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

Chapter 206 Persuading Surrender

On the other side, Bai Xiqiao was busy digging a mouse out of a hole with a vicious smile on his face.

Xu Zheng cut off the creek and ordered his men to quickly clamp open the iron fence of the creek, hoping to force their way through the creek and enter Bashan under the cover of night.

Fortunately, the creek was guarded day and night. As soon as the water stopped flowing, the soldiers on guard struck a gong to send a message to Baixi Bridge. The creek was narrow, only wide enough for two people to pass side by side. As soon as the Qi army jumped into the creek and rushed towards Bashan, they were forced back by spears.

Xu Zheng did not give up and ordered a strong attack. He equipped shields and spears and launched a strong attack.

Baixiqiao hurried over and ordered his men to pile straw into the creek, pour kerosene on it, light it, and fan thick smoke into the creek. No matter how strong Xu Zheng's shield was or how sharp his talons were, he had to retreat when faced with the scorching, choking smoke.

Xu Zheng did not expect that the Chen army inside Bashan Pass would react so quickly. He failed to sneak in or attack by force, so he had to retreat, but returned empty-handed again.

Bai Xiqiao arrived earlier than Tang Ling expected. He was still wearing armor and was covered in dust and dirt, looking a little disheveled.

As soon as Tang Ling saw Bai Xiqiao, she called Qinglan over and said, "Qinglan, go get a basin of hot water and wipe Brother Bai's face."

"okay."

Bai Xiqiao entered the house and sat down, pouring himself a sip of water. He skipped the polite greetings and simply explained the situation: "Xu Zheng's attempt to enter Bashan through the creek was in vain. If he dares to come again, I will bury him alive at the base of Bashan's city wall. But how did you know he would dig up the creek and have people guard it day and night?"

"I guessed. If it were me, I would dig it. First, Bashan is short of water. Without a water source, the army will lose morale and the city will be in chaos. Second, if we cut off the creek, we will have a secret passage leading to Bashan. Originally, the creek was used to break through Bashan."

Bai Xiqiao drank a cup of tea in one gulp. "But Xu Zheng doesn't know that we've been storing water since the first day we entered Bashan. Every household has to draw water as needed. Even if the creek is cut off, the people in the city won't know about it, so we won't be short of water for the time being."

Tang Ling smiled softly: "Xu Zheng probably hasn't suffered as many defeats at the hands of your father in his entire life as he has at your hands in the past two months."

Bai Xiqiao sighed, shook his head, and said, "Don't flatter me. I know myself well. I'm just occupying the Bashan Fortress, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. My father and Xu Zheng are the ones fighting on the battlefield with real weapons. Besides, I have the world-renowned Xun Anhou's son as my military advisor, so it won't be easy for him to defeat me."

Tang Ling refilled Bai Xiqiao's tea. "Brother Bai, there's no need to be so modest. I believe General Bai would be deeply comforted if he were still alive."

Bai Xiqiao smiled, with a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

Soon Qinglan and the servants brought hot water and midnight snacks. Bai Xiqiao took off his armor, washed his face, and then sat down to eat. He was already hungry.

Bai Xiqiao asked as he ate, "Why are you inviting me over for supper so late at night? Did Xiao'er have a letter?"

"Yes, tell us you're safe."

Bai Xiqiao nodded: "He's a thoughtful guy."

"Qi Xiao, everything is going well. Xu Zheng has been besieging Bashan for nearly two months, and it's time for the food and grass to run out. The wells in Bashan are not well-stocked, and the water storage is limited..."

Bai Xiqiao smiled and said, "I understand. Tomorrow I will send the imprisoned Qi garrison back to Xu Zheng."

Tang Ling nodded. After fighting side by side for two months, Bai Xiqiao and he gradually began to develop a tacit understanding.

"I have a letter for Xu Zheng. Please deliver it with him when you release him tomorrow."

"A challenge?"

"No, a letter of surrender."

Bai Xiqiao chuckled. "I wonder what Xu Zheng's expression will be when he receives this. It would be even better if this letter of surrender could piss that old man off to death."

