Chapter 7: The Prince's Wrath

  At dawn, Ji Qingchen and the remaining dozen or so Yu Lin cavalry remnants finally arrived outside Ningzhou City. Earlier, Guo Yun had already sent out scouts to inform the city of their arrival and request that they send out elite cavalry to escort the Ninth Prince, but now that the Ninth Prince had arrived at the foot of the city walls, not only had the requested cavalry not arrived, but no one from within the city had even come out to greet them.

  How can Ji Qingchen, also the Ninth Prince of Da Yan, be so arrogant at this time? He is the son of today's Holy Emperor Guangwu of Da Yan. No matter how high Ningzhou General's official position is or how great his power is, he should not have shown such arrogance.

  The city gate of Ningzhou City was empty and quiet, with only the occasional sound of soldiers chatting on the city wall.

  Facing such an embarrassing situation, even Ji Qingchen himself was dissatisfied with the arrogance of Guo Lin and Yu Lin cavalry towards the Ningzhou army.

  Guo Zhen turned his head to look at the Ninth Prince beside him, but he couldn't see the expression on the Ninth Prince's face. He could only urge his horse forward and shout towards the city gate tower. After explaining for a long time, saying that the Ninth Prince of Great Yan had returned to Yan and wanted to enter the city immediately, the guard on the city gate tower looked at Guo Zhen's token again before responding with a single word.

  In an instant, the city gate of Ningzhou creaked open and a cavalry of 200 men rushed out.

  The cavalry galloped swiftly and almost charged into Ji Qingchen's troops before stopping just ten steps away.

  The commander of the troops was a thirty-year-old man with a thick beard, his cold eyes scanning the remnants of the army in front of him. His gaze stopped on Guo Lin's body and completely ignored Ji Qingchen, who was standing beside him with tattered clothes. He asked in a cold tone, "You are Guo Lin, the Langya Lieutenant of the Imperial Guard?"

  "How dare you! You still don't dismount and pay your respects after seeing the Ninth Prince?" Guo Lin shouted loudly at him.

  But General Ma was unmoved, and coldly stared at Guo Yun. The Ningzhou cavalry behind him saw their general standing upright on his horseback, and they also ignored Guo Yun's shouts.

  The atmosphere suddenly became a bit chilly!

  Kuo Lun saw that the other party did not pay attention to himself, angry with a red face, and had already tightly grasped his own long gun.

  "Are you Deputy General Hua Xi Xiong of Ningzhou City?" Suddenly, at this moment, Ye Qingchen had already gotten off the carriage and asked the general on horseback.

  "Not bad, it's indeed General Ben, and who are you?" Huaxi Xiong asked calmly.

  "Your subordinate Honglu Temple Shaoqing, on a mission to leave the country and return to Yan, this is the great Yan Jiudianxia who returned home." Ye Qingchen shifted his gaze to Ji Qinger.

  Following Ye Qingchen's gaze, Hua Xiyong glanced at Ji Qingchen on horseback and said indifferently, "Hua Xiyong pays his respects to Your Highness. Since he is wearing armor, he cannot dismount to pay homage. Please forgive him!"

  Ji Qingchen didn't say a word, but just gave a faint smile, quietly gazing at the general in front of her.

  After a moment, he urged his horse forward, "General Hua, are you the deputy general of Ningzhou General's Mansion? The vanguard commander of the Ningzhou army?"

  "Right!" Hua Xi replied proudly.

  "Just last night, we encountered a surprise attack by the Northern Rong cavalry three hundred miles outside of Ningzhou City. Over a hundred Imperial Guards died in battle, and now only over ten people are left. I wonder where the general was at that time?" Ji Qingchen asked calmly.

  There is an unspoken dignity in refusing to answer questions with arrogance.

  Hua Xi Xiong was taken aback, he didn't expect Ji Qingchen to ask him this question face-to-face, and he didn't know how to respond. After a brief pause, he finally spoke up, "Last night, I was patrolling the city, Your Highness was ambushed, I deeply regret it."

  "Didn't General receive the messenger sent by Guo Xiaowei?" Ji Qingchen continued to ask.

  "Just received this morning!" Huaxi Xiong replied coldly, no longer daring to meet Ji Qingchen's piercing gaze.

  "It's not that you didn't receive the messenger's letter, but just saying that there are Northern Yan cavalry outside Ningzhou City is enough to condemn General Huaxi!" Ji Qingchen shouted sternly. "More than 500 elite Northern Yan cavalry appeared in the heart of Great Yan, and they were here to intercept the diplomatic mission sent by Great Yan to leave the country! Are all the scouts of the Ningzhou army blind? Is the 100,000-strong Ningzhou army just a decoration, allowing the Northern Yan cavalry to gallop on the land of Great Yan? What is the court paying you for, what is the court feeding you for?"

