Chapter 1 A Child Demands a Room

The shopkeeper looked at the silver card, glancing at the number on it. It was unmistakably a VIP card, number one, from the Ru Home Inn chain. The shopkeeper eyed the child suspiciously, then looked at the adults behind him who were clearly with the child, watching with interest and not offering any opinions. Then there were the other two children sitting on top of the sturdy, understated carriage, swinging their soft little legs. The shopkeeper frowned, asking politely, "Young master, could you have one of your elders speak for you?"

Ye Wenxuan cleared his throat and said, "I'm in charge here. Shopkeeper, do you have any rooms?"

"With this card, getting a room is naturally no problem. We have rooms specifically reserved for VIPs." The shopkeeper thought that since this fellow was clearly a young master from a family with connections, there was no need to dwell on whether an adult should speak for him. In any case, the VIP card could be traced back to its owner, so there was no need to worry about someone skipping out on the bill. "Young master, please wait a moment. I'll have a waiter take you to the Tianzi (Top Tier) courtyard."

Unexpectedly, Ye Wenxuan shook his head and said, "I don't want the Tianzi courtyard. There are only a few of us, what would we do with such a big courtyard? Just give me... five ordinary rooms."

Ordinary rooms? The shopkeeper was stunned. No one with a VIP card had ever asked to stay in ordinary rooms at Ru Home Inn. The shopkeeper looked at Ye Wenxuan with even more suspicion, saying, "Where did you get this card?"

Ye Wenxuan wasn't stumped by the question. He snorted and said with a slightly dissatisfied tone, "Do you think someone who's been issued VIP card number one would have their card stolen or robbed? If you have rooms, arrange them for me. Otherwise... I'll file a complaint."

The shopkeeper was amused and said, "Alright, alright, that makes sense. I'll take care of it right away. There are a lot of travelers coming and going right now, so the rooms are a bit tight. Young master, please wait a moment, I'll go arrange it."

The shopkeeper bowed slightly, turned around, and returned to the inner room. He passed through a corridor and knocked on a door. After receiving permission from the people inside, the shopkeeper entered the room and reported, "Boss, gentlemen, there's a child outside with VIP card number one who wants to book five rooms."

Around the table in the room, enjoying tea and pastries, were none other than Du Fengchi, the owner of the Ru Home Inn chain, Chi Lei, the commander of the Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies, and, to everyone's surprise, Ye Tao and Dai Qiuyan, who no one expected to be here.

"Number one?" Ye Tao chuckled. Although he had never used the VIP card himself, that didn't mean he didn't remember his privileges. "Who could it be?"

Du Fengchi smiled, stood up, and walked to the wall, lifting a painting to reveal a long, reflective mirror that allowed him to see the front desk directly. "It's your eldest, oh my, it looks like your second and your daughter are here too. This is going to be lively."

Ye Tao and Dai Qiuyan exchanged a smile. Although Dai Qiuyan hadn't seen Ye Wenyun for a while either, she wasn't worried. When these three older children were together, they always created a lot of unexpected situations and brought everyone a lot of fun. And now, without Tan Weishi accompanying them, these three little ones had actually managed to run all the way to Ningyuan. Tan Weishi had clearly given them permission to make their own decisions for a while. And in Yunzhou, they really weren't worried about anything happening.

"Let them be, should we follow them secretly, or simply go around to the front?" Ye Tao asked Dai Qiuyan with a smile, "It'll be interesting to see what these three little ones are planning to do, don't you think?"

Dai Qiuyan smiled, still as gentle as ever. She said with a smile, "Then we need to tell the guards first, otherwise they'll definitely give us away. ...It should be Guan Huan who came, right?"

Du Fengchi added, "Yes, and Zhe Luo. Such a fun thing, let me go, I'll go and say hello to Guan Huan."

Chi Lei had been smiling faintly the whole time, and finally said with a smile, "Ye Tao, your children are really capable of stirring things up. ...This time, they're probably going to Benlang Plain to see the hunt. I wonder if there will be any danger. Heaven knows what will happen."

After years of experience, although Chi Lei's position hadn't changed in the slightest, he was no longer the playful young general he once was, but a reliable and important minister. Among the cavalry under the jurisdiction of the Beijiang Pacification Office, besides the standard-equipped cavalry like the Iron Cloud Riders, Jingyun Riders, and the Guard Cavalry, were Chi Lei's scout cavalry. And due to the development of scout cavalry over the years, many operations of moderate intensity were carried out independently by scout cavalry, and the scout cavalry was renamed light cavalry. With the exception of a small number of increasingly specialized scout units, the Frost Wolf Army was now mainly stationed in Yunzhou, while the Silver Wing Army was stationed in Zhenzhou, forming a rapid reaction force that could be deployed at any time. The Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies had thus become another main force in Yunzhou. At least in terms of capability, that was the case. But no matter which general it was, they probably wouldn't be willing to send the light cavalry to a meat grinder-like battlefield. Chi Lei had made a special trip to Ganduo this time, and was accompanying Ye Tao to Benlang Plain, for a very important matter. After several years of development, the tribes on Benlang Plain had risen to a new level in terms of strength and ambition. They were dealing with the annual harassment from the northern tribes more and more easily, and were becoming increasingly impatient. The tribal leaders of Yunzhou, led by Gellan, were preparing to take advantage of this rare hunting opportunity to actively advance on the northern tribes, and expand their power to... to the point where they would have to directly face the sand bandits.

