Chapter Thirty: Wang Li, Su Yue and Meng Chong

  "Your Majesty, now that the great plan has been decided and the imperial edict has been issued, may I return to the palace to rest?"

  As Hu Hai stood at the gate of Wei Lü's mansion, watching the fast horse of the imperial guard depart with the edict, Li Si asked from behind him.

  Hearing Li Si's words, Hu Hai withdrew his gaze and turned around. Before he could speak, he heard the officials say in unison: "Please return to the palace to rest, Your Majesty."

  He looked at the crowd with worried and sincere eyes, and a small wave of emotion rose in his heart. He smiled and said, "I am young and healthy, you don't have to worry about me."

  Li Si and others just bowed their heads in courtesy, but no one paid attention to Hu Hai, playing a silent protest.

  "Huhai reluctantly said: 'Alright, I'll return to the palace, I'll return to the palace. But let me finish speaking first, okay? All of you officials quickly get up.'"

  When Hu Hai finally replied and went back to rest, Li Si and others also stopped insisting, straightened their bodies, and quietly listened to what Hu Hai had to say.

  "General Wang Li, this time you are in command of the Xianyang garrison troops rushing to reinforce Chen County. The journey is long and the responsibility is heavy. All matters may be decided at your discretion, there is no need to wait for my instructions, just report back afterwards." Having said that, Hu Hai turned around to Li Si and Feng Quji and

  "We still need two more chancellors to take charge of the allocation of grain, fodder, military equipment and other supplies."

  "We obey your orders." Li Si and Feng Quji bowed their heads in response.

  "Your Majesty, if I lead the army to Chen County and it has already been lost, what should I do?" asked Wang Li.

  "If Chen County is lost, you must retake and defend it firmly. Anyone who flees in the face of battle will be beheaded, and any officer at Si River who disobeys orders will also be beheaded!"

  "I will never betray your expectations!" Wang Li said firmly.

  "I'll return to the palace first and won't see you off on your expedition. Everything is entrusted to you, I'm waiting for your good news. You all have matters to report at any time." Hu Hai finished speaking, patted Wang Li's shoulder, and mounted his horse.

  "We your subjects bid you farewell."

  Huhai waved his hand on horseback and immediately returned to the palace under the protection of Zhang Han, Meng Li and many other forbidden army generals. Zhang Han had already been appointed by Huhai as the new Langzhongling, while Meng Li was Zhonglangjiang, who stayed by Huhai's side.

  "When can the rear army arrive at Xianyang?" Hu Hai asked while riding on horseback.

  The rear army was the one where Cui Niang and Lü Zhu were, Hu Hai led the vanguard to return to Xianyang, and the remaining 10,000 troops and the palace maids had not arrived yet.

  "I report to Your Majesty, the rear army will arrive in Xianyang today."

  "Uh-huh."

  After saying that, Hu Hai felt extremely bored and a strong sense of drowsiness swept over him. The most important thing had been taken care of, and at this moment, Hu Hai was truly relieved. His mind relaxed, and the drowsiness came on, but no matter what, he couldn't resist it.

  The past two days had exhausted him too much, and before he knew it, Hu Hai fell into a deep sleep on the horse.

  At this time, he really wanted to sleep soundly. He had been in the Great Qin for more than a month, and every moment was spent thinking carefully. Now, with no distractions, his sleep was especially sweet.

  Zhang Han found that Hu Hai, who was riding in front of him, suddenly lay softly on the horse's back, and he was shocked and ran over to find that Hu Hai had fallen asleep.

  The generals looked at Hu Hai with complex expressions as he slept soundly on the back of a galloping horse, each one's tiger-like eyes filled with tears.

  In the end, for fear of waking up Hu Hai who was sleeping on horseback, all the imperial guards including the generals dismounted and walked, handing over their war horses to the imperial guards following behind, holding their breath and walking carefully on the wide streets.

  To prevent Hu Hai from falling off his horse in his sleep, Zhang Han and Meng Li closely guarded him on both sides as they followed the black horse forward.

  …………

  In mid-April, north of the Yin Mountains, it was still bitterly cold with icy winds howling and the ground frozen.

