Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 376 - Two Hundred and Sixty-Three: Extortion

Chapter 376: Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Three: Extortion

"Surprised that they would surrender outright?"

Li Qingyan looked at Xu Yuan with an odd expression and asked with a smile.

Xu Yuan raised his eyes and smiled, not hiding the truth:

"A bit yes, the Sects I’ve seen before would never shed a tear until they see the coffin. This time their initiative really caught me off guard."

"If they’re already lying in it, what’s there to say about not seeing the coffin?"

"...." Xu Yuan.

Li Qingyan shook her head, turned around, and walked towards the city gate tower with a hand on the dagger at her waist, looking valiant and formidable:

"Prince Consort, you don’t understand the importance of morale because you are not directly involved in the battle. These elite Sect troops may still have their structures, but their morale has already reached the brink of collapse. The commander is a smart man, and a smart man will naturally make the best choice."

Xu Yuan stood still for a couple of seconds, then gave a wry smile and quickly followed Li Qingyan’s pace.

He knew morale was important but did not have a complete concept of it; his only intuitive understanding of it came from some SLG-type games in his previous life.

Even if it was just a game, being able to deduce from subtle clues explained a lot.

When the battle was going well, everyone in the alliance acted as if they were on steroids. When the battle turned against them, they suddenly became non-existent, lying down to take the beating, and no amount of commanding or shouting would make them budge.

In reality, this sentiment would be magnified countless times under the threat of death.

Finding refuge in Houting County was their only hope for survival and the only assurance they had for withdrawing in an organized manner to this place.

If the commander shattered this hope, then the military heart would truly disintegrate.

The likelihood of wailing, surrendering, or fleeing in defeat was far greater than fulfilling their duties as soldiers.

The city walls were made from special materials that melted the snow upon contact, preventing snow accumulation and not affecting the soldiers’ defense of the city.

The patrolling soldiers of the Northern Border Army, upon seeing the two descending from the city tower, stepped aside and saluted.

Of course, this courtesy was only for Li Qingyan. Presently, Xu Yuan could only be considered an affiliated idler.

An old pawn indeed.

Having descended from the tower, Xu Yuan thought Li Qingyan would meet the two Sect Border Army generals at the city gate.

The other party had chosen to surrender directly, and some face-saving measures were still necessary, but instead, the woman simply ordered someone to lead over two horses with Demonic Beast bloodlines.

Gazing at the tall and majestic horses of the Northern Border Army, Li Qingyan mounted her horse with agility while Xu Yuan stood there, slightly hesitant, and asked:

"Qingyan, are you preparing to return to the Government Office there?"

Li Qingyan, riding atop a warhorse, countered with a smile framed by the snow,

"If not back to the Government Office, does Her Highness need to welcome those from the Sects into the city?"

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, mounted his horse, and responded with a smile:

"True, respect is something one earns themselves. Even if we don’t grant these Sects’ disarrayed troops any face now, they won’t be able to stir up any trouble."

As they spoke, the two rode side by side.

Since Houting County had fallen once before, the whole city was, to put it nicely, waiting for rejuvenation, or to be blunt, a complete ruin.

The Barbarian Tribes were impoverished; after conquering a place, they generally took everything they could, which included most of the construction materials aside from the logistical supplies.

The Dayan Empire excelled in material science; here, spirit iron was strong enough that in Xu Yuan’s previous world, it could have been used to construct a Gundam, and it was much the same with construction materials.

As an outpost of Northern Border City, nearly all of Houting County was filled with military facilities, and naturally, the building materials used were military-grade as well.

The insulating and protective capabilities are both extremely strong, and almost all of them have a minimum shelf life of a hundred years, which is why these building materials are the most coveted treasures for the Barbarian Tribes living in the Extreme Black Lands.

If the Barbarian Strange King hadn’t firmly opposed the majority and chosen Houting County as their stronghold for moving southwards, before Dayan reclaimed Houting County, the city walls would probably have already been dismantled and packed away by those poverty-stricken Barbarians.

However, after several months, the reconstruction work of Houting County had also entered the right track.

The broken city walls were being repaired, the most crucial Protective City Formation had already been re-engraved, and the soldiers’ barracks and storage warehouses inside the city were being rebuilt successively.

