Chapter 1093: Decisive Battle (3)

At this moment, Qi Haoran was also saying to Mu Yangling, “We can’t just wait for Great Jin and Great Yuan to start fighting.”

Mu Yangling looked up at him. “So?”

“So let’s give them a push from behind.” Qi Haoran said solemnly, “There are still people from the North Six Agency still hiding in the city. They should come in handy.”

“Can you still contact them now? Since five days ago, all the messenger pigeons and other birds that flew into the Central Capital from outside have been shot down. How can you contact them?”

After a moment of silence, Qi Haoran said, “We agreed back then that we could use smoke signals to send news when the situation was urgent.”

Mu Yangling felt that this was too dangerous and advised, “Considering there aren’t many people from the North Six Agency left in the city, what they can do is limited. Why take the risk and sacrifice them?”

Qi Haoran hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, “Big Brother still has a group of people in his hands. I don’t know if he has a solution. Actually, I just want to give them a push. We have a feud with the Jin people, but they were the ones who attacked us. We should hate them more than they hate us. But they’re different from Great Yuan, who trampled on them to get to the top. Logically speaking, they should hate Great Yuan the most.”

“Are you trying to sow discord between them?”

Qi Haoran nodded. He had always liked to take the initiative to attack. How long would he have to wait for an opportunity to appear?

If Great Jin and Great Yuan held back and did not attack, would Great Qi have to waste time with them?

Qi Haoran preferred to control the situation in his own hands.

Just as he was still vexed about how to go about doing it, Little Treasure and the others’ letter which consolidated all the ideas they had gathered arrived. Mu Yangling helped Little Bear organize it. Halfway through, Mu Yangling said in surprise, “I get it!”

Mu Yangling dragged Qi Haoran to look for Qi Xiuyuan.

“So you mean to use kites, Kongming lanterns, and things like that to pass the order over?”

“That’s right.” Mu Yangling’s eyes lit up. “Doesn’t Great Jin know that we have spies in the Central Capital? They’re definitely aware that there are spies, but they don’t know who the spies are. We’ll give the order in front of the entire city. Other than us and those who know the secret code, no one knows what order we give or who we give it to. Even if Great Jin cracks the secret code, we don’t have to fear.”

Qi Xiuyuan nodded slowly and said, “That’s a good idea. Didn’t the children also suggest encouraging the commoners in the city to surrender? In that case, we might as well include some persuasive letters and throw them down. Perhaps someone will surrender and open the city gate for us. Great Qi will let bygones be bygones as long as they surrender.”

“Big Brother, just leave this matter to Ah Ling and Little Bear. They’re best at writing vernacular.”

Mu Yangling glared at Qi Haoran.

Qi Xiuyuan chuckled. “Alright, I’ll leave this matter to Ah Ling and Little Bear. The army doesn’t lack manpower. Get someone to help you make the kites and Kongming lanterns.”

Mu Yangling agreed happily and went to work, leaving only the brothers in the tent.

Qi Xiuyuan sat on the chair and looked up. “Alright, you can speak freely now that you’ve sent Ah Ling away.”

“Big Brother, I want to enter the Central Capital.”

Qi Xiuyuan frowned. “Let’s not talk about how you’ll get in first. Even if you manage to go in, will you be able to come out alive? Isn’t that like a sheep entering a wolf’s mouth?”

Qi Haoran said, “Of course not now, but after some time, when Great Jin is forced into a desperate situation.”

“Big Brother, take a look at the things that Li Zhang asked Wang Xi to bring back. Since the ambitious Ogedei can unite the three major Mongolian tribes to resist the Jin Dynasty, he can lead Great Yuan to attack our Great Qi in the future. Even with the instability all around, he’s coveting our lost land. Thus, once Great Jin is destroyed, he will definitely not let Great Qi off.”

“So?”

“So why do we have to destroy Great Jin? We Han people and Great Jin have a feud, but Great Qi’s only taking back our lost territory, while Great Yuan is occupying land that originally belongs to Great Jin. It is Great Yuan who exacerbated Great Jin’s destruction. Even if they want to hate someone, they should hate the Mongols even more. That’s why I want to enter the city to meet the Great Jin Emperor.” Qi Haoran said, “It’s impossible to bypass him, but his eldest son is already 17 or 18 years old. I don’t believe he can bear to let all his children perish with Great Jin.”

As a father, he felt that as long as there was a chance of survival, he would definitely want Little Bear and his other children to live.

Seeing Qi Xiuyuan’s hesitation, Qi Haoran promised, “Big Brother, I’ll definitely be able to escape unscathed. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let myself become a hostage.”

“No.” Qi Xiuyuan, who had been a little hesitant, heard the determination in his brother’s words and refused. “If you take the unconventional path, you won’t only hurt the enemy, but yourself. Don’t even think about it.”

“Big Brother!”

“If you dare to mess around, I’ll tell Ah Ling that the moment you enter the city. Immediately after, I’ll send her in as well.” Seeing his brother’s expression change drastically, Qi Xiuyuan said mercilessly, “I mean what I say. Try it if you don’t believe me.”

Qi Haoran flung open the curtain angrily and left.

Qi Xiuyuan said angrily to Eunuch Wan, “To think he calls the kids brats. I think he’s the most bratty of them all. How bold of him. Is Wulie that easy to meet? If he’s taken as a hostage, should I withdraw my troops or not? If I don’t, he’ll die. If I retreat, he’ll become a sinner for eternity. How ridiculous!”

Eunuch Wan smiled and advised, “His Highness is just concerned about the war. With Your Majesty’s words, His Highness won’t dare to act rashly. Don’t worry.”

Qi Xiuyuan sneered. “He’s someone who values his wife over his brother. If I hadn’t used his wife to threaten him, he wouldn’t have listened.”

Eunuch Wan could only laugh awkwardly and did not dare to reply.

Qi Xiuyuan sat on the chair and sulked. Seeing this, Eunuch Wan poured him a cup of tea and advised in a low voice, “Prince Rong has a pure heart, even though he may be a little rash. He’s doing his best for Your Majesty. Your Majesty, don’t worry. With Her Highness around, His Highness will be fine in a while. Failing which, we can get the Duke to talk some sense into him.”

Seeing that Qi Xiuyuan was sitting there in silence, Eunuch Wan smiled and said, “With His Highness’s personality, only Her Highness can subdue him. Fortunately, Her Highness is gentle and tolerant. If Your Majesty is still worried that His Highness will sneak into the Central Capital, why don’t you secretly tell Her Highness and let her persuade him?”

Qi Xiuyuan burst out laughing. “Ah Ling is gentle and tolerant? If she found out, he should count himself lucky if she didn’t beat him up.”

At this point, Qi Xiuyuan’s heart ached.

It would have been fine if Mu Yangling was gentle. This way, when Qi Haoran listened to her advice, Qi Xiuyuan could comfort himself that he failed to persuade him because of his bad temper or poor persuasion. However, sometimes, Ah Ling’s temper was even worse than his, at times kicking Qi Haoran off the bed when they disagreed on things. Even if the exact same words came out of Qi Xiuyuan and Mu Yangling’s mouth, Qi Haoran would turn a deaf ear to Qi Xiuyuan’s words while heeding Mu Yangling’s advice. To think he valued his wife over his older brother to this extent…

At the thought of this, Qi Xiuyuan sighed. “Fortunately, Ah Ling has an upright personality. Otherwise, who knows how this kid would have turned out over the years. Alright, you don’t have to comfort me anymore. I’m not mad at him anymore. Get someone to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t run away.”