Chapter 123 The soldiers decided to capture Xiao Qidi in order to protect Da Xuan!

"My guess is that his plot is..." the lieutenant said, enunciating each word clearly, "to destroy the Great Xuan!"

The general was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a helpless smile. "I thought you were going to say something! That's impossible! What monarch would want to destroy his own country? Even a foolish, incompetent, or tyrannical monarch would only cause the country to be destroyed due to his own problems or lack of ability, but he would never think of destroying his own country."

"He can!" the lieutenant insisted.

The general was speechless. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, you should go and rest. Don't overthink things."

"General, please hear me out," the lieutenant said earnestly. "If you were the ruler of a country and had the crown prince of an enemy nation as a hostage, what would you do?"

The general replied, "Of course, we should use this important hostage to gain the greatest benefit. Not only can it serve as a powerful tool to hold the enemy back, making them hesitant to act, but it can also force them to cede territory and cities. The advantages are endless."

The lieutenant said, "That's right, even we warriors could think of that, but what about Xiao Qidi? How did he do it?"

The general frowned slightly. "The fact that His Majesty suddenly beheaded the Crown Prince of Yu is indeed... hard to understand."

"Xiao Qidi not only beheaded the Crown Prince of Yu, but also killed the Yu envoy who came to negotiate!" the deputy continued. "He even sent two heads back to Yu! Doesn't the general think that this is all a deliberate attempt to provoke Yu and ensure a war between the two countries? Moreover, he has gone to such extremes that Yu will definitely fight to the death with our Great Xuan! There is absolutely no possibility of peace talks!"

The general pondered for a moment, "Perhaps... this is the king's purpose? He wants to have a life-or-death battle with Yu Kingdom. By doing things so ruthlessly, he can cut off his own escape route. I guess this is to prevent the ministers in the court who do not want to fight from stopping him. I have heard that some ministers in the court still want to reconcile with Yu Kingdom and become friends."

The deputy general immediately asked, "Okay, even if that makes some sense, why did Xiao Qidi mobilize our 100,000 troops, requiring us to travel light and quickly, without even providing logistical supplies?"

"This..." The general frowned more and more, and after thinking for a while, he could only shake his head.

The lieutenant then said, “The battle for survival between Da Xuan and Yu Kingdom is already a foregone conclusion and cannot be avoided. The border between the two countries is in this Xitun Pass area. Whether we launch a preemptive attack or prepare a defense in advance, we cannot bypass this place. Moreover, this place is remote and desolate and has been suffering from drought for several months. We will not be able to obtain food and supplies if we come here... General, do you think this is intentionally weakening our fighting strength?”

The general's expression grew increasingly grim, and he remained silent, pursing his lips.

The deputy continued, "Under such circumstances, we have no chance of defeating Yu Kingdom. At that time, Xiao Qidi will have a reason to continue to reinforce Xitun Pass, and then use the same method to weaken the combat effectiveness of the reinforcements, which will be enough to exhaust all of our hundreds of thousands of troops in Da Xuan!"

The general's eyes widened in shock. "You mean, His Majesty is helping the Yu Kingdom?"

After saying that, he quickly shook his head in denial, saying, "No, no, that doesn't make sense! The king of Yu Kingdom only has one son. Why would the king help them by beheading the crown prince? It makes no sense!"

“Because he wasn’t actually helping Yu Kingdom,” the lieutenant said with certainty. “He actually wanted Da Xuan and Yu Kingdom to both suffer heavy losses, or rather—to perish together! That would perfectly align with what I said at the beginning: destroy Da Xuan! Yu Kingdom was just a tool he used to achieve this conspiracy!”

After reviewing the cause and effect, it almost perfectly matched the deputy general's speculation.

The more the general listened, the more alarmed he became. However, although he believed it to some extent, there was still one crucial factor that he couldn't understand.

He paced back and forth, his face grim, and said, "What you said above is all reasonable, but... as I said at the beginning, Tai Xuan is the king's country. Why would he go to such lengths to destroy Da Xuan? If Da Xuan is gone, it will only harm him, and there will be no benefit whatsoever!"

"He does!" the vice-president continued. "There have always been rumors that Xiao Qidi is not the son of the late king. Some say he is the illegitimate son of Situ Wei and Jiang Peihuan, while others say his biological father is someone else. However, judging from Xiao Qidi's handling of Situ Wei's case, the rumor that he is Situ Wei's illegitimate son has been dispelled. So there is only one possibility: his biological father is from one of the five other vassal states besides Xuan and Yu, or even from the surrounding barbarian states!"