  "This——"

  "Can the general know that the Beijun cavalry who ambushed the envoy last night were the same ones who killed the prince at the Battle of Yanmen, and are now the elite troops under the command of the Khan of Beijun?" Ji Qingchen asked coldly.

  "No... I don't know!" Huaxi Xiong was stunned by Ji Qingchen's words, stuttering as he spoke, and his entire demeanor had lost its previous arrogance and swagger.

  "You, as the deputy general of Ningzhou General's Mansion and the former main general of Ningzhou Army, are completely unaware of the enemy in front of you. Are you worthy of being a general of Great Yan? Are you worthy of being the main general of a 100,000-strong army?" Ji Qingchen's icy voice was laced with killing intent. "I, Ji Qingchen, the ninth prince of Great Yan, can overlook that General Hua ignored the messenger sent by Guo XiaoWei and wanted to use the Northern Rong cavalry to get rid of the person you want to get rid of. However, I absolutely cannot tolerate a useless waste being the main general of a 100,000-strong army, guarding the border as a great general; nor can I tolerate a general who would disregard his companions' lives for his own selfish desires."

  "Your Highness——" Huaxi Xiong was shocked by Ji Qingchen's aura and words, and he immediately jumped off his horse and knelt down in front of Ji Qingchen's horse, having already forgotten that he had said "With armor on my body, I cannot pay respects." "Huaxi Xiong has committed the crime of dereliction of duty, please spare me, Your Highness!"

  "In the vast territory of Yan, enemy cavalry has appeared. Huaxi Xiong, your crime is not just dereliction of duty, but colluding with the northern barbarian cavalry to subvert the great Yan. What use is a traitor like you? You are unworthy to be a son of Yan!" Ji Qingchen coldly roared, "Guo Lin, kill this traitor and avenge the death of the Yulin riders from last night!"

  "Yes!" Guo Lin led the way.

  Thinking of the Langya officers who died under the iron hooves of the Beijun cavalry last night, Guo Lin's heart was burning with anger. Now the culprit is right in front of him. When Guo Lin heard Ji Qingchen's order, he urged his horse forward without hesitation and stabbed his long spear straight at Hua Xiyong's throat.

  Huaxi Xiong had long been intimidated by Ji Qingchen's words and was unable to think that the Ninth Prince in front of him would kill with just a word, his mind was completely blank, and he had already forgotten to dodge.

  Just as Guo Yun's long spear was about to pierce Hua Xi's throat, a clear and crisp sound of "Ding!" rang out, and an arrow with feathers steadily landed on Guo Yun's long spear. The force was so great that it shook Guo Yun's long spear flying out.

  Kuolun was enraged, and his angry gaze turned to the distant archer who had saved Huaxi Xiong. However, when his eyes met a general riding a horse with his bow already put away, walking out of Ningzhou City, his momentum that could kill with one strike weakened by 80%, and he lowered his eyelids, not daring to look directly at the general on horseback.

  Ji Qingchen didn't think that his words would go this far, yet there were still people willing to save Hua Xixiong. Seeing Guo Lin's expression, he became even more curious about who had such great power, allowing the arrogant and disdainful Guo Lin to lower his head. He shifted his gaze towards the direction of Ningzhou City Gate, where a tiger general was putting away his bow and arrow under the escort of dozens of green-armored cavalrymen, riding out of the city.

  As soon as the Tiger General appeared, Hua Xi Xiong, who had just been pale and lifeless, was overjoyed as if he had seen a Bodhisattva. He didn't care about his dignity and rushed to the front of the Tiger General's horse, crying and saying, "General, save me! General, save me!"

  The tiger general cast a hateful glance at Hua Xi Xiong, urging his horse to stop in front of Ji Qingchen ten steps away. With an icy tone, he interrogated, "Guo Garrison Commander, who gave you such great power that you dared to openly behead the deputy commander of Ningzhou General's Mansion?"

  "Does the general think that such trash shouldn't be killed?" Ji Qingchen asked, his eyes locked on the other's, as he countered with a sharp question.

  "Who are you?" Hu Jiang heard Ji Qingchen's counter-question and shifted his gaze towards him.

  "General, he is none other than the Ninth Prince who has just returned from his exile in Yan!" Guo Lian hastily replied.

