In the dense forest, Xue Peng and his soldiers were eating the dried meat and hot water handed over by Jingwei Camp. They couldn't help but wolf down their food, and after a while, the sound of chewing gradually faded away.

  After discovering that Jingwei Camp wouldn't harm them, many of Xue Peng's soldiers relaxed their tense expressions and leaned against the tree trunks to fall into a deep sleep. They were truly exhausted these days.

  "General Xue, have a drink." Qin Mo handed his wine pouch to Xue Peng, who took two sips and suddenly felt a bit more comfortable. On the other side, Liu Ce didn't say a word, but inserted two pieces of dried meat onto a tree branch, placing them directly over the fire to roast.

  Qin Mo saw Xue Peng's disheveled appearance and couldn't help but ask, "General Xue wasn't in Shengzhou, was he? Why would he appear here?"

  "Alas... this is a long story..." Xue Peng handed the wine back to Qin Mo, who shook his head and indicated for Xue Peng to keep it himself.

  Xue Peng's face was filled with shame and difficulty, and he said: "This matter was not intended to be spoken of to anyone, but Mr. Qin has saved my life and is a hero among men, so it doesn't matter if I tell you...". As he spoke, he glanced at Liu Ce beside him, who seemed calm and uninterested.

  Xue Peng paused for a moment and said, "Has Mr. Ai Nu of the Xue family ever heard anything?"

  Qin Mo nodded: "Does Mr. Xue's treasured daughter, Mo, not know? Although we have no fate to meet in person, but I've heard that this girl is stunningly beautiful, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and knows everything. Despite her young age, she is more knowledgeable than many of us who have read extensively and have ambitions. Moreover, I've heard that many young masters from prestigious families are eager to marry Mr. Xue's beloved daughter at any cost? Isn't there a nursery rhyme that says 'The beauty of the Jiang family surpasses Chang'e, and the skin of the capital city is whiter than snow'? What? Is General Xue here related to Miss Ruan?"

  Xue Peng sighed, nodded slightly to show his consent, and then said: "Thirty years ago, the province of Liangzhou changed hands and was occupied by the barbarians of Xia State. The famous Yanwu Army was defeated at that time. Now the imperial court wants to reorganize the Yanwu Army, but lacks good war horses. Therefore, an envoy was sent to Xia State to purchase war horses, but Xia State naturally refused outright. However, the Emperor insisted on sending envoys to negotiate, and in the end, Xia State agreed to send a minister to our Great Zhou to discuss related matters..."

  "Is the Pursuing Geese Army perhaps the Iron Cavalry of the Great Zhou Kingdom, led by Li Xian and his son Li Ye back in the day?" Qin Mo exclaimed. Although the Western Liang's Pursuing Geese Army had been gone for over thirty years, its reputation still made Qin Mo's heart yearn with admiration.

  Xue Peng said: "However, unfortunately, Generals Li Xian and Li Ye were killed by treacherous spies during the march, fell into the barbarians' ambush, and the 20,000-strong Swan Army was annihilated. Along with their fathers and sons, they all died on the battlefield. From then on, Liangzhou was also divided from the territory of our Great Zhou, and our Great Zhou never gave birth to a decent iron cavalry again..."

  Qin Mo nodded, full of regret, and immediately said: "Let's not digress. The envoy from the State of Xia came to our Great Zhou to discuss trade matters. What does this have to do with Miss Ru Yue?"

  "Sir, you don't know the whole story." Xue Peng's face was bitter. "The envoy is not someone else, but the third son of Xiatian Yuantianhao, King Xiumu of Western Xia, Yuan Muhe. Everything had been agreed upon between both parties, but then something unexpected happened. While traveling along the Luoshen River in Shendu, Yuan Muhe encountered Miss Xue and was amazed by her beauty, so he proposed taking Miss Xue as his queen..."

  Qin Mo was startled and glanced at Liu Ce on one side, only to see him still expressionless and focused on roasting the dried meat in his hand, with an air of being uninvolved.

  Qin Mo Dao: "So, the imperial family and the Xue family have agreed? But as I've heard, Miss Ruoyu is already engaged to Shi Zongjie, the second son of the Shi family from Jiangnan. And it's said that Miss Ruoyu and Young Master Shi are deeply in love, reciting poetry under the moonlight, playing the qin and sheng together in perfect harmony... such a talented couple, truly a match made in heaven..."

  "Alas..." Xue Peng sighed and said: "How could Lord Xue agree to this? Unfortunately, Yuan Mu Hao had threatened that if he couldn't get Miss Xue, not only would the horse trade be cancelled, but he would also deploy an army of 100,000 to threaten the borders of our Great Zhou. After Lord Xue and the imperial ministers repeatedly negotiated with him, Yuan Mu Hao finally agreed to take Miss Xue as a hostage to Liangzhou for three years, after which she would be returned..."

  Qin Mo was speechless for a long time. Before, he still thought that sacrificing a woman for the benefit of the dynasty was the most appropriate thing to do, but since being with Liu Ce for a long time and being influenced by him, his own way of thinking had also undergone gradual changes.

  "What a pity..." Qin Mo sighed and said, "The couple, Shi Jia's young master and Ru Yue's young lady, were separated just like that. What a shame..."

