—

After listening Teng Yun"s strategy and receiving Xue Junliang"s approval, Xue Houyang immediately left to reply Xue Yu and Teng Shang"s urgent report.

Teng Shang, who was still in northern border, was the first to give warnings about the small county. Now that His Majesty had given order, even though Xue Yu was still reluctant, they would have to move to reclaim the county from the enemy.

This strategy would be led personally by Teng Shang. After spreading the rumors for nearly half a month, Teng Shang finally a.s.sembled the troops and started towards the small county.

Zou Zhenying in the small county had heard the rumors but at this point, he had nowhere to retreat. He could only wait until Cheng Tian conquered the border pa.s.s and then started attacking Xue Country"s army.

Until Teng Shang"s troops approached the county, Cheng Tian never once sent reinforcement to support Zou Zhenying. Although he was very brave, Zou Zhenying was incapable in creating soldiers out of nothing. The county was surrounded, isolated and was helpless; Teng Shang surrounded the county and attacked it from many sides. Zou Zhenying fought with all his might but eventually his troops had used up all of their food supply.

Zou Zhenying was at a dead end. After stuck for three days, he opened the county gate and sent out all the old or injured soldiers, as well as any women and children; creating a ruse to confuse his opponent, and then led the soldiers facing Xue Country"s army head on.

Zou Zhenying"s soldiers had been trapped inside the small county for three days, it was inevitable their spirit was low. They were soon defeated by Teng Shang"s soldiers and Zou Zhenying was captured.

When the battle was over, the county was almost desolate a there were not many survivors.

Hearing Teng Shang had taken over the small county, Xue Yu took his one thousand soldiers and went to the small county. In front of the enemy soldiers, he personally cut Zou Zhenying"s head and hung it on a bamboo pole right at the county gate. He also ordered all the captured soldiers, with no exception, to be killed and then the bodies be thrown out of the gate.

Cheng Tian"s spy quickly got the news; how the usually barren surrounding of the county suddenly was full of wild dogs and crows, how the cloying smell of the corpses was thick in the air.

Xue Yu"s action not only shocked the entire soldiers, but also the entire Xue Country"s Imperial Court.

Some thought that Xue Yu was too cruel. The enemy obviously had surrendered and Xue Country could use more soldiers and talented military commanders; he could have taken in the captive prisoners.

The others thought Xue Yu"s action was necessary and unavoidable. In the end, the prisoners were still enemies; no one could guarantee they would not just pretend to surrender just to buy time before someday rebel against Xue Country. Those prisoners wasn"t worth it.

Moreover, if they were to be used as soldiers, the prisoners would need food to eat. Xue Country"s own soldiers had to use the army provisions wisely because of how hard it was to transport supplies to the border; how could they afford feeding the prisoners?

For a time, the entire Imperial Court was arguing about Xue Yu"s action, and then they started to argue about Teng Shang.

Although Teng Shang had contributed a great victory for Xue Country, he was still a foreigner. In this battlefield, he had gained quite a few follower and many of the court officials suggested that Teng Shang had to be pulled back to prevent him cultivating too much military power.

Cheng Tian, realizing the plan in using the small county to attack Xue Country had failed and he had suffered a great deal of soldiers, didn"t dare launching any more reckless move. Moreover, knowing Xue Yu"s action, Cheng Tiang became even more restrained and cautious. In battlefield, it was necessary to be savage, but he had never met such heartless action. In the end, Cheng Tian moved his soldiers to withdraw as far as 30 li.

Since the small county, Xue Junliang would always ask Teng Yun"s opinions about military affairs and plans. Some times, he would be discussing with Teng Yun until very late into the night.

Xue Junliang had been increasingly convinced that the Empress of his being confined in the Inner Palace was a huge misstep of the Heaven.

At the moment, Teng Yun was scanning the military map with his entire focus. Jiang Yu came in bringing tea but Xue Junliang gestured to him not to make any noises. Xue Junliang then took a cup of tea and gently placed it in Teng Yun"s hand.

