“What!”

The moment news came that Great Qin had formally declared war, General White Tiger was the first to slap the table in shock!

Outside the camp, war drums rolled and footsteps thundered as soldiers prepared themselves—battle was about to break out!

Inside the tent, the three Tiger Armies were sweating with anxiety. Though the standoff had dragged on for so long, this sudden move to war had come far too abruptly, completely beyond their expectations!

Where had the Empress of Great Qin found the courage to answer the call to battle so quickly!

Everyone was on edge, except Jun Beiyue, who stood with arms crossed, eyes narrowed in concentration on the map, seemingly lost in thought over something.

Soon, a soldier came to report, “My lord, all preparations are complete. The entire army stands ready at your command!”

“Where has the Western Jing army reached?” Jun Beiyue suddenly spoke.

The words startled everyone. They all knew that the Princess Consort of Prince Yao had traveled far to Western Jing—but no one had expected that while she was there, Prince Yao would actually transfer Western Jing’s troops to the Northern Frontier!

Why… why would he do such a thing?

Something must have happened in Western Jing—so why leave it with no troops at all?

Everyone fell silent. Even the soldier didn’t understand. In the stillness, Jun Beiyue’s voice suddenly turned sharp, “Where has the Western Jing army reached?”

“I’ll go ask at once!” The soldier, badly startled, turned and hurried off, and the whole camp fell into silence—no one dared speak.

But before long, a general clad in armor came striding in, his brows fine and elegant, an air of hidden nobility about him. This man was none other than the Second Prince, Jun Beichen—once locked in mortal rivalry with Jun Beiyue, and once in command of the Western Border troops!

“Fourth Brother, the Western Border’s three armies are three hundred li away at Xilang County. The supply convoy has gone ahead; they’re expected to arrive in ten days!”

No one had imagined that Prince Yao had already mobilized the Western Border army—still less that he would call upon the Second Prince, who had been under house arrest deep in the palace all this time!

The Western Border army was General Ouyang’s former command. General Ouyang had originally intended to hand that military power to the Second Prince, to strengthen his hand in the fight for the throne.

It had to be admitted—having the Second Prince lead the Western Border army was the most fitting choice possible. At the very least, today’s Second Prince was no longer the man he had once been.

At the very least, Jun Beiyue had spared his life back then, had not exposed his crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, and had only placed him and Consort Yi under house arrest. For that, he was grateful.

The Northern Frontier’s three great Tiger Armies, and the Western Border’s three armies—though only two forces, both were formidable. The Western Border’s three armies were Da Zhou’s veteran forces, cultivated generation after generation by one general after another, possessing deep strength and rich combat experience. The Northern Frontier’s Tiger Armies, on the other hand, had been built up personally by Jun Beiyue—though formed in less than a decade, their fighting spirit was unstoppable!

It could be said that these were the entirety of Da Zhou’s military strength, the nation’s ultimate stake, its true power!

And now, all of it had converged on the Northern Frontier!

Never mind how Jun Beiyue meant to guarantee peace in the Western Border—what exactly was he planning to do here in the north?

Suddenly, General White Tiger understood. He looked at Jun Beiyue in shock, and on that devastatingly handsome face—handsome enough to provoke both gods and men—a sinister chill surfaced. He murmured, “The Xiongnu… have come.”

In matters of war, Jun Beiyue was a man who could scheme from behind the curtain, turning the tide with a mere flip of his hand—he could lie in wait, could bide his time.

But once he took the field himself, he was without question the most decisive general in all of Longyuan. If there was to be a war, he would be ready to fight it to the very end!

Everyone present knew his temperament. For a moment, the whole tent fell utterly silent, all eyes fixed on the calm map, as if they could already see the flames of battle after battle igniting across it!

“Remember this—once the war begins, there is no stopping. Not against Great Qin, not against the Xiongnu! We have only one purpose: destroy Great Qin, and force the Xiongnu to surrender!”

Jun Beiyue spoke coldly, then turned, put on his helmet, drew his sword, and strode out of the tent. At the entrance, Jun Beichen followed close behind, asking in a low voice, “Fourth Brother, let me ask you once more—is Western Border truly safe?”

