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

"You all get out of the way!"

"Second Prince, His Majesty has ordered that no one be seen."

"Get out!" The second prince kicked the eunuch who was blocking his way to the ground, then pushed open the door of the bedroom and strode in.

"Your Majesty!" The Second Prince entered and knelt before the Emperor. "Your Majesty, please allow me to lead the army!"

The Emperor of Qi was about to scold the Second Prince, but was stunned by his words. Lead an army? Lead what army?

"What did you say?"

"Your Majesty, the Yaoshan Army consists of only 30,000 or 40,000 men, and they are all rural peasants, a motley crowd. They are nothing to be feared. Please allow me to lead the 30,000 Mu Family troops out of the city to repel the enemy! And rush to Huaiyance to report to General Xu Zheng!"

"You...you want to take over the Mu family's army?"

"Father, Shuoliang has 50,000 imperial guards and 10,000 city guards, more than enough to protect the imperial city. But if General Xu Zheng's 100,000 men are all killed, our Great Qi will have no one to rely on!"

The emperor slumped down on the dragon throne and gave a wry smile: "Those people outside are begging me to move the capital."

"Father! Your Majesty, I will personally lead the army and will surely boost our military's morale! If your son is defeated, Your Majesty, there is still time to plan to move the capital!"

“…Is it too late…?”

***

When the carrier pigeon delivered the letter to Shen Lu, a group of people were gathered around the fire to dry clothes.

Last night, Tang Ling had been careful. When the rain started, he found some oil-paper and wrapped their clothes. Although the entire thatched hut was soaked, their clothes were dry. Now that the rain had stopped, they changed their clothes so they wouldn't be too embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" Tang Ling looked at Shen Lu.

Shen Lu handed the letter to Tang Ling and said, "The Emperor of Qi ordered the Second Prince to lead his troops to aid Xu Zheng."

Shen Lu didn't need to say anything more. Tang Ling and Qi Xiao both knew the situation was urgent. Although the Yaoshan army had surrounded Shuoliang, the Qi army was fighting a desperate battle. There was no way the Yaoshan army, a group of refugees who couldn't even use swords and spears properly, could stop them. Moreover, with only Yan Chuan and his men in the Yaoshan army, without Qi Xiao to lead the charge, they were even more powerless.

Tang Ling looked at Qi Xiao, waiting for him to speak.

"It seems that I have to go." Qi Xiao lowered his head slightly, avoiding Tang Ling's gaze. As long as Tang Ling said that she didn't want to leave him, Qi Xiao would drop everything and go with Tang Ling, but he knew that Tang Ling would not say that to him.

Tang Ling opened her lips slightly, but it eventually turned into a sigh. No matter how much they struggled, they would eventually part.

But don’t ask again, the white clouds are endless.

Chi Yue pulled Zong Sheng up and quietly went to get the horse, leaving Tang Ling to face Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao suddenly looked up at Tang Ling and extended his hand. Tang Ling held his hand. They were so close, their hands tightly clasped, why was it so difficult?!

"Will you wait for me? Wait until I come to you."

"I'll wait." It doesn't matter if I wait for a lifetime. If I can't wait, the worst that can happen is that I will continue to wait on the Naihe Bridge until he comes.

"Then I'll trust you again."

Qi Xiao slowly let go of Tang Ling, turned and walked towards Zong Sheng and Chi Yue, jumped on his horse, and rode away without looking back.

It seemed as if Qi Xiao was still galloping towards him just a moment ago. The horses were running so fast that they disappeared into the woods in a short while, and even the sound of horses' hooves could no longer be heard.

"Sir, let's get going too. I've already sent word quickly about Fu Shouguang's destroyed food supplies, so we can help the King of Chu."

"...let's go."

Tang Ling hadn't expected this separation to be so easy. Qi Xiao left so effortlessly that he didn't even have time to grieve. It seemed as if Qi Xiao was only gone for a short while and would be back soon. Tang Ling seemed to be constantly waiting for him, waiting at the Tong Guildhall, waiting at Bashan, waiting in Ji Yu's nameless, barren mountain forest... He'd said he'd wait, and Qi Xiao would come find him, so it didn't matter if he waited.

