On the other side, Haoyue Kingdom
The Rock Imperial City had taken on a completely new look. No more corpses hung from the battlements, and no longer did black crows obscure the sky.
The entire imperial city seemed to have been reborn, full of life.
Shen Xu sat upright in the imperial carriage, flanked by the royal division and the Northern Wolf generals. Behind him followed a long procession of generals, who slowly entered the city from the north gate of the Rock Imperial City.
The story of her as the national sniper in the sentry tower has spread throughout the entire imperial city of Haoyue Kingdom, and has attracted crazy worship from the people in the city. The vendors in the streets and alleys are selling her idol and handmade power spring crossbow models everywhere.
Her story was told everywhere, in teahouses, taverns and storytelling stalls.
The royal army won a great victory this time, and the Northern Wolf Army surrendered completely. Several restless forces were quickly subdued. The war that was originally about to spread to the whole country was extinguished by Shen Xu on the northern front in less than a month.
Her story of using fire to defeat Que Yue and Song Lin's use of fire to defend Xiang Yang quickly spread among the people. With the support and faith of the people, they spread their stories to all parts of Haoyue Country.
Wherever the imperial carriage went, the people knelt down and bowed.
With the support of Captain Song, Xiao Mingcheng arrived early at the gate of the inner city to welcome the triumphant army.
Shen Xu ordered the generals to dismount and release their soldiers, and walked forward with her to greet the little emperor.
She and Song Lin knelt hand in hand before Xiao Mingcheng, reverently performing a ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. Then, in a resounding voice, she said, "Your Majesty, we are blessed by the Emperor and rely on the soldiers for their service. Your servants, Chen Xu and Pei Zhiyuan, have fulfilled your orders and have signed a reconciliation agreement with the northern military and civilians, as well as the military equipment of various prefectures and counties. Long live the Emperor!"
"Lord Pei was seriously injured on this trip and is temporarily unable to perform the rites of king and subject before Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, the other generals knelt one after another, but since they were wearing armor, they only performed a half-kneeling salute. The military commanders of the various prefectures following the troops hesitated for a moment, and then, under the watchful eyes of the people, they had no choice but to follow suit and perform the salute.
Xiao Mingcheng spoke in a clear, childish voice, yet neither humble nor overbearing: "You are all loyal to the emperor and patriotic. You have made invaluable contributions in suppressing the rebellion. Please stand up immediately. I have already hosted a banquet in the palace to welcome all of you meritorious officials and generals."
Shen Xu stood up and heard the loud shouts of the people on both sides of the road.
"Long live His Majesty! Long ...
Chen Xu glanced back at Yang Chonghu and the others who were slowly getting up, and with a slight curl of his lips, he lowered his head and whispered to Xiao Mingcheng, "Cheng'er, your uncle is here too. Go ask him for a little favor."
Xiao Mingcheng was a little timid, "Sister Shen, what should I say?"
"Cheng'er, just say that it was all thanks to your uncle's timely support and the use of ten thousand stones of grain to help your nephew solve the food shortage in the north. This has led to the great peace in Haoyue Kingdom. Your uncle's contribution is really indispensable." Chen Xu gave a wink to Yuan Shengjie, the chief of the three divisions, and asked him to accompany Xiao Mingcheng to ask Yang Chonghu for food.
Xue Yan stood aside, chuckling and praising, "Lady Female Prime Minister, do you still need to peel the skin after plucking the hair?"
"Jiangling Prefecture has enjoyed good weather and good harvests over the past two years. Ten thousand dan of grain wouldn't be enough to rip him off; at most, it would just be some dirt. Besides, his nephew has become emperor, so as his uncle, shouldn't he send a gift?"
Xue Yan said in a doting tone, "You are such a smart person."
"I'm helping you."
"You and I are not related, why are you helping me? Could it be..."
Song Lin frowned slightly, watching the two chatting and interacting. Xue Yan's gentle and doting voice sounded almost thready.
He held Shen Xu's hand and slightly moved sideways to block the two of them. "My Xiuxiu cares about the world, so you don't have to be too moved. If someone else is in trouble, she will help without hesitation."
Xue Yan smiled but said nothing. He would never conflict with Song Lin in front of Shen Xu.
Captain Song stepped forward, patted Song Lin excitedly, and said with a knowing smile, "Ah Lin, we received the battle report a few days ago. This battle was fought beautifully."
"Uncle." Seeing that his uncle was still safe, Song Lin smiled with relief, "It's all thanks to Xiuxiu. No one in the world can match her wisdom, courage and strategy."
Shen Xu also stepped forward, kowtowed and said respectfully, "Uncle."
Captain Song quickly stepped forward to support her and praised her, "Well done, you are all great!"
He asked with concern: "The battlefield is too dangerous, are you injured?"
Shen Xu shook his head, "It's intact, Uncle Lao is worried about it."
"It's too noisy here. Let's talk inside the palace." Captain Song asked Shen Xu to get on the imperial carriage first. He looked at the two of them walking together and murmured, "How amazing! They were able to subdue thousands of troops in less than a month. They're just like my elder sister."
Xue Yan stood aside and asked curiously, "Excuse me, sir, what kind of person is your elder sister?"
Captain Song suddenly came back to his senses and asked in surprise, "Who are you?"
"You are the commander of the Yulin Army, right? I am the military advisor of the Beilang Army, and this is General Xue Yan." Xue Yan pulled Xue Yu over and greeted him respectfully.
Captain Song was secretly puzzled. Seeing that Xue Yu was not wearing shackles, he was thinking that the Northern Wolf Army had surrendered, so shouldn't the leader be wearing shackles and riding in a prison van?
He whispered, "Didn't you surrender?"
Xue Yan nodded and replied, "Yes, but the female prime minister is the eldest daughter of our Xue family."
Captain Song suddenly understood and said with a smile, "Ah, so we're in-laws. This is A-lin's eldest brother-in-law! Hello, hello. Your sister is very polite and excellent. It's a blessing for our Song family to marry her."
Xue Yu had heard that his brother was investigating Song Lin's family, so he tried to get closer and said, "Uncle Song, you're too kind. Where are you from exactly?"
Upon hearing that the Xue family of Beilang Mansion was his niece's family, Captain Song was very enthusiastic. "We are from Langya County, Qingzhou Prefecture. We are located in the south and north, so it's a bit far, but fate has brought us together."
He took a look at Xue Yu and saw that he was tall and straight, with an imposing bearing and righteous features.
Captain Song was very pleased with this 'brother' and praised him enthusiastically, "Not bad, not bad. It's true that heroes emerge from youth. Young Master Xue looks only twenty-three or twenty-four, yet he's already capable of governing the three northern prefectures."
No wonder my niece-in-law has such extraordinary abilities, able to swiftly eliminate the bandits and quell the rebellion. The Xue family is truly full of talented people, and I've married into a family of high rank."
"Uncle Song, you are too kind. Your nephew killed 100,000 of my soldiers and horses at Xiangyang Mountain. He is a true general."
Captain Song was slightly stunned and didn't know how to respond.
Xiao Mingcheng called out in a baby voice from behind them, "Foster father, let's go back to the palace."
"Okay." Captain Song turned around and picked up Xiao Mingcheng, whispering a reminder: "Cheng'er, you can't call me foster father in front of officials and outsiders. The etiquette between the monarch and his subjects must not be disrupted, otherwise your uncles, aunts, and uncles will come to tell you what to do."
Xue Yan and his sister looked at each other in surprise. They had never imagined that Song Lin had become a royal relative without showing off.
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