Chapter 40: Rumors Arise (Part 1)

  Lin Qiulü did not expect that Qin Yifan would be so open-minded about this matter, and could look at it so optimistically. She couldn't help but imagine herself in his position, but found that if she were him, she would still have some trouble letting go.

  Lao Yao was still waiting for them on the street not far from the palace gate. Although it was late at night and waiting outside the palace gate was suspected of violating the curfew, who dared to say three or four things to the great general? Seeing Qin Yifan safely leaving the palace, the great general also felt a sense of relief. He was someone who deeply knew the inside story back then and was afraid that Qin Yifan would accidentally offend the emperor again. That place was the deep palace, even if one wanted to save someone, there was no way, unless they were willing to take on the name of a great rebel who broke into the forbidden palace at night.

  With outsiders present, Lin Qiulü would not reveal any information about the cultivation methods. The general also didn't press him, only asking if Emperor Qin Yifan had made things difficult for him. However, this question made Lin Qiulü very curious - what exactly was it that made Emperor Qin Yifan suddenly storm into the forbidden area in a fit of rage? And why hadn't he been held accountable on the spot? But these questions could only be suppressed in his heart, to be asked again when there was an opportunity.

  The general's mansion was certainly large enough, and accommodating the three of them for a rest was no problem. After one night, Qin Yifan bid farewell to the general. He had originally come here just to visit Old Yao and consult with the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, and since his purpose had been achieved, he wouldn't be staying any longer.

  They didn't know that the officials who attended the banquet had already spread the brilliant scene of his forceful and unrestrained performance throughout the capital. Especially when he faced the emperor's two requests, he casually gave up without hesitation, leaving countless people in awe and admiration, as well as ridicule. Those who praised him were for his selflessness, not letting the emperor be embarrassed, while those who ridiculed him were for letting go of such a great opportunity, with wealth and glory within reach, but throwing it away like an idiot.

  However, by the time it was passed down through the families of those officials, it had completely changed. A commoner became a great hero, defeating foreign envoys with extraordinary bravery. In the end, the emperor granted him two wishes, but he firmly refused to accept them. The emperor urged him repeatedly before he finally agreed. After all, no matter where they are from, people hope for an opportunity to rise to greatness overnight. Who would have known about the complexities involved in such a situation? It is only natural that they hoped to achieve merit and receive rewards, which fits the image of a commoner hero in their minds, and also the idol that these ordinary people aspire to become one day.

  No matter what the reason for this rumor is, at least one thing is not wrong. In fact, it was only later that the emperor strongly demanded that Qin Yifan agreed to retain those two requirements. Unlike the rumored version, Qin Yifan had only one requirement left.

  It's a good thing the three of them left the city early, otherwise they would have been surrounded by people who heard the rumors. To say nothing of others, Qin Xiaoling's black veil was really too eye-catching, and wherever she went, she was the focus of everyone's attention. If it weren't for the general himself seeing them off, they would have been questioned again by the soldiers guarding the gate.

  This time the direction is very clear, it's the hiding place of that old friend in Li's mouth. Li only knew that he was on the edge of the desert in the northwest forty years ago, and it's not known whether he still lives there now, can only ask around bit by bit. But at least it's a hope, Qin Yifan doesn't mind going to that place for a trip. Anyway, it's a tour, isn't it a tour wherever you go?

  "Why did you break into the forbidden area back then?" Lin Qiulü couldn't help but ask out of curiosity on their way. Qin Xiaoling didn't ask, but she also stopped and looked at Qin Yifan, as if hoping to hear his explanation.

  "It's been many years, there's nothing to say!" Qin Yifan glanced at the two curious babies, without any intention of explaining. Or perhaps that experience was not something Qin Yifan wanted to recall either!

  As Qin Yifan's bodyguard, Lin Qiulü had no way to get Qin Yifan to speak. However, Qin Xiaoling was different, she was now a mischievous little girl who hadn't grown up yet, as if all the grievances from her past life were going to be made up for in this life, and the familial love and doting that she didn't experience in her past life would also be wildly sought after. She stuck to Qin Yifan's side, not saying a word, just blocking his path, waiting for him to speak.

  Qin Yifan is really at a loss with Qin Xiaoling now, should he teach her a lesson with his fists? Qin Xiaoling is impervious to knives and guns, and doesn't care about using a kitchen knife. Although it's very likely that she'll get hurt, Qin Yifan is not willing to do so. He uses his body technique to avoid her, but has already left the capital city, and no matter how fast Qin Yifan's body technique is, he can't compare to Qin Xiaoling who was born with the ability to escape. Get angry? Because of this, it seems a bit unjustified, and he can only watch as Qin Xiaoling makes a big fuss without saying a word, and in the end, he can only agree.

  The relationship between Qin Yifan and Qin Xiaoling is becoming more and more like that of a close brother and sister, with Qin Yifan, who is only in his early twenties, constantly accommodating Qin Xiaoling, who is already over a thousand years old. This really makes Lin Qiulü, who knows the inside story, secretly laugh to herself.

  They found a suitable place to rest and the three of them sat down. Even Qin Xiaoling took out a bunch of stuff from somewhere on her body to boil water, and the three of them enjoyed their tea.

