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

Chapter 223 The Master has arrived in Sanzhou, everything is fine

Qi Xiao's army once again surrounded the Shuoliang Imperial Capital, with the Blue Wolf Flag flying all over the sky, but Fu Shouguang, who was urgently summoned for reinforcements, did not show up.

At night, Yu Ran came to see Qi Xiao with a secret report from the Xuanji Camp: "Your Majesty, Fu Shouguang is still in Ji Yu."

"Still there? A hundred thousand troops standing still?"

"Yes, our men have carefully searched all the roads from Jiwei to Shuoliang and found no trace of any march."

Fu Shouguang's army of 100,000, plus the newly recruited soldiers, must have a total of 150,000. Even if Ji Yu's camp was empty and he was just pretending to be strong, it would be impossible for tens of thousands of people to march without leaving any trace, unless Fu Shouguang's soldiers could fly and hide.

"That's strange. We have an army of 200,000 men besieging Shuoliang, and Fu Shouguang isn't rushing to rescue us?" Bai Xiqiao was puzzled. "Could it be that Marquis Xun An has sent another large force? Even if that's the case, Fu Shouguang wouldn't be completely indifferent. He should at least send a few tens of thousands of men to make matters worse."

Chen Heng was also puzzled: "Is it because there is no food?"

Lu Xiulin thought about it, shook his head and said, "Even if Fu Shouguang's army doesn't move, so many people still need to eat and drink. What's the point of keeping them in place? What is he waiting for?"

Bai Xiqiao couldn't help but laugh: "Oh, let him wait. It won't take more than a few days for Shuoliang City to fall. He will be waiting for us to recruit his army."

Chen Heng was much more cautious, feeling somewhat uneasy. "Fu Shouguang hasn't made any move yet, so I wonder what he's up to. If we launch an attack now, and Fu Shouguang suddenly appears and attacks us from both inside and outside, we'll suffer heavy losses even if we win."

Bai Xiqiao knew Chen Heng's concerns, but he didn't believe Fu Shouguang had the ability to reverse the situation. "It would take at least ten days to get from Ji Yu to Shuo Liang. Our siege won't take that long. Even if Fu Shouguang left now to provide support, it would be too late."

Lu Xiulin sighed and said, "I'm not afraid of Fu Shouguang returning to reinforce us. Instead, I think there might be other reasons why he's staying put, and this reason, unknown to us, might be the real danger."

Several people talked for a long time without reaching a conclusion, and they all turned to look at Qi Xiao. He was the commander-in-chief, and it was his decision whether to attack the city or when to attack the city.

Qi Xiao remained silent, somewhat undecided. Qi was already doomed, half-destroyed. With Chi Yue's support within the Shuoliang Imperial Capital, its fall was only a matter of time. Even Fu Shouguang's army returning to reinforce them wouldn't change anything. He shared Bai Xiqiao's sentiment on this point, but Lu Xiulin and Chen Heng's concerns were also justified. Knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle. Fu Shouguang was a variable, as was the Feng family. The victory or failure of the campaign against Qi hinged on this one. If he rushed rashly and ended up losing everything, he would be deeply sorry for Tang Ling, and perhaps he would never see him again.

While Qi Xiao was hesitating, someone outside the tent came with a message: "General, there is a man outside the camp who claims to be a Xingluo Guard and wants to see you."

Xingluo Guard?

Everyone in the tent stared in amazement, falling into an eerie silence. Ever since Tang Ling left, all the Xingluo Guards had gone with him. Why was he suddenly looking for Qi Xiao again? Had something happened to Tang Ling again? It shouldn't have happened. Hadn't he already gone back?

"Let him in."

The person who came was Cao Geng, the person who was waiting to pick up Tang Ling at Jialin Pass. Except for Chen Heng, everyone else in the tent knew him.

As soon as Cao Geng came in, he bowed deeply to Qi Xiao and said, "Greetings, Your Highness." Then he briefly greeted everyone in the tent.

