? Do you have the strength for it? Start with a spear first.”

“I’ve been carrying pots and rice bags, I have plenty of strength.”

“Alright then. Tomorrow will be your chance to shine. The Prince and Tanghua have said that everyone will eat and sleep well tonight. Tomorrow we all have to wake up early to take advantage of the darkness to launch an attack. You have to perform well then to be rewarded with a good sword. You, as a newcomer, don’t have the chance yet. Those good swords are all made of good iron, quite expensive!”

“I’ll definitely perform well tomorrow.” The new soldier spoke with a fluent Chen dynasty dialect, smiled at the others, and got into bed, pulling the blanket over himself.

However, his eyes, facing the wall, remained alert. And near the military camp, a soldier’s body, stripped of its clothes, lay discarded in the waist-high grass.

Yan Cai’s eyelids kept twitching, and he always felt that something bad was about to happen. He might just be his over-thinking, but ever since he lost his abilities after getting pregnant with another child, he had become somewhat paranoid.

These symptoms would take at least three months to ease.

However, tonight’s anxiety was a bit excessive. Yan Cai couldn’t fall asleep all night, tossing and turning. Jiang Manyue, lying beside him, was also disturbed by his restless movements, making it difficult for him to sleep as well.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Manyue felt around in the dark, first touching their son’s blanket, feeling that it was properly covered, before finally letting out a sigh of relief and lowering his voice to ask Yan Cai.

“Can’t sleep,” Yan Cai turned over and snuggled up to Jiang Manyue, seeking the other person’s warmth.

“Worried?”

“Yeah,” Yan Cai muttered gloomily.

“Don’t worry. Chen Nan and several deputy generals and I have already discussed it thoroughly. Nothing will go wrong. Given the abilities of the current leader of the Beirong’s army, there’s nothing to fear. Besides, in these past few days, under our deliberate harassment, the other side has reached their limit…”

Yan Cai opened his eyes, his clear black and white eyes shining brightly even in the dim light, like shooting stars in the sky.

“I guess I was just over-thinking,” Yan Cai lowered his head, resting his forehead on Jiang Manyue’s shoulder, his eyelashes gently brushing against Jiang Manyue’s shoulder. “I’m a little cold.” He suddenly said. Actually, Yan Cai wasn’t cold at all; he just wanted to be held.

Jiang Manyue held him tightly in his arms and hugged him hard. Perhaps feeling secure in the tight embrace, Yan Cai soon felt drowsy and fell asleep shortly after.

The next day, before dawn, everyone gathered at the training ground. Yan Cai didn’t slack off at this time. As the highest-ranking person in this army, he couldn’t afford to rest while others worked. He couldn’t delegate everything to others.

Moreover, he had to go on stage to boost morale. Jiang Manyue had prepared the words for him in advance, and he just needed to read them out loud. Besides, Jiang Manyue would supplement from the sidelines.

Yan Cai, who was not good at public speaking, managed to muddle through the morale-boosting segment.

“Our army will win!” After Yan Cai finished speaking, Chen Nan shouted slogans from the stage to boost morale.

Among the majority of excited soldiers, there was one person whose indifferent eyes always followed Jiang Manyue and Yan Cai.

This battle wasn’t worth recording because the opposing general, Qi Zhen, was too young and lacked the ability to command soldiers who had long been loyal to Xierli.

For a general to be loved by his soldiers, there need to be many reasons, and character and ability are indispensable. The Beirong army, having encountered excellent commanders before, naturally sneered at Qi Zhen and constantly compared him to the original Xierli. They finally concluded that it would be better if General Xierli were here.

Of course, there were differing opinions. In the eyes of those more loyal to the royal family, Xierli’s behavior of openly defying the royal decree by killing the envoy was unforgivable, and he was not worthy of leading the army.

Regardless of what others thought, all that awaited him now in Beirong was constant pursuit and capture.

And Xierli directed all his hatred towards the Chen army.

It wasn’t until later that he found it strange why the King of Beirong suddenly lost patience and wanted to remove him.

In the end, he learned that treasures had been found in his own home.

Even Xierli, as foolish as he may be, would guess whose masterpiece this was. Who else would frame him like this and produce real treasure—the very treasure that the King of Beirong desired, the treasure of the Chen dynasty.

Wasn’t it those two individuals?

Xierli’s gaze fell on the battlefield where Jiang Manyue was engaged in combat with Qi Zhen. From his observations, this should be the person currently commanding the Chen army, and he had already fully identified the other party’s identity.

Meanwhile, atop the watchtower, overlooking the scene below, was the Carefree Prince of the Chen dynasty.

A deputy general called him over. Xierli changed his appearance slightly, the deputy general, being less likely to recognize the enemy commander’s appearance, had no idea who he really was.

“You, and a few others, go to the watchtower now…”

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