"Dad...?!" Qin Huaiqiu suddenly felt a bit flustered. He never expected Qin Feng to come suddenly. Moreover, he had been scolded by Qin Feng since childhood. Although he always acted arrogantly in the army, in fact, he was most afraid of his father.
"Wasn't my father in Yutian?" Qin Huaiqiu swallowed hard and unconsciously took a step back.
Yes, he was a bit scared.
Especially after he married into the palace on behalf of Qin Huailian and had that kind of relationship with the emperor. Although he and Qin Lan would definitely not tell Qin Feng about this, he still felt guilty...
"The master said that he heard the young master had won a great victory and came back specially. So..." Before Qin Lan could finish, there suddenly came muffled footsteps outside the tent.
Qin Huaiqiu in the room trembled all over.
The moment cold sweat broke out on his forehead, a low and hoarse voice suddenly came from outside the tent -
"Qin Lan, are you tipping off that brat again?"
Qin Lan was also startled. He quickly turned around, bowed towards the door and said, "This subordinate didn't! This subordinate wouldn't dare!"
"Creak -"
The door was pushed open again. An old man with graying temples and a white beard reaching down to his chest walked in. To be more accurate, although he was an old man, there was no sign of decrepitude in his stately bearing. Instead, he exuded an invisible sense of deterrence. It was the aura of a hegemon born from years on the battlefield. This kind of demeanor and bearing made even the Qin family members who were used to seeing Qin Feng feel in awe. Not to mention Wan Chengyan and Feng Zuo who were seeing Qin Feng for the first time. Wan Chengyan was okay, but the moment Feng Zuo saw Qin Feng, his legs went weak and he almost knelt down in full prostration.
Qin Feng gave a cold look at the new faces in the room. His beard twitched and he snorted, asking, "Who are you?"
"This subordinate is Wan Chengyan. Seeing the general's imposing manner for the first time really makes this subordinate admire." Wan Chengyan clasped his fists in a proper manner and praised.
Feng Zuo trembled all over. He clasped his fists in a flurry and said, "This subordinate, this subordinate is Feng Zuo. I'm from the capital. I'm a second lieutenant. There are five people in my family. I joined the army when I was young. I followed General Wu Qiuyang on a northern expedition against the Xiongnu. I served as a palace guard and also served as... Mmmmmm!"
Wan Chengyan quickly covered Feng Zuo's mouth, pressed his head down and bowed to Qin Feng, saying, "Er... General Qin, Feng Zuo is just a bit over - excited to see you. Please ignore him and don't take it to heart..."
Qin Feng glanced at them and didn't care. Then he opened his weather - beaten but still bright eyes, scanned everyone present, walked to Qin Huaiqiu's side, patted his shoulder and said in a deep and warm voice, "Well done, son."
Qin Huaiqiu's body trembled violently. His nose felt a bit sour. He looked up at Qin Feng and said, "Dad..."
Qin Feng looked up at the others and asked, "Are you doing a battle review?"
Everyone nodded in unison and replied, "Yes."
Qin Feng asked again, "Any progress?"
Qin Huaiqiu quickly and deftly served tea to Qin Feng and then told him all the things they had analyzed just now. When it came to Qin Huailian, Qin Huaiqiu's emotions became a bit unstable, but Qin Feng always kept a straight face and showed no strong emotional changes. Only when he heard that Lian'er might be taken as a hostage did his eyes suddenly flash, but he quickly covered it up imperceptibly.
After Qin Huaiqiu finished his report, he stood beside Qin Feng, with his head down, silent, waiting for Qin Feng's instructions.
He thought he would get suggestions from Qin Feng or be directly pointed out where he did something wrong, but Qin Feng just gave a soft "hmm", then said, "You've done a good job. Now you've been appointed by the emperor as the general in this battle against the coalition forces of Loulan and the Xiongnu. You should believe in yourself more. No matter what decisions you make, whether you're going to attack or defend, at any time, you should know one thing, that is, the lives of the 200,000 troops of the Protectorate General's Office, 200,000 brothers, are in your hands. Any of your decisions may be a mistake, and this mistake will cause them to lose their lives in vain and countless families to fall apart. What you have to do is to ensure zero mistakes in the decisions you make. Do you understand?"
Qin Huaiqiu bit his lower lip tightly. Qin Feng's words made him suddenly feel that he had grown up. When he was young, he wanted to share the responsibilities of the Qin Mansion with his father and wanted to shoulder a part of the sky for the Qin family. Now, this man who had shouldered all the responsibilities of the Qin family stood in front of him, in front of his subordinates, and said such words to him.
The joy of being trusted and recognized, along with the tension and anxiety brought by the pressure, made Qin Huaiqiu tremble all over. He looked up at Qin Feng, with a determination and persistence that he had never had before in his eyes. He slowly raised his hand, knelt on one knee in front of Qin Feng and said loudly, "Father, your son hereby swears to protect the territory of the Great Sheng. I will never let the blood of the soldiers in the army flow in vain! Father, please believe in Qiu'er. Accept Qiu'er's bow."
Qin Huaiqiu bowed three times to Qin Feng in front of his subordinates, piously and solemnly.
"Good." Qin Feng bent down to help Qin Huaiqiu up. A knowing smile slowly appeared on his old but firm lips.
The purpose of his coming here was not only to see Qin Huaiqiu, but more importantly, he needed to smoothly and naturally transfer the military power to Qin Huaiqiu. Although he couldn't do it in front of all the troops, at least, he had to give his son enough trust and power in front of his most trusted subordinates. Only in this way could Qin Huaiqiu not be timid when leading the army in the future, and only in this way could Qin Huaiqiu's military operations be more stable and flexible.
Everyone in the room witnessed this scene. They glanced at each other, then knelt down one by one behind Qin Huaiqiu and saluted Qin Huaiqiu with the etiquette for a great general.
"This subordinate will follow Young General Qin to the death!"
Qin Huaiqiu trembled all over. He turned around and looked at the people kneeling behind him. His heart was filled with mixed emotions. His lips trembled for a long time before he found his voice and said, "Good! My beloved generals, get up quickly!"
Qin Feng stood behind Qin Huaiqiu. He stroked his long beard and his eyes were a bit complicated.
"If there's nothing else, you can go and do things according to the young general's arrangement." Qin Feng found a seat and sat down, waved his hand at them and said, "I have some important matters to talk to my son."
"Yes." Nie Rong took the lead to respond and led everyone out. He kindly closed the door.
Qin Huaiqiu felt grateful. When everyone had left, he let out a long breath, ran to sit beside Qin Feng and said a bit clumsily, "Dad."
"Hmm?" Qin Feng's voice was muffled.
Qin Huaiqiu lowered his head, scratched his head and said a bit shyly, "Thank you, Dad."
"Hmm."
Qin Huaiqiu pursed his lips. The joy in his heart never faded.
Qin Feng looked at his son whose mouth was still upturned happily. He put down the teacup in his hand and said seriously, "Qiu'er, Dad wants to ask you something."
Qin Huaiqiu nodded obediently and said, "Dad, please ask."
Qin Feng's face suddenly became strange.
He looked at Qin Huaiqiu. He hesitated for a long time but still asked, "What's the matter between you and the emperor?"
"Click!" Qin Huaiqiu was petrified.