Chapter 208

Hu Xiaotian filled the cups for his two elder brothers, then filled his own, picked up his cup and silently took a sip, saying, "If Shajia and Dakang were to clash, who would benefit?" The question left both men stunned.

Hu Xiaotian said, "The snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman profits—this principle even a child can grasp; I think the state of Nan Yue may not play a good role in it."

Zhou Mo lowered his head, silent for a long while before sighing, "Third brother, the truth will eventually come to light; right now we can't worry too much—figuring out a response is the fundament."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The mountain bandits of Tianlang Mountain claim to number seven thousand; if they sallied forth en masse with an insider's help, we would likely be no match."

Zhou Mo said, "Absolutely impossible; mobilizing seven thousand would create a huge movement we couldn't miss, and such numbers are merely for show. I reckon even counting their families, they'd total at most two thousand, and the force actually dispatched this time probably won't exceed five hundred. This is no trivial matter; they would never dare to make a big fuss about it."

Xiao Tianmu said, "We still don't know the situation of the Shajia envoy; everything is unknown. First we must ascertain whether the Shajia prince has come. As for manpower, if Prince Zhou came specially to Qingyun to receive the Shajia envoy, then having him dispatch troops poses no problem." He then added, "Third brother, is Zhang Ziqian Sir of Xizhou here for this matter?" Zhou Mo asked, "Third brother, what do you plan?"

Hu Xiaotian then leisurely took out a map of the Qingyun vicinity from his bosom, spread it flat on the stone table; Xiao Tianmu, being blind, obviously had no idea what Hu Xiaotian was doing.

Hu Xiaotian explained, "This is a map of the environs of Qingyun. I have studied it carefully; if the Tianlang Mountain bandits launch a major sortie, there are two possible routes: one is to exit Fenglang Valley, go around Qingyun Xian city, traverse the northern mountains, where one can travel south by land or sail downstream along the Tongji He; the other is to detour from the southern side of Tianlang Mountain, passing through Baiji and Jiahe counties to enter Ronggu County, conducting an envelopment along the way. If we block these two routes in advance, we can thwart their attack."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Don't forget, someone inside the Government Office might leak the news in advance." Xiao Tianmu silently praised, this younger brother acts ruthlessly and decisively, with meticulous thinking; if he could carry out all he said, the Tianlang Mountain bandits would likely think better of it and not dare come.

Zhou Mo, however, frowned tightly, looking displeased; in fact he had been waiting for this opportunity, and only if the Tianlang Mountain bandits attacked would he have a chance to avenge—over a hundred of his brothers had died at Yan Kui's hands; if not for revenge, why would he hide his identity and linger in Qingyun prison? Hu Xiaotian's actions are entirely for Prince Zhou's safety; with such meticulous precautions, the Tianlang Mountain bandits would certainly not dare to act, and his long-laid revenge plan would likely fail.

Hu Xiaotian guessed Zhou Mo's thoughts and whispered, "Elder brother, a gentleman may take ten years to exact revenge; I know you hate to not kill Yan Kui right now, but priorities matter—Prince Zhou and the Shajia envoy's affair concerns Dakang's border security; if the envoy is attacked within Dakang territory, it will surely provoke Shajia, who will likely tear up the treaty and possibly come to blows, at which point the common folk will suffer; we brothers are Dakang's subjects, and if we cannot stop this, would we not become sinners of the nation?"

These words made Zhou Mo's forehead bead with cold sweat; he secretly felt ashamed, thinking his brothers' words were absolutely right—how could this elder brother with myopic vision ruin national affairs over personal grudges? If this truly caused war between the two states, what face would he have to meet his fellow villagers and elders?

Xiao Tianmu slowly nodded and said, "Third brother, you're right; priorities matter—saving the people from fire and water is righteousness; as for that evil Yan Kui, we will surely have a chance to deal with him sooner or later."

Zhou Mo said, "Both brothers, I understand; I will certainly not let personal grudges disrupt the plan."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Dealing with Yan Kui is not without opportunity; lately his son Yan Boguang has been recuperating at Black Stone Stronghold, which is the territory of the Black Miao people. Although we cannot easily enter the stronghold to seize him, from the information I have, Yan Boguang's condition has greatly improved these past two days; he is likely to leave Black Stone Stronghold within the next two days. If we keep watch on the stronghold, we can capture all of Yan Kui's children; once we have them, we need not fear that Yan Kui will not send rescuers—then we can lure the snakes out of their den and wipe out the Tianlang Mountain bandits in one fell swoop!"

Xiao Tianmu had in fact also considered this; they have been responsible for monitoring that group's movements, and if they capture Yan Kui's precious children, they need not worry that he won't send rescuers.

