Chapter 724

When Zhang Sheng walked into the main hall, it seemed as if the spring scenery of the entire world had followed her inside.

She sat down in the main seat, picked up a teacup, took a light sip, and said, "For what reason has the Fourth Prince come?"

Li Chengfeng hurriedly stood up to salute and said, "I have come for the two hundred thousand soldiers of our Great Zhao. If they can be released, Chengfeng will be eternally grateful! Should there be any commands in the future, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Zhang Sheng used the lid of her teacup to gently brush aside the tea leaves floating on top, saying nothing.

Li Zhi also wanted to pick up a teacup, not to drink, but to do something to cover up his awkwardness and nervousness. He couldn't even explain why he, a descendant of the Human King, would feel nervous.

But when he reached out, he touched nothing. In the entire room, there was only a cup of tea beside Zhang Sheng; none had been prepared for the two of them.

Li Chengfeng stood there, not knowing whether to sit or leave.

Seeing the Fourth Prince acting like a fool, Li Zhi coughed and said, "These many Great Zhao soldiers have stayed in Qingming for so many days and have incurred quite a lot of medical expenses; these should naturally be compensated."

Li Chengfeng woke up as if from a dream and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, definitely compensated! Just name a figure and I will have someone bring it immediately!"

Li Zhi added, "The immortal silver has already been prepared, the time for it to be delivered..."

Li Chengfeng realized again and hurriedly said, "It can be delivered in half a day!"

Zhang Sheng finally made a move, extending one finger: "Ten taels of immortal silver per person."

Li Chengfeng let out a long sigh of relief and said, "No problem!"

Zhang Sheng extended a second finger: "Twenty thousand refugees."

"Can do!" Li Chengfeng agreed without a second thought. Now that the flames of war had just ignited, there would be as many refugees as he wanted in the future.

Zhang Sheng extended three fingers: "Those who do not wish to return to Zhao Guo cannot be forced."

Li Chengfeng's heart sank. What he feared most had happened, and he immediately asked nervously, "How many do not wish to return to Zhao Guo?"

"Not many, only twenty thousand."

Li Chengfeng gritted his teeth and said, "Can do! I will report them as killed in action when I return."

"Then let it be so." Zhang Sheng stood up and drifted away.

It was not until long after her figure disappeared that Li Chengfeng regained his senses, only to see a Dao Foundation warrior standing beside him, who had been there for who knows how long.

Seeing Li Chengfeng recover, the Dao Foundation warrior said, "I am under my master's orders to escort you back. My master said, once the items are delivered, the people will be released immediately."

Li Chengfeng was stunned. The immortal silver was easy to handle, but how could he gather twenty thousand refugees in such a short time?

Li Zhi gave another light cough and reminded him, "Fourth Prince, long delays lead to trouble. The longer we drag this out, the higher the number of those reported as killed in action will be."

Li Chengfeng woke up as if from a dream. He only had the Dao Foundation warrior point out a direction before he flew toward Bishui himself. Li Zhi followed him, and seeing his lost and bewildered state, sighed inwardly and reminded him again: "Prince Duan is waiting for a report. I think if you really can't gather the refugees for the moment, you could give Qingming some collateral to exchange for the captured soldiers first."

"Why didn't I think of that! Lord Li has truly awakened a dreamer with a single word! But what should I use as collateral? Immortal silver, medicinal herbs, or magic treasures?"

Li Zhi said, "The best collateral is people. Doesn't the Fourth Prince have his own elite troops? Send one hundred thousand over as collateral to exchange for the captives first, then use refugees to exchange for the elite troops later. You won't need to rush then; you can exchange them slowly."

Li Chengfeng's eyes lit up instantly: "Why didn't I think of that!"

Li Chengfeng acted like the wind, sending the one hundred thousand elite soldiers he had personally trained to Qingming that very day, successfully exchanging them for one hundred thousand captives as he wished. Then, in the mere three days that followed, Li Chengfeng gathered seventy thousand refugees and sent them to Qingming, exchanging them for the remaining seventy thousand captives.

Having successfully retrieved all the captives in less than five days, Prince Duan was greatly satisfied, praised Li Chengfeng profusely, and then set off to return to the Zhao capital.

There was no need to be so rushed afterward. Li Chengfeng spent over ten days gathering over one hundred thousand refugees, then selected one hundred thousand strong and able-bodied ones to send into Qingming.

Li Chengfeng felt he had handled this matter beautifully, even specifically weeding out twenty thousand old, weak, sick, and disabled ones. With such painstaking effort, she should look at him with higher regard, right?

Thinking this, he immediately became anxious again.

Zhang Sheng's reply arrived soon, totaling eighty thousand elites and twenty thousand refugees. Li Chengfeng was stunned for a moment; only after careful inquiry did he learn that of the one hundred thousand elites he had personally trained, only ten days after being sent into Qingming, over twenty thousand no longer wished to return.

