Chapter 317

Angta squeezed a few dry, cold laughs from between his teeth and shook his head, his knife tip still pointing at Xiao Baoyue:

"I don't believe you. You are not a court envoy, how can you guarantee dry shares and trade routes? The Wanshan cargo station is Wang Yang's private property. Without the Wanshan cargo station, how can trade be conducted after the trade route is opened? Clear your name? How do you clear it? Didn't you say the court might use us Yongning tribe to establish might? Didn't you say the Emperor might be furious and not pardon? Can you make decisions for the court? Can you make decisions for the Emperor? No matter what you want to use me for, after I finish, you will sell me again. What can I do? Go to that so-called hall to shout grievances and argue? I don't believe you. If I have to choose one between you and Wang Yang to believe, I believe him."

Xiao Baoyue smiled, unintentionally revealing a bit of peerless tenderness amidst the coldness of planning and strategy:

"Since you believe him, why don't you just tie me up and offer me to him?"

Angta had always prided himself on being heroic and intelligent, not seduced by female beauty. Coupled with his anger and fear of Xiao Baoyue, and being in a life-and-death choice, he shouldn't have had other thoughts. But he didn't expect that he was still dazzled by Xiao Baoyue's smile. He hurriedly gathered his mind, maintained a ruthless expression, and roared:

"Do you think I wouldn't dare?!"

"It's not that you wouldn't dare, but that you are not stupid. You don't believe him, and you don't believe me; you only believe in the winner. You saw me point out the interception, knowing that I have something to rely on, so you want to probe the bottom and weigh the outcome before deciding. You heard the benefits I promised, and you are already moved. But you can't determine whether it's true or false, and you don't understand how I can do it, so you want me to explain it more clearly so that you can weigh the pros and cons and feel at ease to agree..."

Angta only felt terrified! It was a kind of terror of having his thoughts pierced through and having nowhere to hide!

The fierce light in his eyes became more intense, his knife tip lifted suddenly, and he stepped forward.

Xinyi and Lian San stepped forward almost at the same time, and the barbarian guards' knife blades probed forward, just waiting for Angta's order! A chaotic battle was on the verge of breaking out!

Xiao Baoyue's expression was calm, neither retreating nor avoiding:

"I can tell you what you want to know now. Although I am not an envoy, I am a member of the imperial family, and I represent Jingzhou, with the Prince of Badong behind me. Wang Yang's strategy is in line with the interests of the court. Whether it is reported by him or not, and whether he is there or not, the court will permit it. He can build the Wanshan cargo station, and I can build it too. And I can build it bigger and better than him! As for clearing your name, today is the best opportunity! As long as you break through the camp opposite and capture Wang Yang and Le Luo Luo—"

Angta found it hard to believe and said in a lost voice:

"You want me to violate the Pan Wang Agreement and sneak attack the Wenyang tribe?!"

Xiao Baoyue was calm enough to make people's hearts palpitate:

"You did not violate the Pan Wang Agreement. Today's meeting is originally the last meeting of the truce period. You said it yourself: if the talk fails, start a war. There is no alliance today, which means the talk failed. If you start a war after the alliance tomorrow, that is violating the Pan Wang Agreement!"

Angta's voice trembled slightly, and his knife tip involuntarily drooped by half:

"But, but... even if I capture Le Luo Luo and Wang Yang—"

Xiao Baoyue's speaking speed was fast:

"At that time, you hand Wang Yang over to me. I will make him write a few things, and then I can plant the crime of intercepting the mission on the Yidu barbarians! In the tent today, only I and Wang Yang were on the side of our dynasty. Wang Yang cannot show his face, so what happened is up to me to say? I will say the Yidu barbarians launched a surprise attack on the tent during our meeting and took Wang Yang away for fire sacrifice. With my report, Wang Yang's letters, Jingzhou's investigation, the Prince of Badong's support, and your Yongning tribe's testimony, the Yidu barbarians will have no way to argue! Just as you said, can the Yidu barbarians go to that so-called hall to shout grievances and argue? They have too many bad records, so even if they can argue, no one will believe them! Intercepting the mission team first, and burning the imperial envoy and the Langya Wang family later—the crime is unforgivable! The court will definitely send a large army, and will not hesitate to give heavy rewards, taking the submitted barbarian tribes as the vanguard to exterminate the Yidu barbarians!

