Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Chi Yue told Qi Xiao about Mr. Bo's idea and the Meng family's decision, and also informed Qi Xiao of the eldest lady's actions.

Qi Xiao smiled and said, "That's perfect. Let's find an opportunity to go to Quzhou with the Meng family."

Yu Ran asked, "Then I'll send a message to my brothers tomorrow and ask them to meet us in Quzhou?"

"Yes. Have someone keep an eye on Master Hong."

"Yes."

"It's getting late, go to bed." Qi Xiao reached out and extinguished an oil lamp on the table, leaving only the one by the window.

Just as Chi Yue lay down on the couch, Zong Sheng called him quietly: "Wait a moment."

"Ok?"

The dim oil lamp was emitting a little light. Zong Sheng stood in front of the bed, blocking out the little light. His long shadow fell on Chi Yue, with a hazy ambiguity, like a gentle caress in a dream.

Zong Sheng didn't know what Chi Yue was thinking, so he reached out and handed Chi Yue a bowl of something.

Chi Yue took it without thinking much. There was hot steam around the bowl and a bitter aroma wafted from the tea bowl.

"Ginger soup?"

"Well, the weather is still cold. It's easy to catch a cold if you get caught in the rain."

"Prepared for me?" Chi Yue knew that he was asking a question he already knew the answer to, but he couldn't help it and wanted a positive answer from Zong Sheng.

"Well, it's kept warm in the lunch box. Drink it before going to sleep."

Chi Yue lowered his head to drink the ginger soup, and couldn't stop smiling.

Qi Xiao's bed was on the other side of the room. He sat on the bed, looking over the screen on his side at the screen on the other side, thinking about the light and shadow that had just come through the screen.

It's been three months, and he's been away from Tang Ling for so long. He'd send letters to Bashan whenever he could, but he hasn't received a single reply yet. It's not like Tang Ling hadn't heard from him at all; Bai Xiqiao's letters would always mention her a few times, but why hadn't Tang Ling ever replied, not even a single word?

Was he worried about Xuanjiying? Or was he afraid he'd be distracted? Did he have something to say to him?

Wild geese carry letters to express his longing. Where are the wild geese that belong to him? Where is his longing?

Qi Xiao sighed silently. He wished he could hand over everything to Zong Sheng and Chi Yue and rush back to Bashan immediately.

***

Five days later, the imperial edict was transmitted to Lu An's mansion, ordering Meng Boquan to lead the wing troops to Quzhou to surrender the Yaoshan army.

Qi Xiao and his men were originally soldiers who escaped from Xingtian Pass. It was only natural for them to join the army again and follow Meng Boquan and Meng Tao back to Bashan to avenge their brothers and relatives.

Before leaving, Hongxia gave Chi Yue an order, asking them to kill Master Hong. Although this was unexpected, Chi Yue was stunned for a moment, and then agreed. He asked about Hongxia's brother and even said that he would help Hongxia find him, which almost made Hongxia cry again.

The Meng family's wing troops were ready to go early in the morning, and the entire camp set out for Quzhou the next day after the imperial edict arrived.

This time, Meng Boquan and Meng Tao were both there, father and son fighting together, and even Mr. Bo was brought along. They were unwilling to miss any military merit, for fear that if their own army fell into Xu Zheng's hands, all the credit would become Xu Zheng's.

It only took a few days to get from Lu'an Prefecture to Quzhou. The court's letter of surrender was delivered to Quzhou Prefecture long before the army arrived, but the Yaoshan army ignored it.

The army pressed all the way to Quzhou Prefecture. Qi Xiao and his men followed inconspicuously in the team. During the past few days of marching, Qi Xiao had a good idea of ​​the Meng family's wing troops. In eight words, they were poorly trained and a mess. They were no match for the Yaoshan Army formed by those mobs. If they really fought, it would not be a good show.

Qi Xiao saw the city gate of Quzhou Prefecture from afar. In his eyes, this city gate was like a piece of tofu, not even worth his effort.

Chapter 152

The messengers of the Mengjiaxiang Army lined up in front of the Quzhou city gate and shouted the surrender manifesto over and over again to the Yaoshan Army in the city.

The Yaoshan Army on the city gate originally ignored them, but when they were annoyed enough, they drew their bows and shot arrows. Unfortunately, there were not many hunters in the Yaoshan Army who could shoot arrows. After shooting a few waves of arrows sparsely, the Xiang Army retreated and continued to shout in a safe place. They also added a hundred people to shout together, taking turns shouting from early morning to dusk.

"This is so annoying! If they don't surrender, we'll just attack!" Meng Tao couldn't stand it any longer. "Are we supposed to just keep shouting until they surrender?"

Mr. Bo offered Meng Tao some advice: "We might as well give them another day. Tomorrow morning, continue to shout and offer them some sweet treats. They are just ordinary people, not military households. How loyal can they be to Hong San? As long as we give them enough benefits, they will naturally surrender."

"benefit……?"

Mr. Bo nodded and said, "Don't worry, Master. Please allow me to try it tomorrow."

"Alright... Since Mr. Bo has a plan, that's the best." Meng Tao nodded slightly. He had great trust in Mr. Bo. "Then let's wait one more day. If they don't open the city gates and surrender tomorrow, they'll be courting death."

Chi Yue was like a shadow melting into the darkness, quietly slipping away from Meng Tao's tent and returning to his own tent.

Qi Xiao and his men came out with the Meng family's wing army, but they were not part of the Meng family's wing army, so they were arranged to live with the Meng family's accompanying servants. They were only responsible for taking care of Meng Boquan, Meng Tao and Mr. Bo's daily life, and doing things according to their orders. They were not needed in sieges and battles.

The tent could accommodate twenty people, and with Qi Xiao and his group staying there, there were sixteen of them. It was quite spacious, but with so many people watching, Chi Yue had to be cautious when entering and leaving. He couldn't leave for too long, and when he returned, he couldn't talk too much with Qi Xiao. He only briefly told Qi Xiao about Meng Tao's decision before going to bed.

Qi Xiao hummed and whispered to Chi Yue, "You go and run a errand." After that, he turned around and fell asleep.

The next morning, the Mengjiaxiang army again deployed at the gates of Quzhou Prefecture and began shouting out a call for surrender, but this time there were two more sentences than the previous day: The first person to open the city gates and accept the surrender would be promoted to centurion, rewarded with 30 dan of rice, and 100 mu of fertile farmland. Anyone who surrendered before noon would be rewarded with 10 liang of silver and 3 dou of rice.

Mr. Bo had his men build a tent and pile up bags of grain in front of the city gate. Qi Xiao, as a servant of the Meng family, naturally took the lead and helped carry the rice. Mr. Bo had them deliberately break open a bag of white rice and sprinkle it on the ground so that the mob at the city gate could see it clearly.

The Mengjiaxiang Army shouted the surrender manifesto five times, then advanced ten feet toward the Quzhou City Gate, shouted five more times, then advanced another ten feet, and shouted again...

This time, there were no more arrows from the city wall to greet them.

The Yaoshan Army, blinded by the rice, had lost its mind and its sight. Displaced from Xingtian Pass and other prefectures, they had fled to Yaoshan, joined the Yaoshan Army, and stormed into Quzhou Prefecture with sickles in hand, all for a bite to eat. Now they were rebellious mobs, and the imperial court had sent troops to suppress them. They had assumed that opening the city gates would mean death, and that the letter of surrender was merely a ruse to trick them into opening the gates. But now, seeing the rice spilled on the ground, they couldn't sit still, eager to pounce on it, picking up every grain and pocketing it.

The Yaoshan army at the city gate had little morale to begin with. When the manifesto was shouted for the twelfth time, the city gate was opened. It was still two hours before noon, the time set by Mr. Bo.

A group of people walked out of the city, but after they had taken a few steps, another group of people suddenly rushed out from behind them, killed the group in front with swords, and rushed towards the Meng family's army.

But those people were not fast enough. Arrows were shot from the city wall and none of them survived.

The first person to open the city gate will be the centurion. With food, land, and even official appointments, who wouldn't want it? Surrender before noon and you'll have rice and money, but are the Mengjiaxiang Army's rice and money endless? Of course not. So we have to rob them! Kill the others, and you'll have your own way out!

In less than half a minute, two battles had already broken out in the city gates of Quzhou Prefecture.

But the city gates were open.

Mr. Bo immediately sent someone to report to Meng Tao, and at the same time ordered the army to be assembled and prepare to attack the city.

Mr. Bo's strategy was very effective. The Yaoshan Army was in chaos, and the Mengjiaxiang Army could reap the benefits. It would be easy to take back Quzhou Prefecture.

But what Qi Xiao wanted to see was a fight between the Yaoshan Army and the Mengjiaxiang Army, a fight between the snipe and the clam, a mantis catching the cicada, and he was the fisherman and the oriole. Mr. Bo had no idea that he had got the situation wrong, and he rode back to Meng Tao quite complacently to ask for credit and reward.

Last night, Chi Yue quietly left the camp of the Meng family's wing army and sneaked into Quzhou Prefecture. The discipline in the wing army camp was lax and no one noticed his coming and going. The Yaoshan Army at the gate of Quzhou Prefecture was not worth mentioning. Chi Yue had no obstacles along the way.

There were already people from the Xuanji Camp hiding in the city of Quzhou Prefecture and around Hong San. Centurions Yan Chuan and Huang Dawei of the Dingyuan Army were among them. They had left marks everywhere in the city, and Chi Yue found them without much effort.

Qi Xiao didn't give Chi Yue any instructions, just asking him to make a trip, meaning he could do whatever he wanted. Although Chi Yue didn't know what Mr. Bo's plan was, he knew Qi Xiao's intentions. No matter what tricks Mr. Bo used to coerce or bribe the Yaoshan Army to open the city gates, he would force the Xiang Army to fight the Yaoshan Army. So the countermeasure was simple.

"Give Hong San a suggestion. If anyone at the city gates surrenders tomorrow, we should lure them into a trap and set up an ambush inside the city. Once the Xiang army enters, we should kill them immediately. Why should we rely on the Xiang army for charity? We should take all the food and supplies they bring and use them to strengthen the Yaoshan army."

Hong San is a fake warrior. He looks big and strong, but in fact he is weak and frail. When the Meng family's army was approaching the city, he was so scared that his legs became weak and he could not speak clearly.

Fortunately, Yan Chuan and Huang Dawei, two old soldiers, were smart and had gotten close to Hong San early on. Now they were people he trusted. They were also brave and Hong San would hide behind them when he was afraid. Now, with just a word from Yan Chuan, Hong San agreed to anything.

Chi Yue had a quick meeting with Yan Chuan and Huang Dawei and then hurried back. Yan Chuan and Huang Dawei gathered a few trustworthy people overnight and began to arrange an ambush in the city.

The vanguard of the Mengjiaxiang Army rushed into Quzhou Prefecture shouting and killing, but was slaughtered by Yan Chuan with a "closing the door and beating the dog" move.

By the time Meng Tao and Mr. Bo came to their senses, all 5,000 vanguard troops had been killed.

The Meng family's wing army suffered a setback, which made Meng Tao so angry that he immediately issued an order to attack the city.

Mr. Bo tried to persuade him, but Meng Tao was so angry that he ignored him, pushed Mr. Bo away, jumped on his horse, and ordered his men to beat drums and attack.

Mr. Bo cried out in his heart that something was wrong. There must be capable people in Quzhou City who could offer advice to Hong San. If Meng Tao, this reckless man, rushed into the city gate, he would surely bring about his own destruction. Even if he was allowed to capture the city, the Meng family's army would surely suffer heavy losses.

But Mr. Bo couldn't stop him! He hurriedly mounted his horse and chased Meng Tao. However, Mr. Bo was not good at riding, and he could barely keep up while riding, but he still wanted to catch up with Meng Tao.

Qi Xiao was not far away. Seeing this, he quietly picked up a small stone in his hand and used it as a hidden weapon to hit Mr. Bo's horse's legs.

