Chapter 536: This damned competitive spirit

Just as dawn was breaking, the camp had already awakened; the Great King, dressed in a plain beige gauze robe, crouched on a small earthen mound, smiling narrowly and uttering a demonic whisper.

Upon hearing the Great King's question, Han Kuo's smile, just formed, instantly collapsed.

That's absolutely impossible!

Even if the Tiger Guard went house to house looting, it wouldn't be that fast, after all the time is too short.

The Northern Border King, early in the morning, dressed casually and squatting there, looked harmless like a pretty, naïve aristocratic brat—who would have thought his mouth would spew a debt‑collector's lethal tone?

"Your Highness! Please believe the Emperor's sincerity in the peace talks; time is pressing, the money and grain that could be rushed overnight have already been delivered!"

The Great King rose, displeased, and said: "Then it's not enough? Han Shi Zhong, you dare play tricks on this king?!"

As soon as he spoke, it seemed even the people grew angry; his nearby personal guards dropped to their knees in a rush, the nearest guards shouting, "Your Highness, quell your anger!"

Han Kuo felt his head buzzing; how could the Great King look so ill‑tempered? At this point he could hardly stay standing—everyone else had knelt, and as the source of trouble he had no right to remain upright, so he hastily followed suit and knelt. Once down, he felt wrong: he was an envoy, how had he become so abject?

"Your Highness, you misunderstand—this is absolutely not our intention! How could we toy with so much silver and grain? It's truly a rush of time! The peace treaty has already been drafted; just follow your words—please take a look."

"Hmph! Breaking the agreement at the very first step of the peace talks—what else is there to see?!"

Han Kuo made a full apology; the Great King, seeing money, opened his eyes. He ordered someone to first count the money and grain, and then he finally received the peace treaty.

"Oh… impressive! Without even seeing the money and grain, you want the cavalry to retreat to Luo Shui Pass? Do you take this king for a three‑year‑old? Besides, Hong'nan is already mine—why retreat to Luo Shui Pass? And replenish fifty thousand shi of grain after the autumn harvest in October? There are still several months left; is the Imperial Uncle just spouting empty words to make this king withdraw his troops? Where in the world is there such a good deal?!"

Seeing the Great King's furious expression, as if he were about to shout for the Eastern Capital Marquis to launch an immediate attack on Chang'an, Han Kuo hurriedly begged for mercy again.

"Your Highness, please quell your anger; we approach the peace talks with utmost sincerity—if any clause displeases you, we can discuss it further."

The Great King, acting as if he couldn't be bothered with him, strode off in a huff. Han Kuo wanted to follow, but a guard at the Great King's side raised a hand to stop him—these men were fierce outlaws who had killed many; just one glance made Han Kuo feel their menace, so he dared not pursue, instead spinning anxiously on the spot.

His face turned ashen; he felt the Great King had revealed his true colors once the money was gone—exactly as everyone said: he planned to first swindle a sum of silver and grain, fill his belly, then strike, with no intention of sparing Chang'an.

The Great King waited until the supply corps had tallied the money and grain sent from Chang'an, confirmed that the grain was in order, and then summoned Han Kuo again.

"The money and grain must be settled within three days, and Bai Li Jun must also relocate the capital and withdraw from Chang'an within three days; then I will naturally withdraw my troops. Revised according to my words, I will sign this troop‑withdrawal agreement."

Han Kuo was stunned by the Great King's shamelessness—"Move the capital within three days? Is that really moving the capital? This is practically demanding Chang'an outright!"

"At that point, taking Chang'an without losing a single soldier—what is that?!"

"Where in the world is there such a good deal?!"

Bai Li Jun's acceptance of the Great King's terms was merely an attempt to buy time; he had never considered abandoning Chang'an so easily. In the south the fighting was chaotic; giving up the legitimate capital that the state of Dai Jin had used for three hundred years—what advantage would that leave him over the southern forces? To fall into chaos and start over from scratch?

Han Kuo tactfully expressed this view; the condition was absolutely impossible. The Great King gave a cold snort: "Good! Trying to get rid of me with just ten thousand shi of grain? Where in the world is there such a good deal! Men, throw out the envoy sent by the pretender emperor!"

