Chapter 1236: Plan (2)

After West Xia’s spies took away the “confidential documents”, Little Treasure and Little Bear heaved a sigh of relief. It was too difficult to put on this show. Fortunately, they had the help of the adults. Otherwise, how could they inform West Xia so cleverly?

Qi Haoran’s study was heavily guarded, so West Xia targeted Little Treasure and the others instead. After all, if King Rong’s study was so easy to get into, West Xia wouldn’t believe that this was true.

However, it was not difficult to obtain a copy of the agreement from the Crown Prince of Great Qi. After all, they lived in the magistrate’s residence in a small city. Most of the defense forces were diverted to protect the Crown Prince’s safety and prevent Ogedei from being rescued. As such, it was reasonable for them to be negligent in protecting these documents.

That’s right. Now, many people secretly knew that the Great Yuan Emperor was locked up in the Weizhou magistrate’s house.

Firstly, it was due to the frequent movements of Great Qi. Then, it was revealed that Great Yuan’s spies had attacked the Weizhou government office on a large scale. With the commotion, everyone inevitably hears about it.

Qi Xiuyuan even explained to the courtiers that there were important guests in Weizhou City, so he needed Li Zhang to entertain them on behalf of the envoys.

Those who were well-informed knew that an important figure of Great Yuan had been captured, but those who were even more well-informed were aware that the Crown Prince and Prince Rong had detained the Great Yuan Emperor.

They were happy to see this happen, so they all silently expressed their support.

Naturally, the spies who had infiltrated also heard about it.

Hence, West Xia and Great Yuan also started to take action.

On Great Yuan’s side, Ogedei’s brothers were beating their chests and stamping their feet, eager to do something. But in order to show their sincerity in cooperating, Great Qi had long released Ogedei’s trusted aide, Nahe.

Nahe took Ogedei’s token and decree and returned to the country. Before Ogedei’s brothers could cause a ruckus, they were suppressed. Therefore, although Great Yuan was in turmoil, it was very calm on the surface.

West Xia was different. When they received the news that Great Qi and Great Yuan were going to form an alliance, there was a huge internal strife. When West Xia’s spies sent the copy of the agreement back to the country, the West Xia Imperial Court became even more chaotic.

They were already struggling to deal with the rebellion in the country and Great Yuan. If an increasingly powerful Great Qi was added to the mix, wouldn’t it kill them?

Hence, the gold, silver, and jewelry sent by Great Qi were effective.

Back then, West Xia bribed Qin Fang, the traitor of the previous dynasty, causing Great Zhou to retreat without a fight and cede several plots of land. Now, the same scheme was equally useful on West Xia.

Many ministers of West Xia suggested returning the land of the Han people to them. Anyway, Great Qi only wanted their lost territory.

If Great Qi were to send troops, West Xia would be attacked from both sides. At that time, they would probably lose even more.

After receiving bribes from Great Qi, the powerful ministers of West Xia argued with the pro-war faction with flushed faces. “Considering Great Qi destroyed Great Jin last year and defeated Great Yuan, their army’s morale is high at the moment. Jiangnan is rich, so military expenditure is not a problem. Qi Haoran is both smart and brave. Let me ask you, which one does West Xia have—army’s morale, military expenditure, or capable generals? If we were to get into a war with Great Qi, how confident are you of defeating them?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the West Xia Imperial Court fell silent.

The pro-peace faction continued, “Your Majesty, if Great Qi sends troops, Qi Haoran will definitely be the commander-in-chief. Who will fight against him then?”

The West Xia Imperial Court was so quiet that only breathing sounds could be heard.

The invasion 13 years ago had caused West Xia to suffer heavy losses. In that battle, half of West Xia’s capable generals had died at Qi Haoran’s hands, while the other half had been defeated by him. Henceforth, Qi Haoran’s reputation resounded throughout West Xia, and no one was willing to fight him.

However, this was what most of the West Xia generals thought. There were always newborn calves who were not afraid of tigers.

After a moment of silence, a young general stood up and shouted, “Your Majesty, I’m willing to lead the troops to battle.”