"Hiss..." The general gasped, his pupils constricting sharply. "You mean..."

The lieutenant clasped his hands in a fist salute. "I believe that after this analysis, General, you understand that Xiao Qidi is most likely following his biological father's plan to destroy our Great Xuan! If his biological father is from one of the other five Central Plains kingdoms, excluding Yu and Xuan, then his purpose is naturally to eliminate two rivals for his country. If his biological father is from some small barbarian country, then it is to disrupt the Central Plains and take advantage of the situation. After all, the surrounding barbarians have coveted the Central Plains since ancient times, and their treacherous desire to seize our land and destroy our people has never died!"

These words sent a chill down the general's spine.

At first, when he heard his deputy say that Xiao Qidi had a conspiracy to destroy Da Xuan, he didn't believe it at all.

But now, all the signs and speculations are perfectly logical and interconnected.

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became.

"General!" The lieutenant knelt down. "Whether Xiao Qidi is trying to eliminate our Great Xuan for any of the other nations, or to disrupt the Central Plains and benefit the barbarians, we cannot stand by and watch his conspiracy succeed! Otherwise, Great Xuan will be destroyed, and the people will suffer!"

The general unconsciously clenched his fists, and the veins on his forehead bulged even more. "But... while your speculation is reasonable, it cannot be completely verified."

The lieutenant said, "We are in dire straits and have no time to lose! General, now is a critical moment for the survival of our 100,000 troops, and even more so for the survival of the Great Xuan! Please, General..."

The general looked conflicted. "The Great Xuan Army has always been loyal to the Great Xuan King. Could it be... could it be that I am now to betray my sovereign..."

"General! You can't hesitate any longer!" The lieutenant was filled with grief and indignation. "It wasn't us who betrayed him, it was him who betrayed us and the Great Xuan first! Even if we die, even if we bear the crime of rebelling against the king, we must protect the Great Xuan!"

Blood seeped from the general's clenched fist. He looked up and sighed, then his eyes hardened. "Give me a group of men to prepare. They will lie in wait behind me. I'm going to see Xiao Qidi later. You all wait for the right opportunity and do whatever it takes to take him down. Don't worry about my life or death."

"Yes, General!"

With tears in his eyes, the lieutenant accepted the order and resolutely rose to leave the tent.

Only about an incense stick's time later, the deputy general came to report that manpower had been arranged and all preparations had been made.

The general nodded and went alone to the outside of the camp.

He learned from the patrolling soldiers that Xiao Qidi had come and left earlier and had been waiting outside the camp, seemingly waiting for something. He was accompanied only by a horse and had no guards.

The general, carrying a torch, arrived at where Xiao Qidi was. From afar, he could see a bonfire burning under the moonlight, a group of warhorses beside the bonfire, and a tall figure standing beside the warhorses.

The general slowed his pace and quietly glanced at his sides.

Under the hazy night sky, dozens of people had already divided into several teams and were lying in ambush in the surrounding area.

Because the area was relatively open, they could not get too close, lest they alert the enemy.

The general continued walking forward and called out, "Your Majesty, why don't you rest in the camp?"

Xiao Qidi was looking into the distance, seemingly waiting for something. Hearing the voice, he turned around and asked, "Why did you come out?"

The general stepped closer and said, “Your Majesty said that food and water would be delivered. I was really looking forward to it and couldn’t help but come out to see.”

Xiao Qidi smiled and said, "I ordered you to come here in a hurry, which was indeed rushed. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's no trouble at all," the general said, his right hand subtly gripping the sword at his waist. "Please forgive my ignorance, Your Majesty. This Xitun Pass is remote and desolate, and it's during a drought. I really can't think of any way to find enough food and water for our 100,000-strong army..."

"You'll find out soon enough." Xiao Qidi turned his head and looked back in the direction he had been gazing.

The general had already arrived behind Xiao Qidi while he was speaking, less than two zhang away.

He secretly observed his surroundings again, and after confirming that there were no other people hiding nearby, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. He figured that Xiao Qidi probably never expected his plot to be exposed, which was why he hadn't brought any men to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion.

That's perfect. He might not even need the soldiers who followed him to take action; he could take down Xiao Qidi all by himself.

