Everyone immediately stood up, the armor's leaves clattering against each other with a rustling sound.

The guards also lifted the tent flap and reported loudly, "My lord, the barbarian night raid has been discovered. The leader appears to be Emulek!"

Emulek?

Everyone was excited and volunteered to join the fight.

"My lord, I request permission to fight!"

"My lord, let me go! I'll definitely capture this brat alive!"

"My lord, I've fought this brat before, let me go!"

The Northern Expeditionary Army has been fighting the barbarians for so many years, suffering countless casualties, but the barbarians have also had a hard time.

Moreover, even after retreating to Jiangnan, Tianwu still has a large population and a strong foundation.

But the barbarians were already outnumbered to begin with!

Of the five princes of the barbarian Khan, only Emulek, the youngest son, remains after the fighting.

It can be said that as long as Emulek is captured alive, the barbarians will definitely surrender.

After all, the Khan didn't want to die out his lineage!

Even Li Laosi was tempted. He ripped off the cloth belt, stretched his arms, and shouted, "My lord, I'll lead the vanguard. Maybe we can reach the border in one fell swoop!"

The Marquis waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down, and then said, "This time, I will personally lead the vanguard to meet the enemy, which will also be a good opportunity to scout out the remaining strength of the barbarians. If all goes well, we will advance directly to the border first thing tomorrow morning!"

No one dared to object, so they began vying for the position of deputy general, wanting to protect the Marquis on the battlefield.

In the end, Wei Erniu and Jiang Cheng emerged victorious and happily followed the Marquis into battle.

Although it sounds slow, it was only a moment before a thousand soldiers rushed out of the camp.

The fifth prince, Emulek, was favored by the old Han king. He had only been in the Central Plains for a few years, and he had watched his brothers being defeated by the Northern Expeditionary Army. Behind his back, he looked down on them and called them useless.

Unfortunately, most of the time, the old Khan stopped him from going to the battlefield to show off his power.

Now that his brothers are all dead, he has finally got his chance.

So, taking advantage of the fact that the Northern Expeditionary Army had just set up camp, he organized eight hundred cavalry to raid their camp.

But he was oversimplifying things!

In terms of personal bravery, there are probably few in the Northern Expeditionary Army who are more capable than him.

But when it comes to military campaigns, he's utterly incompetent and not worth mentioning.

The Northern Expeditionary Army temporarily set up camp, appearing busy and chaotic, but in reality, more than a dozen squads had already been deployed around the perimeter, ensuring that no movement within a ten-mile radius could be concealed.

Therefore, the Northern Expeditionary Army discovered them almost as soon as Emulek and his men arrived.

A dozen squads, totaling three to four hundred men, quickly assembled and held off the enemy. They held out for only a short while before the Marquis arrived with his vanguard.

Emulek's spirit was dampened, and he roared with hatred. His guards tried to protect him and help him retreat back to the camp, but he refused.

Just as they were struggling, the banner of the Northern Expeditionary Army arrived.

Emulek's eyes lit up immediately. Today's mission had gone badly, and he would definitely be ridiculed when he returned. But if he could kill Xintinghou, that would be enough for him to get his revenge.

So he took his guards and rushed over immediately.

Wei Erniu was a fierce general, so he wasn't afraid of this at all. He roared and charged forward as well.

The Marquis led his men forward, occasionally instructing his guards to use drumbeats to direct the vanguard to surround the barbarian troops.

The barbarian cavalry, seeing the situation was dire, tried to break out, but Emulek was still charging forward like a madman.

If they ran back on their own and abandoned the prince, they would surely be beheaded by the Khan.

But if they stayed, they would likely die at the hands of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

For a moment, their already dull minds were even more confused, and all they could do was frantically swing their sabers.

After fighting for more than twenty rounds, Wei Erniu gradually began to lose ground.

People who grow up eating grains really can't compete with those who grow up eating beef and mutton in terms of strength!

The Marquis glanced at it, then stepped forward with his battle sword to receive a powerful chop from Emulek.

Wei Erniu breathed a sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing that he had been too careless and almost met his maker.

You know, his wife and son are waiting for him at home.

Victory was just around the corner, and to capsize in the gutter would be incredibly unlucky.

Thinking this, he picked up his sword again, pulled on the horse's reins, and stood guard for the Marquis from the side.

Emulek was furious and yelled. No matter how brave he was, he couldn't withstand the relentless onslaught.

Finally, he decided to back down and, finding an opportunity, turned his horse around to escape.

The Marquis changed his grip to a lift, and was about to throw the sword in his hand when a dagger suddenly shot out from the side!

The bright, cold light was especially conspicuous in the dark night!

The Marquis leaned forward, sensing something amiss in the wind, but it was too late to dodge.

Fortunately, Wei Erniu pounced on him, causing the Marquis to stagger.

The dagger avoided the Marquis's back and stabbed into his shoulder with a soft thud, the blade piercing deep inside!

"Lord Marquis!" Wei Erniu and several guards rushed forward like madmen when they saw what was happening.

The Marquis's face was deathly pale, and he endured the excruciating pain, barely managing to stay upright on his horse.

"Block the news and retreat to camp immediately!"

I only managed to say two words before the pain in my wound was mixed with numbness.

The Marquis could no longer hold on and fainted.

Everyone held back their shouts.

Wei Erniu jumped directly onto the Marquis's horse, put his arm around the Marquis, and galloped wildly towards the camp.

Jiang Cheng wanted to follow, but he couldn't abandon the vanguard.

So he quickly regrouped his team and cleaned up the battlefield.

As for Emulek, who had escaped, no one paid him any attention.

Li Laosi had slammed his fist on the table, which had reopened his wound. He was looking for a military doctor to reapply medicine and bandage it.

The military doctor was an old acquaintance; he had previously studied under Zhang Shenyi and even visited Zhang Shenyi at Suijintan every year to offer New Year's greetings and gifts.

At this point, the military doctor couldn't help but start nagging.

"Fourth General, even if the medicine sent from home is effective, you can't waste it like this. The wound was just bandaged yesterday, and it's already come undone today. If you keep doing this, I'll go back and complain to the Princess and Doctor Zhang."

Li Laosi panicked a little and smiled ingratiatingly, "Dr. Sun, you can tell Doctor Zhang it's okay, but don't tell my daughter. That girl is quite something; if she finds out, I'm afraid I'll have to retire from the army and go home immediately!"

The military doctor couldn't help but laugh, "Then you should be more careful, you've ruined your arm like this."

"Okay, okay, I was wrong, Dr. Sun!" Old Li quickly patted his chest and promised, "I will never do it again, I will definitely behave myself."

The military doctor accepted the items and remarked with emotion, "It's a pity that these wound medicines at home are so rare; otherwise, if they were distributed, countless people would benefit."

Li Laosi put on his clothes and replied, "After the Northern Expedition is over, we won't need so many wound medicines. I'll have my daughter open a pharmacy, and then anyone who needs them can buy them."

"That's true!" the army doctor sighed. "After so many years of the Northern Expedition, it's finally coming to an end, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the tent. Just as Li Laosi was about to go out to see what was happening, the tent flap was opened.

Wei Erniu stumbled in, carrying the Marquis, crying, "Doctor Sun, help! The Marquis is injured!"

Doctor Sun's legs went weak, and he was so startled that he almost fell. It was Li Laosi who took the Marquis from him and put him directly on the bed.

Dr. Sun steadied himself, quickly examined the patient, and his expression turned even more grim.

"The dagger is poisoned!"