Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

hiss--!
Li Feihu and Zhang Qinghe, two generals of the Northwest Army, couldn't help but take a deep breath.

After investigating the information, they suddenly realized what had happened.

The two men were not fools to have become generals under Prince Ning, Li Mu.

They were all very clear about Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, his personality and style of dealing with people.

This old bastard actually tried to play the balancing act in front of Prince Qian, Chen Jie. Wasn't that just courting death?

Now it's a tragedy, isn't it?

Three hundred thousand Shu soldiers were wiped out, and his son Li Xiang was also captured.

Given Li Zicheng's personality, he must be furious and want to get revenge.

However, given the strength of the Shu army, they certainly wouldn't dare to send troops to attack Ximentang again.

then,

That old bastard would be the one to try and drag the Northwest Army down with him.

They went to seize Ximentang's supplies, allied with the Kwantung Army, and launched a three-pronged attack to annihilate Ximentang.

Fuck you!
After learning what had happened, Li Feihu couldn't help but curse loudly.

He knew very well that Ximen Tang was not someone to be trifled with.

The Northwest Army finally managed to withdraw from the capital and return to the Northwest.

If we ally with the Shu army, wouldn't that be a sure way to fall into a trap?
For some reason, the two of them suddenly felt a sense of schadenfreude.

Wasn't Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, fond of bluffing and arrogance?
Relying on the fact that the Shu army had 800,000 troops, they boasted all day long that they would fight this and that.

Now, after being brutally beaten by Ximentang and suffering heavy losses, he has come to realize the reality.

The two men didn't sit idly by; they quickly reported back to Prince Ning, Li Mu, and advised him to remain on the sidelines and observe the situation.

Early the next morning.

Chen Jie had just woken up in the government office of Xiaogan Prefecture when he received a report from his personal guards.

King Li Zicheng of Shu sent his trusted advisor, Lü Yaozong, to Xiaogan to request an audience with him.

It turned out that after Li Chuang, the King of Shu, learned that Li Feihu and Zhang Qinghe had refused to form an alliance, he was so angry that he smashed all the tables and chairs in his residence.

In Xiangyang Prefecture, he cursed Li Feihu, Zhang Qinghe, and even Prince Ning, Li Mu.

but,

After he finished venting his anger, he calmed down.

The reason why Prince Ning, Li Mu, refused to form an alliance with the Shu army was clearly because the Shu army had been badly defeated.

to be frank,
Even if the Shu army, the Northwest army, and the Guandong army form an alliance, it would probably be difficult to shake Ximentang.

Now that no one is willing to ally with the Shu army, he naturally dares not send troops to attack Ximentang again.

In order to preserve the foundation of Sichuan and to rescue his son Li Xiang.

In the end, Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, had no choice but to compromise and submit.

of course,

He was genuinely afraid to personally go to see Prince Qian and plead guilty, so he dared not.

Finally, he sent his chief strategist, Lü Yaozong, to Xiaogan to meet with Prince Qian, Chen Jie, to discuss how to release Li Xiang.

Lü Yaozong was originally a scholar in the Daqian Dynasty. He was from the same hometown as Li Chuang, the Prince of Shu, and the two had known each other for a long time.

Lü Yaozong made great contributions to Li Zicheng's resurgence in recent years.

Almost all official documents were handled by Lü Yaozong.

He was not only a trusted advisor to Li Chuang, the King of Shu, but also Li Chuang's brother-in-law.

That's right,

In order to win over Lü Yaozong to work for him, Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, married his own sister to him.

This shows how much he valued Lü Yaozong.

Simultaneously,

Lü Yaozong was also Li Xiang's mentor.

This trip to Xiaogan to discuss matters with Chen Jie, if it were sent by him, would represent Li Zicheng, the King of Shu.

Lu Yaozong naturally dared not neglect his duties. After receiving the order from Li Chuang, the King of Shu, he hurriedly went to Xiaogan City, reported his origins, and requested an audience with Chen Jie, the King of Qian.

