Chapter 26 - The Attack

On the fifth day, Wu Ning made Zhiming Sili boiled cabbage.

When Zhiming Sili saw the boiled cabbage on the table, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. 

"Emperor, if you don't have any ingredients left, why don't you give us another serving of the hotpot we had before? What's so good about this cabbage that looks so thin and watery?"

During this period of time, Zhiming Sili was so used to the food Wu Ning fed him that he would not accept anything that was not spicy.

Wu Ning did not say anything and merely motioned for Zhiming Sili to taste it.

Zhiming Sili picked up a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth to taste. He chewed it twice, but after a while, his eyes widened.

He had never expected that a piece of cabbage could be made so delicious.

Zhiming Sili was shocked. "Emperor, I didn't expect that a piece of cabbage from your country to be so tasty."

Wu Ning picked up a leaf of the cabbage and tasted it. He closed his eyes and felt the crispness and fragrance of the cabbage through his tongue.

When Wu Ning opened his eyes again, there was nothing left on the plate. Zhiming Sili consumed it all and could be seen licking his plate.

When Zhiming Sili saw Wu Ning open his eyes, he awkwardly put down his plate.

Wu Ning shook his head and smiled. He then ordered his men to serve more dishes and the two of them ate and joked as usual.

On the fifth day, Wenchang chicken, roasted suckling pig, and Yannan roasted duck were served.

On the sixth day, three-cup chicken, lotus blood duck, and dried meat stir-fried with wormwood were served.

On the seventh day, when Zhiming Sili came, it was obvious that he had put on weight. Wu Ning had no doubt he would become obese if Zhiming Sili didn't control his diet.

Today, Wu Ning did not prepare any dishes. Instead, he told Zhiming Sili, "We will attack tomorrow. Return and prepare your troops."

Zhiming Sili sat there in a daze. He had not expected Wu Ning to be so forthright with him.

These days, although he would come to eat every day, he was always on alert, in case Wu Ning thought of playing any tricks. However, he did not expect to receive the news in such frank fashion.

He even told him to prepare early. Zhiming Sili was silent for a while. Without saying anything, he returned.

No matter how much he and Wu Ning got along, he knew what was more important when national interest was involved.

Now, he had to go back and prepare his troops, awaiting Wu Ning's attack tomorrow. He did make a promise to the Khan that he'd return in victory.

After he returned, Wu Ning ordered his men to remove the tea pavilion. The show was almost done, with the last act remaining for tomorrow.

At night, Zhiming Sili lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. If Wu Ning were defeated tomorrow, he had to escort Wu Ning to the Turkish capital and await the Khan's orders.

The Khan would very likely give the order to kill Wu Ning. He did not want Wu Ning to die. These days, he found that although Wu Ning was a quiet man, he was very sincere. Even if a soldier accidentally tripped and dropped a whole plate of food on him, he would instead comfort the soldier and tell him to watch out the next time. Otherwise, the other generals would punish him.

Even if there were times when he felt that Wu Ning's personality was too gentle, it did not prevent him from liking Wu Ning and the dishes that he cooked. Yes, especially the dishes that he cooked.

Zhiming was still thinking about what to do if Wu Ning lost the battle. Worst come to worst, he would plead for mercy for him. Wu Ning had to live, no matter what.

Or he could take Wu Ning home as his slave. Of course, it was just for show. He only wanted the defeated emperor to cook for him.

Even if the Khan had his doubts, he had to save Wu Ning. After making up his mind, Zhiming Sili turned around and fell asleep.

On the other side, Wu Ning was still awake. They were going to attack the Turks the next day. After spending a few days with his opponent, Wu Ning discovered that Zhiming Sili wasn't as intelligent as he once thought. In fact, he seemed a little too naive.

Wu Ning wanted him to surrender and perhaps he could award Zhiming with the title of a general. If he refused, however, he would kill without hesitation.

People that had no value were his enemies; a principle Wu Ning held firm.

Even though he was the emperor now, he would not follow his own wishes blindly. Hundreds of thousands of lives were at stake, too much for him to tread lightly.

The next day, Wu Ning led his army, officially attacking the Turks. One hundred thousand troops arrived at the city gate, and all the soldiers were ready to sacrifice themselves for their country.

When Wu Ning gave the order, his army began attacking the city as countless fireballs were catapulted into the capital.

The city began retaliating with fire arrows. Slowly, the arrows lit up the sky.

Wu Ning had a plan. He ordered his troops to pull up their shields so that the arrows could not hit them. All the soldiers held their shields above their heads and began to advance in an orderly manner.

There were catapults working where the arrows could not reach. Once the troop arrived at the gate, the catapults would start smashing through the gate.

Here, Wu Ning did not use the ladder that was necessary to attack the city gate. It was too risky to use one. Even if more than a dozen people climbed up, they would be killed in an instant.

Wu Ning also followed the shield formation to the city gate. Looking at the tall city gate before him, Wu Ning's hands were full of spiritual power. His cultivation base was built up step by step by himself through tribulation cultivation. He was different from the other practitioners who used drugs instead.

Wu Ning continued to condense the spiritual power in his hands. When the spiritual power was condensed to the limit, Wu Ning hit the city gate.

The moment his hands touched the city gate, the spiritual power exploded, and the power of the explosion spread to the entire gate. In an instant, it was shattered into pieces.

His army swarmed the city. However, they did not kill wantonly. Instead, they merely looted.

After looting the city, they retreated. This confused Zhiming Sili very much. What was Wu Ning doing? The city had been breached, and the city gate had been blown to smithereens. Why didn't he enter the main city? Zhiming Sili thought for a long time but could not figure it out, in the end, he could only order repairs to be made.

Wu Ning withdrew his troops and returned to his base. When he saw the smiles on the soldiers' faces, he knew that it was a fruitful outing.

Wu Ning waved his hand. There was no need to hand in the things they looted this time. They were allowed to keep them. Everyone cheered and shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"

Wu Ning let the celebrations be while he returned to his tent. Wu Ning had something up his sleeves, that's why he didn't order any killings.