Han Kuo: … It's actually close to fifteen thousand shi.

"Listen up, pretender emperor!"

The Great King changed face faster than flipping a page; before Han Kuo's grain was even fully unloaded, he was unceremoniously tossed out of the main camp.

After the man was dismissed by the Great King, several commanders gathered around; Wei Shen approached him sideways and whispered quietly, "... You, are you ready?" His words carried a faint, hardly noticeable worry.

The Great King curled the corner of his mouth at him: "The money and grain are in hand; it seems the Chang'an gentry and wealthy merchants are just that—not as rich as I imagined." Actually, it's easy to picture: the famous great clans mostly reside in their ancestral homelands—for example, the Wang clan's entire lineage is in Langya, and formerly the Chen Commandery Xie clan. Chang'an has always been the domain of the imperial clan; those who remain there are mostly obscure third‑rate gentry. The city's merchants are not few, but grain is too vital in this age—what ought to be hidden has surely been hidden; Bai Li Jun produced fifteen thousand shi overnight in a rush, and the Great King was already quite satisfied.

"I mean, are you ready to attack your own homeland?"

Great King: …

"Unifying the realm has always entailed bloodshed and sacrifice; what do I have to prepare? This time, I'll have to go sooner or later."

After hardening his lips, he gave a cold snort: "Hmph! Without our Northern Border's military strength intervening forcefully, those southern warlords could keep fighting for another fifty years—do you believe that? Then my Dai Jin would be utterly gone, and only the foreign tribes would benefit."

The Eastern Capital Marquis had long known the Great King's mind was clear as a mirror, while Feng Xiang once again updated his impression of the Great King.

He hadn't even finished marveling and digesting that, when he heard the Great King toss off a line as he was leaving: "The steppe barbarians have all moved south—how could I have time to play house with the Imperial Uncle!" The Great King simply didn't regard Dai Jin's military capability at all.

Compared to the Xiongnu iron cavalry, whether the Chang'an camp's regular troops or newly conscripted laborers, the Great King looked down on them all equally.

The Northern Border camp finished breakfast and began to break camp; the Great King once again neatly donned his battle armor, strapped on the Tai'a sword, and mounted his warhorse.

The Great King rode forward to take his position at the front of the formation; behind him were fifty thousand cavalry, thirty thousand infantry, and ten thousand supply corps, while ahead of him stood the Chang'an‑assembled force dubbed three hundred thousand strong. Whether it truly numbered three hundred thousand he didn't know—anyway, he couldn't see the end. Even less than a hundred thousand here would already vanish from sight, let alone three hundred thousand.

The scouts reported that behind them, they couldn't even talk about armor—some were barely clothed—and the Great King couldn't be bothered to assign personnel.

The opposing commander was the newly appointed grand general of the new dynasty, surname Yu, name Kuang, a veteran old general. Old Yu's heart was even more tormented than the Great King's at this moment; ever since he personally witnessed the Northern Border's Xuanjia cavalry, his mind has found no peace.

"Once again I relay my order: deserters—be cut down! We must repel the Northern Border rebels outside Chang'an! Don't forget that behind you are your kin and hometown!" In short, even if we have to pile up corpses, we must retain the Northern Border cavalry!

He let out a violent shout, and the Bai Ze in the formation lifted its head. Quite interesting—they each call the other rebels.

The Great King, bold as brass, stood at the very front—silver armor, white horse, a precious sword at his waist, and beside him a little golden tripping stone that kept hopping back and forth; altogether quite eye‑catching, making his identity easy to recognize.

Yu Kuang also rode up to the front and shouted across to the Great King: "The Northern Border King took the withdrawal money and grain, yet now he's having second thoughts—does he look bad for backing out?! I vaguely recall the Northern Border King saying he would never go south; how then does he dare raise the rebel banner?!"

Yu Kuang was still over two hundred meters from the Great King's position; the old man's voice rang like a bronze bell, and everyone around the Great King heard it clearly.

The Great King clicked his tongue: "Old man, your lung capacity is impressive. Quick, bring the little honeybee—I can't afford to lose!"

Eastern Capital Marquis: …