Chapter 68: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

The night wind blew gently; the night in Huai Town was very quiet.

Li Shuang sat in the room, closing his eyes to rest his spirit.

Hou Jing paced nearby, looking very anxious.

Time passed second by second until, at a certain moment, the door knocked three times: pa, pa, pa.

Li Shuang opened his eyes, and Hou Jing stopped moving.

"It seems we succeeded!"

Li Shuang stood up and ordered Hou Jing:

"Go!"

The two walked out of the house; Wei Jing, Gao Huan's brother-in-law, waited anxiously nearby.

Serving as a soldier in Huai Town, their military training was absolutely sufficient.

The fact that they could abduct Polo Han Chang, son of Polo Han Kong Que, without anyone noticing, showed the power of these local bullies.

Gao Huan grew up in poverty and was raised entirely by his brother-in-law Wei Jing.

Later, after Gao Huan married Lou Zhaojun and rose to prominence, Wei Jing's household naturally improved. Yet the rise in living standards did not change Wei Jing's mercenary character.

"Envoy, we put in great effort to abduct Polo Han Chang this time; you must not go back on your word!"

Wei Jing was now very anxious. He was both fearful and greedy, constantly reminding Li Shuang.

"Rest assured, I will not go back on my word. After the negotiations, I will arrange for everyone who participated in the operation to depart."

The three soon reached the city gate, which was already open.

Gao Huan, with more than a dozen men, was waiting before a carriage.

On the carriage, a bound, unconscious man lay.

Hou Jing stepped forward with a fire starter, inspected the man, confirmed everything was correct, and nodded to Li Shuang.

"Arrange for your families to leave the city as soon as possible; my men will meet you outside!"

Just as Li Shuang finished speaking, a row of torches suddenly lit up atop the city wall.

Hundreds of cavalry surged in from all directions, surrounding Li Shuang and the others.

Polo Han Kong Que rode his horse, approached slowly, saw Li Shuang, and laughed:

"Since the Magistrate of Ma Yi has come, why still try to leave?"

At this display, Wei Jing and the others were so frightened their legs went weak, yet Gao Huan showed not the slightest panic.

"He Lu Hun, what should we do?"

"Rest assured; Polo Han Chang is in our hands!"

Hearing this, Wei Jing felt slightly relieved.

Then, Gao Huan drew his sword and shouted loudly into the night sky.

"Protect the heir of the Prince of Pingnan! Do not let villains harm him!"

At Gao Huan's cry, more than a dozen people, including Wei Jing, dropped their jaws in shock, then quickly reacted and severed all ties with Li Shuang.

Li Shuang, who had had more than ten people beside him just moments ago, now stood utterly alone with only Hou Jing.

"Hou Jing, why are you looking at me with such unscrupulous eyes?"

"Da Ye Shuang, you've botched it! Even though I, Hou Jing, am filled with righteous spirit, I am ashamed to be associated with you."

Saying this, Hou Jing quietly stepped back a few paces, aligning himself with Gao Huan and the others.

"You... you all!"

Polo Han Kong Que laughed loudly:

"Da Ye Shuang, you are now abandoned by all. Take him away!"

Hou Jing had been hiding among the crowd in Huai Town, yet Polo Han Kong Que's men still dragged him out.

"I am also from Huai Town; I am not with Da Ye Shuang!"

Yet no matter how much Hou Jing shouted, it was useless.

Seeing his men capture Li Shuang and Hou Jing, Polo Han Kong Que looked at Gao Huan and nodded in satisfaction.

"He Lu Hun, well done. Rest assured, this King will not treat you poorly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Gao Huan's home.

In the dead of night, a dog suddenly began to bark.

Lou Zhaojun, wrapped in a robe, led people out to investigate and saw Gao Huan, Wei Jing, and more than a dozen men enter the courtyard, still shaken.

Lou Zhaojun said nothing but brought hot water to everyone.

After drinking, Wei Jing looked at Gao Huan; now he understood, yet was filled with questions.

"He Lu Hun, why did you betray Li Shen's envoy?"

This was also what everyone could not understand.

In the end, Polo Han Kong Que would still submit to the imperial army, wouldn't he?

If you betray Li Shen's envoy now, what will you do later?

Gao Huan looked at everyone, offered no explanation, and simply said:

"The waters here run deep. Brother-in-law, brothers all, please trust me, He Lu Hun; I will not harm you."

With Gao Huan's words, everyone had nothing to say for a time, and soon departed one by one.

Yet Gao Huan remained long without sleep, standing alone beneath the eaves, gazing at the night scene.

Lou Zhaojun walked up behind him and draped a garment over his shoulders.

"Zhaojun, I am sorry; I still did not listen to your words."

Lou Zhaojun leaned against his shoulder, her tone very gentle.

"My husband has great ambitions. Since you've already done it, I will support you from behind."

Gao Huan laughed. Under the moonlight, he took out the piece of paper Li Shuang had given him and sighed softly.

"What a pity—this piece of paper is, in the end, too small."

In the room, Poliuhan Chang came to from his faintness. Sitting in a chair now, he looked somewhat dispirited.

Hou Jing followed at Poliuhan Kong Que's side, wearing a fawning smile, and said:

"That traitor Da Ye Shuang—I have long been dissatisfied with him. How fine a man Your Highness is, willing to submit to the court, yet he still suspected trickery. Truly, measuring the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a petty man."

"I did have a trick up my sleeve—merely wanting to lure Li Shen Gui's sworn younger brother, that Northern Campaign Grand Commander, here to get something from him. In life I am a true king's man, in death a true king's ghost!"

"Your Highness is truly brilliant in stratagem, loyal and brave beyond praise! If that Da Ye Shuang had half of Your Highness's wisdom, he wouldn't have fallen to his current state today."

Poliuhan Kong Que looked at Hou Jing and laughed heartily:

"Very good. At last I understand why Da Ye Shuang valued you so highly. From today, you shall serve as a military commander under me, commanding a thousand men of the Huaishuo garrison."

"Many thanks to Your Highness for the promotion!"

After Hou Jing left, Poliuhan Chang scratched his head and stood up.

"Father, why must you place such heavy trust in such a glib-tongued man?"

Poliuhan Kong Que looked at his son, laughing at how naive he was.

"Gao Huan, Hou Jing—they are both extraordinary men. Without your father, you alone could not handle them. Isn't tonight the best example?"

Poliuhan Chang, hearing this, felt a bit resentful.

"Since Father had already planned it all with Gao Huan long ago, why didn't you tell your son? I could have prepared myself—did I really need to go through with it for real?"

"If I'd told you, wouldn't that only have created unnecessary complications?"

Poliuhan Kong Que had absolutely no high hopes for his own son.

"Why does Father want to capture that Da Ye Shuang?"

Poliuhan Kong Que smiled disdainfully.

"In this northern border, nothing can be relied upon these days—except for one thing that is real!"

"Does Father mean grain?"

"At last you show some comprehension. Shuozhou recently received a hundred thousand shi of grain and fodder, along with thirty thousand head of cattle and sheep. Only by seizing these into our hands can we have enough bargaining chips."

"But if we offend Li Shen Gui, how do we negotiate afterward?"

"There's a Grand Commander in Yunzhong City, but over in Tongwan City there's still the Prince of Guangyang. What's the rush?"

The Hulu Tribe.

Hulu Jin was waiting anxiously until Yu Jin's figure appeared before his eyes.

"Advisor, how did it go?"

"News has come from Huaishuo—the fish has finally taken the bait!"

……