  "It turned out to be Your Highness, General Liu Donglou of Ningzhou. Paying respects to Your Highness!" Hu Jiang just cupped his fists and saluted, saying lightly.

  Liu Donglou? Upon hearing this name, Ji Qingchen immediately knew that the general before him was none other than the First War General of Great Yan, the Divine Gun of Great Yan, and the renowned commander of the Wolf Riders of Ningzhou.

  He had never seen Liu Donglou, and this was the information his uncle Ye Qingchen told him on his way back to Yan from leaving the country. Moreover, he still clearly remembered that his uncle had said that Liu Donglou was the spokesperson for the eight major families of the Great Yan, the Liu family, and a supporter of his second brother Ning Wang Ji Ping.

  No wonder! Ji Qingchen took a look at the majestic and powerful tiger general in front of him, and smiled faintly, "So you are the great Yan god gun Liu Jiangjun, no wonder the arrow's force was so strong earlier, and the momentum was so overbearing. You live up to your reputation as the Yan gun god, indeed, your name is not in vain! Today Qingchen has broadened his horizons!"

  "Your Highness is overpraising me, it's just a small trick!" Liu Donglou said humbly, then he glanced at the deputy general who was already scared out of his wits and kneeling in front of him, begging bitterly, and asked, "I don't know what crime General Hua has committed? Does Your Highness need to mete out punishment according to the law?"

  "Dereliction of duty, malfeasance, colluding with the enemy to betray one's country - General Liu, tell me, shouldn't this be punished according to law?" Ji Qingchen replied lightly.

  From the arrow just now, he had already seen the meaning of Liu Donglou, and the other party wanted to keep Hua Xixiong.

  Liu Donglou furrowed his brow and gave a cold glance at Hua Xiong.

  Hua Xi Xiong is not his direct subordinate, he doesn't need to offend the Ninth Princess Ji Qingchen for Hua Xi Xiong's sake. However, without a weak and incompetent general like Hua Xi Xiong, it would be impossible for him to have the final say in the Ningzhou army today. If he can't protect him today, if the imperial court sends another general to take office at the Ningzhou Military Command in the future, he may not be able to control the 100,000-strong Ningzhou army with an iron fist like he does now.

  Moreover, he was the commander-in-chief of the Ningzhou army. Ji Qingchen dared to kill the great general of the Ningzhou army in front of so many Ningzhou generals under the city of Ningzhou, which was a challenge to his authority. Although Ji Qingchen was the prince of Dayan, Liu Donglou felt that he couldn't just lose face like this under the city of Ningzhou.

  After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Donglou changed his humble and gentle attitude from just now, with a stern gaze and a severe tone, he asked, "Your Highness, do you have any evidence?"

  "The Beijun 500 elite cavalry suddenly appeared outside Ningzhou City, three hundred miles away, just to intercept the Yan envoys who were leaving the country. Last night's battle resulted in the death of a hundred of our Imperial Guards. Previously, when we left Ningwu Pass, we had already sent out messengers, but as of today, we have not received any response from Ningzhou City. General Huaxiong said that he only saw the messenger's letter today. I ask General Liu, is this evidence enough?

  Ji Qingchen sneered and replied, "The Ningzhou General's Mansion is in charge of defending the three states of Ning, Su, and Fen. As the deputy general of the General's Mansion, you are completely unaware of these matters. I ask General Liu, how do you govern your army? If Huaxiong really didn't know about it, is this the responsibility of the Ningzhou General's Mansion?"

  Liu Donglou didn't say anything else.

  He was well aware of the meaning behind Ji Qingchen's words. If he had explained that Huaxi Xiong didn't know about it, then the blame would have fallen on Ningzhou General's Mansion, and the crime would have been pinned on Liu Donglou. But if he had acknowledged it, wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting that Huaxi Xiong knew about it but didn't report it, thereby confirming his dereliction of duty, malfeasance, and treason?

  How can he protect himself then?

  Liu Donglou's heart skipped a beat, he hadn't expected that the seventeen-year-old Ninth Prince in front of him would be so difficult to deal with, and just a few words had struck his weak spot.

  He was hesitant and didn't dare confirm whether he wanted to continue protecting Huaxi Xiong.

  Actually, when the Beirong cavalry appeared in Ningzhou, he had already received news from the scouts. It was just that the news from Junlin City said that the Beirong cavalry seemed to be heading towards the Ninth Prince who was about to return home. He was a man of the King of Ning and one of his trusted generals. As soon as the news arrived, he knew what to do and ignored this cavalry.