***

On May 11, the day before the summer solstice, Tang Ling crossed the Liujiang River. That same day, Xun'an Marquis Tang He withdrew his troops from Liujiang and marched into Sanzhou. Using a letter from the Qi emperor as evidence, he demanded the takeover of Sanzhou's government. The Sanzhou garrison had already been completely annihilated by Xun'an Marquis, leaving no room for resistance. Anyone who dared to speak out had their tongues cut out. This drastic measure left no one, not only in Sanzhou but also in the three prefectures and five counties east of the Liujiang River, daring to resist.

The fighting east of Liujiang River subsided, but other parts of Qi were still in dire straits.

The second prince led his troops out of the encirclement of the Yaoshan army and defeated them repeatedly, which boosted the morale of the Qi army. However, the second prince did not pursue the vulnerable Yaoshan army, but rushed to rescue Xu Zheng who was in Huaiyan at night.

Qi Xiao took Chi Yue and Zong Sheng not to Shuoliang, but went straight to Yaoshan. He finally asked Chi Yue to contact Xuanjiying and ordered Yan Chuan and others to reorganize the Yaoshan army and meet up at Yaoshan.

The battle between Chen and Qi is about to come to a conclusion.

***

When Tang Ling met his father Tang He, he was in the government office in Sanzhou, sorting out documents from three states and five counties, preparing to present them to the emperor.

It's been over a year since I last saw him, but Tang He seemed to have aged a lot. There was hardly a trace of black in his gray hair. He frowned as he lowered his head to read the documents, and he had to squint to see clearly in the candlelight.

"...Dad..." Tang Ling started, choking with sobs.

"Are you finally willing to come back?" Tang He put down the volume and slowly looked up at Tang Ling. His eyes were calm but seemed to carry some tenderness and care, without any intention of scolding.

"Dad, I'm...back."

"If I don't call you back, you won't come back?"

"...don't dare."

"You're still afraid? You're truly formidable, you've thrown the entire world into chaos. I asked you to stabilize the situation, not to act recklessly!"

Tang He scolded his son with a stern face, which made Tang Ling stunned. Everything he did was just going with the flow, and he had discussed it with his father. If he really wanted to teach him a lesson, it should be for Qi Xiao.

"Dad, is the emperor giving you a hard time?"

Tang He glared at Tang Ling. "Nonsense! Don't you know what's going on? The longer I stay in Liujiang, the more dangerous Da Zhou will be. Lu Fang has been marshaling his troops like a mad dog, hoping to find the right moment to send troops to Da Zhou and then jump over the Taihua River to bite me! If you weren't my son, who would care whether you live or die?!"

"father……"

Tang He grew angrier and angrier as he cursed. "Don't call me dad. You're my old man, okay? Do you know what they're saying now? They say I forced the Emperor to send troops to attack Qi, that I commanded my own forces, and now everything east of the Liujiang River belongs to me, Xun'an Marquis Tang He! They say I have a good son who went to Chen as a hostage, and with a few words, I exchanged Princess Xihe for 100,000 pieces of black iron ore, and then facilitated the formation of the Chen-Zhou coalition. You're amazing, Xun'an Marquis's son Tang Ling! Your intentions are obvious to everyone."

A year ago, it was the peace faction that wanted to surrender to the State of Chen. When Tang Ling really went to negotiate peace, it became him selling his own sister on behalf of the emperor.

The reason for sending troops to attack Qi was that it was profitable. East of the Liujiang River was all plains with fertile farmland, rich land, and prosperous people. Taking these three states and five counties would replenish the long-empty treasury of the Great Zhou. Moreover, if the Chen army was allowed to cross the Liujiang River, the Great Zhou would have no strategic points to defend. In the future, when disaster strikes, wouldn't the Tang family lead the troops and sacrifice tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of lives?!

If Chen and Zhou were defeated, Tang He would surely be accused of ineffectiveness. But if they won, it would be clear that Tang He was ambitious, his achievements were too great, and his intentions of rebellion were obvious.

It was just a few words, but the Tang family's stain could not be washed away even if they jumped into the Taihua River.

