Two days later, all troops stationed outside the city had moved back into the city, and the numbers of the dead and the injured had been established, and all the clean-up work had been finished, so Yuwen Tong gave the order to hold a celebratory banquet on this night.

Ling Zhang, who had recovered from his injury already, also attended the banquet.

“When are you going back to the capital city?” Ling Zhang inquired of Yuwen Tong after the banquet.

Having drunk a lot of liquor at the banquet, Yuwen Tong was tipsy and fondling the back side of Ling Zhang’s neck. He buried his face in Ling Zhang’s neck, sniffed deeply and then replied in a low, deep voice, “I’ll return in two days.”

What with this act of his, Ling Zhang’s waist went somewhat limp, but he still had his sense of perspective. “What about the peace talk? Whom will you put in charge of that before leaving?”

“Jiang Xi and Jiang Ke will be in charge of it temporarily. I’ve already written him a letter, telling him to come here. This won’t be the last time that the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom launch an offensive on us. Sooner or later we’ll have to get rid of these troubles once and for all. The main purpose of the peace talk will be to buy our country a couple of years’ time to recover from the aftermath of the war. From the vantage point of the present, the Wan Kingdom won’t be able to wage another war on its own any time soon. As for the Luohai Kingdom, their troops were almost wiped out during this battle, so they wouldn’t dare make another move in the near future,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang pondered over these words for a few moments and then asked, “Are you saying that you’ll attack the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom in a few years?”

Yuwen Tong confided, “Which is why the next couple of years’ time is of great importance to us.”

Indeed, right now Yuwen Tong still had a long way to go to take the throne, and after his enthronement, there would be even more affairs he had to attend to. Presently, the situation in the Great Yue was fraught with hidden dangers which they had to adopt necessary measures to tackle, and it would take time. Also, the country needed time to recuperate and build up strength, which would take four or five years.

“But we need some envoys and the emperor’s seal to hold a peace talk. Right now the Great Yue doesn’t have an emperor, and the lack of imperial authorization will compromise our leverage at the peace talk,” observed Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong said, “Which is why we have to go back to the capital city as soon as possible. We don’t have any time to waste. Jiang Xi and Jiang Ke will stall the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom to buy us some time.”

…

“How are you feeling?” After sex, Yuwen Tong pulled a thin quilt over to cover Ling Zhang with it.

Ling Zhang’s hair was wet with sweat, some of which was sticking to his brow. There was a pink flush all over his face, and even his neck and ears were red. He felt lazy and limp and didn’t want to move an inch. When Yuwen Tong put the thin quilt over him, he wanted it removed and said with the air of a spoiled child in spite of himself, “I feel hot. Take it away.”

While saying this, he raised his arm to remove the quilt. Resigned, Yuwen Tong had no choice but to roll over, get out of bed stark naked, walk to a long-legged wooden towel holder in the corner, take the towel off and then return to the bed to wipe the sweat off Ling Zhang’s body, his hands caressing Ling Zhang, longing appearing in his eyes again.

Ling Zhang’s white skin had become ruddy and was now covered in sweat, bearing quite some marks caused by the vigorous sex the two of them had just had…

“Stop it.” Ling Zhang’s voice was a little hoarse, his breathing still uneven, which naturally made him sound like a pampered kid. Yuwen Tong’s warm palms sliding on his body made him quiver involuntarily, and the intense pleasure he had just had seemed to be quickly coming back, but they had just finished a long sex and if they did it again, he felt that his waist bones would break.

Yuwen Tong toweled him dry, tossed the towel aside and reached out a hand to roll him over. “Let me take a look.”

Ling Zhang instantly grabbed his hand, his breath coming in short gasps. “No. What are you doing? Stop it. I’m fine. Go and have them prepare some water. I want to have a bath.”

Yuwen Tong’s hand paused and then moved to Ling Zhang’s upper Dantian. “What about here? How does it feel?”