Li Chengfeng found it hard to accept this fact and nearly vomited blood. But apart from bitterly cursing "Li Zhi has ruined me," there was nothing else he could do.

Looking at the twenty thousand refugees returned by Qingming, Li Chengfeng was furious. The problem was that within ten thousand miles, only Qingming accepted refugees; these tens of thousands of refugees had nowhere to go in Li Chengfeng's hands.

Li Chengfeng couldn't bring himself to drive them away and let them fend for themselves, so he had to grit his teeth and personally send the tens of thousands of refugees to Qingming, preparing to sell them to Qingming at the original price.

He knew very well that all of this must have been in Zhang Sheng's plan long ago. Yet, even though he personally delivered the refugees, he still didn't get to see Zhang Sheng.

After the great battle, the Northern Shanmen welcomed a brief period of calm. Little Wei Yuan stood on the dilapidated garrison city wall, watching small flying boats continuously ascend to transport the bodies of the Liao tribe to Qingming, his heart no longer stirred.

Truck after truck drove into the garrison city, each carrying tens of thousands of catties of cement. Artisans and Dao soldiers were working hard, mixing the cement and pouring it into the gaps of the city wall where the steel skeletons had already been set up.

Only two days had passed since the great battle, and nearly half of the damaged city wall had been repaired. Meanwhile, the cement firing in the rear had not stopped for a moment, and it was already piled high like a mountain in the freight yard.

He believed that in the next great battle, the Liao tribe's giant crossbow carriages would not be able to breach the city so easily. Even if they could eventually breach it, they would have to use fifty percent more giant crossbows.

Little Wei Yuan kept another account in his heart: every giant crossbow shot by the Northern Liao cost one million taels of immortal silver, and it destroyed a city wall that Little Wei Yuan had built for ten thousand taels of immortal silver.

At this moment, Little Wei Yuan had nothing to do, so he sat at the highest point of the garrison city, watching the surrounding scenery. The firmament was vast, and the world was boundless. Slanting clouds hung low, and the northern wind swept across the grasslands, brushing over the earth's gullies that looked like wounds. At dusk, blood-colored light splashed down, the evening glow dyed half the sky red, phosphorus fires wandered on the grasslands, and horns sounded in unison; the northern country was still very beautiful at this time of year.

With nothing to do, Little Wei Yuan pulled up the footage of Zhang Sheng commanding the great army to encircle and annihilate the Zhao army and watched it repeatedly. He had already watched this footage many times, but he never grew tired of it.

When he first asked Zhang Sheng to fight, he only thought that winning would be enough. With Qingming's current military strength, whether it was Bao Yun or Cui Yu in command, they could win. Even if it were Li Zhi, he could still win.

But Little Wei Yuan did not expect that Zhang Sheng could fight a battle that would shake the world. Moreover, not only did she win, but she was also dazzling and beautiful from every angle throughout the entire process.

Just as he was admiring it, a flash of silver suddenly crossed Little Wei Yuan's eyes. He frowned slightly, looking at the silver-haired Liao woman who appeared before him, and said, "Daring to show yourself here, are you tired of living?"

The silver-haired woman pointed at Little Wei Yuan, then hooked her finger and said, "A fair fight, do you dare?"

With the same action, Little Wei Yuan felt that Zhang Sheng was eighty-seven times more beautiful than this Liao woman before him.

"A fair fight? With you? Can this be called fair?"

The silver-haired Liao woman said, "Not me; fighting me would be bullying you. Your opponent is named the Whip of the Northern Border; he is waiting for you in the wilderness right now. How about it, do you dare to come?"

Little Wei Yuan stood up immediately and sneered, "A mere Dharma Form, and you come to seek death? What do I have to fear?"

"Then good, follow me!" The silver-haired woman turned and flew outside the city.

The moment she turned, Little Wei Yuan had already taken "Instant" in his hand. The gun was already loaded with a Xun Wind Disaster Bullet, and he fired a shot, hitting the silver-haired woman right in the back!

The silver-haired woman turned her head in astonishment, her face full of surprise and confusion.

Little Wei Yuan sneered. Although the Whip of the Northern Border possessed a crucial treasure, in Little Wei Yuan's heart, this silver-haired woman had always been the greatest threat. However, as she was a Royal View, Little Wei Yuan had been waiting for an opportunity to strike; he had endured several times when she passed nearby without making a move, all for this very moment.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, Little Wei Yuan's smile froze as he saw the silver-haired woman's body suddenly turn into sand grains and scatter with the wind. Then, another silver-haired woman appeared in the distance.

The two looked at each other, both with faces full of shock, anger, and heartache.

(End of chapter)