  Xue Peng shook his head and said, "Miss Xue knows the grand plan, with tears bidding farewell to Shi Gongzi, sacrificing herself for the greater good. I truly admire her in my sorrow..."

  Suddenly, Liu Ce, who had been silent all along, spoke up and said, "May I ask General Xue, what is the price of the war horses that Xia Guo sold to the imperial court? How many are there?"

  Xue Peng didn't know why Liu Ce was asking this, so he opened his mouth and said: "One thousand fine war horses per year, each priced at 13,000 taels, a total of three thousand horses, to be delivered over three years..."

  "Hmmph!" Liu Ce sneered, "One million three hundred thousand taels per year, what a huge sum! I've heard that on the grasslands, a good horse costs only a few dozen taels of silver, and a warhorse at most a hundred taels. To spend a hundred times more to buy a horse, plus throw in a woman, and still claim to have made a profit? What kind of nonsense is this? You're being slaughtered like a pig and you don't even know it!"

  Xue Peng was at a loss for words: "I... you don't know that Da Zhou is currently lacking good horses... wants to avoid being bullied must..."

  "Is the lack of good horses an excuse for being bullied by foreigners?" Liu Ce interrupted Xue Peng's words, his eyes cold, "The Great Zhou has hundreds of millions of men, but they are bullied by a few million foreign barbarians, their homes destroyed, their wives and daughters enslaved, and then the reason is that they lack horses? Ridiculous!"

  Liu Ce suddenly looked serious and said to Xue Peng: "Isn't there a horse farm outside the capital? Isn't there a horse farm in Jiangnan? Isn't there a horse farm in Far East? You might say that the bloodline of our horses is not as good as others, yes! That's right! Just look at the warhorse you're riding, it's clear that it came from the Western Regions, its strength is extraordinary. But don't forget! The Great Zhou has so many horse farms, it's no problem to produce tens of thousands of fine horses! Why do we always lose battles against the barbarians? It's not because of the horses, but because our generals are all cowards! They have no courage to face the barbarians' slaughter! All they know is to send over wealth and women to win over the foreigners' favor in exchange for peace!"

  "And that so-called Shi family's young master, is a complete waste, as a man he should disregard everything and protect his woman with his life, even if it means being pierced by ten thousand arrows or cut by thousands of knives, rather than making a laughing stock of himself with a tearful farewell, will this be recorded in history as a legendary tale? What kind of man is that Shi something? And your Lord Xue, pushing his own daughter into the fire pit, is simply less than an animal..."

  "How dare you slander my family's elder!" Xue Peng was stunned by Liu Ce's rapid-fire speech, his face turning pale. Every word and sentence that Liu Ce spoke made him unable to refute, and when he mentioned the elder of the Xue family, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and stood up to loudly rebuke him.

  Qin Mo saw for the first time how sharp Liu Ce's tongue was, every word and sentence was perfectly reasonable, leaving him unable to find any flaws.

  "Whoosh!"

  Six people around Sun Biao heard Xue Peng's shout and immediately drew their waist knives to surround him, Chu Zijun and Wu Zhengying led their troops to follow and surrounded Xue Peng, with swords drawn and bows stretched.

  "Everyone, back down! What are you doing? Put your swords away!" Liu Ce turned around and shouted angrily. Sun Biao, Chu Zijun, and Wu Zhengying exchanged a glance, sheathed their swords, and prepared to leave.

  "Wait, take it." Liu Ce called out to Sun Biao, handing over the meat in his hand. Sun Biao took it and chuckled foolishly, then glared at Xue Peng again before taking the meat back to his own bonfire, gnawing on it as he went.

  "Alright, alright, stop arguing, sit down, General Xue, please sit down." Qin Mo hurriedly mediated and gestured for Xue Peng to calm down. Xue Peng saw Liu Ce's nonchalant attitude and was so angry that his teeth itched, but he restrained himself from another outburst and sat back down.

  Liu Ce took a sip of wine and threw some pine resin into the bonfire, the flames immediately jumped up, emitting a refreshing plant fragrance.

  "General Xue, am I wrong? If it were you, would you send your own children to the barbarians in exchange for peace?" Liu Ce put away the wine pouch and asked.

  Xue Peng's face twitched, and after a moment of thought, he said: "Lord Xue is different from us, he considers more things. He cannot bear the suffering of the border people, it's also a painful sacrifice..."

  "Never mind, let's just drop it." Liu Ce knew that continuing to talk to him would be pointless, so he simply shut his mouth and stopped speaking, the atmosphere suddenly becoming very awkward.

  Qin Mo on one side saw this and asked Xue Peng aloud, "General Xue, are you returning to report back? Why did you pass by here?"

  Xue Peng said: "This is a long story, originally I wanted to pass through Wuliang Town and leave, but unfortunately the other side has already reached the edge of war, the Wei army general has ordered that no one can approach Wuliang Town, anyone who breaks through will be killed! Under duress, the end general could only lead his brothers to break through the six passes at the risk of their lives, and fled all the way to here along the Tongjiang River. Along the way, they encountered several groups of bandits blocking them, losing more than half of their men and horses, until they met Mr. Qin and..."

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