Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

The two examined the seal carefully for a moment before returning it to Zhao Kai, while Hama turned his gaze to Li Ying.

Neither of them could tell whether the seal was real or fake. Hama didn't understand the Liyang script at all, and only Li Ying had studied it. However, she could only recognize the words "King Yue's Seal" on the seal. She couldn't tell whether it was real or fake. But she believed that Shen Qing would not have made a fake seal to deceive her.

"Li Ying greets Your Highness, the Prince of Yue." Li Ying immediately knelt down before Zhao Kai.

"Are you willing to surrender to me?" Zhao Kai asked with a smile.

“Since His Highness the King of Yue agrees to Lord Shen’s conditions, our Li Yue tribe is willing to surrender to His Highness the King of Yue.” Li Ying and Hama exchanged a few words and agreed to the conditions of surrender.

The conditions offered by Shen Qing were far too generous for the Li Yue tribe, something they had never dared to dream of. Even when the Li Yue tribe was secretly trading with Yin Tong, many things were restricted by Yin Tong. They were only given a small amount of grain in exchange, enough to keep them from starving, and very few things could improve their strength.

After receiving promises from Li Ying and Hama, Shen Qing had someone take them to the prisoner camp to persuade the dozens of remaining prisoners of the Li Yue tribe.

With Li Ying and Hama gone, only Shen Qing, Zhao Kai, the Old Sword God, and Han Shengxuan remained in the room.

"Young Shen, young Zhao, now that this little devil is here, this old man can take a break. You two chat, I'm going out for a walk." Seeing that Zhao Kai and Shen Qing had something to discuss, the old swordsman got up and left the hall. With Han Shengxuan present, the safety of both Shen Qing and Zhao Kai was assured, so he could relax and go out for a bit of fun.

"Hmph." Han Shengxuan snorted in displeasure at Li Chungang calling him a little devil, but he didn't take it seriously. After all, the old sword god was much older and stronger than him, and he didn't want to humiliate himself.

"Respectfully bidding farewell to the venerable senior." Shen Qing and Zhao Kai clasped their hands in a salute to the old sword god, who waved his hand casually without turning his head.

"Your Highness, what brings you here? How is the situation in Yuzhang?" After the two were seated again, Shen Qing immediately asked teasingly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kai rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Alright, Brother Shen, given our relationship, please don't be sarcastic. Just call me Zhao Kai. The title 'Your Highness Prince Yue' sounds really grating to me."

"Tch, you're not used to it yet. It feels really awkward for me to call you that either. You're the kind of guy who wouldn't look like a prince even if you wore a dragon robe." Shen Qing said disdainfully, curling his lip.

Once a person attains a high position, former friends become limited by their status, developing a sense of awe and distance, making it difficult to return to the days of open and honest conversation. However, Shen Qing, as a reincarnated individual from a later era, inherited the habits of that time and lacked reverence for power, which made Zhao Kai cherish this friendship.

After exchanging a few playful words, Shen Qing and Zhao Kai got down to business and asked about the situation in Yuzhang Prefecture. Zhao Kai briefly explained the situation in Yuzhang, emphasizing the internal strife caused by the Jiu Chi tribe.

"It's the Nine Chi tribe again. It seems they will become one of our enemies in the future." After listening to Zhao Kai's account, Shen Qing raised the threat level of the Nine Chi tribe to another level.

"Brother Shen, how is the situation in Kuaiji right now? Is there anything I can help you with?" Zhao Kai changed the subject and inquired about the current situation in Kuaiji City.

As the King of Yue, Zhao Kai controlled all six prefectures and eighty-one counties of Yuezhou, so he naturally had to be well aware of their extent.

Upon hearing Zhao Kai's words, Shen Qing was immediately enraged. He had come to Kuaiji City in a terrible predicament, penniless and helpless without food. Kuaiji City was currently facing a food shortage, so he said fiercely, "I need a lot of money and grain."

“Brother Shen, I only have 20,000 taels of silver here. As for grain, my master chef and I came lightly this time and can’t carry any. Besides, grain is not plentiful in Yuzhang County. Why don’t you send someone to buy grain from the other four counties?” Zhao Kai said with a forced smile.

He only had 30,000 taels of silver left. He gave 10,000 taels to Liu Wenbao in Yuzhang County, so he only had 20,000 taels left. As for grain, he really had no money left.

"Tch, I knew I couldn't count on you. I've already asked the Xuanyuan family to transport grain from Jianzhou to help in this emergency, but this isn't a long-term solution. The cost is too high. We need to find a way to stabilize grain prices in Yuezhou as soon as possible."

"Then what are your plans, Brother Shen?"

"Planning my ass! The Nine Chi tribe is practically at our doorstep. The most important thing right now is to defeat them. Otherwise, everything else is just empty talk."

At this point, Shen Qing briefly recounted the news of the impending invasion by the Nine Chi tribe. Compared to the stability of Yuzhang County, Kuaiji City was currently beset by internal and external troubles. The city was already short of food and money, and the renewed invasion by barbarian troops outside the city would inevitably sever the connection between Kuaiji City and other cities, exacerbating the crisis within the city.

"Brother Shen, do you have a plan to defeat the enemy?" Zhao Kai asked with a grave expression after learning about the situation facing Kuaiji City. Unlike Shen Qing, Zhao Kai had never fought against the barbarians and was unfamiliar with the strength of the barbarian army. Therefore, he became very nervous after learning of the invasion of the Nine Chi tribe.

"I don't just want to defeat the enemy?" Shen Qing said, a strange sneer on his face. The previous 60,000 barbarian allied forces had been defeated at the gates of Kuaiji City, and now the mere 10,000 barbarian soldiers of the Jiuchi tribe would have no chance of breaking through the city.

The city is currently short of money and food, so the only option is to find a way to seize them from the enemy. Moreover, the Jiuchi tribe has annexed many tribes along the way, so their army must have plenty of money and food. If they can obtain these, it will be enough to temporarily alleviate the crisis in Kuaiji City. Therefore, Shen Qing is not only thinking about defeating the enemy, but also about seizing their resources.

Shen Qing immediately pulled Zhao Kai to the map, pointed to the map around Kuaiji City, and explained his plans in detail.

"With Brother Shen's help, it's like adding wings to a tiger," Zhao Kai said, his eyes shining as he listened to Shen Qing's plan.

"Come on, man proposes, God disposes. Save these flattering words for when we actually win," Shen Qing said, pursing his lips.

His plan may be good, but how effective it will be depends on its execution. If something unexpected happens during execution, it may end up being a complete failure.

"Brother Shen, I believe we will succeed. With your strategy and my luck, the two of us joining forces will be absolutely invincible," Zhao Kai said confidently.

Shen Qing rolled his eyes upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "You call yourself lucky? If I hadn't pulled you back at Iron Gate Pass, the grass on your grave would probably be half a foot long by now."