Teng Yun didn"t even turn his head to see who was giving him the tea. He took the cup and opened the lid.

Xue Junliang said, “Careful, it"s hot.”

Eyes never strayed from the map, he just said ‘En". Xue Junliang and Jiang Yu smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Teng Yun admitted his helping Xue Junliang defeating Cheng Tian was because he had an ulterior motive. He wanted to use his own ability to build Xue Country"s defense and also to force Cheng Tian to step back. This was all for Teng Country.

Now that Teng Country was in the verge of collapsing, it was not enough to guard against Xue Junliang alone. If Cheng Tian had the mind to attack Teng Country, it would be a huge trouble.

Xue Junliang saw the Empress would sometime knit her eyebrows, sometime smile to herself; he couldn"t even stop himself from asking, “What are you looking at?”

Teng Yun came back from his musings and said, “Marquis Zhenjiang had been in the north for some time, the army provisions should be getting insufficient. Are Your Majesty planning to transport more supplies?”

Xue Junliang smiled and said, “You"ve been frowning for half a day only thinking about army provisions? Of course, the transport of supplies are already arranged. I"m not so mean I would let my soldiers fight with empty bellies.”

Xue Junliang said that lightly as if it was funny, but for Teng Yun, it was unexpected. Not every king would do anything to keep his soldiers from hunger. At least, Teng Yun"s own father wouldn"t…

“If Your Majesty want to transport supplies,” Teng Yun pointed the map with a finger, “Your Majesty must use this road.”

“Alright.”

Xue Junliang had been in constant amazement these days. He still couldn"t wrap his head around how his Empress was so familiar with the battle fields and could remember and a.n.a.lyze the roads seemingly without any effort. If his Empress were to lead troops and fight against Xue Country, he reckoned she would be a formidable enemy.

Xue Junliang said, “Are you saying Cheng Tian might launch a sneak attack on our usual transportation route? That is impossible. The route is deep into a remote and difficult terrain; if they somehow manage trekking the remote route, they would be too exhausted to ambush us.”

Teng Yun smiled while shaking his head, but Xue Junliang thought the smile looked rather like a sneer. Xue Junliang couldn"t help flicking the tip of the Empress" nose and said, “Oh? What"s this, my Empress has a better opinion?”

Teng Yun pointed the map again, “Cheng Tian is an arrogant man. He hasn"t been sending troops to create trouble these days, it doesn"t seem like his usual style… The usual transportation route pa.s.ses a land that is very low. The area is not a canyon but is very narrow. I heard there is a river next to the narrow road, the river is very rapid that even with the northern cold weather, the water would not freeze.”

Teng Yun then turned his head towards Xue Junliang, still smiling, he continued, “If I am Cheng Tian, I would order people quietly dig up the river. When the soldiers bringing food supplies are pa.s.sing the narrow road, I would reroute the water course and drown the soldiers. The food would be lost, but it would frighten and discourage Xue Country"s army in the front lines. I could win the battle without lifting a weapon.”

“Yeah…” Xue Junliang nodded and stared dazedly at the Empress.

Noting this, Teng Yun thought maybe there was something on his face. Sometime when he was examining the map, he would use a brush and ink to draw circles or make notes. Thinking maybe he had ink on his face, Teng Yun rubbed a hand on his cheek but his hand came up clean.

Xue Junliang lifted a hand and caress the other person"s lips with a thumb. With a sly look on his face, he said, “Fortunately, you"re not Cheng Tian, are you?”

Teng Yun"s heart skipped a beat. He looked away trying to avoid Xue Junliang"s gaze and said, “Of course. There is no way Chen-qie is Cheng Tian.”

Xue Junliang sat down, with a hand on the Empress" waist he pulled her to sit on his lap. Then, he gently caressed her cheeks and earlobe. Teng Yun let him; he didn"t find Xue Junliang"s gestures suspicious.