A dozen minutes later, someone announced that Lü Yaozong was to enter the council hall.

Upon hearing this, Lü Yaozong strode inside with his head held high, his expression extremely arrogant.

Since we're here to discuss matters, we can't lose our composure!

No matter what, you have to maintain a certain air of authority; that's how you'll gain an advantage in negotiations.

but,

He acted arrogantly, which made the two Ximen Tang guards who were leading the way very uncomfortable.

One of the guards curled his lip and said disdainfully:

"Is this guy out of his mind? We've already routed the Shu army twice, with such heavy casualties. We even almost captured Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, and he's still putting on an act in front of us. I really don't know what he's trying to prove."

Another bodyguard quickly said, "Shh! Keep your voice down, don't let this guy hear you."

The guard who had just spoken scoffed, "So what if he heard it? What's he trying to prove?"

Upon hearing the two guards speaking, Lü Yaozong snorted coldly:

"What are you pretending for? What do I need to pretend for? Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Just because you won this time doesn't mean you can guarantee you'll win next time."

The guard laughed dismissively and said:
"That's right! You weren't pretending, you weren't pretending at all. The Shu army has already been defeated by our Ximen Tang several times!"

"If you're not satisfied, let King Li Zicheng of Shu send his troops out to fight again. Let's see if we can guarantee victory next time."

“Winning and losing are indeed common occurrences in war, but your arrogant manner makes others think that you have won a great victory.”

"I've seen people who pretend, but I've rarely seen anyone who can pretend as well as you."

It turns out that when Lü Yaozong set off, Li Chuang, the King of Shu, had given him specific instructions.

Although the Shu army was defeated, Lü Yaozong's visit to Prince Qian, Chen Jie, represented the King of Shu.

Therefore, one cannot diminish one's prestige in front of King Qian.

then,

You have to act aloof and put on a calm and composed demeanor.

but,

Unable to refute the rebuke from Ximentang's personal guards, Lü Yaozong could only pretend not to hear.

He still stood with his hands behind his back, displaying an arrogant and haughty demeanor.

I have to say, he really puts on a show.

at this time,

Lu Yaozong's expression suddenly changed as he saw a group of prisoners appearing not far away.

These prisoners were all captured by Ximentang, and each of them carried a bag of rice as they walked from a distance.

Their clothes were tattered, their faces were smeared with charcoal, and they walked forward with a limp.

A squad of Ximentang soldiers were guarding them.

Snap——Snap——!
Anyone who walks too slowly or tries to slack off will immediately be whipped.

Ximen Hall does not keep idle people; even prisoners must work and move supplies.

Lu Yaozong saw a man with a bit of charcoal smeared on his face, who turned out to be none other than Prince Li Xiang.

It was clear at this point that Li Xiang had been tortured terribly; his face had been whipped and was bleeding.

The soldiers responsible for guarding him didn't care about any 'little prince'.

If you have a foul mouth, you'll get beaten up!
Li Xiang has such a terrible personality, so naturally he gets beaten up a lot.

Lu Yaozong took a deep breath, stepped forward, grabbed Li Xiang's hand, and tried to put the rice bag off his shoulder.

"Xiao Xiang, what are you doing? Are you alright? Who hit you?!"

Only then did Li Xiang realize that the person in front of him was Lü Yaozong, and he immediately collapsed.

He cried out as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice, wailing and shouting:
"Uncle, save me! Uncle—save me! Save me! Waaah—!"

He has been working every day since he was arrested.

Moreover, it was all hard labor, either carrying food or helping with laundry.

He was pampered since childhood and had never done these kinds of work before.

Those who are slow or lack stamina are often the ones who get beaten up.

He's been beaten terribly these past few days, and he's even contemplated suicide.

Snapped--!
No sooner had he finished speaking than a Ximen Tang soldier, responsible for escorting the prisoners, lashed out with a leather whip. The whip struck hard, hitting Li Xiang squarely on the back, causing him to howl in pain.

