Wang Wanzhen was struck by that slap with such force that she staggered, steadying herself against a nearby table to keep from falling. The plain white hairpin flower on her head fell to the ground, and a handprint with five clearly distinguishable finger marks immediately appeared on her face.

Yet she seemed oblivious to the pain. Turning her head to look at Wei Pinjin, she actually laughed, mocking him: “Wei Pinjin, you’re only capable of taking out your frustrations by hitting women!”

Knowing that the Wei family would become a puppet pushed to the forefront just like herself, she no longer bothered to maintain any pretense. She straightened up and tucked the disheveled strand of hair behind her ear, but before she could finish, Wei Pinjin suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her by the throat.

The force of his grip drove Wang Wanzhen’s lower back against the nearby table. She endured the sharp pain in her waist, her facial expression unchanging, and was about to taunt him with a few more words when the hand choking her throat tightened with such strength that she could barely breathe.

Though Wei Pinjin’s martial skills were not outstanding, he had trained with the martial instructors in the manor for many years, and there was an inherent disparity in strength between men and women.

At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot and vicious, twisted with ferocity, as if he wanted to devour someone—he had clearly been thoroughly enraged by Wang Wanzhen.

Wang Wanzhen couldn’t spare any thought for mocking words now. She used both hands to pry at the hand choking her throat, but to no avail. As the feeling of suffocation came over her, she finally felt some fear, warning him in a breathless voice: “If I die… you, this former Jin Prince Consort… will be completely useless…”

The title of Northern Wei Lord had already fallen to Xiao Li. Wei Pinjin now had the identity of former Jin Prince Consort to the outside world, which still allowed him to claim he sought to contend for all under heaven and didn’t care about Northern Wei’s small territory, that he regarded Xiao Li as his brother and generously yielded the title of Northern Wei Lord to him.

If even she, this former Jin Princess, were gone, and the two had no children, him claiming alone to be the former Jin Prince Consort and declaring the restoration of Jin would only invite ridicule.

At this moment, the door was urgently knocked upon with loud bangs, and a servant’s anxious voice came from outside: “Second Young Master, our merchant house people have gotten into a fight with the Lord’s people!”

Wei Pinjin finally regained some rationality and released his grip on Wang Wanzhen’s neck.

Wang Wanzhen leaned against a table placed along the wall, covering her bruised and burning neck, coughing incessantly.

The murderous intent in Wei Pinjin’s eyes had not yet subsided as he said coldly: “If you want to live comfortably, keep your tail tucked between your legs like before. If you dare cause trouble again, even if I don’t kill you, I have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead!”

Wang Wanzhen met his cruel and malicious gaze, inexplicably feeling a chill from it. She struggled to keep herself from shivering.

After saying these words, Wei Pinjin turned and strode out.

Opening the door, he demanded in an icy tone: “Who gave them the audacity to cause trouble on a day like this?”

Completely unaware of the situation inside the room, the servant only reported in a panic with bowed head: “It’s over a dispute regarding the batch of armor the military ordered…”

Wei Pinjin, as if finally finding an outlet for his rage, said coldly: “Lead the way!”

—

Today was the funeral at the Wei manor, and virtually every official of note in the Northern Territory had come.

After Wei Ang led Xiao Li through the front courtyard to briefly meet the officials, he then summoned the governors of various prefectures and districts to gather in the main hall for discussion.

The Northern Territory had a total of twenty-four districts. Yanyun, which had previously been designated as Wei Qishan’s domain, alone occupied sixteen districts.

However, the Northern Territory was bitterly cold, and the population under each district’s administration was not large. The border areas were entirely barren plains and frozen earth, difficult to cultivate, and were only used as military garrison lands.

On average, every three districts’ population was only equivalent to that of one district in the Southern Territory.

Previously, when the Yanle Mountain defense line was breached and the barbarian troops scattered into the territory, relying solely on the local prefecture forces to drive them out proved quite difficult.

