Please seal

The wind and sand in Mobei seem to have a different flavor than before.

The Beishuo people’s golden-roofed royal tent has now become the temporary central military tent for Wang Mengzi and Pan Hao.

Inside the tent, the lights were bright, illuminating the tired yet excited faces of the two generals, as well as Prince Erdun, who was tied up tightly and looked as pale as death.

"It feels so good, so damn good!" Wang Mengzi slapped the low table that had been brought in temporarily, causing Bi Mo to jump. "We've destroyed Tuoba Hong's lair and captured his uncle! Now let's see how that wolf cub can continue to act so arrogantly in Heshuo!"

Pan Hao, though also beaming, wore a more composed expression. He sat upright, writing on a piece of military paper: "General Wang, although we have won this battle, our army is isolated behind enemy lines and should not remain behind. We must quickly report the results of the battle and the captured enemy chief to Your Majesty, and ask for your instructions on the next strategy."

"Yes, yes, write it! Write it quickly!" Wang Mengzi nodded repeatedly and leaned over to read. "Just tell His Majesty that we're not going back! If Bei Shuo can stay in Mobei, then so can we! Kill him while he's sick! Turn his world upside down here and see if Tuoba Hong will come back to save him!"

Pan Hao kept writing, translating Wang Mengzi's idea into more prudent terms in his memorial: "We have been fortunate to succeed, but Mobei is vast and the enemy situation is not yet settled. We implore you to remain in Mobei for the time being to continue clearing out the remaining enemies and to intimidate the Beishuo hinterland, so that they cannot take care of themselves, and thus relieve the worries of the main battlefield in Heshuo..."

When writing the part requesting merit for the officers and soldiers, Pan Hao listed the names of the meritorious officers and their military achievements one by one.

Wang Mengzi watched from the side, adding from time to time: "That guy broke his arm while charging into battle, remember that!"

"And Lao Zhang from the scout camp, he made a great contribution in finding the way!"

When Pan Hao paused his pen and looked at Wang Mengzi, asking if the list was complete, Wang Mengzi frowned and tapped the list with his thick fingers. He said, "Add one more person, Ding Guinan."

Pan Hao was slightly surprised and looked up at him.

Ding Guinan's name was obviously not in the officer list.

Wang Mengzi stroked the newly grown stubble on his chin and said, "This kid is just a half-grown kid, originally a slave in the Western Qiang camp, of Han descent. If he hadn't been so sharp-eared and understood the Beishuo people's codewords this time, I'd still be wandering around like a headless chicken in the sand!"

"According to the rules, meritorious service deserves reward! Although he was a captive who surrendered, he is a Han Chinese, and his achievements are remarkable. I'm thinking of requesting him a seventh-rank official position! Yes, I'll write a letter requesting the appointment of a seventh-rank Yihui Xiaowei!"

When Pan Hao heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then turned into understanding.

He knew very well that although Wang Mengzi looked rough and uncouth, he actually attached great importance to rewards and punishments based on military merits, and was extremely protective of his own people.

He didn't ask any more questions, picked up his pen and added the words "The naturalized Han people from the former Western Qiang Camp returned to the south. They have made great contributions in listening to and interpreting enemy language, identifying routes, and transmitting military intelligence. I sincerely request that you grant them the rank of seventh-rank Yihui Xiaowei."

After the memorial was written and sealed with wax, the most capable team of personal guards was arranged to escort Prince Erdun and several other important captives, ready to set off immediately and send them to Heshuo Ning Lingyi as quickly as possible.

After finishing his business, Wang Mengzi walked out of the tent, took a deep breath of the air smelling of sand, and felt extremely refreshed.

He immediately saw Ding Guinan squatting not far away, carefully wiping the Beishuo scimitar he had picked up with a rag. His expression was still a little dazed, as if he had not yet recovered from the fighting during the day.

"You bastard! Come here!" Wang Mengzi roared.

Ding Guinan was startled and almost dropped the knife. He hurriedly crawled over and habitually wanted to shrink his neck and kneel down.

"Stand up straight!" Wang Mengzi shouted, "Act like an official from now on!"

Ding Guinan struggled to stand up straight, his thin body swaying in the loose military uniform, his eyes full of confusion: "Officer, what does an official look like?"

"Yes." Wang Mengzi crossed his arms. "I've recommended you for merit. The report has been sent to His Majesty! From now on, you're no longer a commoner, but a seventh-rank Yihui Xiaowei! You're an official now, do you hear?"

Ding Guinan's eyes widened instantly, his mouth slightly open, as if he had heard something out of the Arabian Nights. He blinked, and blinked again, as if to confirm whether he was dreaming or had misheard.

