Lending Troops

The condescending arrogance in Li Junqing's tone seemed to infuriate the seafaring princess. Orenli's azure eyes narrowed to fine slits, shooting out glints of icy cold, yet her voice remained casual. "I thought the Third Prince would be different from the others in Great Yan's imperial capital. It seems I was mistaken." "The respect an envoy receives is derived entirely from the dynasty behind them." Li Junqing chuckled softly, his eyes narrowing. "Princess of the Kingdom of Sien, let this prince tell you a story. Oh no, not a story, but a fact that happened just last year." Orenli frowned slightly. "Go ahead, Your Highness. I am listening." Li Junqing leisurely raised his cup of fragrant tea as though holding a wine goblet. He swirled it gently beneath the illumination of the inscription lamp, sending ripples across the pale green surface. "To the northwest of Great Yan lies a place called the Great Desert. Within it sits the Dachao Royal Court. Its national strength is unremarkable, roughly somewhat superior overall to the Wa demons you are currently fighting. And around the Beginning of Autumn last year, they dispatched a prince to Di'an City as an envoy." Hearing this, Xu Yuan's eyelid twitched involuntarily. Li Junqing's voice carried a hint of mockery. "While that prince was staying in Di'an City, he provoked the scion of one of our dynasty's high ministers. Most unfortunately, that scion had quite a temper..." At this point, Li Junqing paused with a smile and asked Orenli softly, "Care to guess what happened in the end?" "..." Orenli knitted her brows, remaining silent. "Do not care to guess? Then this prince will tell you directly." Li Junqing brought the porcelain cup level with his lips and blew on it gently. "That prince was killed on the spot. And that high minister's scion merely did what this prince is doing right now..." With that, Li Junqing downed the fragrant tea in one gulp and grinned. "Punished himself with three drinks." Tonight's negotiations broke down in total discord. Li Junqing's words amounted to a naked threat, a blatant insult to the Sienese royal family. Orenli departed, taking that walking tin can named Huron with her as she left the private room that commanded a minimum spend of a thousand taels. For a time, the private room fell dead silent. After a long silence, Xu Yuan glanced at Li Junqing, pushed his hands against his knees, and stood up. Seeing this, Li Junqing glanced at him, his voice tinged with mild surprise. "What, you're leaving too?" Xu Yuan shook his head and walked toward the room's attached balcony. "Just going to get some cold air." "Heh." Li Junqing gave a soft laugh and paid him no further mind, pouring and drinking tea by himself on the plush futon. Stepping out onto the private balcony, the winter night's chill wind brushed against his face. Looking down at the countless lights of Di'an under the moonlit sky, Xu Yuan asked softly, "What exactly are you trying to do?" Li Junqing set down his cup and looked at Xu Yuan's silhouette on the balcony. He smiled leisurely. "Negotiations are just like courting an unearthly fairy. You can't be impatient, and you certainly can't bare your heart all at once. You must know how to pull back and forth, pressing deeper little by little." Bathed in the cascading moonlight, Xu Yuan rested both hands on the wooden railing and half-turned his head to cast a sidelong glance at Li Junqing inside. His faint golden eyes appeared exceptionally profound under the moon. "You know that isn't what I meant. When did your partner in cooperation become the Kingdom of Sien?" Li Junqing's movement paused, and he chuckled in mild surprise. "Ho, why are you channeling your cultivation art? I don't recall there being an art in this world capable of detecting lies or reading minds." "My channeling isn't aimed at you." Xu Yuan turned his gaze back toward the city below, replying in a flat voice, "What are you doing this for?" "Naturally, to seize greater benefits." "Meaning?" "Heh." Li Junqing chuckled softly, stood up from behind the thick, ten-foot-long tea table, and walked slowly toward Xu Yuan. "My imperial brother submitted a memorial to Imperial Father, granting me an opportunity to go to Dongying. But unfortunately, aside from an empty title, the support Imperial Father granted me is pitifully scarce." As he spoke, Li Junqing stopped beside Xu Yuan and leaned against the wooden railing. Tilting his head back slightly, he gazed into the pitch-black sky and spoke in a faint tone, "A munitions quota of five hundred thousand taels, plus four companies of the Imperial Guard... Taking this little bit of capital to Dongying, what difference can I make? I originally thought I would at least secure a battalion of cavalry." Understanding dawned on Xu Yuan immediately. "His hands are tied?" "Indeed. The war on the Northern Border is already enough of a headache for Imperial Father. Sigh, taking this meager capital there, who knows if I can even survive? Escaping