Chapter 535: Great Nephew

When Han Kuo returned, Bai Li Jun, with his confidants, was already waiting in the East Study of the Establishing Chapter Palace.

He glanced at Han Kuo's expression, as if he had lost his parents, and knew it was over; the outcome was probably something he could not accept.

Bai Li Jun let out a slow breath, and before Han Kuo could speak, he interjected: "Have you seen Bai Li Jing in person? In your view... what kind of person is he?"

"Before I saw him, I also thought the Northern Border was being manipulated by Xie Yuan behind the scenes. But after seeing him today, I'm not so sure. At that time, beside the king's tent sat two armored generals; one was a half-grown youth whose face resembled the Northern Border King somewhat—I guessed he was a cousin from the Wei clan of Changzhou; the other, judging by his age and attire, was almost certainly Liang Jin, the Marquis of the Eastern Capital. Yet these two said nothing from start to finish, and in the Northern Border army, it was actually the young Northern Border King who held full authority. Though young, the Northern Border King already harbors deep ambitions, is intricate and hard to deal with."

"I didn't ask you to praise him!" Such words would be the last thing Bai Li Jun would want to hear.

"Yes. My meaning is that Bai Li Jing is ambitious and extremely crafty." He relayed the three withdrawal conditions the Great King had proposed, and the East Study fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

"... He really is my good nephew!"

After a moment's silence, Bai Li Jun began to sneer, "I've said before, among the late emperor's sons, this youngest is the hardest to handle. Bai Li Heng has already been fighting in Glorious Jade; the situation is just so, and a short period of back-and-forth combat with Glorious Jade is nothing to fear. The Cui family is still entangled with Bai Li Jin's headquarters in Yu Prefecture; even taken together they don't match Bai Li Jing's skill in war. Grand Commander, how about it? How confident are we of holding Perpetual Peace City?"

"... Subject, I can only do my best." That Zhang Tong was the main force by which the Jiangxia King swiftly seized Perpetual Peace City; such a fierce general couldn't even hold out a day in one encounter before losing the city and his life. The new Grand Commander, aware that the defenders of Perpetual Peace City are no stronger than Zhang Tong, dares not boast, for this concerns life and fortune.

Bai Li Jun told himself he must steady himself; anxious, he rose and paced twice in the study. "The cities he has taken will surely not be given up—let's not discuss that for now. Relocating the capital isn't a matter of a day or two; we must find a way to first secure funds and supplies to stabilize Bai Li Jing. I haven't even fully controlled Perpetual Peace City, but I will stop the war at any cost, otherwise these past dozen years would have been for nothing."

The newly appointed Minister of Revenue, also brought from Jiangxia by Bai Li Jun, hearing this went bald-headed: "That lad isn't asking for a small amount; the treasury is bare, as Your Majesty knows—where could we get fifty thousand shi of grain for him?"

"I know! But the Northern Border is desolate and lacks funds and supplies; nothing else can stabilize him! Now I have no choice!"

The East Study fell silent for a moment; Bai Li Jun closed his eyes. "Bai Li Jing's reputation among the scholar-gentry is terribly bad; if I want to secure this realm, I must act opposite to him. I favor the scholar-gentry, guarantee their interests, to gain their support…… Yet now he won't let me have my way. Go to Perpetual Peace City and the surrounding scholar-gentry merchants, gather something, and send it to him regularly."

Several confidants looked at each other, "This... is probably difficult."

"Where would they be willing..."

"Then let the Tiger Guard go get it themselves!"

This is nothing short of forced requisition.

"Don't tell me the Tiger Guard can't beat Bai Li Jing, not even the strong clan's guards!"

Bai Li Jun let out an angry roar, the East Study fell quiet again, and after a while someone spoke: "Even if we really manage to scrape together half for him, can the Northern Border truly withdraw?"

"Otherwise what can we do? If we don't spare these funds and supplies, we have no chance at all. The Northern Border cavalry is fierce and unstoppable; we have no alternative—does Fu Jian even compare favorably to Zhang Tong?"

"Alas! In recent days, rumors have spread in Perpetual Peace City, and people are especially panic-stricken."

"Hmph, quite a few people are hoping the mighty Northern Border King will take over Perpetual Peace City! Your Majesty, you are too merciful; treating the citizens of Perpetual Peace City well hasn't earned you much gratitude."

