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

Chapter 222 He Chooses Me

Second watch.

Bai Xiqiao and Qi Xiao led their men slowly towards Huaiyan Pass, and under the cover of night they reached five miles in front of the city gate. Any closer they got was a vast open space with no cover, so even hundreds of people, let alone tens of thousands of people, would be discovered.

Qi Xiao nodded to Bai Xiqiao, and he took Zong Sheng straight to Huaiyan Pass. Although their lightness skills were not as good as Chi Yue's, they were much better than ordinary people. At night when the moon was dark, if it weren't for Qi Xiao's extraordinary eyesight, even if he stood at the city gate, he would not be able to see Bai Xiqiao and Zong Sheng approaching.

There was only one thing Bai Xiqiao and Zong Sheng had to do, blow up the city gate.

Qi Xiao divided the remaining thousands of people into two groups, and went around to the sides from two directions, along the base of the city wall, and moved towards the city gate one after another like a long line of ants.

After everyone gathered, Bai Xiqiao and Zong Sheng just waited for Qi Xiao's signal and lit the gunpowder.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Huaiyan Pass began to shake violently.

"Enemy attack!"

The war drums were then sounded, and Xu Zheng jumped out of bed. He had been sleeping in armor every night since he arrived at Huaiyan Pass. Now he grabbed the knife beside his pillow and ran up to the city wall.

It took no more than half a minute from the time Xu Zheng left the room to the time he reached the city wall.

"Report! General! The city gate was blown up!"

"How many people are coming?"

"It's not an enemy attack, it's someone escaping."

"what?!"

"Reporting to the general, I have already sent people to pursue him."

Xu Zheng stood on the city gate and looked down. A whole team of people had already chased out on horseback, and he could only vaguely see the tail of the team.

"...What...?" Xu Zheng was stunned. What happened? The defenders of Huaiyan Pass blew up the city gate and ran away?

"How many people ran away?"

"At least one or two thousand."

"...So many?" Xu Zheng thought it was not right and asked again, "How many people did you send out?"

"Two thousand cavalry."

"..." Xu Zheng's heart was pounding. It must be Qi Xiao who was doing this, but what on earth was he doing? Were all those deserters Qi Xiao's men?

"Before this, was there any trouble at the city gate?"

The deputy general on duty shook his head.

"No, no, this is wrong! Quick, pass the order down, and have each battalion count their numbers. Quick!"

The deputy general took the order and left, and Xu Zheng personally stood at the city gate waiting.

Outside Huaiyan Pass, Qi Xiao staged a show and lured out two thousand cavalrymen from Huaiyan Pass. Not long after they left the city, they were captured by the ambushed Chen army.

Bai Xiqiao and Lu Xiulin changed into the clothes and horses of the Qi army, and after waiting for more than half an hour, the two thousand men returned to Huaiyan Pass.

Xu Zheng was on the city wall watching the two thousand people return and became even more confused. He personally went down the city wall to investigate at the city gate.

The city gate was blown up and had not yet been repaired. The soldiers guarding the gate saw that they were their own people and did not think of stopping them until the cavalry approached. The speed of their horses did not slow down at all, which made people feel a little strange. But then they thought that maybe it was because of the urgent military situation. Who is not in a hurry recently? It is common to urge the horses like this, so they did not pay attention.

Bai Xiqiao and Lu Xiulin easily rushed into Huaiyan Pass.

"kill!"

The two thousand men took advantage of the momentum of their fast horses and swung their swords. The Qi soldiers on both sides didn't even have time to see clearly or think before their heads and bodies were separated.

Xu Zheng saw the sudden change and the war drums on the city wall were beaten again.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

This time it was real. Qi Xiao and Chen Heng led a large army and rushed straight towards Huaiyan Pass.

Huaiyan Pass wasn't Bashan, its walls were high and thick, and hiding inside felt like being in a fortress of iron. The Qi army had long been on edge, and after so many incidents, when they saw the Blue Wolf Banner charging through the city gates, they instinctively trembled and wanted only to turn and flee.