"..." Tang Ling was speechless. He knew that many people in the court could not bear to see the Tang family gain so much power, even the emperor could not tolerate it. However, the Tang family was in such a position that they were already in an abyss, and they had to be suppressed even if they could not.

Tang He watched Tang Ling keep her head down and remain silent. Although he was furious, he swallowed his words and threw the scroll on the table at Tang Ling's face. "What a mess! I'm going blind looking at this. You sort it out and present it to the Emperor tomorrow. I need to go drink two pounds of wine to calm down. I'm so angry!"

Tang Ling was caught off guard by a scroll hitting her face. She quickly bent down to pick it up and walked obediently to the desk, not daring to disobey her father. He knew what was bothering Tang Yan about the court affairs, and he couldn't lose his temper in front of anyone except his son.

"You sort it out first, and then have them all delivered to the palace. This will prevent people from gossiping about me embezzling my land and property. You're more outspoken than a storyteller."

Tang Yan couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Tang Ling. He reached out and wiped his cheek. "Does it hurt? Can't you hide? Now that you're back, don't you have anything to say to Dad? How much injustice and suffering have you endured this year? Aren't you going to tell me?"

"Dad, I'm fine. Don't be angry. Just think of them as storytellers, making up stories for fun."

Tang He snorted, "You take care of it. I'm going to go drink. If there's any military business, you can handle it. Don't let them bother me."

"father."

"what?"

"Drink less."

"Ah! I can drink more now that you're back! Stop talking nonsense!"

Tang He left, taking his deputy general and drinking buddy Zhao Changfeng with him, leaving Shen Lu to Tang Ling.

Tang Ling sat down at the desk and took a quick look at the several files on the desk. They were all household registration information, taxes from previous years, land files, etc. They were so complicated that it was almost impossible to sort them all out overnight. No wonder his father had a headache.

"Knock knock." There was a knock on the door. "Sir, it's me."

"Qinglan? Come in quickly." Tang Ling put down the volume and couldn't help but smile.

Qinglan arrived in Sanzhou two days earlier than Tang Ling and had been waiting for Tang Ling.

"Young Master..." Qinglan came in and couldn't help but burst into tears when she saw Tang Ling. She sniffed, pursed her lips, and tried not to cry, her face full of grievance.

Tang Ling laughed: "What's wrong? Aren't I fine?"

Qinglan nodded fiercely and said with a sob: "Yes! Master is fine!"

"Wipe your tears and make me some tea."

"Ok!"

Tang Ling kept Qinglan in the room to serve him. Qinglan knew that he might have to stay up late tonight, so she lit many oil lamps to illuminate the room.

In the middle of the night, Shen Lu came.

"what happened?"

"Military report." Shen Lu handed the letter to Tang Ling.

Tang Ling took the letter and glanced at Shen Lu. He looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, and seemed not to want to report the general to Tang Ling.

"Is it the military intelligence of Qi?" Tang Ling asked while quickly reading the military report.

After Qi Xiao separated from them, he rode at full speed to Yaoshan, reorganized the Yaoshan army that had retreated in defeat, and selected 50,000 people to take a detour to join the Dingyuan army outside Huaiyan Pass.

News soon spread that the Yaoshan army had surrendered to the enemy.

The Yaoshan Army, originally a peasant uprising, now colluded with the enemy and committed treason, sending the Qi court and the people into an uproar. They hadn't expected the Yaoshan Army to betray their country, let alone the sheer number of its members. The Second Prince had routed the Yaoshan Army outside Shuoliang City, yet they'd managed to gather another 50,000 men? It was unbelievable!

Tang Ling wasn't surprised. Qi Xiao had previously ordered Yan Chuan to reorganize the Yaoshan Army. Those unwilling to fight, along with the elderly, the weak, women, and children, were all given land and properly arranged. The people, feeling this favor, naturally believed they were better than the Qi court. After years of famine and war, they'd either starved to death or surrendered to the enemy. After finally settling down and surviving, few had the courage to commit suicide.