Zhou Mo nodded and said, "Fine, I'll take charge of dealing with Yan Boguang and his entourage!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Not only Yan Boguang, but you two elder brothers have many capable subordinates; I hope you will dispatch able assistants to observe the Tianlang Mountain bandits' movements and report to me at the first sign of trouble."

Xiao Tianmu said, "If you arrest those officials of Qingyun, you will command the Qingyun troops—surely you won't be short on manpower."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Those official soldiers and clerks, when it comes to eating and graft, each outdoes the other; when it comes to actually doing work, they're all useless sacks of pus!"

Deep inside Hu Xiaotian lay another side unknown to others; when he first came to this world, he believed forgetting was beautiful, wishing to forget the toil and exhaustion of his past life, to shelve his burgeoning ambition, to utterly cast aside his craving for fame and profit, for only then could he live lightly and happily. Yet once he truly began to acquaint himself with and face this world, he realized that everything around him was not much different from before; the two words "power and profit" remain the object most people eagerly pursue, while transcending worldly concerns and being uncontended is merely a theoretical dream; living in mundane society, if one wishes to be at ease and live comfortably, one must follow worldly rules.

The weak are meat, the strong prevail—a harsh, realistic truth. Hu Xiaotian had thought he had completely discarded fame and profit, and that after this life-and-death ordeal he could ignore those empty honors and status, yet he gradually discovered that deep within his heart still lay a mighty ambition, and this ambition, accumulating day by day with the passage of time, only grew stronger.

After the Shajia envoy entered Qingyun, Xu Qinglian and the others only then found out; by the time they went out to greet them, it was already too late—Prince Zhou had someone directly take the Shajia envoy to Wan Fu, where he had previously made preparations, and the western courtyard of Wan Fu had been cleared out for the envoy's temporary stay.

Xu Qinglian and his entourage followed to Wan Fu, intending to go in exchange a few pleasantries, but Prince Zhou had them blocked outside the gate of Wan Fu.

The crowd, not knowing what Prince Zhou meant, returned to the Government Office, each feeling uneasy, afraid they might have offended Your Highness; as they were discussing, they saw Hu Xiaotian arrive with four attendants.

Your Highness the Imperial Prince

Since the charity auction, these officials have obviously become much more courteous toward Hu Xiaotian; rumors about his true background have begun to circulate these past two days, the most reliable version being that Hu Xiaotian is the sole son of the current Minister of Revenue, Hu Buwei, and his future father-in-law is the Founding Duke of Xichuan Li Tianheng. As the saying goes, there is no wall that does not let the wind through; in just two days, practically everyone in Qingyun's Government Office has come to know this fact, and some now regret their earlier actions. Adding to their regret is fear, and foremost among them is Xu Qinglian, who recalls how he repeatedly opposed and made things difficult for Hu Xiaotian, to the point of feeling like bashing his own head against a wall; having served as an official for half his life, he still cannot recognize a genuine second-generation official, which just shows he has eyes but fails to see Mount Tai.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian arrive, all the officials went forward to meet him, smiling broadly, and said: "Sir Hu has arrived, Sir Hu's arrival is just in time; we happen to have something to discuss with you."

Liang Qing

Xu Qinglian said: "Sir Hu, today the Shajia delegation arrived in Qingyun. As local officials, we should have gone out to receive them, but Prince Zhou Wang, Your Highness placed the Shajia delegation at the Wan Family's residence, shutting us out completely. We do not know what we have done wrong, feeling anxious in our hearts, and hope Sir Hu will go to the Wan mansion to inquire about the news."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said: "Sir Xu, you still don't know where you went wrong?"

Xu Qinglian nodded slightly, vaguely feeling that Hu Xiaotian's smile was somewhat unfriendly.

Hu Xiaotian glanced around the crowd, then said softly: "Prince Zhou Wang, Thousand Years ordered you to go to Fulai Inn to apprehend the rebels of the Wuxian Sect, yet you came back empty-handed."

Xu Qinglian said: "By the time I arrived at Fulai Inn, the Wuxian Sect people had already left; I couldn't do anything about it." He felt a secret alarm in his heart, not knowing why Hu Xiaotian brought this up now.

Hu Xiaotian snorted coldly and said: "Seize Sir Xu and arrest him!"

Nobody expected the situation to suddenly change like this; before anyone could react, Liang Qing and Xu Heng rushed forward, snatched off Sir Xu's hat, and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing Sir Xu to plop down onto his knees with a thud.

There is still one day left in this month; please check your ticket reserves, and if you have any Monthly Tickets, please cast them as soon as possible, otherwise they will expire!