Le Luo Luo is a smart person and knows the current affairs. Will he not join us in sweeping the Yidu barbarians, opening the barbarian route, and asking for dry shares? Without Wang Yang's support, if he wants to submit and get benefits, he naturally has to turn to me. At that time, on one side is your knife, and on the other is my profit, with the court's might behind, he cannot help but submit! However, he stood on the wrong side before, so he must pay some price. The Wenyang tribe lost their young chieftain and must redeem the person, so let them use the land of the Sanshan to redeem him! If they dare not obey, then behead Le Luo Luo first, and then report them and the Yidu barbarians as rebellious barbarians together! Say they conspired with the Yidu barbarians to attack and kill Wang Yang! Even if the Wenyang tribe wants to communicate with the court to appeal, they have no way to bypass Jingzhou! With the Prince there, the Wenyang tribe will be the second Yidu barbarian! On one side is the head of the young chieftain, and becoming enemies with the Yongning tribe and Great Qi; on the other side is giving up the land of the Sanshan, but being able to open the barbarian route, conduct trade, get rewards, and enjoy dry shares. If you and the Wenyang tribe were in each other's shoes, how would you choose?

Also, for Wang Yang, I don't need to tell you who is close and who is distant between the Wenyang and Yongning tribes. If you really let him preside over everything, maybe the Wenyang tribe will ride on your heads in the future! But it will be different if I preside over it. The friendship between the Prince and the Yongning tribe is something the Wenyang tribe cannot catch up to even if they ride a horse! With me and the Prince there, the Yongning tribe will be the leader among the submitted barbarians in the future! Your official position will be above the chieftains of the Wenyang and Wu Ning tribes! In the future, no matter what strategy the court adopts, it will take the Yongning tribe as the priority. At that time, the Wenyang, Wu Ning, and even the various tribes that may submit in the future will all be under the Yongning tribe..."

Angta's heart was pounding; this temptation was really too great. He could not only turn over the mess of intercepting the mission before but also fight for the highest status among the submitted barbarians. More importantly, he could get the land of the Sanshan! This might be the last opportunity to take back the land of the Sanshan. Although he nodded and stopped in front of Wang Yang before, it was a lie to say he didn't want to beat the Wenyang tribe anymore. It's just that, first, the other side has the Han court as a backer, so he can't beat them; second, such a huge profit is pressing down, so he can still distinguish which is lighter and which is heavier. Now that Xiao Baoyue not only promised him greater benefits but also handed the hilt of the knife to him, the ambition and the thought of revenge suddenly grew like a wildfire in his brain. But Angta still couldn't make a decision. He knew that he shouldn't hesitate to do big things, but since it is a big thing, he couldn't decide rashly. He must think through the whole plan from the beginning, and it would be best to find a few chieftains to discuss it carefully...

Seeing Angta's hesitant appearance, Xiao Baoyue said coldly:

"Looking forward and backward, you can't get things done. Besides, there is no time for you to hesitate now. Do you really think that if you don't take action, the other side won't take action?"

Angta's face changed greatly, as if he had heard something more terrible than the previous conspiracy, and his pupils shrank suddenly:

"You... what did you say?!!"

Xiao Baoyue's lips were shallow and cold, her folding fan was half-open, and the demonic beauty at the corner of her eyes emerged quietly, like a glacier in the eternal night, deep and eerie, beautiful, dangerous, and oppressive:

"Do you think Wang Yang doesn't know yet that it was you who intercepted the mission? Do you think Wang Yang has no precautions against me? Do you think why he proposed to hold some celebration banquet at night?"

Xiao Baoyue's mind flashed with Wang Yang's bright smiling face, and the depths of her pupils seemed to turn into a pitch-black ice lake, her eyes narrowing slightly:

"Never underestimate your opponent, never."

Time went back to the beginning when both sides left the tent and returned to the camp. Le Luo Luo let out a long sigh of relief, feeling relieved!

