Prince Xin drew in a cold breath and said, “But what if this Prince Qizhe refuses?”
“He’s in my second brother’s hands. If he wants to resist, besides suicide, what else can he do?”
“But what if he commits suicide?”
“Then he would have been assassinated by some random prince in Southern Zhao. We can still avenge him,” Luo Wei said. “Besides, don’t we still have you, Prince?”
“Me?” Prince Xin said. “What about me?”
“Have you met this Prince Qizhe before?”
“Yes,” Prince Xin said. “I’ve been received by Prince Qizhe several times during my missions to Southern Zhao.”
“That’s good,” Luo Wei said. “I want you, Prince, to go to Southern Zhao to see Prince Qizhe. I don’t care what methods you use, but before my second brother conquers the land of Southern Zhao, you must make sure that Prince Qizhe behaves himself and lives until the day I let him die.”
“So in this way, his Majesty’s siege at Huanxi Beach can be broken?” Prince Xin asked.
“This is just the first step,” Luo Wei pointed to where he had placed the maps of Southern Zhao and Eastern Shang together, saying to Prince Xin, “Then my second brother can attack this place called Gulang1 Valley before spring, Prince, you see, right here.”
Prince Xin looked at the map and said, “Yes, I see. Crossing this Gulang River in this valley will take us to Eastern Shang.”
“If our Zhou army enters Eastern Shang, Prince, do you think Yang Yuansu can still stay in Northern Yan and fight against His Majesty?”
Prince Xin’s eyes lit up. Luo Wei’s method was sinister, but it was a good one. By setting fire to Yang Yuansu’s backyard, could this Emperor still fight in Northern Yan with peace of mind?
“Your Highness, would you be willing to go to Southern Zhao?” Luo Wei asked Prince Xin.
“Naturally it is my duty to contribute to this country. But Yunqi,” after thinking for a moment, he said to Luo Wei, “the time left for your second brother is limited. What if he fails to capture Gulang Valley before spring? Have you thought about this possibility?”
“I don’t want my second brother to worry about other matters,” Luo Wei said. “I just want him to charge forward blindly. As for the rear army, supplies, and Prince Qizhe, I think you, Prince, can handle them. As long as my second brother can concentrate on fighting, he will definitely enter Eastern Shang before spring.”
Thinking about Luo Wei’s words, Prince Xin asked, “Have you discussed this matter with anyone else?”
“You saw the argument in the court yesterday, Prince. I think it is best for me to decide on this matter alone,” Luo Wei said. “I don’t have time to listen to those people arguing.”
Luo Wei’s assertion made Prince Xin’s brow furrow slightly. “Yunqi, the court is always like that. There are always those who disagree.”
“But now is not the time for them to argue,” Luo Wei said. Seeing Xie Yu standing outside the half-open door at this time, he waved him in and said to Prince Xin, “When it comes to fighting, it is better for these scholars to stay out of it.”
Xie Yu snorted. Luo Wei said this as soon as he entered the room, this was obviously meant for him to hear.
“Don’t overthink it,” Luo Wei said to Xie Yu. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
Xie Yu stood on Luo Wei’s left side and said, “What did you call me here for? Do you want General Zhao to send troops to the streets of the capital? Aren’t you afraid of causing panic?”
“At this time, a little panic is good,” Luo Wei said, then pointed to the map of Northern Yan on the ground. “I want you to go to Northern Yan.”
“You want me to accompany the army to Northern Yan?” Xie Yu asked hurriedly.
Luo Wei said, “The Ministry of War has just begun conscription. I don’t have any troops at my disposal to send with you to Northern Yan. What I mean is, take a few guards with you and secretly go to Northern Yan.”
Prince Xin asked, “Do you want Mingyuan to infiltrate Huanxi Beach to see His Majesty?”
Luo Wei waved his hand. “I want Mingyuan to go see Sima Qingsha.”
Xie Yu was stunned. Luo Wei seemed to hate him so much that he wanted him to go to Sima Qingsha and seek death.
“In the conflicts between two countries, envoys will not be killed,” Luo Wei patted Xie Yu’s shoulder and said, “I want you to deliver a letter to Sima Qingsha for me.”
“Deliver a letter?” Xie Yu asked. “You faked your death and returned to Great Zhou. Do you think Sima Qingsha will still listen to you?”
“Sima Qingsha is not a fool,” Luo Wei said. “I just want to have a word with him, to ascertain whether it’s our Great Zhou that will cause the downfall of his country, or if Eastern Shang is more likely to lead to this.”
Standing side by side with Luo Wei, Xie Yu looked at the map of Northern Yan on the ground and said, “Yang Yuansu is an ambitious man. Eastern Shang is only separated from Northern Yan by the Chun Du Pass. For Northern Yan, Eastern Shang is naturally more dangerous.”
“If you think like this, Sima Qingsha will naturally think so too,” Luo Wei turned around, picked up the letter he had written overnight from the desk, and handed it to Xie Yu. “This is the letter I wrote last night. Take a look and see if this is alright.”
Xie Yu quickly read the letter. After just a few lines, Xie Yu’s face twitched twice. The tone of Luo Wei’s letter seemed as if he and Sima Qingsha were long-lost friends. “You,” Xie Yu said to Luo Wei, “do you have such a close relationship with Sima Qingsha?”
“In fact, we’re enemies,” Luo Wei said nonchalantly. “But at this time, I have something to ask of him, so I can only write like this.”
Listening to the conversation between the two, Prince Xin became curious. He walked to Xie Yu’s side and looked at the letter with him. After reading it, Prince Xin’s face twitched as well. “What are you writing?” Prince Xin said to Luo Wei. “‘Within the silken curtains fluttering in the eastern wind, speechless amidst the leisure of spring, it too should resemble days of old, with the abundant autumnal warmth, and the faint green mountains.’ Are you writing a love letter?”
Luo Wei didn’t react to Prince Xin’s directness, but Xie Yu’s hand trembled slightly.
“It’s just a letter,” Luo Wei smiled and said, “you don’t have to take it so seriously. I just want Sima Qingsha to have the temper to read it. This is really for his own good. Also, being polite to him will ensure Mingyuan’s safety.”
At this point, Xie Yu saw the back of the letter and became serious, “‘After Zhou perishes, Yan will perish as well‘.” He said to Luo Wei, “That’s true.”
“‘If the Emperor dies,’” Prince Xin looked at another part of the letter and frowned, “‘I will definitely become the new Emperor, and I will be your enemy. I won’t rest until Yan is destroyed.’ Yunqi, can you write this?”
“Zizhou told me,” Luo Wei said, “that when my eldest brother broke out of the Yan-Shang siege, Sima Qingsha forbade his men from shooting arrows and harming my eldest brother’s life.”
“What does that mean?” Xie Yu asked. “Did he want to capture your eldest brother alive?”
“Only His Majesty is worth capturing alive,” Luo Wei said.
Prince Xin became anxious. “Then what did he want to do?”
“He didn’t want to be my enemy,” Luo Wei said softly.
“What?!” Xie Yu and Prince Xin exclaimed simultaneously.
At this moment, Luo Wei thought of his days in Northern Yan. His breath stagnated for a few minutes and he turned away from the other two in embarrassment, “Don’t ask anymore. Just do as I say.”
- Lone Wolf ↩︎
Boundless Dao 
Leave a comment