"Disarm without killing!"

"Disarm without killing!"

"Disarm without killing!"

The shouts of Chen Jun, holding the Blue Wolf Flag, shook the sky and were heard by everyone. Each shout seemed to be urging people to die. The shouts and screams that came one after another were like the cries of ghosts, which made people terrified. Amidst the mixed sounds, there was also the sound of weapons falling to the ground.

Huaiyan Pass was still broken.

Xu Zheng's body was splattered with hot blood, and his face was also covered with blood. His arms trembled slightly, and the knife in his hand was still tightly grasped. He would not surrender!

When Qi Xiao saw Xu Zheng, he was also covered in other people's blood, and both of them looked like they had crawled out of a pile of dead bodies.

Qi Xiao smiled and wiped the blood off his face, but his hands were even bloodier, becoming dirtier the more he wiped them. He threw away his helmet and walked towards Xu Zheng, smiling and greeting him: "General Xu, we meet again."

***

The military report from Qi State was transmitted to Sanzhou. Shen Lu read it hastily and sighed after a while.

Shen Lu walked through the courtyard, entered three doors, and followed the corridor to the study. The door was open, but Shen Lu still knocked gently.

"Shen Lu, you're just in time. Come and help me look at this chess game."

Tang He was playing chess with Tang Ling. The game between the father and son, which had not been played for a long time, had reached the middle stage. Tang He was worried and hesitant.

Until the age of ten, Tang Ling was raised in the capital, Shaoyang. He spent little time with his father and harbored resentment towards Tang He because of his mother's affairs. It wasn't until Tang He took him into the army and kept him by his side that the two gradually reconciled. At the time, Tang Ling was still young, and Tang He couldn't easily take him out drinking, so playing chess became a small pastime for the two of them.

Tang He was proud of his chess proficiency, but he didn't expect that Tang Ling was even better than him. In recent years, Tang He was repeatedly defeated by his own son, and occasionally he would cheat secretly, making Tang Ling have to be cautious even when winning the game.

"My Lord, the Qi army report."

Shen Lu handed the report to Tang He with both hands. Tang He glanced at it and then glanced at Tang Ling: "Take a look."

Tang Ling nodded and reached out to take the military newspaper.

Tang He glanced at Shen Lu. Although his expression was blank, when Tang Ling took the military report, Shen Lu gave her a deep look, his lips slightly curled up, as if he was about to speak. Tang He immediately knew what was in the report and beckoned to Shen Lu, "Come, come and take a look at this game."

Shen Lu sat aside and looked at the chessboard carefully. The battle between black and white was in a stalemate, and it was likely that the outcome would be difficult to determine until the very end.

Tang Ling couldn't help but smile as she read the military report. Qi Xiao had breached Huaiyan Pass, killed Xu Zheng and the Second Prince of Qi, and the Chen army was advancing directly towards Shuoliang. He knew Qi Xiao would be victorious, but the report's brevity made him wonder about the omitted details. He must have been quite impressive.

"...Shen Lu, what did you figure out?" Tang He couldn't bear to look at his son, so he could only hold on to Shen Lu.

"This... My Lord, I have other military duties. If you have no other instructions, I will take my leave first." Shen Lu slipped away very quickly, as if he was hiding from something.

Tang Yan scolded softly and turned back to look at Tang Ling: "Tell me."

Tang Ling was slightly stunned, then handed the report to Tang He, saying, "The Chen army has won a great victory and will be able to capture Shuoliang soon."

Tang He didn't accept the military report. He propped his chin on one hand and looked at his son. "It's been a while since you came back. The affairs of the three states and five counties are so complicated that it will take at least a year or two to sort them out. However, all the reports that need to be submitted have been submitted. We, father and son, have a moment to spare. Don't you have anything to say?"