The first thing Qi Xiao did upon returning to the Dingyuan Army was to replace all the military flags with the Blue Wolf Flag, identical to the one Tang Ling had hung at the Bashan City Gate. This reminded everyone of the poem, "Arrows and arrows, the Heavenly Wolf appears, flutes and drums look to set the prairie ablaze. The dark underworld descends, bloody swords slaughter the city gate."

When the Blue Wolf Flag was raised, the news that Fu Shouguang's food and supplies were completely destroyed reached Huaiyan Pass. The morale of the Qi army, which had just been boosted by the second prince's great victory, collapsed again.

What made the Qi army even more panic was that Qi Xiao issued a declaration of war to the second prince of Qi, threatening to fight the second prince single-handedly. If he was defeated, he would withdraw his troops from Qi and send envoys to negotiate peace and reach an agreement to avoid war for a hundred years.

Tang Ling couldn't help but chuckle as she read the military report. Qi Xiao was so aggressive. If the Second Prince of Qi avoided the battle, it would be a direct admission of defeat, and the significance of him personally leading the expedition on behalf of the Emperor of Qi would be completely destroyed. Furthermore, Qi Xiao's terms left the Second Prince no room for refusal, otherwise he would become a criminal of Qi.

Although Qi Xiao's declaration of war didn't specify what would happen if the Second Prince was defeated, everyone knew that Qi Xiao wanted nothing more than the Second Prince's defeat. This would completely crush the morale of the Qi army. Even with Xu Zheng stationed at Huaiyan, they would be left utterly defeated against the Blue Wolf Banner.

"Are you so confident in him?" Shen Lu suddenly asked.

Tang Ling put away the military newspaper and smiled, "Yes. Even if Xu Zheng came out to fight in person, he would definitely be the winner."

Shen Lu sighed, "We'll know in a few days when the military report arrives."

Tang Ling's smile was filled with pride, and she was in a very good mood. This would be a battle that would make Qi Xiao famous for all eternity. He really wanted to see it with his own eyes.

***

Xu Zheng was standing on the city wall, and the Chen army with the Green Wolf flag was at the foot of the city. It was a very similar scene, except that the attacking and defending sides had swapped positions.

The summer wind whipped the Blue Wolf flag, and the midday sun scorched the air. Soldiers in armor were sweating profusely, whether they were at the city gate or at the foot of it.

Bai Xiqiao, riding on a tall horse, couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and turned to look at Qi Xiao: "This Second Prince of Qi is definitely going to be a turtle."

Qi Xiao looked at the city gate without saying anything.

"What if he really doesn't come out to fight? Should we attack him by force?"

Although they now have reinforcements, and with the addition of the Yaoshan Army, their numbers are equal to Xu Zheng's, but a siege is always easier than defending a city. Even if they are fully equipped with weapons, it will still be a tough battle, not to mention that Xu Zheng is good at defending a city.

They blew up the city gates and armory when they evacuated Bashan. Even so, it took nearly a month to retake Bashan from Xu Zheng. An attack on Huaiyan would also be a protracted one, greatly disadvantageous to the Chen army. Therefore, Qi Xiao issued a declaration of war, challenging the Second Prince of Qi with extremely provocative words.

In fact, Bai Xiqiao understood why Qi Xiao wanted to merge the Yaoshan Army into the Chen Army instead of leading the Yaoshan Army alone to attack Huaiyan from both sides.

The Yaoshan Army was composed entirely of Qi people, and most of them were farmers and low-class people, making them completely incompatible with the Chen Army. Qi Xiao knew this, and Xu Zheng knew it even more, so he didn't take the additional Yaoshan Army seriously.

However, the Yaoshan Army would not be very effective if it were a single force, and asking them to attack the city would be too much of a stretch. It would be better to gather them around the Chen army to intimidate the Qi army.

Bai Xiqiao understood, but the current stalemate wasn't going to work. He racked his brains and couldn't come up with any good ideas. He couldn't help but think of Tang Ling. If he were here, would there be a solution? As soon as this thought came to his mind, Bai Xiqiao immediately suppressed it. Ever since Qi Xiao came back, his face had turned pale, and he spoke less. He would not speak unless he could. Like now, it was really frustrating.