Chapter 305: Entering the Tent

"This... actually... not... mainly... but it's really not..."

Le Luo Luo stammered. Just as he was wording his response, the vanguard reported back in the barbarian language. Wang Yang couldn't understand it, but Le Luo Luo acted as if he had been granted amnesty, and his tongue became flexible again:

"I really didn't mean to hide it from Brother Wang on purpose; I really have my difficulties. But Brother Wang, rest assured, no matter what, our Wenyang tribe will never harm Brother Wang! We'll be there soon. How about this, I'll go arrange things first, and when I come back, I'll apologize to Brother Wang!"

After speaking, he learned the Han etiquette, cupped his hands, and then hurried away.

Wang Yang neither questioned further nor blocked him, but changed to a more comfortable position and leaned on the litter to rest.

Just as he was closing his eyes to rest, he suddenly felt a warm breath brush past his earlobe, bringing a burst of subtle numbness.

Chen Qingshan quietly leaned in, almost biting his ear, and said in a breathy voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Do you want me to subdue Le Luo Luo?"

Wang Yang opened his eyes and asked curiously: "Can you subdue him?"

Chen Qingshan had seen Le Luo Luo fighting for his life on the night of the assassination and knew his skills were formidable, but she wasn't sure what his combat power really was. However, there were barbarian soldiers all around. As long as one strike didn't hit, and those barbarian soldiers swarmed up...

A very brief hesitation flashed across her face, but it was quickly replaced by a calm determination, and she spat out three words in a very light but firm voice:

"I'll do my best."

Doing one's best means not asking about success or failure, but pouring out everything.

Wang Yang saw that Chen Qingshan was serious and immediately said: "No need, no need, you relax, it hasn't reached that point..."

"They have been bribing me these past few days..."

"Bribing?"

"Yes, don't you think they are too respectful and polite to me from top to bottom? Not only do they ask about my food and drink separately, but I also get a share of the gifts. Yesterday, Le Ma was also very enthusiastic to me and even gave me a scimitar. Today, they prepared a bamboo litter, and they actually prepared one for me too! I suspect they have a conspiracy, or they are deliberately lowering my defenses, or they are trying to trick me onto the litter, and then... what are you laughing at?"

Wang Yang tried hard to hold back his laughter:

"Not laughing, not laughing, you continue."

Chen Qingshan said extremely seriously:

"I'm serious, they must have a conspiracy! We absolutely must not drop... drop our guard? Is that the word?"

Since following Wang Yang, Xiao Shan's "vocabulary" had been increasing day by day.

Wang Yang also nodded pretending to be serious:

"That's right! Must not drop our guard!"

"Then when the time comes, you give me a wink, and then I'll make a move—"

Wang Yang coughed: "No rush, how about this, I'll tell you when it's really time for you to make a move."

"Tell me in advance, so I can find the right time."

Wang Yang said gently: "Okay, I'll tell you in advance."

The team set up camp after leaving the mountain pass. In front of the camp was an open plain, with a panoramic view. Except for a forest vaguely visible in the far west, only a large tent stood alone in the center. Three or four figures could be seen beside the tent.

Le Luo Luo arranged the camp while sending scouts to check in all directions. After getting the report, he came to invite Wang Yang out of the camp.

Wang Yang said: "I'm not going anywhere until things are made clear."

Le Luo Luo looked apologetic and said with a bitter smile:

"I didn't mean to hide it from Brother Wang, but my father ordered that I must wait until we arrive before I can tell Brother Wang. So although I used the name of the Mountain God Sacrifice, I didn't do any cover-up. We are going to the large tent in front, but the time is already a bit late. If Brother Wang trusts me, can you follow me first, and we can talk while we walk?"

What is the most important thing in interpersonal communication?

It is the sense of proportion.

The so-called sense of proportion is knowing when to advance and retreat, when to tighten and loosen. If you retreat everywhere and tighten everything, that is blindly yielding and losing yourself; if you advance everywhere and loosen everything, that is blindly bullying and trampling on others. The true meaning of the sense of proportion lies in having a basis for advancing and retreating, and being able to tighten and loosen freely.

When you should be calculating, you must be calculating, so as not to let people belittle yourself; when you shouldn't be calculating, you must let go of the calculation, so as not to chill people's hearts over trifles.

However, yielding an inch has the rules of yielding an inch, and advancing a step has the scale of advancing a step. Being able to yield and fight shows one's capacity; knowing how to tighten and loosen shows one's true character. Since Le Luo Luo lowered his posture and sincerely invited him, and had spoken to this point, Wang Yang gave Le Luo Luo face and no longer insisted on waiting for an explanation before leaving the camp, saying: "Then let's go."

Le Luo Luo was very grateful: "Thank you, Brother Wang!"

Also leaving the camp with Le Luo Luo was a barbarian general and six barbarian guards. That barbarian general was the one who shot and killed Guo Shao at the time. In addition to receiving ten bags of gold and all of Guo Shao's family property, he was also given the title of "Military Advisor." The rest of the barbarian soldiers all stayed in the camp.

Chen Qingshan followed Wang Yang and Le Luo Luo with a spear, while silently observing the positions of the general and the six guards, ready to respond at any time and capture Le Luo Luo.

"Does Brother Wang know why we took the risk to sneak into the hinterland of Jingzhou to find brocade?" Le Luo Luo asked.