The atmosphere in the tent grew increasingly uneasy. Bai Xiqiao and the others awkwardly responded to Cao Geng, but they were actually quite unhappy. Tang Ling had severely betrayed them when she left Bashan, causing them to be ambushed by Xu Zheng in the middle of the night and leave Bashan in disgrace. They hadn't dared to mention it in front of Qi Xiao afterwards, for fear of hurting him. How could Cao Geng have the nerve to come now?

"Is your son okay?"

"My Lord, the young master has arrived in Sanzhou and everything is fine."

Qi Xiao nodded slightly and sighed imperceptibly: "That's good. You didn't come here to report his safety this time, did you?"

"Yes, before the young master left, he asked me to do two errands. I will report to the prince as soon as I am done."

"Report to me? Then go ahead."

"First, the young master ordered two secret letters and half a tiger talisman to be delivered to Fu Shouguang, saying that if the prince attacked Shuoliang and Fu Shouguang remained silent, he should report to the prince."

Bai Xiqiao, Chen Heng, and Lu Xiulin all looked at Qi Xiao, bewildered. What did this mean? This made no sense. What had Tang Ling done? Two letters? Half a tiger talisman? What was going on? Was Fu Shouguang holding back because of Tang Ling's scheme? But why?

Qi Xiao understood Cao Geng's words and sighed softly. The two secret letters and half of the tiger talisman were found in the permit room at Xingtian Pass. They had given them to Tang Ling for safekeeping, but they hadn't expected him to use them on Fu Shouguang.

The two secret letters were exchanges between Xu Zheng, Prince Duan of Qi, and the Office of the Occupational Secretary. Both were quite old, and their contents recounted the history of the Yan family. Thirty years ago, the Yan family was embroiled in a factional strife, opposing the current Qi emperor. Following the failure of the strife, the Yan family head was assassinated by the Office of the Occupational Secretary. Qi Xiao had no idea what the Yan family's connection to Fu Shouguang was, but Tang Ling must have uncovered something to use the two secret letters.

Now that Fu Shouguang has been slow to return to support Shuoliang, his attitude has become very clear: he is prepared to sit idly by and will not send any troops.

Qi Xiao continued to ask: "What about the second thing?"

Cao Geng handed a letter to Qi Xiao with both hands: "This is the reply letter from the Feng family to you, young master."

Feng family?!

Bai Xiqiao, Chen Heng, and Lu Xiulin were even more shocked. First it was Fu Shouguang, then the Feng family. Could this Tang Ling be a charlatan? Had she calculated everything?!

Qi Xiao opened the letter and saw only one line of words on it: Mind your own business.

Qi Xiao couldn't help but smile. The Feng family was quite straightforward. The handwriting on the letter was elegant, like that of a girl, but the strokes were sharp, so the person must be very straightforward.

Qi Xiao raised his eyes and looked at Cao Geng: "Thank your young master for me."

Cao Geng bowed and said, "I wish Your Highness great victory. I will take my leave."

Cao Geng's ins and outs took less than half an incense stick of time, but the atmosphere in the military tent had completely changed. Bai Xiqiao began to prepare for battle, and Chen Heng and Lu Xiulin could not hide the bloodthirsty gleam in their eyes.

Qi Xiao was silent for a long moment as he looked at the letter in his hand. Tang Ling had assigned Cao Geng two tasks, clearing away Qi Xiao's last remaining concerns. This was all arranged long ago, perhaps even before he left Bashan, Tang Ling had planned everything for him...

When they first arrived in Yuanjing, Tang Ling asked Qi Xiao what he wanted. At that time, had he already decided to give him most of Qi's territory?

Bai Xiqiao patted Qi Xiao's shoulder gently without saying anything.

Qi Xiao took a deep breath and finally said, "Pass the order down. The entire army will rest and attack the city at 3:00 AM tomorrow."

At the hour of Yin the next day, before dawn, Chen's army suddenly launched a fierce attack on Shuoliang. The Blue Wolf flag fluttered in the darkness, war drums beat, and shouts of killing shook the sky. The people in Shuoliang City were awakened one after another, but it was as if they had fallen into a nightmare. A killing god descended from the sky, and Chen's army crawled out from the endless darkness like a ghost. The guards at the Shuoliang City Gate had not yet seen the enemy clearly, but instead saw the blade stained with their own blood.