Bai Li Jun ordered troops to forcibly seize grain and supplies, not mentioning it; the Great King, taking advantage of the respite, hastily turned his attention to domestic warfare, and also had to worry about the steppe border.

From the map he saw that Tang Qian and Li Yuan had already set out to encircle; Ju Yan indeed has hardly any population, so losses are not yet apparent, and the Great King's morale is alright. If the invaders were targeting the more densely populated Wing Province or the headquarters of You Prefecture, the Great King would have long been anxious.

That night, Wei Shen, having nothing to do, came over again: "If tomorrow they really send over half the grain and supplies, will we truly withdraw? Have you thought up a countermeasure?"

The Great King tossed aside the map used for cover, saying, "What I mean is to first hand over half; if tomorrow they actually deliver the full amount, I will truly sign a withdrawal agreement with them. But before they hand over the other half and before the capital relocation, we will certainly not leave. If what they bring is less than half, and they just scrape together something to try to send me off, then their first step is already a breach, and we will fight even without food to take Perpetual Peace City!"

Wei Shen:...

"With such tight timing, scraping together twenty-five thousand shi of grain won't be easy—let the brothers get ready."

The Great King nodded reservedly, and Wei Shen covered his chin and went out.

When Liang Ben asked him what was wrong, he replied: "Toothache."

That night, Wei Shen and Ling Yin slept in the Great King's tent; the Great King noticed his beloved cousin who usually falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow was still awake, so he deliberately went over to show concern.

"Cousin, are you worried about tomorrow's assault on Perpetual Peace City? No worries—Perpetual Peace City has been a capital for a thousand years, so it's bound to be tough; if one day isn't enough, we'll take two. What is there to fear with our strength? What we should fear is Bai Li Jun."

Wei Shen shook his head. "No. I'm just thinking that you haven't grown to a height of 1.9 meters; you must be stunted by your petty mind."

Upon hearing that, Ling Yin immediately shrank into the corner, fearful of being caught in the blaze of war...

Sure enough, the Great King himself couldn't be bothered to get up, waved at the new fighter squatting by the door, and said, "Little Gold, beat him!"

The Golden Hair Beast leapt up, using itself as a weight, and hurled itself hard at Wei Shen; Wei Shen couldn't provoke it, so to preserve his strength for tomorrow's battle he leapt up and fled out the door, planning to ask Liang Ben to put him up for the night.

Seeing him run off, the Great King simply went into the garden, and it would also be fine to stroll the Phoenix Collection without setting up a stall.

Bai Yang, upon seeing the Great King, frantically waved his hands, "Great King, I've got something good for you, come quick!"

The Great King went over and found it was some loose pastries; he lacked interest. "This is too extravagant, right? With internal and external troubles I'm almost reduced to eating grass—I've even diluted my porridge with extra water—what pastries should I be eating?"

"You just don't get it; we've just finished the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the next day the mooncakes were taken off the shelves. I didn't only collect our supermarket's mooncakes, I also gathered some unsold ones from others. I've been waiting for you three days, and I had the staff unpack the packaging."

"Let me tell you, this pastry, once out of season, is not only cheap but also filling; eat a piece and it will keep you going while you plow at least two mu of land without rest!"

The Great King: "... Huh?" Impressive!

Made with oil and flour, a high-sugar, high-carb weight-loss forbidden item, eating one piece makes you gain two catties; the cavalry had it the next day.

Before dawn, Commander Ling went out and circled back, bringing a roughly packaged delicate pastry. Whether the skin or filling, in the Great Jin these are luxury goods. Although these pastries vary in appearance and flavor, the soldiers ate them with tears welling up—how much oil was put in! A luxury rarely seen in a lifetime.

That morning each person had a bowl of plain congee with two oily pastries; eating this hardcore, everyone felt enlightened—today might well be a hard battle.

After dawn, Han Kuo once again led his troops to the Northern Border camp, feeling that the atmosphere was somehow different? This made him especially vigilant.

The Great King craned his neck to watch the endless convoy, "Looks like we're not well-off after all—actually it's carts being pulled, and there aren't even many horse carriages!"

"Attendant Minister Han, 1.5 million taels of silver, twenty-five thousand shi of grain—is the amount sufficient?"