Bai Xiqiao laughed for a long time, and felt more and more that Tang Ling and Qi Xiao were very similar. If Qi Xiao were here, he would definitely come up with some tricks to annoy Xu Zheng.

Tang Ling placed the letter next to Bai Xiqiao. Bai Xiqiao put down his bowl and chopsticks and opened the letter. After reading only the beginning, he frowned and looked up at Tang Ling: "This...?"

Tang Ling just smiled. Bai Xiqiao lowered his head and continued reading. After finishing reading, he was stunned for a moment before putting the letter back.

"This is... you imitated Han Chaosheng's handwriting?"

Bai Xiqiao wasn't familiar with Tang Ling's handwriting; he'd only glanced at it once or twice, and the handwriting on this letter didn't look like Tang Ling's. The letter was signed by Han Chaosheng, and the tone was that of a subordinate addressing a superior, or even a nephew addressing an elder. It was Han Chaosheng's letter to Xu Zheng, a letter of persuasion for surrender.

"Can Xu Zheng trust this?" Bai Xiqiao looked at Tang Ling doubtfully. This letter of his was definitely not written to provoke Xu Zheng, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to so much trouble. The words in the letter were sincere, and he had no intention of angering Xu Zheng. He was even afraid that Xu Zheng would get angry, and also contained some consolation.

Tang Ling shook her head gently. "Probably not. So when you deliver the letter tomorrow, you must shout it loudly, so as many people as possible can hear it. The letter is from Han Chaosheng to Xu Zheng, trying to persuade him to surrender on our behalf."

Bai Xiqiao narrowed his eyes. "Han Chaosheng has refused to surrender and has barely spoken in the past month. Since you can imitate his handwriting and convince the Qi army that Han Chaosheng has surrendered, is there any need to keep him alive?"

"Han Chaosheng is still useful. There's no need to rush to kill him."

Bai Xiqiao carefully put the letter into his arms, and without asking any more questions, he picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of meat into Tang Ling's bowl. "You should eat more. When Xiao'er comes back and sees how much thinner you are, he'll definitely be furious. It will only bring disaster to everyone else."

Tang Ling was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Bai."

***

The next day, early in the morning, the weather was gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain.

The gate of Bashan City is opened.

Bai Xiqiao rode out of the city gates, holding a rope with a person tied to it: the Bashan defenders who had been detained for over two months. After Tang Ling imprisoned them, she didn't torture or punish them, but kept them in darkness, starving them every day. They endured a life of neither death nor hardship. Many fell ill, but no one cared. Those who died were dragged out and buried.

Baixi Bridge pulled people out, moving very slowly, because even if the Qi soldiers supported each other, they could not move forward. If one of them fell, the whole group would be dragged down. After walking two miles, they went from being in darkness to being bright.

Xu Zheng's scouts had been guarding outside the Bashan city gate, and as soon as the city gate opened, they went to report to Xu Zheng.

Xu Zheng quickly led a vanguard army to the scene.

Bai Xiqiao stopped his horse and looked at the Qi army from afar. He loosened the reins in his hand, took a deep breath, and shouted, "I'm here to give General Xu a gift! I also brought a letter from General Han Chaosheng!"

Xu Zheng wouldn't be able to recover these men's vitality and fight bravely anytime soon, but they were Qi's citizens and soldiers. They needed food, drink, and medicine, all of which Xu Zheng was currently lacking. Would Xu Zheng, the Marquis of Zhenbei, really starve his own soldiers to death?

Seeing the great gift that Bai Xiqiao had brought him, Xu Zheng almost reached out to draw his bow and wanted to shoot Bai Xiqiao to death.

Bai Xiqiao pulled the reins of his horse, stepped back, and drove the Qi defenders around him forward. Before Xu Zheng could kill him, he rode away.

"Oh, General Xu, I'm sorry. I was in a hurry to come out today. My family is waiting for me to go back for breakfast. I'll treat you to tea next time!"

