Chapter 172: Tempering

  "Your Majesty, General Bai requests an audience."

  ”

  "Ah!" In the study, an elderly man with a dignified demeanor heard the report from outside the door. He stopped reading the memorials and smiled slightly: "Let him in."

  The door of the study was gently pushed open from outside, and Bai Meng walked in to see the old man sitting on the dragon chair. He quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "Your subordinate greets Your Majesty."

  "Haha!" Qin Leng stood up from the dragon chair, walked down, and personally stretched out his hands to hold Bai Meng's arm, with a smile on his face: "General Bai doesn't need to be so polite, please get up quickly."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Bai Meng stood up and bowed to a middle-aged man with an icy face sitting on a chair beside him: "Bai Meng has seen the Guardian Master."

  The middle-aged man opened his eyes, a sharp gaze swept across the white vastness, and a rare smile appeared on his icy face: "So it's White coming, no need for formalities."

  "White Commander, come sit over here. It's been a long time since you've entered the palace to chat with me." Qin Leng pulled Bai Meng's arm and sat down on several chairs in front of the icy man.

  After sitting down, he saw Qin Leng preparing to help him pour tea, and hurriedly stood up, taking the teapot and saying: "Your Majesty, these trivial matters are better handled by a subordinate like myself."

  Qin Leng saw Bai Mang's actions and a hint of a helpless smile appeared on his face, shaking his head: "General Bai, I've said it before, there's no need to be polite here."

  Bai Mang heard Qin Leng say this, and his face revealed a stern expression: "Your Majesty, the etiquette between ruler and minister cannot be abandoned. Bai Mang does not want to become a sinner for all eternity."

  "Ah!" Qin's face broke into a smile as he shook his head and let Bai Mang pour him some tea.

  Qin Leng took a sip of tea and smiled at Bai Mang, saying: "I say you little guy, no matter what, you don't come to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing. What's the matter? Let me think, if I'm not mistaken, in these ten years, except for that time when you came to report back a few days ago, this is your first time coming to my study, what's the point of this visit?"

  Bai Mang was rebuked by Qin Leng, and a bitter smile appeared on his face: "This time I came, wasn't it because Your Majesty forced me to? Otherwise, I would have returned to the border long ago."

  "Are you forcing me?" Qin's face showed a look of surprise.

  "En." Bai Mang nodded and said: "Fengzhou City."

  "Ah!" Qin's face turned stern as he gazed at Bai Meng: "You've already made your decision?"

  Bai Mang heard Qin Leng's question and a bitter smile appeared on his face: "Your Majesty, is there still any choice for the end general?"

  Qin Leng picked up the teacup on the desk, took a sip, and put it down. He looked at Bai Meng and said, "Hao'er is indeed one of my five sons who is the smartest and most hardworking. In just two years, he has transformed our country's poorest city into what it is today. It's not easy to achieve this, and he does have the qualifications to be a king. However, General Bai, you should know that these are not enough for me to make him the crown prince."

  "Does Your Majesty not know that the Fifth Prince has gathered many talented individuals under his command?" Bai Mang asked in response.

  Qin let out a sigh and said, "I naturally know all this, but the people he has recruited are nothing more than a great swordsman and some high-ranking swordsmen. They can't even hold a candle to the Lin family's prestige and power on the Maya continent. If the person supported by the Lin family was Haohao, I could have openly made him the crown prince. Unfortunately, Yan'er's mother is from the Lin family. White Marshal, you should know about the Lin family's influence and strength on the Maya continent."

  "Lin family." A cold smile appeared on his pale face: "Your Majesty, this is not easy to say, can the Lin family just cover the sky with one hand?"

  "Ah!" Qin's eyes lit up, and even Daharba, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened his eyes, a hint of doubt flashing in his gaze.

  "General Bai's words seem to have a hidden meaning!" Qin Leng's face showed an expectant look, as if waiting for Bai Meng's explanation.

  He calmly picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip, moistening his throat, and smiled: "Your Majesty, do you remember that battle five years ago in Fengyu City?"

  Qin Leng nodded and said, "Of course I remember. At that time, the Tianlong Empire was ambitious and launched a crazy attack on our country. Even the Lin family's secretly supported troops wanted to come and take a share of the spoils. If it weren't for General Bai's First Army fighting to the death to defend the city, I'm afraid half of the Southern Dynasty's territory would have fallen under the Tianlong Empire's iron hooves. How could I forget?"

  "That's right," Bai Meng nodded, a self-mocking smile on his face. "Everyone thinks it was me, Bai Meng, who led the First Army to defend Fengyu City, but in reality, there were two powerful experts helping to guard the city. And what was the result? My beloved daughter fell, one of the two experts died and the other was seriously injured, and that seriously injured expert is still missing."

  Qin Leng heard Bai Mang's sigh and also let out a sigh, saying: "Yes! If it weren't for the help of these two senior experts at that time, perhaps my throne would have been overturned by now. White Marshal, on behalf of all the people of Nan Chao State, I bow to your unfortunate daughter."

  Bai Mang saw Qin Leng bowing to him and hastily stood up, grasping Qin Leng's arms, his face filled with emotion as he said: "Your Majesty, absolutely not, this humble general cannot accept such courtesy!"

  "No, General Bai. Even if it weren't for the matter of your daughter, I had already intended to do this. You have nothing to be ashamed of. This honor, I, Qin Leng, dare say that in the entire Southern Dynasty, only you are worthy of receiving it. Allow me to bestow this honor upon you! Otherwise, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life."

  "Your Majesty..." Bai Meng opened his arms, and Qin Leng's eyes reddened as a line of clear tears fell.