"Put the rice sack back on your back! If you put it down again and slack off, I'll skin you alive."

The soldier in charge of escorting the prisoners shouted sternly, "Get up! Did you hear me?!"

Li Xiang seemed to have become numb from the torture, or perhaps he was terrified of being beaten.

He quickly put the rice bag back on his shoulder and struggled to get up.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lü Yaozong became utterly enraged and roared at the soldiers responsible for escorting the prisoners:

"You son of a bitch—you bastard! Do you even know who he is? How dare you whip him?"

Snapped--!
A sharp crack of a whip rang out, echoing throughout the surrounding area.

The soldier lashed Li Xiang with his whip again, saying disdainfully:

"Who he is has nothing to do with me. He's my prisoner now, under my command!"

"His current task is to do hard labor, moving food and supplies!"

"If you dare to slack off, you'll get a beating! You think you can just eat for free every day? And not do any work?!"

finished,

He kicked Li Xiang and shouted:
"Hurry up! You're the one who loves to slack off the most. If you dare to slack off again, you'll have to carry ten more bags of rice today."

Li Xiang was frightened and dared not utter a sound.

He quickly slung the bag of rice over his shoulder and followed the other prisoners forward.

As he walked, he turned back to Lü Yaozong, crying and shouting, "Uncle, you must save me—!"

Lü Yaozong roared at the Ximentang soldiers who were holding whips:
"You bastards! You bandits and robbers, this is Li Xiang, the young prince of our Shu army, how dare you treat him like this?"

"Let him go! Did you hear me? Let him go!"

The soldier in charge of escorting him glanced up at Lü Yaozong and said disdainfully:
"Old man, who are you? If you want to save him, unless the lord gives the order, who would dare to let him go?"

Snapped--!
After saying that, he lashed Li Xiang with his whip and shouted:
"Hurry up! Damn it—you stopped again, trying to slack off!"

A group of prisoners carried rice toward the warehouse.

Lü Yaozong shouted to the messenger beside him, "Go! Take me to see your lord!"

Next,
The messenger led Lü Yaozong to the council hall of Xiaogan Prefecture.

Chen Jie was sitting in the council hall, leisurely brewing tea.

After entering the council hall, Lü Yaozong saw Chen Jie and shouted loudly:
"Prince Qian, your Ximen Hall has gone too far!"

Before Chen Jie could speak, Yan Chenghao, who was standing next to him, shouted sharply:

"Who are you? How dare you make a scene in the West Gate Council Hall?"

"Guards! Drag this man away and deal with him according to military law!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Yaozong felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

this moment,
He then realized that he hadn't introduced himself earlier.

So he quickly called out, "Wait a moment, I am Lü Yaozong, the chief strategist under King Li Chuang of Shu. I have come to pay my respects to King Qian on behalf of King Li Chuang."

Chen Jie smiled calmly and said:

"So it's Mr. Lü. Ignorance is no excuse. It seems you don't understand the rules of our Ximen Hall, which is why you're making a scene in the council hall."

"I'll let it go this time, but you must be more careful next time."

"Speak, what brings you here?"

Lu Yaozong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that he would not be subject to military law.

Otherwise, he would have been dragged out and shot, and he wouldn't even have time to cry.

After calming down, Lü Yaozong looked up at Chen Jie and said:
“Prince Qian, our young prince has been captured by your Ximen Hall. I have come to see you on behalf of the Prince of Shu to discuss this matter.”

"What conditions do you need to release our young prince?"

Chen Jie shook his head, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said:
"When did we capture your young prince?"

finished,

He pretended not to know and asked Zhang Feifan beside him, "Has anyone been arrested? When did it happen?"

Zhang Feifan replied:

"My lord, how could we possibly capture their young prince? We're not bandits!"

