Chapter 157

While Xue Jin'an and the others were discussing in the palace what exactly Helian Cheng was pitying, Helian Cheng, far away in the Rongdi region, was instructing someone to send the promised gift—Weng Tianxin's relics—to Prime Minister Bileg.

“Our Great Qi is a land of propriety, and we retain some human compassion even towards criminals. Considering the distance between the capital and the royal city, the Prime Minister would certainly not be able to go in time to collect the remains, so I specially brought them here. Even if we don’t erect a cenotaph, it will still serve as a memento, and there will be a place to pay respects in the future.” Helian Cheng finished speaking with a grin, adding with a chillingly cruel tone, “It was just a casual favor, so he doesn’t need to thank me.”

The guard responsible for delivering the supplies said, "...General, won't I get beaten to death for saying this?"

"Don't worry, I've already inquired. Bileg values ​​his reputation and always encourages frugality. His mansion only has a few old servants who sweep and clean. You can definitely escape using your lightness skill. Even if you can't escape, they can't kill you." Helian Cheng patted his personal guard on the shoulder, his tone confident with a hint of smugness.

The guard's face immediately showed an expression of "I never expected you to be this kind of general," and he reminded him, "General, you only brought this many men into the city, and every one you use is one less... so could you please rescind your order?"

—Since it was said that 100,000 Northwest Army soldiers were escorting Crown Prince Rongyang back to the country, Helian Cheng would definitely carry out the order perfectly. Apart from the necessary defensive forces of the Northwest Camp, he took almost everything he could. Afterwards, he left some people to guard along the way. When he arrived at Luocheng, there were still 50,000 mobile troops.

No matter how much the Rongdi people tried to swallow their anger in order to avoid war, they absolutely could not tolerate Helian Cheng bringing so many troops into the capital. What difference was there between that and directly opening the gates to welcome the enemy? Therefore, Helian Cheng only brought a personal guard of about a hundred men into the capital, while the rest of his troops were stationed in Luocheng.

The distance between Luocheng and the Rongdi capital was neither too far nor too close, but they were separated by a lake. Water is a scarce resource in the desert, and the nearby towns depended heavily on this lake and wanted to preserve it. No one knows who made the suggestion, but the surrounding towns unanimously agreed and began planting trees around the lake. Even after the Northern Desert regime was unified, their tree-planting plan remained unchanged.

After nearly a century of transformation by several generations, this area, while not as dramatic as the southern rainforests of southern Xinjiang, has become an oasis with shady trees.

Xue Jin'an initially gave Helian Cheng several plans, and each of the final locations suggested was under the extreme limit of the Rongdi's sudden rise. Choosing Luocheng would result in less land being seized than any of Xue Jin'an's plans, which was far from crossing the Rongdi's bottom line. This is why it took a month for the Rongdi to send Bileg to Helian Cheng after he had been stationed in Luocheng.

However, after conducting on-site investigations and comparing the series of battle plans written by Xue Jin'an, Helian Cheng felt that Xue Jin'an's tactics were too focused on maximizing benefits. This resulted in the entire plan being quite extreme and perfect. Not only were the troop deployments clearly arranged, but even the weather, temperature, and deployment time were described in detail. It was a truly foolproof operation. As long as you followed the instructions, it would be difficult to make a mistake.

Conversely, such an overly meticulous, foolproof approach also means a decrease in tactical flexibility and an extremely high demand on the obedience of generals. A 70-point attitude may get you a 90-point answer, but a 60-point attitude will absolutely not get you a 60-point answer.

While Helian Cheng might rely on Xue Jin'an's "Sacred Book" for diplomatic affairs, he had his own ideas about military arrangements and preferred a more stable approach that allowed for flexibility.

After careful consideration, Helian Cheng ultimately chose Luocheng, which offered greater mobility and easier troop deployment, as his base.

Xue Jin'an had no objection to this. He did not require those who received his plans to strictly follow them without any of their own ideas. Moreover, a general in the field may not obey the emperor's orders. Each commander has a different fighting style. Applying unsuitable tactics to unsuitable people will only make the entire command appear chaotic.

Helian Cheng has the ability, experience, and courage to judge what he should do.

Helian Cheng cleared his throat, his face stern, and urged him on, "This is a military order, go now!"

"Yes, sir!" Military orders are absolute, and the personal guards could only obey and retreat.

The guards' worries were indeed unfounded. Only one day after Helian Cheng's "grand gift" was delivered to the Prime Minister's residence, news spread that the Prime Minister had fainted again. The doctor, who had just left and had not yet had time to return to the palace to report, was dragged back by the Prime Minister's servants.

After that, the Prime Minister's residence was heavily guarded, and no more news came out. Instead, people reported Helian Cheng's itinerary to the Prime Minister's residence and the Rongdi royal palace every day.

Helian Cheng was quite relaxed and carefree, wandering around the capital every day, buying whatever caught his eye without spending a penny. He kept all the accounts under the name of their Khan, and when asked, he would say, "I am a distinguished guest sent to the Rong and Di tribes. In previous years, when Rong and Di envoys came to our capital, Daqi, their food and lodging were all taken care of by the post station, and their purchases were also accounted for by the Ministry of Rites."

No wonder other small countries like to come to this great Eastern country to freeload; the welfare benefits are truly quite good.

"The Rong and Di are so poor that they can't even afford to feed, clothe, and house their envoys?" Helian Cheng looked at the Rong and Di minister who had something to say with a half-smile.