one pit only to leap into another." "There are still advantages. Going to Dongying this time is akin to a trapped dragon plunging into the sea, is it not?" "Ho, you trust me that much?" Li Junqing tilted his head, the corner of his lips curling. "Still, you have a point. Compared to staying in Di'an City, once I reach Dongying, I will truly be able to act with a free hand." Xu Yuan smiled as well, staring into Li Junqing's eyes. "Then allow me to wish your plans success in advance." Li Junqing lowered his gaze slightly, his tone turning somber. "Success is hardly guaranteed. Imperial Father gave me far too little, and that Kingdom of Sien from across the sea is not weak. Even if everything goes smoothly, failure remains the most likely outcome..." Xu Yuan was somewhat surprised and raised a brow. "Weren't you so afraid of dying? If the risks are so immense, why insist on going?" "Because there, I can hold my own destiny in my hands." "What?" Xu Yuan asked. Leaning against the wooden railing, Li Junqing smiled casually. "In Di'an City, whether I live or die does not depend on me. All my hard work could be burned to ash on someone else's single whim. Just like my imperial brother—he has served conscientiously as Crown Prince for decades, yet in the end, everything still hangs on Imperial Father's single thought." At this point, Li Junqing raised a hand toward the dark sky and clenched it into a tight fist. "Yet once I am in Dongying, no matter how many difficulties arise, my life will belong to Li Junqing alone." "..." Staring at Li Junqing in silence for a few breaths, Xu Yuan chuckled softly and shook his head, remarking in a low voice, "As a friend, I, Xu Changtian, can promise you one thing: if you fail, I will—" "Avenge me?" "Burn incense at your grave." "..." Li Junqing's expression froze. Then he chuckled, nodding as he turned around to gaze at the full moon. "Incense alone won't do. You must bring wine, and it must be spiritual wine worth at least ten thousand taels of silver." "You certainly are greedy. But this young master agrees." Xu Yuan mocked him dryly before asking, "Still, if you truly intend to cooperate with Sien, why use what happened to me last year to provoke that woman just now?" Li Junqing made no effort to hide the truth and answered, "For intelligence, and also to pave a way out for myself should I fail in the future." "Meaning?" Li Junqing smiled faintly and lowered his voice. "Although that busty blonde princess behaves herself, my imperial family's Imperial Shadow Guard has already caught their scouts in many local provinces." Here, Li Junqing grinned. "It's thanks to the distinctive appearance of those blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. Catching them was practically shooting fish in a barrel." Xu Yuan let out an ambiguous scoff. "Ho, spying on the national strength of our Great Yan Dynasty? Still, that sort of thing cannot be concealed for long." Great Yan was simply too vast and its coastline too long. There would always be those willing to trade with outsiders for profit. Li Junqing nodded slightly. "That is why I revealed some of it to them just now. It serves as my first gesture of goodwill in cooperating with them, and also as bait. "To this day, our understanding of the seafaring Kingdom of Sien remains superficial. We do not understand their cultivation system, nor do we know how much power their country wields back home. In that regard, they hold an immense advantage over us." Listening to this, Xu Yuan pondered briefly before realizing something. "You want to gauge the Kingdom of Sien's strength through the progression of the war in Dongying?" "Quick on the uptake as always. Truly my confidant." Li Junqing gave Xu Yuan a thumbs-up, brushed his robes, and smiled. "Under the initial surprise attack, the northern Wa people were routed completely. Later, several of their greatest daimyo led an allied coalition and barely managed to hold the line, but the Kingdom of Sien continued to push forward until the Wa leveraged the terrain around the Wangtu River to maintain a stalemate." Xu Yuan stroked his chin and asked with a smile, "Yet I recall you claiming earlier that the Wa had clever schemes of their own." "I don't deny that," Li Junqing replied, as if it were only natural. "At least, that was the case in the beginning." At that point, Li Junqing shifted the conversation, his eyes turning somewhat somber. "But Changtian, you must understand that the war there has already raged for over a year." "You mean the Kingdom of Sien's reinforcements have arrived?" "There is no intelligence to confirm that, but such is my judgment." "Your reasoning?" "This prince has a fat sheep in Dongying... cough, a partner who told me that they needed munitions to organize a counterattack, requiring an allocation worth nearly ten million taels of silver. Yet when this prince sent an inquiry regarding the follow-up, it was like a stone sinking into the sea." "In other words, the Wa people's counteroffensive achieved