The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

"General Liu, excuse me."

Ning Quan smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Liu Wenjie hurriedly said respectfully.

"Well, you're a good choice."

"Don't worry, I won't bear grudge against you."

"Besides, there is no deep hatred between you and me."

"If I were to vent my anger on you because of what happened last time, I would be too petty. I am not that narrow-minded."

Ning Quan smiled.

"Your Highness is magnanimous and generous. I admire you deeply."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenjie breathed a sigh of relief.

He decided to cooperate with Ning Quan because he was afraid of offending Ning Quan again.

With Ning Quan's current strength, it is no exaggeration to say that he is the number one prince in Daqian.

Liu Wenjie must make friends with him and ease the previous conflict.

Otherwise, Ning Quan might point the finger at Longyou.

"By the way, the eldest prince is dead, did you know?"

Ning Quan suddenly asked.

"What? The eldest prince is dead?"

When Liu Wenjie heard this, his expression suddenly changed.

"How could the eldest prince be dead? Hasn't he been staying in the city the whole time?"

"That's true, but the eldest prince was accidentally hit by an arrow shot by a Tibetan soldier, so he died." Ning Quan said calmly.

When he said these words, his expression seemed quite regretful.

Hearing this, Liu Wenjie felt a chill in his heart and almost fell down.

It is simply impossible that the eldest prince was shot to death by Tibetan arrows.

The two armies were fighting fiercely just now. The Tibetan soldiers had time to run to the city and shoot an arrow at the eldest prince.

The key point is that the walls of Xiping are high enough, so it is impossible to shoot so accurately.

Moreover, it was impossible for the defenders of the city wall to just let the Tibetan soldiers come to the city.

So what Ning Quan said must be false.

But Liu Wenjie also didn't think that it was Ning Quan who did it.

For the same reason, Ning Quan couldn't do what Tubo couldn't do.

But how did the eldest prince die?

How could His Majesty the Ninth Prince know this?

And why are you so sure?

For a moment, Liu Wenjie's mind was in a mess.

"Swords have no eyes, anything can happen. I can only say that my brother has a bad fate."

"Now that my royal brother is dead, Hexi cannot be left without a leader. It is only natural that I should shoulder the responsibility for my royal brother."

"General Liu, do you think what I said is right?"

Ning Quan said while looking at Liu Wenjie with a smile.

"Uh...yes...that's exactly what it should be."

Hearing this, Liu Wenjie forced a smile, but his smile was uglier than crying.

The meaning of the Ninth Prince's words is very clear, he wants Hexi.

And they also had to drag him into the water and make him bear witness.

Liu Wenjie didn't want to agree, but he had no choice.

Is the relationship, which has just been eased, going to break down again?

"Your Highness, Hexi cannot be without a master for a day. I will accompany you into the city."

After figuring out the key to the problem, Liu Wenjie took the initiative to speak.

"Okay, let's go into town now."

Ning Quan smiled and nodded, and the two of them walked hand in hand to the foot of Xiping City.

"Open the gates."

When they arrived at the foot of the city, Ning Mian shouted calmly.

Upon hearing this, several generals of the Hexi Army on the city wall looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

They all knew the grudge between the eldest prince and the ninth prince.

Before the eldest prince died, he issued a strict order not to allow the ninth prince to enter the city.

"What do you want to do?"

"His Highness the Ninth Prince has arrived. Why don't you open the city gates?"

Seeing this, Liu Wenjie stepped forward and roared.

Seeing Liu Wenjie also stand up, several generals of the Hexi Army looked at each other and had to open the city gate.

"This general and others are here to see His Majesty the Ninth Prince."

After Liu Wenjie and Ning Quan entered the city, several generals knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Ning Quan respectfully.

"Well, everyone get up." Ning Quan nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Several generals stood up, but they looked at Ning Quan with awe, fearing that the Ninth Prince would cause trouble for them.

"I'm asking you, where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Liu Wenjie asked immediately.

Although it was impossible for His Majesty the Ninth Prince to lie to him, he still wanted to confirm it.

"General Liu, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was unfortunately hit by a stray arrow and has died." A general answered honestly.

"what!"

Hearing this, Liu Wenjie pretended to be surprised.

Of course, Liu Wenjie could only pretend to be surprised. Could he say that he had known it for a long time?

"My brother is dead?"

"How is this possible?"

Ning Quan also looked shocked.

Seeing this, Liu Wenjie sighed inwardly that the Ninth Prince did have some acting skills.

"Yes, His Highness was unfortunately killed by a stray arrow. His body has now been carried to His Highness's residence." said another general.

"Brother, why are you so unfortunate?"

"It's all because my ninth brother arrived a step too late. If we could have dealt with the Tibetan army earlier, this wouldn't have happened."

Ning Quan was suddenly heartbroken, as if he was really shocked.

"Don't worry, my Royal Brother. I will definitely take over and guard Hexi for you."

Then, Ning Quan continued to pretend.

"Your Highness is absolutely right. With war raging everywhere in Daqian, Anxi cannot afford to be leaderless. Your Highness should shoulder the responsibility and temporarily preside over Hexi affairs."

Liu Wenjie could only cooperate with him in acting and said with a look of grief and anger.

The two of them sang the same tune, and the generals in Hexi did not dare to refute them.

After all, what His Majesty the Ninth Prince said was so reasonable that no one could find fault with it.

Besides, the prince is already dead, what else can they do?

"Your Highness, please ask the Ninth Prince to take charge of the overall situation in Hexi."

"We, the generals, will obey His Majesty the Ninth Prince's orders."

All the generals said in unison.

"Very good. Thank you all for your kindness. I will temporarily take over the affairs of Hexi until my father makes new arrangements."

Ning Quan said pretentiously.

Upon hearing this, all the generals breathed a sigh of relief.

According to His Highness the Ninth Prince, he is only temporarily in charge of Hexi affairs.

But Liu Wenjie, who was standing by, knew that since the meat was already in his mouth, how could the Ninth Prince possibly spit it out?

These are just delaying tactics.

Of course he couldn't expose it, so he could only pretend that he knew nothing.

"Ninth Prince, let's go to the First Prince's residence to pay our respects."

Liu Wenjie took the initiative to suggest.

"Well, it's time to go and pay our respects."

Ning Quan nodded.

Then, Ning Quan and Liu Wenjie walked towards Ning Zhen's residence.

Ning Zhen’s real palace was in the capital, and the residence in Xiping City was just his temporary residence while he was serving as the Jiedushi.

His family was also in the capital, so there were not many people in his mansion, only a few concubines and some servants.

Ning Quan and Liu Wenjie arrived at the mansion and walked straight to the lobby.

At this time, the mourning hall had been set up, Ning Zhen's body was placed on it, and several concubines were crying.

Seeing the two men coming, several concubines kowtowed in greeting.

Ning Quan nodded slightly at them and ignored them.

They are just a few concubines, not worthy of being on the stage. It’s good enough if they nod their heads.

After the two men finished their pretend memorial service, they left Ning Zhen's mansion and turned to the Hexi Protectorate mansion.

At this time, officials at all levels of the Hexi Protectorate and a group of Hexi generals had already been waiting here.