Chapter 369

"Young Master Hou, hurry up and get up—it's our turn to patrol."

"Where am I?"

Qin Hu sat up dazedly, feeling a chill all over his body, while a fierce wind howled outside—he was instantly puzzled.

"Oh my, Young Master Hou, how could you be so confused? We're in the camp! It's our turn to stand watch this hour—if you don't get up, you'll be punished by military law, and even Old Master Hou can't protect you anymore."

"What?"

Qin Hu opened his eyes and saw he was inside a tent, facing a young soldier clad in leather armor.

Just as he was about to ask something, a searing headache struck him, and a massive flood of information surged into his mind; within seconds, he realized he had been reincarnated.

He had crossed over from a modern special forces soldier into the body of a young nobleman also named Qin Hu—the number one ruffian among Beijing's seven worst young masters!

And this era, the Great Yu Dynasty, never existed 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, and Qin Hu inherited the title, becoming the new Marquis of Champion.

Qin Hu had been spoiled since childhood—he hated studying, hated martial training, and spent all his time playing, eating, drinking, and indulging, terrorizing Beijing.

When he grew up, his family tried to rein him in and arranged a marriage for him with the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chen, named Chen Ruoli, a refined lady of noble birth, beautiful and intelligent.

This Qin Hu was cruel and vicious to everyone else, yet he doted utterly on this beautiful fiancée, treating her like a precious treasure.

But the trouble arose precisely from this childhood sweetheart, Lady Chen.

According to Qin Hu's memories, that day he took his fiancée to the palace to pay respects to Princess Chang'an; the princess, who had been close to Chen Ruoli since childhood, arranged a banquet.

Later, Qin Hu passed out from drink; when he woke up, he was in the Internal Security's imperial prison, accused of drunkenly harassing the princess and harboring ill intentions.

Even stranger followed: Chen Ruoli submitted a memorial impeaching her fiancé Qin Hu for seventy-two crimes, each backed by solid evidence.

Qin Hu felt as if struck by five thunderbolts—he simply couldn't believe his ears…

The imperial decree came swiftly: due to his ancestors' merits, his death sentence was commuted, but he could not escape punishment—he was exiled to Youzhou to serve in the military, retaining his title, to be watched for future conduct.

But after arriving in Youzhou, he was quickly assigned to the front lines—to serve as Vanguard Commander's personal attendant.

After this flood of memories passed through Qin Hu's mind, he understood: this was clearly a trap.

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

The Qin and Chen families had married for political reasons, both seeking to grow stronger; but this Qin Hu, aside from being a wastrel, was utterly useless—he had brought shame upon the Marquisate of Champion.

Every previous Marquis of Champion had been a hero, wielding unparalleled influence in the military; yet in this generation, a complete novice who had never set foot on a battlefield had inherited the title.

While Old Master Hou was alive, the Duke of Chen showed face; but after his death, the Duke turned cold and cruel, staging a wedding cancellation right at the funeral.

But Qin Hu deeply loved Chen Ruoli and refused absolutely to end the engagement, while Chen Ruoli had long despised this wicked young master.

Thus, disaster descended.

As for Princess Chang'an, it was even simpler—she was the cousin of Qin Hu's cousin; once Qin Hu died, the vast Qin family fortune would naturally pass entirely to that cousin.

These factions, each with their own interests, colluded seamlessly and quickly united…

Indeed, entering a marquis's gate is like sinking into deep sea—there are truly many who wish him dead.

"Qin An, do you think we could find a spot to shelter from the wind?"

Under the bright moonlight, the brutal northern wind howled with a shrill whistle, sweeping across the open plain, flickering the torches like countless flying knives slicing at the skin.

"No, Young Master Hou—we'd be punished by military law."

Qin Hu and Qin An hunched against the wind, running out of the camp and trudging through deep snow.

Weak Qin An stumbled and was knocked over by the gale.

Two relieving sentries, seeing them emerge, exchanged dark smirks, scooped up two handfuls of snow and smothered the warming fire, then slipped into their tent.

Damn it—even the soldiers have been bought! They want to freeze me to death!

This was a tiny camp, with roughly twenty tents, surrounded by carts, with no palisades or sharpened stakes arranged outside, and the terrain nearby was flat—no natural defenses at all, clearly not meant for long-term occupation.

According to Qin Hu's past memories, about two hundred men were stationed here—they were the vanguard unit of General Li Qin of the Yu Dynasty.

General Li Qin's twenty-thousand-strong army's target was Yu's longtime border enemy, the Liao Dong Kingdom.

"Cough, cough… Young Master Hou, do you think we'll survive to go home?" Qin An curled up on the snow, his lips and face blue, his voice weak, as if he might die at any moment.

Qin Hu sighed inwardly—Qin An was suffering purely because of him; if things continued like this, both of them were certain to die.

Those who wanted him dead had failed to kill him in court, so now they struck in the camp—ambushing him, beating him to death.

But Qin Hu was no man to sit and wait for death; this was clearly a frame-up—he wouldn't let it go.

Life is endless struggle for survival—wait and see—I won't just live, I'll return to Beijing and settle accounts with you all.

"Qin An, how much silver paper did we bring when we left?"

"No silver paper left—I've only twenty taels of silver. The imperial decree said we were exiled as convicts, and our family assets were seized."

Qin An was only sixteen, Qin Hu's personal servant, thin and frail, already broken by torment, barely clinging to life.

Qin Hu himself wasn't faring much better—these past days, the vanguard unit marched thirty li daily, doing the hardest labor: cutting roads through mountains, building bridges over rivers, chopping wood, lighting fires, digging ditches, hauling water, erecting camps.

What kind of treatment would two delicate, pampered boys like them endure among hundreds of burly, rough soldiers?

Of course—the worst work, the worst food, the harshest beatings, the most humiliation…

Qin Hu guessed his predecessor had likely been tortured to death.

It was fitting punishment, really.

But now this suffering must be borne by him—if he couldn't endure it, he'd die too.

"Give it to me."

Qin Hu had decided—he must first secure Qin An's life, then find other ways.

Survival wasn't hard—the simplest method was bribery; as the saying goes, money can move even gods—crude, yes, but always effective.

But under these conditions, he couldn't bribe high officials—no one dared associate with him, and he had no money anyway.

So his mind turned to one man: the company commander, Li Xiaokun.

The current commander of the vanguard unit. To read the latest chapter content, please download—the app offers free, ad-free access to the latest chapters.