"Official, me? Captain?" He pointed at himself, his voice dry and trembling, "Why? Give me an official position?"

"Why?" Wang Mengzi raised his eyebrows. "Rewards are given for meritorious service. This is the rule in the army! You have performed meritorious service, so naturally you deserve a reward. I'll get you an official position. What's wrong with that?"

"Meritorious..." Ding Guinan murmured these two words. These two words were strange and heavy to him.

His muddy mind was racking its brain, wondering what an official position was, what a request for a title was, what meritorious service was. Suddenly, as if remembering something extremely important, he raised his head, his eyes filled with indescribable complex emotions, and his voice rose a little: "General! Meritorious service should be rewarded, right? Killing the enemy is meritorious service, right?"

Wang Mengzi was stunned by his sudden excitement and nodded subconsciously: "Of course! Killing the enemy, especially the enemy chief, is a great achievement!"

Ding Guinan's breathing quickened after receiving the confirmation. He clenched the corners of his clothes tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white. He hesitated for a long time, his face flushed and pale with anxiety, as if he had exhausted all his strength. After a long time, he stammered, "Song Yao'er, she traded her knife with me for a silver hairpin..."

"Later, I saw it with my own eyes. I saw that rusty knife stuck deep into the neck of a Western Qiang general! She, she also killed the enemy! Killed a powerful enemy! She deserved a reward, didn't she? "

He spoke incoherently, eager to prove something, staring straight at Wang Mengzi with a mixture of fear, expectation, and a hint of stubbornness in his eyes.

Wang Mengzi was completely stunned.

Song Yaoer.

The taciturn slave girl with empty eyes who eventually launched a counterattack for revenge together with fifteen other women.

He remembered her body and the hastily erected "Tomb of Sixteen Heroines".

He looked carefully at Ding Guinan's expression. There was no cunningness in it as before, only an almost pure desire. His eyes became very clear.

Wang Mengzi's rough heart was touched. He recalled that when he had broken through the Western Qiang camp, he felt that the resistance was indeed weaker than expected, especially the middle and upper-level officers seemed to be in disarray...

Could it really be related to the slave girls' desperate counterattack that night? If so, then they did invisibly reduce the casualties of the Southern Dynasty army. This contribution is real!

Wang Mengzi pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh and said, "You're right. If you have made contributions, you should be rewarded. Even after death, you should be rewarded! We can't let the dead down, and we can't let the living down!"

He turned around and strode back into the tent. Pan Hao was just about to take a rest when he was surprised to see him come back with a determined look on his face.

"Old Pan, where is the report? It hasn't been sent away yet, right? Give it to me, I want to add a name!" Wang Mengzi roared.

The personal guards quickly presented the report that had not yet been sent out.

Wang Mengzi grabbed the pen, dipped it in ink, and added a few more lines of heavy words after Ding Guinan's statement requesting credit.

"Also, we have the Han woman Song Yao'er who died in the Western Qiang camp. Although she was enslaved, she was chaste and courageous. On the eve of our army's capture of the camp, she seized an opportunity to assassinate a Western Qiang general, causing chaos in the enemy camp and a sharp drop in morale. This indirectly helped reduce our casualties and her contribution is invaluable. Although she has passed away, her achievements should be recorded. I, your Majesty, beg you to posthumously honor her to comfort her loyal soul and inspire future generations!"

After writing, he threw the pen on the table and let out a long sigh.

Only then was the copy resealed and delivered together with the original.

*

Heshuo, Weizhou camp.

Ning Lingyi unfolded the military report from Mobei and read it carefully.

When she saw that Wang Mengzi and Pan Hao had successfully launched a surprise attack on the ancestral land of Beishuo, captured Prince Erdun, and intended to continue fighting in Mobei, the corners of her lips rose slightly.

Good! That’s great!

This risky move ultimately worked! They did even better than she expected.

When she saw the list of commendations attached to the document, as well as Wang Mengzi's statement of commendations regarding Ding Guinan and Song Yaoer, she fell silent.

Under the light, her fingertips gently brushed across the three words "Song Yaoer", as if she could see through the back of the paper and see the weak yet strong woman who delivered the final blow in despair.

She picked up the red pen, pondered for a moment, and wrote a comment next to the statement.

"As requested, Ding Guinan is appointed seventh-rank Yihui Xiaowei and is to remain in the Mobei Army."

He replied:

"Song Yao'er was a man of merit. Though he died, his contributions to the nation will be remembered for generations to come. Because he remained unyielding in the face of adversity and single-handedly killed the enemy chief, his achievements were remarkable. He was posthumously awarded the rank of Fifth Rank General and the posthumous title of Brave and Loyal. A monument will be erected in his hometown and at the site of his death, inscribed with his merits and virtues to honor his legacy and pass it on to future generations."

