I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1020 Envoys from All Sides Arrive
Not long after, in the Bamiyan Valley.

The fierce battle has come to an end.

The Northern Governor showed little relief in front of the charred, blackened stand-in prince.

"The prince is dead?" Moroko asked coldly.

"He must be dead," the captain of the personal guards whispered.

"Should be? You're telling me 'should be'?? Is he dead or not?!" Moroko roared and kicked the kneeling captain of his personal guards over.

The captain of the personal guards crawled back tremblingly, his forehead touching the ground: "My lord, the charred corpse was indeed wearing the prince's armor, but... but the face was simply unrecognizable."

"What about the princess? Are there any female corpses here?"

No female corpse found

"Useless!" Moroko drew his sword, ready to strike, but was quickly stopped by his lieutenant.

"Governor, please calm down! We have searched the entire valley. Even if the prince managed to escape, he would only have a hundred or so defeated soldiers. The Queen has five thousand imperial guards at her disposal and controls the palace. He will not amount to anything."

"He's the Prince of Pop!"

The prince's past prestige still made him wary.

However, after letting out that low growl, Moroko sheathed his sword with a grim face, because there was something more important to do right now:

"Cut off his head and immediately report the victory to the Han army, telling them that Bo Diao has been killed!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Moroko's eyes:
"Also, inform Gao Fucheng to keep an eye on those Han Chinese and Parthian scum. The rest of you come with me to the capital first; I need to see the eldest prince ascend the throne."

"Isn't this inappropriate?"

The lieutenant whispered:
"His Majesty is currently only seriously ill, not yet deceased. If his condition improves, we can return to the capital without permission."

"Improving?"

Moroko snorted coldly, his face full of disappointment, and said, "Fool, destiny is on my side. His Majesty is terminally ill and will not recover!"

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant was startled and then came to his senses.

With his army entering the capital, and with the Queen and the eldest prince present, the king's chances of recovery are slim.

He quickly bowed his head and replied, "Your Excellency is wise! I will make the arrangements immediately."

“Very good.” Moroko nodded in satisfaction and then instructed, “Also, don’t forget the search. On the surface, the prince is dead, but the scouts and blockades must not be relaxed.”

"We've reached a critical juncture; we absolutely cannot allow him to cause trouble in the capital!"

"Understood, understood," the lieutenant nodded vigorously.

"Finally," Moroko said in a low voice, pressing his hand on his deputy's shoulder, "you need to be extra careful. The messenger you send to the Han army later must be particularly clever. If they ask about His Highness's whereabouts..."

"Don't worry, sir!" The lieutenant understood immediately. "We'll just insist that the head belongs to the prince, and that he and the princess committed suicide by burning themselves in the chaos of battle."

"Okay, get on it quickly, don't keep our allies waiting."

Several days later, with only two days remaining until the ten-day deadline set by Su Yao, the messengers finally arrived hastily in Kapisa City.

"Report! The envoy of the Governor-General of the North requests an audience!"

The messenger's voice rang out outside the hall. Su Yao put down the map in his hand and looked up at Guo Jia: "You've arrived quite quickly." Guo Jia lightly waved his feather fan: "It seems that this governor has already succeeded."

Soon, a weary messenger was led into the main hall. After bowing respectfully, he presented an exquisite sandalwood box: "Reporting to Your Excellency, my governor has executed the traitor Bo Diao and has ordered me to present his head!"

Su Yao gestured for the servant to take the box, and upon opening it, he found a fine head inside.

However, even though the head had undergone simple treatment, the marks of being burned by fire were still very obvious.
"Is this the Wang Zibo style?"

Su Yao summoned Sadhguru, a surrendered general familiar with the prince, who, after examining the document, could only frown deeply:
"The faces are completely unrecognizable; it's really hard to identify them just by looking at the heads."

The envoy quickly explained, "Your Excellency is wise. Prince Bo Diao died by self-immolation after his defeat, and this is indeed his head. My governor specially ordered people to rescue it from the fire as a sign of sincerity."

Su Yao narrowed his eyes, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest: "Oh? Died by self-immolation? What about his sister, Princess Samira?"

The messenger's forehead was beaded with cold sweat: "The princess... the princess refused to be captured and humiliated, and perished along with them."

Su Yao sighed and said, "What a pity, such a beautiful woman has such a short life."

The envoy smiled obsequiously, about to speak, when Su Yao said again, "But is it really such a coincidence?"

Su Yao chuckled and asked, "For something this important, I doubt you're just going to bring some random dead body here to fool us, are you?"

Upon hearing this, the messenger's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly knelt down: "Your Excellency, please understand! Even if I had the greatest courage in the world, I would not dare to deceive the gods! This is indeed Bo Diao's head!"

Guo Jia, standing to the side, gently waved his feather fan and said, "Your Highness, since the Governor has fulfilled his promise, we might as well accept this 'gift'." He emphasized the word "gift" in particular.

Su Yao understood and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, the envoy has come from afar and must be tired. Go and rest first."

After the envoy left, Su Yao immediately summoned his trusted confidants to discuss the matter.

"This head is completely disfigured; it's probably a fake," Zhang Fei exclaimed first. "I, Old Zhang, saw that the messenger's eyes were shifty; he's definitely lying!"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and pondered, "If Bo Diao is not dead, he will surely find a way to return to the capital and seize the throne. What should we do now?"

“At least one thing is clear to us,” Guo Jia said, a glint in his eyes. “After this incident, the Governor-General of the North and Prince Bo Diao are now irreconcilable enemies. In that case, why don’t we go with the flow?”

"Fengxiao means..."

"His Highness's goal in this battle is to subdue the Kushans. As for the Governor-General of the North, if he doesn't want to be purged afterward, he will have no choice but to rush back to the capital and seize power."

Guo Jia spoke eloquently:
"In this way, he will not be able to offend us who are behind him. We just need to wait and see what happens in the capital."

"If the Governor-General of the North wins, he will naturally submit to me to stabilize the political situation and focus on dealing with domestic rebellions, having no intention of opposing me. But if Prince Botiao truly possesses some miraculous ability to seize power..."

"Then the Governor-General of the North can only cling to His Highness's coattails and beg us to send troops to intervene?" Guan Yu stroked his beard and said.

Guo Jia nodded and smiled, "That's right. Either outcome will be extremely beneficial to us."

“However, generally speaking,” Zhang Liao hesitated slightly, “that northern governor probably won’t lend troops easily. After all, it’s easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. Even the Kushans should understand that.”

"So we need some external force to make him have no choice but to rely on us."

Guo Jia gently waved his feather fan and looked at Su Yao with a smile, "It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? I heard that there is an envoy from Parthia waiting outside the mansion for Your Highness to receive him."

"Fengxiao is truly well-informed," Su Yao laughed, then ordered, "Summon the Parthian envoy to an audience!"

(End of this chapter)