Xue Junliang, on the other hand, had discovered this pattern for a while now. If he occasionally touched the Empress when they were discussing about something, she would not push him away. His hand which was on the other person"s waist climbed slightly up; with it he pushed the other person"s back so the other person was slightly bowing. Then he himself raised his head and lightly kissed the corner of the other person"s lips.

“You speak so cleverly, how can I ever trust you?”

Teng Yun was startled. In an instant, he stood up and took a step back. But then he accidentally knocked over the map behind him. The map, and the board holding it, fell to the floor with a loud bang.

Xue Junliang also stood up following Teng Yun. Suddenly, he crowded the Empress to the wall. The two were standing so close they shared each other"s breath. Xue Junliang"s tall and robust frame was almost completely covering the Empress" smaller one.

Teng Yun turned his head away and didn"t look at Xue Junliang. Xue Junliang lowered his head slightly, staring at the other person"s thin and graceful neck, and smiled, “Are you still not willing?”

Xue Junliang could see the Empress" throat tensed abruptly as if she was struggling to say something, but in the end she didn"t say anything.

Xue Junliang didn"t insist. At this point, if he were to tell everyone he was an arrogant king, people who didn"t know would not believe him. He never even touched his own Empress.

“Needless to say I want us to be on mutual consent, so I won"t be forcing you, but…”

Xue Junliang lifted Teng Yun"s chin, making the other person look at him. Smiling, he said, “I must ask you, are you really admiring Teng Shang?”

“Your Majesty!” Teng Yun"s eyes widened as he stared at Xue Junliang. But Xue Junliang didn"t look particularly upset nor angry, he only said, “You don"t need to answer… But if you want to know about Teng Shang"s news, how about we make an agreement?”

Teng Yun didn"t reply, only staring at Xue Junliang with wide eyes.

Xue Junliang found the other person"s expression amusing. He lowered his head onto the Empress" shoulder and whispered softly, “Don"t worry, I won"t ask anything difficult.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “I said I won"t force you, but you"re after all, still my Empress. Obviously, I"m the most hurt here. So how about this; if you want Teng Shang"s news, you have to kiss me.”

Hearing this, Teng Yun subconsciously licked his lower lip. The action ignited something inside Xue Junliang.

Xue Junliang laughed teasingly, “No matter how you see it, it"s a good deal for you; military affairs are not something that can be easily leaked out…”

Teng Yun was silent and didn"t answer for long minutes, all the while, Xue Junliang was looking at him intently. Teng Yun was frowning deeply, seemingly having a battle in his mind. This expression really fascinated Xue Junliang.

Pretending to be impatient, Xue Junliang said, “So? Don"t take too long to consider or I might take it back.”

Teng Yun finally spoke up, “Your Majesty should never take your words back.”

Xue Junliang nodded, “I haven"t taken back my words, have I?”

With a smile still on his face, Xue Junliang gripped the Empress" back, dragging her closer, and with his other hand he pointed at his own lips, urging the Empress.

Emotions warring in Teng Yun"s eyes but he was still for a long time. When Xue Junliang started to think his teasing had gone too far, the other person pulled her courage to lift her head and landed a quick kiss on Xue Junliang"s lips.

In fact, rather than a kiss, it was more like a quick peck, or a smack of the lips. There was no trace of affection or tenderness in the action; it was just a careless kiss.

Xue Junliang was so amused he wanted to laugh, but then he saw the other person"s cheeks were blushing bright red. The corners of her eyes were slightly red and her dark pupils were glossy as she glared at him.

Xue Junliang felt like a heavy stone crushed his heart. He bowed his head and kissed the other person"s lips again. Teng Yun wanted to push Xue Junliang away but was held closer instead. His hands uselessly gripping Xue Junliang"s sleeves.