The sound of laughter echoed in the mountains and drifted far away on the wind.

***

On the ninth day of the third lunar month, Grain Rain, a civil uprising broke out in Quzhou. The rioters called themselves the Yaoshan Army. Fifty thousand of them broke through the city gates. The Quzhou Governor's Office was attacked, and the prefect was stabbed several times and killed. The rioters looted the city wantonly. In just two days, Quzhou fell into the hands of the Yaoshan Army.

The Yaoshan army was coming with such force that the Meng family had just received a letter from Quzhou asking for help. Before they could organize the army and set out, the news that Quzhou had been captured was immediately delivered to the Meng family.

Qi Xiao was stunned when he heard the news. The situation developed faster than he expected, but it could not be said to be a bad thing. His goal was to cause chaos in Qi State. It didn't matter how the chaos was or how it became.

"Chi Yue, go and find out what Madam and Mr. Bo have to say."

Chi Yue nodded, turned around and left.

Chi Yue was very familiar with the Meng Mansion. Taking advantage of the night, he quietly entered the inner courtyard. The eldest lady was worried about her son's death and injury, and spent most of her time resting in the mourning hall or the flower hall next to the mourning hall. Chi Yue went there directly, and sure enough, the eldest lady was in the flower hall. Not only the eldest lady was there, but also Meng Boquan, Meng Tao, and Mr. Bo were there.

"The people of Quzhou are in turmoil. The Yaoshan army is now very powerful. The Quzhou government soldiers are surprisingly vulnerable. The Yaoshan army may be difficult to deal with."

Meng Boquan was a coward by nature, and when he heard that Quzhou had been captured, he was frightened. At this time, his only thought was to protect himself and defend the Meng family's Lu An Mansion.

"No! I must make Hong San pay for my son's blood feud! Quzhou Prefecture sent a letter asking for help, isn't this what we've been waiting for? We'll send troops to Quzhou tomorrow! I don't believe those rioters can still cause trouble!"

"Mother, calm down," Meng Tao hurried forward to comfort her. "That Hong San must be killed, but the situation is unclear right now. We can't act rashly."

"What's the unclear situation? The Quzhou Prefecture has only 5,000 soldiers, and they're no match for tens of thousands of rioters. But our Mengjiaxiang Army has 30,000 soldiers. Are we afraid of these useless people with hoes and sickles?!"

"Mother, our Great Qi is currently facing internal and external troubles. The Chen army is occupying Bashan and confronting Xu Zheng. The court has ordered Quzhou Prefecture to transfer grain to aid Xu Zheng, but that grain has now been looted by the Yaoshan army. I just received a letter from my sister, saying that the Chen army has crossed Fenglin Mountain. His Majesty is worried about the war in the north. Soon, the court will send a letter to our Lu'an Prefecture to assemble the garrison troops. They want us not only to deliver grain to Xu Zheng, but also to recruit the garrison troops and recapture Bashan in one fell swoop."

"What? Recruit the Xiang army? Then we'll just ignore those bandits and thugs? If all the Xiang army we have is given to Xu Zheng, what will we do? No way."

"Madam, when the imperial edict arrives, we have no choice. Otherwise, we will be disobeying the order."

"Then send troops to Quzhou before the imperial edict arrives."

"Mother……"

"Master, Madam, Young Master, I have an idea."

"Mr. Bo, please speak."

"Please, eldest prince, send a fast horse to Shuoliang to persuade the second prince to pacify the Yaoshan army, recruit the rebels into the Xiang army, and rush to support Bashan."

The eldest lady disagreed immediately: "What?! Mr. Bo still wants to appease the rioters? Isn't that condoning the rioters' violence?! Where is the law?! No way!"

"Mother, please listen to what Mr. Bo has to say."

