Chapter 1094: Decisive Battle (4)

With Qi Xiuyuan’s threat, Qi Haoran had no choice but to suppress his desire to meet the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom, Wulie. After all, he did not doubt Qi Xiuyuan would make good on his threat.

While Qi Xiuyuan did value Ah Ling, he definitely valued his younger brother more. The two of them understood that if Ah Ling was around, he would have to think twice before doing many things.

Qi Haoran sighed. Actually, it wasn’t as if he had a death wish; he was 70% confident that even if Wulie had the intention of perishing together with him, he would be able to retreat unscathed.

The Central Capital was not big, but it was not small either. He felt that it was possible for him to hide if he went alone, and that he could escape Wulie’s search. With his strong internal energy and outstanding abilities, he believed that he could escape after the negotiation with Wulie collapsed.

Why didn’t his big brother trust him?

Qi Haoran sat on the hill gloomily and sighed as he looked at the Central Capital. He really wanted to go in.

Mu Yangling stood at the foot of the hill and looked up again and again. Finally, she turned around to look for Little Bear. “Is everything ready?”

Little Bear nodded excitedly.

Hence, at night, many Kongming lanterns rose from Great Qi’s tents. A long piece of paper was hanging from them, upon which either an ancient poem or a string of numbers was written. These lanterns slowly floated towards the Central Capital.

The Great Jin Left Minister thought for a moment, and his expression instantly changed drastically. He shouted, “They’re using this thing to send a message. Shoot them down, quickly shoot them down!”

Hence, many soldiers in the Central Capital shot arrows upwards, wanting to shoot the Kongming lantern down. The Kongming lanterns that were shot down fell. In midair, some papers scattered, and underneath the Kongming lanterns that fell, there was a small roll of paper with a message for the people of Great Jin.

It was written that as long as the people of Great Jin surrendered, Great Qi would treat everyone equally. In Great Qi, citizens would not be treated equally. Taxes would only differ according to occupations and not race.

If the first two sentences were propaganda for everyone, then the following sentences were purposeful encouragement.

The latter part was written by Qi Xiuyuan according to Mu Yangling’s wishes, expressing his sympathy and guilt for his fellow Han people living on Great Qi’s lost territory. Ever since he became sensible, he had been determined to reclaim the lost territories, so that the Han people living there would no longer be fourth-class citizens. Even after he became the Emperor, he had never forgotten this goal and ideal.

He hoped that his compatriots would no longer be killed wantonly, after which the murderer would only be punished with a small fine or a few flogs.

He hoped that his compatriots would no longer have to pay more taxes because they were Han or of a different ethnicity. In Great Qi, all ethnic groups were equal.

After that, he expressed forgiveness for the Jin people and the Jin soldiers. Qi Xiuyuan said that war was not the wish of the people of either country. He believed that the Jin people and the Jin soldiers did not want a war either, and were just following orders. As long as they put down their weapons, he was willing to let bygones be bygones.

If they wanted to leave the Central Capital and return to the grassland, he would allow them to take away their assets. If they wanted to stay in the Central Capital, he would also treat them as the citizens of Great Qi as long as they followed the laws of Great Qi.

There were many Kongming lanterns, and they were shot down one by one. By the time the Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister received the scattered letters and realized that he had been tricked, those letters that had drifted down had already been hidden by people with ulterior motives. Even if they searched from door to door, they might not necessarily find the letters and would instead make the people panic.

However, if they did not search and allowed these letters to circulate, encouraging their citizens, it would also be disadvantageous to Great Jin.

The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister clenched his fists in anger. Great Qi was so despicable to have thought of such a method.

The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister did not know that this idea was suggested by a few young brats, or else he would be even angrier.

For the next few days, the Central Capital was very quiet, but the atmosphere was very stiff. Undercurrents surged in private, and many commoners walking on the streets would look up at the sky from time to time.

Recently, Great Qi had been throwing things into the city. During the day, it was kites, and at night, it was Kongming lanterns.

There were letters or drawings on the kites, as well as a bundle of letters tied to the string. As long as they fell, before the Jin soldiers could take the things away, the commoners would tear off all the letters. The Jin soldiers weren’t able to catch up even if they wanted to.

It was the same for Kongming lanterns. Regardless of whether they were shot down or not, there would always be some Kongming lanterns that would fall into the city in the end. The letter tied to it would still be taken away and spread in private.

Meanwhile, the nobles of the Jin Kingdom could vaguely sense that there was an influence secretly operating in the Central Capital. Now, all the citizens in the city were fired up. Even the nobles of the Jin Kingdom were tempted by the promise of the Great Qi Emperor.

“If this continues, we won’t need Great Qi and Dayuan to attack the city. We’ll lose first.” The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister looked a little defeated as he said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, we have to think of a way to appease the people.”

Wulie asked indifferently, “The Central Capital is surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water can pass through. It’s obvious that the country’s doom is imminent. How else can we appease the people?”

The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister’s lips moved, but in the end, he remained silent.

After a long while, Wulie said, “If you have a way to leave, leave quickly.”

The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister held onto the pillar and wept bitterly. “Your Majesty, if even you are so discouraged, how are our soldiers supposed to protect their home and country?”

“Home? Do I still have a home now? My country is about to be destroyed, and I’m holed up in this city. How can I still protect the country?”

The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty, I know a merchant surnamed Zhou. He might be able to provide us with a chance of survival.”

Wulie did not believe it at all. They were now surrounded by Great Qi and Great Yuan. Without reinforcements from outside, they could only wait for the city to be breached. How could they have any chance of survival?

However, the Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister wiped his tears and turned to leave. He did mean what he said. He had long suspected that Zhou Ju had some ties with Great Qi, and now he was even more certain.

Regardless of whether the words he sent were his own scheme or the Emperor of Great Qi’s plan, to them, this was a chance of survival. As long as they could send a prince out of the city, their country would not be considered to have perished. After all, where there’s life, there’s hope.

After Zhou Ju sent off the Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister, under his arrangements, he was finally able to secretly send out a message.

The letter quickly reached Qi Xiuyuan’s hand.

Qi Xiuyuan smiled and replied.

Haoran’s suggestion was great, but he would not let Haoran take this risk. However, he could still let his subordinates take the risk.

Qi Xiuyuan raised his pen and replied. In order to gain the trust of the Jin Emperor, he even stamped his seal on it. Qi Xiuyuan did not mind letting others know about this.

Qi Haoran ‘accidentally’ glanced at the reply and his heart itched even more. He followed behind Qi Xiuyuan and nagged, “Big Brother, Zhou Ju is just a spy. Even if there’s a letter with your seal, he’s not important enough. Since the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom won’t believe it, it’d be a waste of time. Instead, they’ll lose their lives for nothing. You should let me go. Look at me. I’m your biological younger brother, a Prince of Great Qi. I have enough status and authority…”

“How rare. So you still know that you’re my biological younger brother. The moment you entered the city, the historians have been saying that I was selling my younger brother for glory. Just for a tattered city, I even disregarded the life of my biological younger brother.”