"Finished, you've fallen. You actually lit a stove in the tent. You're no longer the God of War of Great Gan who loved his soldiers like his own children!"
The warmth beneath her posterior didn't stop Lu Qingwan from chattering.
Li Jin chuckled, "Your Highness the Consort has misunderstood His Highness.
Before you arrived, His Highness, like his subordinates, endured the cold.
Hearing that Second Shadow said you would arrive today, he then had the brothers below prepare a warm seat. His Highness tried it for you; you are the true owner of this warm seat."
Lu Qingwan rubbed her nose at this and looked at Si Fengwu, "Is that so?"
Si Fengwu's eyes twinkled as he teased her, "Your Highness the Consort has wronged this Prince. How will you compensate me?"
Lu Qingwan smiled and looked at Li Jin, "Go check my carriage and see what good things I've brought."
The generals in the tent, some new and some familiar, were all eager.
Lu Qingwan chuckled, "Don't worry, everyone will get some. If there's no urgent business, go help Li Jin. He might not be able to manage alone."
A group of people cheered and rushed out in a hurry.
After a long reunion, and a rare moment for the two of them, Si Fengwu seized the opportunity to hug Lu Qingwan, pressing himself close.
Lu Qingwan, however, only gave him a perfunctory kiss before resisting the restless man.
"Why didn't you use firearms to attack the city? In this cold weather, sending soldiers to engage in hand-to-hand combat... did you give the firearms to Great Qin, and now you don't have enough here?"
Si Fengwu, while restless, replied, "A reduction in ammunition is one thing. The most important thing is to teach these brats a lesson.
With firearms in hand, the army's battles have become much easier, and these brats have become arrogant.
They all think they are invincible heavenly soldiers and generals, finding loopholes in military discipline everywhere and doing as they please."
Speaking of this, Si Fengwu's voice was filled with anger.
"There are no major battles to be fought in Jiuyuan and Guisui. I cannot let them return with this arrogance. They will cause trouble wherever they are stationed in the future.
The firearms I have are just enough for the final assault. I'll let them fight in the old way first.
It's best if they win. If they don't, it will also help them re-evaluate themselves.
This way, after a battle, they won't forget who they are and tarnish the reputation of the Xuanjia Army."
Lu Qingwan was extremely surprised.
Her calling Si Fengwu a general who loved his soldiers was not flattery; it was because Si Fengwu truly cherished the lives of every Xuanjia Army soldier.
Unless the situation became extremely serious, Si Fengwu would never refrain from using firearms and force his soldiers to risk their lives.
She withdrew her smile and asked Si Fengwu gently, "Tell me, what happened?"
For Si Fengwu to be so cruel as to use the lives of the Xuanjia Army soldiers to discipline someone, it absolutely could not be a small matter.
Lu Qingwan did not interfere with Si Fengwu's strategy and tactics, but that did not mean she wouldn't concern herself with the people involved.
The person who could anger Si Fengwu to this extent must have been quite bold. She was truly curious about who this divine being was with such great talent.
Si Fengwu blinked. After a moment of thought, he told Lu Qingwan everything.
"It's Dongfang Pu. His subordinate soldiers accidentally discovered that the Turkic Royal Army was crossing the Yunzhong Forest to reinforce Northern Wei.
To prove that even with the Turkic Royal Army's help, Northern Wei could not defeat the Xuanjia Army, and to make his former arch-enemy Gao Zhi completely despair, he audaciously concealed the important military intelligence of the Turkic Royal Army's entry into Northern Wei, allowing seven thousand Turkic Royal Army soldiers to enter Northern Wei.
Those seven thousand Turkic Royal Army soldiers were all equipped with firearms, but our brothers stationed in the north only had patrol teams with firearms.
Three thousand men in total, with no ability to fight back against the Turkic Royal Army's firearms, all died within half an hour."
Lu Qingwan was greatly shocked. "What about those seven thousand Turkic Royal Army soldiers? Where are they now?
How could I not have received any news about such a major event?"
"Shen Qingzhou took the artillery over and blew them all up, avenging our soldiers.
To stabilize morale and not give the people of Northern Wei any hope, we did not publicize it widely."
Si Fengwu did not want to lose his temper in front of Lu Qingwan, but Lu Qingwan was his confidante, someone who knew him extremely well. How could she not see the rage and heartache he was desperately trying to hide?
Lu Qingwan had also heard of Dongfang Pu.
Like Lin Fengmian and Shen Da, he was an old veteran of the Xuanjia Army.
The difference was that Lin Fengmian and the others were recruited by Si Fengwu and all came from humble backgrounds.
Dongfang Pu, on the other hand, was from a noble family. His father's Northwest Iron Cavalry had been stationed in the northwest even earlier than Si Fengwu.
When the Xuanjia Army was first established, he had helped it a lot.
Even Dongfang Pu himself had not continued to serve in the Northwest Iron Cavalry but had joined the Xuanjia Army, where he now held a significant position.
Lu Qingwan quickly reviewed Dongfang Pu's personal information in her mind and asked Si Fengwu with a heavy heart, "Did he really do this to compete with Gao Zhi?
Or did he have other intentions?"
Si Fengwu was slightly stunned, then disappointed. "The one with other intentions was the patriarch of the Dongfang family, his grandfather.
Dongfang Pu was simple-minded and was provoked by his grandfather, falling into his trap."
Lu Qingwan understood. "So, the person standing on the muster roll when we arrived was Dongfang Pu?"
As Lu Qingwan walked into the tent, she saw a person standing on the muster roll, constantly observing the battle in the distance with a telescope. She had wondered why that person wasn't afraid of the cold. So, he was being punished by Si Fengwu to stand there?
Si Fengwu nodded. "It was him."
Lu Qingwan puffed out her cheeks. "How do you plan to deal with him?"
"Kill him."
Si Fengwu said without hesitation. "Concealing important military intelligence and causing three thousand soldiers to die in vain.
Forcing me to dispatch Shen Qingzhou to be responsible for the northern defense, affecting the overall strategy. He must die."
Lu Qingwan was not surprised by such a decision.
"So, you made him stand there just to make him accept his death willingly?"
"You could say that. Even if he dies, he should know what sin he has committed."
Si Fengwu said, looking outside, "No matter how many people die in this battle, it will be counted on his head."
Dongfang Pu was so foolish that Lu Qingwan would not plead for him.
She simply withdrew her gaze. "This battle, if we win, will likely be a pyrrhic victory.
Since you've paid such a heavy price to teach them a lesson, why not torment these soldiers more?
Before attacking Guihua City, have someone summarize the casualty results here and let the soldiers in the army understand them, so they can have a clear understanding of their own abilities."
Si Fengwu nodded with pleasure. "I will have Li Jin arrange it personally."
Receiving timely and sincere feedback for every suggestion of hers, Lu Qingwan narrowed her eyes with a good mood.
Seeing this, Si Fengwu smiled and touched her forehead with his. "Does Your Highness the Consort have any other instructions?"