If it turns out that the deputy general was mistaken and overthinking things, he can take all the blame for offending the emperor upon himself.

As he pondered, he slowly drew the sword from his waist.

The sound of his feet pounding on the dry ground perfectly masked the subtle noises that could not be completely avoided even as the blade was slowly drawn from its sheath.

Just as he held his breath, closed the distance enough, and prepared to swing his sword to hold the back of Xiao Qidi's neck.

"General, do you think I'm lying to you?" Xiao Qidi suddenly asked.

The general stopped abruptly, his heart leaping into his throat, and hurriedly looked around.

What happened?

Xiao Qidi was clearly alone.

Had his actions been noticed? Did he have eyes in the back of his head?!

"Your Majesty...I..." The general gritted his teeth and didn't know what to say, so he made up his mind to take action directly.

Swish—

All the swords were drawn.

Xiao Qidi raised his hand and pointed forward, "General, look, they're here."

Suddenly, an unusual light appeared in the distance.

It was an unprecedented bright white light, with two beams of light shining straight ahead, illuminating a great distance.

At the same time, strange rumbling sounds could be heard, like the low growls of monsters in the night.

The general was stunned, staring intently in the direction from which the light appeared.

One pair of white lights appeared after another, and the monster's growling sound grew closer and closer, moving at an astonishing speed.

"What...what is that?" The general became increasingly nervous.

“That’s a convoy transporting supplies,” Xiao Qidi said casually. “A motorcade.”

"A car?" The general was bewildered. "This humble general only knows about horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, oxcarts, and even sheep-drawn carts... What is a car?"

Xiao Qidi glanced back and saw that the general was so nervous that his face had turned pale, clearly terrified by this strange scene that was beyond his comprehension.

No wonder, in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, anyone of this era who saw a convoy of cars would inevitably think of some kind of terrifying monster.

"Come here, let me show you." Xiao Qidi took out the drone remote control from his waist.

Buzz—

A soft sound came from above their heads.

The general hurriedly looked up and saw a dark figure soar into the air.

"Then... what is that?!" The general's voice began to tremble.

“That’s a drone,” Xiao Qidi said quietly. “It was hovering in mid-air until you came over.”

The general was still in a daze, his mind blank, when Xiao Qidi placed the drone remote control in front of him.

The remote control screen displayed a clear view of the scenery below from above, and it was incredibly clear even in the dark.

"What...what...what is this?!" The general's eyes widened.

Xiao Qidi explained, "This device can control drones and allow you to see the scene through them. I'll have the drone fly over the convoy now so you can get a glimpse of it."

The general was so shocked by the strange scenes and objects that appeared one after another that he was speechless, his eyes staring blankly at the remote control screen.

As the drone flew over the convoy of cars.

The general also saw what the car looked like.

Those carriages, much larger than ordinary horse-drawn carriages, were running incredibly fast despite having no animals pulling them, their wheels spinning rapidly, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

As he looked at it, goosebumps suddenly rose on his back, and he stammered, "Your Majesty...you...you've been using this thing just now?"

Xiao Qidi hummed in agreement.

The general nearly choked on his breath. This thing could look down from high above, which meant...

Does this mean that Xiao Qidi had seen everything he thought he had done secretly?

Thinking of this, he almost collapsed to his knees!

Just as his mind was in a state of confusion, the convoy arrived in front of the two men.

The screech of brakes rang out in succession, and a cloud of dust swept in like a tornado.

Not far behind the two.

The deputy general and his men lay in ambush and observed, and when they saw this scene, they were all dumbfounded.

The billowing dust obscured the figures of the general and Xiao Qidi, with only beams of light shining through the thick dust and smoke, vaguely outlining huge and strange shapes, while a low roar constantly assaulted their hearts.

"What kind of monster is that?"

"Is it some kind of giant beast summoned by Xiao Qidi?"

"Could the general... have he already been... eaten by that monster?!"

The soldiers were filled with fear and worry, and their hands, gripping their swords, were sweating profusely.

"Follow me and charge! No matter what kind of monster it is, we'll risk our lives to take down Xiao Qidi!" The lieutenant roared, grabbing his sword and leading the charge.

Without the slightest hesitation, the other dozens of soldiers followed closely behind, all with the determination to fight to the death. They raised their swords and charged into the thick dust and smoke, fighting against the huge, terrifying monster!