This trip removed a big enemy, obtained dry shares, and reduced the transaction tax by one point, ensuring the peace of the future barbarian route. He only felt refreshed and happy! Just as he was about to express his feelings to Wang Yang, he heard Wang Yang say seriously:

"Return to the camp immediately to reorganize the army, and at the same time send flying cavalry to report, and raise all the barbarian soldiers in the tribe to support."

Le Luo Luo:????????????????

Ever since Wang Yang subdued Xiao Baoyue, his training was full, his operations were sharp, and he risked his life to personally write the scientific guide "Taming the Imperial Evil Dragon: From Entry to Mastery," forcing Xiao Baoyue, a red-named BOSS, to be brushed into an NPC that could be "teased." The thrill and excitement, the hardship and exhaustion of this, are not enough to be told to outsiders.

This sense of achievement and pleasure is enough to make most people forget themselves, especially when the object is a top-tier great beauty. Watching her have no way to deal with him, bowing her head and lowering her eyebrows, ordinary people would have been complacent long ago, and might even have developed some ambiguous feelings, indulging in the illusory dominance. But Wang Yang never forgot that this was a dangerous game, and never forgot the fatal killing intent lurking in the dark.

His train of thought has always been very clear: the deterrent balance he reached with Xiao Baoyue lies in—

He held Xiao Baoyue for coming to the Prince of Badong on behalf of the Crown Prince; and Xiao Baoyue held him for faking the surname Langya.

The two were wary of each other, and neither dared to move, so they were able to be safe until now.

And after this accidental meeting, the deterrent balance between the two added one more—

Wang Yang held Xiao Baoyue for faking the envoy of the Prince of Badong, and Xiao Baoyue held Wang Yang for faking the envoy of the court.

It seems safer, but it is actually more dangerous.

There are two reasons for the greater danger. First, this meeting was an accident. No matter how smart the two were, it was impossible to prepare a plan to meet each other in the barbarian land in advance. In the case where the other party has no plan, it is easier for oneself to take action. Second, and most importantly, the meeting place of the two was the barbarian land, surrounded by barbarians, with high mountains and long roads, and blocked news, just like an isolated island temporarily cut off. No matter what happened on the island, as long as the people on the island were controlled, the outside of the island would be a fog. And the stories in the fog are naturally narrated by those who return from the island.

This is an excellent opportunity to get rid of the other party's threat, whether for Xiao Baoyue or Wang Yang.

Xiao Baoyue can take this opportunity to control or even kill Wang Yang, and then logically push it to the barbarians. Will the "Two or Three Things Between Me and Lady Xiao" and the "Record" she wrote herself helping Wang Yang fake the surname Langya flow out because Wang Yang died accidentally in the barbarian land? The possibility is not high. But even if it really does, it can only be after the news of Wang Yang's death is sent back. And here, after Xiao Baoyue controls the situation, how this news is sent, when it is sent, and even whether it is sent at all, can be decided by Xiao Baoyue! Angta doesn't know Wang Yang's background, but Xiao Baoyue knows it too well! She can choose to force Wang Yang to reveal the whereabouts of the written evidence, or she can have other choices. As long as Wang Yang becomes her prisoner, Xiao Baoyue can naturally deal with it calmly.

Similarly, Wang Yang can also use this opportunity to kill Xiao Baoyue, and then arrange it slightly, attributing Baoyue's death to the barbarian chaos. What's more wonderful is that Xiao Baoyue came with a fake identity, and the Crown Prince's side probably wouldn't be able to explain what Xiao Baoyue intended to do in Jing barbarian land. Perhaps in the end, they can only settle the matter. Even if they don't settle it, it doesn't matter. As long as it is designed properly, even if they look for the murderer, they won't find me, Wang Yang!

So two minutes after seeing Xiao Baoyue in the tent, Wang Yang determined the plan to hunt Xiao Baoyue in his heart, and in order for this plan to proceed smoothly, he laid out multiple foreshadowings in the negotiation.

Now he is going to start using these foreshadowings and start implementing the plan, code-named—Dragon Hunting Plan!

——————

Note: The physical book promotional image circulating on the internet is not the cover.

ps. Temporarily adding an event preview: Jointly with the Nanjing Six Dynasties Museum, visit the historical sites of Jin Ling and tour the history of the Southern Dynasties. See the poster in the picture below: