Come night, Qi Yunruo was startled awake. Li Chen patted him reassuringly on the back, expression tranquil. Then, Qi Yunruo heard the shouts of many soldiers moving about outside the tent. The exterior was lit up brightly. In a flash, Li Chen’s troops assembled, surrounding the tent.
Qi Yunruo rose to his feet and put on his clothes. Urgently, he asked, “What happened?”
“Don’t worry.” Li Chen put on the armor of a general, grabbed his weapon, and placed Qi Yunruo behind him for protection as they left the tent.
Fang Ge, who was already outside, said, “Your Highness, hundreds of Qiang soldiers have surrounded Bo Ge’s area.”
Speaking of which, Bo Ge had already rushed here in a panic. “Your Highness, this humble prince also doesn’t know what happened. This humble prince is satisfied with your honored self’s cooperation… If this subordinate has guessed correctly, Bo Tu Ke sent people over. From the start, he has been very discontent with the negotiations between this humble prince and your honored self.”
Li Chen nodded. His gaze fell upon Li Yao’s formal and splendid appearance. Behind her, Wang’er followed slowly.
Catching sight of Li Yao, Bo Ge called out “princess,” then sighed.
She looked at Li Chen. Under the orange glow of the flames, Li Yao’s expression proved tranquil. The screams of the Qiang soldiers from afar grew louder and louder. Serene, she said, “Bo Tu Ke has already been driven to desperate action. Even if it were Agu Er Mu, he wouldn’t be as stupid as this.” He truly was too stupid. Although it’s true that Li Chen only had 500 men with him, and Bo Ge didn’t have many warriors here, Li Chen’s 100,000 men were surrounding the Qiang lands. If something happened to him, without the need for the court’s order, his troops would slaughter their way in.
Bo Ge gritted his teeth. “I’ll send people to negotiate with them.”
As Bo Ge led people out of his area, Li Chen frowned. He suddenly thought, was there someone supporting Bo Tu Ke in the background this time?
To say that Bo Tu Ke had been driven to desperate action was hitting the nail on the head. He watched as Bo Ge and Prince Chun grew closer and closer to finishing their peace talks. Once that happened, the Han people would definitely help Bo Ge ascend the throne. Back then, he had made trouble for Bo Ge many times. If Bo Ge wanted revenge against himself… However, if he could capture Prince Chun now and force the troops outside to retreat, he would bring his own men to slaughter their way out, slaughter all the way to Yushu Pass. Then he would have the most contributions! And Royal Father would rely on him the most!
Bo Tu Ke didn’t have many men left under his command. But he simply gritted his teeth and assembled them all here, yelling before Bo Ge’s tent. Naturally, he did not receive permission from Agu Er Mu to do this. However, as long as he was successful, Royal Father definitely would not blame him. If it wasn’t for King Cheng warning him, one would fear he would have lost his only chance.
Teeth still clenched, Bo Ge continued moving toward the outskirts of his area. And he indeed caught sight of Bo Tu Ke. He scolded, “Have you gone mad? Who told you to come here?!”
Bo Tu Ke sneered. “Who told me to come here? Bo Ge! You useless thing. You’re actually preparing to compensate Great Kang with much land, slaves, and livestock?”
“It’s none of your business how much we’re compensating! Royal Father has already prohibited you from being involved with the peace talks!”
On top his horse, Bo Tu Ke held his head up high. “You’re only good at giving things away. Once I capture Prince Chun and force his troops to retreat, we will be the victors! We can demand land and money from Great Kang!”
“Idiot!” Fury burst from Bo Ge’s chest. “If you do this, then in the future us Qiang can never be allies with the Great State of Kang!” If Bo Tu Ke actually did this, and was even successful, Bo Tu Ke would also not let himself go. Bo Ge was well aware of that fact.