  Qin Leng saw Bai Mang's appearance and a hint of emotion flashed across his face. He bowed to Bai Mang, then a look of relief appeared on his face, as if he had fulfilled a long-held wish.

  "Your Majesty's kindness and affection, I will never forget even if I lose all my teeth." Bai Mang knelt down on both knees.

  "Hurry up." Qin Leng hastily stretched out his hands to help Bai Meng up, saying: "General Bai, I, Qin Leng, can only say one thing - with a general like you in the Southern Dynasty, it is truly our country's fortune, and my good fortune as well!"

  "Your Majesty has spoken." After a slight bow with his fists clenched, Bai Meng returned to his seat.

  "I didn't exaggerate at all," Qin Leng said with a wave of his hand. "If the Southern Dynasty didn't have General Bai, I'm afraid I wouldn't be sitting so stably on this throne either."

  "Right, I was waiting for your response to what you said earlier."

  Bai Mang heard Qin Leng's question and a smile appeared on his face: "Your Majesty, that expert who helped me back then has returned."

  "Ah!" Darya suddenly opened his eyes, which had been closed all along, stood up and asked: "Where is he?"

  "What's with this, Imperial Teacher?" Bai Meng and Qin Leng were both shocked by Da Er Ba's actions. In their impression, the Imperial Teacher had a hint of disdainful smile even when Tian Long Guo was about to capture the border last time, but why did he react so greatly upon hearing these words?

  Dabar saw that he had lost his composure, a cold smile appeared on his face, and he sat down, saying: "White boy, continue speaking."

  "Ah!" Bai Meng saw the expression on Da Er Ba's face, and his heart was filled with doubts. However, he still spoke up: "Your Majesty, and according to the information my subordinates brought back, it seems that this person has a deep relationship with the Fifth Prince."

  Qin's expression turned solemn as he thought for a moment, and then his face revealed a look of surprise: "General Bai, the mysterious expert who was severely injured and nowhere to be seen that you mentioned, is it Cold Xiao Yao, the son of Tian Long Guo's war god Leng Xiao Tian?"

  "Right." Bai Meng nodded and said.

  "Tiān Lóng Guó" Qín Lěng muttered a few words, suddenly his eyes lit up and he revealed an expression of sudden realization: "This is it! When Hào'er returned to the country, he only mentioned that he had stayed in Tiān Lóng Guó. If I'm not mistaken, Hào'er must have entered the military camp to strengthen his power, and that's when he would have met Lěng Xiāo Yáo. Moreover, according to the information I received, there are many excellent generals around Hào'er. At first, I was puzzled about where Hào'er found these generals, but now it makes sense - they all came from the military! What I don't understand is why the Tiān Lóng Guó army would be so foolish as to dismiss these excellent generals?"

  "Dismissal?" A thoughtful expression appeared on Bai Mang's face, and after a moment, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and he exclaimed: "Meng Hu Tuan."

  “Meng Hu Tuan?” Qin Leng's eyes lit up when he heard this, his left fist struck his right palm, and a smile appeared on his face: "Right, only Meng Hu Tuan, the ace military unit, can cultivate such an excellent general. Moreover, when Hao Er returned to China initially, the time difference between his disappearance and that of Meng Hu Tuan was less than a year. I think the soldiers who were with Hao Er must be the survivors of Meng Hu Tuan."

  Dabar saw the two men's excited appearance and said, "You shouldn't be too happy yet. The Lin family has been passed down for over a thousand years, who knows what their background is?"

  "Ah!" Qin Leng and Bai Mang, who were excited, heard Da Er Ba's words, as if a basin of cold water was poured on the raging fire, immediately calming down.

  "You said that Leng Xiang has already arrived at Fengzhou City?"

  "En." Bai Mang nodded and said: "And my First Army Group has already dispatched four troops to Fengzhou City."

  "Alas!" Qin Leng heard Bai Mang's words and was taken aback for a moment, his face revealing a helpless expression as he said: "I say, General Bai, you've just told me that you've made up your mind, so why are you mobilizing troops ahead of time?"

  Bai Mang heard the rebuke in Qin Leng's words and hastily said: "Your Majesty, this mobilization of troops was not my order, it was those two little rascals acting on their own. Your Majesty can rest assured, when I return, I will definitely deal with those two youngsters properly."

  Qin Leng heard Bai Mang's words and rolled his eyes. He naturally knew that Bai Mang's words were just pleasant to hear, and he was very familiar with the two great generals under Bai Mang's command.

  "Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report."

  "Speak!"

  "Your Majesty, Feng Meng has arbitrarily suppressed the five temples, which is a great rebellion and unrighteous. I request that Your Majesty preside over justice in this matter."

  Qin Leng actually knew that Bai Mang still had something to report, and he guessed that what Bai Mang wanted to say was this matter. After Bai Mang finished speaking, Qin Leng shook his head and said: "Since the two of you don't follow my rules, I can no longer intervene."

  "What does Your Majesty mean?"

  "You're also a marshal, what do you want to do, go find Marshal Feng to negotiate yourself." Qin Leng said this and stood up, walking towards the resting room beside the study, saying: "Alas, I'm old, now it's the world of young people, I can't manage so much anymore."

  "Bai Xiaozi, I'll accompany you to Feng Xiaozi's place for a trip, and then you can accompany me to Fengzhou City to meet that Leng family kid, how about it?" Da Erba suddenly blurted out.

  "Ah!" Bai Meng was taken aback for a moment.

  "How?"

  "Good." Such a good thing would be wasted if you didn't understand and just nodded along, that would be stupid.

  "Go." As soon as Da Er Ba's voice fell, Bai Meng felt his body tense up, and the two of them disappeared into the study.

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