Ling Zhang replied, “Nothing unusual. I’ve been recovering well during the past couple of days. My internal energy has been partially restored and the discomfort in my Dantian has some time ago disappeared. The pill you gave me has almost been absorbed completely, and I feel that I’ve been regaining my internal energy at a rapid pace.”

“I see,” Yuwen Tong said in a deep voice and stroked his Dantian for quite a while before reluctantly withdrawing his hand. “Pull the quilt back onto your belly. I’ll go and have them get the water ready.”

“Um,” Ling Zhang distantly answered, casually pulled up the quilt to cover only a small part of his abdomen and stretched his muscles with some small body movements. His waist and back were somewhat sore. His crotch was okay, except for the still distinct sensation of something being stuck in there. On top of that…

Ling Zhang blushed and paused, the expression on his face quite awkward, particularly so when that thing started flowing more quickly after he made those movements.

After a while, Yuwen Tong had some warm water delivered to the tent. It was after the two of them finished their baths that Ling Zhang felt comfortable and his face softened.

“Your father also drank quite some liquor tonight and probably won’t get up as early as usual tomorrow morning. I’ve enjoined Xie Shi to keep an eye on your father and examine him immediately if he feels any discomfort,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “The journey back to the capital city will be yet another ordeal for him. I’m worried that he might be tired out, so I want to let him travel slow and have some men protect him.”

Yuwen Tong gave it some thought and said, “Okay.”

…

At noon the next day, Ling Zhaowu had lunch with Ling Zhang and some others.

“Father, I want Brother Donglin to have five of his men stay and protect you. Do you think it’s okay? Apart from them, some of Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards will be with you as well. You may travel slowly. There’s no need for you to hurry. Yuwen Tong and I will return to the capital city first.” Ling Zhang told Ling Zhaowu about his suggestion.

Ling Zhaowu flicked a glance at him and Yuwen Tong and then responded, “Okay. My physical condition is still not good enough, so maybe it’s better if I go slowly.”

In the two days since he had made arrangements for the journey back to the capital city, Yuwen Tong was fully occupied and Ling Zhang didn’t see him once.

On the third day, Yuwen Tong returned early in the morning. Ling Zhang had had their baggage ready.

“All necessary arrangements have been made. We may get going now,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang bobbed his head and then bade farewell to Jiang Xi, Shao Feng and Jiang Ke who had just hurried over from the border city in Shengzhou.

“Childe Ling, we’ll go back to the capital city to attend your and the Marshal’s wedding after we get everything handled here,” said Jiang Xi.

At the mention of the wedding, Jiang Ke’s and Shao Feng’s interest was also piqued, as though they also had been meaning to go to the capital city to attend Ling Zhang’s and Yuwen Tong’s wedding.

Naturally, Ling Zhang was glad to hear that they would make it back to the capital city in time.

“You will have your chances,” said Yuwen Tong.

Jiang Xi exchanged meaningful looks with the other two and then said to Yuwen Tong, “Marshal, are you sure you don’t want any of us to go back to the capital city with you?”

Yuwen Tong said, “That won’t be necessary. I’ve had Qi San secretly draft the Shadow Battalion back to the capital city.”

Jiang Xi’s eyes lit up. “It turns out Lao Qi has gone back.”

Shao Feng said, “Marshal, we’ll make arrangements for some men to covertly keep watch on the road connecting the capital city and Youzhou, just in case.”

Yuwen Tong gave a bob of the head. “You’ll have to deal with the Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s envoys for some time. Make sure you stall them long enough for the envoy from the capital city to arrive.”

Shao Feng and the other two chorused, “We will, Marshal.”

The matters in the capital city brooked no delay, and Yuwen Tong had made detailed arrangements for all affairs in this city, so after bidding them farewell, he and Ling Zhang each mounted a fast horse and galloped out of the border city.