"The Shu army and our Ximen Hall have always kept to themselves and never interfered with each other. In fact, we even cooperated when we were besieging the Guandong army."

"How could we have arrested the young prince for no reason? Are we mistaken?"

Lu Yaozong was completely speechless after being rebuked: "How could there be a mistake—?"

but,

He could not admit that the Shu army had launched an attack on Ximentang.

If that's the case, then all his previous arrogance and attempts to take the initiative will have been in vain.

The situation will be completely passive.

call--!
Lu Yaozong couldn't help but take a deep breath and said:
"No need to say anything more. I just saw the young prince. He was captured by you and is moving things."

"Let's not beat around the bush, Prince Qian, what exactly do you want in order to release the young prince?"

"Name your conditions, and as long as the King of Shu can agree to them, he will definitely agree to them."

"If you really want to fight the Shu army, we'll fight you to the bitter end!"

At this time,

Sitting to the side, Yan Chenghao pretended to suddenly realize something and said:

“My lord, now that he mentions it, I do remember.”

“A few days ago, when we were besieging Dashanyan, an army suddenly launched a surprise attack on our camp and was defeated by us!”

“In that battle, we captured a lot of prisoners. One guy shouted that he was some kind of little prince, but he was severely punished by his men. Now he is much more obedient and no longer dares to call himself a little prince.”

"But I think that kid is definitely bragging. How could he possibly be a prince?"

"The Shu army promised us they would cooperate in annihilating the Guandong army, so why did they launch a surprise attack on us?"

“I thought that kid was talking nonsense, so I didn’t report it to the lord.”

Lü Yaozong quickly said:
“He’s not talking nonsense. I just saw him. He really is our little prince.”

Chen Jie smiled slightly and asked calmly, "Oh? Your little prince has really become a prisoner?"

Without hesitation, Lü Yaozong nodded and said, "That's right, it is indeed our young prince, Li Xiang."

Chen Jie's tone suddenly turned cold and ruthless as he said in a deep voice:
"Mr. Lü, are you saying that the Shu army has already formed an alliance with the Japanese, right?"

"Our Ximentang entered the Hanzhong area with the aim of annihilating the Kwantung Army, not to attack your western Sichuan."

"You actually helped the Japanese, aiding and abetting thieves, and attacking us?"

"If that's really the case, then the Shu army has no reason to exist!"

Lu Yaozong was stunned and speechless for a long time.

It was only then that he realized he seemed to have overlooked a very serious problem.

The cooperation between the Shu army and the Japanese could not be openly discussed.

The Japanese were, after all, a foreign race, and they caused great damage to the Great Qian Dynasty. Everyone had the right to kill them.

Once the Shu army is confirmed to be cooperating with the Japanese, and this is announced to the world.

Then,

The Shu army then lost its foothold.

The issue is,
Lü Yaozong couldn't say that the Shu army attacked Ximentang; his purpose was to balance the power of all parties.

Because Ximentang is now in charge of the righteous army of the Great Qian Dynasty!

If the Shu army openly challenges Ximen Tang, it will be considered rebellion!

Although the Shu army raised the banner of the vassal kings and occupied the southwestern Sichuan region, they never dared to openly rebel.

If Lü Yaozong dares to admit that it was the Prince of Shu who ordered the attack on Ximentang, then the incriminating evidence will be in the hands of the Prince of Qian.

Ximen Tang can directly order an attack on the southwestern Sichuan region and use the righteous cause of the world to quell the rebellion!
At that time, the territory of the vassal kings was only the land of abundance in the southwest region.

Over the years, the territories of the vassal kings have expanded countless times, even extending to Badong, Xiangyang, and Yichang prefectures in the Hanzhong region.

Once Ximen Tang begins to quell the rebellion, all the land occupied by the Shu army will have to be returned.

Even the King of Shu will be stripped of his fiefdom and plunged into an abyss of no return.

call--!
Lu Yaozong took a deep breath, speechless for a long time. (End of Chapter)