Tang Ling knew Tang Yan was asking about Qi Xiao, but what could he say? Where should he even begin? He had the Xingluo Guards and Huang Zexian by his side. Didn't his father already know about his relationship with Qi Xiao?

"Dad...I'm back."

"So you've broken up with him completely?"

"..."

Tang He sighed, brewed some tea again, and said after a while, "Tell Dad about this King of Chu, Qi Xiao. What kind of person is he that my son would fall in love with?"

Tang He's words "someone my son would like" made Tang Ling's ears burn. Others would not dare to say such words, but coming from his father's mouth, it was even more inexplicably strange and weird.

"Why, now you're embarrassed and don't dare to admit it? Do you know what your Uncle Huang said in his letter to me?"

Tang Ling looked up at Tang He and couldn't help feeling uneasy. He didn't know how Huang Zexian had told Tang He at the beginning, but he definitely wouldn't say anything good about Qi Xiao.

Tang He was about to make some new tea when Tang Ling got there first. Tang He glared at him and now he pretended to be obedient.

"Your Uncle Huang's letter was so vague that I was completely confused. I read it carefully three times before I could vaguely understand what he was saying..."

Tang Ling carefully handed Tang He a fresh cup of tea and brewed a cup for himself. He silently held it in his hand and took a sip, trying to hide his panic. He knew his father would be furious, but he didn't know how Tang He would deal with him. Tang Ling was precocious and had always been exceptionally sensible. Although Tang He was strict, he actually doted on him and never punished him for anything.

As for him and Qi Xiao... to put it mildly, they were violating moral principles and damaging the family's reputation. To put it more seriously, it concerned the Great Zhou Dynasty and the world situation. It was a responsibility that Tang Ling, and even the entire Tang family, could not bear.

Tang Ling could openly defend Qi Xiao in front of Shen Lu, and even kiss him as if no one was around, but she didn't dare say those words or mention those things to her father.

"For the past two years, the Queen Mother has been asking me to plan your marriage. I always wanted to let you pick someone you like, but who would have thought... You said you've been with me since you were a child. Haven't you seen enough men in the barracks? What do you like?!"

"Cough..." Tang Ling almost choked to death on a mouthful of tea. He never expected that Tang He would ask so directly. Not only did he leave no room for maneuver, but his words were also very... rough.

"Dad! If you say something like that, how can I still have the nerve to stay in the Shenzhao Camp in the future?!"

Tang Yan was startled by Tang Ling and suddenly laughed: "I didn't know my son could get angry and lose his temper sometimes."

"...Dad..." Tang Ling said with her head lowered, "I only like him."

"Just like him? You crossed mountains and rivers, marched thousands of miles for him, defended Bashan for him, and helped him conquer Qi. Why don't you go to so much trouble for me, your biological father?"

Tang Ling hung her head and said nothing, as if she was determined not to care about any punishment.

"You spent several days with Ji Wei, and before you left, you even left him a generous gift. Does he even know about your thoughtfulness?"

"..."

"I've noticed this guy's actions are unruly. Although wild, he's not reckless. From using your assassination attempt in Yongcheng to exploit his own convenience, to the Dali Temple case in Yuanjing that turned the Chen Dynasty upside down in a short period of time, to his near-unbroken victory in the campaign against Qi, he's brave and resourceful, but to put it bluntly, he's cunning and scheming... How could he not know this? He's truly making the most of you."

Tang He's gaze shifted from the chessboard to Tang Ling's face. Seeing his serious expression, he knew he was not joking. In his opinion, Qi Xiao had been using Tang Ling from the beginning to the end.

He initially orchestrated the rescue of Tang Ling in order to use him to return to Yuanjing; later, he used the Xingluo Guards to uncover Bai Liu's past; he even managed to leverage Tang Ling to facilitate the Zhou-Chen coalition's attack on Qi. He went from being an idle prince to a renowned assassin overnight, his military exploits surpassing even Tang He. A seventeen-year-old with such formidable scheming and cunning would surely be a serious threat in the future.

