269: Chapter 0269 The True Hero

Bai Princes Mansion.

A bedroom of extreme luxury.

Lin Xiao ordered the bathtub to be filled with hot water, and the room was filled with swirling white mist.

"Husband, what exactly is going on?"

Mu Wanying was stunned; Lin Xiao had actually brought her into Yong Province city in the middle of the night with such fanfare.

Not only that, but he was also ordering the servants in the Bai Princes Mansion around at will?

"What?"

"Why would the people of the Bai Princes Mansion listen to you, Husband?"

"It's very simple, because I am now Prince Bai."

The formidable Mu Wanying, who was like a female demon on the battlefield, looked completely dazed right now, which was extremely cute.

"Haha, good Wanying, you take a bath first, I'll tell you everything slowly in a while!"

Mu Wanying had indeed not taken a hot bath for a long time, so she didn't say anything more.

That night, Lin Xiao used up his last bit of energy to explain the whole story to Mu Wanying.

Mu Wanying's head was spinning; in the end, she hadn't really understood much before falling asleep from exhaustion.

The next morning, Lin Xiao brought a radiant Mu Wanying back to the Zhenbei Army camp.

With their strength, a twenty-li journey was nothing.

General Wu Jinzhe and Qin He integrated the remaining ten thousand soldiers with Zhao Yunting's troops, gathering a total of over forty thousand soldiers.

Lin Xiao personally consoled the lowest-ranking officers.

He publicly promised that although the imperial court had provided no monetary rewards, he would still award half a year's military pay to the soldiers who had rendered meritorious service.

Those with outstanding military achievements would be rewarded multiple times over.

Nothing could move people's hearts more than tangible silver.

Most people joined the army just to make a living and earn some money to support their families.

From top to bottom, the soldiers were filled with joy and encouragement.

Zhao Yunting was a bit worried; while rewarding based on merit was necessary, did the Zhenbei Army really have such deep pockets?

Mu Wanying was not panicked at all; after learning that Lin Xiao had emptied the Bai Princes Mansion, she felt that they wouldn't have to worry about military expenses for years to come.

The army set off, heading straight for Yong Province city.

On the way, Qin He kept describing to Lin Xiao how the Modao Squad had crushed the Silver Armor Army in the battle at Baixue Pass!

"General Lin, you don't know, that Lu Sanchuan was so stunned by our slaughter that he was dumbfounded!"

"The brothers of our Modao Squad, one slash per kill; it doesn't matter if you have golden armor or silver armor, whoever comes dies!!"

"If you ask me, let the Yao brothers at the arsenal work harder and build a ten-thousand-man Modao Squad!"

"By then, all the cavalry of the Great Gan will have to kneel! They will be terrified when they see our Modao Squad!"

Qin He was very satisfied; as a direct descendant of Blade Mountain, he just loved using blades.

Before, he had no choice but to slash while riding a horse, but now with the Modao, he felt he had found a new direction for development.

One day, if he could lead the Modao Squad and make a name for himself, he might even bring honor to his ancestors and make the elders of Blade Mountain proud!

"Forging Modao is extremely resource-intensive and not that simple."

"However, you really showed great courage in this battle and lived up to my trust!"

Lin Xiao actually understood that the Modao was not invincible.

It was just that the terrain at Baixue Pass was narrow, and Lu Sanchuan lacked experience in dealing with them, which was why he was caught off guard.

But as a commander, he didn't want to immediately dampen the morale of Qin He and the others.

"Qin He, that's enough. Your Modao Squad is indeed brave, but if it weren't for our brothers in the Golden Scale Guard and Cold Iron Guard attracting fire for you and breaking up their formations, you would have had a hard time dealing with the enemy's arrow rain formation."

General Wu Jinzhe was a bit unhappy when he heard this.

Several officers of the Cold Iron Guard were also clearly unconvinced.

"You certainly have merit, but since we were able to win against superior numbers, the top credit should still go to our Modao Squad, right?" Qin He said triumphantly.

