Chapter 702

Young Marquis, hurry up and get up, it's our turn to patrol.

Where am I?

Qin Hu sat up dazed, feeling a chill all over, and outside the wind was howling; suddenly he felt strange.

Ah, Young Marquis, why are you dazed? We're in the camp. It's our turn to stand watch at this hour; if you don't get up now, you'll be punished by military law, and even the Old Marquis can't protect you anymore.

What?

Qin Hu opened his eyes and saw he was inside a tent, with a soldier in leather armor standing before him.

Just as he was about to speak, a splitting headache struck, a huge flood of information rushed into his mind, and a few seconds later he realized he had transmigrated.

He, a modern special forces soldier, had transmigrated into the body of another Qin Hu, a young marquis who was the leader of the Seven Great Villains of Jing Cheng!

And this era called the Great Yu Dynasty simply does not exist in history.

Qin Hu's ancestors were among the four dukes and twenty-eight marquises who founded the Great Yu Dynasty; three months ago his father died of illness, Qin Hu inherited the title and became the new Champion Marquis.

Qin Hu had been spoiled by his parents since childhood, disliking study and martial arts, only playing, feasting, and carousing, running rampant through Jing Cheng.

When he grew up, his family wanted him to settle down, so they arranged a marriage with the eldest daughter of the Chen Duke's household, named Chen Ruo Li, a well-bred lady of beauty and wisdom.

This Qin Hu was ruthless and vicious toward others, yet he obeyed his beautiful fiancée in everything, treating her like a treasure.

But the trouble arose precisely with this childhood sweetheart, Miss Chen.

According to Qin Hu's memory, that day he brought his fiancée to the palace to pay respects to the reigning Princess Chang'an; the princess and Chen Ruo Li had been close since childhood, so she arranged a banquet.

But afterwards Qin Hu got blackout drunk; when he woke up, he found himself in the internal guards' prison. He was told he had drunkenly molested the princess, intending impropriety.

Even more astonishing, Chen Ruo Li later submitted an impeachment memorandum listing seventy-two offenses of her fiancé Qin Hu, each with solid evidence.

At that moment Qin Hu felt as if struck by five thunders, scarcely believing his own ears...

The imperial edict soon came down, citing Qin Hu's ancestors' merits: the death penalty could be waived, but he could not escape punishment; he was exiled to Youzhou to serve at the front, retaining his title pending further observation.

But upon arriving in Youzhou, he was quickly assigned to the front lines—at the disposal of the vanguard headquarters.

After running through these events in his mind, Qin Hu basically understood that this was likely a trap.

Because the Chen Duke had long wanted to break off the engagement.

The Qin and Chen families were originally allied by political marriage, both seeking to grow stronger, but the later Qin Hu, aside from being a foppish wastrel, was good for nothing; one could say he had utterly disgraced the Champion Marquis manor.

You should know that all past Champion Marquises were heroic figures with unmatched influence in the army, yet in this generation appeared a good-for-nothing who had never set foot on a battlefield.

While the Old Marquis lived, the Chen Duke still gave him face; after the Old Marquis died, the Chen Duke turned heartless and actually staged a breakup at the mourning hall.

But Qin Hu deeply loved Chen Ruo Li and would not consent, while Chen Ruo Li had long despised this scoundrel of a fiancé.

Thus a calamity befell them!

As for the Princess Chang'an, it's even simpler: she is the cousin of Qin Hu's paternal uncle; if Qin Hu dies, the vast estate of the Champion Marquis manor will naturally go entirely to that uncle.

These several factions, each taking what they needed, colluded in mutual wickedness and quickly united...

Indeed, once you enter the marquis's gate it's as deep as the sea; there really are many who want him dead.

Qin An, do you think we should find a spot to get out of the wind?

Under the bright moonlight, the brutal north wind carried a piercing whistle, sweeping across the open plain, blowing a few torches to flicker on and off, as if countless flying knives were slicing people's skin.

No can do, Young Marquis; we'd be punished by military law.

Qin Hu and Qin An shrank their heads and shoulders against the wind, running out of the camp and trudging through deep snow.

The frail Qin An, inattentive for a moment, was blown over by the wind.

Two sentinels on relief saw them come out, exchanged a sinister smile, snatched the two snow shovels warming the fire and extinguished it, then ducked into the tent.

Damn it, even the foot soldiers have been bribed, trying to freeze me to death!

This is a very small encampment, about twenty tents, surrounded by wagons, with no anti-cavalry obstacles set up outside; the nearby terrain is flat, offering no defensible positions—at a glance it's clear they didn't intend to stay long.

According to Qin Hu's memories from his previous life, about two hundred troops are stationed here, they are the vanguard corps of General Li Qin, the Northern Expedition commander of the Yu Dynasty.

And this time General Li Qin's 20,000-strong army is targeting the Yu Dynasty's age-old border foe, the Liaodong State.

"Cough cough, Young Marquis, do you think we can still make it back alive?" Qin An curled his whole body in the snow, lips and face bluish, his voice weak and feeble, as if he might die at any moment.

Qin Hu sighed inwardly; Qin An was purely suffering because of him, and if things continued this way, the two of them were surely doomed.

Those who wanted him dead, failing to finish him off in court, resorted to underhanded tactics in the camp, beating him mercilessly.

But Qin Hu is certainly no one to sit and await death; this is clearly a frame-up, and he cannot let it rest.

Life is nothing but endless struggle to survive; just wait—I will not only stay alive, but I'll fight my way back to Jing Cheng and settle the score with you.

"Qin An, how many banknotes did we bring when we left?"

"No banknotes left; I only have twenty taels of silver on me. The edict said we are to be exiled as soldiers, our property seized."

Qin An is only sixteen this year, Qin Hu's personal attendant; he's grown extremely frail, already unable to endure torment, looking as if he has but a breath left.

Actually Qin Hu isn't much better off; these past days the vanguard corps marches thirty li a day, their labor consisting of clearing paths through mountains, building bridges over water, chopping wood for fire, digging ditches, hauling water, and erecting camps.

And what condition will these two delicate, soft-skinned fellows be in, daily among hundreds of burly, rough soldiers?

Surely they'll be doing the hardest work, eating the worst food, taking the harshest beatings, and suffering the greatest resentment...

Qin Hu estimates that his previous incarnation might have been tortured to death.

One could say he deserved it.

But this suffering must now be endured by him; if he can't bear it, he too will die.

"Give it to me."

Qin Hu had decided: he must first find a way to preserve Qin An's life, then think of other plans.

And preserving his life actually isn't difficult; the simplest method is bribery, as the saying goes 'money can move gods'—though primitive, it always works.

But under these circumstances he cannot bribe high officials, for no one dares to be associated with him; besides, he has no money.

So a person came to his mind: Centurion Li Xiaokun.

Namely, the current chief of the vanguard corps....