nothing at all?" Xu Yuan asked thoughtfully. Li Junqing nodded, his tone grave. "Correct. Changtian, you have seen a real battlefield on the Northern Border. If both sides were evenly matched, could such a thing happen?" "..." Silence fell. Xu Yuan did not reply. Because the answer was no. Warfare in this era was unlike the saturated battle lines of his past modern world, where every inch of land along a front stretching thousands of li was manned by soldiers. Across vast territories, there were gaping holes in any defense line. Without constant vigilance, an army would be outflanked from behind; battlefield conditions changed in an instant. Just as the Barbarian King had circled around to launch a surprise attack on Beifeng City back then. Which meant... "The Kingdom of Sien is deliberately preserving its strength and sparing the Wa?" "Not necessarily." Li Junqing smiled and dismissed Xu Yuan's conjecture, speaking softly, "Based on existing information, even after replenishing their forces through over a year of war, the Sienese on Dongying Island are likely considerably stronger than the Wa, but they most probably lack the capacity to end the war swiftly in the short term." Xu Yuan gazed down at the bustling, flourishing streets below. "So you're saying the Kingdom of Sien is currently observing Great Yan's attitude?" "You could call it observing, or you could call it lulling us into complacency." "..." Through this brief exchange with Li Junqing, Xu Yuan had gathered a rough understanding of the situation in Dongying. The Kingdom of Sien had invaded Dongying with crushing momentum, joyfully preparing to roll over the entire island nation in one sweep once reinforcements arrived, only to suddenly discover a colossal beast crouching beside them, silently watching them. Staring at each other. Awkward. Fighting carried risks, but pulling back was equally troublesome. After all, Great Yan was right next to Dongying. If they didn't fight, they had already incurred sunk costs; all prior investments would be washed down the drain, giving them no way to account for their actions back home. Yet if they continued to fight and pushed forward too quickly, provoking the Great Yan Dynasty into taking direct action to sweep them back into the sea, their losses would be even worse. They even had to consider whether this contact would provoke the giant beast into coveting their own homeland. Weighing all these considerations, the Sienese royal authority in charge of Dongying had opted for stalling. They would wait until everything was thoroughly investigated before making further plans. Now that Li Junqing had revealed a fraction of Great Yan's national strength to Orenli, the news traveling back to Dongying Island would inevitably make them even more hesitant. Yet this delay... Thinking up to this point, Xu Yuan gazed toward the north and sighed softly. "If only this Kingdom of Sien had come several decades later, everything would be much easier to handle." "Indeed." Li Junqing nodded and smiled. "The current situation is somewhat like beating a wolf with a hemp stalk—both sides are afraid. Once those Sienese thoroughly understand our domestic situation in Great Yan, they will likely cast aside all restraint." At this, Li Junqing suddenly tilted his head and chuckled playfully. "Changtian, you mentioned earlier that you planned to sponsor my trip to Dongying. Can you tell this prince about it now?" Managing the royal trading guild over the years had certainly allowed him to pocket plenty of perks, leaving him with a sizable private vault. Yet it remained far from enough to execute his plans on Dongying Island. Xu Yuan glanced at him and shook his head slightly. "After hearing all that, I have changed my mind." Li Junqing's face darkened at once, and he snapped, "Xu Changtian, that's not honorable of you! This prince told you everything he knows!" Xu Yuan gave him an indifferent look and murmured, "What's the rush? This young master never said he wouldn't invest in you." "Hmm?" With a gasp of surprise, Li Junqing's face lit up in an instant smile, and he shamelessly leaned in. "Heh, I knew you wouldn't abandon me, brother." "..." Xu Yuan's eyelid twitched, and he silently took a step to the left. Seeing this, Li Junqing didn't act like a stranger; he took a step to the left as well, rubbing his hands together. "Changtian, how do you intend to invest in your younger brother?" Xu Yuan glanced at Li Junqing and uttered two quiet words: "Lending troops." Li Junqing's pupils shrank, and his brows instantly furrowed. "Lending troops? The situation at your Prime Minister's Manor can hardly be much better than our royal family's. Affairs all across Great Yan are already giving the Chancellor a massive headache. Where would you get the Black Scale Army to lend me?" Xu Yuan turned his gaze toward the north and smiled faintly. "Who told you that lending troops meant lending you the Black Scale Army? "And who told you that this young master has no army of his own?"