"Why is it your top credit!?"

A garrison general of the Cold Iron Guard could no longer hold back. "We lost over three thousand brothers; wasn't it all to block arrows for you and clean up your mess?"

"If it weren't for the Commander making us switch to the Zhenbei Army armor, we would have worn our own Cold Iron Armor, and our casualties would have been at least forty percent lower!"

"That's right! The Cold Iron Guard sacrificed the most, so the top credit should definitely be ours!"

Xu Zhen, who was also from the Border Army, frowned at this time and said, "How can you equate merit with casualties?"

"If you really want to calculate it that way, we Border Army soldiers have followed General Lin all the way from Stone Fortress to today, and countless brothers have died!"

"Exactly! If you're afraid of dying in battle, don't go! Go home and drink your mother's milk!"

"Who the hell is afraid of dying!? How long have you been with General Lin!? When we of the Cold Iron Guard were following the Commander and fighting a bloody battle against General Yelu Chuku, you were still playing in the mud!!"

"Enough!!"

Lin Xiao shouted, using his internal energy to suppress the noise, causing the rowdy officers behind him to quiet down.

Lin Xiao looked left and right, his cold, angry gaze pouring a bucket of ice water over them.

"Whoever doesn't want to stay in the Zhenbei Army can get the hell out!"

"We are about to enter Yong Province city, do you want the common people to make a joke of us!?"

"With the way you are acting now, are you worthy of the brothers who died!?"

"They are the real heroes!! Do you deserve the top credit!?"

Both sides felt ashamed and realized they had gone too far, lowering their heads and saying nothing more.

But Lin Xiao knew this was only temporary.

To quickly expand the Zhenbei Army, besides gathering the scattered Golden Scale Guard, he had also accepted various provincial armies.

Now that the Cold Iron Guard, Yan Kings Army, and White Kings Army had joined, it was even more chaotic.

And that wasn't even counting the new recruits he had been enlisting.

Back in Baishui, there were few people, the place was small, and it was in a precarious situation, which actually made it easier to manage.

Now that the Zhenbei Army was growing stronger by the day and had become an undeniable force in the north, it was not so easy to manage.

If the army itself was forming factions internally, how could he unify the north?

Lin Xiao looked at Zhao Yunting and Mu Wanying beside him, who were also frowning, clearly aware of the internal crisis within the Zhenbei Army.

But they were also in a difficult position, as they each represented the interests of the Golden Scale Guard and the Cold Iron Guard.

Lin Xiao sighed; it seemed he could only rely on himself.

The ideological work among the grassroots of the army could not be taken lightly!

As soon as the army arrived outside Yong Province city, the front gates were already open.

The common people in the refugee camp were also craning their necks to look, pointing and whispering, quite excited.

"General Lin! That is General Lin!"

"The Zhenbei Army is here, we are saved!"

"Thanks to General Lin, this Prince Bai was finally willing to give us a way to survive. Let's kowtow to General Lin!..."

Just then, Liao Meier, dressed in white and wearing no makeup, led the way out of the city gate.

Behind her were some servants from the Bai Princes Mansion, as well as the civil and military officials of the city.

A carriage was pulling a coffin.

Liao Meier knelt before Lin Xiao and the others, crying with teary eyes:

"General Lin! The Prince knew his sins were heavy and could not face the Zhenbei Army and the people of the North. He passed away in the mansion last night!!"

"I beg General Lin to allow me to send the Prince to the royal mausoleum for burial! Woo woo..."

The scene was in an uproar; not to mention the people of Yong Province, even the Zhenbei Army was shocked!

They hadn't even started fighting yet, and Prince Bai had already died!?

Although Zhao Yunting was somewhat mentally prepared, he still gasped!

How long had it been? The Yan King had died, and now Prince Bai had died too; both princes had "committed suicide"?

Zhao Yunting was just starting to feel suspicious, but he saw that Lin Xiao had an angry look on his face!

"Absurd! You say he's dead just like that? Open the coffin for the General! I want to examine the body!!"