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Meat, several plates of meat, and a sweet, rich, steaming soup of some unknown origin.

Polo swallowed his saliva and Wu Xin stared at the face in the tent that he had seen countless times.

The little prince of disaster relief! That little god!

He had seen this person in a portrait when he ventured into Dacheng to investigate ways to dig canals and divert water. Later, wanting to know what this person had done, he followed the footsteps of the little immortal and traveled anonymously through various states of Dacheng, collecting many portraits of this person along the way.

Following the footsteps of the little immortal all the way, I initially wanted to meet this person and ask him for advice on how to dig canals and divert water.

He learned a lot along the way and witnessed many new things, and his desire to meet this person gradually subsided...

I didn't expect that the two of them would meet in such a scene.

They were suddenly interrupted while eating. The man was looking at them with a confused look... and also at him.

Those were a pair of clear and pure eyes that seemed to be able to see through the essence of all things. Those eyes were looking at him with a hint of confusion.

A huge wave of heat surged in his heart, and Wu Xin stared at the man stiffly.

This person can save Qi!

A voice sounded in his mind, and Wu Xin was so impulsive that he wanted to immediately pull this person over to talk about what he had seen and heard along the way. Trying hard to suppress the excitement in his heart, Wu Xin's face remained unchanged.

Luo Yao stood up and helped the dirty boy lying on the ground to his feet. He told the disabled deputy general Zhang He, who was still leaning on a crutch, "Go get them something to eat."

Luo Yao was clearly targeting him. Zhang He looked at Luo Yao dimly. Bei Zhenting looked over with an icy gaze. Zhang He resigned himself to his fate and limped out of the tent, hopping on his crutches.

The plump white buns were really soft, even softer than I had imagined. Polo felt bad holding the buns he was given. Standing beside him, Crown Prince Wuxin looked at the buns in his hand with an increasingly determined look.

"There's a basket of steamed buns prepared over there. The general has ordered that you can go get some if you don't have enough." After the steamed buns were distributed, the soldiers retreated in a flash. The starving civilians immediately turned around and ran to the small table with a basket full of white flour steamed buns.

"Aren't you two going?" Zhang He limped back and looked at the two hungry people standing there with some confusion.

Wu Xin leaned forward slightly and performed the etiquette of a foreign royal family towards the tent, "Prince Wu Xin of Qi has come to visit, hoping to meet General Zhenbei and the princess."

Hearing this, the soldiers who were eating in the camp stood up one by one with their swords in hand. The limping Zhang He also stopped, supporting himself with one hand on his crutch and the other on the big sword at his waist.

A few disaster victims who were happily eating steamed buns just now realized what was happening and stopped eating.

Under the gaze of everyone, Wu Xin tore off his dirty cloak.

"Your Highness?!" The young boy was the first to react. He grabbed two steamed buns and rushed to Wu Xin's side, shielding him with his arms. The civilians behind him also quickly dropped their buns and ran over to protect their Prince, each of them glaring angrily at the Qi soldiers holding swords.

Wu Xin raised his hand and touched the dirty hair of the young man standing in front of him. He said softly, "Don't be so panic. I believe the general and the princess will also want to talk to me."

"Heh." A sneer broke the harmonious and warm atmosphere. It was Xu Han's voice.

"Your Highness Wu Xin is so arrogant. How could our general and princess be so..."

"Why do you say that, Your Highness?" Luo Yao's voice came from inside the room, interrupting Xu Han.

"I have brought the important news that the General and the Princess want to know. If they don't see me, I'm afraid by the time they learn of the changes in your country's Western Province, it will be too late. Furthermore, the Daqi troops supporting our Qi were ambushed with explosives at the Devil's Tomb, resulting in heavy casualties. However, the supporting troops behind them..."

"Let him in." Bei Zhenting said in a serious voice.

Wu Xin and Polo were invited into the tent, and the people returned to the dining table to eat.

There was a low table in the tent, with several majestic lieutenants on both sides. Luo Yao and Wu Xin sat opposite each other, with a set of bowls and chopsticks on the table. Behind them was Bei Zhenting, who was leaning on a soft cotton pillow and reading a book.

Li Xian, who had already finished eating, stood beside Luo Yao, while Polo stood beside his own Crown Prince, keeping vigilant at all times.

