Only when the sound rang out did Jing Lu turn around in a panic. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Jing Yan was not there.
He then glared warily at An Chenghuan and questioned, "Our Jing Kingdom is about to conquer the capital of Qi Kingdom, and Your Highness An is not in a hurry? Do you still have the leisure to stroll by the river?"
Ignoring Jing Lu's sarcasm, An Chenghuan approached with his hands behind his back, gazing at the other man with a smile.
“Your Highness, there’s no need for you to worry about Anguo’s affairs. Jingguo’s siege was swift, and Jing Yan is about to have another military achievement known to all the kingdoms.”
"I wonder what merits His Highness Prince Li will have upon his return, and whether he will be rewarded accordingly and have his wishes fulfilled?"
Jing Lu sneered: "No matter how merits are rewarded, I can't surpass him. Your Highness Anguo, there's no need to sow discord."
There was no need to sow discord between him and Jingyan; their conflict stemmed from their shared royal lineage.
An Chenghuan knew that the royals would not be so simple-minded. In the past two years, he had been paying attention to Jing Lu, who seemed to be a child at heart, but he secretly observed that Jing Lu had his own methods of fighting and was a cunning person.
"If that's how Your Highness says it, then I don't intend to beat around the bush with you anymore. How about we make a deal?"
Jing Lu glanced at him sideways and scoffed, "I wouldn't dare. I remember the tragedy of my late grandfather. I am not worthy."
As he spoke, he turned to leave.
An Chenghuan was in no hurry to persuade him to stay. His gaze was distant, as if he were looking at the ice on the river, but in reality, there was a sense of confidence in his eyes. He spoke calmly and composedly.
"The grudges between our two countries are matters of our ancestors, which we are powerless to change. Does Your Highness King Li know that back then, An Kingdom demanded a hostage from Jing Kingdom?"
"His Majesty of Jing Kingdom was reluctant to part with Jing Yan, the Crown Prince, and send you to An Kingdom as a hostage. It was I who persuaded An Kingdom to abandon this idea."
“Otherwise, His Highness Prince Li is not here now. I have done such a great favor for His Highness Prince Li, how could I not even give him a little bit of sincerity?”
Upon hearing about the events of the past, Jing Lu abruptly stopped in his tracks.
The person behind him stopped, and An Chenghuan turned around and smiled.
“My deal can help you obtain the Jing Kingdom. If Your Highness is willing to listen, I will tell you. If not, I will leave now.”
An Chenghuan waited for a while, and seeing that Jing Lu didn't say anything, he turned to go back.
After taking two or three steps, Jing Lu clenched his fists and said in a low voice, "Wait!"
An Chenghuan stopped in his tracks.
...
Jingyan still has one last city of Qi to conquer, which is the capital of the Qi monarch. The people inside the city know that Qi cannot hold out any longer and they really want the monarch to open the city gates and surrender.
Unfortunately, the ruler of Qi was unwilling to give up his century-old legacy and could not take off his crown. He continued to do what he could to maintain appearances, as long as Chen could support him.
In reality, the ruler of Chen was far more terrified than the ruler of Qi. Anguo treated his people with extreme cruelty, slaughtering half the inhabitants of every city it attacked.
If he were in the State of Qi, they would have opened their doors to welcome him long ago. After all, he is the ruler of a state. Why doesn't the State of Jing give him a decent fiefdom?
He used his power to save the lives of the people, and the people under his control at least understood his good intentions.
The hateful An Kingdom was ruthless, besieging both of his cities completely. After several days of bitter negotiations, the Chen Kingdom's monarch finally agreed to take both cities without bloodshed.
Just as Qi was waiting for Chen, he suddenly heard the news of Chen's surrender early in the morning. The ruler of Chen sent two cities to An Chenghuan.
This time, An Chenghuan did not resort to the brutal massacre of the city, and instead treated the ruler of Chen Kingdom with courtesy.
Upon hearing this, the ruler of Qi, facing the Jing army besieging the city, hastily grabbed the Qi imperial seal and led his officials out of the city to surrender.
“Your Highness, the Kingdom of Qi… no, the Kingdom of Qi is willing to surrender, willing to surrender to the Kingdom of Jing.”
The ruler of Qi presented a bright yellow imperial seal to Jing Yan, who took it with his own hands, placed them in front of him, and shouted.
"Let's go into town!"
***
After the monarchs of Chen and Qi surrendered one after the other, the crown princes of the three kingdoms handed over the cities they had acquired. Just as they were about to reorganize their armies, Jing Yan suddenly received news that Jing Lu had deserted from the army with more than 10,000 men.
Not only did Jing Lu flee, but he also burned most of the grain and fodder in the Jing Kingdom's army camp before leaving.
With the soldiers about to return to Jingzhou, their food supplies were running out. They couldn't just endure the wind and snow on their journey. Even if they stayed put, they couldn't survive for more than half a month.
Jing Yan was furious: "How dare Jing Lu escape back? Doesn't he know that even a prince should be punished and executed for deserting from the military camp? Does he want to go back and rebel?"
Rong Ying and Jing Yan were quite wary of him, and neither of them expected that he would dare to desert from the military camp.
Upon closer examination, it seems that Jing Lu first burned the grain and fodder to delay Jing Yan's movements, and then returned to Jing ahead of schedule. It's likely that he was not really planning a rebellion.
“Your Highness, King Li has committed a capital offense by doing this. The best course of action now is to gather provisions and rush back to kill King Li, so as to prevent Jing Kingdom from being truly devastated,” Rong Ying suggested.
“It’s winter now, where am I supposed to get food?” Jing Yan was troubled. If Qi had enough food, it would be fine, but Qi doesn’t even have enough food for itself.
He led a righteous army and won the hearts of the people. If he were to completely conquer the State of Qi, his attitude would change, and there is no guarantee that it would not backfire and cause future troubles.
Rong Ying suggested a desperate measure: "How about we try borrowing from Yu Kingdom and An Kingdom?"
Jing Yan thought it might not be useful, and he smiled bitterly: "Rong Ying, have you forgotten? The floods and man-made disasters in Yu Kingdom were just a few years ago. How could you two not know about the huge incident of Jing Kingdom's grain being burned?"
"Yu Chuyi probably doesn't have such good intentions. It's already rare that An Chenghuan isn't making a fool of himself."
A conflicted look appeared in Rong Ying's eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will go and give it a try."
Jing Yan grabbed him and stopped him, saying, "I am the commander-in-chief of the army. If anyone should go, it should be me."
He pressed Rong Ying back. Rong Ying's long-cherished wish had not been fulfilled, and it would be dangerous for him to go and see the people of Yu Kingdom, let alone the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom.
Just as Jing Yan was about to seize the opportunity to go out and try, a general from the Jade Kingdom came to pay his respects.
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