Wang Yang remembered the "ransom" Le Luo Luo demanded at the time, and the goods the Prince of Badong asked him to purchase were exactly the same in type and quantity. The Prince of Badong wanted two thousand brocade robes and two thousand crimson jackets, while the Wenyang tribe wanted three thousand brocade robes and three thousand crimson jackets. Although the Wenyang tribe wanted a bit more, this was kidnapping, and it was normal to open their mouths like a lion. Connecting this with the information about the Wenyang tribe that Xiao Baoyue and Kong Zhangyu had told him before, he said calmly: "Because of your enemies."

Le Luo Luo was shocked: "How did you know?"

Although Wang Yang couldn't guess the specific reason, the general direction was already there. He deliberately sighed and said:

"I'll tell you about this later, you continue."

Le Luo Luo was suspicious, but it was not good to ask again, and continued to explain:

"In these large barbarian areas from Wenyang Gorge all the way east and north, there are only three that can be counted as large tribes. The Wenyang tribe, the Yongning tribe, and the Wu Ning tribe. It is rumored that the Yidu barbarians have also moved here, saying they fled here after suffering a disaster, and it seems the losses were not small. It seems no one has seen them, and they live far away, and they hide in the old forests where no one is, so they don't count. Our Wenyang tribe and the Yongning tribe are adjacent, and we have been enemies since my grandfather's generation. Over the years, we have fought many battles. At first, we lost more and won less. By the time my father became the Zouye, the situation turned around. It's a pity that my father got sick, and they were given a chance to breathe again.

Later, there were victories and defeats, and both sides maintained a balance of power. But recently, I don't know why, the momentum of the Yongning barbarians suddenly grew. Not only did they expand their territory to the barbarian area, but they also gathered several small tribes and recruited ownerless raw barbarians from all around to join. I heard that they were very generous. Our barbarian tribes don't use copper coins, mostly barter, but there are four things that are most precious: iron, silver, gold, and brocade. Iron is for making weapons, gold and silver are precious but not very rare, and the most rare and precious is brocade..."

Wang Yang interjected: "Brocade is also very valuable where we are, especially high-quality brocade, which is worth more than gold."

"Exactly, but the Yongning barbarians don't know what method they used, but they actually got a lot of brocade! I heard that several tents were filled, and I don't know if it's a rumor or a bluff, but in short, their prestige has risen a lot. They use these brocades to show their financial resources and buy tribes. Their momentum is getting stronger day by day. They even want to unite with the Wu Ning tribe and set some kind of brotherly alliance! What 'attack together, defend together,' actually it's aimed at the Wenyang tribe! We can't sit and wait for death, so we also sent people to lobby the Wu Ning barbarians. The Wu Ning barbarians have always been neutral and should have strictly observed the ancestral teachings and not participated in tribal disputes. I didn't expect them to be blinded by greed and actually sit on the ground and raise the price, saying that whoever gives them two thousand brocade robes and two thousand crimson jackets, they will join forces with them!

This big Ju Yu is crazy about brocade! Let alone we don't have brocade, even if we did, we wouldn't want to give it to them! But we have no choice! If we don't give it, what if the Yongning barbarians give it! We and the Yongning barbarians were originally evenly matched. If the Wu Ning barbarians are really bought, and the two tribes join forces to send troops, then our Wenyang tribe will face the disaster of extermination. So we had to take the risk to sneak into the Han territory. We were originally prepared to find (rob) brocade after leaving the mountain, but we didn't expect to encounter such a large manor in the mountain, and happened to find the side door wide open, with no guards. You know the rest..."

While speaking, the group had approached the large tent. Walking here, they could see that there was also a camp in the far front. Banners were waving, and figures were moving, facing the Wenyang tribe's camp from a distance, with similar size and scale. And this lonely large tent in the middle was like the crosshair on a scale, nailed exactly on the central axis between the two camps.

There were only three barbarian slaves outside the large tent, who were cleaning the surroundings and laying felt mats. Seeing someone coming, they stepped forward to salute. Seeing these three people approaching, the barbarian general and guards behind Le Luo Luo immediately rushed forward, holding their weapons horizontally, blocking in front of Le Luo Luo and Wang Yang. The three barbarian slaves were startled and didn't dare to move forward, directly kneeling and prostrating on the ground. The barbarian guards didn't relax their vigilance at all and prepared to search them. Le Luo Luo didn't wait for his subordinates to "check," pushed aside the people in front of him, and walked directly through the kneeling barbarian slaves. Wang Yang bypassed the three and followed into the tent.

The furnishings in the tent were extremely simple. There were three seats on the left and right, with simple tables in front of the seats. A barbarian slave was placing bowls on the table. Le Luo Luo frowned, spoke to the barbarian slave in the barbarian language, and the barbarian slave knelt and answered a few sentences before exiting the tent.

Le Luo Luo first invited Wang Yang to take his seat, and then invited Chen Qingshan to sit. Xiao Shan shook her head and only stood behind Wang Yang. Le Luo Luo sat down with the barbarian general and then explained to Wang Yang:

"We can't take out brocade, so we can't win over the Wu Ning barbarians. However, the Wu Ning barbarians haven't leaned toward the Yongning barbarians for the time being. Either the Yongning barbarians can't take out so much brocade at all, or they are reluctant to take it out. If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's the latter..."

Le Luo Luo lowered his voice, and his tone became particularly heavy:

"Then it means that as long as they turn 'reluctant' into 'willing,' they have the ability to pull the Wu Ning barbarians into the group at any time. This is the most dangerous thing for us..."

Wang Yang thought to himself: Then you really said it right. The Prince of Badong's brocade has already been traded, and the Yongning barbarians already have the conditions to do something big... ===== CHAPTER 306 =====