"A simple meal, please, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Luo Yao's expression was indifferent.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary. Daqi's reinforcements will arrive at the Devil's Tomb early tomorrow morning if nothing unexpected happens. If the general and the prince trust me, I'd like to negotiate a deal with Dacheng."

"what do you want?"

"Food, clothing, and I hope the princess can help us dig a canal to divert water..."

Bei Zhenting's face darkened, and Wu Xin quickly said, "Of course, this will be paid for. I think you two are familiar with the situation in our Qi State. Without food and clothing, we simply cannot survive the winter. We are willing to use money to purchase Dacheng's grain. This is the deal."

"The people of Qi have lived on the grasslands for generations. How much silver can you have in your treasury? Can you even feed the entire nation? You're dreaming." Bei Zhenting snorted coldly, "Your Highness, please tell me something I'm interested in. If it's interesting, I can write a letter for you."

Wu Xin frowned when he realized that the problem of hunger and cold among the people could not be solved immediately. The camp was eerily quiet.

The two grown men stared at each other for a while, neither giving in. After a while, Wu Xin lowered his eyes and looked at Luo Yao who was sitting opposite him. "Okay, I believe in the little immortal."

Huh? What? You guys were talking, and now you're talking about me?

Luo Yao raised his eyes and glanced at Wu Xin guiltily. Wu Xin was looking at him with a fiery gaze, as if he was looking at the hope of the entire village... the entire nation...

I……

It was embarrassing to be looked at like this, and he simply couldn't do what Wu Xin wanted.

Not to mention digging canals to divert water, even if we wanted to trade food and clothing, large-scale trade would be impossible. If the dog emperor knew about this, wouldn't he be beheaded for treason and collaborating with the enemy?

Don’t look at me, don’t look at me, Luo Yao repeated it a hundred times in his mind and turned his eyes away silently.

Wu Xin lowered his head. "Everyone says the northwest's snowy winter scenery is truly beautiful. However, few people know that these snowflakes will soon turn into smallpox, killing many." As if recounting an ancient myth, Wu Xin's voice was very calm. "A county in Daqi is experiencing famine and plague, but the news has been suppressed. The northwest garrison commander released a group of small merchants who had returned to Dacheng due to the famine two weeks ago. The border town garrison commander probably didn't inform the general about this trivial matter."

Bei Zhenting narrowed his eyes and looked at Wu Xin with a serious expression. Everyone present, including Polo, looked incredulous.

Wu Xin continued, "I don't know what has become of Daqi. Smallpox is terrible. I don't know when it appeared, but it must have been there for some time. I don't want them to enter the territory of my Great Qi."

"But they're already here. According to what you said, they've all entered the Devil's Tomb!"

Smallpox is a contagious disease, and I've heard about it a lot since I was a child. The incubation period for smallpox is very short, about half a month.

Hearing this bad news, Luo Yao didn't know how to react for a moment. He excitedly slammed the table and raised his voice.

Wu Xin shook his head. "There was nothing I could do about it. I didn't know anything about it at the time, and I had nothing at the time. I really couldn't stop my brother."

Everyone in the tent, including Luo Yao, looked at Bei Zhenting at the same time. Bei Zhenting's expression was serious but not very fluctuating.

"What you said is completely unfounded. There's no news of smallpox appearing in the northwest."

Luo Yao looked at Bei Zhenting anxiously, but Bei Zhenting remained unmoved and stared at Wu Xin motionlessly.

Wu Xin sighed. "I know the smallpox rumor is unfounded and the general won't believe it easily. To be honest, I'm only here to negotiate. I, Wulima, represent Qi and hope to cooperate with Dacheng. This news is just to show my sincerity. If the general doesn't believe it, he can have someone verify it."

"Also, the ambush at the Devil's Tomb should have been done by your King Qi, who infiltrated our Qi State. I've been observing his affairs. Actually, I met him once. He seemed to be seriously ill and didn't seem to have much time left. The Devil's Tomb is heavily guarded, so I think he should have been captured by now..."

Luo Yao looked at Wu Xin with hostility in his eyes.

Wu Xin was helpless: "Princess, please don't misunderstand...it wasn't my people who caught him..."

Luo Yao stared at Wu Xin's eyes, picked up a peanut, put it in his mouth and chewed it with a crunching sound.

"If I agree to your Highness's promise, what will your Highness do?"

"I want to drive the Daqi back. Smallpox is too terrible. I will never let them go south again."

Bei Zhenting: "Are you going to go to war with Daqi?"