Destroying Great Qin would be easy enough. But forcing the Xiongnu to surrender—for a Da Zhou army that had never once fought them—would be harder than reaching the heavens. This war was destined to be brutal and prolonged, destined to demand everything they had.

Da Zhou’s Southern Frontier was secure, and the Western Chu in the west could no longer stir up trouble. Only Western Jing remained a concern—if anything went wrong in the war between Western Jing and Western Liang during this time, Da Zhou would be stabbed in the back, and the danger would be dire!

Jun Beiyue did not hesitate. He said coldly, “It’s certain.”

Because he was certain—because he believed—that was why he had let that woman go.

If that woman could not give him confidence, then no one in this world ever could.

This was the first time in his life he had staked everything on a single gamble, wagering the whole of Da Zhou—not for any other reason, but because the one standing behind him was Han Ziqing, a woman who never gave up.

With that, Jun Beiyue leapt onto his horse and galloped toward the front lines, several generals following close behind, while Jun Beichen turned and rode off in the opposite direction—he had to bring the Western Border army north as quickly as possible.

If there was to be a fight, then let it be a satisfying one. From childhood to now, his mother had always hoped he would win military merit and surpass Jun Beiyue—yet who would have thought that today’s chance would be given to him by Jun Beiyue himself!

Rare indeed was it, in this generation of the Da Zhou imperial family, for brothers to march to war side by side. This time, he too would give it everything he had!

The war song rang out, the flames of war spread wide—a great battle across the northern reaches of the Longyuan continent was about to begin!

As for the Western Border, all remained calm there.

Ziqing and Situ Haonan had only just arrived at the Western Border frontier, had barely dismounted, when the war report from the Northern Frontier reached them at once.

She glanced at it, and her quiet little face immediately turned deadly serious—serious enough that even Situ Haonan was startled, not daring to speak carelessly.

After a long moment, Ziqing finally looked up and gave the order at once, “Seal off the entire border, including the mountain range to the northwest. From today, no one enters or leaves!”

She had come to Western Border to command its troops—except Western Border had no troops. To command a defense of the border with no soldiers to command—Ziqing understood exactly how serious that was.

She simply hadn’t expected things to move so fast.

Now, every card in her hand rested entirely on Yelu Qianqian—there was no room left to bargain.

She had deliberately let word leak out—yet Western Jing still hadn’t made a move. She had even deliberately let it slip that Situ Haonan had been recalled by Situ Cheng, and that Yelu Qianqian was imprisoned in a Western Jing dungeon—but still, no spy had come to probe the truth.

And on Western Jing’s side, their own spies had received no word of Yelu Qianqian’s return either. Where on earth was Yelu Qianqian?

“Situ, we’re going to Akbachu.”

Wherever Yelu Qianqian was, she needed to stop the war between Western Jing and Western Liang—needed to become the hostage herself. At the very least, the girl would eventually return to Akbachu.

Even if it meant waiting, they would wait until they found that girl.

The moment she said it, Situ Haonan objected without a second thought. “That’s far too risky!”

“Wherever we are, we’re waiting, we’re searching. She’s bound to go back. As long as we can see her, we’ll be safe in Western Jing,” Ziqing said, utterly serious.

“What makes you so sure? Do you really think she still has any say in Western Jing?” Situ Haonan shot back.

“Western Jing isn’t like Great Qin—there’s no century of hatred toward Da Zhou. The Western Jing Emperor only has two choices: hand over his daughter and end the war, or cooperate with Da Zhou and keep his daughter while still ending the war. The Western Jing Emperor will choose to keep his daughter.”

“Then what exactly are you going to use to cooperate with Western Jing right now? What do you have to persuade the Western Jing Emperor with?”

That was exactly what worried Situ Haonan—Da Zhou’s main forces were no longer stationed in the Western Border at all!

“I have a plan,” Ziqing said coldly, gazing straight ahead, though it was unclear just what she was looking at. And at that very moment, a guard suddenly rushed in to report, “Your Highness, we’ve spotted someone sneaking across the mountains in the northwestern forest!”