A bribed noble looked down on him. “When King Rong of Great Qi dominated the battlefield, you were still peeing your pants at home. Are you capable of fighting with him? The more likely outcome is that you’ll lose your life in the end!” He continued, “It doesn’t matter if you lose your life, as long as you don’t lose our West Xia’s territory. I’m afraid that not only will you not be able to stop the Great Qi army, but you’ll also give them an excuse to attack our West Xia.”

“Stop boosting other people’s morale here. Those who don’t know might think that you’re a Han seeing how fervently you’re speaking up for Great Qi. I hope you didn’t accept bribes from them!”

The treacherous official’s mental fortitude was very passable. Without changing his expression, he mocked coldly, “I’m sharing the burden for His Majesty and West Xia. Unlike you, who are only pushing West Xia, His Majesty, and the brave warriors of West Xia out to lose their lives for personal gain!”

The treacherous official turned around and shouted at the Emperor of West Xia, “Your Majesty, although Great Qi claims that they’ll only take back the lost territory, it doesn’t mean that they won’t take the opportunity to occupy the good land of West Xia. Previously, when Great Qi sent troops to Great Jin, they also said that they would only take back the lost territory of the Han people. However, even though the Han land only reached the Central Capital, last year, they fought all the way to Dading Prefecture in one go. If not for Qi Haoran suffering an injury, I’m afraid they would have advanced further north! Your Majesty, the Han people are hypocrites who care about their reputation. If you give them an excuse to send troops to West Xia, West Xia will be attacked from both sides and be in danger!”

“Only by cutting off the reason for them to send troops can we stop this war. At that time, we will do our best to suppress the rebellion and defeat Great Yuan. As for the land that is given back to Great Qi, as long as the West Xia royal family is still around, there will be a day when we can snatch it back!”

Hearing the treacherous official’s words, both the pro-peace faction and the pro-war faction in the Imperial Court were slightly moved. The Emperor of West Xia was silent for a long time before finally saying, “Then who do you think should go and discuss this matter with Great Qi?”

Him, of course! Otherwise, why would he be spending so much effort?

The treacherous official knelt on the ground with tears in his eyes and shouted, “I’m willing to do my utmost for Your Majesty.”

Hence, the Emperor of West Xia urgently sent a diplomatic letter to Great Qi to discuss the return of the lost land of the Han people. But because West Xia had been guarding this land for many years, if Great Qi wanted to take it back, they had to pay some custodian fees.

The Emperor of Great Qi and the ministers: “…”

To think West Xia had the cheek to demand custodian fees when Great Qi should be the one asking for compensation for the invasion!

However, at the thought of being able to take back the lost land without expending a single soldier, the Emperor and the ministers of Great Qi silently endured it. However, they rubbed their palms together and waited for West Xia’s envoy. ‘I want to see what you can take away from us!’

When Little Treasure and Little Bear received the news, they were so happy that they jumped off their speeding horses and rolled on the grass at the side!

If it weren’t for the fact that the matter hadn’t been settled yet, they would have shouted happily, “We did it!” Now that the matter hadn’t been settled yet, they could only roll on the grass with laughter. After venting, they happily raised their horses and whipped them to head towards Shandong.

That’s right. They had already handed over the matters of Weizhou to Li Zhang and the others and were now heading east again. At this moment, they had already bypassed Central Capital and were headed towards Shandong.

Qi Xiuyuan didn’t expect the two children’s plan to really succeed. He couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. Indeed, children couldn’t be underestimated.

Actually, the two children’s plan was very simple and indeed a little unrealistic.

They leaked the document that they had agreed to send troops to West Xia, letting West Xia know that Great Qi was going to send troops to recover the lost land and boost Great Yuan’s military strength.

Then, they would bribe West Xia’s ministers to speak up for them. If West Xia did not want to be attacked from both sides, they should take the initiative to return Great Qi’s lost territory.

Of course, this was not enough. During this period of time, Little Treasure and the others also urged Ogedei to increase the number of troops at the border between Great Yuan and West Xia. The Great Qi army also began to take action frequently, pretending that they were going to send troops. Qi Haoran even got someone to contact the rebels in West Xia’s territory and used the provision of rations to lure them to increase the intensity of their attacks. Under multiple pressures and with someone guiding them, there was a high chance that West Xia would return Great Qi’s territory as planned by the two children.

Qi Xiuyuan thought that it would take a long time, but he didn’t expect it to be so soon.