Xue Junliang was aware the Empress didn"t love him. When he thought how his own woman was forcing herself to submit because of another man, Xue Junliang"s pride as a king was wounded. But Xue Junliang didn"t feel he was inferior to this other man. Instead, even if this woman didn"t love him, he would rather make her stay with him forever and gradually removed her heart"s defense little by little.

Xue Junliang had years of experiences in his sleeves. He gently embraced the Empress and kissed her as tenderly as possible. Certainly every wife would not be able to resist such pa.s.sionate and gentle king.

But Xue Junliang didn"t know that his Empress was not a woman. His Empress was actually an iron-fisted great general.

Fortunately, Teng Yun was unaware of his predicament. When talking about kissing, he was not as experienced as Xue Junliang. Being teased and kissed gently by the other man, Teng Yun soon felt paralyzed. Xue Junliang"s kiss wasn"t only touching his own lips against Teng Yun"s, but also including gentle nibbles and teasing bites. Teng Yun felt tingling sensation spreading across his back and it was starting to feel numb; if it wasn"t for Xue Junliang holding him close, Teng Yun would have already fallen on the floor.

As he was kissed, Teng Yun held his breath. His face had turned red from lack of air. He wanted to breathe but somehow he forgot to use his nose. A thin thread of saliva started to form between the two people"s lips.

Xue Junliang was very pleased by the person"s reactions. He liked how the usually indifferent person went pliant and soft in his arms. This kind of excitement was similar to conquering another country.

After a long time kissing, Xue Junliang finally let go of Teng Yun. Teng Yun"s vision had started to dim and his legs were shaking; he leaned back against the wall and tried to regained his breathing.

Seeing the other person"s rumpled appearance, Xue Junliang narrowed his eyes. He lowered his head again to kiss the other person"s neck and traced it up to her lips where she had a silver thread of saliva she couldn"t quite manage to swallow.

Teng Yun felt a wet and warm sensation from his neck and couldn"t help a shiver. Xue Junliang smiled and salaciously said, “You taste as sweet as I imagined.”

Teng Yun"s brain only now started working again. His face was so heated he could not calm himself, he could only try hiding how rumpled he was by glaring daggers at Xue Junliang.

The glare wasn"t scary at all. Xue Junliang saw how the Empress" was glaring sharply at him but her eyes were slightly red and misty; the combination looked intriguing instead.

—

Jiang Yu, seeing the two people having an intimate time, had quickly withdrawn outside. He had been serving in the Palace for many years, he had keen eyes and knew he should not stay in the room where there was a scene like this.

When the Empress finally left, Jiang Yu entered the room to clean up the Empress" cup, refill Xue w.a.n.g"s tea and correct the knocked over map.

Seeing Jiang Yu tidying up the room, Xue Junliang coughed. The mess could make people believe there had been a pa.s.sionate scene, but actually there was only kissing. Jiang Yu had been following him for a long time, but thinking Jiang Yu a.s.suming he"d been doing indecent thing in the study room was making Xue Junliang quite awkward.

But of course, Xue Junliang didn"t try to explain himself. He did wish he and his Empress did something in the study room, but unfortunately, his trick hadn"t been enough to make the Empress change her mind.

Xue Junliang walked over to the map and stood in front of it. He was examining the map when he suddenly laughed; tracing the route the Empress had pointed out earlier, an idea formed in his mind.

“Jiang Yu.”

“This old servant is here.”

Xue Junliang said, “About Zhao Lu, I"m thinking of a good idea.”

Jiang Yu kept his head bowed and respectfully waited for Xue w.a.n.g.

Xue Junliang thought the idea was indeed very good, “A river is very beneficial; it can carry a boat, but can also overturn the boat… If Feng w.a.n.g is visiting a river, do you think it is possible he drowns in the river?”

—

[T/N : Xue w.a.n.g"s Side Project : Operation Brainwash the Empress. LOL. I just cannot resist commenting.]