Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 260 The King is truly benevolent!

In the spring of the third year of Yong'an, Hou Jing returned to Chang'an with a large army, bringing with him Prince Xiao Gang of Southern Liang and his retinue of officials.

Inside the Qin Prince's residence, Li Shuang was deep in thought in the back garden when he heard Hou Jing's voice.

"Your Majesty!"

Li Shuang snapped out of her reverie and glanced at Hou Jing.

At this moment, he looked like a savage who had crawled out of a coal pile, his body tattered and his appearance withered. Behind him was Yuan Shouli, who had returned with him.

Li Shuang waved his hand, and the armored soldiers outside the waterside pavilion cleared the way. Hou Jing rushed in and grabbed Li Shuang's leg. Yuan Shouli was a step behind, slowly following behind.

"Your Majesty, you have no idea what I have been through on this journey. I almost did not see Your Majesty again."

As he spoke, tears welled up in Hou Jing's eyes, a mixture of grievance and reluctance, yet also revealing a sense of determination and resilience.

"My journey has been fraught with hardship, fighting against the Di, the Xianbei, and the Liang. Especially on the Golden Ox Road, I encountered the Southern Liang reinforcements. Prince Xiao Gang of Southern Liang is incredibly powerful, and his men are all first-rate warriors. I was nearly driven to despair. In that moment of crisis, I remembered Your Majesty's earnest teachings. I took out the jade talisman bestowed upon me by Your Majesty and held it to my chest. Thinking of Your Majesty's handsome face, I felt an endless surge of strength flowing into my body. From then on, I was invincible, undeterred by arrows, and captured Xiao Gang in one fell swoop, thus pacifying the Liang-Han region."

Li Shuang glanced at Hou Jing, who was indulging in self-pity, and said:

"You're just afraid that Yang Qianyun and his men will betray you, so you plan to sell those people out first, then detour through Jinniu Road to meet up with Li Yuan, and then you happen to run into Xiao Gang's fleet, so you'll rob him along the way!"

Damn it, who's digging up my secrets behind my back?!

Hou Jing inwardly spat, wiped away his tears, and said:
"What I said may be untrue, but my loyalty to Your Majesty is true."

Li Shuang raised his hand, and Hou Jing stood up, chuckling:

"To be honest, Xiao Gang was quite arrogant. He thought he was in the rear and didn't take any precautions. I was able to capture him in this surprise attack."

As he spoke, Hou Jing looked at Li Shuang's expression and added:

"Your Majesty, I have learned everything. The Crown Prince of Southern Liang, Xiao Tong, has a grudge against Xiao Yan and is in poor health. Xiao Gang wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to launch a northern expedition and personally led reinforcements. He was captured by me in one fell swoop. After learning about this, Wei Fang and other Liang generals dared not act rashly and retreated to Jiange."

"I originally intended to take Xiao Gang to Yizhou to seek some benefits, but Wei Fang personally guarded Jiange and sent people to guard all the passes along the way, so he wouldn't let me in. I had no choice but to return to Guanzhong first."

Li Shuang waved his hand and said:

"It's alright. The Liang and Han regions have been pacified, and there are still many things to do."

Hou Jing nodded, looked at Li Shuang, and asked:
"Your Majesty was just pondering something. May I ask what is troubling Your Majesty?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shuang sighed:
"When it comes to a bowl of porridge or a bowl of rice, we should think of how hard it was to come by; when it comes to a thread or a piece of cloth, we should always remember how difficult it was to obtain resources."

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing clapped his hands and said:
"Well said, Your Majesty!"

Yuan Shouli, who had remained silent until now, was startled by these words. He hadn't expected that Da Ye Shuang, whom he saw as a demon king, would utter such words of warning, and he was deeply moved.

"Who is this?"

Li Shuang glanced at Yuan Shouli and asked, and Hou Jing quickly replied:

"This is Yuan Shouli. When I entered Hanzhong, I met a kind and honest elder. It was thanks to him that I was able to successfully negotiate with the Liang army and pacify Liang and Han."

"A kind and honest elder, someone who can be spoken to like this by Hou Jing, is a rare find!"

Upon hearing Li Shuang's words, Yuan Shouli stepped forward, thinking it was a compliment, and bowed, saying:
"What the King of Qin said just now was thought-provoking. Is there any difficulty in Guanzhong?"

Hou Jing listened, waved his hand, and said:
"This man is too honest and lacks knowledge; Your Majesty must be sorry for making him laugh."

Just as Yuan Shouli was taken aback, feeling that he hadn't said anything wrong, he heard Hou Jing say:
"Your Majesty, did something go wrong when you asked Liang for the goods?"

Li Shuang listened and nodded helplessly.

"To be honest, after you sent the report about Xiao Gang's capture to Chang'an, I sent an envoy to Xiangyang. I thought that Liang was such a large country, and Jiangdong was such a wealthy place, so asking for 200,000 bolts of brocade wouldn't be too much!" Hou Jing nodded.

"I think it's not enough!"

"Who knew that after I opened my mouth, Liang Guo got scared and stopped talking to me? This is really worrying me!"

Hou Jing, upon hearing this, angrily said:

"How about we send a few heads over to teach them a lesson?"

Li Shuang waved his hand and said:

"That's not right. We're not bandits. Why make such a mess of things? When two countries are on good terms, we should be magnanimous!"

"What about that?"

"After thinking about it, I realized that things in Liang Kingdom can't be rushed. Let's first move the Qiang and Di leaders and their families from Liang and Han to Chang'an."

Hou Jing's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Your Majesty's move is brilliant! Let their families move to Chang'an, settle down and buy houses there. This will not only reduce their thoughts of rebellion, but also greatly increase the treasury's wealth."

Hou Jing frowned as he spoke, and said:
"I am worried that these people have already spent a lot of money on obtaining certificates and vouchers. The housing and land prices in Chang'an are high. What will happen if they can't afford it?"

Li Shuang said:
"I'm not that unreasonable. I can let them owe me first and pay me back slowly!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing couldn't help but sigh:
"Your Majesty is truly benevolent!"

Yuan Shouli, who was listening to this conversation between the emperor and his minister, was deeply shocked. For a moment, he felt as if something had shattered.

Li Shuang looked at Yuan Shouli and said:
You look familiar. Where are you from?

"I was originally from Shuozhou. Due to the chaos of the Six Garrisons, I fled all the way to Guanzhong, and later moved my whole family to Hanzhong."

Hearing Yuan Shouli's resentful tone, Li Shuang laughed heartily.

"No wonder you looked familiar. How about I give you a job?"

Yuan Shouli was taken aback and asked:

"What matter does the King of Qin wish to entrust to me?"

"You will go to Xiangyang to discuss the return of the prisoners. Although this matter cannot be rushed, it cannot be delayed any longer."

Yuan Shouli nodded and asked:

"Am I going there as an envoy of Wei or as an envoy of the King of Qin?"

"An envoy from the Great Qi!"

Great... Great Qi?
Yuan Shouli was honest and kind, but that didn't mean he was stupid. After considering what Li Shuang had done after entering Guanzhong, he quickly understood Li Shuang's plan.

At that moment, Yuan Shouli was pale and covered in cold sweat.

"King Qin, this...this..."

"Don't worry, if you come back from this trip, you will be promoted two ranks. If you don't come back, I will give you five hundred gold coins as a resettlement allowance. In addition, before you leave, I will give you a large house in Tongye Ward, Chang'an, to settle you and your family."

"Your Majesty's virtue is as vast as the heavens; your subject is willing to serve you to the death!"

……

(End of this chapter)