They were like rats—raiding this village today, then moving elsewhere tomorrow. Even though each prefecture had strictly fortified their defenses, there was a saying: a thief can steal a thousand days, but who can guard against thieves for a thousand days? Moreover, at this critical juncture when the Northern Territory had lost battles and both Liao Jiang and Wei Qishan had died in succession, every place raided by the barbarians undoubtedly further scattered military morale and popular support.

Xiao Li met with them today also to discuss the matter of expelling the barbarians within the territory.

The underfloor heating system in the hall burned vigorously. As soon as the group entered, the snow particles clinging to their clothing were instantly melted by the heat inside, dampening their outer garments. Servants promptly offered hot tea, but no one dared drink, all waiting rigidly for Xiao Li, seated at the head position, to speak.

Xiao Li wore a black ceremonial cap tied high, and his hair was slightly damp from the frost and snow that had melted earlier, which only made his features appear more cold and severe. He swept his gaze over the various district officials and generals present and said: “The situation is urgent. I could only use the funeral news of the Marquis of Shuobei and General Liao to summon you all for this meeting. The journey here must have been exhausting for everyone. For now, please relax.”

Only then did the various prefecture governors say “Thank you for the Lord’s consideration,” and then relaxed slightly—those drinking tea drank tea, those quietly observing Xiao Li observed him.

Xiao Li paid no attention to these gazes. He tilted his head slightly, signaling Zhang Huai, who had entered the hall with him, to spread out a map of the Northern Territory’s current military situation on the long table.

The various prefecture governors all paid close attention to this. Those seated farther away even stood up to look.

Xiao Li said: “Regarding the several barbarian armies scattered throughout the Northern Territory, I have already dispatched troops to pursue them closely. We are currently driving them toward the foot of Yanle Mountain, north of Wei District and east of Yun District. However, to prevent the barbarians from breaking through the encirclement and escaping again, when my main forces begin to hunt down these barbarian armies within the territory, I will also need the prefecture troops along these routes to help tighten the net.”

After speaking, he raised his eyes to look at someone seated at the lower right corner of the long table: “Administrator Xu, I need Ying District to deploy two thousand prefecture troops to help guard the Yun District route. Do you have any objections?”

The district official whose name was called immediately felt his skin tighten all over, even breaking into a cold sweat at his temples, and replied with a forced smile: “This… this subordinate has no objections, it’s just that prefecture troops have always only managed affairs within their own districts. In terms of military equipment, they are far inferior to the main forces that fight the barbarians. Driving away mountain bandits and brigands within the district is fine, but fighting barbarians, I’m afraid…”

He didn’t continue, only looking at Xiao Li with some difficulty.

Xiao Li said: “Bows, arrows, clothing, and provisions will all be delivered to Ying District’s government office.”

Only then did the district official turn his worry to joy, hurriedly bowing to Xiao Li: “Many thanks to the Lord!”

Xiao Li then called on several other district officials: “Administrator Zhang, you will take Gui District’s prefecture troops and follow the Eastern Third Battalion’s forces to cut off the barbarians’ route over Pingyang Mountain to You District.”

“This subordinate accepts the order!”

“Administrator He, you will take Xin District’s prefecture troops and together with the Western Second Battalion’s forces set an ambush at Yanle Mountain to intercept and kill the barbarians being driven there.”

“This subordinate receives the order.”

“Administrator Lu…”

…

Xiao Li systematically conveyed the operational plan for clearing out the barbarians within the territory that he had formulated early on. The district officials who initially still harbored some veiled scrutiny of him became instantly obedient, every one of them.

Xiao Li not only knew exactly how many troops each of their districts commanded, but also had clear insight into the strength and weakness of their forces.

Rather than having them jointly dispatch troops to clear out the barbarian raiders, this was another form of warning to them.

—He knew them inside and out. What was brought into the open was the military strength in their hands; what wasn’t revealed was their thoughts.

In other words, what they were thinking and what actions they were taking in secret, Xiao Li knew all too clearly.

After the first half of the discussion concluded, quite a few district officials had broken into a cold sweat.

During the intermission, when Xiao Li left the hall, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged glances with each other, and all shook their heads as if resigned to their fate.

