Chapter 213 Identity
If Lan Ying is indeed intersex, once this matter is made public, he will inevitably be ridiculed by soldiers from both countries, his subordinates will no longer respect him, and people on the battlefield will poke at his wounds.
The enemy general suffered a heavy blow, which greatly affected their combat effectiveness. Naturally, Wen Zhiming and the soldiers of Jin Yue Kingdom would benefit from this.
However, exposing a military general's physical defects is somewhat unfair.
Based on Meng Lingge's understanding of Wen Zhiming, he would definitely not have done this if it weren't on the battlefield. But the battlefield is a very cruel place, and many people will stop at nothing to win.
So she was very curious about Wen Zhiming's answer.
"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. As long as Lan Ying's actions are worthy of the title of 'scholar,' I will not humiliate him," Wen Zhiming said solemnly.
In other words, if Lan Ying is despicable and shameless, he naturally won't give such a person any face.
Upon hearing this, Meng Lingge's expression remained unchanged, but her eyes were brimming with tears.
She didn't know if Wen Zhiming's approach to things was correct on the battlefield, but she was very satisfied with her husband, who had both sharpness and principles, and both skill and integrity.
Our values align.
The two walked hand in hand, and Meng Lingge continued, "Wen Weizhu is scheming against Lan Ying. Should we remind her about this in a different way?"
Previously in the capital, Wen Weizhu, though somewhat spoiled, was still quite well-mannered. Now, however, she was so unrestrained as to hug and kiss a man she had just met, which really surprised Meng Lingge.
She had heard about Wen Weizhu's embarrassment at the banquet. She wondered if Wen Weizhu knew her reputation was ruined and decided to give up, or if she had been restrained by her elders before and had completely revealed her true nature now that no one was watching over her.
Meng Lingge didn't actually care about Wen Weizhu, but since Wen Weizhu was now in the military camp and also had the identity of Wen Zhiming's sister, she was worried that Wen Weizhu would implicate her husband.
"No need. If she's going to do something reckless, we can't stop her." Wen Zhiming said, "Father asked me to take care of her. I'll just make sure she eats and drinks. It's her freedom to choose who she wants to be with. Adults have to be responsible for their own actions."
This second sister has been a wicked person since she was little, always coming up with bad ideas.
If she behaves herself, the army won't mind having another mouth to feed, but if she insists on doing dangerous things, then don't expect to clean up her messes.
Seeing that he was serious, Meng Lingge couldn't help but worry, "But she's in contact with a general from an enemy country. If Lan Ying uses her, won't it bring harm to you and Lanxiang Kingdom?"
"No." Wen Zhiming looked at Meng Lingge very gently. "If Wen Weizhu were to do something foolish, she would only hurt herself."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lingge knew that Wen Zhiming already had a plan in mind.
Since Wen Zhiming didn't want to get involved in Wen Weizhu's affairs, she certainly wouldn't want to cause trouble for herself.
The two walked to the main tent where the military camp held its meetings, where about a dozen generals were already seated.
Wen Zhiming led Meng Lingge inside, and everyone stood up to greet them.
"Greetings, King of the Northern Frontier!"
Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge sat in the main seats and beckoned everyone else to sit down as well.
Cao Ran, Ren Yang, and General Liu knew Meng Lingge's identity. Although they looked surprised, they did not say anything.
The other new generals had always thought that Meng Lingge was an ordinary merchant girl who had caught the eye of the Northern Frontier King and had been kept by his side. So they were all somewhat unhappy to see Meng Lingge attending the military meeting.
A young, newly appointed general deliberately asked, "May I ask who this young lady is?"
Wen Zhiming said, "The benefactor who provided financial assistance to the Tiger Soaring Army, the blankets and clothing distributed to the army a few days ago, and the medicine and food delivered in the past two days, all came from this young lady's family. Even the subsequent expenses for the military camp require this young lady's consent. Do you have any other questions?"
"No, that's all." The new general lowered his head awkwardly.
That was close; we almost offended the wealthy patron who funded the military camp.
No wonder the military camp had been so frugal before; since this girl arrived, their food and supplies have improved a lot.
Many of them were relieved that they weren't the first to speak up.
The crowd put away their disdain; this girl was already favored by the King of the Northern Frontier, and was so wealthy and powerful, they couldn't afford to offend her.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, Ren Yang quickly started talking about military matters.
"I heard that last night His Highness pursued the enemy and captured Lan Ying, a general of the Blue Feather Kingdom? As the leader of the army, His Highness's actions were far too risky. Next time such a matter occurs, it would be more appropriate to send us instead."
Cao Ran said with a wry smile, "I'm not bragging, but that kid Lan Ying is full of tricks. If it weren't for the Northern Frontier King saving me yesterday, I would have been in his hands. If you go there, you'll probably only be able to collect my corpse."
He briefly recounted the situation on the battlefield yesterday. Everyone was thrilled after hearing it, and after some thought, none of them were confident that they could save Cao Ran under those circumstances.
Everyone looked at Wen Zhiming with admiration, but Meng Lingge was somewhat alarmed.
It turns out that Wen Zhiming went through so many dangerous things last night, but he didn't mention a word about it when he came back.
Seeing Meng Lingge deep in thought, Wen Zhiming worried that he might frighten her. He quickly said, "Alright, I'll be careful. The war is tense right now, everyone must be cautious and report any unusual events immediately."
In warfare, even if you have the strength, you must pretend to have none in order to deceive the enemy. Yesterday, he was in a hurry to save people and accidentally revealed his martial prowess. We must not make this a big deal and let everyone know about it.
Ren Yang said, "General Cao just said that Lan Ying wants to make a deal with the Prince. Could you tell us what the deal is?"
Wen Zhiming recounted the contract and the hostages that Lan Ying had mentioned, and then said, "I have already rejected his proposal."
"Rejected?" Ren Yang asked, puzzled. "I believe this deal is very advantageous to us. I know Your Highness wouldn't do something like selling out a city and harming the people, but we can pretend to agree. After Your Highness ascends the throne, we can simply deny the contract. After all, Lan Yu Kingdom has done such a breach of trust before, so why can't we?"
There was an uproar below, with some agreeing and others disagreeing.
General Liu asked in a low voice, "Commander Ren seems to have forgotten something. Lan Ying is going to take two hostages with her. What will happen to the hostages if we break our promise?"
"Hostages?" Ren Yang glanced at Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge, and said in a low voice, "At worst, we can just snatch them back from the Blue Feather Kingdom..."
He knew, of course, that if he broke his promise after succeeding, the hostages would definitely be in danger.
Ren Yang originally wanted to say that those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. As long as the prince can ascend the throne, what does it matter if there are two hostages?
But he immediately remembered Meng Lingge's identity. The prince had once told him that Meng Lingge was his only wife, so he felt a little unsure. Other hostages might not matter, but this was the princess. If he said it didn't matter, wouldn't he be courting death?
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