After the Shuoliang city gate was breached, Qi Xiao ordered Bai Xiqiao to take control of the office as quickly as possible.

"I know!" Bai Xiqiao responded to Qi Xiao, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of horse hooves. He had already led a team of people and rushed to the government office of the Zhanshichu.

Chen Heng and Lu Xiulin each led their troops to control the various city gates and military offices in Shuoliang, while Qi Xiao personally led his troops into the imperial city. Chi Yue had been waiting for a long time.

At first light, Qi Xiao led his troops to the north gate of the imperial city. The palace gate should have been strictly guarded, but the dark and heavy door was opened for Qi Xiao. The imperial guards knelt on the ground and greeted Qi Xiao and the Chen army who rode in. The small mounds of earth piled up by weapons flashed an extremely dazzling light under the morning light.

Chi Yue and another person rode their horses into Qi Xiao's team and got close to Qi Xiao.

"I am Wu Zhou, and I am here to greet Your Highness." The man next to Chi Yue was called Wu Zhou. He was from the Tiance Camp and was buried by His Majesty in the imperial guards of the Qi Kingdom.

After leaving Tang Ling, Qi Xiao headed straight for Yaoshan. The Xuanji Camp brought a secret letter from His Majesty, handing Wuzhou over to Qi Xiao for his command. Qi Xiao immediately ordered Chi Yue to infiltrate Shuoliang, reunite with Wuzhou, and secretly support Qi Xiao's attack on Shuoliang.

Wu Zhou has been lurking in the imperial capital of Shuoliang for six years and has become the deputy commander of the imperial guards. With him as an insider, it is easy for Qi Xiao to open the palace gate.

Qi Xiao looked at the two of them, nodded, and said without further ado: "Lead the way."

Wu Zhou led Qi Xiao on the way while saying, "The news of the fall of Shuoliang City reached the palace a moment ago. Now the commander of the Imperial Guards and 5,000 others are in Chaohui Palace, protecting the Emperor of Qi. The Crown Prince has over 3,000 soldiers in the city defense battalion. In addition, there are about 40 ministers in the court, and their individual guards total less than 800. There are about 20,000 palace maids and servants."

Qi Xiao nodded and ordered in a cold voice: "Don't leave any one alive."

"Yes!"

The Qi army guarding the Chaohui Palace was less than 10,000. When they saw the Blue Wolf Flag, their legs and feet trembled. Only when they actually faced Qi Xiao and the 20,000 Chen troops he brought did they understand what it meant to be a killer sent from the sky.

Qi Xiao, wearing silver armor and holding a long sword, led the way, raising his arms and shouting, "Kill!"

"Archers! Archers! Release! Release! Quick!"

Millions of arrows fell like rain, but the Chen army was not panicked at all. They retreated several feet and waited for the rain of arrows to fall.

Qi Xiao was not afraid at all. He replaced his sword with a longbow, drew the bowstring, and in just a moment, the Qi soldier who had just given the order was pierced through the chest by an arrow.

Qi Xiao tilted his head slightly, and suddenly thought that if Bai Xiqiao was here, he would definitely compete with him to see whose arrow was more accurate and faster. What a pity.

The Qi army was horrified and before they could panic and shoot another round of arrows, they saw Qi Xiao rushing towards them on horseback. In a moment, Qi Xiao shot all the arrows in his quiver. Without missing a single arrow, all of them pierced the armor of the Qi army and went into their hearts.

With Commander Qi Xiao leading the charge, no Chen army dared to lag behind. They all followed Qi Xiao and headed straight for the Chaohui Palace.

Every member of Chen Jun stared at the prey in front of him like a hungry wolf. When they rushed forward and swung their swords, they seemed like ghosts from hell, and the pleasure of killing appeared on their faces.

Killing people was also physically demanding. Chen Jun entered the imperial city at dawn and only began to count the bodies at nightfall.