The Rongdi ministers could no longer say anything at this moment, and had to grit their teeth and support the expenses for the sake of Rongdi's reputation.

The Rongdi Khan was furious in the palace, practically spitting fire. He crumpled the parchment in his hand into a ball and slammed it into the stove. "Daqi! Helian Cheng! This is simply outrageous!"

"Khan, cough cough cough—" The prime minister, Bileg, who should have been resting in bed at home, was sitting next to Rongdi Khan. His face was pale, and in a short time, his hair had turned white, showing signs of fatigue and old age.

"Endure? How long must we endure? I'm going crazy from enduring this!" The Rongdi Khan's eyes were red.

"Khan, it won't be long." A sinister and cold light flashed in Bileg's eyes.

To others, Helian Cheng simply strolled around the capital every day, looking at strange and unfamiliar things. In reality, although Helian Cheng's daily wanderings were blinding, he memorized every path he walked, drawing them out at night to burn for Xue Jin'an, thus saving the time and effort of destroying evidence.

Helian Cheng originally thought he would have to travel all over the capital to finish drawing this map, but unexpectedly, Xue Jin'an completed 90% of it in just two days.

He had already drawn out 90% of the main streets and alleys. The remaining 10% consisted of many intricate alleys and lanes in the city, which would take too much time to figure out. Xue Jin'an did not intend to let Helian Cheng stay here any longer.

“Bilge will surely persuade the Rongdi Khan to kill you. The retreat route has been sent to you. Please check it,” Xue Jin’an said matter-of-factly.

Although Helian Cheng followed Xue Jin'an's advice and began preparing to escape, he still found it hard to believe that the Rongdi would do something so unwise, tantamount to declaring war on the Great Qi. "Didn't the Rongdi refuse to engage in direct warfare? Wouldn't killing me go against their original intentions?"

“They can frame me and the court for your death,” Xue Jin’an reminded him. “Long Aotian and you are now in a rivalry with the Northwest Army, and the emperor… has a history of detaining you and preventing you from returning to the Northwest Army.”

Ever since the emperor forced Helian Cheng to stay away from the capital, Helian Cheng's position in Daqi has become somewhat awkward and sensitive. Even Doctor Chang had a vague sense of this, but Helian Cheng himself didn't seem to feel anything.

Many people even speculate that Long Aotian's rapid rise to power was due to the emperor's backing and support, and there are countless people who believe in this conspiracy theory.

If Helian Cheng were to die in a foreign land at this time, the emperor would have no choice but to accept the blame.

Helian Cheng began preparing to retreat somewhat awkwardly.

Galdan, whether he had a premonition or not, barged in at that moment, and his personal guards, caught off guard, failed to stop him.

"You, are you going to leave here?" Galdan, with a strength he didn't know he possessed, broke free from the soldiers' grip, rushed to Helian Cheng, and grabbed his sleeve. He looked up, his face filled with panic and pleading, "Don't leave me here! They'll kill me! They won't let me live..."

Galdan is now practically the enemy of the entire Rongdi people, a thorn in their side. Even the servants in his mansion look at him with disdain.

Galdan longed to return home during his time in the Great Qi, but once he finally did, he couldn't sleep a single night. Only when he grasped his weapon could he find the courage to close his eyes for a moment.

Galdan felt like he was going crazy.

"You've driven me to this point! You can't do this! You can't betray me after I've served my purpose! You can't treat me like this!" he shouted hoarsely.

Helian Cheng calmly watched him finish his madness before reaching out and grabbing his arm, gently forcing him to subconsciously open his fingers and release the collar of his clothes that had been grabbed. "Don't worry, as long as I'm alive and the Northwest Army is still here, your position is very secure, and you will always be the first in line to inherit the Khan's position."

The Rongdi people are wary of the Great Qi, so they won't openly depose the crown prince appointed by the Great Qi. As for secret poisoning or assassination attempts, that's hard to say. In any case, as long as Galdan dies quietly enough, even if everyone knows that the Khan ordered Galdan's death, no evidence will be found.

Galdan was quite astute when it came to matters of life and death. Realizing this, he glared at Helian Cheng with fierce and desperate eyes, "You can't treat me like this! If you do, I will tell you everything. Yes, I'll go to the palace right now and tell him you're leaving. I really will!"

Helian Cheng watched him go mad with cold eyes, and calmly stated, "If you don't tell them, you might still have a chance to live, but if you tell them, you will only face death. Similarly, staying in Rongdi is the only value you have left. Once you lose this value, your existence will be meaningless, and anyone can replace you."

“I can take you away, do you dare to come?” Helian Cheng asked him.

Galdan lowered his hand dejectedly. He finally understood. "You had planned everything, you had schemed everything. No, it wasn't you, it was Xue Jin'an, it was Xue Jin'an."

“He wants to squeeze every last drop of blood out of me, every last bit of value. He even wants me to risk my life to get you out, because only if you live, only if you live, can I live.”

At this moment, Helian Cheng suddenly realized that his final guarantee of successfully leaving the Rongdi capital was never the map that was only 90% complete, but Galdan's head. From then on, Galdan would become the Northwest Army's spy, providing assistance to the Great Qi in its war against the Rongdi.

"Xue Jin'an, what a vicious scheme you have!" Galdan laughed bitterly, only realizing at this moment what kind of terrifying opponent he had provoked.

Helian Cheng frowned, and seeing Galdan's incredulous expression, he subconsciously retorted, "You're still alive, you should be content."