"Master, Madam, and Eldest Young Master, the country is in turmoil right now, and this is the best opportunity for our Meng family to make achievements. The war in the northern border is intense. If Xu Zheng loses, the Great Qi will be destroyed, and the teeth will be in danger. If Xu Zheng wins, his achievements will be passed down for generations, and we have the opportunity to share in the great credit now. We cannot miss it. Otherwise, if the emperor investigates in the future, the Meng family will be accused of disobeying the emperor's order, and it is a heinous crime punishable by death along with the entire clan."

"I don't care, Hong San must die!" The eldest lady didn't care about the important affairs of the court at all. Even if Qi was destroyed, they would surrender to Chen. There was Fenglin Mountain between Chen and Qi, and the emperor of Chen was out of reach. Lu An Mansion still belonged to his Meng family.

"Madam, killing Hong San is easy. We can issue a decree of peace. If Hong San doesn't surrender, he will be committing treason. Our killing will be justified and a meritorious deed. If he surrenders, we can send him to Bashan as a vanguard. Even if he is lucky, we can send people to kill him in a deserted place and say that it was the Chen army who killed him. No one will know."

The eldest lady looked at Mr. Bo, thought for a moment, and said, "Mr. Bo, this is a good idea."

Chi Yue lay on the roof and listened for a while. The eldest son Meng Tao trusted Mr. Bo very much and adopted all of Mr. Bo's suggestions. He immediately ordered people to arrange for the troops and personally sent a letter to Shuoliang overnight.

"Drip, drip..." It suddenly started to rain. Chi Yue frowned slightly, but did not leave in a hurry. He did not want to miss any information.

The eldest lady sent Meng Boquan, Meng Tao and Mr. Bo away, knelt in the mourning hall for a while, and suddenly called Hongxia and Bailu to her side.

"Find me two reliable men and follow the team to Quzhou. Regardless of whether Hong San surrenders or not, I want his head."

"Yes, ma'am."

Chi Yue didn't leave the inner courtyard until the eldest lady went back to her room to sleep. The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier. Chi Yue was soaked all over. In order to avoid leaving footprints and traces in the corridor, he climbed through the window and returned to his room.

Qi Xiao was bored that night, so he played backgammon with Yu Ran and Zong Sheng while waiting for Chi Yue to return. Two oil lamps were left on in the room, and water was boiling in the stove. It wasn't bright, but it wasn't dim either. Chi Yue's Qing Gong was very good, and Yu Ran didn't notice him until he entered the room, and was startled.

Qi Xiao didn't take it seriously and just said, "Pack up first, we'll talk later."

"Yes."

Chi Yue walked around behind the screen. Zong Sheng lit another lamp, brought hot water, and said softly, "I've prepared a bucket of clean water for you. Clean clothes are on the bed."

Chi Yue smiled and said, "Thank you."

They have been with Qi Xiao and Yu Ran for some time, and they don't even have much time to talk to each other alone. Chi Yue knows how to suppress and hide himself, but every time he looks at Zong Sheng, he always seems unable to restrain his gaze. Even if their eyes meet occasionally, and they act as if no one is around for a moment, he wants to be more greedy. Every time he thinks like this, Zong Sheng seems to be able to notice it, and his gaze will linger on him for a while longer.

Zong Sheng walked over to Chi Yue and handed him a handkerchief: "Wipe it off."

Chi Yue looked at Zong Sheng, opened his mouth slightly, moved his lips, and slowly revealed a faint smile.

Chi Yue clearly didn't say anything, but Zong Sheng seemed to hear it very clearly. He said, "Help him wipe it." Chi Yue's smile was exactly the same as when he was whipped in the Dali Temple and asked Zong Sheng for help. That neither light nor heavy look seemed to be able to draw Zong Sheng's soul away.

The shadows were cast on the screen, blurry. Yu Ran took a look and happened to catch a glimpse of two shadows overlapping each other. It seemed inexplicably ambiguous. He scratched his head and turned away.

Zong Sheng quickly wiped Chi Yue's back and packed up his wet clothes as if escaping.

Chi Yue tried to hold back his laughter and shrugged lightly.

Chi Yue changed his clothes and came out to meet Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao had long lost interest in playing games and asked directly, "How was it?"