After Chen Dingye led the army to withdraw from Zhenbei City, he stationed and guarded a small city a hundred miles away. When Li Guanyi learned of this, he was neither surprised nor hesitant, nor did he rush over.

He was no longer someone easily swayed by outside events.

He continued to issue orders to handle the various aftermath matters of the Turkic grasslands.

He ensured that the vast grasslands would not face any new problems after his departure and laid Chen Tianqi to rest beside the Breaking Enemy Stele with sufficient ceremonial rites, erecting a new stele.

The stele was inscribed with characters of the Central Plains.

It read: "In the eighteenth year of the Divine Revelation, Prince Qin broke formation and campaigned against the Turks here."

Li Guanyi, wearing armor, extended his palm, pressed it against the stele, his hand passing over the rough blue stone, gazing at the inscriptions. There would be no more wars here; the material and craftsmanship of this stele.

Perhaps a thousand years from now, descendants on horseback might come here and still see this stele, seeing the traces recorded by them a thousand years ago, knowing the achievements and courage of a millennia past.

A sense of historical reflection stirs emotions, uniting hearts as one.

Li Guanyi placed Chen Tianqi’s battle spear here, allowing the long wind of the grassland to blow past, cutting across the spear shaft.

Li Guanyi looked at the grassland and the distant sky, turned around, and said with liberating spirit:

"Let’s go!"

Yue Qianfeng and Chen Wenmian silently retracted their gaze, turned to see Prince Qin riding the Divine Steed, departing calmly, and each pulled their reins, uttered a "Drive," and urged their mounts to follow Prince Qin, followed by thousands of troops and horses.

The sound of hooves thundered, yet it carried a sense of heroic grandeur.

The Turks, enemies of the Central Plains who treat the saddle as their fields and swords as their plows, with this event as the representation, completely withdrew from the stage of history. However, the first generation of Turks stepping into the Central Plains still held some dissatisfaction.

But they were faced with renowned ministers and generals forged through battles and collisions in troubled times. After a generation, they all submitted to the Central Plains, and Li Guanyi and Chen Wenmian returned to the rear.

All along the journey, Chen Wenmian’s expression remained tense.

Chen Dingye only left with ten thousand troops. This act, rather than continuing to struggle, seemed more like courting death. They reached the rear and met generals Ye Zhongdao and Zhou Xianping.

It was already known through letters about what had transpired at the rear.

Zhou Xianping and Ye Zhongdao, with complex expressions, saluted Prince Qin who sat upright, looking at two letters on the desk, saying: "Two generals, having drunk the cup of poisoned wine, you should consider yourselves as having loyally died for Chen Country."

"The world’s great trend; prolonged union must divide, prolonged division must unite."

"After more than three hundred years of turbulent times, it should reunify, Chen Country is now past; please rest in Zhenbei City."

With complex expressions, the two generals saluted and then withdrew.

Mr. Po Jun saw their backs, looked at the letters on the table, and remarked: "Lord, these two letters, instead of being written by Chen Dingye to General Ye Zhongdao and General Zhou Xianping, seem to be intended for you."

Li Guanyi replied: "Mr. Po Jun’s insight is as sharp as ever."

Po Jun’s lips curled slightly.

He thought and said: "But, Lord, why didn’t you burn these two letters in front of the generals? After all, such secret letters are somewhat a stain on them, burning them could somewhat soothe their hearts."

Li Guanyi responded: "Burning these letters cannot soothe their hearts."

"These two generals, tempered in the chaos, their mental state as solid as iron. The so-called burning of letters is merely a gesture to win hearts. Although it has the effect of winning hearts, the name behind these generals would then remain unknown."

"In the end, it’s just self-interest, for the sake of shaping one’s own reputation."

"Future generations wouldn’t know they fought for the Central Plains nor understand their reluctance to create disturbances within the Qilin Army, nor their unwillingness to betray their old country, preferring to drink poison and die. A man’s steadfastness in troubled times ends here."

Prince Qin softly spoke: "For my so-called reputation as a sovereign, yet to destroy these two generals’ eternal reputation, this deal is indeed unwise. How could this be considered thinking for them?"

Po Jun paused, his lips curling into a smile, he looked at the king already taller than himself.

Yet, he still felt that he was the one who, in the dark, would rush into the Ghost Market to rescue those strangers.

He suddenly thought, eight hundred years ago, in that great battle determining the future course of the world.

The first generation Breaking Army would certainly envy him.

Prince Qin before him was almost the dream king of the first generation Breaking Army.

Benevolent, yet not weak; mighty, yet not bloodthirsty.

Po Jun’s lips curled.

Ha! Ha ha ha ha.

Well, well, the successive Breaking Army, you old men, did you have such a lord?!

Did you ever have such a lord!

No, right?! Of course not.

This is my lord.

Po Jun suddenly felt regretful.

Regret that General Xue used methods such as the secret realm of the Shaking Light to leave his shadow behind, too rare and indeed too difficult. Otherwise, I would wish successive Breaking Army could remain. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Then, I could show them my lord.

And watch their jealous, twisted expressions!