Looking at the half-constructed barracks in the distance, Xu Yuan suddenly turned his head to Li Qingyan beside him and asked,

"Qingyan, there is something I want to ask you."

Li Qingyan was in a good mood, chuckled, and said,

"Since when has the Prince Consort become so polite? Just ask directly if you have something on your mind."

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment and said in a low voice,

"Now, our Houting County city has only forty thousand soldiers; wouldn’t directly absorbing these nearly twenty thousand routed troops lead to problems?"

The defenses of the Houting County area stretched for nearly three hundred miles, with three cities and over a dozen camps supporting each other, which also dispersed the military forces.

Li Qingyan, hearing this question, laughed lightly and shook her head,

"Mr. Zong was in such a hurry to call for a meeting with us generals. The first thing was to discuss the arrangements of these routed troops."

"Oh?"

Xu Yuan voiced his doubt, "I remember at that time, even the Cloud Qi Bombs hadn’t been sent to the Sects yet. Mr. Zong was actually so far-sighted?"

"It was just a contingency plan. You need to be prepared for everything when leading troops outside."

Li Qingyan didn’t care much and clearly said, "The way to deal with these Sect routed troops is actually very simple: strip off their Armor, surrender their weapons, and then disrupt their ranks. Their combat strength then directly drops by sixty to seventy percent. As long as we don’t let them know that the Imperial is ready to move against their Sect, it’s virtually impossible for these routed troops to risk rebellion."

Xu Yuan curled his lips and said in a low voice with a smile,

"When discussing this matter, was there really a need to exclude me from even listening in?"

Li Qingyan looked at him with a smile brimming in her eyes,

"Prince Consort, you should know that Mr. Zong wasn’t guarding against you. It doesn’t matter about my brother, but if you joined, should my second brother participate too?"

Fair.

Li Zhaoyuan, currently the sixth, was suspected of having private communications with the Sects, and if he got wind of the actual military situation, he could easily leak it out.

Xu Yuan said nonchalantly,

"I actually think letting your second brother know wouldn’t hurt; on the contrary, if he knew, it might even be better. There were only a few people at the meeting; he wouldn’t dare to leak military secrets... oh no, we could deliberately leak military information, provide a hat for your eldest brother that could get him killed."

"....."

Li Qingyan brought her horse to a stop and stared at Xu Yuan, her gaze somewhat peculiar.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan also stopped his Demonic Beast mount, spread his hands, and laughed, saying,

"What’s with that look? Do I have something on my face?"

"......"

Li Qingyan stared at Xu Yuan for a few breaths, then sighed lightly,

"I’ve come to realize that the Prince Consort’s heart is truly filthy, filthier than the heart of someone like me who came from the ranks."

Xu Yuan was taken aback, looked down at his hands, and shook his head, saying,

"The game of politics is the cruelest, but it seems I really have changed somewhat."

He paused,

Xu Yuan changed his tone and deflected the topic with a laugh,

"Ah... Mr. Zong really, it’s been such a long time since I last saw him, and this time he didn’t even grant me a meeting and went straight to Guangzhen City with Li Junqing and Li Zhaoyuan."

Li Qingyan didn’t continue the previous topic either, just rode on, following Xu Yuan’s words,

"Mr. Zong must worry that you, the practical ’responsible person’ of the Prime Minister’s Mansion at the Northern Frontier, would meddle in military affairs. After your dandyish success in strategizing against both the Sects and the Barbarian Tribes, Mr. Zong has no bottom line when it comes to you inflating in confidence," he said.

He paused,

Li Qingyan glanced sideways, her phoenix eyes curving into two crystal-clear crescents, and smiled,

"As long as he doesn’t meet with you, then the military orders from abroad might go unobstructed, am I right?"

"......."

Xu Yuan blinked his eyes, somewhat puzzled,

"How did you know that... Qingyan?"

Li Qingyan slightly raised her heroic brows, tilted her head, and said,

"That phrase has already been spread throughout the entire Northern Frontier by Commander Yuan, now many of my generals are talking about it, how could I not know?"

"....." Xu Yuan.

Li Qingyan repressed her smile, raised her gaze, and looked at the majestic Government Office at the end of the road,

"Alright, prepare yourself. We still have to meet those two Sect generals shortly."