Her reply was so solemn, and she bestowed such high posthumous honors on a deceased female slave. This was shocking in the Southern Dynasty at that time.

But this is exactly what Ning Lingyi meant. She wanted to let the world know that rewards and punishments for merits and demerits should be distributed equally, regardless of status. Even a humble female slave should be remembered for her loyalty and bravery.

Besides, in Ning Lingyi's heart, Song Yaoer has never been a slave girl.

She is a good daughter with a strong heart.

After the approval was completed, Ning Lingyi put down the red pen and looked out at the dark night outside the tent.

"Bring here Prince Erdun from Beishuo," she ordered.

Soon, the distraught Prince Beishuo was brought in.

The Southern Dynasty was also capable of killing enemies thousands of miles away and capturing enemy leaders.

Ning Lingyi glanced at him twice, then said calmly to the general beside her, "Pick an unimportant prisoner and let him go. Have him go to Zhenzhou, find Tuoba Hong, and tell him..."

"The gift I gave to Tuoba Khan has been delivered to the Mobei Royal Court. I want to ask him if he likes it."

The selected Beishu nobleman was escorted out of the camp by the Southern Dynasty soldiers like a frightened bird, and then a horse was thrown to him and pointed in the direction of Zhenzhou.

He almost ran away in a panic.

*

In Zhenzhou City, Tuoba Hong was still furious because he was forced to retreat by Ning Lingyi's trick of feigning an invasion last time. At the same time, he stepped up the reorganization of his troops and planned to march south again.

When the noble who had managed to escape was brought before him, he was in tattered clothes and looked extremely terrified. He fell to the ground and cried incoherently: "Great Khan! It's bad, Mobei is finished, the Southern Dynasty army! Countless Southern Dynasty cavalry! They fell from the sky and hit the holy sacrifice site! Prince Erdun... he was captured by the southern barbarians! They are with Ning Lingyi! There are Southern Dynasty flags everywhere! We... we..."

He spoke in a confusing manner, exaggerating the strength and invincibility of the Southern Dynasty army, and described Wang Mengzi and Pan Hao's isolated army as an overwhelming torrent.

There was a sudden silence in the tent.

The expressions of all the Beishuo generals changed.

The ancestral land was attacked and the uncle was captured!

This news was like a bolt from the blue, hitting the hearts of every Beishuo person.

"Nonsense!" a general shouted.

"The main force of the Southern Dynasty is clearly here, so how can they send troops deep into the northern desert?"

"But Prince Erdun did..."

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment. They were not afraid of the tough battle in Heshuo, but their rear base was passive. Their families, tribes, and wealth were all in Mobei. If they were really lost, what would be the point of them fighting here?

The morale of the army was instantly broken.

The strong longing for home burned like wildfire.

Tuoba Hong sat in the main seat, his face so gloomy that water could drip out of it.

He simply didn't believe that the Southern Dynasty had countless troops in Mobei. That was definitely Ning Lingyi's strategy to win over the enemy!

This time, the gift Ning Lingyi gave was really too great!

It was so serious that even if he saw through the trick, he could no longer sit peacefully in Zhenzhou.

He slowly closed his eyes for a long time before waving his hand tiredly and saying in a hoarse voice, "Everyone be quiet!"

The tent suddenly fell silent, and all eyes were focused on him.

Tuoba Hong opened his eyes and glanced at his panicked subordinates. He understood the situation. He took a deep breath and said to the noble who had escaped, "Ning Lingyi, what else did she ask you to say?"

The nobleman trembled and said, "She asked the Khan if he liked her gift..."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Hong actually laughed softly. His laughter was full of complex meanings, including anger, self-mockery, and the helplessness of having met a worthy opponent.

"Well, what a great Ning Lingyi..." He stopped laughing, a gleam in his eyes that eventually turned into a long sigh, "Never mind. Send someone to Weizhou to ask our Southern Dynasty Regent Princess what she wants."

He knew that this time, he was once again firmly under Ning Lingyi's control.

*

At the Weizhou camp, Ning Lingyi received a letter sent by Tuoba Hong.

When you open it up and read it, it's nothing more than a test under the pretense of calmness, and between the lines you can see the anxiety of being eager to know her bottom line.

Ning Lingyi closed the letter and walked to the map. His gaze slowly shifted from the vast area representing Beishuo to the direction representing Xiqiang.

Outside the window, the spring breeze blows, bringing a touch of warmth.

She sighed slightly in her heart, but an unprecedented sense of relief surged in her heart.

The threat from Beishuo is not a concern for the time being.

Now, we can finally let go and focus on dealing with the Western Qiang.