The horse was being driven to run very fast, when it was suddenly hit on the leg by a small hidden weapon, a stone, and its leg was broken immediately. The horse lost its balance in severe pain, fell to the ground, and slid out like flying.

Mr. Bo, who was sitting on horseback, was immediately thrown out and fell heavily to the ground, rolling several times without stopping. Such an accident in the military formation startled the surrounding horses, and in the panic, Mr. Bo was trampled to death by the horses' hooves.

This tragedy lasted only a moment. Meng Tao was completely unaware of it and was only concerned with leading his troops to storm the city.

Excluding Qi Xiao and his companions, there were only twelve servants brought by the Meng family. Most of them were gathered around Meng Boquan. Seeing Mr. Bo being thrown and trampled into a bloody mess, they were all horrified. Meng Boquan was almost frightened to faint and was supported to stay where he was to rest.

It was a time when two armies were fighting, and it was normal for a few people to die. No one was in charge of Mr. Bo, and there was not even anyone to collect his body.

Zong Sheng was the first to notice Qi Xiao's little trick. He winked at Chi Yue and Yu Ran, and the three of them followed Qi Xiao and rushed towards the city gate with the army. Before rushing into the city gate, the four of them had unknowingly reached the edge of the army formation, rode their horses around the wall to another city gate, and looked for another way to enter the city.

The Meng family is no longer useful.

***

On March 19th, a carrier pigeon brought a letter to Bashan.

The Yaoshan Army and the Mengjiaxiang Army fought a fierce battle in Quzhou, and both sides suffered heavy losses. The eldest son of the Meng family escaped with serious injuries, while more than half of the Mengjiaxiang Army was lost, and more than 7,000 people surrendered to the Yaoshan Army.

After this battle, the Yaoshan Army became more powerful and at its peak.

Hong San was frightened by the Mengjiaxiang Army and dared not serve as the commander of the Yaoshan Army anymore. He hurriedly threw this hot potato to Yan Chuan. Yan Chuan refused to take over several times. Hong San started to cry and almost knelt down to kowtow to Yan Chuan.

With Qi Xiao's tacit approval, Yan Chuan nominated Hong San as the Prince of Yaoshan County, and appointed himself the Grand General, effectively commanding the Yaoshan army. Hong San breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that from now on he only needed to stay in Quzhou and be a mere servant of the Yaoshan County Prince while Yan Chuan led the army to "conquer the country" for him, and he reluctantly agreed.

Tang Ling couldn't help but smile at this. Six thousand of them had marched southward, deep into Qi. Who could have imagined he could defend Bashan for three months with only four thousand men? Who could have imagined Qi Xiao could actually raise a forty-thousand-man rebel army just for him, right within the borders of Qi?

The bow and arrow, the wolf in the sky appear, and the flute and drum are expected to spread across the prairie.

Perhaps, Ning Wanxiao really saw through the secrets of heaven and predicted the overthrow of Qi State early on, and predicted Qi Xiao's sudden emergence, success and fame, and dominance over the world.

It took Qi Xiao less than a year to go from an unknown and idle prince to a world-famous prince, and he was even just seventeen years old. With such extraordinary talent and such extraordinary achievements, there has been no one like him in the past few hundred years since the Eight Kingdoms Rebellion. He is destined to become a legend that will go down in history.

Tang Ling looked at the urgent military intelligence report and slowly half-closed his eyes. He really wanted to see Qi Xiao achieve his goal of unifying the world. He really wanted to... but he just couldn't...

The last page of the military intelligence report was Qi Xiao's handwritten letter to Tang Ling. It began with "It's like seeing you in person," and copied a line from a poem: "Since we parted, I recall our reunions. How many times have I been with you in my dreams?" Finally, he finished with "Hoping for your immediate reply."

Hope you will reply soon...

Tang Ling put the letter into the brazier. Seeing the flames rising up to lick the two thin pages of paper, Tang Ling hurriedly withdrew her hand and covered her heart with the letter.

I'm glad to see you soon... I hope you'll reply soon...