  I know where to get the fragrant leaves for brewing water, and now I'm listening to Qin tell stories.

  At that time, Qin Yifan had just entered the army and had not been transferred to the border defense. After staying in the inland military camp for two years, he became the leader of the scouting team due to his outstanding martial skills and brains. Qin Yifan was approachable and had no distance with his subordinates, often getting along well with them, and everyone affectionately called him Qin Tou. The general was the last one to join the scouting team at that time, and everyone jokingly called him Lao Yao.

  It turned out that the nickname of General Da was derived from this, and Lin Qiu thought that General Da was actually the youngest one. But she didn't interrupt Qin Yifan's words. At least now she understood the origin of General Da's nickname, which was a gain.

  The next year, Qin Yifan and his vanguard team were transferred to the northern border to resist the invading Tatars. Under Qin Yifan's training, the vanguard team was incredibly skilled and coordinated, achieving great victories in the early battles. Relying on their accurate reconnaissance and intelligence, several invading Tatar troops suffered heavy defeats. Even small teams of Tatars were often defeated by the vanguard team's astonishing combat power.

  There were several times, all of which were enemy situations discovered by Qin Yifan through investigation and his own analysis, presented to the commander. The commander highly appreciated this clever scout officer and once promoted him to deputy general. However, temporarily there was no better person to replace him as the head of scouting, so he remained in charge of this aspect.

  The Tartars, unwilling to accept defeat, mobilized the entire tribe's strength and assembled an army of 400,000 men, marching south to attack the border. However, this time the Tartar commander was replaced by a cunning and clever guy who was very treacherous, claiming that his army had only 150,000 men and advancing towards the Heavenly Dynasty.

  It just so happened that the new emperor had just ascended to the throne, and I was not convinced in my heart. Moreover, there were people in the court who stirred up trouble. The emperor took advantage of this opportunity to personally lead the expedition, hoping to use military achievements to intimidate the ministers and stabilize his position. Therefore, he also led a large army of 200,000 men, killing and attacking the enemy's invading army head-on.

  In the early stages, thanks to Qin Yifan's accurate intelligence, they won several small victories, causing the Huns to retreat repeatedly. The Emperor's prestige also shook greatly as a result. However, in the midst of these small victories, he gradually became arrogant and slowly fell into the Huns commander's trap.

  This time, the Tartar general was also a ruthless and cunning man. He did not hesitate to use 150,000 troops as bait to lure the young emperor into taking rash action. By the time Qin Yifan's comrades discovered this enormous plot, the vanguard had almost engaged with the enemy.

  What's worse, the enemy's ambush army also discovered this scouting team and sent a force of 10,000 men to hunt them down. In order to ensure that this intelligence could be delivered and not have the entire army annihilated, there was no choice but to have most of the scouting team stay behind as rear guard, Qin Yifan taking Old Yao and fighting their way out of the encirclement with all their might.

  Although the intelligence was timely, almost all of the three hundred or so good men in the scouting team returned with only two. What made Qin Yifan even more disappointed was that the young and vigorous emperor did not place much importance on this piece of intelligence. It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but rather he thought that relying on the mighty army's long string of victories, they could gnaw down this hard bone no matter what. Without adopting Qin Yifan's suggestion, the great army charged straight into the enemy's encirclement.

  When Qin Yifan found out, he was shocked and had no other choice. He wanted to dispatch troops to rescue him, but because the Emperor was stationed in the central army, all the remaining soldiers were protecting the Emperor, and no one dared to send troops. Because the entire battle was commanded by the Emperor, Qin Yifan's rank was too low, and others did not allow him to meet the Emperor.

  In a fit of anger, Qin Yifan charged into the palace with his sword, met with the Emperor, and strongly argued for his strategy. Fortunately, this made the Emperor realize the situation clearly, and he didn't bother to investigate Qin Yifan's crime of breaking into the palace. Instead, he ordered Qin Yifan to lead the remaining soldiers of the garrison from a weak point in the enemy's defense that Qin Yifan had previously discovered, launching a fierce attack, which finally lifted the siege on the army.

  Moreover, due to the unexpectedness of it all, they turned the tables and defeated the Huns' army. Unfortunately, Qin Yifan's reinforcements were not timely enough, and nearly a million soldiers were annihilated. In the end, the Huns made a desperate last stand, and although their entire army was destroyed, they managed to take down nearly 50,000 Tianchao soldiers despite being at a disadvantage.

  Four hundred thousand troops clashed with four hundred thousand, and in this one battle alone, 1.5 million people were lost. In addition to the previous losses, although the enemy was completely defeated, more than half of the troops were also lost, more than 20 million lives, even if victorious, it was a miserable victory.

  Afterwards, the Emperor established his absolute authority in the imperial court, and Qin Yifan was also forced to leave the army.

  "If that's the case, you should be considered a meritorious minister, how could you be forced to leave the army?" Lin Qiulü was very puzzled, Qin Yifan's move was a great achievement, why would it end like this?

  "Ah," Qin Yifan let out a long sigh and said with great emotion: "Because some people are unforgivable!"