  Through the hazy light of dawn, the majestic and towering mountain range in the distance, which has remained unchanged for centuries, stands like a demon god on the endless grassland, dividing this world into two distinct worlds.

  South of the Yin Mountains, the water and grass are lush and beautiful, the land is fertile, and the climate is mild. It is a famous place in the world for its richness; North of the Yin Mountains, the land is poor and barren, lacking water and grass, and every winter, countless cattle, sheep, and people freeze to death on this endless prairie.

  The Huns on the grasslands were always thinking of occupying the fertile land south of Yinshan, but after the First Emperor ordered Meng Tian to lead the army to garrison the line of Yinshan, countless Huns on the grasslands died on their way to rush to this fertile land.

  Yet never has a single horseman entered the southern part of this mountain range, as if this piece of land that originally belonged to the Xiongnu people had now become a forbidden place for all Xiongnu people, constantly devouring the lives of the grassland tribes.

  After Meng Tian was in charge of building the Great Wall stretching from Liao in the east to Long in the west, after it converged at Yinshan, all Xiongnu people knew that they would never be able to own the fertile land south of Yinshan again.

  In mid-April, the Central Plains are already lush with green grass and flying orioles, full of spring atmosphere.

  And on this boundless and endless withered yellow grassland, only the occasional flash of green tells people that spring has arrived.

  Suddenly, on the horizon where the dark prairie met the sky, a streak of firelight appeared.

  Before long, the flames that were originally on the horizon became clearly visible, the earth shook, and the sound of hooves came thundering like muffled thunder.

  A sudden loud shout of "Halt!" rang out, this explosive shout was clearly audible amidst the thundering hooves and howling cold wind.

  With this loud shout, the group of only fifty or so people suddenly ran out with the momentum of thousands of horses and soldiers, without any panic, they galloped in unison as if they were one person, and the running momentum stopped abruptly. All the fine horses stopped in their tracks, except for the howling wind, there was not a single miscellaneous sound.

  These knights stood one by one, with majestic physique, their faces weathered from long journeys, although their complexions were tired, but each and every one of them had a firm gaze, without any sign of slackness. Obviously they were a group of seasoned warriors.

  "Monty's Iron Cavalry is indeed famous for a reason! Su Yue is impressed!"

  A knight in the cavalry lifted his cloak, revealing a clear and handsome face, and exclaimed loudly. This was a middle-aged scholar with a elegant demeanor.

  At the forefront of the cavalry was a burly man wearing leather armor, who at this moment in the whistling cold wind had his chest exposed, revealing a tuft of dark chest hair, leopard-like eyes and broad nose, with stiff whiskers under his chin like porcupine quills, looking like a celestial being.

  The big Han heard the middle-aged scholar Su Yue's words and laughed loudly: "Mr. Su is overpraising."

  The big Han immediately took out a sheepskin map and looked at it carefully by the torch of the knight beside him, saying: "Mr. Su, this place is not far from where you are going, shall we let the young men rest for a while before setting off again?"

  Su Yue bowed his hands to Da Han and said: "Before leaving, the young master ordered that everything on the grassland would be arranged by General Meng Chong."

  "Very well," said Da Han loudly. "We'll make ourselves at home then! Young men, find a sheltered spot and let's have some wine and meat!"

  It was clear that the long journey had left these elite knights exhausted, and at this moment they heard Meng Chong's words and suddenly welcomed a burst of cheers!

  Soon, a row of more than 50 people found a leeward depression, some knights got off their horses to set up tents, others lit fires, and several rode out in all directions to patrol. Everything was in order.

  At this moment, Su Yue, who was already sitting by the fire, nodded secretly, and even though they were resting at this time, the elite of the Meng clan were like marching and fighting, without relaxing their vigilance in the slightest.

  Meng Chong sat beside Su Yue, pulled out a goatskin bag "glug glug" tilted his head and took a swig, then wiped his mouth with a loud laugh: "Good wine, refreshing!" He said as he handed the goatskin bag to Su Yue: "Mr. Su, have a drink too?"

  General, please help yourself, I'm not good at drinking.

  Meng Chong didn't insist, and poured himself a drink, saying: "Mr. Su, why did the young master have us escort you to this godforsaken place?"