The northern tribes were no longer the monolithic entity they had been years ago. After the Kolka tribe was heavily attacked by the tribes on Benlang Plain for so many years, it no longer had the strength to lead the northern tribal groups. Many northern tribes had already leaned towards Benlang Plain because of trade and the need for daily necessities, and this time, they would also play an "active" role. In fact, the suggestion to solve the grassland problem in one fell swoop was proposed by several northern tribal leaders. And their sincerity was beyond doubt. The representatives sent by these tribal leaders were of high enough rank, and the gifts they sent were generous enough that Gellan was a little embarrassed to accept the gifts from these tribes who were much poorer than them, worried that they wouldn't have enough food left after giving away these gifts... And the hostages they sent, both in terms of rank and quantity, were enough to reassure everyone. There were even several princesses and princes whose veins flowed with the blood of the great Hansa Khan, who once unified the grasslands. Among them, a six-year-old princess was specifically sent to Ye Wenxuan to be Ye Wenxuan's "slave girl." Such sincerity was not often seen. Faced with this sincerity and determination, Gellan was moved, and Tan Weiran was moved. After careful communication and reconnaissance, even Chi Lei, now a typical information theorist, was moved. But they needed Ye Tao to make the final decision. No one but Ye Tao was qualified to make such a decision.

"Since Xuan'er is so eager to run to Benlang Plain, at least I have to agree to the slave girl they're sending him. This should be fun, right? Looking at the portrait sent by the northern tribes, she's a very cute little loli right now. And she's a typical beauty in the making, she'll definitely be a beauty who can bring disaster to the country and the people in the future. Hehe, so much fun." Ye Tao said lightheartedly.

Hearing Ye Tao's words, Chi Lei understood Ye Tao's attitude a little. Ye Tao clearly didn't reject some cooperation with the northern tribes to completely solve the grassland problem. Of course, even if only to avoid a falling out, Ye Tao had to accept the gifts from the northern tribes to appease them. Chi Lei said with a smile, "Your son won't treat that little loli as a slave girl. If she's really a pretty child, she'll probably be raised as a second daughter in your house, right?"

Ye Tao didn't deny it. He said with a smile, "Am I really going to order a little girl around?"

The term "loli" was also introduced into Yunzhou's vocabulary system by Ye Tao unknowingly. "Luo" described the immature appearance of a little girl; "Li" referred to natural beauty, as delicate as jasmine... Anyway, that's how everyone understood and explained it. The term "loli" spread from the study in Ye Family Fort to the mouths of many officials in the Yunzhou governance institutions, used to refer to pretty and cute little girls. The whole process took less than two months.

"Chi Lei, I know you like fighting and you're confident in winning this battle. But the difficulties of the current operation are also clear. If we can fight cleanly and thoroughly, once and for all; how to fight quickly and ruthlessly, so that the sand bandit gangs have no chance to take advantage of the situation and become a new disaster; and how to maintain the line after the battle, so that the sand bandits will be unable to move south in the future. If you have these things in mind, then I can confirm that you will command this battle. Although we probably won't be able to spare too much military strength to conquer the northern grasslands this time, with the two armies under your command, plus a Jingyun Rider unit, and letting you command the allied forces of the tribes on Benlang Plain, the military strength is enough no matter what. ...Or, should I temporarily lend you the Guard Cavalry Battalion?" Ye Tao said with a smile.

Chi Lei shrugged. He naturally had no problem commanding this battle. Tan Weiran and Gellan had both promised him this, saying that they would definitely let him coordinate it. Chi Lei wasn't dissatisfied with his current military rank, wanting to be promoted. At his current age and with his current qualifications, he could confidently sit as the commander of the Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies, becoming the controller of the world's number one scout force, which was already something to be proud of. But his friends in Yunzhou were still not satisfied. Young generals like Chi Lei would be responsible for the great war to unify the world in the future. Chi Lei's specialization in light cavalry couldn't guarantee that he could obtain the qualifications to independently command a large army, especially since he was only responsible for reconnaissance and small-scale annihilation of the enemy, it would be difficult to gain the trust of Tan Xiaopei and others, and let him take charge on his own, and bear the responsibility of capturing cities and territories. Only by proving himself through this kind of battle command could he do it. Chi Yun, Chi Lei, Xue Yuan, Xu Yao, etc., were all outstanding young generals in Dongping now, and none of them wanted to lose to the others. Even towards his own brother, Chi Lei wasn't necessarily convinced.

Chi Lei frowned, thought for a moment, and said something that Ye Tao and the others didn't expect: "I don't want your Guard Cavalry Battalion. I want those few supply battalions in Suo Zheng's hands. To defend against the sand bandits, we'll have to rely on them."