Tang He knew his son well. He didn't believe that Tang Ling was so stupid that he could be confused by his own situation.

"Father, it's true he used me to return to Yuanjing, but the coalition attack on Qi was my idea, and I used him. Now half of Da Chen's troops are trapped in Qi territory. The struggle for the throne in Yuanjing is intensifying, and the court is in chaos. And my Great Zhou has easily seized the three states and five counties east of Liujiang River. We no longer have Chen's covetous gaze, and Qi no longer harasses the western border. Chen and Zhou negotiate peace, stop the war, and get 100,000 black iron ore. It's a win-win situation... Isn't it the emperor and father's instructions before I went to Chen to strive for the greatest benefits for Da Zhou?"

"The King of Chu has accomplished so much in just one year, so he must be quite ambitious. After conquering Qi, he returned to the court with his military achievements, and won the favor of His Majesty Chen, so he naturally has a chance to succeed the throne. If you can flatter him with sweet words and help him plan a plan, he can marry Princess Xihe, and the throne of the Supreme Being is within his reach."

"He won't..." Tang Ling felt a dull pain in her heart and gritted her teeth silently. If Qi Xiao really wanted that position, really wanted to marry Princess Xihe, would he... would he help him?

Listening to Tang Ling's insistent defense of Qi Xiao, Tang Yan couldn't help but frown and shake his head repeatedly, "If it was just about exploitation, or mutual exploitation, then that would be fine. But you still say you like him. What you say is good for the Great Zhou, but what about you?"

Tang Ling was speechless after being asked by Tang He. He lowered his eyes and frowned, with a melancholy and unconcealable sadness on his face that Tang He had never seen before.

"I deeply regret sending you to Chen as a hostage. Not only did I put you in danger several times, but I also… humiliated you! That bastard, I'm going to kill him sooner or later."

"Snapped!"

Tang Ling was so anxious that she slammed the table in front of Tang He: "Dad! He saved my life so many times, you are not allowed to touch him!"

Tang He was stunned. This was the first time he saw Tang Ling behave so improperly. Did she over-excite him?

"...Dad, what I meant was..." Tang Ling was a little flustered and tried to make excuses. Her voice and attitude softened, almost begging Tang Yan, "I meant that he was my savior. Dad, please don't pursue this matter."

Tang He sighed, stood up, and walked a few steps. He took two jugs of wine from the sideboard, removed the chessboard, and replaced the wine cups. "Your father isn't some stubborn old man. Is there anything he can't tell me? Tang Ling, you're my son. You should tell me who you like yourself. The Xingluo Guard's secret report doesn't show his true feelings for you."

Tang Ling took the wine cup from his father. This was not the first time for them to drink together, but this opportunity to drink and talk was unique.

"Dad, he was able to accomplish so much in just one year, not because of me, Tang Ling, but because he's Qi Xiao." Tang Ling drank the wine in one gulp, a slight smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. After a pause, she continued, "Dad, the person I like isn't the Ninth Prince of Chen or the King of Chu. His name is Qi Xiao."

Tang He poured Tang Ling a second glass of wine.

"He saved me many times and told me to pay him back with my life. He was so arrogant and proud when he said that."

The third glass of wine.

"The first gift he gave me was a small, extremely poisonous white snake. He said it looked like me. He bullied the king in public and refused to let anyone else see the snake."

Another glass of wine.

"He said he'd treat me to a meal, and we'd wandered through the streets just for two bowls of clear soup noodles. He took me flying over the eaves and tiles, and even jumped onto the third-floor roof of Wanhe Building to watch the Mid-Autumn Festival fireworks."

Tang He sighed softly and couldn't help but drink one glass after another with Tang Ling.

"Dad, he said he chose me, no matter what. He did it. He left the war in Shuoliang and ran to Renliang to save me. And I... Dad, I'm back... So, can you let me go?"