The bodies of the Qi royal family were all examined by Wu Zhou and Chi Yue, and only after confirming that no one was missing did they get burned together.

Qi Xiao stood in the main hall, looking at the dragon throne on the high steps, and smiled softly. It was so boring. If Tang Ling was sitting there, he would definitely rush up like crazy.

"Report!"

Qi Xiao turned and looked outside the hall: "Come in."

Zong Sheng, Chi Yue and Wu Zhou had been waiting outside the hall, as if they were avoiding something, but Qi Xiao had no intention of lying down on the dragon throne.

The soldier knelt in front of Qi Xiao, holding something in his hand: "General, this was found in the bedroom."

Qi Xiao glanced at the Qi State's jade seal and said to Wu Zhou, "Take this with you and return to Yuanjing overnight to present it to His Majesty."

"Yes." Wu Zhou picked up the imperial seal and turned to leave.

The State of Qi was destroyed.

***

On the night when the Shuoliang Imperial Capital was captured, Qi Xiao did not stay in the imperial city but went to the Zhanshi Office.

When Bai Xiqiao led his troops to control the Occupation Office, the people inside were busy trying to destroy the documents. Fortunately, Bai Xiqiao arrived in time and most of the documents were saved. However, the documents in the Occupation Office were not only numerous but also very complicated. Many of them were written in cipher text, which made people dizzy at a glance. Finding what Qi Xiao wanted was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

When Qi Xiao arrived, Bai Xiqiao was sitting on a bench with his legs crossed, eating a dry biscuit and sighing as he looked at the wing where the documents were stored.

"Senior brother."

"You're here."

"what happened?"

Bai Xiqiao handed Qi Xiao a secret letter. Qi Xiao took a look at it. He recognized all the characters, but they didn't make any sense when put together. "What is this?"

"Secret documents from the Occupational Affairs Office. I just can't understand them anyway." Bai Xiqiao pointed to the side rooms in front of him and said, "These six rooms are filled with secret documents related to Dachen, over 37,000 volumes."

Bai Xiqiao looked up at Qi Xiao, as if asking, what are you going to do?

"Where is the Supervisor of the Occupation Office?"

"We drank poison when we broke the door."

"What about the rest?"

"They all committed suicide by drinking poison!" Bai Xiqiao rolled his eyes in anger. "They were all more efficient than the other in seeking death. I've searched three times and found no one alive."

Dealing with matters involving confidentiality is a matter of life and death is better than death.

Qi Xiao looked at the wing room and sighed along with Bai Xiqiao. He left Chi Yue in the palace to look for royal secrets such as secret rooms, secret passages and secret letters. Wu Zhou rushed back to Dachen overnight. He had a few people from the Xuanji Camp with him, so he decided to give it a try.

"Where are Yu Ran and Li Yao?"

Yu Ran and Li Yao arrived quickly: "Greetings, Your Highness."

Qi Xiao flipped through several scrolls of secret letters in the wing room, but he couldn't understand any of them. He had no clue, so he could only hand it over to Li Yao and Yu Ran: "Take a look and see if there is any way to decipher the secret letter."

Yu Ran and Li Yao each looked at a few scrolls of secret letters, and then they exchanged glances. Yu Ran said to Qi Xiao, "Your Highness, the documents here are all secret books, and the solution is not difficult."

"The Book of Yin? Can you decipher it?"

Yu Ran took three letters and placed them on the table. "Your Highness, the so-called Yin letter is to split a letter into three parts and send them separately. The recipient needs to receive all three parts and put them together before they can be read."

Bai Xiqiao came over and said, "Oh, no wonder all the documents here are packed in sets of three."

Qi Xiao watched Yu Ran unfold the three letters on the table and arrange them together, then listened to him say, "The only difficulty in deciphering the Yin Book is knowing the rules by which it is divided. Your Highness, please give Li Yao and me some time."

"how long?"

"One day."

Qi Xiao nodded: "Three hours."

Yu Ran and Li Yao were stunned for a moment, and could only bite the bullet and agree: "...Yes."