…

Although they traveled very fast, it still took them several days to reach the capital city. People in the capital city had received the message when the two of them approached the city.

‘Thank God, they’re back,’ a lot of people in the capital city thought relievedly.

The current situation in the capital city was really quite peculiar. The Right Prime Minister and some others feared very much that Yuwen Tong might not be able to bring the war to an end until half a year or even a solid year later, and in that case, things in this city would definitely change in unforeseen ways sooner or later.

Fortunately, Yuwen Tong had resolved the crisis in the north-west very soon. As long as Yuwen Tong returned to the capital city, everything would be settled.

…

The Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom had been defeated. The King Ming’en of the Wan Kingdom and Dong Gao, general-in-chief of the Luohai Kingdom’s army, were both dead, the allied forces of the two countries almost wiped out. News of this caused great sensation when it spread back to the two countries.

“I heard that the Great Yue still hasn’t selected a new emperor yet, and the whole country is literally under Yuwen Tong’s sole dominion. Once Yuwen Tong is crowned Emperor of the Great Yue, all our lives will be in danger.”

The emperor of the Wan Kingdom summoned his trusted courtiers to have a meeting, all of whom had worried faces, mainly because Shan Congwen, the King Ming’en, had died by Yuwen Tong’s knife.

“But we are not capable of waging another war. Our country was never as rich as the Great Yue. After several years of war and the many defeats Yuwen Tong inflicted on us in succession, our people cannot afford to take another blow. Currently, our first priority is to let the troops rest and the economy to recover. It’s inadvisable for us to cross swords with another country.”

“I agree. Although the Luohai Kingdom suffered heavy casualties, they’re clearly in better battle-readiness than us. If by any chance the Luohai Kingdom change their standing and turn on us, we’ll be put in a very disadvantageous position. We should start to build up strength immediately to regain our abilities to defend against attack first and then consider other matters.”

“Yes. I’ll second that.”

The emperor of the Wan Kingdom looked rather sulky. He also knew that he couldn’t wage another war, but why were all these people trying to dissuade him when he hadn’t said anything yet? Were they trying to shift the blame for the failure of this concerted military operation with the Luohai Kingdom? Previously these people had all been quite enthusiastic when they proposed cooperating with the Luohai Kingdom to launch an offensive on the Great Yue.

“I called you here to discuss the peace talk with the Great Yue.”

“Well…”

“Sire, may I ask what terms the Luohai Kingdom is going to offer? Should we consult with them first? Although we lost the war, we cannot let the Great Yue look down upon us. What if they claim huge amounts of compensation like they did the last time? If we talk with the Luohai Kingdom beforehand and join hands to bargain with the Great Yue over the peace terms, we’ll be at an advantage.”

The emperor’s face went even colder. Even if he was capable of getting information about the Luohai Kingdom’s terms, it would take more time!

“The way I see it, we might as well make an excuse to delay the peace talk, so that we can consult with the Luohai Kingdom before departure.”

“Good idea.”

The emperor was consumed with anger, but he didn’t really have a choice, so eventually he took the advice and had someone write a secret letter to the emperor of the Luohai Kingdom.

The emperor of the Luohai Kingdom, after reading the secret letter from his counterpart of the Wan Kingdom, gave several sneers. “The Wan Kingdom has ended up like this, yet he still thinks he’s on equal terms with me. What a whimsical fool.”

“What kind of reply do you think we should make to this letter, sire?” asked a courtier of the Luohai Kingdom.

“A perfunctory one. If we are not to get the worst of it during the peace talk with the Great Yue, we’ll have to make sure the Wan Kingdom gets it,” said the emperor of the Luohai Kingdom.

When the emperor of the Luohai Kingdom was writing a letter back to his counterpart of the Wan Kingdom fencing with him, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had returned to the capital city. The Right Prime Minister immediately paid them a visit.

“Finally, you’re back, Marshal!” said the Right Prime Minister, looking on the verge of tears.