  "Even if Hua Xi Xiong has committed the crime of dereliction of duty, it's unlikely that it would be up to the Ninth Prince to decide his fate. Let's let Guo Lin, the Lang Jun Lieutenant, handle the trial and sentencing." Liu Dong Lou had already decided to go all out against Ji Qing Chen, and he didn't say that Hua Xi Xiong was guilty of treason, clearly not wanting to compromise. "Although Your Highness is the Ninth Prince of Great Yan, there are laws in the country and rules in the military. Please be clear about your own identity and do not interfere with the military affairs of Ningzhou."

  Ji Qingchen heard clearly that Liu Donglou was reminding him that he was just a powerless and influenceless prince, with no authority to dispose of military generals like Hua Xixiong.

  Ji Qingchen sneered and asked faintly, "So General Liu means that I don't have the knife to kill Hua Xixiong yet?"

  Liu Donglou let out a cold hum and didn't say anything, he just slightly nodded in agreement.

  Ji Qingchen smiled, and with a slow motion, he raised his sword to face Liu Donglou, saying word by word, "Does General Liu think this sword is worthy of killing Hua Xixiong?"

  "Wolf Blade——" was enough to calm down Liu Donglou, but he still shouted out loud.

  "General Liu has a good eye, and he immediately recognized that this was the waist knife of Li Yaoshi, the War God of Departed Country - Langfeng!" Ji Qing said lightly. "Now, General Liu thinks, does Qing still have the knife to kill Huaxi Xiong?"

  Suddenly, his voice fell, and **'s shadowy figure leapt up, only to see his wrist flip over, borrowing the war horse's impact force, all in one knife slashing towards Huaxi Xiong beside Liu Donglou.

  Liu Donglou didn't expect the Ninth Prince to make such a move, and in his haste, he thrust out his long spear, wanting to block the wolf-fang knife that was chopping down towards Huaxi Xiong. However, as soon as his spear collided with the wolf-fang knife, he heard the sound of metal clashing incessantly, and Liu Donglou only felt a surge of enormous force transmitted from the spear to his right arm. He felt his right arm sink, and then saw the Ninth Prince's battle knife sliding along the spear shaft towards the spearhead, fiercely slashing towards Huaxi Xiong's throat.

  Liu Donglou suddenly exerted his strength, wanting to use the tip of his spear to lift up the Wolf's Fang knife that was sliding towards Huaxi Xiong. However, he discovered that Jiudian Xia's arm strength was so strong that even with all his might, he couldn't lift the long spear that had been pressed down. Just as he was about to use both hands to hold the spear, he felt a sudden lightness in the spear body, followed by a blood-curdling scream. Huaxi Xiong's head rolled off like a ball and fell to the ground, spewing out fresh blood.

  "Your Highness, you—" Dong Lou's face turned red with rage as he glared at Ji Qingchen, gun in hand.

  Ji Qingchen ignored him, sheathed his sword and calmly said, "General Liu, this matter will be explained clearly to the Emperor when I return to Junlin City. But I want to tell you one thing, General Liu, remember your identity, you are the Ningzhou General of Great Yan, not some person's personal general; also, please remember that the 100,000-strong army of Ningzhou is the elite troops of Great Yan, not your private army, Liu Donglou!"

  "You——" Liu Donglou didn't expect the Ninth Prince to be so ruthless, and a murderous aura had already spread across his angry face. He was about to retort when the Ninth Prince rode into Ningzhou City on horseback, leaving behind only a slender figure. Liu Donglou could only glare at Ji Qingchen's back with an icy gaze, remaining silent.

  "Your Highness, your actions just now seem to be somewhat improper!" Ji Qingchen walked to the city gate tunnel, and the person following him suddenly came forward with a bit of worry.

  "Oh? What does Uncle mean?" Ji Qingchen asked with a calm smile.

  "Your Highness has just returned to Da Yan, you should be low-key and tolerant, waiting for the day when you have accumulated enough power to make a big move. But now, before you even take the throne, you've already offended the Ning State's Liu family and the Ning Wang." Ye Qingchen explained.

  "Uncle, do you think that if Light Dust doesn't offend them, they will let him off? Since we are bound to be arch-enemies sooner or later, why bother with hypocritical courtesy? Light Dust can choose not to mind this time's ambush, but he cannot fail to avenge the dead You Lin Langs!" Ji Qingchen said with a serious tone and a stern gaze, then urged his horse to gallop away.

  Ye Qingchen was stunned after hearing his nephew's response!

  But Guo Lin and Yu Lin Lang, who were following Ji Qingchen, suddenly flashed a hint of sharp light in their eyes when they heard Ji Qingchen's answer!