Chapter 1365: Qingcao Garden (Part 1)

Huo Shengnan smiled and said, "Then I'll give them a hand!" She took an iron-bodied slingshot from her leather pouch, pinched a grape-sized pellet, aimed at the enemy flag-bearer's position, her gaze fell on the mount the flag-bearer was riding, and she waited for the right moment to shoot.

The pellet whistled! It shot out; although the two sides were half a li apart, logically such a distance would be beyond the slingshot's range, but Huo Shengnan's slingshot was specially made, and after practicing the Shooting the Sun True Classic, she could already store inner force in the pellet, doubling its range; the pellet accurately struck the tail of the mount the flag-bearer was riding.

The horse let out a miserable cry, flung open its four hooves and galloped forward; the Xichuan flag-bearer, still not comprehending what had happened, was dragged along by the horse at high speed, one hand gripping the reins, the other holding the banner aloft, after all, guarding the flag was his duty, and he could never lightly discard the banner at any time.

The Xichuan soldiers didn't understand what had happened; seeing the flag-bearer suddenly gallop at high speed, each of them spurred their horses and whipped them forward, desperately racing ahead.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan couldn't help but laugh heartily at the sight; Zhuge Guanqi also couldn't help but smile faintly, it seemed that sometimes the most effective way to solve a problem was simple and brutal.

The agreed meeting place for the four parties was Qingcao Garden; although the name sounded elegant, upon arrival it felt somewhat undeserving of its name—this open expanse was entirely yellow earth, with not a blade of grass in sight, only a few large trees standing lonely and withered. Black Sand City had suffered droughts the previous year and the year before, but since the start of this year the area has enjoyed favorable weather and the land has revived with vitality; yet oddly, this very Qingcao Garden remains barren, still as lifeless as before.

Su Yuchi's choice of this place for the four-party talks also had another meaning; gathering four thousand people together was already no small assembly. Moreover, most of those coming from the four sides were cavalry; besides, there was rarely such a large open space here, and even if there were, it would be farmland—Su Yuchi certainly did not want to trample the people's fields for a mere discussion. With no vegetation, the surrounding situation was clear at a glance, also preventing anyone from hiding in ambush around the area.

Su Yuchi's subordinates had already divided Qingcao Garden into four zones, named after the four directions; Hu Xiaotian was stationed in the eastern zone.

According to the prior agreement, each side brought a contingent of one thousand troops; Hu Xiaotian had diverted two hundred men to patrol the Xuan Yong River, making his numbers appear the smallest among the four camps. However, the soldiers Hu Xiaotian brought were all carefully selected, strong and sturdy, each full of vigor; in terms of morale, his force was in no way inferior.

At the center of Qingcao Garden, a temporary tent had been erected; aside from the representatives coming for negotiations, each side was allowed to bring only four attendants, meaning that only five persons per side could enter the central tent.

Hu Xiaotian had Huo Shengnan stay outside to handle dispatch; he and Zhuge Guanqi, plus three warriors, entered the central tent.

Inside the tent, Su Yuchi had already arrived first; Guo Guangbi of Xingzhou did not come in person, his son Guo Shaoxiong representing him. Likewise, Li Tianheng of Xichuan did not appear personally, sending instead the prefect of Xiezhou, Yang Daoyuan. This shows that neither side gave sufficient importance to Su Yuchi's presiding over the talks; of course, they also distrusted Su Yuchi. Hu Xiaotian had not interacted much with these two either; after meeting, they merely nodded slightly in greeting, which counted as a hello.

Yang Daoyuan wore a smug smile, appearing courteous on the surface. He made no mention of the recent disturbance that had hindered Hu Xiaotian's side, and Hu Xiaotian did not clarify the matter. Guo Shaoxiong, however, was the typical arrogant youth who looked down on everyone, not even deigning to glance at others; yet his four attendants were clearly experts, one of them a white‑skinned, kind‑eyed, gentle man—Guo Guangbi's chief strategist, Xie Jian, bearing the title "Literary Demon Star". Although Guo Shaoxiong ostensibly led the delegation, the real decision‑maker was indeed him.

Su Yuchi invited everyone to be seated, smiling: "Thanks to your gracious presence, heroes, gathering today in Black Sand City brings honor to Su."

Yang Daoyuan said, "General Su, you're being too modest; General Su is a famed general of Dakang, my lord has always admired General Su, so this face of yours is certainly due."

Su Yuchi secretly sneered, "Your lord? He's nothing but the traitorous villain Li Tianheng who betrayed the state; though the three parties present are either traitors or rebels, if it weren't for considering the livelihood of these people, I would disdain sitting with this lot. Suddenly recalling last night's conversation with Hu Xiaotian at the Viewing Wave Pavilion, I felt a pang of sorrow—the court ignores me, military provisions are about to run out, and the people's lives matter even less to the court. If what Hu Xiaotian said is true, then the one now in charge is the Yongyang Princess, and the Emperor has already passed away. The future looks bleak, and I can only do what little I can."