Xu Yuan was taken aback briefly, then pointed at himself and asked,

"I am going too?"

Given the current situation at the Northern Frontier, whatever needed to be planned had been planned; everything that followed in the battle against the Barbarian Tribes depended on Zong Qingsheng and Li Qingyan’s performance.

Li Qingyan pressed her lips into a smile, looking at him with a meaningful gaze, and said,

"There are some things that are not convenient for this princess to handle personally, it needs a dandy to speak and act. After all, not only do we need to confiscate their supplies, we also have to seize their Sumeru Rings."

...

...

...

An hour later.

Sitting in the main hall of the Government Office, Xu Yuan’s gaze lingered with slight amazement on the man and woman who slowly walked in below him.

He didn’t look at the man.

The woman had taken off her armor, donning a close-fitting martial outfit that showed off her curvaceous figure, with her hair like clouds, fair skin, red lips, and spirited eyes that carried a few strands of heroism.

He had seen so many Sect disciples and it seemed like there were hardly any who were unattractive.

It made sense, though, while it would be difficult for common people to pursue beauties and handsome men, for families in possession of power and wealth, these were easily within reach; over hundreds of years, unless genetic mutations occurred, they would hardly ever be ugly.

And as the two entered the Government Office, after a simple salute to Li Qingyan, who was seated in the main seat, they fell silent once more.

Time ticked by every minute and every second,

And Xu Yuan’s gaze kept wandering over the body of the woman below, his unabashed manner causing both of the figures below to slightly furrow their brows.

But regrettably, with the situation pressing down on them, they could only endure his gaze.

It was uncertain how much time passed,

"Cough!" Li Qingyan suddenly let out a soft cough.

"...." Xu Yuan came back to his senses at the sound, glancing at Li Qingyan.

"...." Li Qingyan frowned, glaring at him.

I asked you to play the bad guy, not some lustful ghost.

Xu Yuan smacked his lips, touched his chin, and began to speak with a light chuckle, getting down to business,

"Luo Xuechen?"

"..."

The woman below heard him, furrowed her brows even tighter, paused for a moment, then cupped her hands, her voice clear as silver bells,

"...Indeed I am Xuechen, but I seem to have never met the young master before, may I ask who you are..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan suddenly broke into a grin.

Great, an old acquaintance.

After a year apart, his memories of those numerous female leads from Cang Yuan had almost faded; he hadn’t expected to meet one here.

Luo Qingfeng, her father was the Supreme Elder of the Snow Heart Palace, and she was a limited edition female lead in the storyline where the Barbarian Tribes emerged as the ultimate bosses.

Since she had only appeared once, Xu Yuan had almost forgotten her.

She was one of those heroic female characters, a woman with a tough exterior and a soft heart.

In Cang Yuan, after developing a close bond with her, Luo Qingfeng would confess to the player that she preferred living as a quiet lady rather than leading troops in battle.

Her ending was quite good as well; Luo Qingfeng would go from being a combative general to a diligent wife and mother, even volunteering to help the player with the pursuit of other female leads.

What a pity.

With different goals, under the current circumstances, this woman would likely follow in the steps of Ji Qingyue and her sisters.

Halting his thoughts, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the man with the scarred face beside him, and asked,

"So in that case, this gentleman must be Hou Jiancheng, right?"

Hou Jiancheng also furrowed his brows, but then smiled,

"It seems the young master has done his research on Qingfeng and me, you must be a high-ranking official of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, right?"

"Not exactly high-ranking, I’m just an idle member of the staff,"

Xu Yuan waved his hand and said while his gaze wandered between the two of them, holding a hint of amusement.

These two spoke prettily of childhood sweethearts, but more bluntly, they were a ’sycophant’ and a ’goddess.’

Back in Cang Yuan, he had even slapped this guy in the face.

Childhood sweethearts can never compete with a hero from the heavens.

After beating this lad in a duel, he carried Luo Qingfeng away in triumph, followed by the delightfully unavoidable 18+ sequence.

At this thought,

Xu Yuan’s gaze carried an inexplicable smirking, as he spoke in a light tone,

"Generals, you are both well aware of the current situation, so I’ll skip the nonsense. For the sake of the overall situation in the Northern Frontier, please hand over your Sumeru Rings."