Wei Qishan had entrusted the Wolf Cavalry to him. Apart from the Wolf Cavalry, the Northern Wei main forces were now led by Yuan Fang and Wei Ang, both of whom were Wei Qishan’s trusted subordinates. They prioritized the overall situation of Northern Wei, wouldn’t deceive Wei Pinjin as their young master, but wouldn’t help Wei Pinjin oppose Xiao Li either.

If Wei Pinjin wanted to compete with Xiao Li, the deciding factor would still be their prefecture troops from various districts.

But today Xiao Li had directly tallied up all their prefecture troops openly.

If any of them still couldn’t read the situation and wanted to help Wei Pinjin act recklessly, that would be no different from seeking their own death.

—

After entering the side room temporarily used for rest, Zhang Huai cupped his hands toward Xiao Li in praise: “This stratagem of the Lord’s is brilliant—it both resolves the difficulty of clearing out the barbarian raiders and makes the various prefectures afraid to make any unusual moves openly.”

At the table, white steam rose from the tea water poured by the personal guards.

Xiao Li closed his eyes, somewhat fatigued, and pressed his brow bone: “For clearing out the barbarian raiders, bows, arrows, and provisions can be allocated to the various prefectures immediately. We must hurry with the rush production of armor.”

Once the Northern Territory was stable, he could deploy his full forces southward.

Zhang Huai said: “The Lord already sent General Zheng this morning to discuss with the cloth merchants who regularly sew armor for the military. After returning to camp, General Zheng should bring back news.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a personal guard rushed in from outside: “My Lord, Military Advisor, this is bad! General Zheng has gotten into a fight with guests who came to pay their respects!”

Zhang Huai’s expression changed slightly as he asked: “Why has General Zheng also come to the Wei manor?”

The guard said breathlessly: “It seems he came specifically to find a cloth merchant, but after just a few words between the two, General Zheng started throwing punches.”

Zhang Huai turned his head toward Xiao Li with some hesitation.

Xiao Li’s expression was somber as he simply said: “Follow me to see.”

—

In the front courtyard of the Wei manor, Zheng Hu was currently straddling a thin man, slapping him across the face: “You dog of a thing, you still dare show off to your Grandfather Zheng!”

The man was beaten until he cried out miserably for his parents, loudly wailing for help.

Before long, armored soldiers from the manor came to pull Zheng Hu away, but he was clearly still in a rage. When several armored soldiers grabbed his arms, he shook them off with one vigorous swing, then grabbed the collar of the man lying on the ground wailing and lifted him up like picking up a small chicken.

The man’s nose was bleeding from the slaps, the blood now streaming down half his face. His upright hair arrangement was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled from being grabbed—quite a pathetic sight. He seemed to have been scared out of his wits, still only screaming hoarsely for help.

Zheng Hu raised his hand and swung another slap at his face, shouting: “Even if you call the King of Heaven here today, it won’t help! You had your Grandfather Zheng running around everywhere, opening all sorts of receipts and documents. After the documents were opened, you turtle grandson didn’t acknowledge them, playing your Grandfather Zheng for a fool, is that it?”

As he was about to raise his hand to hit again, a stern shout came from far behind: “Who dares cause trouble at my father’s funeral?”

The crowd watching the commotion looked toward the sound and saw Wei Pinjin. They all voluntarily made way for him.

Zheng Hu had no pleasant expression for Wei Pinjin. Seeing it was him, he had no intention of putting down the man in his hands, saying: “The Prince Consort is mistaken. This subordinate is executing military duties, not causing trouble.”

Seeing Wei Pinjin, the man reacted as if seeing his savior, immediately calling out with a bruised and swollen face: “Young Lord, save me! Young Lord, save me!”

Wei Pinjin glanced coldly at the man. After the other closed his mouth, he said grimly: “Today, those who came to my Wei manor to pay respects to my late father are all guests of my Wei manor. This person is just a commoner, yet you humiliate him so, and still have the audacity to claim it’s for military duties? Is this how your Lord usually teaches you to abuse your power and oppress the common people?”

After saying this, he raised his chin toward the armored soldiers behind him: “Why haven’t you arrested this person who tarnishes the reputation of my Wei army!”