Su Yuchi said, "You must already know the main reason I invited you all here; we have entered summer, and the flood season of the Yong River and its major tributaries has arrived as well——" Before his words finished, a sudden thunderclap boomed from the flat ground outside.

The thunder sounded as if it had struck the nearby ground, shaking the whole earth to tremble; everyone startled, for just moments ago upon entering the tent the sky had been clear and blazing with sunshine—how could thunder suddenly erupt?

The nearly four thousand soldiers waiting outside for news were also startled by the sudden thunder; Huo Shengnan looked up and saw a thick mass of dark clouds rolling in from the eastern horizon, the cloud layer advancing with astonishing speed, about to engulf their position; Huo Shengnan secretly praised, "Master Zhuge truly is a divine person!" Originally she had thought rain impossible today, but gazing at the sky‑covering gloom, she felt this storm would be considerable.

The dark clouds piled up layer upon layer, the dry hot wind began to strengthen, yet still no rain fell; in the distant sky purple flashes of lightning kept flickering, low‑rolling thunder followed one after another, shaking the soul while also inducing an indescribable sense of oppression.

Su Yuchi said, "Over the past few years, disasters have been relentless; only with great difficulty have we finally looked forward to a good harvest—if this autumn yields abundance, the people can welcome a turning point, and can rekindle hope for life……"

Guo Shaoxiong bluntly cut him off: "General Su, what exactly do you want by summoning us here?"

Su Yuchi gave a faint smile; this young man has a hot temper.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Young Master Guo, please calm down and be patient; hear General Su out to the end."

Guo Shaoxiong snorted coldly, his eyes full of contempt, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "We agreed on a four‑party talk, yet hospitality has its degrees of closeness and distance; since you've already settled things among yourselves, why drag us along just for show?"

Su Yuchi's heart skipped a beat; he sensed Guo Shaoxiong's words had hidden meaning, and this remark clearly pointed at him—could it be that his last‑night invitation to Hu Xiaotian for a private discussion at the Viewing Wave Pavilion had been leaked? It must be so; otherwise, why would Guo Shaoxiong speak like that?

Su Yuchi said, "Young Master Guo, what do you mean by that? I invited you all here naturally to treat everyone equally, with absolutely no bias."

Guo Shaoxiong burst out laughing, pointing at Hu Xiaotian: "Let him speak—where did he go last night?"

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but frown; this fellow was truly arrogant to the extreme, daring to point at him publicly in such a setting—clearly an insult.

Before Hu Xiaotian could speak, Zhuge Guanqi calmly said, "My lord may go wherever he wishes; there's no need to report to you!"

Guo Shaoxiong raised his palm and slapped the long table with a "pa!" sound, then pointed at Zhuge Guanqi and asked, "Do you even have the right to speak here?"

Hu Xiaotian coldly replied, "Guo Shaoxiong, even if your father were here he'd have to yield me three points of respect—what are you anyway? Who gave you the right to point and gesture here?"

Guo Shaoxiong slammed the table and rose in anger; beside him, Xie Jian hurriedly tried to calm him, chuckling, "Everyone, let's not harm the harmony, let's not harm the harmony."

Su Yuchi also quickly spoke up, "Everyone is here by my invitation; I hope you'll give me some face."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, "General Su, I mean no disrespect; you are the host, and if anything unpleasant occurs here, it is your prestige that will suffer first."

The silent Yang Daoyuan at the side sighed, "Actually, I came here with sincerity as well; I just didn't expect that General Su's heart still held a set of scales!" He was also mocking Su Yuchi for having invited Hu Xiaotian to meet beforehand, slighting them.

Su Yuchi secretly regretted, "I haven't been thorough enough in this matter; meeting Hu Xiaotian ahead of time was also to reach consensus, and deep down I know Hu Xiaotian is actually the most weighty of all, but I never imagined this news would leak out—indeed, as the saying goes, there's no wall that doesn't let wind through; this has provoked resentment from Xichuan and Xingzhou, turning my clever move into a blunder."

Although Hu Xiaotian faced provocation from Guo Shaoxiong, he did not truly flare up in anger—just a hot‑headed youth; now this is Su Yuchi's turf, Guo Shaoxiong's attacks are aimed at him, yet the one losing face is Su Yuchi; let's see how he handles it.

Su Yuchi said, "My meeting with Lord Hu was for a private matter."

Guo Shaoxiong chuckled coldly, "So it's something that can't see the light of day?"

Hu Xiaotian gave Zhuge Guanqi a look; Zhuge Guanqi understood, sighing softly, "Judging a gentleman's belly with a petty mind." The two of them, playing off each other, intended to provoke Guo Shaoxiong; for Hu Xiaotian this negotiation wasn't important, having found Guo Shaoxiong and Yang Daoyuan lacking sincerity, he immediately decided to suitably stimulate them to reveal their true aims.

I, Zhangshiyilang, am back again, uh… is it fate ordained by heaven? (To be continued~^~)