Huang laughed heartily.

"Yes, you are also my smartest grandson. There are several geniuses in our Divine Dragon Kingdom who can rival my little grandson."

At such a young age, he's already a scholar who passed the imperial examinations.

Zhao Qingbei grinned, her proud little expression with her head held high was incredibly cute.

This prompted Zhao Qingyan and Huang to take turns rubbing Zhao Qingyi's head repeatedly.

When it comes to making money, the first person Zhao Qingyan thinks of is Han Xuri.

Although she didn't want to put all her eggs in one basket

Honestly, cooperating with Han Xuri is the most reliable option, since he has an emperor as his uncle.

After discussing it with Zhao Qingyang, Zhao Qingyan wrote a letter to Han Xuri and then put it aside.

I thought Wu Tong and his team would dawdle for a few days before setting off.

That very evening, someone was sent to inform us that the army would be assembled and set off for northern Mongolia at the beginning of the next morning.

Zhao Qingyan said she understood.

This time she was away, and she didn't know when she would be able to return, so Zhao Qingyan cherished the days she spent at home.

Before leaving, I took out a lot of snacks and gave little Zhao Qingyang a watch.

"Young man, this is called a watch. Using a watch to tell time is a little different from how we use the hour in our daily lives."

A day is divided into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds.

The shortest hand is the hour hand, the slightly longer one in the middle is the minute hand, and the thinnest and longest one is the second hand.

One full rotation of the second hand takes 60 seconds, which is one minute.

The minute hand completes one revolution in 60 minutes, which is one hour.

The hour hand completes one revolution in 12 hours, which is what we usually refer to as six two-hour periods.

Therefore, the hour hand needs to rotate twice to complete a day, which is also called twelve two-hour periods.

The period we usually refer to as "Zi Shi" is from 11 PM to 1 AM...

Zhao Qingyan spent some time explaining to Zhao Qingyang how to use a watch to keep track of time. She also mentioned that the watch was detachable.

However, this thing is quite delicate. If he wants to replicate a clock in the future, he can consider making a larger version.

When Zhao Qingyan said this, she automatically imagined a clock from the future; in her eyes, that thing was already big enough.

After instructing Zhao Qingyang, he also had to instruct Zhao Qingyi, making sure not to favor one over the other, otherwise that kid would get angry.

Zhao Qingyan gave the little guy a few pencils and an eraser, along with a box of 36 colored pencils.

This made little Zhao Qingbei extremely happy.

She jumped around excitedly, saying, "You're the best sister in the world, without a doubt."

Zhao Qingyan chuckled, "Yes, because I'm your older sister."

As for the elderly couple and Zhao Minggeng, Zhao Qingyan didn't need to waste her breath on them.

Those three people, as long as there's enough good food, don't waste any words.

When the Northern Mongols led an army of 200,000 to attack Dawar last time, Zhao Qingyan was shocked by the sheer scale of the attack.

However, it was obvious that our soldiers were hesitant that time. After all, the other side had more people, and besides, the Northern Mongols had grown up eating beef and mutton.

Muscular, skilled in riding and archery, the people of Shenlong Kingdom are raised on grain, children from poor families, and they might even have two and a half feet of idle thoughts.

Joining the army may be a last resort, as going to the battlefield means risking one's life.

After all, they all have sufficient self-awareness.

During this troop review, Zhao Qingyan sensed a significant change in the soldiers' demeanor.

The eagerness of each and every one of them was quite obvious.

Little did she know, one of the cavalrymen she had taken with her last time had leaked the information about Zhao Qingyan dividing the spoils among them. They knew she was someone who wouldn't mistreat anyone.

So, will they also gain some benefits from this military expedition?

Of course, most importantly, following Zhao Qingyan on the expedition might mean not having to engage in a real battle.

If that's the case, wouldn't it be like just going out for a stroll, getting benefits without any mishaps?

Of course, Zhao Qingyan had no idea about these soldiers' wild ideas; there is no battlefield without sacrifice.

It's just a matter of how much was sacrificed.

Wu Tong mustered 50,000 troops and personally led the expedition. The task of guarding the border was entrusted to his deputy, Lin Zhongshu.

The army marched 80 li a day, and a week later, they were about to arrive at the place where Zhao Qingyan had stolen the provisions of the 500,000-strong army of Northern Mongolia.

To maintain secrecy, Zhao Qingyan went there in advance and released the grain, fodder, and livestock.

When the army of the Divine Dragon Kingdom arrived, they saw countless carts loaded with grain, quietly parked on the grassland.

Herds of cattle, sheep, and horses grazed on the grass in the simple enclosure, and none of them wanted to run far away.

Tents stood there one after another in northern Mongolia.

Even the pots, pans, and ladles from the kitchen were still there.

This made Wu Tong and the others extremely happy.

It was only while tidying up the tent that I noticed something was wrong.

Why are so many of the tent pegs not properly driven in? Why are they all sticking out?

Zhao Qingyan wanted to kick that kid.

"You'd have to ask the people of Northern Mongolia. You're complaining that the rags they collect aren't clean enough?"

The soldier scratched his head. "Why is Miss Zhao so grumpy?"

There was a big, clear-headed guy next to him.

"I guess you said something she didn't like to hear. And you, get to work, why are you talking so much?"

Zhao Qingyan went to great lengths to release these things.

There's just too much stuff.

Having gotten such a great deal, it's only natural that we should reward the soldiers handsomely.

Therefore, the free dried meat and rice were cooked into porridge.

Adding dried vegetables bought from Zhao Qingyan makes it both nutritious and delicious.

The soldiers simply felt that today's porridge was very filling, since it contained a lot of meat.

Continuing onward, we occasionally encountered herders from northern Mongolia along the way.

Their current situation is not good. They are all almost too weak to walk, if not starving.

There was no other way; they were all robbed by Erqir when he passed by before.

However, Wu Tong disguised himself as a great philanthropist and gave people a small amount of rice and dried meat.

Tell them that if they really can't make ends meet, they should go to Dawar, where the magistrate will accept them.

The question was whether Zhao Minggeng was willing to accept the offer.

He was willing, but he was also afraid that if there were too many people and trouble broke out, he wouldn't be able to fight them all.

However, if there is labor available, things will be much easier.

Dawar has countless wastelands waiting to be cultivated.

So the 50,000-strong army provided aid along the way and recommended Dawar.

The scales in the hearts of the herdsmen are gradually tipping towards the Divine Dragon Kingdom.

Who wants to go hungry? Who wants to stay in this place where there's nothing but grass?

Since the army of the Divine Dragon Kingdom provided them with food and invited them to the Divine Dragon Kingdom, they must have genuinely accepted them.

With a "what the heck" mentality, many herders set off on foot towards Dawar.

Because of the evil deeds committed by Erqir and his men, the herders of northern Mongolia fled far away.